Blackwater is a complicated (challenging) read and the author is very opinionated. The book covers the use of mercinaries in Iraq, privitization of the Army, and the risks of Blackwater. It also covers the history of Blackwater and its founder, the modern threats in the war in Iraq, and why people need to be aware of the Blackwater organization. This novel exposes people and organizations inside the government who are corrupted and holding back the nation. Rating: 4Q, 2P
This is an informative book for teens and pre-teens about sex and the dirty facts tabloids don't expose. This short read is intense, yet funny and factual. It's straight-forward, honest, and probably not for younger readers. Not because of inappropriate content, but rather for the blunt tone of the book. This novel was written for young teens so that they have informed answers to sex questions they feel they cannot ask their parents. As the book was written by a church (Christian) organization, it cites sections of the Bible to help enforce the idea of sexual purity. In a world so unwilling to educate teens to the real consequences of sex, I found this book to be a breath of fresh air.Rating: 4Q, 2P
Four boys, Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and Tsume are all heading out of their city to find one thing; Paradise. Tsume is a gang leader, has no friends and is very prideful. Toboe, the youngest, is a boy looking of a home and friends. Hige, a boy who is always hungry, has no home, and an incredible sense of smell. Kiba never lets his guard down and always follows his instinct, which keeps him out of trouble. Normal sound boys, right? Wrong. They change into wolves and they're being chased for it. Can they find paradise before they get killed?Rating: 4Q, 4P
After Dark is a chilling and mysterious novel that takes place in the streets of Tokyo between midnight and sunrise. During the course of these seemingly dead hours, readers find the city at its peak. Murakami intertwines several unsuspecting character plots together as strangers meet and help one another. The book also plunges into a spooky supernatural world where it is not impossible to unexpectedly fall into the other side of the TV. This novel was a fast yet intriguing read. It is certainly one that will have to be read more than once in order to understand the important lessons that make up After Dark. Murakami's novel is filled with symbolism and realistic human characters and make for an enjoyable and thoughtful read.Rating: 5Q, 3.5P
This is the kind of book that a person could finish in two hour, if they really set their minds to it. Its more a novella than novel, which is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness. On the one hand its not a book about the ISSUES, its a book with an issue, and that makes it feel much less heavy handed than a lot of YA fiction. Johnny is a goth who accidentally overdoses at a club, and is sent to rehab where he decides he wants to go somewhere else with his life. This is the first time he hears the titular singer Debbie Harry. His single mom, still grieving the death of Johnny's father, sends him across the country to live with his uncle following the rehab. It's there that Johnny starts piecing life back together, finding a father figure in his uncle and a girl he loves.He also begins to realize that his love for Debbie Harry extends to wanting to be her. Or at least to wanting to dress up like her. Johnny's journey is covered nicely for the novel's short length, making it solely his journey in a way many books don't. The story is an emotional rollercoaster condensed, and the reader really feels for the protagonist. On the downside, the protagonist is more or less the only one the readers feel for. Barring Johnny's girlfriend Maria the cast is mainly peripheral. We see them when they affect Johnny's life, but not beyond that. We may like or dislike them, but we are never really allowed to care. We know that Johnny's mother suffered a crippling depression, for example, and that his uncle went through an ugly divorce, but we never see the details nor feel those characters' pain. It's Johnny's story from start to finish. Even considering that, the plot is interesting enough to warrant a read, though some readers might be turned away by the cross dressing subject matter.Final Verdict: 3Q, 3P
