Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Published by Random House of Canada in 2001
319 pages "After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy names Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan —and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years. Universally acclaimed upon publication, Life of Pi is a modern classic."
The Page Boy's Rating:
★★★★★
Books mentioned in this video:
- Between by Jessica Warman
- The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
Secret book of the month:
"She came to him at sunset, as the clouds reddened above the walls and towers. She came alone, as he had bid her. For once she was dressed simply, in leather boots and hunting greens. When she drew back the hood of her brown cloak, he saw the bruise where the king had struck her. The angry plum colour had faded to yellow, and the swelling was down, but there was no mistaking it for anything but what it was."
Between by Jessica Warman
First published by Walker Publishing Company, inc. 2011
This edition published by Walker Publishing Company inc. 2012
454 pages
"There were six people on the boat that night...and when they awoke, there were five. Elizabeth Valchar -pretty, popular, and perfect- wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her five closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she discovers will change everything she thought she knew about her past, her future, and what lies in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she finds that no one, least of all LIz herself, was perfect - or innocent. And that some memories never stop following you, no matter how hard you run."
The Page Boy's Rating:
★★★☆☆
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
First published by Scholastic, Inc. in 2011
This edition published by Scholastic, Inc. 2012
278 pages
"Sometimes the only way to survive is to keep moving. America is a vast, desolate landscape left ravaged after a brutal war. Two-thirds of the population are dead from a vicious strain of influenza. People called the sickness the eleventh plague. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn was born after the war and only knows the life of a slavager. His family was among the few who survived and took to roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen's grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler's Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. There Stephen meets Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. When they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler's Landing —and their lives— forever."
The Page Boy's Rating:
★★★★☆
The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle
Published by Graphia in 2012
311 pages
"If your home was the last safe place on Earth, would you let a stranger in? Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the church. But before Rumspringa arrives, Katie's safe world starts to crumble. It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields, followed by rumors of massive unrest and the disappearance of huge number sof people all over the world. Something is out there...and it is making a killing. Unsure why they haven't yet been attached, the Amish Elders make a decree: No one goes outside their community, and no one is allowed in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of their land, she can't leave him to die. She refuses to submit to the Elders' rule and secretly brings the stranger into her community- but what else is she bringing in with him?"
The Page Boy's Rating:
★★★★★☆
The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox
This edition published by W. W. Norton & Company in 2006
697 pages
" 'After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper' So begins the story of Edward Glyver, booklover, scholar, and murderer. A chance discovery convinces Glyver that greatness awaits him. His path to win back what is rightfully his leads him to Evenwood, one of England's most enchanting country houses, and a woman who will become his obsession."
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
First published in 2008
This edition published by Scribner in 2009
273 pages
"Somewhere in North Dakota, there is a town called Owl that isn't there. Disco is over but punk never happened. The don't have cable. They don't really have pop culture, unless you count grain prices and alcoholism. People work hard and then they die. They hate the government and impregnate teenage girls. But that's not nearly as awful as it sounds; in fact, sometimes it's perfect. Chuck Klosterman's Downtown Owl is the unpretentious, darkly comedic story of how it feels to exist in a community where rural mythology and violent reality are pretty much the same thing. It's technically about certain people in a certain place at a certain time...but it's really about a problen. And the problem is this: What does it mean to be a normal person? And there is no answer. But in Downtown Owl, what matter more is how you ask the question."
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
First published by George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1937
This edition published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001
330 pages
"If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler....In the following the path of this humble adventurer, you learn by the way (as he did) —if you do not already know all about these things— much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period."
Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr
HarperCollins Publishers, 2012
418 pages
Fiction; Fantasy
"Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments, dark and light, by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from under the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue objects of their attention —with amorous or sinister intent— relentlessly.
From the gentle tones of a storyteller's cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr's Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or fear.
Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr's stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it."
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
First published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1989
This edition published by Penguin Books, 2006
288 pages
Fiction
"In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared low and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club.
With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between these four women and their American-born daughters. As each reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined..."
The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston
Thomas Dunne Books, 2010
387 pages
Fiction
"In the spring of 1628, the witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree, she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate: the warlock Gideon Masters. Secluded at his cottage, Gideon instructs Bess, awakening formidable powers she didn't know she had. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life. In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life. She has spent the centuries in solitude, surviving plagues, wars, and the heartbreak that comes with immortality. Her loneliness comes to an abrupt end when she is befriended by a teenage girl called Tegan. But will she be able to stand against Gideon —who will stop at nothing to reclaim her soul— in order to protect the girl who has become the daughter she never had?"
