NJ: Young Fantasy Reads Book Group (Paramus) discussion

This is the Thread for Books Read by the Young Fantasy Reads Book Group in 2010:

IMPOSSIBLE, Impossible 1...............................Nancy Werlin.....................11/18/10
CORALINE..........................................................Neil Gaiman.......................10/21/10
GO, MUTANTS!..................................................Larry Doyle........................09/16/10
ALICE IN WONDERLAND..................................Lewis Carroll.....................08/19/10
KNIGHTLEY ACADEMY, K A 1...........................Violet Habedasher............07/15/10
REFORMED VAMPIRE SUPPORT GROUP.........Catherine Jinks.................06/17/10
ENDER'S GAME, Ender 1...................................Orson Scott Card...............05/20/10
THE HUNGER GAMES, Katniss 1......................Suzanne Collins................04/15/10

The following accounts are reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 2010 Philip J De Parto:


IMPOSSIBLE
IMPOSSIBLE is based on the Simon and Garfunkle song, Scarborough Fair, which was in turn based on a series of medieval ballads. The Werlin novel concerns the Scarborough family cursed by a haughty elf knight who had been spurned centuries ago by an ancestor. The curse will not be broken until a first born daughter solves the riddle and performs three impossible tasks.

Latricia examined the work within the context of contemporary YA relationship literature. Phil focused on the work as a sfnal problem solving puzzle.

CORALINE
The discussion included the book itself, as well as the graphic novel and movie adaptations.

GO, MUTANTS!
Larry Doyle's previous book was the bestseller, I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER. While there are many clever touches to his current work, the group felt GO, MUTANTS! was unlikely to repeat Cooper's success.

Mutants! is set on a mash up parallel Earth where the sci-fi movies of the 50s and 60s were actually documentaries. There were alien invasions, giant monsters, mad scientists and other shocks to the American way of life. There are a number of other differences as well. The Giants never beat the Dodgers because the Shot Heard Round the World was really a blast from a flying saucer which vaporized Ralph Branca's fly ball. Tom and Jerry never changed their name to Simon and Garfunkle, and their hits were a bit different.

The hero of GO, MUTANTS! is Jim Anderson, rebellious teenage offspring of Miw, a sultry female cat-woman who works at a xeno sex-club with the Devil-Girl from Mars, and the head of the alien invaders. Jim is in love with Marie Rand, whose father is a mad scientists and whose mother is The Brain That Wouldn't Die.

This is a book that baby boomer science fiction / rock and roll fans will get, but I'm not sure about anyone else.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND / THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
The discussion encompassed both the works themselves and their various movie adaptations.

KNIGHTLEY ACADEMY
The pair took turns reading reviews of the work from amazon.com. While many reviewers pointed out the similarities between the book and the Harry Potter novels, one reviewer detailed how both works were solidly within the longstanding genre of British Boarding School adventures.

One can shorthand the book as saying it's Harry Potter, but for knights instead of wizards. This is a fantasy world, but there is no magic--a pretty daring decision by the author. The bad guys, at least the English bad guys, have a reason for their villainy. The foreign baddies are mostly off stage in this opening volume of the series. The cadets' training in medical practices is a particularly nice touch.

THE REFORMED VAMPIRE SUPPORT GROUP
The work by Australian author Catherine Jinks was quite entertaining, and features the sorriest group of non glamourous vampires as you will ever encounter. We thank Taras Wolansky for recommending the work. Club members Philip De Parto and Latricia Markle also attended.

ENDER'S GAME
Karen and Barry were reading it for the first time while Phil and Taras had re-read it. We talked about the publishing history of the work, from its conception to the original magazine publication as a novelette, and to the sequels and related novels. We covered the plot, characters and the ideas of the work. Phil thought that the scene where a group of boys corner Ender in the shower was particularly effective.

THE HUNGER GAMES
The group discussed HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins, a YA dystopic Survivor-meets-American Idol. Phil and Latricia co-moderate the event and each had their own approach to the work, with Phil focusing on plot and world-building and Latricia concentrating on the book's appeal to young readers. After the discussion, everyone except an early departing Pam went to the Tom Sawyer Diner.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had mixed feelings about the world of The Hunger Games. I liked how heroic Katniss Everdeen was at the beginning and end of the book, but to be honest, I really didn’t like her. She was a bit too selfish for my taste and I didn’t enjoy being inside her head. I found her realistic as a character, almost a typical teen. I understood her need for survival which is what really what kept me reading.

The action in the book was a little more graphic than I expected and certainly wouldn’t recommend it for sensitive readers, but if you are able to remind yourself “It’s only a story” then I certainly recommend this high energy read.

Check out my review on my website: http://www.writeralina.com/2011/02/24...