Monday, May 31, 2010

The Gods Must Be Crazy



My Rating: 5/5

Review: This was a wonderfully magical romp, complete with famous gods from Greek mythology. Percy Jackson is a twelve-year-old boy, and he has a big secret even he doesn't know about. When his teacher suddenly turns into a hideous beast and tries to kill him, however, it becomes pretty obvious that he's meant for more then just repeatedly getting kicked out of boarding schools. The dyslexia and ADD he was diagnosed with may not be the case. It could just be that he's the son of a god. A very powerful god, at that. What a wild ride! What a blast! I am so looking forward to more.

Book Description: Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he’s not even sure he believes himself.

Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.

Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he’s coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he’s angered a few of them: Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring...

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

It's a Prison, Not a Paradise!



My Rating: 5/5

Review: Oh what a thrill-ride this little lovely turned out to be! I was completely hooked from beginning to end. In a futuristic world, a paradise was created. It has now become the worst hell you can possibly imagine. Finn is a prisoner trapped within, and Claudia is the future queen of the outside world who is determined to free him. Finn is not alone, of course, and there are many struggles within Incarceron. He has a oath brother named Kiero, a faithful follower named Attia, and an old wise man who believes that he will get them to freedom. It's a story that grips you, and won't let go even after you've reached it's end. Even better, there's a sequel.

Book Description:Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Art Theft and a Determined Assasin



My Rating: 3/5

Review: I struggled to stay interested in this book, and I might have given up on it had it not been the book-of-the-month for my reading group on yahoo. The premise was ineteresting enough, but the writing seemed to drag a little bit. There were descriptions that droned on, dull conversations, and very little action. I did like the mystery, however, and the author's take on a real-life art theft. I would have to say, however, that this book is more for crime theorists, then the average mystery fan.

Book Description:In 1990, $300 million worth of paintings were stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in what remains one of the greatest unsolved art thefts of the twentieth century. Now, nearly twenty years later, the case threatens to break wide open. Members of Boston's criminal underground are turning up dead, and the M.O. suggests IRA training. When Scott Finn learns that one of his clients, Devon Malley, was part of the heist, he's quickly drawn into the crossfire.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Fire Mysteries and Water Magic



My Rating: 4/5

Review: Shannon Hale has such a magical way with analogies. I think that's what makes her books so special. Well, that, and her wonderful imagination. I wasn't quite taken with Razo's story at first, but I was soon drawn in just like with the other books in this series. I do hope that it is a series, by the way, and not just a trilogy. I enjoyed these books so much, that I definitely want more. Enna and Finn join Razo in the distant land of their enemy from the last book, Enna Burning. It's not too long after they arrive that bodies start turning up. They are bodies that have been burnt to a crisp, and suspicion immediately falls on Enna. Razo is determined to find out the truth and protect his friend at all cost. Meanwhile, Enna and Finn are having romantic issues, and there's a certain young woman that's caught Razo's eye. This was a wonderfully fun romp, and I even laughed out loud a few times. There's the mystery of the burnt bodies too, of course, and plenty of close calls with the enemy they are trying to make peace with.

Book Description: Razo has no idea why he was chosen to be a soldier. He can barely swing a sword, and his brothers are forever wrestling him to the ground. Razo is sure it's out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission--escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's great enemy.

But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, Razo discovers the first dead body. He befriends both the high and low born, people who can perhaps provide them with vital information. And Razo is the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Wind and Fire



My Rating: 4/5

Review: This was a wonderful sequel to The Goose Girl, and I loved that Enna was featured. I like her spunk and loyalty. Of course, the latter is tested a little bit when she learns the magic of fire. Her brother is the first to find the secret, but it takes him down a dark path. When Enna starts to follow in his footsteps, it's up to her best friend, Isi, to bring her back. Magic, adventure, and even a little suspense keeps the pages turning steadily.

Book Description: Enna and Princess Isi became fast friends in The Goose Girl, but after Isi married Prince Geric, Enna returned to the forest. Enna's simple life changes forever when she learns to wield fire and burn anything at will. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good-to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders-and goes on secret raids to set fire to the Tiran camps and villages. But as the power of the fire grows stronger, she is less able to control her need to burn. In her recklessness she is captured by the Tiran army and held captive by a handsome, manipulative young captain who drugs her to keep her under his influence. Can Isi and her old friends Finn and Razo rescue her without sacrificing themselves? And with the fire still consuming her, will Enna find a way to manage the gift that threatens to destroy her?