by Paolo Bacigalupi
Set in the Gulf Coast in a gritty, harsh future, Ship Breaker depicts a not-rosy-at-all future. Nailer is part of a scavange team whose job it is to take apart and salvage valuable resources in the hulking wrecks of ships that have sunk and now washed up on shore. His team belongs to Bapi, who has tattooed his sign on the cheeks of all of his workers. Nailer thinks he might stay small enough to scrounge through the duct-work tunnels of the old wrecks for one more year. What he does after that is uncertain, dark, and scary. But he doesn't give a second thought to the future, because just getting through each day is exhausting enough. When a storm washes a different kind of a wreck ashore, and he and his friend Pima find it. Will it be the thing that changes both of their lives?
Showing posts with label sci fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sci fi. Show all posts
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Gardener
by S.A. Bodeen
Mason's father isn't in the picture, and all he has from his dad is a video of his dad reading GoodNight Moon - no face, just his big hands (blue butterfly tattoo), and his torso as he reads. That's all he knows of his dad, and his mom's not talking. Mason's mom works at a nursing home, as does his best friend Jack. One night, while he waits for Jack to get off work so they can go to his family's cabin in the mountains, Mace "meets" the people on his mom's floor of the nursing home: 4 perfect looking and totally catatonic teenagers. While he waits, he watches the video of his Dad, and at the part "If you become a crocus in the garden, I'll be the gardener and come find you" one of the girls wakes up. When she freaks out and follows Mason out the door, he and Jack take her with them, beginning a thrilling, frightening journey to discover who, or what, she is.
Mason's father isn't in the picture, and all he has from his dad is a video of his dad reading GoodNight Moon - no face, just his big hands (blue butterfly tattoo), and his torso as he reads. That's all he knows of his dad, and his mom's not talking. Mason's mom works at a nursing home, as does his best friend Jack. One night, while he waits for Jack to get off work so they can go to his family's cabin in the mountains, Mace "meets" the people on his mom's floor of the nursing home: 4 perfect looking and totally catatonic teenagers. While he waits, he watches the video of his Dad, and at the part "If you become a crocus in the garden, I'll be the gardener and come find you" one of the girls wakes up. When she freaks out and follows Mason out the door, he and Jack take her with them, beginning a thrilling, frightening journey to discover who, or what, she is.
Ender's Game
by Scott Orson Card
I first read this book with my sci fi classes this spring, and I "read it cold" with them (meaning I read it along with them) so that I could experience it the way they did. I enjoyed it, but I knew there was more "meat" in it that I could discover before teaching it next year. The writing is extremely well done, and the plot is engaging.
Set in the distant future, Earth is in jeopardy from the Buggers, an alien race that we have fought before, narrowly winning. Commanders are seeking the "one" who can save the human race, and Ender is it. He is chose, at age 6, to attend Battle School (in space) and be trained in all aspects and strategies of war. Readers follow Ender though his training and his promotion to leadership positions. It's fast-paced, but also deeply character-driven. Readers will be left wondering what, exactly, we should be doing in war, politics, and life.
I first read this book with my sci fi classes this spring, and I "read it cold" with them (meaning I read it along with them) so that I could experience it the way they did. I enjoyed it, but I knew there was more "meat" in it that I could discover before teaching it next year. The writing is extremely well done, and the plot is engaging.
Set in the distant future, Earth is in jeopardy from the Buggers, an alien race that we have fought before, narrowly winning. Commanders are seeking the "one" who can save the human race, and Ender is it. He is chose, at age 6, to attend Battle School (in space) and be trained in all aspects and strategies of war. Readers follow Ender though his training and his promotion to leadership positions. It's fast-paced, but also deeply character-driven. Readers will be left wondering what, exactly, we should be doing in war, politics, and life.
Candor
by Pam Bachorz
The town of Candor, Florida was founded by Oscar Banks' father. Houses cost upwards of a million bucks, but the waiting list to get one built is long. Because in Candor, everyone does exactly what they should. Kids listen to their parents, do chores, study all the time. No exceptions. Well, except for Oscar's clients, the ones with money, who pay him well to get them out of the town. You see, within a week, you will be brainwashed by the subliminal messages that are played everywhere - in your room, in the houses, at the park...school, library, grocery store. But Oscar makes a pretty penny getting kids who can pay out of Candor because he knows how his Dad does it. When Nia arrives in town, she complicates things. That's when Oscar's world falls apart.
The town of Candor, Florida was founded by Oscar Banks' father. Houses cost upwards of a million bucks, but the waiting list to get one built is long. Because in Candor, everyone does exactly what they should. Kids listen to their parents, do chores, study all the time. No exceptions. Well, except for Oscar's clients, the ones with money, who pay him well to get them out of the town. You see, within a week, you will be brainwashed by the subliminal messages that are played everywhere - in your room, in the houses, at the park...school, library, grocery store. But Oscar makes a pretty penny getting kids who can pay out of Candor because he knows how his Dad does it. When Nia arrives in town, she complicates things. That's when Oscar's world falls apart.
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