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“I am in the Meadow, waiting. I wait slightly outside the clearing, naked because the clothes Clare keeps for me in a box under a stone are not there; the box isn’t there either, so I am thankful that the afternoon is fine, early September, perhaps, in some unidentified year.” At any moment Henry can disappear and then reappear in any time or place, stripped of everything.  He is forced to rely on his wits and uncanny ability for breaking and entering; Henry is a time traveler. Unlike Henry, Clare isn’t a time traveler but fate has brought them together for an experience that is almost unbelievable.

For Henry, life is anything but simple. At any moment he could be taken from his home, the library where he works, or even from the side of the street and be thrown into another time and place.  He is forced to break into places to get money, clothes, weapons, or anything he might need to survive in the brutal world until the next time he travels. Henry has a hard time dealing with life in his mid 20’s, with the death of his mother, and the strained relationship with his father.  Henry doesn’t quite know how to handle the time traveling and uses drinking as a way to cope.

Clare has it easy compared to Henry.  She’s from a wealthy family, with a huge house, and basically anything she’s ever wanted, that is, until she meets Henry when she’s around 6 years old. As a child Clare saw Henry as a thing of the unknown that she looked forward to seeing every once in awhile. But the older she got, the more in love with him she fell, and Henry became something she had to have; the one thing that she couldn’t fully have. Once Clare and Henry are married things don’t get any easier.

This romantic mystery will leave you laughing, crying and wanting to read more. It gets you tangled up in the love they have for each other and completely draws you in.  The Time Travelers’ Wife is a compelling must read.

Reviewed by Sarah M. @ Sabino H. S.

edited by sd

image credit: Google Images

Imagine the world after a nuclear holocaust and it is completely taken over by an elite clan. This story is about a group of kids who are forced to enter a sudden death match in an arena with the victor winning fame and fortune and the losers suffering death by their own team mates’ hands. Peeta Melark and Katniss Everdeen, the main characters in this story, experience drama, love, and (for the more blood thirsty reader) violence. Oh, and there are a bunch of other starving kids in the arena who try to kill each other without weapons.
The genre is the greatest part of this book- it’s action, romance, and drama all together. This book is strictly for 10 years old and above because there is some graphic violence. The setting of this book instills fear into the calcium of your bones but at the same time it keeps you entertained and wanting more. What I personally liked was that it’s as “cool” as the cover says it is. What I mean is that this book doesn’t play around when it comes to the story - it’s deadly serious.

The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, a man who grew up in Afghanistan and later moved to the United States because of the growing turmoil in his homeland.  He thinks back on his childhood days that he spent playing with his best friend, Hassan, and of how he desperately tried to gain the approval of his father.  Although Amir always tries to do the right thing, he is forced to make some difficult decisions that will impact him, Hassan, and all those around him for years to come. 

With rising tensioins in the Middle East in today’s political scene, The Kite Runner  is highly relevant.  Like a true classic, Khaled Hosseini’s debut novel is sure to impact every reader because at its core, this is a story about loyalty, redemption, and the decisions that we all make throughout life.  It provokes thought on not only the conflict in today’s Middle East, but also on human nature at its best and at its worst.

The Kite Runner  is a fantastic book!  It does deal with some adult themes and difficult issues, and should be read by a mature audience.

Genre:  Historical fiction / Realistic fiction                        Rating:  5-cactus points

Reviewed by:  Hiliary @ Sahuaro High School

Edited by:      kb

Photo credit:  Google Images

photo courtesy of Google

I was into this book quickly and wanted to read it all in one sitting. Liga’s father sexually abuses her, and what’s even worse, is when she gets pregnant he buys a concoction from the local crazy witch that will force abortions. Just when we think Liga is safe, because her father gets killed coming back from the witch’s house yet another time, a group of town thugs break into Liga’s house and gang rape her, resulting in another pregnancy. Liga is so broken she contemplates suicide, but is magically saved by being granted a safe haven in an alternative world. Filled with magic, midgets, man-bears, and parallel worlds, this was a commendable first novel for Lanagan. Most of us know her short stories. Like a car wreck, the scenes are so graphic, it’s hard to read and yet disturbingly enough, hard to put down. Not for younger readers.

Cynthia Cruz, Howenstine, TUSD

Photo courtesy of Google

     At what point does one’s life become more important than one’s humanity? The United States becomes a divided, post-apocalyptic country, and it is a very brutal setting indeed. 12 Districts surround the Capitol, which lay somewhere in the Rockies, where each year 24 contestants compete in  The Hunger Games (a gruesome, televised fight to the death). Katniss volunteers to replace her younger, weaker sister, Prim, as the lottery winner. Katniss is a bow hunter, albeit illegal, in her home district and stands a much better chance at survival. Her male counterpart, Peeta, also from District 12, becomes her only ally in the Games when the Gamemakers change the rules mid-way. There is just enough forshadowing to lure the reader into reading more, but not enough to give away the plot, which twists and turns through the realistic, everchanging landscape of the arena.  The Hunger Games is part fantasy, part romance, a plethora of adventure, and a not-so-quiet questioning of one’s philosophy of war and its impact on the psyche.  I anxiously await the next book in the trilogy.  If you don’t have this book, run, don’t walk to the closest bookstore and buy it.

 Cynthia Cruz- Howenstine-12/08.