Extras, By Scott Westerfeld

By: Scott Westerfeld

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Publish Date: 2007

ISBN: 1416951172

Page #: 432

Reading Level: Young Adult

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Series Title: Uglies Series

Uglies 
Pretties 
Specials 
Extras 

Bogus to Bubbly (Companion)

Mind-Rain (Famous Authors Talk About the Uglies Series-June 2009)

Subjects: Dystopia, Friendship, Plastic Surgery, Fame, Romance

Reader's Annotation: Extras is the unexpected 4th book in the awesome Uglies "trilogy." In another city, also affected by the "Mind-Rain" Tally Youngblood (of the first three Uglies books) induced, Aya Fuse is at the center of a fame-centric universe and all she wants to do is not be an extra.

Synopsis: Aya is a nothing. Her feed shows her fame status at a very high, high level. But high is not good. Your stats are better as you get lower because they signify your level of fame: 1 being the most famous person in the world. Any level of fame Aya has is due to her paparazzi like brother who manufactures fame in a Perez Hilton manner at the expense of others. But suddenly Aya has a chance to be outrageously famous and she plans on doing anything possible to kick her own story, even at the expense of others. But when Aya meets her new love interest and begins to find out more about her feed, things get increasingly dangerous and twisted. Is fame worth all that?

Notes: Another provocative take on a socially conscious issue, Westerfeld makes everybody reflect on the world we live in now. This story could stand alone, but I think it delivers much better having read the Uglies first. A new cast of characters leave you wondering what happened to Tally Youngblood, and when we finally find out it ends to fast. But Westerfeld is the master of topic not the master of giving you what you want, which makes me love him even more. 

Stars: 5

Extras: 

The Westerblog: http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/

Scott Talks Extras:

 

Fan Made Video:

Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 By, Natsuki Takaya

Title: Fruits Basket

Title in Japanese: フルーツバスケット Furūtsu Basuketto

By: Natsuki Takaya

Publisher: Tokyo Pop

Publish Date: 

ISBN: 1591826039

Page #: 216

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Manga, Fantasy, Shojo

Age Level: Teen

Series Titles:

23 volumes in total

22 currently published

23rd to be released on July 6, 2009 pre-order here

Subjects: Romance, Love-Triangle, Chinese Zodiac

Reader's Annotation: Tohru Honda is alone in the world. The orphan's world changes when she meets a mystical family that represents each animal of the Chinese Zodiac.

Synopsis: After Tohru Honda's mother dies she is sent to live with her grandfather. Feeling like a burden while he gets his home renovated she pretends to have somewhere else to go. Unfortunately Tohru doesn't have a place to go. She ends up sleeping in tent in the wilderness with only a few things, herself, and a picture of her mother. Despite the situation, Tohru remains spirited, goes to school, and about her daily life as best she can. One day she is found in her tent and to her dismay she learns that she has been sleeping on someone's land. That someone happens to be a quiet boy she recognizes from school and his older cousin. The Shoma boys, Yuki and Shigure, take Tohru in and give her a place to live in return for her doing some cleaning. Tohru, who clearly has an innocent crush on Yuki, the younger of the two, hugs him which in turns lets out the secret that nobody else knows: The Sohma family are the incarnations of the Chinese Zodiac. Entrusted with the family secret Tohru becomes part of their lives and their secret. As is well until things get turned upside down when the cat comes to stay. There is no cat in the Chinese Zodiac, right? Or is their? And even though Tohru is becoming more and more connected to Yuki, she always wished there was a Cat in the Zodiac.

Notes: It was made into an anime series as well in 2001. [Worth noting is that that the Anime ends at half way through one of the eighth volume of the manga. Several plot lines are left unfinished and not all members of the Sohma family cursed by the zodiac are revealed.] Source: wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruits_Basket

Stars: 5

Awards: 

• The Fruits Basket manga received the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo manga category 
• The "Best Manga" award at the 2007 American Anime Awards.
  
• In 2001, the Fruits Basket anime won a Animage Anime Grand Prix award.
  

Extras:  

• Tokyopop's Fruits Basket Link: http://www.tokyopop.com/product/1194
  
• Fruits Basket was introduced in 1999 the magazine Hana to Yume 花とゆめ
  
• The Fruits Basket is in itself a phenomenon.  It is called "Faruba Fever" in Japan. 
  

Godchild, Vol.1 By Kaori Yuki

By: Kaori Yuki

Publisher: Viz Media

Publish Date: March 2006
ISBN: 9781421515366
Page #: 208
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Manga
Age Level: Older Teen
Series Titles: The Cain Saga, Godchild

Subjects: 19th Century London, Fairy Tales, Mystery, Gothic 

Reader's Annotation: Meet Cain, the sexy head of the Heargreaves, his 10 year old sister Marie Weather, and his faitful man servant Riff. Get ready for a dark "wonderland" murder, mystery, and 19th Century London.

Synopsis: Godchild is a stylish, dark addition its manga forerunner the Cain Saga. In the center of the series is Cain, the sexy girl swoon provoking head of Heargreaves noble family and takes cares of his ten year old half sister Marie Weather.  With his Man Servant Riff (whom he seems closer to then any of the swooning girls, he finds himself always in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the center of horrendous crimes, he sets out to solve them. And in the first volume all the stories (of which their are multiple) revolve around famous fairy tales. But it doesn't end their, Cain has a dark secret. Godchild is a beauty to read and will appeal to to those who romanticize fairy tales and even more so when they are soaked in blood and mystery. And what's more is the ink all takes place in 19th Century London affording the characters a gothic appeal that even has me swooning.

 
Stars: 4

Extras: 

Godchild on VizMedia http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=405

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Cain#Godchild

The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1), By James Patterson

By: James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown

Publish Date: April 11, 2005

ISBN: 031615556X

Page #: 432

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science-Fiction, Fantasy

Age Level: Teen

Series Titles: Maximum Ride

• The Angel Experiment
• School's Out - Forever
• Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
• The Final Warning
• MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel

Subjects: Thriller, Adventure, Mutants

Reader's Annotation: A group of kids who are the product of genetic mutation have to rescue one of their winged "family" memebers from another group of mutants called erasers.

Synopsis: Maximum Ride (or Max as her mutant family calls her) is one of a small group of kids that survived and escaped an ongoing lab experiment that leaves them into 98% human and 2% bird. They range from child to teen, and though not actually related, live as a family of mutants. Along with wings they have other special gifts that come with the 2% avian DNA that was forced upon them. The thriller starts of fast and thrilling as the youngest of the flock is stolen back to the lab by another cross-mutated group called the erasers. The erasers are designed to hunt and kill with wolf and human DNA. After the youngest is taken Max and her family set out to confront their makers, their prison, and the dreaded erasers. The Angel Experiment is the beginning of the popular series which kids, teens, and adults alike rave about. Patterson creates a world in the tradition of the X-Men that is sure to hook you in from beginning to end. This is a series that gives the imagination "wings."

Notes:  The audio book of The Angel Experiment is read by Evan Rachel Wood. Having read the book and heard the audio which is exceptionally performed, I can say that either is recommended. Great to listen to as a family since its benign nature is ok for the younger kids as well. However, the audio book is abridged.

Manga: The series has been adapted into Manga (official website link): http://www.max-dan-wiz.com/page/excerpts-maximum-ride-manga

Stars: 5

Extras: Series Website: http://www.maximum-x.com/page/max-a-maximum-ride-novel

This just in! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825283/ 

'Twilight' director Catherine Hardwicke may direct 'Maximum Ride'

Categories: Books, Film, Twilight Three months after Summit Entertainment announced that Catherine Hardwicke will not be filming the Twilight sequel, the director is in talks to helm an adaptation of another young-adult fantasy series, Maximum Ride. Ride is a five-volume series by perennial best-seller list chart-topper James Patterson that follows six genetically altered teenagers known as "the Flock." (The teens are half human, half bird). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Patterson will executive produce the film while screenwriter Don Payne is signed on to pen the script.