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Daily Archives: June 25, 2014

Project Cain by Geoffery Girard

25 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by truebooktalks in Science Fiction, Young Adult

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Brain, Sci-Fi, teen readers

Get ready to be afraid – very afraid!

Jeff has just had his world come crashing down around him.  His father explains that all he ever knew about himself was a lie.  His mother did not die; she didn’t even really exist. His father wasn’t his real father; he wasn’t even really fourteen years old.  He was part of a secret government project, DSTI, to create killing machines using DNA from serial killers, and he is a clone of Jeffery Dahmer. Then, his father leaves him and, for whatever reason, sets free all the clones still living at the Massey Institute, which he succeeds in doing; thus setting a group of killer clones loose in the U.S.

A rogue agent from DSTI, named Castillo saves Jeff from being taken by either DSTI or the killer clones. The killer clones begin a killing spree across the U.S, and Castillo and Jeff have to track down the killers using the notes Jeff’s “father” left. Jeff also has some type of psychic connection to the killers, but he begins to realize that the connection works two ways. There may be more to this story to follow.

Nature or Nurture has always been the big question about criminals.  Girard has given us a thought-provoking work couched in the plot of a horror sci-fi book.  He also tells us about real secret government projects that have involved using humans as guinea pigs – some of which the reader may know about, and others, which- after a good internet search- the reader will come to realize are only too true. Could the events really happen? The answer is, unfortunately, a resounding YES.  The story is written for high school students, but although it is dark and somewhat violent, it could be read by a good middle school reader.

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Victoria by Silvana Goldemberg

25 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by truebooktalks in Young Adult

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Tags

abusive relationships, Fiction, Paraguay, South America, teen readers

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An amazing story of the resiliency of a young girl being abused and living in poverty in Argentina! Victoria’s mother has died and she, along with her twin brothers, must live with her Aunt Marta. Marta, Juan (Marta’s live-in-boy friend), and her daughter, Betina, live with Doña Norma, Victoria’s great-aunt. Doña Norma owns the house where they live, but she is an invalid.  Victoria yearns to be a teacher, but Aunt Marta forces her to quit school and help with the work around the home and with her ironing business.

Juan has made advances in the past, but when he gets very aggressive in his advances to her, Victoria realizes she can not continue living in the home and be safe.  When she runs away, she soon realizes that life on the streets can be as dangerous as what she ran away from.

Fortunately for her, a street boy named Marko befriends her and helps her learn how to survive without having to resort to prostitution or to selling drugs – the usual result for young Argentinian street girls .  While Marko looks out for Victoria and manages to keep other men from messing with her, he cannot get himself out of the grip of drug dealers. Victoria realizes he is in danger but is powerless to help him.

However, along with the bad people she encounters, several good people do come into her life to help save her. Victoria is smart enough to see where life on the streets will take her, and wise enough to take advantage of the good that people offer her.

While there are descriptions of violence and sexual advances, there are no overt scenes.  I think this book is an excellent way to show young women that they can be true survivors when bad things happen to them. I recommend this for middle school and high school libraries. The cost is $12.95 for the paperback version, but I would hope that wouldn’t be a deterrent to purchasing it.

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