Entries Tagged 'Book Review' ↓
July 13th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Action & Adventure, Book Review, Friends, M-O, Mystery, World History
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
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July 11th, 2010 — 4.5-5 Treasure Chests, Book Review, M-O, Romance, School Situations, Science Fiction
by First Mate Keira
Title: Academy 7
Author: Anne Osterlund
Format: Trade Paperback
Page Count: 259
Grade Reading Level: Grade 8 +
Summary: Academy 7 is like Star Wars meets Harry Potter. Two kids, Aerin and Dane, must overcome great odds to attend and survive their first year in the universe’s most prestigious school. Aerin must hide her true background, that of a fugitive slave from an X-Level planet. Dane must outwit his father, one of the Alliance's most powerful leaders, who loathes him and favors his elder brother. Both are excellent students and compete for top grade in every class. Trickery abounds and their only hope is to navigate it together.
Why I started this book:
I bought Academy 7 for something to read on a road trip.
Likes:
- The world-building is swift, complete, and extremely interesting. It’s fun to see that in a world so advanced there’s still budget problems which result in a crumbling school that still manages to keep and maintain advance computers. I can’t wait to see how certain factors play out.
- Aerin is a strong female character. She excels at computers and fighting, attributes rarely given to heroines. She’s also fragile, constantly worried about exposure. She comes to realize she knows almost nothing about her parents and with Dane’s help is determined to unlock the secret.
- Dane is the typical cocky good-looking rich and popular boy. His life however isn’t as pretty as it seems. His father hates him and he’s not entirely sure why. The only planet he has called home until school, isn’t a place he can ever return to—not if he wants to live to see another day.
- I loved the fighting classes. Aerin whipping Dane over and over again is really quite fun. I also like that Dane isn’t so insecure about it. He actually proposes a deal to help her learn Alliance history in exchange for more beat downs (training to be a better fighter).
Dislikes:
- I think the mean girl of the school was dropped a little too soon. I don’t know who is going to take her place and cause friction in the future.
Last Minute Thoughts: Academy 7 is the possible start of a trilogy (woohoo!), but the author has admitted it takes her a lot of time to write her stories and currently she is working on a sequel to another story. I hope she finishes it soon because I want to know what happens next for Aerin and Dane.
Buy: Academy 7
Rating: 4.5 Treasure Chests
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July 1st, 2010 — Guest Review, Movie Review
by Cook Cutlery, guest reviewer
Title: Eragon
Director: Steen Fagmeier
Duration: 104 minutes
Rated: PG
Summary: Eragon (played by Ed Speleers) sucks at hunting and one day when he’s out trying to hunt a deer he comes across a blue stone. But when it hatches Eragon is flabbergasted to meet Sapphira (voice by Rachel Weisz) who is a dragon. She’s the one who chose Eragon to be her Rider. Is it a mistake to make such a pathetic boy the last of the Dragon Riders? I think not!
Why I watched this movie:
Because I recently finished reading Eragon.
Likes:
- I really liked Brom because he was willing to train Eragon when he didn’t have to do so. He was also very wise all that he did and he risked his life to save Eragon from getting pierced through the chest by Durza (an evil Shade). Jeremy Irons was the perfect choice for Brom and a good actor.
- I also liked the way they did the special effects throughout the movie with spell casting, battles, and Sapphira. She looked real and not like she was C.G.I. She matched the world they built.
Dislikes:
- I didn’t like the fact that Brom dies in the movie while trying to protect Eragon. It’s too sad.
- I didn’t like that quite a bit of stuff was cut out of the movie, that was in the book. For instance they leave out when Brom and Eragon go off to different places in order to find more information about the Razac—specifically how to locate and kill them.
Differences between the movie and book:
- Araya (played by Sienna Guillory) was portrayed with long red hair in the movie, but the book says her long hair is black.
- In the book when he had reached the Varden Eragon had to go through the examination where the Twins entered his mind and probed through it looking into his thoughts and checking out his intentions. In the movie it just shows that he goes right Ajihad.
Buy: Eragon (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Rating: 4 Treasure Chests.
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June 25th, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Guest Review, P-R
by Cook Cutlery, guest reviewer
Title: Eragon
Author: Christopher Paolini
Format: Papberback
Page Count: 497
Reading Grade Level: 7th-9th Grade
Summary: A normal farm boy was hunting in the forest and when he saw a huge flash of blue light. An invesitagtion led to a big sapphire stone which he brought home. But it wasn't a big sapphire gem at all. It was actually a dragon egg. When it hatched for him, Eragon became the last of the Dragon Riders. Many thought the Dragon Riders had been killed off and thought the eggs were gone and that the Age of the Dragons would never rise again. But word of a new Dragon Rider spread fast and soon the existence of Eragon and his dragon, Sapphira, had reached Galbatorix and the Elves, Varden, and the Dwarves. Now Eragon is in a race to stay alive and keep his dragon safe. He has only two choices to succeed and one is unacceptable. He won't serve Galbatorix so he must find the Varden.
Why I started this book:
I started Eragon
because it was lying around. I bought it a few years back and hadn't gotten around to it before now. Plus, I had seen the movie and like it. So I thought why not?
Likes:
- What I liked about this book was that it had a lot of action. Once you settled in to read, the world sucked you in from one thrilling chase to the next harrowing adventure. It was really hard to put the book down when you got to a really good part.
- I really liked Sapphira a lot because she had a lot of wisdom when she spoke to him even though she was younger than him in physical years she was still wiser and older in her mind.
Dislikes:
- I didn’t like that the author had a ton of made up words in the story even though it had a dictionary in the back of the book saying what they meant. It was very tedious looking back to see what they meant all the time.
- I didn’t like the fact that Brom died. I thought he was a very good character and served as a really good mentor.
Differences between the book and the movie:
- In the movie we don't know why Sapphira got her name. Eragon bestows it on her after he went to talk to Brom and got the history of the name from him.
- In the movie it doesn’t tell how Eragon came to Palancar Valley. But when his mother was pregnant with him she was very poor and went to her brother Garrow (Eragon’s Uncle) asking if he would help her until the baby was born and then take care of it after it was born. Once she gave birth to Eragon a while later she left him with Garrow and never returned.
Buy: Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)
Rating: I give this book 4 out of 5 treasure chests.
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June 23rd, 2010 — 4.5-5 Treasure Chests, Book Review, Fantasy, S-T, Science Fiction
by Captain Lyaf Yarr
Title: The Dark Side of Nowhere
Author: Neal Shusterman
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 192
Grade Reading Level: Grades 6-9
Summary: Jason has always lived in the same town his whole life and thinks it's so boring. But when Jason's friend, Ethan dies from a burst appendicitis everything changes. Not only is everyone sad that he's gone but something really weird happens. Grant, the janitor tells Jason that Ethan isn't dead. Is he right? How is that possible? Then Jason is given a robotic-like glove by Grant and finds out that his whole life has been a lie. Everybody he knows, including himself, are aliens!
Why I Started the Book:
I started this book because it was a book we were reading in class before school got out for the year. We didn't get to finish it so I decided to cheek it out of the library.
Likes:
- The writing in this book was phenomenal! I was at the end of my seat after every chapter. I could understand how the characters felt and their whole experience. It was like I was there in the same situation.
- I liked how his parents never lied. He told Jason the truth about them through a bedtime story, he just didn't know it was true.
- The cover of this book is way awesome and fits the suspenseful haunting quality of the story.
- The book's main point is what it means to be human.
Last minute thoughts: I wouldn't suggest anyone under sixth grade read this book. It's very dark and I don't know if they would understand everything or just be completely creeped out.
Neal Shusterman is my favorite author at the moment! I look forward to reading more of his books!
Buy: The Dark Side of Nowhere
Book Rating: I give this book 5 treasure chests!
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