By: Markus Zusak
Published by: Scholastic
Released on: August 1st, 2011
Source: book from publisher to review
3 stars: It's A Good Read
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
From the bestselling author of THE BOOK THIEF
Before THE BOOK THIEF, Markus Zusak wrote a trilogy of novels about the Wolfe Brothers: THE UNDERDOG, FIGHTING RUBEN WOLFE, and GETTING THE GIRL. Cameron and Ruben Wolfe are champions at getting into fights, coming up with half-baked schemes, and generally disappointing girls, their parents, and their much more motivated older siblings. They're intensely loyal to each other, brothers at their best and at their very worst. But when Cameron falls head over heels for Ruben's girlfriend, the strength of their bond is tested to its breaking point.
We're proud to present these novels together for the first time, and to be introducing American readers to THE UNDERDOG, never before published in the United States. Fans of THE BOOK THIEF won't want to miss reading the novels that launched Markus Zusak's stellar career. -quoted from Goodreads
I have yet to read The Book Thief, which has been highly recommended to me numerous times, so this is my first time reading Markus's work. Being that Underdogs, a collection of three stories following the Wolfe Brothers (The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Getting the Girl), is Markus's first writing, I can only imagine how brilliantly written The Book Thief is. It's not that these books were bad, because they weren't, they were good reads. Overall this collection show cases how Markus's writing improved with each story, which I loved.
The Underdogs- This was the hardest story for me to connect with. There wasn't an in-depth plot for me to fall in love with. Instead, Markus used his characters to connect me to the story. While he did a good job at that, I was still left with a feeling this story was missing something. Cameron is one of those characters I couldn't help but like. I felt he was portrayed in a very realistic, raw way. I liked his voice in this story, and I felt bad for him, as he just could not catch a break. He and his brother get into quite a bit of mischief, they're always disappointing their parents, and they don't measure up to their older siblings. But, at the heart of this story is a realistic portrayal of a teenager who wants to fall in love, and be loved, who has dreams and aspirations he wants to achieve.
Fighting Ruben Wolfe- The thing I enjoyed the most about this story, is feeling like I was reading the true story of Cameron. Markus's writing style and character development in this story created a feeling of reality. He took his character development from The Underdogs to a more detailed level, which I enjoyed. The family dynamic changes a bit, and Cameron and his bother Ruben's realistic love/hate relationship intensifies. In reading this book I felt like if I visited Cameron's neck of the woods in Australia I could knock on any neighbor's door and they'd have some story to tell me about the trouble Cameron and his brother caused.
Getting The Girl- Through out the first two books, Markus does a great job at bringing to light the similarities and differences between both Cameron and his brother Ruben. Whether it be with girls, sports or what have you. It's in this book that I felt I really got to see just how different the two really are. Aside from the love interests, brotherly love/brotherly fights, and the trouble they cause, is a witty, realistic portrayal of life, choices, consequences and finding our place in the world. Life isn't always about winning, or winning the girl. It's about being yourself, and never giving up, no matter how many times you get knocked down. In Cameron's case, it's a lot. It's those elements combined with Markus's writing prose that kept me reading Cameron's story.
By: Kevin Brooks
Published by: Scholastic
Released on: November 1st, 2011
Source: book from publisher to review
Rating: this book wasn't my cup of tea
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
What can he do with his new powers -- and what are they doing to him?
Before the attack, Tom Harvey was just an average teen. But a head-on collision with high technology has turned him into an actualized App. Fragments of a shattered iPhone are embedded in his brain. And they're having an extraordinary effect on his every thought.
Because now Tom knows, sees, and can do more than any normal boy ever could. But with his new powers comes a choice: To avenge Lucy, the girl he loves, will he hunt down the vicious gangsters who hurt her? Will he take the law into his own electric hands and exterminate them from the South London housing projects where, by fear and violence, they rule?
Not even his mental search engine can predict the shocking outcome of iBoy's actions. -quoted from Goodreads
Based on the premise alone I was looking forward to reading this book. Teenage boys gets impaled with iPhone and in turn gains extraordinary powers. For some reason as the story progressed I had a hard time buying into this plot line. It went from being intriguing to one that reminded me a bit of Iron Man. Where Tom lives isn't a pretty area, and with all the gang activity going on, he uses his powers to help others, as well as seeks revenge for some truly horrific things that happen to a good friend of his. I don't mind reading books that may have a bit of a darker tone to them, but I had a really hard time with the things that happen in iBoy. Mixed in with the cast of what some would deem truly troubled characters is a gang rape of a 16 yr old girl, Tom's friend. I couldn't blame him for wanting to get revenge, but wow, he knows how to get revenge with a vengeance. I'll just leave it at that.
Even though I struggled with liking the plot line of this book, I would have liked it a bit more if there wasn't an expletive on every page, or what felt like every page on the book. I get that living in the wrong part of town there's going to be language, heck even even Tom didn't live on the wrong side of town I could take a little bit of language, but the constant use of the f-bomb and over use of too many expletives took any desire I had to really enjoy reading this book. As I've said many times before, I don't mind a little bit of language, but I can't stand it when a YA book is inundated with it. This wasn't my cup of tea, but it's one Kevin Brooks fans and even older YA readers may enjoy.
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