Book Review

Time for another book review, before I forget all the books I read this month...

"24 Hours" by Margaret Mahy was indeed an entire book that takes place in 24 hours. It is about a good kid, Ellis, who is swept away by a sequence of events, and falls in with the out-crowd. He learns that the out-crowd are not bad kids, just misunderstood. Even running with the bad crowd, Ellis can't help doing good. The moral is: Money does not make the person. I really didn't care for this one. It was way too slow.

I was on a Margaret Mahy roll! The next book I checked out of the library was "Alchemy." To my surprise I already read it (I hate when that happens, LOL!) I liked it the first time I read it, but not enough to want to read it again. A boy gets entangled with a magician who is trying to steal another girl's powers. It has been a long time since I read this book, so I don't remember all the details. I remember that there was something about the universe unraveling. I guess since I didn't want to read it again, after I already read it, should give you the hint... I don't recommend this one either.

"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman brings to life the fantasy world of London Below... which is a very bizarre world. If you cross Alice in Wonderland with the Brother's Grimm, then you have Neverwhere. Richard Mahy, an insecure loser in London Above, drops into London Below and finds in him a strength of character, honor, and courage that he didn't know he possessed. I did enjoy the references to real life (above ground) London, and how he twist and turned it to fit London Below. If you like adventure, bizarre, and are a little disturbed; this is the book for you!

I love all of Cornelia Funke's books. "Dragon Rider", "Ink Heart", and "Ink Spell" being three of my favorites. "Igraine The Brave", was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was, well, uninteresting. There are giants, a talking cat, magicians, and magical singing spell books. There are good guys that are very good, and bad guys that are very bad. Good things only happen to the good guys, and bad things only happen to the bad guys. I can see this book appealing to young children, maybe as a great read-aloud bedtime story. Since nothing bad happens to the good guys, it won't give the little kids nightmares. So my recommendation is... great read aloud for little kids; right up there with "My Father's Dragon" and "Toad for Tuesday."


At our house, we are big fans of Jack Prelutsky's poems (more so than Shel Silverstein). This is a fun rhyming poem... not about a kindly wizard, but a wizard who you'd want to watch out for. The poem is set off and enhanced with amazingly beautiful illustrations by Brandon Dorman.

This was a wonderful, charming retelling of the Brother's Grimm tale, "The Goose Girl." A wronged princess, and evil lady in waiting, and magic powers... what could make a better tale? Ever bit as good as "Princess Academy."

Well that's it for the kids' books. I also ended up reading a supermarket romance novel, which I won't mention here. This is a family blog... LOL!

Book Reviews

A month has gone by... time for another monster book review! LOL!

"Alchemist" has a lot in common with the "Children of the Lamp" series. They both feature twins, who discover that they have secret powers. They get hooked into helping Nicholas Flamel save the Codex from the evil John Dee. There are two reasons to get the Codex. One is to keep John Dee from releasing the powers of the dark ones. The other is that the recipe for the immortalitly elixir, which Flamel needs to take every month, is written in the book. If Flamel doesn't make and drink the elixir, he will be dead within the month. I really dislike authors that don't let on that it's a series until you get to the end... but in this case I forgive them. I look forward to the next one...

"Princess Academy" is the Newbery Honor book by Shannon Hale. I expected something akin to a Disney princess story, but what I got was a wonderful story about girls with character. The plot is simple... it is decreed that the next princess will be from Mount Eskel, a poor mining community. So, to ready themselves, all the girls from Mount Eskel are sent to the Princess Academy to learn how to be princesses. The prince will pick one of the graduates for his bride. The girls learn to respect each other and work together. I can't tell you too much without giving it all away, but this book is a MUST READ!

We are BIG Alex Rider fans! Anthony Horowitz has us hooked! Unfortunately we were disappointed with this latest book. Snakehead lacked the action and excitement of the previous books in the Alex Rider series. Alex teams up with Ash, an old friend of his parents, in the hopes of learning more about his parents and his parents' death. The bad guys are easy to pick out from the beginning, Alex knows he's been betrayed, but doesn't care doesn't tell anyone. Because of it all, he ends up in big trouble. Very frustrating to read. But, we are die hard Alex Rider fans... we'll be there to pick up the next book!

"Titan's Curse" is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This is another wonderful parody on mythology. Percy and his friends are on a quest... again. The enemy captures, Annabeth by the General (he's working for the Titan Kronos). The General has also captured the goddess Artemis. Now it's up to Percy and his friends to rescue the goddess, find Annabeth, and stop The General's plans before it's too late. If you have loved the first two books in the series, you'll love this one too.


I either love or hate Margaret Mahy. Her books of fantasy are definitely for the older teen audience... dark, menacing, and never seem to end with a "Feel Good" type ending. This book, "Maddigan's Fantasia", fits all three descriptions. In the world of the future, the Earth has been ravaged in what they call the "destruction." Garland Maddigan travels with a circus called Maddigan's Fantasia between the isolated human settlements bringing joy in the way of circus performance. This time their journey involves a mission. They must pick up a solar converter and return it to the city of Solis, or civilization will be destroyed; and three time travelers from Garland's future travel back into the past to help her complete her family's mission. This felt more like a collection of short stories. The stop at each city being a different story. It was an interesting book, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Hey, look!!! I read a book written for adults! This book has been on the best sellers list forever, so I had to read it and see what all the hoopla is about. I read it... I don't know what the hoopla is all about. It's sad. It's miserable. It's tragic. I don't know what the attraction is... Perhaps those interested in history and social oppression, will get a kick out of it? I don't know why else anyone would want to read such a sad book. I like books with feel good endings. That's probably why I like reading children's books.

Book Reviews

It's been a long, long time since I posted any book reviews. It's not that I've been a lazy reader... just a lazy blogger. LOL! Here is a catch-up on the books I've read the last few months.

"Cobra King of Kathmandu" is the third book in the Children of the Lamp series. It has taken me forever to finish this book! I think it was because I really didn't care for book two, "The Blue Djinn." However, once I got into this book, I really enjoyed it. It was much better than "The Blue Djinn." John and Philippa, the twin djinn, help their friend Dybbuk solve a mystery that led to the murder for Dybbuk's friend. I already have the 4th book in this series on order.


I've been hearing about this book for a while, but it was a long time before I finally picked it up. I enjoyed "Twilight" very much! In fact I loved it. Vampire boyfriends in a sappy teenage love story? You bet! LOL! My daughter (who is not a reader) finished this book in two days... she loved it. What extremes will Bella go to to stay with her vampire boyfriend, Edward? What extremes will Edward go to in order to keep Bella safe? What will Bella's "human" boyfriend, Jacob, do to keep Bella alive? You will have to read it to find out. I must admit that "New Moon" irritated me! I found Bella very irritating in that she was so helpless and whiny... but then she is a teenager... LOL!


The Dark is Rising series was written back in the 1970's. It has taken me until now to pick it up. The writing style is very dated. The story seemed to talk down to the reader. It's hard to explain. Imagine the Boxcar Children hunting for the holy grail, and you have "Over Sea, Under Stone." "Dark is Rising" was a lot more interesting and engaging. I may read the other books in this series, just not right away.

"Dragon Slippers" was a fun book! Dragons unlike popular opinion do not hoard treasure. They are collectors... this particular dragon happens to collect ladies footwear. LOL! So ensues a fight between dragons and humans that has a happy ending.





"Wicked Lovely" is a dark fairie book. The evil winter fairies and the good summer fairies are in conflict. The Summer King must find his mortal queen to gain full use of his powers before winter takes over the world. Unfortunately for him, his chosen mortal (a Goth girl) doesn't want to be a fairie queen. This book was just okay. I'd only recommend it to someone who could not get enough of fairies.

I checked this book out of the library because there was a story in it by Stephanie Meyers (the author of Twilight). It looks like the title is "Hello", but it is "Prom Nights from Hell"! This is a collection of bizarre and sometimes disturbing short stories. Definitely give this one a miss.




I picked this up because of the great reviews it got on Amazon. "Magic Lands and the Journey Beyond" has an intriguing title. However the "magic lands" is modern civilization. This is the journey of a young man's trip from his small village into the Beyond as a rite of passage to manhood. There he meets a girl and they run away together. I read this one aloud to the hubby and kids... we all breathed a sigh of relief when I was through. The writing style is very poetic. It's very hard to read and hard to listen to... akin to reading a Shakespearen play. Maybe we're not sophisticated enough to appreciate the story, but my whole family disliked this book. Sorry to end on such a sour note...

Book Review - "Uglies" and "Love, Stargirl"

If you liked "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli, you will love "Love, Stargirl"! This is the sequel to Stargirl and follows Stargirl after she leaves Leo in Arizona. There she struggles with the question, "Can you lose your favorite person without losing yourself?" Written as a series of letters to Leo, Stargirl rediscovers who she is. It is a very sweet, loving, funny, feel-good, story.

The Uglies is the first book in a series by Scott Westerfield. Set in the future where teens are given an operation on their 16th birthday to turn them pretty. You'll have to read the book to find out more about that... I won't spoil it for you. The heroine, Tally, is stupid, annoying, and shallow at the beginning, but she does evolve painstakingly slowly into a strong admirable character in the end. There is some good action and once you get past the beginning chapters it's a fun read.

Book Review - Sea of Monsters, Small Steps, Maximum Ride #3

Whoa! Call me slow... I just got it! Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series is a take off on Harry Potter! In the second book of the series, "The Sea of Monsters," Percy and the half blood Olympians must save the camp (instead of wizard kids saving their school), by recovering the Golden Fleece from the Cyclops Polyphemus. We find out in this book about Percy being the child mentioned in "the Prophesy." Also there is an evil titan spirit, whose henchmen are trying to create a new body for him so he can take over Olympus and the world. But add dodgeball playing cannibals, a satyr in a wedding dress, and partying-animal centaurs; and even with the similarities to Harry Potter you have a very entertaining story for 5th-6th graders! I very highly recommend this series.

This sequel to "Holes" features Armpit's and X-ray's life after Camp Greenlake. When I think of "Holes," I think of it's story as a tall-tale... Fun and magical. "Small Steps" is a story with social implications... growing up, triumph of the human spirit, of self-sacrifice, and of doing the right thing. It is very sweet and as long as you don't go in thinking that it will be "like Holes," it's a very enjoyable read.

Well, Max finally saves the world, kind of... I almost didn't read this book, because book 2 irritated me so much. I was irritated at the start of this book also, but I read the ending first, and that kept me going. LOL! Good thing I did, because I would have put this one down... the flock fighting and splitting up, Sight-seeing Europe, googling girls on the beach! Hello! You're supposed to be saving the world!

Book Reviews - "Deathly Hallows" and "On the Run" series

{NO SPOILERS HERE} Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Was slow to start, really slow... deathly slow... My kids made a comment that when they make this one into a movie, they won't have much to cut-out because nothing much happens in the first half of the book! But once it got going it was a fun, fast-paced, fantasy adventure that one would expect from Rowling. I've read reviews whose readers have said that it caps off the series very nicely; all questions are answered; and all conflicts resolved. I guess that's true for the most part, but the epilogue left me flat. It felt tacked on... incomplete. I think it tried to answer the questions of the characters' futures, but left out so many characters that it left me hanging...
In comparison to the other books: I liked book 1, it was fresh and fun! I liked book 2 and book 3. Book 4 was my favorite! Book five just irritated me. Book six was ok. Book seven is as good as the first books were, but the magic of Harry's world, which drew me in the first place, is conspicuously absent.

"On the Run" is a series of six books for 4th-5th graders,and I've read all six. Kudos to author Gordon Korman for creating such a fast-paced, well-written, action packed adventure series for younger kids. The end of each book will have even the most reluctant reader looking for the next book. 15 year old Aiden and his 11 year old sister Meg escape from a prison camp with the intent to prove that their parents (who are serving life sentences in prison) were framed for the crime. They are eluding state and local police, the FBI, and a mysterious man who is trying to kill them, as they get closer and closer to the truth!

Book Reviews - "Lightning Thief" and "Snow Spider"

Lightning Thief is the first book in a GREAT new series! Turns out that the old greek gods are alive and well (they are afterall immortal).... AND having kids! This book is about a modern day New Yorker named Percy. Percy never knew who his father was. What a surprise when he enters 6th grade! He vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher, learns his best friend is a satyr, and is almost killed by a minotaur before his mother manages to get him to the safety of Camp Half-Blood--where he discovers that he is a demi-god. There he's sent on a quest to recover Zeus's master lightning bolt before the gods start a war! Fast, Fun, and a great read!

Snow Spider is the first book in a trilogy by Jenny Nimmo, the author of Charlie Bone. On Gwyn's 9th birthday, he learns he's a magician. With the help of a magical snow spider, he works to bring his missing older sister home. Charlie Bone was a fun well written series. I was expecting more from this book, it is definitely written for younger elementary reading. I won't be reading any more from this series...

Book Review - "Faerie Path" and "Silverwing"

Welcome to the "Princess Diaries" with a fairy twist. In "The Faerie Path," Anita finds out that she is the long lost fairy princess, and she has the special power to travel back and forth between the mortal world and the land of Faerie. As she tries to stop the evil fairy, Lord Drake, from taking over Faerie, she finds herself forced into marriage to him. As in all Fairy Tales, all ends well; but there is definitely going to be a sequel as Anita heads off with the dashing Eric to find the missing Queen. This book is predictable, as most kids book are, but with enough romance, action, and suspense to make it fun! I recommend it to fairy loving girls 5th grade and up.

We switch from Fairies to Bats! In "Silverwing," Shade, is a small Silverwing bat, self-entrusted with the quest to find the meaning of the metal bands worn by some of the bats. These bands were given as "gifts" by humans... but what do they mean? Are they a good omen or a curse? With the help of a "banded" Brightwing, Shade battles the freezing cold, villain owls, military pigeons, rats, and evil jungle bats (escaped from a zoo), as he tried to catch up with his migrating colony... and draws closer to the truth about the "bands." This is a fun read with lots of suspense and action! This is another book with a sequel. I recommend this for boys 4th grade and up.

Book Review - Alfred Kropp and the Seal of Solomon

This is the second book in the Alfred Kropp series. My daughter says it's scary... my son and husband love it. I think it's creepy in parts, but something that would really appeal to upper middle school boys. Alfred Kropp is set in modern times. He is a 12 yr old direct decendent of Lancelot and as a result he reluctantly gets pulled into paranormal events and bumbles his way into saving the world (and dealing with girls)... the paranormal Forest Gump. There is a lot of sword fighting (he is the decendent of Lancelot) and lopping off heads... if you can deal with the violence, this is actually a fun book. I ended up rooting for the loveable "big headed lout."

Book Review - Maximum Ride - School's out Forever

This is the second book in the Maximum Ride series by adult author James Patterson. It's a sci-fi book about genetically altered kids, who's DNA was mixed with that of birds... so they have wings and can fly and are supposed to save the world. They haven't saved the world yet. Maybe they'll get around to that in the next book. I'm still not sure who the good guys are and who the bad guys are yet. It's all very confusing. This is a Young Adult book... I recommend it for late middle school or high school aged kids.

Book Review - Beauty

I'm a big fan of fairy tale retellings. I loved Ella Enchanted. Ella Enchanted is one of my daughter's favorite books; which is saying alot, since my daughter is so not a reader. I picked up this book expecting a fun light-hearted retelling of Snow White. But, what I got was a creepy book... a very disturbing little man, imprisoned/poisoned girls, lots of thowing up, and a princess who is going to rule a kingdom some day (even though she's so stupid!). I hate books about girls being stupid and living happily every after! I think it sets a bad role model for girls today... and where are the seven dwarfs? (LOL!) I recommend you give this book a miss.

Book Review - Drift House, The First Voyage

Do you like pirates? Mermaids? Adventure? Talking animals? And the idea of there being a drain plug at the bottom of the sea? Throw in some unlikely time traveling heros and you have a fun summer reading adventure! This first book in the Drift House series was tons of fun! I've also read the second book, the "Lost Cities." It wasn't as good, and I don't recommend it unless you totally loved the first book and are looking for more.

Book Review - Bridge to Terabithia

I've read almost all the Newbery Award winning books except this one. I always thought it was about two friends. One of the friends dies and the other one is left to deal with her death. Well, then I saw the movie trailer of an imaginary land with monsters; and it looked like a lot of fun... So I picked this book up from the library... and it's about two friends. One of the friends dies and the other one is left to deal with her death. {sigh} Actually it is a good book, sweet in spots, about a boy and girl growing up in a small town, and the friendship that blooms between them. Leslie shares the magic of life with Jess, and in the end Jess learns to share the magic of life with others.

It made me cry... it made my 14yrs son cry... it'll make you cry...