ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that... Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power. He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...
Publisher: Graphia
Pages: 224
From Goodreads: "A diabolical pied piper comes to town in the the seventh installment of this hot paranormal mystery series. High school freshman Jessica Walsh is a virago, a woman warrior who must protect her hometown from danger. And in the unusual little town of Nightshade, California, trouble is always lurking. At Nightshade’s Battle of the Bands, Jess’s boyfriend Dominic and his band Side Effects May Vary are up against Hamlin, a band so popular that their fans follow them everywhere. Soon, Nightshade’s musicians are doing risky, illegal and even fatal things—and claiming that strange music they heard right before falling asleep told them to do it. Could a diabolical pied piper be sabotaging the Battle of the Bands? It’s up to Jessica and her friends track down the tuneful tyrant."
Like I stated in my review of the previous book in this series "Dead Is A Battlefield" this book didn't really do it for me (I found the characters and situations to be a bit too juvenile for my tastes, the sheer number of characters overwhelming, etc.). That being said, since I reviewed "Dead Is A Battlefield" I have learned that these books are ALA (American Library Association) Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Therefore, while as a reader they may not be entirely to my liking, as a future-librarian I appreciate them more than you can imagine!
The strengths of these books reluctant reader-wise is that they are extremely short, before you know it you have finished it (which always gives a reader, no matter their reading level, a sense of accomplishment for doing so). Furthermore, they present a twist on the paranormal- I mean, have you ever heard of a virago (woman warrior) or read a modern adaptation of the Pied Piper of Hamelin before? Additionally, the world that Perez has built is quite unlike any I have ever encountered before- each and every character is connected in some way, shape, or form to another. Therefore, if you are a fan of the series, you can be guaranteed to see your favourite characters time and time again (while constantly developing new favourites)!
As becomes evident, on a personal level I think that my largest factor impacting my opinion of this series is that I am outside of its targeted audience- I feel that those in the lower ends of the YA spectrum (if not older MG readers) will gobble these up in a heartbeat and ask for seconds! Furthermore, despite my complaints I don't ever feel like I have wasted my time reading this books- they do present me with an hour or so of entertainment that is much appreciated. On a librarian level I recommend them to any reluctant readers or those looking for a different take on the paranormal!
Rating: 3/5
I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.
Nhận xét
Đăng nhận xét