On the Run by Tristan Bancks

Middle School

Ben has always wanted to be a cop, so he’s intrigued when police officers show up at the door, asking for his parents. Then his parents arrive after the police leave and rush him and his sister into the car, insisting they are going on a vacation. Ben’s a little skeptical – his family has never gone on vacation.

They end up hiding out in a remote cabin deep in the woods and Ben discovers that his parents have committed a crime. Ben isn’t sure what to do next? Look for someone and tell them what happened? Or keep the secret and live life on the run?

Let me tell you right now that this story takes place in Australia, somewhere around Wales. I didn’t know that there was a Wales in Australia. It took me till half way through the book to figure it out.

His sister seemed to get what was going on a lot faster than Ben did and she seemed to be able to see that their father was a monster long before Ben did.

I’ve read a lot of books about kids going up against some really bad guys but what do you do when the bad guys are your own parents? It’s hard to say what anyone would do in this situation.

There’s a psychological reason why Ben doesn’t give up his parents to the cops right away. He’s only 12 and when you’re young you learn to obey your parents. He’s more scared of his father then he is of the police. The same reason goes for the mother, she was too scared to go up against her husband.

And with that I leave you with this little story from the first page of this book:

An old man tells his grandson one evening that there is a battle raging inside him, inside all of us. A terrible battle between two wolves. One wolf is bad – pride, envy, jealousy, greed. The other wolf is good – kindness, hope, love, truth. The child asks, “Which wolf will win?” The grandfather answers simply, “The one you feed.” – Unknown origin

I heard or read this before, I just don’t remember where. The origin of the “two wolves” parable is often attributed as an old Cherokee tale, but this is disputed.

The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick

Middle School

They call him Spaz, because his epilepsy prevents him from using mind probes that are rotting everyone else’s minds. Which is why he still has a memory, something rare in the frightening world he lives in. Civilization has been destroyed, except for the forbidden place called Eden, where a small group of people have discovered genetic improvement. Yet one old man, the one they call Ryter, has a lot of crazy and wonderful ideas. Nobody remembers books, but Ryter is writing one, even though he knows he may be punished by death.

I first found this book in my middle school library. I don’t know why I didn’t read it then but I’m reading it now so anyway…

This is the only book I’ve found about someone with epilepsy and it’s not really the main plot of the story. It’s just the reason why Spaz can’t use the mind probes. I did some research on epilepsy and it’s interesting. Epilepsy occurs as a result of abnormal electrical activity originating in the brain. Brain cells communicate by sending electrical signals in an orderly pattern. In epilepsy, these electrical signals become abnormal, giving rise to an ‘electrical storm’ that produces seizures.

In the story, Ryter lists famous people who had epilepsy. Most of them I’m not so sure about, but here are a few I looked up; Vincent van Gogh (makes sense), Napoleon Bonaparte (might have), Charles Dickens (who wrote about a character with epilepsy), Alexandra the Great (back then it was called ‘the sacred disease’), and Edgar Allen Poe (would explain how he died). I’m hoping to find more books about characters with epilepsy.

Is it just me or is every other book out there about the future gone wrong? I try to stay away from the bad ones like ‘The Hunger Games’ but I’ve found some pretty good ones with realistic futures. What scares me the most about this books’ future is that it could happen. Well parts of it anyway. For example, people have already figured out how to build virtual reality goggles and technology already rules out lives. It’s just a matter of time before we’re sticking probes in our brains for the next big thing. And bookstores are just a couple years away from becoming obsolete and people with their nooks and ebooks. I DON’T WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT PHYSICAL BOOKS!

Behind the Canvas by Alexander Vance

Middle School

To create beauty from nothing, that alone is magic.

Claudia Miravista loves art, but socially she is always the odd girl. One day on a trip to the local art museum she sees a boy in a painting, who moves from painting to painting. Soon she embarks on an adventure behind the canvas, determined to free the boy Pim from the artistic prison he has endured for over three hundred years.

This book got me thinking after just two paragraphs. This book starts out strong, gets right to the point. I like books like this, capturing you on the first page. Not many books can do that.

My idea of great art is animated movies/TV shows and comics. When I go to art museums and see all those painting with their fine detail, I just feel intimidated. It’s like they’re mocking me.

Anyone reading this remember ‘ChalkZone’ on Nickelodeon?

ChalkZone is a show about Rudy Tabootie, whose magic chalk allows him into the ChalkZone, an alternate dimension where everything drawn on a blackboard and erased becomes real. If you love ChalkZone, you’ll love this book. It’s kind of like ChalkZone but with oil paint and canvas instead of chalk and chalkboards.

My favorite parts in the book were the footnotes from Dr. Buckhardt’s Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant, a mini art encyclopedia Claudia carries around. These footnotes are filled with interesting facts about artists and pieces of fine art but are at the same time humorous.