One of my favorite books of all time is Unwind by Neal Shusterman. The epic story takes place after a second civil war, fought over the morality and legality of abortion leads to peace through the Unwind Accords. This agreement outlaws abortion...however, from the ages of 13 to 18 any child may be unwound by their parents.
Beatrice has grown up in post-apocalyptic Chicago, where the community is divided into 5 factions, each focused on a different value. Candor values honest, Amity values happiness, Erudite values information, Dauntless values courage and Beatrice's faction, Abnegation values selflessness. But Beatrice isn't a very good member of Abnegation, selflessness doesn't seem to come naturally to her like it does for her brother Caleb or her mother. At 16, every member of the community undergoes the test to find out what faction they will choose to live in as an adult.
I approached Mockingjay with a bit of apprehension. You know when there is something you really love you worry that the author/creator might ruin it with one swift stroke of the pen? That is the anxiety I felt leading up to the release of Mockingjay. How could you possibly end a series as great as the Hunger Games? Would Katniss survive? What would happen to Panem!? Although I liked Mockingjay it was certainly not a satisfying book.
Tally is painfully aware that she is hideously ugly. But she is about to turn the much anticipated 16, and where Tally lives your 16th birthday marks the day you get full body plastic surgery. This is surgery unheard of in modern science, it isn't just some botox and a face-lift. This alters you forever. The doctors can change you hair, eye and skin colors, your bone structure, your curves, your muscles, your teeth, and more. It is a full body overhaul. Tally is looking forward to her 16th birthday and imagining how pretty she will be once the surgery is over.
I was one of those kids who grew up with Transformers so I must admit that there is a soft spot in my heart for any of the Tranformers movies. I was a little anxious to see the latest installment because I heard some pretty bad reviews from fans but I did go pay my $10 (dang movies are expensive) to check it out this weekend. And I am glad I didn't listen! I thought it was an awesome action movie and not too shabby of a plot! I am a big action freak so I love even the worst action flicks but this one just had so much more.
The Hunger Games is the story of North America after an apocalyptic war has broken out. Now the continent is made up of 12 districts, ruled over by a wealthy capitol city. Each year, to remind the districts of their loss in the war and how powerless they are, the Capitol chooses two teenagers from each district to participate in a reality TV show. The participants, called tributes are chosen at random from a lottery, one boy and one girl.
