Newton Starker is the last in the Starker line.  All of his Starker relatives, except for his cranky great-grandmother, have died from lightning strikes, his mother being the most recent victim.  No one knows why lightning so regularly strikes down the Starkers.  Scientific tests have come up with nothing and Newton refused to believe it’s a family curse because that simply isn’t logical.  Newton, in an attempt to live a long life, decides to attend the Jeremy Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival.  At J.P. he not only gets an intellectual education but is also taught survival skills, like which plants are edible and which will kill you and how to craft shelter in the wilderness.  Newton arrives at school with the idea that he will excel at everything, be top in his class, and be of interest to all.  Things don’t turn out exactly the way Newton hopes and he has a few very important life lessons to learn if he is going to not only survive but actually live his life.

Reaction: I really wanted to like this one but the characters held me back from true like.  There were a lot of good things.  I really enjoyed the format.  The chapters were, mostly, short.  Interspersed with Newton’s story were newspaper articles about his family, facts about landmarks, emails from the headmaster, tips from the Jeremy Pott’s survival guide, Newton’s recipes, etc.  I really enjoyed the fact that there school uniforms were kilts because of Jeremy Pott’s distant Scottish relatives.  This is just one of the examples of the author’s humor, which is laced throughout the story.  My favorite part of the novel had to be Josephine.  Newton calls a French chef he knows to order some truffles for an assignment, but Newton’s French isn’t so hot so he’s not exactly positive that he ordered what he wanted to order.  Sure enough, along with the truffles, the chef sends Josephine, a truffle-sniffing pig.  Josephine is smart.  She finds anything Newton asks her to find and she’s probably the best friend he’s ever had.

Holding me back from truly enjoying this novel was my inability to connect with the characters.  Newton is a bit too egotistical for me.  I know this is in large part due to how he was raised, an only child who may die every time he goes outside, what parent wouldn’t be over-protective, and his lack of socialization, see again over-protection and his mother’s assertion that he should never have friends.  The thing is, though, he always went to a school with other students so he maybe shouldn’t have been as full of himself as he was.  Also, I just wanted a bit more transformation from him, though I suppose in such a short novel that would have been unrealistic.  I also though Jacob was a bit of a pushover.  He seemed to take whatever Newton dished out, though it is nice of him to be loyal.  And I didn’t quite get why Violet liked Newton.  Maybe it’s because he could compete with her and they were similar, loners who thought they were going to be the best at everything?  I just thought she was a bit too forgiving in the end.  I mean, he left here there!  He did come back but I’d still have been a bit mad.

Jolted does have a lot of thing’s going for it — formatting, humor, interesting and unique plot — and not everyone will have my same issues with the characters — honestly, there were lots of times when Newton was very likable, but mostly they were times when he wasn’t interacting with anyone.  I think it will be a satisfying story for readers looking to fill the void until the last Percy Jackson comes out.

A link to a more positive review: The Happy Nappy Bookseller

Katniss Everdeen has had a tough life.  She lives in District 12, the poorest district in the country of Panem, once known as North America, and in the poorest part of District 12 known as the Seam.  When her father died, Kat became her family’s support system as her mother gave into grief and her sister, Prim, was too young to bear the burden.  Now, at 16, Kat illegally hunts to keep her family alive.  Things are going as well as they can until it is time once again for the Hunger Games.  The Hunger Games take place once a year.  24 teens are chosen to participate, two from each district, one boy and one girl.  Each teen is on their own, fighting to the death against each other in unknown terrain.  Only one teen can win; it is survival of the fittest.  This year, despite every safeguard Kat has put in place, Prim’s name is called.  Kat cannot bear the thought of her young, innocent sister in the Hunger Games, so Kat does the unthinkable for her district and volunteers to go in place of her sister.  Kat knows how to survive, she’s been keeping her family alive for years, but can she outwit, out-maneuver, and overcome those contestants who have had lives of priviledge and years of training for the games?  Kat will be tested in ways she never imagined as she strives to endure the Hunger Games.

Reaction:  I can definitely see why The Hunger Games has been floating around as a possible contender for the Printz this year.  It is a wonderful story with broad appeal, both emotional and action-packed.  Collins has a wonderful way with words.  Readers are given enough background to understand what is going on and how Kat came to be the person she is without being bogged down with over-description.  Katniss is an amazing and complex character.  She has such a hard time loving people and an even harder time trusting, due to the hard knocks she’s been handed, but when she loves and when she trusts she does so with her whole being.  Her emotions, and sometime the lack thereof, play a large part in the games.  I felt very sorry for Katniss because she spends much of the time holding herself back from others; survival is her main goal but she does not understand what she might be missing out on by shutting others out.  While the story line is basically wrapped up in the end, there are still so many unanswered questions and so much uncertainty regarding the future that I cannot wait for the next installment to see where Collins is going to take us next.

Cover: I know I tend to comment on cover art a bit much but I am a firm believer in the power of covers to make or break a book.  With Hunger Games, since it is getting such great publicity, I don’t think this will be the case, and the cover isn’t bad, I just think that it could have been better.  My first reaction to the cover was, “This looks like an adult book.”  The size (smaller in length and width than the average adult hardback) helps distinguish it as teen but I’m not a fan of the old-school, rigid block lettering for the title and I think it is, overall, a bit too simplistic.  Also, while the gold emblem will mean something to those who read the book, it means nothing to people simply browsing for a good title.  I think it was a good idea to use the emblem for the cover but I wish it had been incorporated into an illustration instead of being the sole focus.  Finally, I’m sure I will be the only one to make this connection, but the cover reminded me of the packaging of this product…maybe not the best association for me to make with a teen book.

Other Reviews (I’m sure there will be many more to come): nineseveneight and Librarilly Blonde

Booktrailer (My new favorite things!): [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If_uBQzGetk]