中学生英文读物推荐交流帖（本帖出现的图书都有简介和推荐年龄）

michelleyl

My mum has asked me to write a book review. I am actually going to write three series of books. They are good for people who have imaginative minds and like fiction.

The first series is The Immortal Nicholas Flammel books:
The Alchemyst
The Magician
The Sorceress
The Necromancer
The Warlock
The Enchantress

These books are about Nicholas and his wife Perenelle losing The Book. This book holds the formula for immortal life. It also holds many other formulas as well. They are trying to recover the book with John and Sophie Newman. They are the twins of the prophecy. The Sun and The Moon.

The second series is the conspiracy 365:
January
Feburary
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
November
December
Revenge

This is about a boy named Cal who is on the run from the police. He was falsely accused of a crime he would never commit. Shooting his uncle and strangling his sister. The only thing he can do know is to find the Ormand Singularity within 365 days. Otherwise the Ormand Singularity will belong to the Crown.

The third series is probably the best by far. The Ranger's Apprentice, by John Flanagan:
Ruins of Gorlan
The Burning Bridge
The Icebound Land
Oakleaf Bearers
The Sorcerer in the North
The Siege of Macindaw
Erak's Ransom
The Kings of Clonmel
Halt's Peril
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
The Lost Stories

This is about a boy named Will who has to go through Choosing Day. This is a day where boys and girls get chosen to different Crafts. Will really wants to be a knight but he is disappointed. None of the Craftmasters really want him. If he doesn't get chosen, it means a lifetime being a farmer. But suddenly Halt turns up. He is a ranger and can turn invisible. People say that Rangers are black sorcerers and can go inside trees to hide.

When Will gets apprenticed to Halt, he finds that they don't practice magic, only that they camouflage to the surroundings. But even Will is disappointed when he finds the weapons Rangers use. Two knives and a bow. He always thought that bows were what normal people use for hunting. But when he tries toprevent the assassination of the King, he finds that a Ranger's weapons are not so useless after all...

patrickzhu

moody 发表于 2012-9-24 14:42
俺家的只爱看小说怎么办？
据他说历史地理传记等等都是功课，小说才是百看不厌。 ...

我是个例子，小时候喜欢历史地理天文传记等等一切非小说类的东西，文学类的东西看的很少，全是知识，长大了才发现没啥用，呵呵。
所以，别担心了，中学生你想让他干啥不是你说了算的。

merry43

我儿子最近喜欢Robert Muchamore 写的书,上周刚买了新出版的GUARDIAN ANGEL. 之前也买过REOPLE'S REPUBLIC. 我儿子也从学校借同一作者同一系列的书. 没问他具体内容.

Onmyway

Lord of The Rings



Longest book I've ever read, oldest book I've ever read, but not the dullest. That prize goes to the Twilight series. My advice to you would be to never read the middle section. Then again, nobody listens to my advice, because if you don't read the middle section, the whole thing doesn't make sense. The book is actaully seperated into 3 main mini - books. Those 3 sections, are then divided up again into 2 mini - mini - sections (That alone could be made into a small book). So, basically you get 6 sections of the book, and since I am just so lucky, I got all 6 in the same book. I actaully measured the spine, and it's 5 centimetres long. The words don't have a lot of spacing, and are probably size 10 or 9 font. Worst of all...THERE IS NO ILLUSTRATIONS!...

Just like any book you'll read, the ending, the beginning will always be interesting, but the middle part is definetly the climax of the book. That's how we're taught, aren't we? When everyone learnt how to write narratives or stories of their own, they were told that the story is a line. First it starts as a straight line, yet rising slowly at a constant pace. Next, it'll reach a part, where the line just gets higher and higher up to the top (The climax) As the story ends, the line slowly diminishes and desecends off down to a happy ending or a sad tragedy. To me, this book was quite different from that line. To me, the middle part was just endless, it was almost like reading New Moon in Year 4. I eventually got lost in the language and I wasn't sure of what was happening. I only picked up a few bits of important information along the way, but it was dull and it seemed like the characters weren't doing much. I felt like the writer wanted to stall the climax of the book or something. The good part of the book comes in the beginning, partly because I just like the feel of starting a book, and the excitement you get when reading the frist few chapters. Yet, it's also partly because everything is happening all at once, making the story move at a fast pace. It's a blur, but a blur you'll just understand. When it comes to the ending, firstly, you'll get a feeling of immense satisfication, and secondly, it's war. Don't take that the wrong way, as in I like people dying, and swords or things like that, but as in it's so much more breathtaking, and interesting to read. The book becomes so much more enticing,
because, again, it moves at a fast pace to keep the reader going.

Some bad things or confusing things, that I thought the writer could've changed or didn't have were Sauron (The Lord of the Rings, like literally, not the title of the book) actaully appearing or having a battle. All that the readers got, well, was a fiery, red eye. That was a bit disappointing for me, as I would've liked a bit more action for the Fellowship of the Ring. Another thing I didn't like, was the fact that Frodo seemed helpless and kind of useless in a way. It was always his friends (The Fellowship of the Ring) or his companions that had to rescue him or fight for him, time and time again. It didn't seem like he played a big part as one of the main characters in the book. So I thought, he could've been more the classic heroic type.

The person I admire most in this story, would be Samwise Gamgee. He was frightened, he was short, he was not the exactly the smartest hobbit, but we was loyal and encouraging. He never left his master's side (Frodo) and always remained true to him wherever they went. I don't think that Sam get enough recognition in this book, but I would've liked that as well.

Making this book review, and well knowing this much about The Lord of the Rings, makes me sound just a bit nerdy, so don't judge me. :)

Onmyway

The Hobbit



This book is entirely different from The Lord of the Rings, which is hard to believe as it is meant as a pre - sequel to it. So what makes it so much more different? There's still elves, and mysterious creatures roaming about the forest in Middle Earth, it's just Bilbo Baggins is the main character that's all (Bilbo Baggins is Frodo Baggins's uncle). This book, is a children's book. It's funny, childish, an most importantly imaginative. Sure, The Lord of the Rings is also imaginative, but this book can relate to what children come up with in their heads. To me, every child will be immature, and will have so much more imagination that adults. That's what makes them so pure. It's those people who chose to keep that imagination when they grow up, or to stay close to that imagination is what makes them a good childrens' author.

A kid in Year 4 or 5, could easily finish this book in a week or two. Maybe for those who love reading, could finish it within a week. It's so much more relaxing and laughable, unlike the Lord of the Rings, where it's serious business. That's what makes the Hobbit a great book.

merry43

My mum made me do this review.

'Guardian Angel' is the second book in the second Cherub series by Robert Muchamore and follows on from the first book, 'People's Republic'. This series is action and adventure and is most suited to teenages.

The main character of Guardian Angel is Ryan Sharma, the same as People's Republic. Ryan is part of an organisation called Cherub which is a spy organisation, except the spies are children. Ryan continues on his first proper mission which he starts in the first book. His task was to befriend Ethan, the son of a woman who is part of a dangerous gang. Ryan's plan to become friends with him go wrong and Ethan is moved to another country after his house is attacked and his mother is killed.

In Guardian Angel, the book continues right where the first left off. Ryan stays in contact with Ethan through electronic means and all this is monitored. Ethan is being transfered to a boarding school, but he is kidnapped and taken somewhere else by his uncle, who Ethan suspects was behind the killing of his mother. Ethan finds out his unlce's plans of taking control of the gang by taking all of its funds. Later, Ethan escapes and tries to get the money back, he gets back some of it but not before the CIA gets most of it, practically shutting down the gang. The mission is still not over as now they have to stop the gang splitting into multiple gangs, which is even worse than one gang. This is continued in the next book, Black Friday.

I like this book and the series because there is action, adventure and it is exciting.

Onmyway

Imagine a village that's kept in harmony, with no such thing as theivery, lies, murder or any type of bad behaviour. Where there is no mistakes. Where everyone is given a special name to do with their true - self or talent that they possess. For example, if you discover you're true talent is helping people with your medicine, then your name might be the 'Herbalist'. Would you want to live there? I know I wouldn't, because making mistakes is part of who we are as a person, we learn from them, if there were no mistakes, who would you be?

This village is exactly what I described above, but sooner or later, people will naturally succumb to making mistakes, and this village will become dust in the wind. I find this book very much like The Giver, of which Lois Lowry also wrote (The Giver won the Newbury Medal Book Award), due to the fact that the villagers are given special names to suit what they are like or what they do. The book mainly focuses on a young boy named Matty. He yearns for his true name, and he hopes it to be 'Messenger'. This is because he can travel through the Forest without harm. The Forest is described as a deadly and unwelcome place to people, and if angered, the Forest will give you small warnings such as a prick on the arm, this means that the next time you enter, you won't come back out. Matty is different. The Forest almost seems to embrace or welcome him in a way nobody understands. He travels back and forth through the Forest on errands to different towns and villages.


(THIS PART OF THE REVIEW MIGHT SPOIL THE BOOK FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO READ IT, SO .... IF YOU WANT TO READ IT ... DON"T READ ON..)

It's a fast - paced book, and someone could easily finish it in a day or two, because it's not long anyway. The thing that I don't like about this book is that fact that the main protagonist dies in the last 2 or 3 pages, and the ending is just rushed and confusing. Once you get to the last chapter, it almost seems as if the writer was late for something, and just wrote it in a hurry. I don't mind Shakespeare killing off his characters at the end, because ... well, he's Shakespeare and he writes tragedies and all, but in this book, it's just confusing and a bit weird for the reader. But overall, I still enjoyed this book, and I hope many of you get a chance to read it.

irenezhang

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irenezhang

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tigernz

陈氏钢琴行

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patrickzhu

被顶起来了，呵呵。

前面我女儿写的那个【Messenger】是美国女作家Lois Lowry的作品，她曾经两次获得Newbery Medal，牛人一枚，现在应该有70多岁了。。。

这部书算是她Newbery Medal的作品【The Giver】和【Gathering Blue】的延续，但不是正儿八经的三部曲，因为之间关系并不大只是结构很相似，结尾都很开放，意犹未尽人物的命运都不交代完整的那种。。。

我在小学版的那个帖子里写过【The Giver】，现在我正在厨房等饭熟，突然看到WIKI上有详细的中文介绍，贴来再介绍下。
这个书虽然很薄，但是就内容来说小学生可能会有些不明所以然，中学生可能更能理解其中的含义，尤其是当前反乌托邦文学电影大行其道的背景下。。。The Hunger Game其实不稀奇，这种题材Lois Lowry二十年前就玩的很玄了。。。


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FROM WIKI

初读此书，描写的似乎是一个乌托邦，所有可能消灭痛苦和烦恼的措施样样俱全。双向廣播器时刻监控每一个家庭的违规现象。人们一直都严守规矩；家庭成员每天都相互交流他们的梦想和感受，杜绝任何情感纠结。这个社区根据每个人的秉性进行夫妻配对，一直维持着和谐秩序。

在纽伯瑞获奖演说中，洛利描述她创建的大同世界：

我努力让乔纳斯的世界使人感觉熟悉，舒服，而且安全，也在尝试诱导读者。我用我的方式来牵引读者。这确实是一个完美的世界。我把我害怕的和不喜欢的东西全都消灭掉了：暴力，贫穷，歧视和不公，同时让每个人都彬彬有礼，因为我认为这是一种理想化的生活方式。这样的社会，已达到人们想象的极限。

然而，随着故事展开，人们越来越清楚地发现，这种社会并没有家庭和爱的观念（至少不是洛利所暗示的“更完整”的观念）。孩子由指定的“生育妈妈”来孕育，然后分配，每个家庭都是一儿一女，以此来控制人口平衡。当每一个家庭在稳定的环境中，完成了养育孩子的任务，家庭就再也没有必要存在。父母迁居到专为没有孩子的成人设立的公共机构，而孩子们，则开始他们的职业生涯，并且组建自己的家庭。为了维持这种制度，社区使用药物来抑制成员的感情，没有罗曼蒂克的爱情，更没有性。

沿着河岸，和这个社区类似的城镇星罗棋布，周围廣平的大片土地给他们提供农作物，同时便利交通运输。他们利用气候控制使天气保持恒定。

社区由一个由老年人组成的委员会监管，给每一个年满12岁的小孩分配工作，职位终身不变。人们受严格的规矩束缚，这些规矩涉及很广，关系到生活的方方面面，如若违反，只需要一个简单却是程式化的道歉以示惩戒。有时候，有些规定被违反了也可以忽略的：比如未到规定年龄骑车的小孩由兄姐教他们骑车。如果社区的成员被判决两次严重违反了规定，可能会被“驱逐”，在这个未来世界中，相当于死刑（尽管在被判决受驱逐时并没有指出，其实是在社区执行死刑）。

“驱逐仪式”贯穿整部小说，随着谜底逐步揭开，故事基调也变得越来越阴暗。故事刚刚开始的时候，我们知道这个过程被普遍认为是一种羞辱，尤其被驱逐的人是社区里面的一分子。另一方面，老年人受驱逐是值得庆贺的，而婴儿受驱逐被认为是维持平衡的必要手段。后来，我们发现只有还在让保育员照顾，未分配到特定家庭的婴儿才会被驱逐，而且有一套特别的标准。尤其是，当一个生育妈妈诞下一对长相相似的双胞胎，保育员就会给他们秤体重，体重轻的那一个会被驱逐。

在乔纳斯的社区，人们相信那些被驱逐的人是被送到“另一个地方”，可能是另一个社区。故事到达高潮的时候，主人公发现驱逐实际上是安乐死。揭露真相的这一段情节，招致一些成年人批评，他们并不希望孩子们接触这样的文字。

小说以第三人称写作，追踪主人公乔纳斯的视角，从他等待12岁就业庆典的时候写起。乔纳斯生活在一个很标准的家庭，母亲是个法官，父亲是“保育员”。他自己被选择担任“记忆接受者”，因为他具有超乎寻常的“天赋”。这是很特殊的能力，例如可以看见颜色和聆听音乐。他从年老的前任那里接受训练，接受记忆，履行“记忆接受者”的职责。这一位老人（对社区来说他也是“接受者”，对乔纳斯来说他是“授者”）承受着所有记忆的感情重压。这些记忆来自大同世界建立之前，“很久很久很久以前”，在乔纳斯的世界，再也没有一个人记得这些事情。

通过授者，乔纳斯获得了在他的世界已经湮灭的记忆：暴力，悲伤和失落，同样也有爱，美丽，欢乐，冒险和家庭。到最后，洞悉了这些感情的乔纳斯决心去改变这个社区，让情感回归世界。

故事的结尾很含糊，乔纳斯的将来，甚至他是否仍在生，小说都没有透露。

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freshsalads

Thanks for sharing, everyone. Mark.

jasmineh

推荐一套小K最近很爱看的小说系列。Amazon把这套书列为Young Adult丛书，ages 12 and up。

The Tomorrow Series - John Marsden

John Marsden (born 27 September 1950 ) is an Australian writer, teacher and school principal. Marsden has had his books translated into ten languages including Swedish, Norwegian, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Polish and Spanish. Marsden was born in Victoria, Australia and spent his early life in Kyneton, Victoria, Devonport, Tasmania and Sydney, New South Wales. At age 28, after working several jobs, Marsden began a teaching course. Whilst working as a teacher, Marsden began writing for children, and had his first book, So Much to Tell You, published in 1987. Since then, he has written or edited over 40 books and has sold over 5 million books throughout the world. In 2006, Marsden started an alternative school, Candlebark School in the Macedon Ranges, in which he is the school principal.

An Overview of the "Tomorrow" Series

Set in the current day and told through the highly readable journal of Ellie Linton, the very Australian daughter of sheep farmers, the seven books of the "Tomorrow" series are the story of how a group of Australian teenagers respond to the surprise invasion of their country.

On the surface these are "action/adventure" novels, full of well written and absorbing chases, evasions, attacks, escapes, triumphs and disasters. These are very well done and the novels can be thoroughly enjoyed at this level, but there is a lot more to them than that. The true heart of these novels is to be found in the characters, eight very ordinary young people, who could be any of us, and how they cope with the nightmare their world has become.


List of books in the series

Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993)
The Dead of the Night (1994)
The Third Day, The Frost (1995) (published in the U.S. as A Killing Frost)
Darkness, Be My Friend (1996)
Burning for Revenge (1997)
The Night is for Hunting (1998)
The Other Side of Dawn (1999)

patrickzhu

从小学版的那个帖子搬一些明显是中学生读物的帖子来这里。

patrickzhu

D妈妈说过有一阵子HD很迷James B. Patterson的系列小说，嗯，的确好像中学生看他的书很多，校园里挺流行的，我女儿这阵子也狂看，她最近在看Maximum Ride的系列有7本，显然他的书是速食文化，她每二天一本的速度，真正的娱乐消遣读物，算不算“海滩读物”啊？

JUJU好像说过，他下面有一堆枪手，替他写故事，显然是流水作坊，我作为家长觉得他的书没啥好看的，不过嘛，女儿看这个总比看youtube或者坐在那里无所事事好，呵呵。

阅读年龄嘛，中学生到成人。

他的书好像最流行的是【Alex Cross】系列，其他系列小说还有【Michael Bennett】, 【Women's Murder Club】, 【Maximum Ride】, 【Daniel X】, 和【Witch & Wizard】。

patrickzhu

jasmineh 发表于 2012-11-15 10:20
推荐一套小K最近很爱看的小说系列。Amazon把这套书列为Young Adult丛书，ages 12 and up。

The Tomorrow S ...

这个在那个小学帖子里也介绍过，应该是中学生读物，澳洲本土出品。

在澳洲非常流行的一套针对年轻读者的小说，在澳洲本土已经卖了300万册，算是非常了不起的销售记录了。
一共有七本：
Tomorrow, When The War Began (1993)
The Dead Of The Night (1994)
The Third Day, The Frost (1995)
Darkness, Be My Friend (1996)
Burning For Revenge (1997)
The Night Is For Hunting (1998)
The Other Side of Dawn (1999)

Recommended for ages 12+

patrickzhu

系列的第一部【Tomorrow, When The War Began】在2010年被改变成了电影。
这部电影嘛，我个人认为拍的很糟糕，乏善可陈。

patrickzhu

我也来推荐一本【The Book Thief】。
作者Markus Zusak是一位奥地利/德国后裔的澳洲作家，出生在悉尼。
这本书出版于2005年，是英语世界里的全球畅销书，超过100周列于纽约时报儿童书籍销售榜。

故事讲述了1939年的德国，9岁的小女孩Liesel Meminger和弟弟被迫送往慕尼黑远郊的寄养家庭。6岁的弟弟不幸死在了路途中。在冷清的葬礼后，Liesel意外得到她的第一本书《掘墓人手册》。这是14本给她带来无限安慰的书之一。她是个孤苦的孩子，父亲被打上了共产主义者的烙印，被纳粹带走了；母亲随后也失踪了。在弹奏手风琴的养父的帮助下，她学会了阅读。尽管生活艰苦，她却发现了一个比食物更难以抗拒的东西——书。她忍不住开始偷书。Liesel Meminger，这个被死神称为“偷书贼”的可怜女孩，在战乱的德国努力地生存着，并不可思议地帮助了周围同样承受苦难的人。

这是一本有趣生动令人感动的作品，因为故事是死神的旁述，Liesel的种种偷书行为都看在死神的眼里，最后谱成了这本书。
特别是书中结尾，死神把Liesel写的书还给Liesel，Liesel问死神是否理解了书中的内容。死神说其实他一直没有明白直到现在这一刻，死神说了一句名言：“I am haunted by humans”。

Recommended for ages 12-17


这部书非常牛，有深度的同时故事性也很强，从初中生，高中生到成人通杀。

JUJU对此书的评价：
这书比一般中学生热衷的无厘头魔幻小说之类强多了, 有历史, 有深度, 文字好, 构思又好, 还能激发青少年爱书的热情, 我都觉得很适合当较高年级中学课本, 不比To Kill a Mockingbird (我儿子目前课本) 这些课本差,在老师的讲解下可能还能得到更为深入的欣赏.

patrickzhu

JUJU提到的他大儿子的中学课本【杀死一只知更鸟】(To Kill A Mockingbird)，那是西方世界里近代真正的重量级读物，我对英文读物其实很小白，这本书我没看过，但是看过格里高利派克的电影，其实并没有很打动我，不太明白为啥这本书在西方世界有如此高的地位？

在澳洲的新闻报道里，我不止一次的看到过澳洲的中学生们书包里会有这本书，一般是10年级+，显然这是近乎于人人必读。

下面的内容摘录于WIKI。
【To Kill a Mockingbird】《杀死一只知更鸟》），是美国作家Harper Lee于1960年发行的小说，荣获当年度普立兹奖。此书甫出版便获得了极大的成功，并成为美国现代文学的经典。小说的剧情与人物部分取材自作者对其家人与邻居的观察，以及一起发生在1936年、Harper Lee十岁时，邻近她的故乡的事件。

虽然故事涉及了种族不平等与强暴等严肃议题，其文风仍温暖风趣。小说以第一人称着成，叙述者的父亲亚惕·芬鵸在书中扮演着道德端正的角色，亦是正直律师的典范。一名评论家曾为小说的巨大影响力解释道：“在二十世纪，此书大概是美国最广为阅读的种族相关书籍，而它的主角亚惕·芬鵸则塑造了种族正义最不朽的小说形象。”

做为一部南方哥德小说与教育小说，此书的主题涉及了种族歧视与滥判无辜。学者并指出Harper Lee亦着墨于阶级、勇气、同理心，以及美国南部诸州性别角色议题。在英语系国家，此书常被纳入学校教材中，教育学生宽恕并谴责偏见。

故事大纲

这个成长的故事由珍·路易斯·“斯各特”·芬奇讲述，语言风格在开始时十分儿童化、幽默、怀旧、天真，但随着情节的发展，逐渐变得晦暗、预兆性和批判社会性。小说多次运用到哥特式细节描写。故事背景发生在1933年至1935年的大萧条时期。斯各特的父亲阿提克斯·芬奇（Atticus Finch）是美国南部阿拉巴马州（Alabama）的小镇梅康镇（Maycomb）裡一名受过高等教育的律师。主人公和她哥哥杰姆（Jem）目睹了他们的父亲为黑人汤姆·鲁滨逊（Tom Robinson）辩护的过程，在这个种族主义的社区裡，汤姆被诬告强奸了一个白人女孩。

杜鲁门·卡波特（Truman Capote）是李幼时的邻居和终生的朋友，据说他便是这部畅销书中迪尔（Dill）的原型。卡泼提经常暗示说李这本书相当大一部分是他写的，也有人说整本书都有他的影响，而且至少有一个人-哈泼出版社（Harper's）的编辑佩尔·卡真·贝尔（Pearl Kazin Bell）相信他的说法是真的。

这个故事探讨了各种不同形式的偏见，也探讨了关于童年和成熟的过程。因为故事由一个孩子（Scout）的角度来讲述，作者可以在讲述事情时不带有明显的个人意见，把它们留给读者去理解和作出结论。但是，很明显作者坚信书中角色带有偏见的那些行为是错误的，尽管大多数人以及掌权者都认同这些行为。

这本书的名字来自阿提克斯给用气枪打鸟的孩子们的忠告：“鹣鸟（bluejays）你们尽可以打，但是要记住，杀死反舌鸟（mockingbird，但在众多中文媒体中被误称为知更鸟）则是一种罪过。”
Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'
鹣鸟是北美很常见的一种鸟，通常被认为是残忍的害鸟，而反舌鸟则只是用“它们的心唱歌给我们听”。从比喻的意义上说，书中的几个角色可以被看成是反舌鸟，并没有做过任何坏事却被人攻击。反舌鸟代表着纯洁无辜的人，当你杀死它的时候，就好像在杀死无辜的人。

建议阅读年龄，至少9年级+

patrickzhu

关于这本书的八卦和相关延伸，请看这个帖子，当时写的时候没啥反响，期待有人来加分。

https://www.oursteps.com.au/bbs/ ... p;extra=&page=1

就是这个小孩和这部这么严肃的书有点八卦关系。

patrickzhu

继续搬

原帖由 aixiaoma 于 2011-1-12 12:00 发表
21世纪头十年不清楚，我最推崇的儿童文学经典是Ursula Le Guin的地海系列。写得太美了。

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin是美国的女作家，她的Earthsea Cycle系列小说本是为西方魔幻文学经典之一，与《魔戒三部曲》和《纳尼亚传奇》系列齐名。

作品意涵有别于西方基督教精神，而富有中国老子道家思想；并非强调善恶对立的二元价值观，而是传达「平衡」、阴阳同源的理念。本系列乃藉由奇幻冒险背景探讨青少年成长的心理历程，以丰富的隐喻象征手法深刻描绘青少年在发展过程中面对的种种困惑与危机。粗略而言，地海三部曲的主题都环绕在黑暗与光明、生与死、主动与被动等对立的概念上。

系列小说分别是
【A Wizard of Earthsea】 1968 (Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner, 1979)
【The Tombs of Atuan】 1971 (Newbery Medal winner)
【The Farthest Shore】 1973 (National Book Award winner)
【Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea】 1990 (Nebula Award winner, 1990; Locus Fantasy Award winner, 1991
【Tales from Earthsea】 2001 (Short Stories)
【The Other Wind】 2001 (World Fantasy Award winner, 2002[21])
   
Recommended for ages 12+

JuJu

LZ 如此勤恳, 不加分说不过去啊, 今天最后10分加在这里了

JuJu

MS 除了To Kill a Mockingbird,(比较有教育意义, 宽容, 反歧视, 道德感, 正义等), The Catcher in the Rye也是西方中学生必读的经典, 其实我觉得更适合父母读, 对于细腻地了解少年的内心比较有帮助.

patrickzhu

这个系列小说故事非常复杂，但是非常有名，我的一个洋人朋友就给我推荐过，他说其儿童文学上的成就就要超过Harry Potter和魔戒三部曲，但是孩子大些再读会比较合适。

过去有不少人想把这部作品搬上银幕，却都遭到了原作者的拒绝，30年前的宫崎骏也是其中之一。
宫崎骏相当喜欢这部作品，在他的《风之谷》等片中都可以找到《Earthsea》的元素。后来宫崎骏的《千与千寻》轰动了世界，赢得了奥斯卡长篇动画奖。不久后，宫崎骏意外地得到了来自原作者的委托 —原作者看来，宫崎骏是将自己的这部代表作动画电影化的最佳人选。

2006年，【Tales from Earthsea】动画片问世，是宫崎骏的儿子宫崎吾朗导演的。但是网上很多看过原著的人都对于这个动画片不满意，认为和原著相去甚远。。。
不过音乐很棒。。。大家可以去找来看看。。。



手嶌葵(Aoi Teshima)配唱的主题曲，她当时才18岁，动画片里面的Therru也是她配音的。
她的声音美极了，有着一种清冷和孤独的感觉，想象下自己站在微风吹拂的山丘上。。。


夕闇迫る雲の上 いつも一羽で飛んでいる
鷹はきっと悲しかろう 音も途絶えた風の中
空を掴んだその翼 休めることはできなくて

心を何にたとえよう 鷹のようなこの心
心を何にたとえよう 空を舞うよな悲しさを

雨のそぼ降る岩陰に いつも小さく咲いている
花はきっと切なかろう 色も霞んだ雨の中
薄桃色の花びらを 愛でてくれる手もなくて

心を何にたとえよう 花のようなこの心
心を何にたとえよう 雨に打たれる切なさを

人影絶えた野の道を 私とともに歩んでる
あなたもきっと寂しかろう 蟲の囁く草原を
ともに道行く人だけど 絶えて物言うこともなく

心を何にたとえよう 一人道行くこの心
心を何にたとえよう 一人ぼっちの寂しさを

中文歌詞︰

暮色將至的雲霞上 總是獨自飛翔的鷹
想必也會感到憂傷 在呼嘯而過的風中
那乘風而起的翅膀 始終無法得到休息

把我的心比作什麽 如同這只老鷹一樣
把我的心比作什麽 在空中飛舞的憂傷

淅瀝雨中的岩石下 總是開著小小的花
想必也會感到憂傷 在煙雨朦胧的雨中
那淡淡粉色的花瓣 始終沒人將它憐惜

把我的心比作什麽 如同這朵小花一樣
把我的心比作什麽 在雨中凋零的悲傷

荒蕪人煙的原野中 與我一路同行的你
想必也會感到寂寞 在蟲聲呢喃的草原
雖然是天涯同路人 卻從不曾有過交談

把我的心比作什麽 這顆獨自行路的心
把我的心比作什麽 這孤獨一人的寂寞

JuJu

另外我最近看了一本"the fault in our stars" 不错, 小朱MM应该会喜欢的, 没看过的话可以看下. 这书是今年出的John Green的新书, 基本上John Green的书都不错, 都值得看.

patrickzhu

JuJu 发表于 2012-11-23 23:17
另外我最近看了一本"the fault in our stars" 不错, 小朱MM应该会喜欢的, 没看过的话可以看下. 这书是今年 ...

嗯，两周前我买了一本，打算让她看的。
我同意，John Green好像是个牛人，我也看过一本【Looking for Alaska】，儿童不宜，呵呵。

JuJu

patrickzhu 发表于 2012-11-23 23:25
嗯，两周前我买了一本，打算让她看的。
我同意，John Green好像是个牛人，我也看过一本【Looking for Ala ...

the fault in our stars 里基本没有太不宜的, 你可以放心

patrickzhu

patrickzhu 发表于 2012-11-23 23:15
这个系列小说故事非常复杂，但是非常有名，我的一个洋人朋友就给我推荐过，他说其儿童文学上的成就就要超过 ...

另外帖子里网友aixiaoma的评论

Le Guin 文笔极好。看过一个书评说，Le Guin 在‘write’，而哈利波特系列相比就是‘type’出来的。我看地海系列的时候经常感叹这样好的文字，就算写菜谱也能让人读得津津有味吧。

动画片看过下简介，觉得完全不是书里展现的地海，所以就懒得看了。

Le Guin还写了不少给young adults读的少年文学读物，都很好看。比如近年出版的 Gifts, Voices, Powers.   她也写了很多科幻经典，比如The left hand of darkness, Dispossessed。当然这些就不是儿童读物了。

我女儿去年初看的时候的简单评价

The three books i've read so far are fantastic, they are a delicious read, each with descriptive detail and intriguing words that make up the storyline. The novelists words are descriptive, explaining everything with little words. She has an excellent imagination, thinking of the most greatest storylines. These books are beyond the words of praise that people will give. So far i have enjoyed every one of them, full of wizards, wtichs, ancient tombs, dark powers, dragons, songs of the old and Earthsea itself. I would recommend this book to every age, (unless you're just born and u barely know how to crawl or speak yet.

patrickzhu

【Charles and Emma - Darwins' Leap of Faith】  by Deborah Heiligman

关于这部书，其实主要给中学生看的，Age 12+
2010年入选了美国国家图书奖的少儿读物终评名单，美国图书馆协会的Michael L. Printz Award (非小说类）。

Recommended Aged 12+


网上有一书评很很好看，摘录如下：
http://my1510.cn/article.php?id=eb4bda473319fe85

2010年2月12日是查尔斯·达尔文诞辰两百周年；11月24日又是他的划时代巨著《物种起源》问世一百五十周年。按理说，达尔文其人其事（不算理论发展），早已被谈得太阳底下无新事了吧？但是，美国有位Deborah Heiligman女士，却赶在达尔文两百诞辰之前，抢出了一本自称是达尔文数百传记之后，第一次把重心放在他的第二次冒险之上的书。

达尔文的第一次冒险，就是他那著名的乘坐海军勘探船“贝格尔号”的五年环球考察。什么是他的第二次冒险？——娶老婆是也！

娶老婆，对任何男人都是触及灵魂的大冒险。但达尔文更甚。因为他对第一次冒险中所见所闻的思考，逐渐导向对信仰的怀疑；而他看中的未婚妻，却是虔诚信徒。但两人后来恩爱一生。这怎么可能？【Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith】试图回答这一问题。

作者Deborah Heiligman，和达尔文的近似。她读的是神学专业，丈夫却是写科普的。Deborah Heiligman说这本书 very personal，并在扉页题词，献给丈夫。一般而言，为达尔文这样的人写传，由于传主太高大，可能会遮蔽了背景中的细微色调。如果撰者在感情上太靠近传主，更容易偏重个人素质的份量。达尔文的时代，受过教育的男性中，有大量的怀疑论者；但大学不招女生，女人几乎都是信徒。达尔文式的婚姻，当时应该很常见。Deborah Heiligman或许因自身婚姻的当代希罕，而夸大了达尔文夫妻的奇异程度。

比如，书中说道，达尔文十岁的大女儿安妮病故之后，达尔文深受打击，从怀疑论转为再也不信上帝。每到周日，他陪着爱玛和孩子走到教堂。妻子带孩子进去做礼拜，达尔文却孤身在镇中散步。其实，这类乡间绅士，当时大概很不少。

Deborah Heiligman的故事，从达尔文制订“冒险计划”开始。对于婚姻大事，达尔文也有着科学家的谨慎。他拿了一张纸，中间划条线，线的一边写结婚的好处，另一边写单身的好处。达尔文列出的单身好处，每个男人婚前嘴里叫过一百遍，婚后心里叫过一万遍，诸如自由、可以和聪明男性朋友海阔天空侃大山之类的，不必多说。但在结婚那一栏，常规理由之后，达尔文写道，Charm of music & female chit-chat ——对女人的十三唠叨，听得象像中了魔咒似的（这是 charm 一词的原义）？ 按咱们中国男人的习惯，这还算男人吗？

接着达尔文感叹不结婚太孤单，然后连写三个“结婚”：“Marry -- Marry -- Marry Q.E.D.”——证明完毕，必须结婚。

达尔文显然是个性格温和的人，喜欢和女人闲聊，他就是要找传统的贤妻良母。他并不是没有别的选择。朋友家的三位女儿，个个博学聪明，能跟他辩论哲学和科学，更能容纳他的怀疑论。她们都喜欢达尔文。但要找贤妻良母，在当时，几乎必为信徒。

于是他找上了从小认识的表姐爱玛·韦奇伍德。爱玛比达尔文大一岁，她的父亲是达尔文母亲的弟弟。爱玛一口答应达尔文的求婚——这个爱听女人唠叨的男人，女孩子似乎都当他理想丈夫材料。虽然爱玛担心死后会和丈夫永远分手，她将上天堂，不拜上帝的丈夫则不知去何方，她也只是要求达尔文对信仰保持开放心态。两个半月后，他们就结婚了。

达尔文毕竟是伟大人物，就算当时常见的传统婚姻，到他身上自会有特异之处。Deborah Heiligman有点疏于历史背景，但其后的叙述处理得很好。她抓住了两件大事，一是女儿安妮的去世未能摧毁达尔文的婚姻，二是爱玛对《物种起源》一书的正面影响。

子女的去世，由此带来的内疚，足够摧毁一个并无尖锐意识分歧的婚姻。而在爱玛的时代，很容易被认作是对自己“不道德”行为的惩罚，比如说，嫁了一个不信上帝的男人。但爱玛从未如此认为。两人都深爱安妮。眼见安妮停止呼吸，达尔文自己也病倒在床。他对爱玛说：我们更要互相珍重。爱玛答道：你要记住，你永远是我最珍贵的宝藏。

十余年后，托尔斯泰写《安娜·卡列尼娜》。安娜本来执意要离婚，但她产下情夫渥伦斯基的女儿时，得了产褥热，几乎死去。安娜视作上帝的惩罚，决心回归丈夫。如果不是渥伦斯基要自杀，打了自己一枪——从而证明他是真心的，即使初始仅为逢场作戏，这时也已经被安娜改造成一个真心投入爱情的男人——安娜和他就断了。达尔文不必有更多证明，他和爱玛在平常日子里的深厚感情，足够令爱玛在艰难时刻毫无摇摆。

爱玛未必同意《物种起源》中自然选择的观点（而不是上帝创造），或许她都未必感兴趣。但也正因为如此，爱玛可以代表当时的未受过科学教育的信教大众，对《物种起源》手稿作出第一反应。爱玛仔细阅读了手稿，改正拼写，改正标点，并建议达尔文将一些容易刺激信徒和教会的段落写得语气温和一些，论据更清楚一些。Deborah Heiligman写道，如果当初不结婚的那一栏里理由再多一些，如果达尔文保持单身，继续生活在伦敦的知识分子中间，如果不是和爱玛结婚，他很可能写出一本较为激烈的书。由于爱玛的参与，对书中观点的争论，多少能摆脱感情的羁绊，而集中于事实和逻辑。

《物种起源》初版于1859年。十二年后，达尔文又出版了《人类的由来》一书。奇怪的是，Deborah Heiligman对此一笔带过。按理讲，人猿同源应比自然选择更有争议性。曾见一位巴基斯坦教授谈他的科普经历。他给大学生讲宇宙大爆炸，他们能听下去。学生们相信世界是在六天里创造的，但史前之“天”，可为人间无数年。教授再讲地球和生物的演化，学生们也能听下去。他们相信地球和生物都是被创造的，但创造后或许有演变。教授最后谈人猿同源，下面要暴动！——在保安人员护卫下，教授狼狈退场。爱玛对《人类的由来》有什么看法，敝人实在很想知道。

或许爱玛并不那么担心。《人类的由来》之前，他人早就从《物种起源》里得出了人猿同源的必然推论，这话不再具有初次听到的震撼力。而且，该书的全名为《The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex》，书中三分之二的内容为副标题里的性别选择，女性对温和男性的偏爱如何造就了听到女人唠叨如中魔咒的雄性另类等等。或许爱玛欣赏这部分。这是很好的策略：将别人碍难接受的观点，插在他们喜欢的内容里。

不管人猿同源如何有争议，《人类的由来》一书，显然对达尔文夫妻的感情毫无影响。这本书出版后不久，他们存活下来的最大的女孩子埃蒂嫁人了。达尔文告诉她：我有一个幸福的人生，这要完全归功于你的母亲——你应以母亲为榜样，你的丈夫将会爱你有如我爱你的母亲。

达尔文早于爱玛十四年去世。有一个传说，说他在去世前皈依了信仰。或许，是为了安慰爱玛的天堂不得相见的悲伤？Deborah Heiligman说没有这回事。她在爱玛的日记里，未曾发现此类记录。达尔文至死是一个坚持自己立场的科学家。

两个至死在最重要的意识问题上互不改变的人，相亲相爱，过了一辈子。