Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

I was simply in awe of this book, because it teaches so much that you hardly notice the lessons. The story follows Marcus and his friends and gives you a glimpse of the probable near future both technologically and politically. This book teaches the history of hacking, yippies, hippies, the Civil Rights Movement, the Internet, codes, ciphers, code breaking, computer networks, and so much more but perfectly interwoven in a gripping and fascinating plot. This story delves into personal rights, first love, true friendship, and the dangerous trade off of privacy for security. I don't really know what else to say except read it.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This book was a haunting, fascinating account of a young woman and her journey towards suicide. Her name is Hannah Baker, and this dirty dozen of reasons is actually thirteen people. She has recorded her last thoughts on thirteen audio tapes to be sent to the people included and as each layer is peeled back you come to understand her a little more.

Considering the subject matter, this book was not as dark as I expected it to be. More than anything I found it to be a reminder of how important it is to be kind and considerate to others, to reach out to them, and that even a casual cruelty no matter how small or well deserved it may seem at the time can be absolutely destructive, and can create permanent damage to whoever you are lashing out at. There are so many people like Hannah Baker out there, people who seem fine but are teetering on the brink of despair. It has been a couple of months since I finished the book, but I still find myself thinking about it. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I know I've posted about this book twice already, but this is just in case someone who has not read it and does not want to read the spoilers is curious.

Hunger Games follows the story of Katniss, a tough cookie whose main priority in life is providing for her family. In this world, a North America that has been torn apart by natural disaster, and then civil rebellion, only end up under the thumb of the modern metropolis, the Capitol; life is rough for those on the fringe, like Katniss, but sweet and full of technology and distraction for those in the Capitol. I found this to be a perfect illustration of how the 1st world seeks diversion while the 3rd world countries dies slowly of hunger, which is a key theme. This book is deep, engrossing, and ridiculously entertaining. I found the characters easy to identify with, and the dark story told with just enough touches of despair to be effective, but not so much that I closed the book feeling depressed. I look forward to the squeal.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

"Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac" by Gabrielle Zevin

I just finished this book, and the book group does not meet until the 26th, so I am typing up some of my ideas before I forget them.

This book was deeply absorbing. I read the first sentence on my way to the car from the library, and then a bit in the car, and (I must admit) a bit at the stoplight, and despite all my good intentions to clean, I made dinner and then continued to read until I had turned the last page. I love the way Young Adult novels are written, the way the stories unfold. Perhaps it's because I have more in common with this heroine, than I have with the protagonists of the last few books I've read. I have been through high schools and re-marriages and broken families. I practically lived in the theatre of my old high school, the passage about the "dingy red velvet seats and its scuffed wooden stage" really gave me warm fuzzies.

I like how the writing is at turn hopefully, bitter, sarcastic, introspective, judging, regretful . . . it really traces the patterns of a young mind. The love bits were not overly soppy, which was good because I was not in the mood for soppiness. The book just took me right back the confusion and chaos of high school, viewing it from the shelter of the present I can find it amusing and even alien.

I'm going to have to stew for a while longer before I really have a better formed opinion, but I am so glad I picked it up, it was an evening well spent.