Sunday, June 17, 2007

Sci Fi Choices


This isn't exactly a new book, but it's won a ton of awards and acclaim, and therefore I've been meaning to read it for a while. I am glad I did! I found this book an interesting study of our potential near-future in terms of what is possible with cloning technology, societal and government choices. How far will we go to live longer? What should be the boundries for technology in medicine? And tapping into real-time current events, how should our government handle the issue of illegal immigration? Follow our protagonist, Matt, as he discovers his history, his present, and his frightening future and then report back here what you think of the novel!



I am all the way through Pretties/Uglies/Specials at this point, but I just discovered that Paul Westerfeld is now intending to put out a fourth installment in the "trilogy" called Extras. Therefore, we can assume that our protagonist Tally Youngblood will hoverboard onward! For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you'll just have to give it a read. :)

This series deals with What It Means To Be Perfect, and how far we should go to get there. It also tackles the idea of what the world would be like if we were all almost the same-- would that be better or worse? How important is our individuality? I also like the way Westerfeld talks about the government in these stories-- even if the people are happy, how much power is too much?

Hey guys, even though there is a female narrator and, I admit, there are some girly moments in these stories (and on the covers-- why would they do that?!!), it would be interesting if you could bring yourself to read them too, because I would love to hear your opinions on this futuristic world that could be right around the corner!

Also, what other sci fi recommendations do you have?

:)
Mrs. P

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm not done but it is real good.i love it.

Mrs. P said...

I think you'll continue to like them more as you read through the series, Danica-- the story line gets very interesting. The fourth one comes out very soon!
Mrs. P

Anonymous said...

this book sounds really good.

Anonymous said...

this book sounds really good and look good.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the sujestion i have been looking for good books to read and this looks and sound like one I would like to read!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the book, but I found it kind of disturbing. I think that the author could have made it less scary, because I felt like I didn't want to know what happened next, in case it was too.. hmm. I can't think of the right word.

Anonymous said...

this book sounds goood i might check it out ive read others comments sounds good

Anonymous said...

ugles is a very good book and we would recomend it to enyone how likes a good book.

Mrs. P said...

Interesting comment, Sarah! I think the author intentionally made Uglies scary, don't you? I think it's a cautionary tale, written to warn us about being too vain, losing our individuality to a group mentality (becoming one of the "herd"), and/or putting too much blind faith into the government. All of those concepts are scary indeed.

Let me know if you continue to read the series; I'll be very interested to see what you think of they way the books progress!

:)
Mrs. P

Mrs. P said...

Hey You Bloggers!
Has anyone read House of the Scorpion? I really enjoyed this book. It's sci fi, but Matt is a very real kid, very much like anyone you would know, and I think having a main character that might live next door to you makes the book more interesting. Give it a read and see what you think. WARNING: You may read this for class in the 8th grade, so if you don't enjoy the re-reading of books, you may hold off on this one!
:)
Mrs. P

Anonymous said...

Ok sorry I left a comment on Uglies on the Eldest book on accident so here is my REAL comment. Uglies is very good so far and its esspecialy fun with friends:) It has a lot of suspense and sorta sad at parts.

Cloud 117 AKA Deliamator!!!(Liam)^-^ said...

I really liked The House of the Scorpion, it was an awesome read. The use of the word eejit was hilarious! I never thought I would laugh that much! It ended well. I also use a quote in the book in my English report for speak; you know tree symbolizes life in so many books.

This blog is such a good idea!

-Liam Meakins

Anonymous said...

I finally read it. It was a little disappointing, though. After all the hype--and many people telling me to read it, I didn't really like it.

And Extras, actually is a companion novel. I suppose it does mention Tally, but the story is about a girl named Aya.

Anonymous said...

can someone give me a short description on this book? I've seen it before in bookstores and our WONDERFUL library! So write back soon! Talk to ya later = TTYL!

Mrs. P said...

Everchanging is correct--
Extras will actually be a "companion" novel, so the setting will be similar/the same, but the characters will be different. I'm sorry you were disappointed, EC! What was it that turned you off the book?

To anonymous-- Uglies is pretty thoroughly outlined in Wikipedia. Try the link at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uglies to get a good gander at the book!
:)
Mrs. P

Anonymous said...

I havn't read it yet is it good?

Anonymous said...

My sister read this book, and we own it. I'm going to read it soon. I looks GREAT!

Anonymous said...

THIS BOOK LOOKS GREAT! My sister owns it, and I want to read the whole series! They look like great books!

Anonymous said...

i was going to read it is it good i really want to know.

Mrs. P said...

Obviously I enjoyed the series, but some people do not... would anyone else like to tell Birch what they liked and/or did not like about the Uglies/Pretties/Specials books?

:)
Mrs. P

pink_pearl said...

this book was very.. eye catching. in a good way. i loved it. it was twisty and totally original.