The Curse of the Shamra – Barry Hoffman
Publisher: Edge Books
Pages: 362
Source: Review copy
from author
Genre: Young Adult,
Fantasy
Hoffman has created a fascinating world in this book. The society he has created has women
subservient to men. Dara, an orphan is
unlike the other Shamra in many ways.
First, the society of people has blue eyes, and she has brown. Secondly, she completely disagrees that women
should marry and do the bidding of their husbands. She believes in equality for all. Third, she has visions. This all comes in handy when they are invaded
by the Trocs. Dara and a few others
escape. They appoint her the leader of
the rebellion. To help her people she
must journey to unfamiliar lands to find help.
The story has many things going for it.
It teaches girls today that they can do anything that boys can do. It also teaches what happens when a society
is so wrapped up in itself that it ignores warning signs of conflict. I believe my students; both female and male
will enjoy this addition to my library at school. I look forward to reading the second and
third book in the series, “Shamra Divided”, and “Chaos Unleashed”. This is another great fantasy book.
Escape to Mars – Greg Krehbiel
Publisher:
CreateSpace
Pages: 178
Source: Review copy
from author
Genre: Middle Grade, Science
Fiction, Adventure
What would you do if you learned your father was responsible
for the annihilation of the Earth? If
you were Billy Chen, you and your family and a few others would steal a shuttle
and head to Mars. When Billy Chen’s
father announces that he has accidentally created a black hole that is going to
destroy the Earth, they and several others make plans to escape to Mars in the
hopes of colonizing the planet to continue the human race. I thought of Noah’s Ark as I read this
story. They take animals and other
things they will need to survive. I
remember as a child, (I’m dating myself here) watching astronauts deal with the
lack of gravity in space. I always
thought of how much fun it was to have your food or drinks floating and trying
to eat it. This book put a different
spin on things. Imagine trying to clean
up after animals in a gravity free area.
I loved the way the story was told in alternating perspectives from
Billy, and Amber, the captain’s daughter.
This is just the first book. I
look forward to recommending this to my students. It is a great middle school read. I also look forward to reading more by this
author.
Thanks for the very nice review. I'm glad you liked Escape to Mars!
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