Incarceron, Shiver, and Cut

Hello All!

I have been busy reading this week and have found some great reads. There is nothing like reading to let you travel to new lands and get inside the head of a character.

The first book that I read is a fairly new release. I was able to buy a set of books for teachers at Scholastic that included three of the books that had just come out in May or early June. This book is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. The premise of the book is a little bit far-fetched but it is another of the doomsday plots where in the future the people have made a mess of things and found something they thought would be the solution. The narration in the book goes back and forth between the story of Finn, a boy who is trapped in the world of Incarceron, and Claudia, the warden's daughter. The people in Incarceron, a prison, have been told that there is nothing outside and that the whole world that exists is inside of the walls of the prison. Finn does not remember his time before waking up inside of the prison but he has a nagging feeling that he came from outside. He has some dreams that seem to be memories and he is convinced that he came from somewhere else. Claudia is betrothed to the crown prince and once she is married she will be queen, but that is not what she wants. Fisher weaves a story that keeps the reader intrigued and wondering about this mysterious world of Incarceron. I would recommend this book mainly to fans of science fiction.

The second book I read was Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. This is a story about a girl who was attacked by wolves when she was younger. She becomes obsessed with the wolf pack that lives in the woods behind her house and particularly one wolf who always seems to be watching the house. She is convinced that there is something different about these wolves. The narration again goes back and forth between Grace, the girl, and Sam, the wolf. It is a love story and fantasy all wrapped up in one. There is a mystery in the book as they have to search for a boy who was attacked by wolves and died but then his body disappeared from the morgue. I am a sucker for a good love story and this one fit the bill. Fans of Twilight will enjoy this story. I am looking forward to finding the sequel and reading more about these characters.

The last book I want to write about here is Cut by Patricia McCormick. This book is written in first person and is about a girl who is in a mental hospital because she has been cutting herself. The author brings the reader inside the mind of the narrator and the reader is able to feel the experience of day to day life in the hospital. It is a short book and I was unable to put it down once I started. I found myself crying at certain points of the story because McCormick brought out the pain of the character in such a real way. Overall, though, this book is an uplifting story about a girl who is in pain but is on the track to getting better. I would recommend this book to most girls if only to help them to see the things that could be happening inside the minds of those around them.