The Maze Runner

The Bookworm says... YES! The Maze Runner by James Dashner was an absolutely enticing novel. From the moment I started reading, it was painful to put it down. When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only think he can remember is his name. He gets hoisted out of the lift into an utterly unfamiliar setting: The Glade. When all the boys start talking with slang words he doesn't understand and talking about locations he doesn't recognize, his head begins to spin. He learns that they are stuck in a maze, and they have to get out. They get one new person a month, always have and always will. Once Thomas arrives, things start to go haywire. He gets attacked by a boy Ben that was stung by Grievers, crazy half animal half machine creatures in the maze. The next day, they get another recruit. Two in one month. And it's a girl. She delivers a message sure to terrify them all, and then slips into a coma. Thomas learns the rules of the Glade, and the jobs. He feels a need to be a Runner, those who run the maze and learn it. One problem: the walls change every night. One night Thomas breaks the number one rule, and goes into the maze. He gets trapped overnight, but manages to survive. When he returns from the maze, things get weirder. He hears a girls voice in his head, and realizes it's the new girl. She tells him she triggered The Ending, whatever that is. The doors stop closing. The sun disappears. Even worse, one person gets killed by a Griever per night. They need to do something, and quick. Will Thomas sacrifice himself? Will they sacrifice someone else? Will someone voluntarily get stung by a Griever to get back some memories? Will they find a way out of The Maze? And if they do, is what's outside any better? This book was amazing, and had me up until the break of dawn reading. 

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human."

It's Kind of a Funny Story

The Bookworm says... YES. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini was am excellent book. Craig Gilner was always a model students and studied his butt off for the admittance test for Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School. He spends all his time studying, and the pressure pushes him to his breaking point. He begins to become more and more depressed. Once he gets to the school he realizes that he will never be an A+ student, just normal 93's which aren't bad but they aren't outstanding and if they're not outstanding, he won't get into a good college and he won't get a good job. The stress keeps piling on and Craig stops eating and sleeping. He finally decides to kill himself. In the middle of the night, he prepares to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. He calls a suicide hotline and they tell him if he is considering harming himself he should check himself into a hospital. Craig decided that death probably falls under the category of harming yourself, and checks himself in. While in the Brooklyn Mental Health Facility, he finds people that are non-verbal, transsexuals, depressed teens, drug addicts, and... love? Will Craig manage to get his depression under control (or experience the Shift as he calls it)? And what will he use to make this happen? Will he escape this hospital and find true love? 

Eleanor & Park

'The Bookworm says.... Maybe. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell was a decent book. The beginning was very, very slow.  Aside from that, it was pretty good.  Eleanor is the new girl in school. Weird, chubby, dresses weird. But is it her choice? Her stepfather kicked her out for a year, only to comeback to a completely different house where his wish was their command (or else). On the bus on the first day, an Asian boy named Park swears at her, but let's her sit. Everyone at her school is rude to her. Except Park. He begins leaving her comic books to read, then mixed tapes. Eleanor's gym class was the worst. The girls in her class flushed her clothes in the toilet, and call her names. But Park is always there for her. Eleanor and Park begin to uphold a steady relationship, of course not telling Eleanor's family. Dirty messages begin showing up on Eleanor's text books, and Park accuses her of writing them. After a day or two, he comes to his senses and realizes it wasn't her. Park gets in a fight defending Eleanor. Parks mom is an Avon lady, and gives Eleanor a makeover. One of Eleanor's five siblings finds the makeup, and blackmails her into sharing. One day when she came home from Parks, Eleanor heard yelling and found her belongings destroyed. Who was writing the notes in her books? Was it really the girls in her class, trying to be cruel? Or was it someone that kept their friends close and their enemies closer? Will Eleanor and Park end up together? 

"Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book." - John Green

Other Bookworm-Reviewed books by Rainbow Rowell: 

Fangirl 

Let It Snow

The Bookworm says...YES. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle was a great book. It is a collection of three holiday romances: The Jubilee Express (Maureen Johnson), A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle (John Green), and The Patron Saint of Pigs (Lauren Myracle). All three stories are wrapped around the same basic plot, and all the loose ends get tied up at the end. The recurring plot: a huge snowstorm hits Gracetown, North a Carolina on Christmas Eve. The cast of recurring characters: Jubilee, Jeb, Stuart, the 14 cheerleaders, Duke, Keun, JK, Tobin, Dorrie, Tegan, Addie. All these characters have their ups and downs, resulting in love from the storm. The storm seems like a Christmas tragedy, but could it be a miracle? Make sure you read the stories in the order, or it will not make sense. If you like me are a major nerd fighter (John Green fans), and bought this book because of John Green, do not skip to his story (second). Do not, I repeat DO NOT skip to his. You may find your self with two more favorite authors. 

Allegiant

The Bookworm says... Yes. Allegiant by Veronica Roth was a terrific finale to the Divergent trilogy. Now that Tris, Tobias, Cara, and the rest of the crew are out of Chicago there are many changes. They are told that a while back the Bureau decided to genetically enhance people which resulted in genetic "damage". The Divergent are said to be "genetically pure" and everyone else is "genetically damaged". The GP's are treated better in society, and the GD's decide to rebel. The GD's trick Tobias into believing that they are breaking into the Weapons Lab to steal the memory serum, but is this their true intention? During the attack, and explosion went off and killed Uriah. They did not achieve their mission, and many ended up under arrest. A few days later Tris overhears a plan to reset the Chicago experiment. They can't let this happen, so they come up with a plan to overtake the Bureau. They are going to sneak into the Weapons Lab, and steal the memory serum. They will prevent the Bureau from releasing the serum on a Chicago, and they will then release it on the Bureau. The flaw: breaking into the Weapons Lab without the password releases the vaporized death serum. There is no escaping the death serum, not even the Divergent are immune. So who will be the sacrifice? Who has betrayed? Who is not favored? Caleb. Tris and Caleb stay behind while Tobias, Cara, and the crew go back to Chicago. Tobias manages to establish a treaty between Johanna and Evelyn.  Tobias also tells Uriah's mom, Hana, and his brother, Zeke what happened. While they are preparing for the mission, there's an emergency lockdown at the Bureau. The Bureau is onto Tris and Caleb. Will Tris let Caleb sacrifice himself? Will the mission succeed? This was an amazing book, with a touching end. Well done Ms. Roth.