UnWholly by Neal Shusterman

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Source: Purchased

Years ago as the rest of the books in this series came out I read them, yet failed to write reviews on them. I decided to reread the entire series while home on break. This is the second book in this wonderful series by one of my favorite authors. In this second book a lot has happened. The Admiral is no longer running the “Graveyard”.  Conner is now in charge.  Risa has her own roll to play in front of the camera’s. Lev has come a long way. He started out a willing tithe until he was kidnapped and went one hundred percent the other way becoming a clapper. With the help of his former pastor he has a new purpose in life.  We meet a character named Cam who like Frankenstein was created from all unwound parts. Shusterman has done a wonderful job of making you love the characters that are so despicable.  In other words he does an excellent job of creating characters that you will love to hate. I think the thing I love the most about this series is that it shows what could happen in a future where the pro-choice and pro-life sides take things to the extreme.  No matter what side of the argument you are on when you read this book, you realize that the third option was definitely not the correct option.  It also touches on the questions about having a soul, especially if you are unwound.  This reminded me of Robin Wasserman’s series “Skinned”, for the same issues of whether the character still has a soul.  Highly recommend both series. I will say as I have before that Neal Shusterman and ALL of his books are some of my favorites of all time and I am thrilled to introduce them to another generation of teens.

 

Two Wonderful Children's Books by M.M. Rodeheaver

 

Haunted Holiday: A Christmas Cookie Ghost Story

Genre:  Children's Mystery

Source: Purchased

Calypso and her two moms have just moved into an old house on Grimsly Road. The day they moved in is when Calypso met the ghost named Charles. She saw him in the hallway and he pointed to her room and told her it was his room before he vanished. He didn’t scare her, but her cat Whiskers was definitely scared.

Her Mama Rae bakes delicious desserts, and her Mama Vic is a potter. Her studio and kiln are in the old barn.  Strange things began to happen around the house. The two mama’s plan a cookie exchange Christmas party. The morning of the party they awake to find all of the cookies destroyed. Calypso suspects it is Charles doing. She lets her new best friend Abbey know about Charles. Together they work together to try to find out why Charles would do such a thing and how he died.

I have read this book and its sequel twice. It is a short book, but one I really loved.

Genre: Children's Mystery

Source: Purchased

Calypso and Abbey are on a mission. Charles has told them about a jar of money he and his friends collected and saved and buried under the old chicken coop at his best friend's house. They ride their bikes down and shortly after they arrive a car pulls in. The house has been sold. The realtor offers them a tour along with the Drama teacher. Before the house is turned over to the new owners it will be used as a haunted house to raise money for their spring performance.  Calypso and Abbey are poking around where the chicken coop should be when Mr. Davis the realtor shows up. He asks if they are looking for treasure. They find that odd. What is even more odd is when they arrive the next day they find him already there digging in the same area.  They are on a mission to find the money jar before Mr. Davis. Their only hope is to take Charles with them inside a pumpkin, and let him do the searching. This story was so much fun to read. It was about twice as long as the first book. 

I loved how we learned a lot more about Charles and his friends. I loved how Calypso goes out of her way to help a ghost. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a feel good story with an element of mystery to it.

Student Saturday: The Silence by Mark Alpert

Genre:  Young Adult, Science Fiction

Student Reviewer: Graeme E.

The Silence, by Mark Alpert, is the third installment in “The Six” series. This book has everything you want in a science fiction book including a hypothetical situation using technology based on real life. The story takes place in Yorktown Heights with the main character named Adom Armstrong. You see, Adom is not like other kids. He has a disease called muscular dystrophy which means his muscles get weaker and weaker until he will eventually die. Thankfully though, Adom's dad is a scientist. He finds out a way to change Adom's mind into a machine. The procedure went well and Adom and the other 5 kids with life ending illnesses become pioneers, the first humans to have their mind fully transferred into a physical robot. Throughout the next two books, Adom and the other pioneers fight a corrupted AI called Sigma and eventually win the war. The third book, which is titled The Silence, takes place 6 months after their fight with Sigma. The pioneers eventually get a strange reading in the Atlantic Ocean. So, thinking it was Sigma, they went to check it out. But, what they find is much worse. Adom finds a perfect orb five thousand feet under the ground. What is strange about this sphere, is that the pioneers cannot find an end inside the sphere. The orb is nothingness. This means that there is nothing inside of it and there is no end to it. The last thing Adom saw after finding the orb was the digital code surrounding him as it came at him. Together, Adom and the other pioneers must learn, fight, and try to control the nothingness. 

I connected to this book because of my love of science and science fiction. It is interesting that scientists are getting close to understanding the brain and learning how to control it. It is for this reason that I really enjoyed reading all 3 books. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about science and adventure.