Deadline Complete...

Well, I finished. I met the deadline. Honestly, I'm not sure what I think of the ending.  I was really liking the characters from the beginning (something I saw my classmates did not particularly care for). I thought they were witty, and complex, and I could picture them as people that I knew.  As the story continued, I still did really like the characters, BUT I almost thought that the author tried too hard to get too many "teen issues" into the novel.  I mean you had teen pregnancy, terminal illness, child molestation, issues with teachers, rape, car crashes, abusive fathers, crazy mothers...I mean really, what else could he have squeezed into the novel?  From the beginning, I thought that the novel seemed very realistic, but then it took a quick turn for me.  I was still emotionally attached to the characters and felt bad when they had to overcome what they needed to go through.  I guess I would recommend this book to others because I do think it was a good read, but I just thought the author tried to fit way too many things into the novel which then made it far fetched for me.  Maybe because I am reading it from an "older perspective," I noticed that there were a lot of topics trying to be covered.  I am not so sure that a younger reader would think about all of the topics, but would just enjoy the story for what it is worth.  I'd like to hear what a high schooler or middle schooler would think about this book...

Deadline

Alright, I'm hooked!  I am only a few pages in, but the main character is so well developed that I feel like I have known him for years!  Ben Wolf is so comfortable to "be around," and even though he was just diagnosed with a fatal disease, he still makes the reader feel like it is going to be okay.  I don't know yet what "being okay" means to Ben, whether he will decide to get treatment (though it sure doesn't look like it, even though Doc is pushing for it) or whether he will decide to tell his family, or whether he will just try to do accomplish everything he has wanted to in life before his deadline.  It is strange that he had this feeling he wouldn't live to be over 20....I wonder why he felt that way.

I think I am really going to like this book. I am already attached to the character, so I know I will be emotionally invested in what happens to him. If I had to guess, I would guess that it would be a sad ending, which I probably won't like because who likes a sad ending? I would like it however if it is realistic and true to the story. I honestly can't wait to keep reading....too bad teaching gets in the way :o)

The Candidates

 

An intriguing story about a young girl who feels quite frankly.......like a loser.

What we know so far:
1. Danica Lewis is a 14 year old girl
2. her parents died when she was young
3. she lives with her grandmother in a small two bedroom house
4. they do not have a lot of money
5. she has no friends
6. a school called Delcroix Academy is trying to recruit her, but the school is only for rich students with special talents
7. the student recruiter is "hot" according to Danica
8. she has some sort of special power where she hurts people who are being rude to people she cares about
9. she is worried that the school may know about her power

I am about 15 pages in, and can tell you a lot of facts about the story, but I still have so many questions!  What exactly is her power and how does it work? How did she even get a "power" in the first place?  Is she going to go to the school?  What would happen to her grandmother if she did go to school?  I already feel badly for Danica and want to know why kids at school wouldn't try to get to know her or talk to her.  I mean really, what is wrong with this girl?

It almost makes you wonder about people in your own life that keep to themselves and don't really talk to others.  Are they trying to hide something too?  What if something like this is going on at my school and I just don't know it because I never took the time to find out?

Maybe I should just keep reading.....