Shade's Children

Rating:
Summary: Awesome, Unbelievable and Breathtaking!!!
Review: The summary on the back of the book about sums up what it's about. But honestly, this book is skillfully written and made me cry alot at the end, Nix has done a WONDERFUL job on this, a definite must--read.
To parents: there is a sex scene in this, I personally just skipped it, you might want to know if you bought it for younger kids.

Rating:
Summary: Shade's Children
Review: Kimberly Lyles
Mr. Felt- 3rd period
Language Arts
2/24/05

Book Review

The book Shades Children by Garth Nix is about how one day out of nowhere adults and teenagers disappeared from cars, buses, homes and anywhere else they were at the time. Children's lives were changed forever, their parents and older siblings simply disappearing out of thin air. Ensuing the change came a horrible change in humanity. Anyone younger than 14 were sent to dormitories where they awaited their impending death, and anyone fourteen or over were sent to the "Meat Factory" where they were dismembered so that their evil captors, the "Overlords" could take their brains and muscle to create their vast armies of wingers, trackers, screamers, myrmidons, and ferrets, that they used to capture escapees from the dorms, and fight battles.
Shade's Children is the story of a couple of children lucky enough to escape the "dorms" and make it to one man, one mentor, called "shade". Though Shade is not an actual man, he has the personality and intelligence of one. Children lucky enough to escape their death and their pursuit by horrible creatures flocked to Shade's submarine for protection, supplies, and weapons.
In this book Shade uses the children to battle the Overlords forces and try to discover their source of enormous power. This book sounds like an action packed movie but it is a wonderful science fiction book. This book is so complex that I have read it about three times and every time I read it I discover something new, its not just the minor details that I did not notice but it was some parts of the story that are basically hidden unless you pay very close attention. But that is what is so intriguing about Shade's Children, it keeps you coming back for more and more. Shade's Children makes you feel like you are one of the children that escaped from the "Meat Factory" and are trying ever so desperately to survive. Shade's Children is definitely an amazing, splendid, entertaining book, I am looking forward to reading it again. I think that Garth Nix deserved both awards he got for writing Shade's Children and the awards are 1998 Best Books for Young Adults and 1997 Pick of the Lists, these are very prestigious awards and they are well deserved.


Rating:
Summary: Shades of the Future
Review: Death comes early in author Garth Nix's Shade's Children. In fact, it comes at age 14. Kids are whisked away to the "meat factory", where they will never be heard from again. Unless, of course, they escape.
Set in a present-day where aliens rule the world, Nix creates a realistic sci-fi setting for truly human characters. The author uses a unique chapter-to-chapter writing style, alternating exposition with innermost thoughts, which gives depth to the main characters.
Shade's Children takes place in what appears to be either the present day or the near future. Aliens have conquered the human race and killed the adults or transformed them into minions. All the children under age 14 are warehoused in a huge building. The rest of Earth is abandoned. A human scientist, who managed to put his brain and consciousness into a machine, calls himself Shade and helps escaped children survive. Some of these children have special talents, such as "seeing" the near future. It seems that after the aliens killed all the adults, they were unsure how to create human children. The children with special talents were the result. Despite this fantastic premise, Nix's book seems plausible. Earth and its strange environments seem very realistic. The reader believes that Nix's scenario could really happen.
In addition, the book is written in an interesting style. Between chapters, the type face changes and the reader gets to see a short passage taken from the memory bank of the half human/half computer Shade. The passages range in style from interviews with escaped kids to information about the aliens to training lessons to video archives to mission orders and self-examinations. Some of the passages use foreshadowing and others provide further explanations of previous events.
The main characters in Shade's Children are all realistically conflicted between their inner and outer selves. Gold Eye seems slow, but is actually quite perseverant. Ella seems hard-working and uptight, but secretly longs to let loose and have fun. Drum is quiet and serious, but proves to be kind and caring. Ninde seems strong on the outside, but inside she is deathly afraid. Taken together, these teens represent the human race. Because the adult Shade is half human and half computer, he faces a constant internal conflict. Shade is always unsure what he should do or how he should act. This conflict adds to the realism and believability of the characters.
In conclusion, Shade's Children is a realistic sci-fi novel that could very well happen in 2006. Its three-dimensional characters add much to the story. Its unique writing style also sustains reader interest. Overall, Shade's Children is a riveting novel.

Rating:
Summary: A Limited Scope Novel gives you many interesting questions
Review: Wonderful novel, sparsely written with appropriate details to the reactions of children in times of war. The heroic aspects of the story follow in traditions of fantasy novels with interesting concepts of enslavement. I was drawn in by the tale, much to my own surprise, asking many questions right until the very end. The author does leave you hanging, not really answering the origin questions, but within the context of the story giving an ending with a glimpse toward the future. This isn't just for young adults, it is high quality sceince fiction.

Rating:
Summary: WHat are we putting in our kids minds!!!
Review: This book has so many sex related comments, it teaches that casual sex is okay.. See page 136.. It also has women entered in a lottery, they will be chosent to go into a cubicle and have sex with someone!! Terrible. I will never allow my child to read one of Nix's books again!

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE this book!
Review: When I first picked up Shade's children at my school library, I figured it would just be another one of the books I devour but I couldn't put it down which isn't rare for me but what is strange is that even after I finished it I had to read it again and again...and then sadly it disappeared from the school library and I didn't see it anywhere for nearly 7 months. But now I have it again! This is a truly touching story, one of the first books that actually made me cry. This book is as close to perfect as a book can get. It has every thing...adventure, computers, danger, creativity, and even a love story.

Rating:
Summary: good book
Review: This is my favorite book of all time. and i don't read that many books for pleasure so that is a huge compliment. the unique writing style makes this a must-have for sci fi lovers.

Rating:
Summary: Four and a half stars
Review: Shade's children is an interesting delve into what happens when children grow up too quickly. Massacred en masse at the age of seventeen (unless used for breeding) children are fighting to reach their adult years. Noone knows where the adults went, but in their place "overlords" have come to assail the planet.

But there are some who escape, some who can save the rest. These are "Shade's Children". They fight to keep eachother, and themselves, alive while attempting to save others from the "meat factory".

These novel is filled with twists and turns, and you is a must-read for anyone who can read science fiction. I am fifteen and loved it, so maybr you will too.