The Chaos (Numbers, #2) by Rachel Ward

4 out of 5 stars. Like Numbers, the characterization is excellent, but for me... the scenery and events lacked visual details. Please click Show/Hide to see my review...

It is 2026. Jem died of cancer leaving her teen son, Adam, to be raised by Nan. He has inherited his mother's gift of numbers, which she lost during pregnancy. When he looks into someone's eyes he sees the date of their death. He also experiences visual flashes and traumatic emotions. He journals the details including names, dates, places and circumstances. He hopes this exercise will relieve his anxieties, but it does little to soothe him. Similar to Jem, Adam is unable to see his own number. This is a constant stress for him, since he is continually haunted by death. His anger issues are understandable. His personality can best be described as 'defiant'.
He and his great grandmother are forced to flee their coastal home due to flooding. On the train to London he realizes many passengers have the same number, 1/1/2027.
Fifteen year old Sarah enters the story. As her father drops her off at school, he reprimands her for being a truant troublemaker. He drives off in their posh, gas guzzling car. Sarah's introduction to Adam (her classmate), who she perceives as the devil, is quite dramatic. Apparently she's had recurring nightmares about Adam, whom appears to be incinerating her baby. My first thought was 'Don't have a baby ? '.
Adam loves his Nam, but they have a strained relationship. He is angry and resentful and misses his mother. Adam learned to keep his ability secret after he unknowingly blurted out his mother's numbers as a child. He vowed not to share anyone's date and hid his gift from everyone including his great grandmother. Nan informs Adam she knows about the numbers. She gives him a letter, left by his mother, which reads “London isn't safe. 01/01/2027.” “Don't go to London”. Angry that she has brought him to London, he has a temper tantrum and takes off. Nan reports him missing. It doesn't take long for the police to find him. They microchip him and return him home
This is the future of 'Big Brother', where everyone is micro-chipped like dogs. The invasive government portrayed in this novel feels very realistic and frightening. Everyone at Adam's school is given a palm net, similar to a tablet with apps. It would be awesome if books were installed on a portable device and heavy text books no longer had to be lugged about. Unfortunately the palm devices serve the ulterior purpose of tracking everyone. There are also Mp5 players (lol). There is no mention of a reliable alternative energy source. The electricity in London powers off several hours during the evenings. There are still no flying cars...
It is soon revealed that Sarah's baby has already been conceived, and it wasn't a moment of teenage passion. She was raped by her own father. She is starting to show and plans to run away. As Sarah observes Adam from afar, she realizes he is hot ('beautiful' was the specific wording used in the book), and convinces herself he is not her hideously scarred nightmare boy. Before she begins her journey she shares a 'moment' with Adam during art class.
After meeting some seedy people, Sarah is introduced to Vinny (a nice drug addict... yes they do exist). He invites her to live at his squat. She worries he has an ulterior motive, but he is simply empathic to her situation because his own sister died from a botched abortion.
Concerned by her absence from school, Adam visits Sarah's home. He soon discovers her father is a sleazy, mental, nutcase who admits Sarah has left home.
Adam has ongoing issues with Junior, a bully from school. Junior and his pals swipe his book. He ends up in the office where school faculty demands the book. Adam grabs the book and makes a break for it. The book is protected but he is suspended for six weeks giving him an abundance of free time.
Sarah gives birth to Mia on her own in a bathroom. The delivery could have been a little more drawn out, more exciting, more realistic...
Eventually Adam gets the face of Sarah's nightmare. The details were a bit vague. He has a fight with Junior. Adam falls on a fire, and burns up half his face. Junior either falls on the knife or the guy trying to end the fight accidentally stab hims... Nevertheless a sharp object is involved and Junior dies, just as Adam predicted he would.
Nan seemed a bit selfish relocating them to London, but she soon announces she believes Adam has a purpose in London as a prophet. Adam is inspired to prevent the events of 1/1/2027. Norman, his buddy from school, shows him a website where someone has painted a mural with their depiction of what will happen on this day. Adam travels to the mural and discovers Sarah is the artist. After giving him a nice gash on his head, she reluctantly invites him inside. He reveals his gift for numbers. He meets Mia. Her date is 1/1/2027.
Sarah was forced to take Mia to the hospital when she developed an infection at the site of the umbilical cord. She was abruptly micro-chipped. Sarah used a false name at the hospital, but this does little to prevent them from locating her. Cameras tracking microchips are placed everywhere. The social worker is not impressed by their living conditions and threatens to return at a later date. After she sees Vinny and his pals geared up to do a batch of drugs, Vinny is arrested and Mia is taken away.
With nowhere left to go, Sarah ends up at Nan's house. Adam is subsequently arrested for Junior's death. He left behind too many suspicious appearing records of Junior's death date on his dad's laptop, his palm net, etc...
On 1/1/2027 Adam is enroute to a different facility. Desperate to protect Sarah and save Mia, he attempts to escape. He slugs his guard. Suddenly London is struck by the 'disaster', ripping the van off the road. The aftermath of the disaster was painted well, but I am unclear on the exact cause. As the pace of the book sped up, so did my reading, so I may have missed something... I assumed it was the shifting of tectonic plates (a possibility mentioned earlier) Earthquakes led to flooding and fires. The mention of rockets was a bit confusing, but I ascertained those were part of the New Years celebration and not bombs.
Everything is chaos. The entire city has literally been torn apart. The guards from the van are dead and there is no one to heed Adam's escape. He manages to reach Nan's house only to discover it has been flattened. A neighbor informs him Nan and Sarah left the house alive. Using deductive reasoning he figures Mia is at her grandparents so he heads there. Everything happens the way Sarah visualized it in her dreams except Mia makes it out of the burning house alive. When Adam looks into her eyes he realizes her numbers have changed to Nan's, 2/20/2054. Nan's body isn't discovered, but she is apparantly dead since her number has been 'stolen'.
There is a short preview for the next story. I am unsure about the premise. Sarah appears manically happy that Mia can have anyone's number and could potentially live 'forever'... I got a sort of Rosemary's Baby, Damien the Omen vibe lol. Is she going to age or become immortal like Dr. Who's Captain Jack or the Face of Boe ? Hopefully it will make sense. I will miss Nan's character.

Compound by S.A. Bodeen

My review of

3 of 5 stars
Contains spoilers, click Show/Hide to view

My son read this book first, and he did an excellent job at capturing my interest without giving spoilers. I know kids aren't incredibly fond of vitamins, but until I read the story, I couldn't understand why he was so appalled by the idea of dietary supplements.
The nuclear symbol on the spine and the book title, Compound, give a basic idea of the story content. I am currently playing the PC version of Fallout 3 Game Of The Year Edition. Players begin this game as a baby living inside a 'vault'. I strongly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed this story or the 'concept' of this story. My virtual vault life made me eager to read Compound. Yet, this story wasn't quite what I expected.
Having seen Blast From The Past, which fans of Compound may enjoy, I was suspicious of the families' need to live in a fallout shelter. I was frustrated by how flippant the father was about Eddy being left behind. The children were forced to accept his choices and actions at their young age, but their mother seemed too passive. Important details were also missing. There was no mention of radiation suits or visible counters to read radiation levels in the atmosphere.
The story skips from day one in the vault to six years later. Yikes, what an incredibly long time to be isolated with your family! There was practically an endless supply of books and music. After awhile the books might seem irrelevant, if life as you knew it no longer existed. Fantasy and apocalyptic stories would keep their appeal. I could stay amused with my video game library for quite some time, but not fifteen years.
So when Eli first enters the compound he guiltily thinks of what a great fort all the cushions would make... Yet its six years before he fully explores the compound ? Okee...
The emotions Eli had about not owning up to his sibling were profound. These revelations almost made me relieved I have no siblings... :) The thought of having to eat my siblings made me doubly glad I have no siblings. Ugh. I immediately thought Motel Hell and people jerky. Were there even any condiments left ? Even if the father was insane, this whole concept eluded me. How long were the supplements fed breast milk ? Was five year old Lucas still booby feeding or was he being fed from the food supply? I can't imagine there being enough meat on a person to justify raising them as human cattle. I couldn't see how the mom went for this. She insisted she wouldn't have allowed them to be sauteed, but how could she risk procreating with someone who entertained such ideas ? She mentioned she believed it might be left up to them to repopulate. I guess she fell for the whole Grease "Lets Do It For Our Country" proposition... She leaves this man alone with these lil 'dumplings' to give her other children music lessons ?
I also wondered if there was a supply of dog food they could have eaten. Did the father ever anticipate Cocoa going with them? Was there an inventory of Alpo hidden away somewhere ?
The story ended too abruptly. The father's motivation and mental status left too many loose ends. When Eli (conveniently) hooked up with Eddy and Gram, his first successful attempt at maintaining an online connection, Gram typed “tabloids right about dad-major nutcase.” “Report from secret source dad's biological mom crazy.” Eli's mother later argued this was just a rumor... that he wasn't 'completely' certifiable. The father offers up several motivations, but there should have been a chapter where Eli enters his father's 'real world' office searching for answers. After his experience one might expect him to finally question his surroundings.
I also had a hard time seeing how someone as lucrative as Mr. Yanakakis, could be so unbalanced... But there is quite a history of eccentric, wealthy people , such a Phil Spector, or those listed here...http://listverse.com/2009/03/15/10-incredibly-eccentric-people/ As someone on the internet so aptly pointed out wealthy people are called 'eccentric' and regular people are called 'crazy'.
In the end the family allows Phil to continue running the company ? They must all be nutcases. Does anyone consider charging him with conspiracy to commit fraud and kidnapping ?
I liked how dad could still be around watching them, a threat looming in the shadows, leaving trails of Tums in his midst...

Skybreaker By Kenneth Oppel

Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I wouldn't change anything about this novel. I gave the last story four stars and this one five. It isn't necessarily a 'better' story. The series is just really growing on me. The characters themselves have also grown up. Kate's whims in Airborn, which often lead to disaster, were face palm worthy. She is still full of adventure, yet she has matured.



Matt, a first year student at the academy, is completing a hands on navigation training course . Some students were sent out on luxury liners and Matt well... He is working under a reckless Captain, named Tritus, aboard the Flotsam, a cargo ship. They fly into a storm, the Devil's Fist, a year round typhoon known for its ability to strike airships out of the sky. After a close call they spot the Hyperion, a ship of legends. This ghost ship is rumored to carry a vast amount of wealth. The Flotsam suffers damage by the storm but Tritus insists they attempt to tow in the Hyperion and salvage her. Cruse warns them of the danger of hypoxia. The Captain and crew ignore his warnings and they are soon intoxicated by hypoxia and greed. In spite of the Captain's protests, Cruse the level headed hero, ensures they make it to safety. They fail to retrieve the Hyperion, but thanks to Cruse, most of them survive.

Kate soon hears the Hyperion has been spotted. She is still delighted by the prospect of rare animal specimens, which the Hyperion is rumored to have aplenty. Naturally she is eager to retrieve it. Cruse is the only surviving crew member who recalls the coordinates. He is soon acquainted with Nadira, a gypsy girl, who claims to have a key to the cargo hold. She is gorgeous and this brings a bit of a love triangle to the story. The only ingredient missing for the adventure is transportation. Kate introduces them to Hal. Hal reminded me of Bruce Lunardi, Matt's rival from the previous story. Hal has it all going on... good looks, wealth, charm and an airship. Matt soon (once again) finds himself competing for Kate's affection. Together (with Miss Simpkins in tow) they race to locate the Hyperion before evil villians thwart their plans.



These novels use vocabulary I rarely encounter. My favorite word was 'phantasmagoric' defined by the free dictionary as a fantastic sequence of haphazardly associative imagery. I thought this was a fantastic word :)



There are wonderful, vivid descriptions of steampunk style contraptions. It would be awesome to see such inventions brought to life.



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Dead Girl in Love (Dead Girl, #3) by Linda Joy Singleton

Dead Girl in Love by Linda Joy Singleton

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book was really disappointing compared to the first two. Various story lines are brought up with minimal follow through. Dead Girl in Love fell flat.

Amber is a temp lifter occupying the body of her best friend, Alyce. I've worn my friend's underwear before, but swapping bodies would be a bit personal! Amber must adhere to the nine divine rules for temp lifters including the first rule, follow through on your host's body obligations and plans. This means putting up with Alyce's whiny mother. Amber has always had a strained relationship with Mrs. Perfetti, and now has to live with her. She is codependant, often behaves like a child and has been known to snoop around in Alyce's room. Meanwhile, Amber's deceased granny is inhabiting her body. Granny a little unconventional, causing Amber some concern. The story seemed to be leading up to more events with her granny, who seems like an interesting character, but there wasn't much focus on her. The situations involving granny could have been a lot more fun.

Although she is only expected to take care of Alyce's life, while she is recooperating from her depression, Amber decides to make improvements. She encounters a new puzzle to work through as she investigates Alyce's current obsession involving mortuaries. Busy with her recent adventures, she neglected to realize Alyce's unhappiness and soon realizes she doesn't know her best friend as well as she thought.

She also decides Alyce needs a love life. She goes on several interesting dates. It can be horrible when friends try to set you up! This story line had great potential, had it been developed further.

Amber is once again haunted by Gabe, the dark lifter from the previous story. He is a body swapper who refuses to give up the practice. I was disappointed that Amber fell for Gabe's charming good looks and sad story of betrayal once again. I'd be likely to fall for someone like this, but I expected more from her character. What is it with these older guys ? Older guys can be wonderful, but Gabe died more than a century ago!

This story did not end on cliff hanger. It is quite possible this is the last story in this series.



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Utopia by Lincoln Child

Utopia by Lincoln Child

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well I couldn't afford a trip to an amusement park this year so I figured reading Utopia would be the next best thing.

The descriptions of Utopia are great. The details are fantastic, down to the mannerisms of people within the park. I felt like I was there and I'd love to visit this place.

The first chapter makes a reference to meloning, 'When daring young women on rides bare their breasts to the camera' ? Is this really what its called ? I tried googling it, including an image search, and didn't find anything to confirm this. The search results were disappointingly tame, people eating watermelon and doing grab tricks with their skateboards... But this isn't a bad term for the practice.

Dr. Andrew Warne is a computer engineer with a focus on robotics. He is a widower and father to 14 year old Georgia. He has been summoned to visit Utopia, a large theme park known for robotics holographs and thrill rides. He is a large contributor to the park's robotics. Warne created the park's metanet, a meta network that links all the robots to a central processor. The processor studies the bots, creates improvements and downloads an optimized code daily over the network. He brings his daughter with him expecting an opportunity to work on upcoming projects.

Soon after Warne arrives, the park directors inform him they believe the metanet is responsible for random robotic glitches. They request he shut it down, insisting the issue is not due to internal or external tampering. He is downfallen, because he sees the metanet as his life work.

The story points out the dangers of relying on robots to do important mechanical tasks. Utopia robots are programmed to do safety maintenance. The robots loosened dogs instead of tightening them. A car whipsaws through a 70 foot drop, which results in injuries, lawyers etc... I suppose human error could be as detrimental. Hopefully, there will soon be technology for a park like Utopia, and they will employ human quality control. The robot that servers ice cream, Hard Case, also malfunctions. It would be fun to be served ice cream by a robot, but I wouldn't fancy it coming after me with sticky robot claws. The only malfunction I want to experience is receiving a basketball sized scoop of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream. I am diabetic so this would be quite deliciously dangerous. :)

I would love to own a Wingnut, the robotic dog...

As the story unfolds we learn bad guys are responsible for the robotic malfunctions. These domestic terrorists are not your semi honorable, fun loving type of criminals. Their list of demands include not contacting authorities, and continuation of business as usual within the park. If they don't get all of their demands they will kill hundreds, blowing up lines and restaurants.

The bad guys couldn't have orchestrated their acts of terrorism without inside help. It is fairly obvious who their cohort is. We see behind the scenes information of everyone who is innocent. By using the process of elimination, the mystery of the inside man is revealed.

The major plot hole of this story is no one contacts the police. I can understand the stories where the scared parents of a kidnapped child are convinced they shouldn't call the police. But the employees of this park are well educated, and much less emotionally involved. They decide it would be too dangerous to call the authorities. They are obviously not equipped to deal with something like this. The only person with any real experience is a patron of the park who offers his service. But not a single person demands the police be called...

This book is written in 2002. I figure it might take some time to write a book. I have been working on the first page of mine for the last 10 years. I am not sure if it was written after or prior to Sept 11, 2001, but there must be a standard theme park terrorist protocol. I assume it would include contacting the proper authorities.

Regardless of the possible outcome, I can only imagine how questioning would go for the inevitable police investigation and lawsuit. 'Did you immediately contact the police ? Do you mean you didn't contact the police to report threats or deaths in the park, tampered with and moved evidence, and moved and stored bodies. so you could continue with business as usual?' And what about the guy with 2 broken legs? I realize there is an impressive medical facility within the park, but what if he needed surgery ? I believe most of Disneyland's major injuries make it to the media. At Utopia an entire ride of people gets barbequed and its business as usual ? If it weren't for this major story flaw, this book would have been so much better.





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The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've enjoyed reading the Gregor the Overlander series. This story, while different from the Overlander books, was also impressive. I immediately became deeply involved with the characters. The descriptions are colorful and there is plenty of wry humor. This book isn't perfect, nor is it the first story about an group of people that are forced to kill one another in an enclosed area, but the dystopian setting makes it unique.

I noticed several similarities to the movie The Condemned. Condemned killers must fight each other to the death on a deserted island for the prize of freedom, while being spectated via the internet. Despite low ratings, I enjoyed this movie. I also saw parallels with the TV show Sliders Season 1, Episode 9: Luck of the Draw and Season 3, Episode 1: Rules of the Game.

The story takes place in the country of Panem, which rose from the ruins of North America. There is a Capital surrounded by districts. Each of the districts have their own industry or contribution to the Capital. The Capital recalls its history as industriously bringing peace and prosperity to its citizens when the thirteen districts held an uprising. The attempt failed. District 13 was wiped out and the remaining 12 Districts were defeated. The Capital had the advantage of a prime geographic location, which made it difficult to infiltrate. It was also ruthless. While I appreciated the simplicity of the details, I would have liked more political background information. I didn't catch any mention of the other world continents. How are they faring and what is their relationship with Panem ? Do they have their own version of the Hunger Games? Does Panem have a military? With Panem's citizens living miserably harried lives, how do they maintain loyalty to country ?

The Hunger Games resulted as a punishment for the uprising attempt. I am unsure if the story specifies the number of years the games have taken place, but they seem to be an accepted part of life. Winners become mentors and the mentor for District 12 is described as 'middle aged'. Each year a male and female aged 12-18 is chosen from each district through a lottery type draw, (knowing my luck this would be just the type of lottery I would win) and the 24 contestants are imprisoned in a large outdoor arena. The climates and settings vary from year to year. They fight to the death and the last surviving contestant wins. The entire event is televised and all citizens are expected to watch. The power, which usually just works for a few hours a day, always seems to work when the Game is aired. This is the Capital's message to the citizens that they are at its mercy. The citizens fear that if they try to stop it they will obliterated just like District 13. Yes it sounds gruesome and far fetched, but many youth in our modern world die for their country. At least in America the risk of dying for your country is still a 'choice'.

The Capitol's vantage of control is achieved by keeping its citizens hungry. Several of the districts are surrounded by food sources, but access is forbidden. District 12 is surrounded by a fence that separates them from the woods. They are told its purpose is to keep out predators. Trespassing over the fence is illegal and there are stiff penalties for poaching. These rules also prevent the construction and need for weapons which could be used in a rebellion. Other districts have similar stories of oppression. The district of agriculture isn't allowed to eat the crops. If they are caught they are publicly whipped. The Capital's goal is to keep people hungry and dependent.

Needy entrants are given the option of adding additional entries for a 'tessera'. A tessera entitles them to a skimpy years supply of grain and oil for one person. This is a way to separate the rich from the poor. If people distrust one another they are less likely to stage a successful revolt against the Capital's agenda.

The winners get many prizes, mainly food. The winning district gets grain, oil and sugar while the other districts continue to battle starvation. Some districts train their kids their whole lives, putting them at an advantage. Technically this is against the rules, but it happens every year. These contestants are called “Career Tributes'. With a 1 in 24 chance of surviving, the odds still aren't that great.

The story focuses on Katniss who is a citizen of District 12 (the district of coal mining). She is a refreshing change from the typical, desperate to be loved, female protagonist currently featured in many young adult novels. She knows what needs to be done to survive and she does it. I can't help but to think she is a person quite unlike myself. My pet bunnies are chomping on expensive fresh organic greens as I inspect my expired cup of noodles for bugs...

Katniss and her 12 year old sister attend the reaping, which is the festivity where they draw the 'winners' names. Attendance is mandatory and those who do not attend are imprisoned. The reaping helps the Capitol keep track of the population. And we worry about a draft, lol. Katniss's sister's name is drawn, and Katniss volunteers to go in her place.

The drawing of the male contestant, Peeta Mellark, evolves into an awkward situation for Katniss. When Katniss's father died, grief caused her mother to be indisposed and she was left to support her family. She was desperate and near starvation when Peeta gave her some bread and suffered punishment for this act of kindness. She is weighted down by the feeling that she owes him 'something'. Ultimately they are expected to kill one another to survive.

Katniss is not in a romantic relationship, but she has a male 'friend'. She met Gale shortly after her father died. They were both struggling to support their families after their fathers died in the same mine blast . Their friendship gradually developed as they helped one another out by sharing their skills. They had an arrangement prior to the drawing that if either was forced to play the other would help out the affected family. Katniss faces an emotional conflict because she later develops a confusing friendship with Peeta. Katniss compares Gale to Peeta several times throughout the story. She trusts Gale entirely while she must question Peeta's motives.

District 12's mentor and adviser is Haymitch, the districts only living survivor. He is an overweight, middle-aged alcoholic. Although he appears to be a deadbeat, he eventually provides valuable advice. It isn't entirely clear as to why he so miserably failed to assist all the previous groups, but apparently a confrontation with Katniss and Peeta got through to him and he realizes he has a 'pair of fighters' this year. I felt this part was a bit weak, and it might have taken a bit more to get through to someone like Haymitch.

Haymitch advises them to spend their training time with other districts by learning things they don't know and avoiding showing what they are best at. They focus on knot tying, trapping, camouflaging, starting fires, making shelters and many of the same things my son is currently learning at boy scout camp. Even though it is 'against the rules' I found it surprising that kids wouldn't try to learn these things in every day life. Instead of playing house 'Lets play the Hunger Games'... If families can't get their act together to stage another revolt, they could at least add learning basic survival life-skills to their evening pastimes. Maybe the odds were too low, they felt it was hopeless, or they were too busy trying to survive ? During their private lessons Peeta and Katniss focus on their 'strengths'. Peeta can lift things and wrestle, and Katniss is an excellent marksman.

After training, contestants participate in what is quite literally a 'finishing' school. They are judged and trained on their abilities, their presentation and an interview. During these events Katniss is in awe as she scrutinizes all the disgusting frivolity and wealth surrounding her. The people of the Capital live a life of grandour while everyone else suffers in poverty. Someone just commented to me today about how all the wealth is America is becoming concentrated in certain areas. Little of it seems to be trickling back down. Something to think about I suppose...

I really liked when Peeta discloses to Katniss that he wants to die as himself, not some murderous savage. He however admits he won't go down without a fight. No religious or spiritual beliefs are mentioned in the story, but it would be onerous to defy basic moral values by killing peers who are forced into the same horrific predicament.

Haymitch's final advice, before they enter the arena, is to go for safety and find a water source. I was a little surprised they didn't ask Haymitch more questions, such as 'What is it like to kill someone ?'.

When they enter the arena there is a horn filled with supplies. Katniss is eying all the supplies which values decrease the further away from the horn they are. I am such a hoarder I would probably die right in the beginning, tussling over supplies. My head would be lopped off in an effort to get a pack of post its. Katniss is more sensible than this and is also deterred by Peeta's insistence to ignore the bow and arrows she has spotted. She ends up with the sheet of plastic, a loaf of bread, an orange backpack with various supplies and the knife a girl from district 12 nearly kills her with. At this point I am rooting "Yeah you can use the plastic to suffocate them in their sleep !" (which doesn't happen)

I thought the part where Katniss was spotted in the tree could have been more convincing (Pg. 183). She is encountered by a group of 6, several of which are Career Tributes. I wasn't sold that anyone couldn't hit her with the bow. Only one tries ? Were they worried about wasting arrows? I know when I am with a group of people it feels like I am always waiting for someone... It seems like they would have found 'some' time to practice if they weren't already skilled. It starts off with Katniss up the tree 20 feet. Cato says he will do better with his sword. She makes it to 50 feet and he falls. She then makes it to 80 feet. I read this while I was outside looking up at redwoods, so hitting someone with a bow and arrow at 80 feet when you are not a 'marksman' might be difficult. They decide she will eventually tire and come down from the tree. While they are sleeping she releases a hive of tracker jackets, a hybrid of hallucinogenic, venomous killer wasps, and of course escapes. I guess when you are with a group, it also takes longer to come up with a sensible plan of action...

I had some difficulty picturing how the mechanics of the arena worked. Page 148 gives a description of the forest layout, where the lake is and so forth. It seems engineered to be easily manipulated by the game masters. The streams and pond are drainable. Its described as an out door arena so it must be really tall walls with an open sky? The temperature can be controlled, lightening can be employed and a buffet table can pop up out out nowhere (hmm...).

I liked the ending. I am really looking forward to the next book. Unfortunately I accidentally looked at the description of book 3 and that gave away what happens in book 2. Hopefully there will still be plenty surprises.

I am also excited about the movie The Hunger Games. Hopefully they won't mess it up. I can't wait to see the costumes ! squee :)

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The Dead-Tossed Waves (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #2) by Carrie Ryan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well... It starts out a little more lively and fun than the The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

This is book two and there is still no clear picture of how society functions. How does the agriculture system work ? There is a mention of trading but how do they get the majority of their food and supplies ? In self sustaining communities, such as the Amish, everyone has to work hard. Things we take for granted (such as laundry, cooking and grooming) would be much more challenging. The youth of Vista are given the option of helping out at home or going to school, but it seems the teens have an abundance of time to hang out and have fun. I couldn't see this as a very realistic picture of life during a zombie apocalypse.

For amusement the teens enjoy sneaking over the fences into the ruins. This brought back fond memories. Sneaking out was once one of my favorite pastimes. All I had to worry about was concerned adults, policemen and my parents. The teens of Vista have the added excitement of zombies.

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The sequence of events loosely follow the same pattern of the last story. The main character Gabry arrives at the realization there is a world outside the barrier, and she is of course love struck. Her supposed best friend, Cira, and her brother Catcher (Gabry's current love interest) pressure her into crossing the Barrier for her first time.

On their way to the ruins, Gabry tells Catcher she doesn't recall a memory he shares from their childhood. She says much of it has been a blur. Memories and stories have tangled together so she doesn't know what is hers and what shes been told. This seemed random and odd. Maybe the world has finally discovered the benefits of farming cannibus or possibly this was a precursor for what Gabry later discovers about who she is and where she came from. I suppose it would be harder to keep track of the milestones of your life without photos...

At the ruins, their adventure goes terribly wrong when they are attacked by a Breaker. In this story we learn a 'Breaker' is a faster more agile zombie, that somehow turns this way when there are no other zombies around. Apparently in isolation, zombies are unable to learn the art of shambling. This is nature's way of ensuring the survival of the zombie population. Huh? I may need to watch more animal planet. This phenomenon would however explain the original Gabrielle character from the last story.

A few of the kids get bitten. Some are so severely bitten they turn instantly. Catcher is bitten but its just a little bite, so he runs away. Before he takes off he persuades Gabry to return home. She makes it back safely without getting caught. For some reason Cira and several of the others, who managed to remain uninfected, stay behind and allow themselves to be caught by the Militia.

I remember there being honor among friends that sneak out and get into trouble, but apparantly things are different when zombies are involved. Cira and the others blame Gabry for not being in their same predicament. They have been given a fairly awful punishment, but it isn't as though their punishment would have been any less severe if Gabry had been sentenced with them. They insist that Gabry should risk her life to locate Catcher.

Gabry feels heartbroken. She doesn't reveal her plans to find Catcher to her mother, but she turns to her for emotional support. Mary admits to Gabry that she loved two men when she was her age. So now Mary recalls loving Harry ? It seemed as though she cared about Harry, but she didn't 'love' him. At least she goes on to say that 'maybe she loved herself more'. Sadly it seems Mary still hasn't let Harry go, even though when she left him he was with her best friend who truly 'loved' him.

If Mary seemed selfish and self involved in the last story... well she certainly doesn't redeem herself here. Gabry has lost all her friends, and her mother decides this is the time to finally disclose shocking details of Gabry's past. Mary tells her she is not her biological mother. She discovered her abandoned and hungry on a path in the forest. Later, Mary asks her daughter to join her for a venture into the forest to discover the fate of people from her past. When Gabry admits she is too scared to accompany her, her 'mother' just leaves her behind. Mary shirks off her duties as the lighthouse keeper and leaves the beach unattended. Gabry is left to deal with the oncoming waves of mudo washing up onto the shore. What a great mom !

My main complaint with Gabry is that she is irritating. This girl needs professional help. She blames herself for everything.

Here are some examples...
Page 3
“ “I don't know...,” I say, twisting my fingers together, wishing I could just say no and be done with it but hating to disappoint my best friend the way I've done too often before."
(apparently she believed she was a huge disappointment to Cira because she didn't go in the river with her.)
Page 27
(Gabry caves into peer pressure and agrees to go over the barrier. She is unable to stave off an attacking zombie and Catcher ends up getting bitten.)
“But I don't. I just stare at the bite and think about how I swung too early. If I'd just waited. If I hadn't been so afraid. I'd known to wait and I couldn't. It's my fault he's infected."
Page 131
(Gabry's mother abandons her.)
“I'm the reason she's gone. She could be hurt out in the Forest. She could be infected and it would be all my fault. Because I made her go alone, too scared to go with her."
Page 228
(Gabry tells Cira the truth about Catcher and Cira decides the only plan of action is to slit her wrists.)
“I can't stand that I'm the one who told Cira her brother was lost and the reason she almost died”.
Page 368
(Gabry and Elias finally kiss and he falls off a ledge.)
“I should have pulled him to me. I should have grabbed him and kissed him again. He wouldn't have fallen otherwise.”

There is no rule that says the main character has to be likable. She is after all only fifteen, and possibly just immature for her age. My favorite example of her immaturity was Page 353 “It's not that Catcher can't be with me. It's that he doesn't want to be with me. He used to make me feel like the most amazing person in the world and now he makes me feel like the worst.” Well... yeah duh, he is still a horny teenage boy even if he is infected and here she is rubbing herself all over him. The poor guy doesn't want to unconsecrate her...

But, yeah I will probably still read the next book...