Entries Tagged 'Rating' ↓
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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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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June 21st, 2010 — 3.5-4 Treasure Chests, Action & Adventure, Book Review, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Horror, Suspense or Thriller, U-W, YA Genre
by First Mate Keira
Title: Malice
Author: Chris Wooding
Illustrator: Dan Chernett
Format: Hardback
Pages: 379
Grade Reading Level: 7th-9th Grade
Summary: In Britain all the children know the rumors of a comic book called
Malice
. They also know that if a ritual is done and a chant said six times they could be taken into the world of that comic. Some do so on a dare. Others because they’re missing adventure. Others to prove it doesn’t exist. More still because they believed Malice was better than their normal lives. It doesn’t matter why you do it – you’re Tall Jake’s as soon as you invite him into your life. It’s only a matter of time before he comes to collect. There’s no going back and certain doom awaits you on the other side.
Why I started this book:
My librarian recommended it to me because I liked fantasy book series. This is the first book and the story is continued in Havoc
.
Likes:
- Malice is divided into several zones and this book takes you through two. The Clock Tower and the Oubliette. In the Clock Tower they face the Clockmaker and his metal inventions. In the Oubliette they face a hungry impenetrable darkness and blind ravenous gnawls.
- Seth – he’s pretty foolhardy and he thrives on Malice which makes him feel a little guilty.
- Justin – he’s the knowledgeable guide to the world, having actually read the comics before doing the ritual. He’s also a good friend despite what his life has taught him about how friends never stick around when trouble’s afoot.
- Kady – she’s not a bad character either, I just don’t like the fact that she practices hypnosis. Of the three she’s the most practical and comes as prepared as one can be for a place like Malice.
Dislikes:
- The use of hypnosis throughout the novel. People simply couldn’t have (partial) amnesia? It’s all false testimony on the senses doing more harm than good.
- I had trouble with about half of the illustrations which were too stylized. I couldn’t make head or tails out of what I was seeing some of the time so I ended up just reading the bubbles. I figure somebody with more background in comics will manage with no problem. It just wasn’t the case with me.
- The real victims are all the parents who have no idea what’s going on and only know that their children go mysteriously missing and if they’re lucky come back… but the kids never come back the way they were before the left and nobody knows why, not even the kids.
Last Minute Thoughts: The beginning is pretty scary (horror like scary), but once the kids make it to Malice is more like a thrilling adventure. I also sincerely hope that despite how it appears Justin is still alive. I can’t wait for the next book about the kid rebels known as Havoc.
Buy: Malice
Rating: 3.5 Treasure Chests
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