Title: Gregor and the Marks of Secret Author Suzanne Collins Page Count: 343 Format: Hardcover Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Summary: Gregor and Boots frequently go to the Underland to visit their mother, who was a victim of the plague. When they returned for Hazard’s birthday party Gregor finds out Luxa needs him. The mice that saved her are disappearing. In an attempt to figure out what is happening to the mice the whole gang (Gregor, Luxa, Ares, Aurora, Howard, Nike, Boots and Temp) set out on another adventure.
Why I Started This Book:
At this point I have read three in the Underland series. It made sense to continue on with number four and while I am less than thrilled with the constant quests, I hoped it would get better.
Likes:
I like that this quest wasn’t preordained through prophecy.
Giant scorpions of awesome!
I really like Hazard’s ability to speak in multiple animal languages. This really came in use with the giant scorpions.
Dislikes:
It’s funny (to me anyway) when Photos Glow-Glow and Zap come back, because in book two they were ditched. The two are part of the journey for only a small portion and then they are ditched again.
The plot drifted. There wasn’t an exciting climax or conclusion. If anything it was a small hump... like a speedbump.
While reading, this book almost put me to sleep several times because it was so boring.
Last Minute Thoughts: I still want to continue this book series in case it gets better, but I don’t have much hope. Luckily there is only one book left to go.
Title: Certain Slant of Light Author: Laura Whitecomb Narrator: Lauren Molina Format: Unabridged Compact Discs # CDs + Minutes: 7 CDs (8 hours, 32 minutes) Grade Reading Level: Ages 14+
Summary: This book is about a 130 year old female ghost, her romance and whirlwind six days of feeling alive again. (The six days is a guess based on disc one information.) It all starts when Helen feels the eyes of a young very plain 17 year old boy watching her in Mr. Brown’s English class. Turns out the boy is a ghost also, but possesses human form. Overcoming Helen’s incorporeal nature is the first step to retaining their love.
Why I Started This Book:
Found this in the library and the back said it was a paranormal romance with a girl ghost and a young boy. My thought process was basically, “Ghost! Romance! Sweet!”
Why I Quit This Book:
The book is entirely too creepy. I quit pretty early. I finished disc one and decided that was quite enough of that. The bodysnatching is too… too… eerie. A ghost can take possession of a body if the true occupant leaves it; sort of like present in body but not in mind. James, the boy, got his body when the original user (a drug addict) left it, presumably by coma. James spends his first months in his new body recovering from drug addiction.
It’s also quite disturbing how Helen reports the afterlife. She’s done something bad or why would she be in the dark in spine-chilling hair-raising agony of pure cold? She literally has to climb hand over fist out of her cold ‘grave’ and attach herself to a person or host like a second shadow. I don’t know why, but I was expecting Casper the Friendly Ghost fun. This was not and I was too freaked out to start the second CD.
Keira runs a book review blog for readers by readers on romance novels entitled Love Romance Passion. She’s been reading romance since she was in her teens and began blogging about romance so she could share her passion for her favorite genre. She loves reading paranormal, Regency, historical America, and highlander most of all and completely adores blind and wounded heroes.
Title: The Amulet of Samarkand Author: Jonathan Stroud Reader: Simon Jones Format: Unabridged Compact Disc # CDs / Minutes: Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Summary: A young boy is sold into magical apprenticeship and trained by an apathetic and fairly incapable magician named Arthur Underwood. Nathaniel grows up and grows into power he for which he is not quite ready. One day an altercation rises up between young Nathaniel and another magician, Simon Lovelace. When Underwood fails to protect his charge, Nathaniel swears to get revenge. He trains and trains and manages to summon a very old mid-level djinni (genie) called Bartimaeus to help him enact his revenge… but everything that can go wrong does and suddenly Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are on another adventure all together.
Why I Started this Book:
It sounded like Harry Potter but apprenticeship style instead of boarding school style. It also takes place in Victorian England, which sounded like a fascinating challenge.
Why I Quit this Book:
I can’t stand Nathaniel. Honestly his character is not unlike Draco Malfoy. He’s neither a good guy nor a bad guy, but a self serving little bugger. I didn’t like his treatment of magical beings and he whines a lot… and I mean a lot. I just couldn’t take it anymore and stopped listening to the book with 2 CDs left to go.
The magic is also the opposite of Harry Potter and very immersed in pentagrams and circles of power and summonings of demons with words of command. This didn’t thrill me and I began to like it less and less as it was revealed as a form of slavery.
In addition the set up of the novel is not unlike watching the beginning and the end of a story spliced together until they reach the middle. It's actually done by flip flopping between Nathaniel and Bartimaeus with some overlap. It's the overlap that really kills me. Minor in most cases, it's enough to annoy the tar out of me.
The only reason I kept on with the story as long as I did was because of the reader’s talent. Simon Jones is a pleasure to listen to and his Bartimaeus exceptional.
Keira runs a book review blog for readers by readers on romance novels entitled Love Romance Passion. She’s been reading romance since she was in her teens and began blogging about romance so she could share her passion for her favorite genre. She loves reading paranormal, Regency, historical America, and highlander most of all and completely adores blind and wounded heroes.
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