Monday, February 23, 2009

Skellig by David Almond

Skellig by David Almond is a story about a boy named Michael. Michael's infant sister is born incredibly ill and the entire family changes as a result. They move to an old house and Michael begins to explore the property. He finds an old dilapidated shed in the back yard and, hiding inside, Michael meets Skellig, a strange old man on the brink of death. Michael also meets a neighbor, Mina, who is home schooled, and introduces Michael to an entirely different way of thinking and learning. Michael lets Mina in on the secret of Skellig and the two begin nursing him back to health with positive thinking and Chinese food. All the while, Michael's parents are in and out of the hospital with his baby sister. Eventually, the baby needs an operation and Michael and Mina decide to move Skellig to an abandoned house close to where they live. Everything comes together at the end with the outcome of the operation and the disappearance of Skellig.

This book was a quick read. The story was very sweet! I really felt for Michael - torn between his school pals and his new, yet strange, friend Mina. I could understand Michael and his family's sorrow over the sick child. I got truly involved with the characters, and that, to me, is what makes a book great.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is about Bella, a girl who moves from sunny Phoenix to the rain capital of the world, Forks, Washington, to live with her dad because her mom is on the road with her baseball playing new husband. While in Forks, despite thinking she will hate living there, Bella meets Edward Cullen and immediately realizes there is something "different" about him. Eventually, she discovers that he and his entire family are actually vampires who dine on animals, rather than people. Bella and Edward fall in love. Edward works hard at keeping Bella safe (mostly from her own clumsy ways) and enters the fight of his life when James, a tracker vampire, sets his sights on her. James lures Bella away from the safety of Edward's family. It is up to the Cullens to find her and save her from whatever terrible fate James has in store for her.

Ok, so I've read this one before. It is definitely one of my favorite books of all time. When I read it again this time it was like I had gotten a surprise email from a long-lost friend and was reconnecting with someone I really missed. I know that sounds dorky... I love the fact that the heroine, Bella, is a normal, plain-looking, clumsy girl and NOT a supermodel. The relationship that develops between Bella and Edward is so innocent and sweet, despite the fact that Edward is a "monster". It's just a great book all around. AND, the movie comes out on DVD on Tuesday, March 21st! Yeah!