|
Welcome to the Ark | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephanie S. Tolan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.98 (100%)
New (33) Used (68) Collectible (1) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 400115
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0380733196
EAN: 9780380733194
ASIN: 0380733196
Publication Date: June 30, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Good condition, wear from reading and use. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact and has some creases. The spine has signs of wear and creases. This copy may include "From the library of" labels, stickers or stamps and be an ex-library copy.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In a world of random violence and multiplying militias, four brilliant young misfits are thrown together in a group home for troubled youth. Isolated by their special abilities, Miranda, Doug, Taryn, and Elijah are unable to cope in a society that regards them as freaks. But in the experimental program they dub the Ark, the four discover they are not alone. Slowly, as connections form among them, they discover that their minds have a power they could never have imagined. Drawn together by their deep concern for the future, they embark on a mission to stop the violence that is engulfing the world. The challenge seems impossible ...until they face it together. In this compelling, sensitively written story, Stephanie Tolan paints a disturbing portrait of a violence-ridden world. Yet her characters offer a bright ray of hope for anyone who cares about the fate of the earth. The story of the Ark is gripping, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and, ultimately, inspiring.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 38 more reviews...
 Good but not great. April 28, 2007
I read this book for a class and I didnt really get into it that well. It was on one subject then after you get what they are talking about they change it on you. If it didnt do that so much I maybe would have enjoyed it more. The story line was confusing to me too. It kind of threw you in the middle of things and let you go from there.
 Welcome To The Ark Review April 16, 2007
I thought that this book was alright. I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and their relationships. I however, didn't think the story line was that great. It was strange and lacked any real depth. Most of the time I didn't quite understand what was going on or what the author was referencing.
 Welcome to the Ark March 28, 2007
This book provided excellent insight into the lives of gifted children who felt rejected by society. The four characters all had special talents or abilities that the "normal" world could not see. So they were all placed in an institution for kids with psychological problems. However, two psychologists saw the potential in these four kids and made them their first patients for their new program in which they removed gifted kids from the mental institution and placed them in a family environment so that they could communicate with other kids with similar abilities.
However, the kids realize that they are all having the same dream, a dream that they find they are sharing with kids all around the world. They can also see each other's memories and feel each other's feelings without interacting with them. The four kids realize that they have an important mission, but do not know how to achieve it. They then discover that by joining their minds together they can deflect violence it from its intended target. However, just as they discover this important connection, the director of the mental health institution forces the special program to shut down. Can the kids continue to live as a family, or will all of the progress they had made during the months they spent together be lost?
I personally enjoyed reading this book, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good book to read, as it depicts how society sometimes rejects talented children. I am one of the kids who always gets straight A's and wins every school academic event. I think the author did a very good job showing that intelligent people are not just "geeks" or "nerds". We don't all wear huge glasses and button our shirts up to our necks. I love to play sports and I play video games when I am at home. Yet, some people (especially other kids) seem to think that all of the "smart people" are nerds, who do nothing but read or study. It might be a little weird that we can solve math problems in our heads before other people are finished reading them, but as one of the characters in the book put it:
"Either everything is weird or nothing is."
Exceptional Children February 28, 2007
Four kids--sixteen-year-old Miranda, eight-year-old Elijah, nine-year-old Taryn, and seventeen-year-old Doug--are all living in the same mental hospital. Each of them has been diagnosed with a mental disorder and placed there to recover. Each of these four is also brilliant, a genius. Noah and Abigail, a pair of married psychologists at the same hospital, have just gained funding for a pilot program that would take exceptionally bright kids from mental hospitals and put them in more of a family environment where they could make connections with other children like themselves. The first four they select for their program are Miranda, Elijah, Taryn, and Doug.
Soon the six of them are living near the mental hospital and interacting like a family. Then things start to go deeper. The four kids are all having the same dream. They are able to see each other's memories without talking about them. They can sense things about each other and they are able to communicate, first through the computer and then without it, with other kids like themselves. They know they have some sort of important mission, but what is it? How can they achieve it? And can these four continue to live as a family when the director of the mental hospital wants this special program shut down?
I liked the characters in this book, and how the story is split at first, giving little scenes from each of their lives before they all come together. I liked that these diverse characters were able to function as a family. The ending of this book was unsatisfying; it hinted at what was to come but never actually said what would happen.
 Welcome to the Ark November 5, 2006
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I had to read this book for school. I didn't like it. I believe this is a book that is in a way unrealistic. I don't believe in some of the things stated here. Such as, the genius child seminar, parents should be happy with their kids. 3 thumbs down.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
