From: Steven Engelfried <sengelfried>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 13:41:28 -0800

My response to "Scorpion's" ending was positive, because by that point I was so involved in the world and the characters that I had no expectations or assumptions, just an eagerness to know what would happen next. Though Farmer clearly has a lot to say about our world and its future, her powerful storytelling brought me so fully into the world she created that I never felt I was being preached to or instructed. The world sticks with me, though, and I've thought about the implications many times since I finished the book. That's a hard effect for a writer to achieve..."The Giver" is another book that works that way for me, but I can't think of many other recent juvenile titles (especially in the science fiction genre) that present so many thought provoking ideas in such an appealing and involving story. It's at the top of my own Newbery wish list. I wasn't going to comment on "Feed," since I gave up early on in the book, but the discussion has been fascinating. Like one or two others, I felt the language was artificial and obvious, at least for the first few chapters I stuck with...not nearly as complex and original as "A Clockwork Orange" or "Ridley Walker." But other enthusiastic comments here have made me question my decision, and I look forward to giving it another try. One of the best things about this list serv is the way we get the benefit of other readers' passionate and thoughtful responses to books we might otherwise skip...

Steven Engelfried, Children's Division Librarian Beaverton City Library 12375 SW 5th Street Beaverton, OR 97005 503R6%99 sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us
Received on Tue 21 Jan 2003 03:41:28 PM CST