"I used to be somebody."
Henry Holt and Company; 261 pages
The Abstract is hidden to prevent possible spoilers. If you'd like to read this brief summary, just highlight it using your cursor and it will magically appear in the following lines.
Abstract: In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeen-year-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence.Henry Holt and Company; 261 pages
Posts
9 comments:
Have any of you read this book yet? It was recommended for inclusion on our Mock Newbery discussion blog, but I wonder if it's above our age level. The official ALA/ALSC criteria state "Children are defined as persons of ages up to and including fourteen, and books for this entire age range are to be considered." The publisher says this book is for ages 14 and up. What do you all think?
It took me awhile to finish this one. With all of the things that were being uncovered I felt like I should have been more eager to know more. I do feel that this book would be better suited for an audience of 14 and older due to the in-depth storyline and somewhat technical content. There seem to be a lot of ethical issues that might require a more mature moral-awareness than some younger readers have developed thus far.
Wow! Social, political, and religious issues abound for a lively discussion. I thought it was a quick read, and a thought-provoking one as well.
I liked it a great deal. I do, however, think it might make a better Printz contender because of the weighty, more adult-themed issues it encourages us to ponder and discuss.
Great book...one I'll look forward to recommending...to teens :)
I agree that this would be better for 14+, rather than middle school. I really liked the pacing of the story and the author's forays into ethical issues (and how studying them in school is really different than when they touch your own life), but I found the ending to be pat and somewhat unsatisfying.
This is a fantastic book for discussion. It is full of ethical and philosophical questions to ponder. The story has just the right amount of suspense to keep the pages turning.
But, I do feel there are a couple of flaws that leave me a little less than elated about this one. First, some of the characters feel underdeveloped. The parents never seem quite real and yet their actions and motivations are so much a part of the story. I also agree with K8T who mentioned that the ending is not satisfying. The story is absolutely compelling and consuming until just before the end when it seems to lose something. Overall, this is a fabulous book to read and recommend for the teenage crowd.
I felt like this story was coming to me from a distance, rather than the more intimate feel that usually comes from first person narration. With that distance, it was much more difficult to care about the characters. There are other dystopic novels out there that are far more compelling and award worthy, in my opinion.
Also, I agree that it's probably best suited to readers outside the Newbery's stated audience.
I loved this book but do think it is better for the Printz Awards committee to consider it. A hauntingly creepy look at future technological advances....Well worth reading!
Bina Willams
Post a Comment