Patrick Ness: A Monster Calls (2011)

    At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth (Goodreads).

    Justifiably winning both the Carnegie and the Kate Greenway medal, A Monster calls combines incredible writing and brilliant illustrations to create an incredibly emotional tale. Filled with bits of dark humor, and also including an excellent lead character, this novel is an instant classic. The monster is also well developed, although the rest of the supporting cast could use a little work. The internal stories are particularly masterful, and offer an excellent view on the main story itself. A heart-wrenching ending leaves the reader satisfied after a wonderful overall plotline. 8.6/10

Michael Crichton: Jurassic Park (1991)

    A billionaire has created a technique to clone dinosaurs. From the DNA that his crack team of scientists extract, he is able to grow the dinosaurs in his laboratories and lock them away on an island behind electric fences, creating a sort of theme park. He asks a group of scientists from several different fields to come and view the park, but something goes terribly wrong when a worker on the island turns traitor and shuts down the power (Goodreads).

    Although it is extremely entertaining and thrilling at times, Crichton's novel, "Jurassic Park," gets bogged down routinely by overly long speeches, dull science, and difficult to understand statistics and graphs, and honestly, we don't need the computer screen to be written on the page. A good cast of lead characters are followed up by a supporting cast that tries much too hard, with an extensive backstory for each one, most of these backstories being unnecessary. A somewhat pointless beginning leads to quite a good plot, but the story wraps up much too quickly, and leaves several loose ends and plot holes not dealt with. 6.7/10