Student Saturday: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Student Reviewer: Rim

I just finished reading the second book in the series of Divergent. It is called Insurgent. The book has the same main characters as Divergent did. Even some secondary characters in the first book became main characters in this one. Some new people were Marcus, Christina, and Evelyn. Marcus and Evelyn are Tobias's parents. Tobias thought his mother was dead, but met her a year ago. Marcus bullied Tobias a lot, hitting him with a belt. Yet, Marcus is a sly person. Christina is Tris's best friend and she met Tris during Dauntless.  Christina was still Tris's friend even after what Tris did. My connection in this book is where no matter what the problem i, always keep going. They did that throughout the whole book. This book was action filled in my eyes. The basic setting was in all of the factions! Amity, Candor, Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, even the Factionless! I recommend this to all people and especially people who love some twists in books that make you go What!?!?!" and that's all.

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold by Iain Reading

Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery, Adventure
Source: I received a copy form the author in exchange for my honest review.

 

Book Blurb
Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new young adult series of adventure mystery stories by Iain Reading. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations. 

After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales, Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty's adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada. As the plot continues to unfold, this spirited story will have readers anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climatic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada's Yukon.

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is a perfect book to fire the imagination of readers of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history this book will inspire anyone to learn and experience more for themselves. 

My Thoughts:

I love a book that mixes adventure, mystery and historical facts throughout. Kitty is in Alaska observing humpback whales. She does this from her plane that she pilots. In case you are concerned because you’ve never been to Alaska and think you might not be able to visualize Kitty’s travels, the author has included a map. It is very helpful. Like so many real people Kitty gets caught up in local gold rush stories.

Kitty is a well rounded character. She does carry on a lot of internal dialogue. But, this is a lot like my students.  I hear them talking to themselves as they talk through situations.  It can be annoying at times but it is also spot on.  There is a lot of information throughout this book.  For many people this may be something they don’t like.  As an educator I love books like this.  I just happen to have several quirky students like me that I know will love this book for that reason. Just because I love a book doesn’t mean my students will.  When the author threw in a robbery and a kidnapping I knew that this was a book for my shelves.  There are several other books in this series.  See the links below to learn more about them.

 Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold: http://www.amazon.com/Kitty-Flying-Detective-Agency-Series-ebook/dp/B00AGY6WWK/

Kitty Hawk and the Hunt for Hemingway's Ghost: http://www.amazon.com/Hemingways-Flying-Detective-Agency-Series-ebook/dp/B00F4A6WXA/

Kitty Hawk and the Icelandic Intrigue: http://www.amazon.com/Icelandic-Intrigue-Flying-Detective-Agency-ebook/dp/B00CGS8862/

Kitty Hawk and the Tragedy of the RMS Titanic: http://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-Titanic-Flying-Detective-Agency-ebook/dp/B00IIY8V1U

 

About Iain Reading
Iain Reading is passionate about Root Beer, music, and writing. He is Canadian, but currently resides in the Netherlands working for the United Nations. He has published 4 books in the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series.

For more information, go to http://www.kittyhawkworld.com/

You can also find him on:

 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kittyhawkworld

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7276101.Iain_Reading

Student Saturday: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Student Reviewer: Rim

I just finished reading Divergent.  Possibly the best book I've ever read! The main characters are: Beatrice (Tris), and Tobias (Four). Tris is the main character in this book. She is the one who chose Dauntless for her new faction. She is divergent (as the title says). Divergent in the book means she is more than one faction when she is supposed to be only one. The faction is basically what you are. First you grow up in a faction, then you find out what you really are, then you choose what faction you want to be at the age of sixteen. The factions are: Dauntless (brave), Amity (peaceful), Candor (honest), Erudite (intelligent), and Abnegation (selfless). Tobias is the trainer who helps Tris and all the other transfers become Dauntless ad goes with Tris and her adventures. He is eighteen and has a mysterious past. Jeanine who is the leader of Erudite wants to kill all divergent including Tris. The basic point of this book is that Tris is in Dauntless making friends and regrets and slowly discovering what Erudite really is. My connection with this book is that living your life normally while everyone is just feeding you lies until you understand  what the lies are. I love the concept in this book. The back stories, the surprises, just everything. The setting is in the Abnegation territory in the beginning ad the dauntless territory in the end. I would recommend this book to everyone!! If you can't read I will teach you how to because you ed to read this!!!!!