The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I've heard a lot of hype about this book throughout the years, but I had never read it. When I opened the front cover to read this book I started a story that was completely unexpected! This has been an amazing, can't put down read for me, which is a nice change from the (hard to finish) Divergent series! This book, I discovered, is the first installment of a four part series and I hope I am able to finish it!

Arthur Dent got his life permanently changed by his very odd friend Ford (that he had no idea was an alien from a small planet near Betelgeuse). The Earth was gone and Arthur was suddenly hitching rides on multiple space ships meeting beings he had never heard of before. Ford is a hitchhiker writing entries into the very vast Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that would need several small buildings to contain its physical contents so it is presented to Arthur on a small reading device of sorts. Arthur is subjected to many things during this fantastic journey, one of those such things being the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything (42)! Oh! And the job of the president is just to distract the people from what the government is actually doing! Doesn't that sound familiar!

This book reminds me so much of our society. Everyone is always wondering what their purpose in life is and why they were created. There's also constant debates and arguments about WHO created is or how we came to be. I found the job of the president particularly funny with Trump being our current elected official. I would definitely suggest this book to students and friends! We could go as far as to make this a class book and do writing assignments based on it, like how they think 42 could be the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Insurgent

I am currently reading the book, Insurgent, by Veronica Roth. This is the second installment in the Divergent series and follows the life of one character, Tris Prior. When I looked online for the target audience I found multiple sites that would recommend this series to ages 10 and up.  As a 22-year-old, I have enjoyed the story line the books follow, but I can see how the writing and story can be too mature for the target audience. There are many instances of violence, including suicide,  stabbing, and gun usage, as well as romantic relationships someone of that age should not strive for. I understand that, in the age of Call of Duty and other first person shooters, violence is not as big of a deal as it once was, but I still feel as though the amount of exposure to it should be limited at such a young age.

Looking at the writing from the perspective of a twenty-something, I find it to be unimaginative and it carries the basic vocabulary of a children's chapter book. The level of writing doesn't match the maturity of the content expressed, in my opinion; however, you see that a lot in books labeled young adult. Roth's writing isn't all bad, either. As I said previously, I do enjoy the books. I'm just not sure how I would feel about someone so young reading about the topics discussed.

One section of the text that I particularly view as too mature for the writing is in chapter 5, page 48. After fleeing the city to find safety in the Amity compound, Tris finds herself unable to sleep because she keeps reliving the moment she shot and killed one of her best friends, who was, at the time, under the control of the Erudite and trying to kill her. She walks down the hall to her boyfriend, Tobias' room. She realizes she is only wearing a long t-shirt, no pants, and he crawls into bed with him... "His fingers move slowly up my back, tracing my spine. My shirt creeps up my body, and I don't pull it down, even when I feel cool air on my stomach. He kisses my neck, and I grab his shoulder to steady myself, gathering his shirt into my fist. His hand reaches the top of my back and curls around my neck. My shirt is twisted around his arm, and our kisses become desperate..." To me, it seems like this passage is trying to hard to be sexual. I feel as though this level of physical contact is inappropriate for a book of this level.

Not all of her writing is bad, though. I believe she has some very interesting ideas integrated into the book. One such concept is mentioned in chapter 6, page 59. Tris is still in the Amity compound but has just violated one of their rules by getting into a fight with one of her Dauntless enemies. She is escorted away to a room by a couple Amity members. While in the room, she is stuck by a needle and injected with some sort of serum. The immense amounts of anger she was previously feeling are suddenly gone... "How do you feel?' the younger man says. "I feel..." Angry, I was about to say. Angry with Peter, angry with the Amity. But that's not true, is it? I smile. "I feel good. I feel a little like...like I'm floating. Or swaying. How do you feel?"'  Throughout the rest of the chapter Tris' experience change because of the effects of the serum. Her entire demeanor is different and her inner monolog has changed. I thought this chapter was extremely interesting and presented the idea in a pretty fantastic way.

There are good parts and bad in the writing of this series. I would recommend it to my friends, but I'm not sure I would recommend it to students. This is definitely not a book I would read in school because of the violence and romantic incidents.