Genre Pick "Dark Life" by Kat Falls

Falls, Kat. Dark Life. New York: Scholastic Press, 2010. Print; ISBN: 978-0-545-17814-3; Hardcopy Price: $16.99.

Annotation

When the World has become to crowded, people began to become new pioneers, choosing to make their home in the ocean and grow resources for the people on the land. Ty is one of these young pioneers, living in the sea and dealing with all the problems that associate with it, including outlaws who begin to attack homesteads.

Awards

• Awarded the Juvenile Literary Award by The Friends of American Writers in 2011.

Book Talk

Dark Life… this is the name given to the people who live under the sea. Ty is one of these people. He is a young man with a special gift that allows him to stand out from the adults. When a gang of outlaws called the Seablight gang begins targeting homesteads, the town has been tasked by the government to catch them or risk their colony’s future. With this vendetta, Ty has teamed up with a Topsider Gemma who is looking for her brother. Together, they will track down the Seablight Gang, and discover what about them that makes them so special. In this part sci-fi, part western fiction that takes place in the ocean, readers will learn what it means to be, Dark Life.

Book Trailer
 

My Genre Pick: "Science Fiction"

This blog will be completed real soon. To everyone who have followed along for these past few weeks, thank you. I will complete this blog by doing book talks on eight books that are apart of my favorite genre, Science Fiction. Follow along with my blog as I go over different aspects of the science fiction genre from multiple settings and tropes including time travel, space opera, romance, and other areas of interest. Follow along with my book talks, and click on the "Quotes from Teens" link to see what young adults these days think of science fiction and reading in general.

Sicence Fiction Genre "Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories" by Kelly Link and Gavin

Link, Kelly, and Gavin J. Grant. Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print; ISBN 978-0-7636-4843-5; Hardcopy Price $22.99.

Annotation

Collected and edited by fantasy and science fiction writer Kelly Link and editor Galvin J Grant, these tales are the representatives of the steampunk genre which showcases its fantastic, strange, and surreal properties.  

Awards

• The novelette “Summer People” by Kelly Link has won the 2011 Shirley Jackson Award.

Book Talk #1

Time traveling watches, automatons, ghosts, thieves, murder, mystery, romance, and a talking chimpanzee. There is no limit to the imagination with the steampunk genre. Read more about these subjects an plenty more in this collection of short stories dedicated to Steampunk. 

 Book Talk #2

What is steampunk? Is it a Victorian fashion sense? Is it robots and steam machines? Steampunk is a genre all its own. This Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories will entertain and entice you to get a better look at the genre. Read the many ideas that may be associated with steampunk, from time traveling watches, to super genius Chimpanzees. From all points of science and fantasy, steampunk is not just a genre, fashion sense, or anything associated with it. So then, what is Steampunk? Can you come up with your own definition?

Kelly Link interview

Multicultural Genre "All the Right Stuff" by Walter D. Myers

Myers, Walter D. All the Right Stuff. New York: Amistad, 2012. Print; IBSN: 978-0-06-196087-1; Hardcopy Price $17.99.

Annotation 

With his father recently passed away and his road to adulthood fast approaching, Paul took to working in a soup kitchen over summer. There, he meets Elijah, a cook with his own views on life, and what is known as "The Social Contract."

 

Awards

• As the cover of the book shows, it has won the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Book Talk

Paul is a young man trying to figure out what he wants in life. Volunteering in a soup kitchen, he meets Elijah who introduces the young to the social contract and what it is all about. Throughout the book, Paul becomes introduced to new aspects of the social contract and encounters how it applies to the people around him, from a street tough named Sly, to a basket ball playing, teenage mother named Keisha. Elijah outlined the social contract for Paul in ways of taking another person’s ham sandwich, and creating soup. How Paul interprets the unorthodox explanations of this old soup kitchen employee remains to be seen. One thing is certain; Paul just might learn something about his society and himself in the end.

Interview with the author 

Graphic Novel Genre "Attack on Titan, Volume 1" by Hajime Isayama, translated by Sheldon Drzka

Isayama, Hajime, and Sheldon Drzka. Attack on Titan: Vol.1. New York, N.Y: Kodansha Comics, 2012. Print; ISBN: 978-1612620244; Paperback Price $10.99.

Annotation

Humanity is reduced to hiding behind walls to protect themselves from giant, man-eating, humanoid creatures known as the Titans. When one of the walls protecting them was penetrated by the creatures, humanity must now fight back against the Titans, assembling an army to take back their world.

Awards

•  Kodansha Manga Award in 2011 for the Shōnen category.

Book Talk

The Titans have almost wiped out humanity. To escape the giant creatures who appeared without warning, humans have been reduced to living behind three giant walls circling the areas where Titans have not yet passed. For one century, they have known safety and peace. Everything changed that one-day. The day the Colossal Titan came. “On that day,” humanity was “reminded” why they were behind that wall. 

Eren was there that day, when the Colossal Titan punctured the Wall Maria. At such a young age, he witnessed so much death and destruction, one death in particular haunts him for years. When old enough, he joined the military, becoming a member of the 104^th Trainee Corp as the humans begin to make a move. His vengeance against the Titans begins.

Despite being a Shōnen manga, the violence is more graphic and very detailed then most. The story itself is as dark as the illustrations show. Isayama allows readers to see the fear in the faces of the humans as well has get shivers from the realistically human-like details of the Titans. The manga's illustrations are meant to creep the reader out and dares anyone with claims of courage to read.

Trailer for the Anime

Chick-Lit Genre "Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-so-Happy Heartbreaker" by Rachael R. Russel with Nikki Russel and Erin Russel

Russell, Rachel R, Nikki Russell, and Erin Russell. Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-so-Happy Heartbreaker. New York: Aladdin, 2013. Print; ISBN: 978-1442449633; Hardcopy Price $13.99.

Annotation

 With the biggest dance of the year just around the corner, Nikki decided she wants to go with her friend Brandon. Drama and emotions unfold as the dance grows closer, and Nikki worries about whether or not Brandon will agree to go with her.

Awards

• This Book has yet to win any awards.

Book Talk

Nikki is an average, unpopular, unlucky teenage girl who is interested in a boy named Brandon. With a school dance coming up, she is hoping to go with Brandon, though there have been plenty of complications that made her feel as though it is a pipe dream. She outlines in her own words the confusion and pain of being a teenage girl with a crush and expresses herself in diary form. Page 40 gives us an example of her desire to reach out to someone and her (momentary) views on love.

“They’re doing a Miss Know-it-All Crisis Love Advise column, which means I have the entire month off.

Anyways, here’s my letter…

Dear Miss Know-It-All,

Why is love such a CRUDDY thing?

Help!

A Brokenhearted Dork!”

In this sixth installment of the Dork Diaries series, Nikki will deal with the stress of love in her usual dramatic over-the-top fashion. She will experience love, hate, jealousy, rivalry, and a wide spectrum of emotions, all explored as she tries to make sense of the concept of love. The reader’s will explore with humor and emotion her love journey leading to the school dance. 

Series Book Trailer (Meet Nikki Maxwell)

Urban Fiction Genre "Upgrade U" by Ni Ni Simone

Simone, Ni-Ni. Upgrade U. New York: Kensington Books, 2011. Print. ISBN: 978-0-7582-4191-7. Paperback; $9.95.

Annotation

Seven has been in a relationship with her boyfriend Joshua for some time now. As Joshua begins to become more obsessed with his dream of being an NBA star, will she begins to have feelings for another man named Zaire who she feels treats her better then Joshua.

Awards

•  2012 Street Lit Book Award Medal Winners

Book Talk

Seven is a young woman with her boyfriend, Joshua, who has dreams of playing in the NBA. She recently began to have mixed feelings about Joshua’s ambitions as his rising fame begins to create a rift between them. Soon, things take a turn for the worst for their relationship as Joshua begins to become a greater flirt towards the women around him. Chapter 14, page 130 outlines how much stress has accumulated in their relationship:

“Don’t try to twist this around on me. Girls come at me all day every day, but I’m here trying to upgrade you.”

“Upgrade me? I know you don’t think I’m on it like that!? I knew you when you had braces and a head full of naps. Don’t play with me.”

With Joshua’s pride getting the better of him and Seven having enough, she becomes curious about another young man named Zaire who has been interested in her for a while.  Seven is now on the edge of her emotional tolerance and is now in the process of deciding if maybe her relationship with Joshua is not ideal.

Book Trailer