ALIEN INVASION, ANYONE?

Two years, ago, the popularity of Rick Yancey's The Fifth Wave revealed that the epoch of aliens had arrived in the library. These aliens are the nasty kind, determined to annihilate the human species and enjoy this beautiful planet on their own.

THE FIFTH WAVE by Rick Yancey

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. 

The Fifth Wave movie is out in January when the last book in the trilogy will be published. Book Two, The Infinite Sea, is also available in the library.



TRIPODS by John Christopher

Long ago, the Tripods--huge, three-legged machines--descended upon Earth and took control. Now people unquestioningly accept the Tripods' power. They have no control over their thoughts or their lives.

But for a brief time in each person's life--in childhood--he is not a slave. For Will, his time of freedom is about to end--unless he can escape to the White Mountains, where the possibility of freedom still exists. 

This series is not new, but consistently gets great reviews for its action and suspense. Here's one reviewer's comments.

This book doesn't age at all -- it just as fresh and readable and compelling as it must have been in 1967 when it was first published. The narrator is young Will Parker, still a child, not yet initiated into adulthood via the

mysterious "capping" ceremony, where the child is taken briefly away by towering metal creatures called Tripods and fitted with a metal disc in the skull. This metal cap brings with it a sense of peace and deep desire to serve the Tripods. This divide between the Capped and not-yet-Capped is a deep gulf, interfering even with the closeness of the relationships between parents and children. At the beginning of the story, Will is just beginning to act on youthful urges towards mischief. Disturbed by the change he sees in his closest friend, who has just been Capped, Will takes a chance offered to him by a stranger to escape and make his way from Britain to the continent and into the Alps -- which, a century in the future when this story is set, are now called just the White Mountains. Will faces and overcomes hunger, sickness, and temptation and learns, by fits and starts, how to forge bonds of friendship and trust with two other boys making the journey with him. 


EARTHGIRL by Janet Edwards

Jarra is stuck on Earth while the rest of humanity portals around the universe. But can she prove to the norms that she’s more than just an Earth Girl?

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.

A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.

Fans of the I am Number Four books will know that the sixth and final book, The Fate of 

Ten, will be in stores tomorrow. For those new to the series, here's an introduction.

I AM NUMBER FOUR by Pitacus Lore

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books--but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next. 

If you want a truly out-of-this-world reading experience, drop into the library and ask for recommendations or try one of the series here.

Change is on the way......

Next year sees some big changes: Heritage Park welcomes grades 7 to 9 students, both English and French Immersion, to become a middle school. The library has also undergone a transformation, which will be discussed in future posts. As August moves towards September, I'll be gearing up for regular posts, but first I am going to attempt to change the name of the blog. In  about a week, expect to see BookBuzz: News and Reviews from the EHPMS Library. The blog address will be BookbuzzEHPMS.blogspot.ca.

As always, there will be lots of exciting new books to discuss. Stay tuned!

Read the movie...

Most movies begin with books these days. As much as I enjoy a good film, I have found the experience of reading to be  much richer and more satisfying. If you saw Seventh Son last weekend, you might be interested to know that it is based on an amazing fantasy series called The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney.

Coming this week is another film based on a popular book, The DUFF by Kody Keplinger. This is YA contemporary at its best. It's rare that this novel is on the shelf, so I've responded to the movie by buying three new copies. Here's a peek...

RED RISING by Pierce Brown

It takes some time for a great book to become part of our universal consciousness much like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Divergent. There is a book languishing on the shelf despite the fact that it might well be the best book published last year, and I thought I might give it a push for the students of HPSS. Last fall I recommended Red Rising to a reluctant reader in grade 11; he was back in the library yesterday anxious for the sequel, Golden Son. We talked about the book and his praise reminded me of just how good this series is.

Here is a review.

Sometimes an author comes along and writes a book so fascinating that it takes readers by storm. RED RISING is THAT book. Debut Novelist Pierce Brown blends the past, present and future together in a novel that if you haven't read yet, you'll want to soon because it is all you're going to be hearing about.

Darrow is a Red. He is sixteen years old and a slave. He is what is known as a "Helldiver". He drills deep into the miserable bowels of the planet Mars mining for elements that would make the surface of the planet inhabitable as Earth has become overpopulated and dominated. All Reds are slaves. Only, they don't really know it.

Darrow is married to Eo. They grow up much more quickly living under the surface of Mars. Eo is beautiful, and also a Red. She loves Darrow and has dreams that they will escape this life under the surface. Eo knows they are enslaved. And she's willing to go to her grave for freedom. And she does exactly that in an act of rebellion.

Heartbroken and determined to avenge Eo's death, Darrow allows himself to be recruited by a mysterious faction whose plan it is to infiltrate the Golds. The Golds are those who are the elite; those who enslave the Reds; and those who hold the lie that the surface of Mars is uninhabitable when it is already inhabited. To do this, Darrow must become a Gold. He must undergo a complete and painful transformation to make him stronger, taller and more golden.... And only then, will he be accepted into their "Academy" where he will compete against other Golds for prestigious placement in their hierarchy.

The battle in the academy among the "students" who are separated into 12 houses is brilliant writing. Utterly brilliant. Words form the artwork in your mind that creates vivid canvases that come to life as the battle scenes play out. Many of the scenes are gruesome. All of the scenes are vivid, meticulous and smart.

The characters that are created in this whole new world that takes the mystery of the Roman gods and combines it with the sad history of slavery and class warfare and today's societal ills, are built upon, nuance by nuance, until they seem as if they're fighting for you. Not only are we given the gift of Darrow as our main character, but watch for other players in this game, especially Servo, Mustang and Rogue. These are exciting and complex characters.

This is supposed to be a book for young adults. And it is, I suppose. But don't be fooled by the genre, this book has it all~~the dystopian society, science fiction, romance, mystery and it THRILLS. Though comparisons could be made to THE HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT and THE PARK SERVICE, this book is somehow different, somehow, more evolved. Anxiously awaiting January 2015 to find out what happens in GOLDEN SON (Red Rising Trilogy #2).

I'll Give You the Sun

For those of you who love originality, art and John Green's books, I give you your next great read, I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. There is a terrific review of this glorious novel on Reading Rants, just click on the link and scroll down a bit.

Another year of great books!

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a chance to spend some of the holiday curled up with a wonderful story.

2015 is already looking like a promising year for lots of excitement in the library. The new bookmarks were revealed on Tuesday and they have flown into readers' hands. Don't worry, I'm getting more printed. For the second time, the drop box was filled to overflowing with students returning their holiday books and there have been long lines of patrons requesting the next in the series or a new series or more books by this author - more, more, more books! Every day new books arrive and many are hotly anticipated. The sequel to Red Rising by Pierce Brown arrived this morning; it is called Golden Son and will be ready to check out tomorrow. Firefight continues the story of Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. A graphic novel series, Gunnerkrigg Court, is now available; it will delight the Courtney Crumrin fans.

There are books for everyone in our library. Come in and browse or ask for some recommendations - matching the right reader with the perfect book is my goal and I have many more hits than misses. (I love a challenge.)