Book Reviews

Following the tragic death of his female guardian, Jack Starbright, Alex Rider moves from his home in London to San Francisco to live with his friend, Sabina Pleasure. However, a few weeks later, Alex receives an email that makes him believe that Jack might be alive after all… The Alex Rider series, by Anthony Horowitz, has never lost me once. The books get better and better, every time! Never Say Die, the tenth book, didn’t break the pattern. The series is about a fourteen-fifteen year old boy named Alex Rider. Alex’s parents died when he was a few weeks old, and he was sent to live with his uncle, Ian Rider, who’s secretly an MI6 agent. When Alex is seven, Jack is hired to be his caretaker, and she stays with him even after Ian dies on a mission for the British Intelligence agency. Now MI6 has taken an interest in Alex because Ian had bragged about “training” Alex. They use him in many dangerous missions, against his own will. In Alex’s most recent mission, Jack is killed by the enemy, leaving Alex more alone than ever, though MI6 seems to be finally done with him. Never Say Die brings Alex back into the action, when he finds out that Jack might be alive after all, but realizes that finding her isn’t his only problem. The search takes him to the Sahara Desert of Egypt. There, he learns about twin criminals who might be linked to Jack. They are about to carry out “Operation Steel Claw”. If Alex doesn’t stop them, the lives of fifty-two children could be at stake. There are several reasons why I like this series. For one, Alex always tries to remain calm, recollect his thoughts, and come up with a solution even in the most stressful situations. In the seventh book, Snakehead, Alex’s organs are about to be sold on the black market! I don’t think I would be able to even think straight if I were in his position! I admire how Alex can immediately think up a way to get out of his seemingly impossible predicament. This leads to another reason why I like this series so much. There is suspense on every page, with one adventure leading to the next. Even at the end of each book, there is always a hint that Alex isn’t done yet. However, if Alex was too smart for the criminals, it would get boring. So, Anthony Horowitz pits Alex against very intelligent and creative antagonists, who will do almost anything to get what they want. In the sixth book, Ark Angel, the criminal sends a space hotel hurling into the Pentagon in order to erase his records. Reading Alex Rider’s ongoing adventure is like listening to Tchaikovsky, with a lot of dynamics: quieter, more peaceful parts and louder and exciting parts, all put together to make a great masterpiece. I would recommend this series for readers as young as 9. These books also appeal to 14 and 15 year-olds because Alex’s age progresses from 14 to 15. I really enjoy Anthony Horowitz’s writing because of his creative plots and lifelike characters. Once I outgrow the Alex Rider series, I will still be excited because there is a great selection of adult books by Anthony Horowitz, too. I hope you will give this series a try and enjoy it as much as I do. Alex Rider: Never Say Die by Anthony Horowitz. Walker Books, 2018. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!

“The Veldt” is a dystopian story by Ray Bradbury. Even though the story is only a few pages long and appears relatively simple, it contains many concepts that should be thought about, as well as consequences of total reliance on technologies. In this story, people got houses that did everything for them, such as bathing them, feeding them, rocking them to sleep, etc. This was one of the problems that led to the demise of Mr. and Mrs. Hadley. What surprised me was that it wasn’t the artificial technology itself that directly spelled doom — it was the lasting effect of the artificial technology. All those machines had eliminated any essence of love from child to parent. The children, Peter and Wendy, had no scruples about locking their mom and dad in an African savanna. Their love was not for their parents-it was for the house and the machinery. Since the house was doing everything that a parent should do, the kids developed love toward the house. Their parents were just the people that owned the house. The second problem that led to the resolution was actually Mr. and Mrs. Hadley’s fault. Many parents today make the same mistake: they spoil their children rotten. Peter and Wendy had gotten so used to their way of living, so it was terrible for them to lose any of it. When Mr. Hadley rejected their idea of going to New York, it was a huge blow for the kids. If Mr. and Mrs. Hadley hadn’t gotten the kids everything they wanted in the past, especially the nursery, they might not have ended up the way they did in the end. I was really shocked by the ending. I never thought that children such as Peter and Wendy could just leave their parents in an African savanna. From the way the author described the resolution, it seemed that Mr. and Mrs. Hadley were eaten by the lions. I’m not sure how that would actually work, since the lions were merely in the walls of the nursery. The couple also heard their own screams coming from the nursery before, so I guess the children were expressing anger at their parents in a very, very despicable way. To them, it was little different to kill a virtual being or a real human being, although there is a HUGE difference. I think the author is addressing very valid problems here, in the case that technology does end up doing all of this for us. Kids would not possess the capability to love their parents anymore, since they don’t see their parents doing anything for them, and vice versa. Furthermore, they get spoiled rotten, with no hardships at all. I really hope our world does not end up like this. I like the time and experience being with my parents, than just being with cold- faced technologies, no matter how advanced. The Veldt by Ray Bradbury. Groundwood Books, 1982. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this story? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!

Scythe is about a world in the future, where humans have conquered all things, even death. Immortality is rapidly causing overpopulation. The Thunderhead, the artificial intelligence that now governs the world, decides to fix the problem by creating the Scythedom, an organization of trained killers, the Scythes. The Thunderhead made the Scythes the only ones with the right to kill, or as it is called, glean. Two teenagers, Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova lived the monotonous life that is commonplace in the Age of Immortality. One day, they are snatched out of their previous life and pushed into the world of Scythes. The two children are taken into apprenticeship by the Honorable Scythe Michael Faraday. Scythe Faraday explains to them that only one of the will become a Scythe. Even so, the two become close friends. The two grow farther and farther apart as they realize that they would have to glean each other or die themselves as only one of them can become a Scythe. Who will be victorious in becoming a Scythe? Or would death be better than having to glean your friend? Scythe shows what will happen with immortal humans. Although the world is supposedly perfect with the rule of the ultimate artificial intelligence, the Scythedom is infested with madmen who believe that gleaning is something to be enjoyed–an art. When they kill dozens and dozens of innocent people at a time, it is deemed “normal”. The immortality also changes people’s view of life and death. As people will never die (unless they get killed by Scythes), it causes people to take irrational choices with their life, such as jumping off of skyscrapers. People are not afraid of dying because they can be revived again and again. In our world, life is cherished as something that will only happen once. This makes people live more fulfilling lives. Although people treat life like it’s just a game in this future world, they are more afraid of dying permanently because they are so used to being revived. This makes it nearly impossible for humans to undertake adventures such as space exploration for example, because in space they do not have the technology and machinery to be revived. Due to this, humans are too afraid to be on any space exploration expeditions. There is much more at stake for them to take risk in the space because of their immortality back at home. However without the spirit of risk taking, humans would never have advanced so much. Looking back human history, risk-taking is how we have evolved since the beginning of mankind, from Christopher Columbus sailing to the Americas to Neil Armstrong being the first human on the moon. The cowardice of the humans in the world of Scythe causes humans to be trapped on the Earth, and the only way to stop overpopulation, sadly, has to be decreasing the population. This is why there are Scythes. I find it rather ridiculous that the human-created Thunderhead chose this way to curb the rapid population growth. Scythe is definitely one of my favorite books this summer. There are fast-paced action, an intriguing story, and humor throughout the book. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys science fictions / thriller novels. It is amazing how this book really makes you ponder. Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? Let us know in the comments below!