Stephanie Stuve-BodeenBesprekingen

This is a story about a little girl who has a baby brother with special needs, and she is still learning how he does things differently

This is a story about a little girl who has a baby brother with Down syndrome. She is learning that he does things differently and is proud of him.

Not as good as The Compund, but still kept my interest.

Great story. Liked by both males and females in my class which is rare!

Science Fiction

This is pretty much a child's guide to tricking your parents into getting you a dog. Amelia, the heroine, master of emotional manipulation, creates an imaginary dog and then "loses" him so that she can get a real dog.

Remind me to try this method out on Jeff.

I liked this book. It's totally my kind of book. It's only a 3 because I thought there should be more.

I read this one mostly so that I could finish the series. I didn't love it all that much.

Well, I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would create such an unlikeable main character!

She was an absolute nightmare of a girl. There was only one point in a flashback that I felt anything other than utter disdain for this arrogant, unkind, entitled character. The only reason I finished was because I kept thinking surely she will have some kind of moment of personal growth but alas, it never happened. I won't be adding this to the library.

2.5 Stars

Nice follow-up to The Compound, starting with the very plausible tension in the Yanakakis family after their ordeal of the previous book. As happy as they are to be out of the compound and reunited with family members they thought were dead, there are lots adjustments to make, and relationships that need to be redefined and rebuilt.

As Eli wonders if they can ever get back to a normal life again, he gradually discovers that he may have more to worry about than picking out the right clothes for himself and dodging a nosy public. The tension moves from normal to bizarre and straight into an action-packed ending reminiscent of the first book.

There's still a little time left over for Eli to develop a love interest; it doesn't take up too much of the plot, but it was a nice touch to include for a character who's learning how to be a teenager in the real world. I especially liked that the girl's name was Verity, considering how much Eli feels he has to lie to her to keep his identity safe.

One more note on Bodeen's luscious descriptions: there are meals in this book that I wish I could eat, there are places I want to visit, and I might even be willing to do crime if it would get me that shower in Eli's room on the island.

If you wanted more story after The Compound, here it is. I was quite happy with it.

4.5 stars. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I picked this up. It had been recommended to me as dystopian fiction, but once I got sucked in, it felt more like horror or an especially disturbing episode of The Twilight Zone.

The main character Eli isn't very likeable, and that's usually the first thing that starts me squirming when I'm in the deciding-if-I'm-going-finish stage of reading a book. He is the narrator, and he's cold and resentful. But it's not very long before we realize that Eli doesn't like himself very much and that he's carrying around a lot of guilt and regret (regret for the past and for the future he's anticipating) with no hope of relief or redemption. I listened to the audio book, and the reader did a nice job with Eli.

The description of the Compound where Eli and his family have lived for 6 years, believing they have escaped a nuclear attack, is intricate and thorough. Too much description can be a turn-off for me too, but this was so well done that I was fascinated. I especially liked how she imagined different types of psychosis would manifest in that situation.

There was a moment when I thought I'd hit the point of no return, and that was when Eli started talking about the "supplements". I had a very hard time believing that his mother would go along with it, that his father would demand it, and that Eli and Lexi expected to go along with it too. But the further I read (listened) the author pulled me back, and I saw that things weren't exactly as they seemed at first. It's still a little bit of a sticking point for me, rating-wise, but the quality of her writing and storytelling overrode any impulse to write off the entire book because of it.

Once something happens that gives Eli a glimmer of hope and horror at how his father has deceived them all , his character starts a rapid transformation into a person we can admire. Some might say too rapid, but I think all he needed was to see that redeeming himself was possible. It made sense to me.

The suspenseful race against time and his father at the end had me so worked up I had to bring the audio book inside and finish it over the weekend (this was my audio book for my work commute) since I didn't have the book on hand. For me, that's the true indicator that a book has made it-when I can't wait to hear more. The riddle to figure out the code was the only other thing that bothered me enough to downgrade my rating-it just seemed too far-fetched that his father would have set that up.

This book won me over despite some longstanding prejudices of mine about what types of plot and character I like. That's a testament to the author's excellent writing. I'm glad to see there's a sequel due out this year.

Wow the reviews were all over the place for this one. I liked it though. Survival stories are one of my favorite tropes so this was right up my alley. Also I have recently read [b:Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption|8664353|Unbroken A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption|Laura Hillenbrand|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327861115s/8664353.jpg|12946965] which I loved. If you're interested in survival at sea stories you really should read that one. But this was a fictional account so I cut it some slack. The story was fast paced and well written. Granted the heroine was a bit of a whiner and a bit thoughtless and clumsy. However I think she was pretty appropriate for a girl of her age. I know that I would not have done as well in this situation as she did.

I didn't realize that Max was dead. I guess I didn't want him to be. I was really hoping for a happy ending I guess so I just ignored the clues. Which when she admitted he was dead I went back and looked for and yes they were there. I teared up a bit at his story and the fact that he didn't make it.

Not as strong as the first book, but an intresting contemplation on the strictures and difficulties of life for the overly famous. Unfortunately, not that believable, and less compelling in character than the first book. It is nice to know how the story ends, however.

I feel like the events going on beneath the surface of the situation in this book were pretty obvious, but I still wanted to know what would happen next. Pretty engrossing book, and well narrated.

In the beginning there was Elizabeti’s Doll (1998), then, Mama Elizabeti (2000). Now, Stuve-Bodeen and Hale team up for the third installment in the series set in Tanzania. In this addition, Elizabeti is excited to start school. Hale’s mixed-media illustrations picture the preparation: in the opening spread, Mama braids Elizabeti’s hair; a trio of vignettes shows the girl as she tests out her new uniform, twirling her skirt and touching her shoes (“No more bare feet! Elizabeti smiled. School must be a very special place”). But excitement soon leads to anxiety—and back again—as Elizabeti enters the schoolyard. At first Elizabeti pulls away from the action, relying on big sister Pendo for safe keeping; an invitation to a join a game of machaura—American children will recognize the game as a variation of jacks—increases her comfort level. When Elizabeti goes home, however, her enthusiasm wanes. After all, her own shoes are much more comfortable than school shoes, her dress is softer and Obedi the cat has given birth to kittens right under Elizabeti’s bed. It is this event that signals Elizabeti’s change of heart, for she has learned in school how to count to five and uses her newfound skill to count the kittens. Soon, she shows off her knowledge of the alphabet and challenges her mother to a game of machaura. It’s enough to make her realize school might not be so bad after all. Throughout, Stuve-Bodeen distills the essence of the school experience, perfectly capturing a child’s emotional state and confirming the universality of first-day jitters. Accented with lively African-inspired paper Hale’s illustrations contain the texture of Tanzania. Together, the talented team offers up another winning peek at a life that’s different but the same.

3.5 stars

Potential spoilers for book 1: Eli and his family have made it out of the underground compound without his father. They are reunited with Gram and Eli’s twin, Eddy. But it’s not easy fitting back in to a “normal” life after six years underground, especially as the well-known rich family they are as they try to hide from prying eyes. They don’t even know who they can trust.

I liked this. It did show how hard it would be to fit back in to a regular life, for Eli and the family, in addition to Eddy having to get used to this new world, as well. As I noticed at least one other review mention, the science fiction aspect of the book didn’t come into play until near the end, but that didn’t bother me, as I still thought the rest of the book was good, too. There were a couple of surprises near the end – one I’d guessed (just shortly before it was revealed), but I didn’t guess the other at all.½

L brought home from the elementary school library

Amelia really, really wants a dog. And Amelia is really, really smart and sneaky: she asks her parents lots of questions (e.g. if we had a dog, could we name it Bones?) and once the hypothetical dog's details are established, Amelia claims that he's lost and they must go look for him. They wind up at the shelter, where, incredibly, Amelia finds Bones! The parents agree to take him home.

I didn't love this book, but I also didn't hate it. For only having about 250 pages, Bodeen was able to do a lot, but I felt there were parts that weren't as well developed.

Eli and his family enter the compound due to being told there is a nuclear war about to start. They have lived in the compound for six years with little things going wrong here and there (which felt a little thrown into the story and not incredibly well developed... perhaps true flashbacks would have felt more natural to me). All of sudden, Eli and his family start to question their father's role in the creating and keeping of the compound. The sudden questioning by Eli youngest sister Terese (I believe she is 11 or 12) felt incredibly rushed. There was no build up that would lead the reader to think that Eli's father has done anything wrong and the fact that Eli's youngest sister recognizes something over Eli (he is 16) feels lacking and fishy. I realize that Eli "lost" his twin brother in the rushing to the compound, but his physical and mental pulling away from his family would probably make him more suspicious of his father... not less. Unless Eli was seriously just that oblivious - which I don't think he is since he was born to a genius of a father.

There were other parts that felt suddenly thrown into the story and weren't very well explained after the initial "throw in". Eli's father feels the need to create "Supplements". This word is randomly throw out there for the reader to see and then wonder about the several pages (or chapters perhaps?) before it is ever fully explained. We know at this point that Eli and his family have already had several problems with the food sources that Eli's father has set up for them in the compound. After the death of their cattle and poultry, the growing light bulbs being incorrectly stocked, and other foods beginning to dimish even after about a year, Eli's father has decided they must create an alternate food source (or at least they are alluded to in this way). Eli's father and mother have 3-4 more children. WHAT THE HELL!? Obviously Eli's father is the bad guy... but even so, the "Supplements" feel either poorly explained or poorly executed in the writing them into the story in the first place.

These were just a few of the issues I had with the story, but overall I liked the premise and plot of the story. I thought Eli was a relateable character who grew overall (as seen when he cuts off his mountain of hair after keeping it long throughout their stay in the compound). Other characters' growth would have been interesting to include a little bit more, but I realize that the story was focusing in on Eli. Bodeen did a good job of creating an villain that was both difficult to hate and at times confusing to trust. Parental figures are tricky ones to create as villains. I will definitely be reading the next book in the duology (The Fallout) to find out whether or not Eli's father survived the explosion of the compound and how the family will adjust to the world they were not a part of for six long years.

2.75 would be my technical rating. This sequel was little slower going than the first book. Eli's family is recovering from being gone for six years underground (literally) through forced imprisonment by their father. It would be more than natural for multiple characters to have trust issues as well as other coping needs. Unfortunately, those were the parts that seemed to drag out for me. The family (mostly Eli and his mom) feel the need to continue to keep the family inside their new house because they aren't sure who to true and they have obviously also become the most popular news story out in the real world. Staying inside and hearing a lot of what was going on inside Eli's head became a little boring at times and while this was a quick read, I think the middle was pretty slow going.

Like in the first book, The Compound, I enjoyed the premise of the story, but had a hard time with some of the science fiction aspects (I won't go into detail so I don't spoil anyone) and also thought the slow character development could have used some more exciting events. Not a bad duo-logy, but definitely for middle grade.

Elizabeti is very excited about going to school for her first day. However, when she gets to school she starts worrying about home. She starts missing her family. This is a great book that can help children that experience these feelings on their first day of school.

Its bad enough when a book is only mildly interesting, its worse when the author thinks they can pull a 180 and make everything you read a complete and utter waste of time within 10 pages.
I love a good twist, but this was not the right way to do it, I am highly annoyed by this book.

Two kids, Seth and Kiva, wake up from virtual reality to find they actually live in space, and they are selected to go on a mission to find a missing part their ship needs to continue their voyage through space. [Because yes it makes perfect sense to send two 15-16 year olds on such an important mission.] You spend majority of this book dealing with two teenagers who don't know how to deal with their "feelings" for each other, which was so frustrating and annoying to read through.
They meet up with another ship and the old dude on it is a psycho and Kiva magically is able to get them to safety from him [oh yah did I mention shes only been awake from this virtual world for like a day, while Seth has been awake from it for like 3 years], and then you go back to the two kids dealing with their freaking feelings AGAIN.

Then in the last 10 pages the writer tries to pull a twist, with meeting another ship, but we have EXACTLY no clue who they are, but apparently there are a few important people on this ship but we never find out why. Then Seth just backtracks EVERYTHING he felt about Kiva in 0.1 seconds, for a freaking ship part and is like "oh well sorry bye" Making all that suffering through of reading about their feelings completely POINTLESS. She introduces new characters, gives insight that there is important people, no one knows where this other ship came from and why it has the same signal as the main ship floating around, and then THE BOOK JUST ENDS.

Nothing is answered, everything you read through becomes completely pointless, you are left with more questions then anything else [like why you even bothered to read this]
Lets also not forget that the author did end it on some frivolous quote about, 'not really knowing someone', and that just ticked me off more. This was going to get a 2.5 star from me originally but after that "twist" end its lucky it even gets 1 star.

I loved every second of this gripping dystopian novel. I give it 5/5 stars for being such an interesting read. This book is great for a book study in class or an independent read.

The Raft by S. A. Bodeen is the story of a plane crash and a desperate attempt at survival by a fifteen year old teenager. Robie Mitchell had been visiting her aunt in Hawaii, but now she was cutting the visit short and taking the cargo flight back to Midway Island where she lives with her biologist parents. Through a series of miscalculations, her presence on the plane is undocumented and when the plane crashes into the sea, Robie doesn’t know if anyone is even looking for her. She and the practically comatose co-pilot embark on a messy yet urgent survival journey in the life raft and things get very serious indeed when she discovers they have no water or food.

I am a huge sucker for survival stories so The Raft was a compelling read for me. I found Robie both endearing and aggravating in turns as she struggles to do what is needed to survive and make it home to her parents. Like any fifteen year old she is sometimes selfish, sometimes whiny, but I thought that part of the story was quite realistic. The fast paced story has plenty of suspense but I did find some aspects a little too simplistic, but then, I am not the target audience for this YA story. Overall, I think this is a story that would appeal to the younger range of YA readers and, to survivor junkies like me.½