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Review: Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation

First Mate Keira — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:12:16 +0000

by First Mate Keira

Title: Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse
Author: Kaleb Nation
Page Count: 464 pages
Format: Hardback
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Summary: Bran Hambric is different from other boys and doesn’t even know the true extent of it. He was found as impossible as it might sound in a locked bank vault. Sewey Wilomas, the man who found him takes him home as he must under the Finders Keepers law. Eight years have passed and Bran still doesn’t know who his mother is or how he came to be in the city of Dunce’s third bank. All he has for a clue is a scrap of paper with his name on it directing him “To Clarence.”

Why I Started This Book:

I began this book for a number of reasons. The first is that I have been off and on watching Kaleb on YouTube and Twitter because of his Twilight involvement and he's just plain fun, his novel was sure to be too. Second, he’s approximately my age and wrote a fantasy story with a very interesting concept, how could I not support that by picking up the book? Third – who doesn’t crave a Harry Potter fix? Bran Hambric promised to be one and fulfilled it.

Note: While receiving this book early as a reader copy from the publisher, it is the final consumer version of the book.

Likes:

Bran Hambric is set in the city of Dunce, a place that outlawed mages and gnomes and all things etcetera. Who couldn’t like something as silly sounding as that? Plus it’s the perfect setup to include all three!
Sewey’s cursing: “Great Rot!” and “Great Moby!” Sewey is excellent for humor and spouting off the town’s ideology. He blames everything bad on gnomes.
Polland the gnome. He’s a good character. I hope to see more of him in future Bran Hambric novels.
The five kinds of magic: mental, physical, mortal, illusions, and natural.
Shambles. Guessed his importance right off the bat and then doubted it until I got to the ending of the story.
The bad guy #1 and in particular the Farfield curse. Very spooky.
The cover! It's gorgeous! The illustrator was obviously influenced by Harry Potter but it still reads as it's own universe. Love.

Dislikes:

The first 20-100 pages are really tough. Mainly because of the grammar issues that cropped up repeatedly. Most particularly the improper use of ‘and’ and ‘but’ in several long sentences. The author should have reversed the choice or gone with a smaller two letter transition word instead. Another issue was the occasional switching mid sentences between characters. For instance – Shambles would do something then the second part would be about Joris' actions however the subjective personal pronouns would still be reflecting back on Shambles.
Mabel’s hypochondria. For some, I see this being humorous and fun, for me not so much. I was over it by the third time it was mentioned and she went crazy trying to ingest her body weight in them. Figuratively of course.
The #1 bad guy didn’t seem to understand how to convince Bran to join the dark side as it were. He had 'compelling' arguments but they weren’t really tailored to what Bran truly desired which the bad guy should have known having been in Bran’s head.

Last minute thoughts: There are quite a few parallels to Harry Potter. I will be listing some in bullet format below, so for those not wishing to be spoiled I expect you to click away immediately.

Harry and Bran are in the care of families who don’t acknowledge them and both take the place as a sort of house elf. Bran however is treated much better by the Wilomas family than Harry by the Dursley’s.
Harry and Bran were vessels for the bad guy’s soul.
Their mothers were instrumental in saving them once from the baddies.
The major bad guys, Voldemort and Baslyn, do what they can to control the magical world and to defy death. Baslyn’s main magical power is concentrated on mortal magics.
Shambles while more similar to Golem than Dobby is of equal importance to Bran Hambric as they were to their stories.

Buy: Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse (Hardback), Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse (Audio Book)

Book Rating: 3.5 Treasure Chests

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Review: Twilight (Twilight, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer

CaptainYarr — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:32:33 +0000

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

Title: Twilight
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Page Count: 498
Format: Paper back
Grade Reading Level: 9 - 12

Summary: Bella Swan moves to a small town called Forks in Washington, USA and meets a different boy, Edward Cullen. He’s more than a little different; he’s a vampire. Bella doesn’t know this, yet but as she gets more clues she figures it all out. Once she does, Bella and Edward sit down for a heart to heart talk. It creates a whole new relationship. Will Edward and Bella fall in love? Will he lose control and kill Bella? Read to find out!

Why did you read the book:

I read this book because I wanted to see the movie, and in order to see the movie my eldest sister told me I had to read the book and so that’s exactly what I did.

Likes:

I enjoy the idea of vampires in a romance novel! He loves you so much he wants to drink your blood - that's hot.
I love all of the characters in this book, it wouldn’t be Twilight as we know it without them all. The Cullens are a great part of the book. They are a fantastic family.
Edward’s and Bella’s chemistry is one of the best parts of the book. It’s AWESOME! Won't spoil you further you have to read the book for yourself!
One of the best parts of this book is the action! It’s probably the BEST (and only) action filled romance book I’ve ever read. James is scary.

Dislikes:

I don’t like Jacob Black! He likes Bella and loathes Edward, it just doesn’t make sense who (how can you not LOVE Edward Cullen?!?). Go team Edward!

Buy: Twilight (paperback), The Twilight Saga Collection in Hardback (Books 1-4)

Book Rating: I give this book 4 ½ treasure chests! It was greatly written and every part caught my attention!

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Review: Boys are Dogs by Leslie Margolis

CaptainYarr — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:47:12 +0000

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

Title: Boys are Dogs
Author: Leslie Margolis
Page Count: 195
Format: Hardback
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Summary: Annabelle is going into 6^th grade at her first coed (boys and girls) school. She and her mom move in with her mom's boyfriend (a.k.a. Dweeble), and because of the big move they get her a dog. The dog isn't trained and is a big problem, but not the only problem. The boys aren’t exactly as she imagined. In fact they're worse! Much, much, worse! Just like wild dogs. Now Annablles’ job is not only to train her new dog but to train all the boys at school.

Why I Started This Book:

I began this book because, it was on a list of books I had to read for school. I started this one first because it looked the most amusing and was the most appealing to me.

Likes:

I enjoyed reading the parts of this book when Annabelle was reading her dog training book and Leslie wrote what she was reading. I got to learn 10 times more information than if it wasn’t written.
I liked reading from Annabelle’s point of view, and getting to hear what she was thinking. She sounded like my idea of a 6^th grader starting a new school. I could have been her friend.
I liked this book because Annabelle is in 6^th grade, and so am I. So while I was reading I could relate to her problems as if they were my own. Well, maybe not all, as I've always been in coed schooling.

Dislikes:

I didn’t like the ending. Why you ask? Well it wasn’t exactly how I thought it would end, and I thought there was a better alternative.

Buy: Boys Are Dogs (paperback)

Book Rating: I give this book 4 treasure cheats! It interested me the whole time I was reading. It was fun reading what someone else thinks about boys. I would like to read Leslie’s other book called "Girls Acting Catty."

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Review: Shadow-Kiss by Richelle Mead

First Mate Keira — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:52:03 +0000

by First Mate Keira

Title: Shadow-Kiss (Vampire Academy Series, Book 3)
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 443
Grade Reading Level: Grade 9+

Summary: Lately Rose has been seeing her dead friend around St. Vladimir. Mason’s ghost, if that was what she was really seeing was messing with her and screwing up her trials. Nobody else saw him. So her only explanations were crazy or incompetence. Neither she wants to own up to, but given her lack of options there’s only one way to really go. On top of that, Victor Dashkov is being tried for his crimes but without any of the key witnesses there! If only Dimitri or somebody could get them to the royal court to ensure he was sent to Moroi prison. Oh and Moroi around the school were showing up bruised and injured, but to a one, they are all quiet about what happened to get them that way. What on earth is going on?

Why I started this book:

It’s the next in the series and I had read the previous two. Mead does a lot of exposition and telling in the first couple of pages so anybody can hop into the series at any point in time and know without a doubt what was going on both in story arc and world building.

Likes:

Who wouldn’t love getting to beat up on a teacher? Rose and her fellow dhampirs get to do just that with all their training instructors during their trials. Rose gets matched up with Lissa’s boyfriend, something she’s not happy about and when Mason’s ghost shows up causing her to lose focus and get Christian ‘killed’ it causes big, big trouble for her.
Adrian. Love him. He gets the quartet (Rose, Christian, Lissa, and Eddie) to the royal court so they can testify against Victor.
Rose and Dimitri lying at court. Victor smirking knowingly in the background and his parting shot.
SPOILER… I’m probably the only weirdo who will like this but I was glad when Dimitri was changed into a Strigoi. It sucks. It’s super angsty. It totally means more drama. For those reasons I love it. I also know somehow, probably with spirit, Dimitri will be changed back into Dhampir or at least Moroi. But this is conjecture. I have more books to read before I can know this for sure.

Dislikes:

The Moroi torture brigade at the school all trying to figure out how to use compulsion. Now if we’re going to talk about crazy that’s crazy and also beyond stupid…in more ways than one since they are the reason the Strigoi can access St. Vladimir’s in the first place. I was surprised that Rose didn’t go kick all of them in the teeth when she learned that.
I’m not a big fan of the whole head-hopping business. I get that it’s part of Rose’s shadow-kiss abilities, but I’d much rather focus on her and her story than Lissa’s.

Buy: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, Book 3)

Rating: 4 Treasure Chests

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If You Love the Vampire Academy Series: Dimitri or Adrian? (Poll & Discussion)

Review: Exile by Anne Ousterlund

First Mate Keira — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:30:50 +0000

by First Mate Keira

Title: Exile
Author: Anne Ousterlund
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 304 pages
Grade Reading Level: Grades 7-12

Summary: Aurelia has exiled herself from the court in the last book, bearing her name, when she refused to marry the creepy king of a neighboring kingdom. She plans to tour the country of Tyralt (her soon-to-be kingdom) and visit the whole of it to get a feel for the people from every part. Almost immediately she suffers another assassination attempt. Who’s behind it this time? Can it be that her sister, Melony, has their father’s support now? Is there nobody she can trust? Well there’s one… Robert.

Why I started this book:

I was given a copy by the author.

Likes:

The growing relationship between Robert and Aurelia. It’s sweet and grounded with room to blossom.
Aurelia’s ability to charm those around her even when they’re hostile. A good quality for a leader.
The trip up the Gate… I mean the gauntlet. Very vivid imagery and sad too when they come to the wagon wedged into the rock.
The desert tribes sequence was one of my favorites. Loved it.

Dislikes:

The first assassination attempt in this book leads to a major melt down for Aurelia. Luckily it doesn’t last forever.
Aurelia’s real mother. Talk about a trying parent. That woman needs a kick in the rear and someone to shake some sense into her.
I got tired of the guilt both Robert and Aurelia visited time and again for doing what they had to do in order to survive the final confrontations in the previous book. A little was fine, even expected, but it dragged the story down and made it more somber.

Last Minute Thoughts: Robert takes a while to confess his love, but you’ll love it when he does. She too is pretty reserved until she isn’t. This can be at times very frustrating! I’m so glad he finally made a move and stood his ground not willing to be cowed because of her title. Who’s ready for the next book? I am! I want to know more about the new Heir of Vashone.

Buy: Exile

Rating: 3.5 Treasure Chests

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Review: Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

First Mate Keira — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:30:11 +0000

by First Mate Keira

Title: Frosbite (Vampire Academy Series, Book 2)
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 327
Grade Reading Level: Grade 9+

Summary: Because Rose was out of school for two years, she’s only now able to take her Qualifier. She's going to be tested by one of the best guardians ever to graduate, Arthur Schoenberg, who’s currently guarding a royal Moroi family. When they first arrive at his home, the two find inside Arthur, his Moroi family, and a few extra guardians slaughtered in what appears to be a massive organized Strigoi attack, something that was believed to be impossible. What are they going to do now?

Why I started this book:

I recently finished Vampire Academy and Frostbite is the second in the series. You can read book two without having read book one because the opening of Frostbite gives the full rundown on the world, it’s culture, people, and sums up the last book.

Likes:

The change of pace and setting. When a second equally lethal attack happens relatively soon after, all winter travel plans are changed for both the school, the families of the students, and the royal court. Safety can only be found in large numbers and so many go to a Moroi exclusive ski resort that runs at night.
While the grownups try to figure out what to do about the Strigoi, Rose is trying to figure out her love life. Caught between the man she loves, the boy she thinks she should, and a flirtatious bad boy Moroi royal, Rose has a lot on her plate.
Mia coming over to the light side and not being such a horrible character. Hurray!
Adrian giving Rose all that perfume and her response. Too cute.
Adrian's nickname for Rose, "Little Dhampir."

Dislikes:

Rose’s relationship with her mother, Janine Hathaway. I much prefer happy mom-daughter pairs compared to hostile warring fractions. Neither Rose or Janine understand the other and instead of truly talking they gripe and bungle every conversation.
Rose’s bond to Lissa seems awfully one-sided and only convenient for Lissa. If only the bond between them worked in reverse! At least about being able to see inside each other’s heads.
Have I mentioned the Dhampirs are brainwashed to be pro-Moroi all the time? Sheesh. Seriously, why can't the Moroi protect themselves? Good thing the Ozeras are around or the outcome of Frostbite would be way different.

Buy: Frostbite (Vampire Academy, Book 2)

Rating: 3.5 Treasure Chests

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Review: The Boy Who Spoke Dog by Clay Morgan

CaptainYarr — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:12:31 +0000

by Captain Lyaf Yarr, the pilot of this here vessel.

Title: The Boy Who Spoke Dog
Author: Clay Morgan
Page Count: 166
Format: Paperback
Grade Reading Level 6-8

Summary: Jack gets stranded on a mysterious island with nobody there except the sheep dogs. The dogs are getting attacked by the fangos at the same time and need help. When Jack and the sheep dogs meet they eventually become friends. Will Jack help the dogs defeat the fangos, and will he be rescued ? Or will he stay a true dog forever?

Why I Started This Book:

I read this book because my teacher assigned it to us in Reading Class. We divided the book up into eight sections and read one section a day until we were done. I read ahead of the class because I was interested in knowing the ending.

Likes:

I liked the adventure in this book. It was pretty cool that Jack, the main character was stranded on an island.
Also, I enjoyed Jack’s thoughts throughout the book as he worried about his rescue. It was pretty realistic I thought. I would be scared too!
The chemistry between Jack and the dogs was fun. There was a very strong friendship between them. They relied on one another.
The final battle between the fangos and the normal dogs was very thrilling. Fangos are sheep dogs that have killed at least one sheep.

Dislikes:

I didn’t like the ending of the book. It was a big let down, very anti-climatic after such a strong beginning and middle.
I disliked that there were so few characters. Most of the story’s interaction was between Jack and the dogs.
Jack went crazy by himself on the island which was kind of weird to me.
This book wasn’t what I would usually read and didn’t change my mind about that so it wasn’t my favorite. It was good to read once, but I would not read this again.

Buy: The Boy Who Spoke Dog by Clay Morgan

Book Rating: 2.5 Treasure Chests

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Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

First Mate Keira — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:41:14 +0000

by First Mate Keira

Title: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy Series, Book 1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 332
Grade Reading Level: Grade 9+

Summary: After two years on the run, Rose Hathaway and Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir are captured by a group of Guardians and sent back to St. Vladimir’s Academy. Lissa is a Moroi, or a good vampire, and the last of her royal line, making her a princess. Rose is a mix of human and vampire, known as a dhampir. Dhampirs grow up to be Guardians, who are the protectors of Moroi. From the beginning dhampirs are taught “They come first” and that they need Moroi to reproduce. Best friends, Rose and Lissa share a bond, something that they learn more about back at school. There was a reason they left St. Vladimir’s in the first place… and now that they’re back again they have to navigate the social hierarchy, catch up on two years worth of classes, fall in love with two inappropriate boys, and solve the mystery that sent them fleeing in the first place.

Why I started this book:

I kept seeing the book series in stores, around the blogosphere, and in the library. It was recommended to me as a good series for Twilight fans. I finally picked it up when I heard it might be made into a movie sometime in the future.

Likes:

The friendship between Lissa and Rose. They seem to really care for each other and want what’s best. They get into fights, they keep secrets from one another, but they’re very tight and supportive too. They don’t compete with each other.
Mead captures the spirit of a teenage girl and infuses it into her heroine, Rose. She becomes a perfect pot of contradiction with heavy sarcasm, flirting, insecurity, and confidence.
I like that the half-vampires and good vampires are alive and that the blood drinking is limited to Moroi and Strigoi (undead/bad vampires).
Mead creates a solid story based on real folklore, like the Balklan myth of Dhampirs, and imagination. I really like the integration and world-building. It’s pretty complex.

Dislikes:

The underage romance between Dimitri and Rose. She’s a year shy of being legally an adult and it might not make much of a difference to some people, but it rubs me the wrong way and sends a bad message.
All the dead animals being planted on and in Lissa’s things by some weirdo. No wonder Lissa and Rose ran before – wouldn’t you to get away from this sort of creepy stalker displays? Yuck.
Yet again, all the cool kids and everybody else seems to be drinking and/or smoking or have done it in the past. Doesn’t the word underage count for anything? Where are the teachers on all of this? Sheesh. There needs to be several room raids since lockers aren’t in use.
There’s a lot of telling instead of showing in the novel, which can make it hard to read and occasionally a little lackluster, but the plotline and characters have me hooked.

Buy: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1)

Rating: 3 Treasure Chests

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Review: Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev

First Mate Keira — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:11:18 +0000

by First Mate Keira

Title: Perchance to Dream [Théâtre Illuminata (Act 2)]
Author: Lisa Mantchev
Format: Kindle Ebook
Page Count: 352 (Hardback)
Grade Reading Level: Grade 7+

Summary: Act 1 was in the theater, Act 2 explores the world outside the theater. Don’t be fooled though, the world is a very different place than how you or I would see it. With a Teller of Tales in your pocket, and several sidekicks from Shakespeare’s plays, anything and everything changes. Bertie must rescue Nate from the sea witch’s clutches, a seemingly impossible task and Nate’s time is running short. Her dreams at night and her love for him keeps him alive, but the day belongs to Ariel and Bertie finds herself falling for him too.

Why I started this book:

I loved the first in the trilogy, Eyes Like Stars, and couldn’t wait to read it. I gave up on the library getting it anytime soon and purchased Perchance to Dream from Amazon for my Kindle. It turned out to be a good decision because Mantchev uses a lot of interesting words that I didn’t know or only sort of knew and looked up using Kindle’s dictionary definition feature while reading. I also used the Text-to-Speech aspect to hear how some words and character names were pronounced.

Likes:

The fairies: Cobweb, Peaseblossom, Moth and Mustardseed (from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream) are back and just as silly and over the top as before with their demands for pie and cake and pastries!
Ariel (from Shakespeare’s The Tempest) is my favorite character. I loved that he was challenged to do things without the power of his winds. It made him a stronger character and revealed a lot about him.
Beatrice (Bertie) Shakespeare Smith has more trouble with words than any girl I know. After that she has an even bigger conflict: choosing between her two loves: Nate and Ariel. The right boy for her will have to give her a lot of space because she’s very determined to keep a piece of herself for herself.
New character Waschbär the sneakthief, is a strong addition to the tale. I wonder what it is he seeks and if he too can complete his journey.
The writing is very vivid and much improved over Eyes Like Stars. The story itself is far more epic and expansive too than it’s predecessor. I have high expectations and hopes for the third and final act.

Dislikes:

I don’t feel like Ariel gets enough credit in the story. He had so many chances to turn his back on her, to sabotage the rescue efforts, and plentiful reasons to just give up and yet he doesn’t do any of those things. He tries but he can’t. Ariel’s by far my favorite of the two boys. Every time Bertie realized she gave in a little to him she did a 180 and pushed him away. It was exasperating (and for Ariel too no doubt) and I had a hard time believing she felt equally about both boys because of her actions.
The Mysterious Stranger aka the Scrimshander is a very important character and he’s well drawn, but I just don’t like him. I found him weak and pathetic compared to the strength, determination, and courage of Betrie.

Buy: Perchance to Dream: Theatre Illuminata #2 (Hardback), Perchance to Dream: Theatre Illuminata #2 (Kindle)

Rating: 4 Treasure Chests

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Review: The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone

First Mate Keira — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:54:08 +0000

by First Mate Keira

Title: The Sixty-Eight Rooms
Author: Marianne Malone
Format: Hardback
Page Count: 265
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Summary: Ruthie is drawn to the famous Thorne Rooms at the Chicago’s Art Institute during a class fieldtrip. On the same trip her best friend, Jack, finds a gorgeous key. When Ruthie holds the key she begins to shrink and the two kids put two-and-two together. The key provides a way into the miniature world depicted by the multiple rooms. When Ruthie figures out how to shrink Jack too, the exploring commences in earnest and the pair must figure out how to navigate the world in a new way.

Why I started this book:

I checked the book out from the library after I saw it in a bookstore and thought it looked interesting.

Likes:

The subplots were crafted fabulously and brought another dimension to the story. Jack’s mother worries about making a living as an artist. A security guard (previously famous photographer) mourns the loss of his best work. A shop owner reconnects to memories of her past. Historical figures find new endings.
How Jack and Ruthie constructed paths to get them around the museum and to different parts of the exhibit is both entertaining and clever.
I enjoyed the fight with the water bug/cockroach.
I liked that the two kids weren’t the first to explore the tiny world. That was very cool and also connected a lot of the subplots. I liked too how Jack and Ruthie saved some of the people they found in the world by remembering enough from history class to provide warnings.

Dislikes:

The necessary contrivance of tricking the parental units into thinking the kids were places they were not. I dislike clueless parents or parents willing to be hoodwinked. I find it hard to believe, mostly because my own parents would never in a million years ignore the signs of mischief Jack and Ruthie gave off like flashing beacons.

Buy: The Sixty-Eight Rooms

Rating: 4 Stars

The Sixty Eight Rooms MAGIC Marianne Malone 2010 First *

US $16.99

16d 7h 1m

The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone (2011, Paperba

US $14.99

28d 10h 36m

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