Saturday, May 26, 2012

Making Progress

It's taking me quite a while to get into this second book, due to the business of summer, But slowly, and surely, I shall finish this book. The book I'm currently reading is "The House of The Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer. I'm nearly half way through, but I will eventually finish this thing.: )

So far this is yet another book, about strange DNA, and has a science fiction genre. In this book however, I see a deeper meaning. The main character, Matt, is a clone of a nearly 140 year old man. The book is showing how Matt grows up in a society that doesn't accept him. Clones are frowned upon in this society, because all other clones are injected pre-birth in order to kill all emotions. However Matt is different ... Matt has emotions, and he also has a brain. As he grows older we see that he attends school, and learns just like the rest of the kids, however he must be home schooled because people don't accept a clone.

The deeper meaning evident in this book, is judgement, people judge Matt because of who he is, and that's just wrong. I kind of understand where Matt's story is coming from however. Today's society tends to be the same way. We judge people based on who they are, what they look like, or what they wear. Those who are judged feel left out, just like Matt in the book. He feels left out, however he still manages to make friends, and eventually fall in love.

So far this book would be one I would recommend, especially if you like to read about other societies, and fictional circumstances, I quite enjoy it so far... So I guess I'll read on, and read more about Matt... And as always, Happy reading : )

Friday, May 18, 2012

The Virals by Kathy Reichs



I started reading this book, due to my addiction with this author, she lives a double life as a forensic anthropologist, and writes books and a show in her spare time, this one, being her first for young adults. I'd never read another book by her, however I watched her show that she writes, I'm sure you've seen it on Fox, it's called "Bones." It's about this forensic anthropologist who works with her everyday surroundings and just manages to live day in and day out, when she's madly in love with her coworker of an FBI agent.

But anyway, enough about the show, onto the book. This book is actually the beginning of a trilogy. I found that this book was a combination of several genres. It was a little bit sci-fi, and a little of a mystery. Now trying not to tell you the entire plot line, I'll tell you a little bit about what it's about.

The Virals is a book about four children who live on a deserted island. The main character, Tory Brennan, is fourteen years old. Tory has always been one for adventures, and with a Forensic
Anthropologist as an aunt, and a Marine Biologist as a father, I'm sure that's not too hard to find. Tory's mother died as she was a little girl. She then had to go live on Loggerhead Island with her father whom she's never known in her life. Loggerhead Island, is where she befriends three other children around the same age, who all happen to be major lovers of science and adventure; Which later on in the book, seems to get them in a little bit of trouble.

After making friends with a stray wolfdog, an animal crossbred as half wolfe, half dog, the children end up finding some things out that changed their lives forever. They steal the wolfdog from a secret lab, thinking the lab was going to do testing on it, however it was them they were protecting. The wolfdog contained a serious strand of parvovirus, that is very infectious to humans, and will change their DNA forever.

Along with this adventure, there's one more thing to add to this plot twist. The children find a dead body on a neighboring island, and choose to keep it quiet from the officials, now with the help of no one, they must solve this nearly 40 year old murder, and find the killer which may just be after them as well. The only thing they have going for them, is their dog like senses, which assist in finding evidence in the case, as well as the murderer.

This book is definitely one I would reccomend. It's a suspenseful story, with a little bit of a twist. The story as well, is one that keeps the reader engaged right from the get go. As the plot unwinds the reader may find his or herself dropping their chin from time to time, and maybe even feeling a little frightened because with the Virals, you never know what's going to happen at any given time. As for the author, she is well written, and definitely knows what she is talking about with a world full of crime around her. You can most certainly bet I'll be reading more from her in the future... Happy Reading : )

The beginning of a blog.

I guess I'd like to start off this blog by telling you what it's all about. My blog, Through the pages, is a blog where I read books, and sort of write reviews on them. This blog really started out as a way for me to occupy myself during this abnormally long summer break, but I hope I can extend it past summer, and maybe continue to blog later on as well. The books I will be reading can range in genre, anything from mystery, to horror, maybe even a little romance or non-fiction. Most books I read however, will generally be those for young adults. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my blog, and might find a few books that interest to your fancy...remember, you'll always make it through the pages, but you won't enjoy what you don't read. : )