Maria's Mélange

 Once again, I am over the moon to be able to participate in a blog tour for the latest John David Anderson book. This one is the second book in a science fiction duology. Science Fiction is one of my absolute favorite genres, and I am so excited to see another amazing addition to middle grade sci-fi hit the shelves. Yes, those are Star Wars mini posters, a Yoda comic,  and a book about Sally Ride behind me. Here is the publisher's summary: Leo Fender is no stranger to catastrophe, whether it’s the intergalactic war that took his mother’s life or the ongoing fight for his own. He’s seen his planet plundered, his ship attacked, his father kidnapped, and his brother go missing—and found himself stranded on a ship with a bunch of mercenary space pirates. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the moment he and the crew tried to save his father—and discovered a dark plot that could destroy hundreds of worlds in the blink of an eye. Now, Leo is adrift. His father has sent him o...

My Batty About Books buddy (@thebrainlair) and I are revisiting our old posts about Fahrenheit 451 as we prepare to read some other classics that we feel tie into the issues facing us today. With the elections in the US bringing real concerns about freedom of speech and authoritarian government styles, we want to read and discuss literature that may help us make sense of it all. We read and watched Fahrenheit 451 in 2012. Next up will be 1984 . Look for that discussion soon! This post is specific to the movie adaptation of the book. TL;DR - read the book instead.... Our posts about the book itself can be found at The Brain Lair Maria's Melange ******** Original Post dated June 2012 ******* from IMDB This week Kathy and I decided to watch the movie version of Fahrenheit 451 and chat about that. It seemed like a fun thing to do. I often have my students watch some or all of a movie adaptation of the books we read. We've watched Wrinkle in Time, the animate...

Batty About Books!  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury *** REPOSTING THIS BOOK CHAT WITH ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY*** My Batty About Books partner Kathy and I are very concerned about the current state of our world and country. As part of speaking out against censorship, destruction of knowledge, and authoritarian government styles, we are resharing our Fahrenheit 451 posts and also choosing and discussing some other novels. We plan to start with 1984 and we'll see where that leads us.  This snippet from our discussion below is so incredibly important right now.... " I love that Bradbury ends with hope. No matter how bad things become, there are always monks holding onto the knowledge in the hopes that the next age will want - will need - what we have learned. Kathy: I asked that question in my responses: who is the keeper of knowledge? Now I know. " We are the Keepers of Knowledge. Don't ever stop being a Keeper.. ******* original post below...

It's been a little while since I posted a SciFriday review - mostly because my summer reading has included a lot of fantasy and trying to wrap up my Newbery reading. The Planet Thieves has been on my "to read" list since it came out in May... so I was excited to get to read it during one of my last lovely days of summer break. The Planet Thieves (The Planet Thieves #1) by Dan Krokos (Goodreads Author) Hardcover, 256 pages Published May 21st 2013 by Starscape ISBN 0765334283 (ISBN13: 9780765334282) Goodreads Summary:       Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded theSS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.      But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.      With the ca...

While I'm thrilled that you are here at MY Blog Tour stop - don't miss out on all the other fun posts! Check out the full list at Walden Pond Press , or scroll down to the bottom for direct links to the other stops. We're ALL giving away a signed hardback copy of this super powered novel! Also check out the giveaway on Facebook , where you could win a book AND an ereader of your choice. Unless I win it, in which case you're just out of luck.  It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of superheroes. You'll find me in line for all the latest movies, and I'm doing my darnedest to keep up with several of the current superhero comics. I'll give Sidekicked a full review in a day or two here on the blog, but let me assure you that this is a book your upper middle grade readers are going to LOVE. Today I'm excited to host a guest post by the author, John David Anderson, which is filled with the same kind of tongue-in-cheek humor that made me enjoy Si...

As those of you who follow my blog or chat with me on Twitter already know, I adore science fiction. I did a decent amount of science fiction reading this summer, but not nearly enough to slake my thirst for new titles. Since I can't keep calling it #SciFiSummer now that the summer is winding down, I'll have to transition to a new catch phrase. If you have any thoughts, let me know! This past week I have been reading an Urban Fantasy ( The Raven Boys ), so I decided to take this Friday to review some science nonfiction I have been reading. After all, you can't have Science Fiction without Science Fact, right? The recent excitement over the Mars Curiosity Rover has reignited my interest in space exploration. As a little girl, and a not so little teen, I was passionate about science. I watched many of the shuttle launches live. (On television, unfortunately, never in person). My very first book review was about an astronomy book. I got paid actual money for that one! T...

More information on Goodreads!  The Story Girl15 is part of an underground world; a world that struggles to survive in the aftermath of devastation to the world above. Her life revolves around her enclave, a small village that consists of Hunters, Builders, and Breeders. There are other enclaves, but trading with them requires venturing into the darkness and avoiding the attacks of deadly Freaks. In spite of the danger, Girl15 has her heart set on becoming a Huntress. Her training and dedication pay off, and she is awarded her adult name in a ceremony when she turns 15. Deuce, as she is now called, joins her new partner Fade on missions to capture meat for her tribe and protect them against Freak incursions. Yet there are secrets in her world. Secrets she manages to uncover. Secrets which the leadership of her enclave deny. Deuce’s journey is the tale of a heroine. As she ventures out beyond what she has ever known before, she must fight for survival, and for the survival o...

On the lighter (and younger) side of Sci Fi -  I've been looking for some science fiction books that could be appropriate for elementary kids. Most of the books I've grabbed this summer have mature enough content (including violence and romance) that I wouldn't feel comfortable handing them to anyone under middle school age. Yes, there have been a few notable exceptions ( please do yourself a favor and read the marvelous Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner. A wonderful "near future" climate science fiction for middle grades and up). This week my son selected a book called Cyberia from the library shelves and I decided to give it a try. Cyberia - by Chris Lynch Goodreads summary:  The premise: It’s the future. Zane lives in a completely wired world, with completely wired parents. Technology has progressed so that every pet has a microchip in it that allows the pet to talk. Zane's happy about that. Until one day a strictly contraband wild animal -- a...