August 15, 2009

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

0375826696

Eragon is a fifteen-year-old farm boy, but when he goes hunting in the woods, he discovers something centuries old, something that would change his life. He finds, to put it simply, a blue rock. But this rock isn’t a rock, he later discovers, it is an egg. A dragon’s egg, at that. And only 3 dragon eggs exist, and Eragon’s egg was stolen from an evil king. With only a sword that has an ugly past, and the teachings of an old storyteller with some secrets, Eragon, his dragon, and a secret anti-Empire group must fight the evil Empire and its’ allies against all odds to save the world.

Eragon, book 1 in a trilogy, is an awesome book. It’s action packed, has great characters, and will leave you itching for more Eragon. There’s a great plot, and Paolini is a very descriptive author.

Good for: 10 & up, action lovers, fantasy addicts, adventure likers

July 7, 2009

Silent to the Bone by E. L. Konigsburg

by Madeleine

silenttothebone2        When Branwell goes silent while talking to the 911 operator after his baby sister’s myserious accident when she stopped breathing, he is blamed fully on the accident by the family’s British nanny for dropping the baby and he is placed, temporarily, in a Juvinile Detention Center. It’s now all up to Connor, Branwell’s best friend, to solve the mystery of who made the baby stop breathing and to get Branwell to talk again. Connor uses cards with names and letters to figure out who to talk to or investigate next, but in the end, ends up turning to his sister, Margaret, who is the main character in E. L. Konigsburg’s The Outcasts of 19 Schuylar Place, which was published 3 years later. After chasing down everyone from pizza men to house cleaners, will Connor be able to prove Branwell innocent and break Branwell’s silence?

I loved Silent to the Bone because during the entire book, you can collect clues right along with Connor and try to crack the mystery even before Connor does.

Good for ages 12 and up

July 7, 2009

The 39 Clues by Rick Riordan

The noted authothe39cluesr (Rick Riordan, see The Lightning Thief)  did not write the whole series, but he did write the first book. One of the fun things about this series is that a different author writes each book. Rick Riordan the first, Gordon Korman the second, and so on.

The begins begins as two kids, Dan and Amy Cahill, lose their grandmother Grace. She sends them a message that they can either go on a scavenger hunt against other  unfriendly, bloodthirsty extended family members, or take a million dollars, no questions asked. But if they win, and find the 39 clues that lead to the end, they will have world domination. Of course, they chose the possibly death threatening choice, or I wouldn’t be writing this review.

Dan and Amy have to search the world on basically nothing but their memories from Grace, their knowledge, and of course, from following other players. They Discover that there are different branches of “The Cahills” and that their anscestors include  Benjamin Franklin, Mozart, Edison, Houdini,  Marie Curie, and other famous and powerful people. But they are also related to the evil people too, like Napolean. Amy and Dan learn to trust no one, and are betrayed many times.

This book series is very good, and so far there are five. Since there are many authors, they come out quicker than regular books.

The 39 clues is action packed, and Dan and Amy get into a lot of life threatening positions. They travel around the world, to Germany, to Japan, to Egypt. This is one of my favorite series.

Good for: ages 8 & up, action lovers.

July 4, 2009

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

by Madeleine

what i saw and how i lied

 Evie’s life was about as normal as any other teen aged girl in the late 40’s, her mom made up rules like no lipstick until you’re 18, Evie and her best friend practiced smoking with candy cigarettes, and Evie’s step-dad, Joe Spooner, just came back from being a GI in World War II. Everyone was just getting into the post-war swing of things, when Evie’s step-dad drags her and her mom to Palm Beach, Florida to relax and enjoy life for a while, or at least that’s what Evie and her mom think. When Evie’s family “accidentally” runs into “movie star handsome” Peter Colerage, who served as a GI with Joe, Evie finds herself falling for Peter. After Evie gets tangled in a web of lies and when the time comes, she will have to decide if she should keep wrapping herself in lies or untangle her lies and come out with the truth, no matter how hard it might be.

I loved this suspensful, romantic mystery book so much that I couldn’t put it down. I think that every teenager can relate to Evie’s problems, from trying to find out who she is to trying to get a great guy to going against her parent’s word.

Recommended for: 13 and up

June 30, 2009

Archer’s Quest by Linda Sue Park

Kevin iarchers average in pretty much everything. Perfectly normal. But then why does some strange Korean archer appear in his room?  Chu-mong Koh’s (The Korean Man) explanation, “I lost my balance, fell off my tiger and landed here” just sends Kevin’s head spinning in circles. To make things even weirder, Chu-mong has never seen electricity, cars, and even glass, and carries a bow and arrowwherever he goes. Kevin discovers (with some help from the internet) that Chumong is a prince, and born in 55 B.C. Archer has traveled to the future and needs to be back in Ancient Korea by sundown. They have 6 hours to try to summon magic to get Archer back to Korea, or else the Korea will have lost one of their greatest kings. Kevin and Archer go around town, looking for clues. But will they have time before the unthinkable happens?

This is a great novel for everyone. Linda Sue Park, a Newbery author, makes an exciting, humorous book

Good for: ages 8 & up, adventure and fantasy lovers

June 30, 2009

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

1995-1Danny Walker, seventh grader, is 4 feet and 7 inches, yet loves basketball more than anyone in Middletown. He can hit the perfect pass and  do a double-crossover perfectly. But because of his small size, he doesn’t make the 7th grade travel team, the same travel team that his dad led to the national championship on ESPN when he was as old as Danny. The Middletown Vikings. Meanwhile, many other kids don’t make the team, all because of the wrong reasons. Danny and his dad have an idea: create a travel team of all the nobodies that didn’t make the Vikings. So Middletown now has another travel team: The Warriors (or the Rugrats, a more fitting name. Dill and Lil are bigger than them) . They are the worst team Danny has ever seen. But will his dad, the coach, be able to shape them up into at least a half-decent team? Read this amazing book to find out.

Mike Lupica is an amazing sports author, and he crafts this book perfectly. He shows that you should never give up, and always give others a second chance.

Good for: ages 9 & up, sports fans, book lovers

January 13, 2009

Peter and The Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

 

                                              By Sam

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Peter, an orphan, and his friends “get” to go on a ship, The Never Land, to be a slave to the evil King Zarboff the Third, who cuts off three of your fingers if you don’t salute correctly and also feeds his snake with servants. They are forced onto the ship by their mean, but not quite evil, teacher Mr. Grempkin, unknowing of that they are likely to die, but a girl named Molly brings Peter into reality (that Peters’  life is at stake). But then weird things start happing; rats floating, guards asleep, people talking to porpoises, and Peters’ life seems to turn inside-out when he learns about the Starcatchers and Black Stache, a pirate that is after a trunk filled with valuable things.

Peter and the Starcatchers is a great book that is before Peter Pan became who he is, and has several  clever relations to Peter Pan. I don’t  like the book Peter Pan that much, and definitely not the Disney movie, but I enjoyed every page of this book. It has become one of my favorites.

Good for:ages 9 and up, fantasy lovers and adventure fanatics

November 11, 2008

The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan

By Sam

lightning-thief2

Percy (Perseus) Jackson is getting kicked out of boarding school. Again. When he comes home, he finds his mom packed up to go to Long Island with him, leaving “Smelly Gabe,” Percy’s mean dad, behind. Percy is excited until a storm hits and his mom makes him go to Half-Blood Hill, a summer camp for humans with  Greek Gods as parents.  Percy discovers that his dyslexia is because his eyes are meant for Ancient Greek and he pays too much  attention, not too little. Most of his teachers are afraid that he’ll discover their real identity. He also figures out that he is the son of Poseidon, the sea god, who swore never to have another baby.

Percy gets called on a quest to find Zeus’ master lightning bolt which is missing. Zeus, Hades, and Ares are all against him and think he stole it. That is 3 major gods that hate him: the King God, the God of the Underworld, and the War God. Uh-oh.

This book includes great action scenes with a Greek Mythology twist.  I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

Good for: 9 and up, action lovers, fantasy fanatics, Greek Mythology likers

October 3, 2008

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

When Kendra and Seth’s grandfather dies, their parents have to go on a cruise so they are left with their other grandpa for two full weeks. At first, it seems like a nice place: a pool, plenty of games, etc. But then they notice that grandpa is always gone for most of the day. And he tells them to never to go in the forest.

Seth and Kendra try to figure out why the forest is prohibited. While Kendra trys to find keyholes to the keys Grandpa gave her. But Seth goes into the forest, follows a path, and finds an evil witch, who tries to make him put his hand into a box. Even with Seth’s adventurous spirit, he is cautious about putting in his hand. He runs off, trying to get away from the witch. Meanwhile, Kendra finds where the keys go and then finds more keys which unlock a secret journal that says drink the milk on the last page. That 3 word message whirls Seth and Kendra’s world, and they’re not sure if it’s for better or for worse.

Good For: 9 and up, Fantasy lovers, Adventure fanatics

September 21, 2008

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield

By Madeleine

This page-turning adventure follows three young adopted sisters who are trying to follow their dreams. Pauline, the oldest, is the actress actress of the family, Petrova, doesn’t want to be on the stage and wants to become a mechanic or work with airplanes, and Posy, the youngest, is addicted to dancing and ballet. Their Great-Uncle Matthew (whom they call Gum) brought them home to keep his daughter, Sylvia, company while he is traveling the world. When the money Gum left them gets scarce, they start taking in borders. The dance instructor gets them in at the Academy for Dancing and Stage Training for free and they start their lessons.

I liked Ballet Shoes because of the characters and you just can’t stop reading, you want to know what’s going to happen next and when it does, it’s very unexpected. This book was recommended in “You’ve Got Mail” and was one of Kathleen’s (Meg Ryan’s character in the movie) favorite children’s books.

Recommend for: ages 10 and up