Monday, March 28, 2011

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday -- The Resisters

Dear Lenny Lee,

Last week, when I posted my recommendation for Sparrow Road by Sheila O'Connor, you were kind enough to comment that it sounded pretty cool, although you mostly prefer exciting guy stuff with magic and neat inventions. Well, this book could be what you're looking for:


THE RESISTERS by Eric Nylund, coming April 26, 2011 from Random House, for ages 10 to 14.

No magic here (well, maybe a little), but plenty of neat inventions and non-stop excitement.

Ethan Blackwood is the star of his soccer team.  But this isn't just any soccer team.  When he plays soccer, he plays it inside a 600-pound nuclear-generated exoskeleton.  Twelve-year-old Ethan lives far in the future, after World War Four, when the world is at peace and everyone speaks the same language. Kids compete for spots in the top high schools.  As soon as they become teens, they're whisked off to these prep schools.  Ethan has never questioned this.

But after his soccer game, Ethan is dragged away by two pale kids, Felix and Madison, who don't go to his elementary school.  They take him to a secret cave and show him three fighting suits that look like insects.  And they tell him an incredible story: fifty years ago Earth was taken over by the Ch'zar collective, an alien civilization that uses mind-control.  Everyone over the age of 13 is controlled by the Ch'zar.  For some reason, their mind control techniques don't work on kids.

Felix and Madison then ask Ethan to join them, using the flying wasp suit, and become a Resister.  Will Ethan accept the challenge?  Will he be able to handle it?  And what will happen to his thirteen-year-old sister, Emma, who's heading for prep school tomorrow?  What about his parents, who always tried to tell him to think for himself?

This is like a video game come to life (no surprise, considering the author is a head writer for Microsoft Game Studios and is best known for the HALO series).  Action-packed and highly entertaining.  I think you'd enjoy it.

Sincerely,
Miss Joanne

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is the brainchild of Shannon Whitney Messenger at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe. Today she's featuring three different MG books -- and a giveaway!

Others who participate:
Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming
Sherrie Petersen at Write About Now
Myrna Foster at Night Writer
Brooke Favero at Somewhere in the Middle
Go see what they're up to this week.
UPDATE: Natalie Aguirre at Literary Rambles is featuring a giveaway also!

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Don't forget my GIVEAWAY!  Still going on, until Sun April 3.  Win an ARC of DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth.  Be a follower, leave a comment on that post.  Creative answers to my question (which faction in DIVERGENT would you join?) have a better chance of winning!

12 comments:

  1. This looks AWESOME! I will have to read this book! Thanks for highlighting it :)

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  2. That was quick, Sherrie! Thanks. It is pretty awesome.

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  3. Thanks for the review, Joanne. This one looks exciting.

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  4. Sounds a bit like The Matrix, but for kids. Adding it to the list...

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  5. Hi Myrna. I thought I commented on your comment earlier today, but the computer ate it up! Hmmm... kind of like the giant bugs in this book!

    Hi Kim. Yes, some aspects of the book are like The Matrix. Also Transformers. You can definitely see the influences, but he's made his own unique book.

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  6. Thanks for the review. I hadn't heard of this one. It certainly is very creative. It's one of the things I like about middle grade books. Thanks for sharing about it.

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  7. Hi Natalie. Thanks for stopping by. There are a lot of wonderful MG books out there. I think all of us MMGM posters have only tapped the surface.

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  8. I seriously love MMGM. My TBR pile grows every week. I love the books you pick.

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  9. I love this! I'm excited to be able to hear about great middle grade books for my kids. Thanks!

    http://nisaswineford.blogspot.com/

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  10. You're welcome, Nisa. I appreciate your comment.

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  11. hi miss joanne! wow cool you did a post specially for me. thanks! :) for sure thats the kinda book i wanna read. its way different and its got lots of exciting stuff and its scifi and...a guy hero! hooray for cool mg books.
    ...big smile from lenny

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  12. YAY, Lenny! You found my post I did just for you. Yes, it's a guy hero and there's lots of cool sci fi stuff. Hope you get a chance to read it.

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