The Maze Runner

I know many of you have gone to the theaters to see or have at least heard about The Maze Runner.  The Maze Runner is an amazing book.  It is filled with suspense for all ages and genders.  It is a series of books but I will only talk about the first one just in case all you people out there have not read or seen the movie yet.  (P.S. The movie is also fantastic because it follows almost perfectly along with the book but it will not come out on DVD until December 16).

The book begins with the main character stuck inside of a moving, dark box.  He has no recollection of who he is or how he got there.  He feels sick and he has common knowledge of the world but nothing personal.  After what seems like for ever the box stops moving and is opened up.  Our protagonist finds himself surrounded boy teenage boys of all ages.  The other boys introduce themselves and try to explain to the "Greenie" what they know about where he is.

The place that the boys live in is a large area surrounded by walls called the Glade.  Outside the Glade is a maze.  Since the first boy was placed in the glade years ago the boys have been trying to figure out the maze to escape the Glade.  Every night the doors that lead into the maze from the Glade close (Seemingly by magic).  This is to protect the boys from the terrible and deadly monsters that roam the maze at night, "Grievers."

A Griever is a horrible monster that is part flesh part mechanical.  The author of the book goes into great detail for these monsters.  I cannot do it justice but they make a horrible clank and moaning sound when they walk that will give you shivers up
and down your spin.

Anyway, latter in the book the main character remembers that his name is Thomas.  In a couple days Thomas starts to get used to working in the Glade and he even eventually becomes a runner for the maze.  But, then a girl shows up in the same box Thomas came out of.  She comes with a note in her hand saying that she is the last one ever.  Not only that but she arrives unconscious.  The girl (the first one ever) suddenly wakes and yells Thomas's name and then falls asleep again.  Thomas also seems to recognize the girl but after she gets to the Glade terrible things start to happen.  Grievers are out in daylight and attacking people.  And eventually the doors to the Glade are not closing at night.

The boys of the glade are afraid and they blame Thomas because he seemed to know the girl and a few people who got their memories back blame him for putting them in the Glade.  Thomas can also speak to the girl in his head but keeps this from the others in fear that they would recent him more.  With everything going wrong in the Glade the boys must decided if it is even safe to stay any more or if they should adventure into the maze and find a way out.

This is such an amazing book!  I have read the first on and seen the movie.  Right now I am reading the second.  If you read the Hunger Games or Divergent you will enjoy this book just as well because it takes place in a post apolitical world also.

Warrior Cats: Into The Wild

Hello everyone.  I am really happy today!  Not all of you may know but, I foster animals.  Well today I just learned that I can keep the littlest of the three Himalayan kittens we are fostering!  I have never been able to own a cat because some of the people in my family are allergic but, for what ever reason these kittens do not bother their allergies.  This gave me an idea for my next blog.

So, today I am going to tell you all about one of Erin Hunter's books.  I am only going to tell you about the first book of one of her series - Warrior Cats: Into The Wild.  Many of you have probably read at least this first book but I beat not all have you read all the books because there are many of them.  I also beat that most of you don't know that Erin Hunter (the author) is actually six different women.

Well, anyway back to the book.  The first book is about Rusty, a house cat who is not satisfied with the house cat life.  He is just a kitten but he hates the dry cat food his owners feed him and even though he loves the warmth of his kitty pet home he loves the feeling of being out doors.

One day Rusty decides to jump over the fence in his backyard and into the world beyond.  When he starts to head into the woods behind his house he soon runs into a small group of wild cats.  Normally upon finding a house cat in their territory the wild cats would chase him away but they seemed to notice something different about Rusty.  They let him come back with them to their home.

When Rusty gets to the cats clan home he immediately feels at home,  more than he ever did in his kitty pet home.  The clan is not competently sure of him but their leader Bluestar tells everyone that they should let him have a chance because the clan, Thunderclan, could always use another warrior.  Being as young as Rusty was he was easily able to be placed into an apprentice group.  In fact, he gets the great honor of having Bluestar as his mentor.  As an apprentice Rusty gets the new name of Firepaw.

He soon becomes friends with other apprentices such as Graypaw and Ravenpaw.  Throughout the entire book the apprentices must prove that they are worthy of becoming warriors.  While trying to fulfill their duties young Ravenpaw finds out that his mentor kills the clans deputy in order to get the position himself.  Ravenpaw fears that his mentor, Tigerclaw, will kill him if he found out that he knew.  (Which he would).  Ravenpaw tells his two friends that what he knows and his friends help him leave the clan and go to a rouge cat territory so he can be safe of Tigerclaw.

Tigerclaw soon becomes a danger to Firepaw and Graypaw because they know what he did.  Although this seems to be only a small problem compared to the problems that Thunderclan is having with the other clans, especially the Shandowclan.  Shadowclan seems to not have any regard for the clan laws.  They are out to murder their old medicine cat, one of their own killed their leader to be in his place, they ar hunting and invading other clans territories,  and they are stealing other clans kittens to strengthen their own.  Also, the other Tunderclan warriors doubt Firepaws loyalty.  Will he ever have their respect?

Many people dream of becoming a spy; these girls go to school for it

Hello everyone on to a book that may not be as well known.  The Gallagher Girl series.  This book is based around a girl named Cammie Morgan.  She lives in, what seems on the outside, a private school for girls.  They wear uniforms and got to classes; what else could the school be?  The school is actually an all girls school for spies.  It is super exclusive and one of the only ways to get in is to have a parent whom is a spy in some way.

For Cammie this school her home and they only thing to her that is normal.  Her mother was a spy and now is the head master of the school and her father was a spy.  She goes to school there with her best friends Liz, Bex, and latter Macey.

Just to clarify something: this is a series!  I will try not to give away to many spoilers if you are just starting the series.  But just in case SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! You have now been warned.

Anyway, the first book, I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I Would Have To Kill You, is all about Cammie and her first crush/boyfriend.  She likes a boy who doesn't know that she is a spy (or training to be so).  The first book is flirty and cute.  Don't judge the whole series on the first book.  They get better as they go on.

The second, Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy, is about the school for boy assassins that the girl's academy is hosting.  Cammie becomes great friends with one of the boys but when the school top secret status gets threatened Cammie must decided if she truly does trust this boy.

Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover, the action really picks up!  Cammie visits her friend Macey at the end of summer.  This trip was planned to be exiting because Macey's father was becoming the vice president of the U.S.  Quickly the fun time Macey and Cammie plans turn in to a disaster when a kidnapping plot occurs.  The two girls survive (barley) by using the little knowledge of spy skills they have.  When school starts again Cammie and her friends cannot forget what happened over the summer and start to investigate the kidnapping plot.

The fourth book, Only The Good Spy Young, the girls have finally figured out a little about the kidnapping plot but then one of Cammie's closest allies is a double agent the girls fear for the life they always knew.

Oh, Out Of Sight And Out of Time!  This is my second favorite book of this series after the last book.  The story begins with is Cammie waking up in a place she doesn't recognize with people she doesn't know and her memory of the whole summer missing.  Okay since this is such a good book I don't want to give away anything else in so you can figure it out on our own.

The last, United We Spy, this is the newest book.  I just read it.  Almost everything I say will give away something from the book before.  I will tell you this. . . This book is an epic finally of one of the most wonderful books I have every read.

Also, I would recommend this book to girls because of the strong female characters.