Saving the world and other extreme sports / James Patterson

Saving the world is a science fiction novel about a group of genetically altered youth who have wings and various characteristics of birds as well as “other” interesting abilities. Max, the leader of the group guides the flock though the adventure of defeating a group a mad scientists who created her and her friends. The scientists have a plan to extinguish half of the population on the earth by eliminated anyone who is sick, disabled, or somehow defective. Most of the time Max and her followers have to overcome insurmountable odds and they are always on the edge of being killed themselves.

The chapters of Saving the world are very short, averaging less than three pages and it reads easy and moves along quickly. Occasionally, Max speaks directly to the reader which may prove confusing or enticing to some readers. Max is extremely sarcastic when dealing with the enemy (adults) and she often gets the better of the bad guy in any verbal joust. The story is very much like a super-hero story and the fact that the heroes are teens and children, make this story one which young adults probably will like very much.

Patterson, J. (2008). Saving the world and other extreme sports. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

The 7 habits of highly effective teens / Sean Covey

The 7 habits of highly effective teens (7 habits) is a self help book for young adults. It is clearly based of the bestselling book by Stephen Covey called The 7 habits of highly effective people. 7 habits outlines a set of strategies or “habits” which teens can follow to become more successful and content with their lives. Strategies endorsed in this book include creating private and public victories for oneself by considering one’s; personal actions, controlling one’s future, will power, thinking win-win, listening then speaking, keeping a balance between one’s body, brain, heart and soul and more.

There is a great deal of good advice in this book that if taken seriously could lead teens to live more fully and completely without some of the angst that they typically have to navigate. Following some of the advice offered in this book would be helpful in guiding teens though some of the plentiful and sometimes dangerous peer pressure that they feel in their lives. 7 habits is easy to read and has lots of examples relevant to the lives of teens, so I think this book would not seem preachy and be a turn off to teens. This book could prove to be a life-altering read in the lives of young adults who are looking for some direction in their lives.

Covey, S. (1998). The 7 habits of highly effective teens. New York: Simon & Schuster.

101 ways to dance / Kathy Stinson

101 ways to dance is about young adults and sex. There are no actual sex scenes in this set of short stories, but many sexual topics are examined such as; homosexuality, teen pregnancy, and restricting contact between two teens showing “interest” in each other. The young adults in all of these stories have sexual thoughts and desires and are learning to deal with the feelings they have in these situations.

If any book has a chance to be controversial, it is this one. Some adults like to think that restricting their children access to materials about sex will somehow make them better able to deal with the issue. It may be more accurate to say that those adults hope that their teens will then not have wrong or inappropriate thoughts about sex. The stories in this book examine sex in a very accurate and level headed way: Two boys trying to “get lucky” are exposed to the results of what reckless sex can cause. Girls wonder if they read and book about lesbians and they “like” the book, if that means they are gay. A dying young adult has an experience which he will remember for the rest of his short life. I think this book would be valuable for most all young adults to read and even discuss with their friends and if possible with their parents.

Stinson, K. (2006). 101 ways to dance. Toronto, ON: Second Story Press.

Inexcusable / Chris Lynch

Inexcusable is the story of Keir a high school boy who is having trouble figuring some things out. First of all he feels he is in love with his long time friend Gigi, but Gigi has a boyfriend. Keir also figures some things other people do are inexcusable. His sisters for example acting in a reprehensible fashion when they refuse to come to his graduation and Gigi’s boyfriend is a heel because he refuses to come to her graduation.

This is a character driven story told completely from Keir’s point of view with his thoughts of events dominating every chapter of the book. Keir sees his relationship with his father, the high school football game where he accidentally kills another player, and the antics of his football team off the field through a distorted personal lens.

Inexcusable portrays the thoughts of a boy in trouble, who thinks various people around him who challenge him act in an inexcusable manner and he fails to evaluate his own actions with the same scrutiny even when he does something inexcusable to the girl he loves.

This is a powerful story that examines how a teenaged boy can have a distorted view of his own actions to the point that he doesn’t take responsibility for some very inexcusable actions on his own behalf.

Lynch, C. (2007). Inexcusable. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Services and Resources for Young Adults

This is the point where I have completed my journal for Services and Resources for Children, and I start journal entries for Services and Resources for Young Adults.

Kidspace [Website]

KidSpace is a parallel website to Internet Public Library with topics of interest to children at a level that children can understand. The website consists of various collections of more websites organized in groups such as "Health & Nutrition," "Reading Zone" and "Math & Science." The links that are provided within each grouping are also at a level appropriate for children and the sites I looked at were mostly well.

It seems obvious that some thought has gone into checking the links in this site for reading level and appropriateness. I only found one inactive link, and most of the linked sites are approprite for a higher reading level. I only found one link that I would say was for younger children. The site is colourful, nicely laid out with little scrolling and clicking to do to get where you want to go. There is also a function that allows children to ask a question which I did not test for speed or accuracy. The main criticism I had was with the search function which seem to take children to the parent site to do the search over again. So, in effect there is no search on the KidsSpace site.

Big George / Eric Pringle, ill. Colin Paine

Big George is "England's very first visitor from outer space." George crashed on earth in the earth year 1103 and he lost all memory of who he was and what he was doing there. Big George is the story of an alien with the long neck who towers over and frightens all of the earthlings he meets except for Tilly Miller. Tilly is a young girl who is being forced into marriage to the local Baron's son. This story tells of the adventure that Big George and Tilly go through to protect each other from the angry and powerful Baron.

Big George is not a highly sophisticated novel, but it does tell and interesting and compelling story. I think the best part about science fiction is how it mixes human drama and miraculous events to tell a story. In this this regard science fiction is much like fairy tales and I think they speak skillfully to the human condition. Big George speaks to the fears and desires of children who approaching young adulthood. The language of Big George is not highly advanced so it might be good for those children starting to read chapter books. The illustrations are very rudimentary and they speak to the humorous appeal of the book.