Brave New World, by Aldus Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book has been on my to-read shelf since my junior year in high school (so about 15 years). Well, funny enough, the teen book club that I host at the Carson City Library chose this book to read as their January book (YES! They chose a classic!), so finally had the opportunity to stop putting off reading it. It began as I expected- a 1932 vision of what the future might hold. Surprisingy, some things have come to pass, where as others... I shudder to think, still could. The idea of Stability, sought out to the point of opression of all strong emotion, is a scary thought, even if it does end wars. Soma. For drug induced holidays and happiness. Yikes. The book ended differently than I had hoped it would, but completely understand why it had to happen that way. Aldus Huxley accomplished in me what I think he meant to- this book was written to draw forth strong emotions and got my brain whirling. Made me never want to see a world in which this one takes place~

View all my reviews >>

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a great book at perhaps a third grade reading level, for those kids just getting into the longer chapters. They aren't long and introduce more difficult words, but not too often. A touching story with a predictable ending, but still not quite how I'd imagined. Peter is a lovely boy, one any mom would be proud to call her own. It said on the back cover that it is a must read-aloud book, and I quite agree. For those of you that like to read in the car on long trips~ :)

View all my reviews >>