Monday Meme Spotlight: Books for Boys

    There aren't a lot of books for a male audience in the YA genre at first glance. But if you take a good look, there is a real selection- and a lot of them are growing ever more popular! Here are just a few that I love (and my brother has read them, too).

1. The Maze Runner- James Dashner: I'm on the Maze Runner bandwagon and I'm not ashamed to admit it. (And I loved it before it was cool!) This is an amazing series with fabulous characters, a unique plot, and SERIOUSLY COOL MONSTERS. I still remember being on vacation in Tennessee when the third book, The Death Cure, was released. I had the first two books with me, and once my brother and I had finished re-reading them, I begged my parents to find me a Barnes & Noble or a Borders so I could buy #3. They didn't, but once I got my hands on it, I devoured it like all the rest. This is a great favorite of my whole family, and the movie was really great, too.
     Put a hold on the series here.

2. The Alex Rider series- Anthony Horowitz: In my personal opinion, these books were written solely for boys. They're action-packed, and there's not much in the way of 'mushy feelings' or 'gooey drama'. This is a series that focuses on the teen spy and the way he works through all his assignments, with all sorts of settings and pretty awesome covers, to boot. There's a movie made from the first book, too, both titled Stormbreaker. They really are great books, and Horowitz is an action writer who deserves to be given a chance.
     Check out his books here.

3. The Gone series- Michael Grant: While this is a series not really geared toward boys or girls, it certainly appeals to both. For boys, though, the appeal is obvious: teens trapped in a radioactive, impenetrable dome, mutating into superheroes- or villains- with a sinister monster waiting to destroy them all. There's action, monsters, powers, and that ever-changing struggle between good and evil, which is just what sucks you in to the lengthy series, each book more twisted than the last.
     Grant's BZRK series is also a great one for boys, dealing with nanotechnology and secret wars.
     Click here to see everything Grant has written for teens.

4. The Pendragon series- DJ MacHale: This is a series that spans worlds. The unuiverse in which this series takes place is complex, dangerous, and wildly exciting in a way that few adventure books can claim. Every book (there are 10 in the main series alone, plus side stories) is a new world, a new challenge, with the same ultimate enemy that the main characters have to defeat. I remember the first time I picked up one of these books- it was the sort of book I didn't want to put down, and I didn't want the series to end.
     Find the series here.

     Girl or boy, these are four sets of books by four outstanding authors that will make you happy to be reading instead of watching TV. 

Monday Meme Spotlight: YA Book to Blockbuster Movie

That's right, today's Monday Meme Spotlight is YA books that have been made into movies. 

     Recently there has been a huge influx of YA book adaptations flooding the Hollywood scene. The Hunger Games is a huge deal right now, as is Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, and If I Stay. But is that all there is to YA book to movie adaptations? I have a few favorites I think everyone should see.

1. The Maze Runner- Starring Dylan O'Brien and based on the book series that began in 2010 by James Dashner- The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and the prequel The Kill Order- this is one of my absolute favorite adaptations, especially with the disappointments I've seen in casting, acting, and 'sticking to the book' with other YA books-turned-movies. Click here to be put on the list to read it.

2. The Giver- Starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, and Brendan Thwaites and based off the award-winning 1993 novel by Lois Lowry, this was another recent adaptation that I really enjoyed. The changes made from book to movie were approved by the author, and it kept the integrity and the point of the emotionally jarring book. Click here to get it from the library.

3. The Book Thief- Based off the novel of the same title by Markus Zusak, the book thief takes you through the Holocaust and is narrated by Death. The unique perspective and the way that the characters draw you in makes this a must-read and even a must-see. If you want to read it, click here.

4. I am Number Four- I was a big fan of the adaptation, based on the Lorien Legacies (book 1) by Pittacus Lore. Starring Alex Pettyfer and Teresa Palmer, this movie about aliens on the run was action-packed, had a great plot, and I felt that they did a really good job sticking to the book, even when things got dicey. It's hard to meet expectations when you're dealing with alien creatures and shape-shifting monsters, but I thought they did an awesome job with the descriptions from the book. Click here to order the book to read.

    When it comes to movie adaptations, everyone has a different opinion. But no matter how you view them, they're out there, and there are more and more coming. Maybe your favorite book will make it to Hollywood! And we can always hope that "Philosoraptor" is wrong when he asks:

Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When Thomas first wakes up he finds himself in a metal box moving upward. He only remembers his name, not his parents, where he came from, or any other details. Then the box opens and he arrives in the Glade where a bunch of teenage boys who also have selective amnesia greet him and introduce him to his new life in the center of a large maze.

For two years the Gladers, all boys, have attempted to solve the maze and find a way out, but without any success. A special elite group of Gladers, called runners, court a gruesome death everyday in a maze that is patrolled by mechanical monsters called Grievers. The Gladers have created a society where they keep order by making sure everyone takes part in providing for the needs of those living in the glade. There are those that raise animals for food, those who garden, those who build, those who cook and those who clean up. Thomas must now find his place among the Gladers, but he can’t shake the feeling that he remembers this place.

Then one day, a girl arrives and everything changes. Thomas must look deep into himself to find a way out of the maze once and for all.

At first I found this book thoroughly frustrating. The reader and Thomas have a million questions, yet everyone refuses to answer them. At points I found myself wanting to throw the book across the room, because I felt like I was getting nowhere. As the story progresses, you still don’t get many of the answers you want, but it gets more bearable when you discover that none of the characters have all the answers and that Thomas has more answers and knowledge than most.

This book is action packed and extremely fast paced. There is danger around every corner and even the Glade isn’t safe. Thomas can be a difficult character to like at times, but you do have to admire his boldness. Many of the other characters were interesting and I think I would have enjoyed hearing more from Newt and Minho. It was nice that Thomas had to realize, through the other Gladers, that the solutions they sought were not that easy to come by. In fact the others often reminded him that if the solution was simple they would have found it already.

This was an engrossing, action packed read. Recommended for fans of action books, mysteries, and dystopian futures.

Cautions for sensitive readers: First the obvious, this book is very violent. The Grievers are terrifying and merciless and sometimes the Gladers themselves are violent. There is no sex at all in the book. As for offensive language, the author chose to make up his own types of swear words, so you will often see the word “klunk” used where you would normally see a foul word.

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