Whew! I finished the Fall Into Reading challenge, reading all six books on my list. They were:

The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E. Turner
Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge

The only book I really did not enjoy was Woman in Red. It was poorly written, poorly edited and poorly constructed. I wasn't really wowed by The Zookeeper's Wife either, but at least it was a well-written account. The Giver, The Lightning Thief and Sarah's Quilt were my favorites.

Thanks for hosting, Katrina. It was fun!

Percy Jackson, star of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief, has had a tough life. First, his father abandoned him and his mother when he was just a baby. Then, his mother married Gabe Ugliano, whose surname just about says it all.

At least, his mother dotes on him. Still, Percy just can't seem to stay out of trouble; He's been kicked out of six schools in as many years. Now, he's at Yancy Academy, which would actually be enjoyable if it weren't for two things: dyslexia, and the fact that nothing seems to go right when he's around

Now, he's headed home for the summer and things seem to be going from bad to worse. He and his mom set out for Montauk, where a hurricane has them running for their lives. Only the hurricane isn't really the problem - it's the minotaur that's got Percy terrified. Yep, you read that right - a minotaur, as in the bull-man monster from Greek myths. I know they're not supposed to exist, but in Percy's world they do, because (as he soon discovers) he is a half-blood, as in half-god, half-mortal.

After narrowly escaping the minotaur's grasp, Percy finds himself at Camp Half-Blood. Here, he finally learns the truth about his parentage (some truth anyway), his dyslexia (his brain is pre-wired for ancient Greek, not English), and the reason bad luck always seems to be only a step behind him (monsters have been following him, of course). Still, this is the worst bad luck he's had. Explanation? Easy. Hades (God of the Underworld) and Zeus believe that Percy has stolen two magical objects - Zeus' lightning bolt and Hades' war helmet. The thefts have the gods threatening war, a prospect that would not be good for anyone.

The only solution seems to be for Percy to take up a quest to find the true thief, recover the stolen items, and return them to their rightful owners. Despite the oracle's warnings, he selects two companions and embarks on the quest. What ensues is a harrowing trip across the U.S., which will take the trio to the River Styx and beyond. On their way, they encounter a group of monsters that seem to have stepped right out of a textbook on Greek mythology. When all is said and done, the thief is not who they thought it was, but someone much, much closer. In fact, it's someone Percy would call a friend.

The Lightning Thief offers a wonderful romp through a fantastical world of larger-than-life characters, from the powerful Zeus to a modern-day Medusa. The plot twists and turns, cleverly using mythological elements to keep the story racing along. Probably the most engaging thing about this book is Percy, our bumbling, misunderstood hero. He's likeable, human (well, kind of) and completely sympathetic. His voice is so authentic you almost believe his story is real. Although the story's a little predictable (you will spot the camp traitor a mile away), it's an irresistibly fun read. I'm heading right out to find the sequel.

Grade: A

Imagine a world in which all of your choices were made for you, from your daily wardrobe to your family members to your career to your spouse. Think of a world in which you were entirely safe, where you were permitted to take no risks, and where physical pain could be erased with a single dose of medicine. Picture dwelling in a whitewashed world where everyone lives and thinks in exactly the same way, and questioning the rules leads to public chastisement and even "Release" from the community.

Jonas, star of Lois Lowry's The Giver, lives in just such a community. For 12 years, he has dwelt within its borders, attending school, mingling with friends and abiding by the strict rules that make his town the peaceful place it always is. Like all of his classmates, Jonas is looking forward to the December Ceremony when he will receive his "Assignment." This will be his career, which could be anything from Laborer to Doctor to Road Crew Maintainer. To his shock, Jonas learns he will be the new Receiver. The position comes with great honor, but even greater secrecy. Jonas receives a list of rules that will govern his training period, which allow him to do two things which are strictly prohibited in his community: to ask questions of anyone and to lie. Disconcerted, Jonas begins his training with The Giver, an elder who sags under the weight of his responsibilities. The Giver explains Jonas' new responsibilites: he must carry all the memories of the world - from sunshine, to sledding, to war, to starvation - so that his community will be free to live their peaceful, doubtless lives. In essence, he will feel all their emotions for them. As The Giver transfers his memories into his new apprentice's being, Jonas' dull world explodes into a dazzling array of color, sensation and emotion. Some of the memories Jonas receives are terrifying - war, loneliness, abandonment - but others are so powerful - love, family, warmth - that he realizes how empty his real life is. Now that he is able to ask questions freely, Jonas finds himself questioning the life he has been leading - why is he not allowed to have choices? Why can't families have more than the 2 children allowed by the Elders? And what does it really mean when someone is "Released" from the community?

As Jonas ingests this new knowledge, he knows that he can never again be satisfied with his dull, flavorless life. Together, he and The Giver hatch a plan to open the peoples' eyes. When their plans go horribly awry, Jonas suddenly finds himself on a terrifying journey to find "Elsewhere," a place that may or may not exist. Without the promised memories of courage to bind him up, Jonas must rely on his own wits and bravery to save himself, his future and the one person he truly loves.

That's the story in a nutshell, but this book isn't really about the main story. As one reviewer put it, "The simplicity and directness of Lowry's writing force readers to grapple with their own thoughts" (Booklist, Starred Review). Lowry's story is so unadorned that it provides the perfect canvas for infinte thoughts, opinions and analyses. Lowry, herself, says,

...The Giver is many things to many different people. People
bring to it their own complicated beliefs and hopes and dreams and fears and all
that.

At the very least, it's a story about what it means to be human. To me, its message is that without choices, experience, risk and passion, we are not fully human.

I don't know if Lowry meant for the book to have any religious applications, but to me The Giver symbolizes Jesus Christ, at least to some degree. When he accepts memories for other people, he swallows some of their pain, leaving them comforted. Their pain still exists, but only dimly. This is what Christ does for us. Our suffering weighed on Christ (as it does on The Giver), as evidenced by his tortured cry, "O my Father...let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:39, KJV) in Gethsamane, but He knew His duty and thus carried our burdens for us. Like Christ, The Giver desires that all men have their agency so they can learn wisdom through their choices. And like Jesus, The Giver knows he must help his people through the pain that knowledge and agency can bring. Like Lowry said, we bring our own convictions to the book and this is the interpretation to which I kept returning.

The one issue I had with this book is the very ambiguous ending. I'm a reading simpleton, who loves endings which neatly wrap up all of the story's loose ends. Paradoxically, I hate predictable endings. Anyway, The Giver ends in a way that leaves it VERY open to interpretation. Lowry calls it an "optimistic ending," but insists that the true ending exists only in the mind of the reader. As aggravating as that is for a neat-endings-junkie, it's also a sign of a truly great novel - one that makes you think long after you've closed the book.

Grade: A+

What would you do to be stunningly gorgeous? Undergo a painful operation? Donate a few
brain cells to science? Betray your best friend? These are all dilemmas Tally Youngblood must face in Scott Westerfeld's young adult novel, Uglies.
Tally lives in a future world where all 16-year-olds undergo an operation that turns them from an "Ugly" nobody into a model-perfect "Pretty." Fifteen-year-old Tally has been looking forward to this operation her whole life; she can't wait for the procedure that will erase all her imperfect features and turn her into a knockout. She longs to live in New Pretty Town, where the Pretties spend their lives partying and having fun. When Tally's best friend Peris turns Pretty, she suffers from the most bitter loneliness she's ever known. Determined to find her friend, Tally sneaks into the Pretty part of town only to find that Peris has changed into someone she doesn't recognize - in more ways than one. Once she turns Pretty, she knows they will be able to reconnect. The question is, what in the world is she going to do until then?
The answer arrives in the form of Shay, another Ugly on the brink of her 16th birthday. Shay loves a rush almost as much as Tally. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with, hoverboarding and playing tricks on the incoming Uglies. Tally assumes that they will continue their antics as Pretties, but Shay isn't so sure. In fact, Shay doesn't want to become a Pretty at all. She's happy with her face, happy to be different. She urges Tally to run away with her to a secret colony called The Smoke, where Uglies live freely, hiding from authorities that want to force them to be Pretty.

Although Tally wants to support her friend, she also wants desperately to become a Pretty. Only one thing stands in her way: Shay. Special Circumstances, a special branch of the government, informs Tally that she will not get the operation unless she helps them find Shay and the group of rebels with whom she's now associated. Tally reluctantly takes on the assignment. She's not prepared, however, for what she finds - or who she meets - in The Smoke. Torn between her desire to be Pretty and her new friends, Tally must make dangerous decisions that could jeopardize them all. At the heart of it all looms the question - How far will she go to be Pretty?

I thought the idea of this novel was really interesting, but I didn't end up liking the story as much as I thought I would. The action kept it exciting, but the characters felt flat to me. It also felt a little preachy, like the moral questions were more important to Westerfield than the story. I found myself comparing this author to Margaret Peterson Haddix, who writes on similar themes, but puts the story first, letting her moral questions leak out subtly. I prefer the subtlety. Still, this was a good read. I didn't think it lived up to its hype, but it was good.

Grade: B

...you forget about one of the challenges you signed up for. This is what happened with the Unread Authors Challenge. Somehow, I neglected to post my challenge list on my sidebar, consequently forgetting I ever signed up for it. Man! This is what happens after you turn 30 - your memory just starts slipping away... Well, I have rectified the situation. And, just because I can't stop myself, I'm taking on Challenge #4 - Fall Into Reading. This one runs from September 23 - December 21, and is hosted by Callapidder Days. It's a casual challenge, with no limits on how many books to read and there will be prizes.

So, here's my list:

The Giver - Lois Lowry

The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

The Zookeeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman

Uglies - Scott Westerfield

Sarah's Quilt - Nancy E. Turner

Woman In Red - Eileen Goudge

You can't sign up for this one until the 21st, I think, but if it sounds interesting, check out Callapidder's site - it's really fun!