Quarter 2 Annotated Reading List

WITCH AND WIZARD

Patterson, James. Witch and Wizard. Little Brown Publishing Company, 2009. Print.

Witch and Wizard is a tale about an epic adventure about a sister and brother who were torn from their family in the middle of the night, slammed into prison, and accused of being a witch and a wizard. After being taken away, Whit and Wisty soon came to realize that they were not the only ones who were being accused of this "treachery." Thousands of other children had been kidnapped, accused, and now some were even missing. They begin fearing the worst, and are very unsure about their fate. They will stop at nothing to suppress art and magic, and just the pursuit of being a normal teenager.
I agree with the critics of this novel that the main purpose of Witch and Wizard is to describe and metaphorically explain the difficulties of being a "normal" teenager. I think that the underlying reason for writing this book was to give the teenagers who read it, something to relate to. However, the possibility of reaching the goal of a "normal" teenager is virtually impossible. We are all different, like different things, and think different ways. It may be a long, and slightly tough journey, but in the end, we will all get through it.

336 pages


THE HUNGER GAMES

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic Book Publishing Company, 2008. Print.

As negative Utopias go, Suzanne Collins has created a dilly. The United States is gone. North America has become Panem, a TV-dominated dictatorship run from a city called the Capitol. The rest of Panem is divided into 12 Districts (the former 13th had the bad judgment to revolt and no longer exists). The yearly event in this "nightmare world" is a competition called the Hunger Games, a violent reality show where 24 teenagers are chosen by lottery and are forced to fight...to the death. The winner gets a life of ease. The novel leads the reader into a world that they have never witnessed before.
Collins is an efficient no-nonsense author but with a pleasantly dry sense of humor. His characters are strong, fierce, yet also lovable. The main heroine, Katniss Everdeen, lives in a desperately poor community, and when her little sister's name is chosen for the Hunger Games, her entire life takes a turn. If anything, her sister is the only one that she truly cares for, and she does not want her to compete in the life-threatening event, thus leading to Katniss volunteering to take her sister's place. Not only does she now have to compete in for a district that hasn't produced a hunger game winner in years, but she also is in the middle of a love triangle. She has the option of choosing her newly found love interest, Peeta, or she can choose her kinda-sorta crush/hunting partner, Gale. Throughout the novel, the author allows you to dig deeper into to Katniss' life and learn more about the deeper meaning and purpose of the character.

374 pages


FOUND

Haddix, Margaret. Found. Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, 2008. Print.

In the novel, Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, the main character, Jonah, has always known that he was adopted. He has never thought much of this. Early on in the book, he meets and befriends a new neighbor, Chip, who he comes to find out is also adopted. Soon, they both begin receiving mysterious letters. These letters contain information and threats such as "You are one of the missing," and "Beware! They are coming back to get you." Chip, Jonah, and his sister Katherine plunge into an adventure involving the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, and an airplane that completely appeared out of nowhere. The kids become trapped, and later discover that they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip's lives.
Haddix has produced this wonderful mystery solely for the purpose of pleasing readers, and reeling them into an adventure they keeps them turning page after page. I did enjoy reading this novel, not only for its interesting plot, but also for its historical significance. Haddix includes many references to past events in history that she somehow manages to tie into the plot her book. This was a very interesting and refreshing twist to an author's writing style.

320 pages