Sonia Levitin- The Goodness Gene

In the year 2305, a boy named Will has been raised from birth to believe in something that they call The Goodness and to follow in his father Hayli's footsteps as the Compassionate Director of the Dominion of the Americas. He takes a trip out into the less sanitary, primitive outposts of the Dominion, and discovers that his father is actually a malevolent despot. A girl known as Leora accompanies him on his trip and, as she exposes him to things she takes for granted, he starts to question his upbringing. He also finds out something extremely disturbing about himself, and things begin to change.

Andrew: I thought that this book was extremely, not scary exactly, but disturbing. It also expresses some interesting ideas about clones, both for and against.

Skim -- Mariko Tamaki

Mariko Tamaki's Skim was the poignant coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl attending an all-girls high school in Toronto. Known as Skim (ironically, of course, because she's mildly overweight), she battles internally with conflicting desires and externally with the seeming naivete and glossiness of friends and classmates. The story is illustrated in a traditional Japanese ink-painting style by Jillian Tamaki and is presented in black and white.

I appreciated the artistic style of the illustrations, and the realistic skin it lent the story, as Skim was Asian in descent. The characters, especially Skim's English teacher with whom Skim develops a romance, are presented in a strong, articulate style while remaining tender, weak and human. The climax of this story brought good closure to the story of Skim's classmate who suffers the loss of her boyfriend, although also was forced thru the suffering of her bubbly friends swarming around her. It was a moving story, and I recommend it to people who enjoy "this is life" tales.

Posted by Collin Knopp-Schwyn

Planet Pregnancy

This book was as dry and as dull as three day old fish. There was no pizzazz in the writing structure and the author seems to try too hard to rhyme the poetry. Only, that didn't work because there was no basic structure like stanzas, and all the main character did was complain from the very first sentence. Consequently it may remind readers of people who are constant downers, and have no joy in living.

Posted by Lauranadella

Deeper

This sequel picks up where its predecessor Tunnels left off. A boy set out to find his missing father, and in the process discovers a strange world underground. As he tries to put together pieces of the plot of an apparently evil man named Styx, he has to save the world above ground.

Andrew: Yeah, I'm not sure if i should be reviewing this, because I didn't read the whole thing, but I read the first chapter and just couldn't get into the book. I hope someone else can, and that they can write a better review.

Origins

Origins is a book about two groups of differently interested people living in a bleak world. The Dogs are fond of Agriculture, and Cats hunting. At the same time, interspersed with chapters about a Cat named Nessa, a boy relates a strange tale in his journal about an alien creature. As Nessa sets off on a journey to find out more about the ancestry of Cats and Dogs, these two stories come together in an intriguing way.

Andrew here. I thought this book was extremely imaginative, and was certainly entertaining. Apparently it is the third book in a series, but from what I have heard, the other two weren't too interesting. From the bits and pieces I picked up about the other books, I got more than enough about how this book was begun. You don't even really need to read the first two. I give it a 10 out of 10.

The Resistance

The Resistance is the sequel to a book called The Declaration, and begins not too long after. The main character, Peter, is invited to take a job for a company that produces an immortality drug known as longevity by his grandfather, who owns the company. As a member of a resistance attempting to stop production of the drug, he is advised to accept the offer. While working there, he discovers that they have begin creating an enhanced version of Longevity, called Longevity+, and that in order to make it you need to harvest the main ingrediant from a very unethical source; people born after the creation of Longevity known as Surpluses.

Andrew: I think that this is a brilliant book, definitely worth the read, although it was a bit short and slightly predictible. I was surprised to realize halfway through that it was a sequel, and not a standalone. 9 out of 10.

Little Brother

This book is about a hacker kind of kid who is named Marcus. After a terrorist incident that he happened to be nearby, he was taken and hauled off by the Department of Homeland Security, where is is interrogated for days. When he is finally released, he finds that all but one of his friends, who were taken with him, had been released as well. To get back at the DHS for the humiliation and to find out what happend to his missing friend, he attempts to take them down.

Andrew: I thought this book was awesome, clever, and a little scary. I certainly wouldn't want what happend to him to happen to me. I give it a ten out of ten.

Morgan: This book was one of the best books that I have read. It was set in a realistic time and place and had some interesting ideas. I personally go to a hard-core urban high school with many security measures in place. I could definitly see how school systems could increase security to the level in this book. This book was very good! 10 out of 10