Icefall

Icefall
by Matthew J. Kirby
336 pages
Middle School+

Solveig is the second daughter to a king, and not even the pretty daughter.  She constantly lives in the shadow of her beautiful sister and her younger brother, the crown prince.  Sent to hide from the war in a remote steading, she and a few others are set to survive all winter.

Then the trouble starts to happen.  More soldiers show up, with food thankfully.  The cows get eaten by wolves, and the remaining meat gets poisoned.  A traitor lies in their midst.  Solveig must figure out who it is before spring comes and war finds them.

Icefall was alright, but not spectacular.  Solveig is likable, the telling realistic, but the book just doesn't flow quick enough.  The read waits the entire book for the scene on the cover, and that is short and almost too convenient. 

If you like Norse mythology, this might be a good read.  The myths and the story telling aspect is good, but the plot feels like it was pulled out too long.  An okay book, but not necessarily one I would recommend to lots of people.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
by Christopher Healy
448 pages
Elementary and up

Meet Prince Charming, or should we say, all the Princes Charming? Meet Liam, Gustav, Frederick and Duncan, princes from several fairy tales that in the stories are only known as "Prince Charming."  Each of them have different issues, from having to walk in the shadow of 16 older brothers to hating the princess he rescued.  None of them have gotten to live his "happily ever after."

Then more things start going wrong.  Briar Rose is a brat, Ella runs away, and even sweet Snow White tells her prince to go away.  The princes are captured by giants, chased by dragons, and even have trolls sitting on them!  Can they really work together to defeat the evil witch and save all of their kingdoms?

I laughed, and laughed and laughed some more.  Oh my goodness this books is funny!  I would so highly recommend this book to anyone!  While the length may seem a little intimidating for younger kids, the story moves very fast, plus there is a lot of small illustrations in the book that speed it along even more.  I had a hard time putting it down when it was time to go to bed!

Overall, great book to recommend to lots of kids.  Funny, fast paced, and has enough variety in the characters to appeal to both boys and girls.  Pick it up today!

Abandon

Abandon
by Meg Cabot
320 pages
High School

Pierce was a normal girl.  Until she died. But only for an hour. And then she came back to life. 

It's not only that she died, but what happened while she was dead that has changed her life.  Instead of being the great student, popular with everyone, and having no cares in her life, Pierce is now moody, easily distracted and feels as if she is cursed.  She even has a strange man dressed all in black showing up when she needs him the most, like a warped guardian angel.

Pierce and her mom now live on one of the Florida Keys, a tiny island called Isla Huesos, or Island of Bones.  Pierce is trying to connect more with those around her, and participate in life instead of disconnecting from everything.  But when Death is following you around, it's hard to live a normal life.

This was the first Meg Cabot book I have read, and I have mixed emotions about it.  I really liked the story line, but the telling was so jumbled, it was hard to follow at times.  This retelling of the myth of Persephone and Hades certainly takes its time getting to the point! Flashbacks and memories are inserted everywhere, with little distinction between them and present time.  The transitions between them are chopping, and several times I had to go back a few paragraphs to make sure I understood which time I was really in.

Other than the choppy transitions, I really enjoyed this book.  Unlike a lot of other reviews I have seen on this, I thought that Pierce's understanding of John grew, and thus her relationship with him grew over time. You get to see her make an effort to change her life and change her behavior because she wants her mother to be happy. If the story line had been straightened out a little, or the flashbacks a little more distinct, I would have given this a better rating. 

This book has nothing inappropriate in it, but the disjointed story telling would not go over well with middle school or younger kids.  Girls will probably have more interest in it than boys, and this is definitely not your typical fantasy.  I will recommend it to people, but not everyone.  There is a sequel to it that recently came out, and I will be looking forward to reading it!

Cinder

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

400 pages

Middle School +

Cinder lives a boring life.  She works in her little mechanic shop, pays whatever she makes to her step-mother, and also has to do the chores at home. The world is being ravaged by an incurable plague and everyone is scared.  She is in a rut and dreams of getting out.  On top of all of that, she has to hide her secret from everyone: she is a cyborg, part-machine, and part-human.

One day, as she is in her mechanic shop, a hooded stranger comes to her booth.  He asks her to fix a droid for him, and it is imperative that it he gets the information from this droid's memory.  As they talk, Cinder recognizes him as Prince Kai, the unmarried heir to the throne.  He enjoys talking to her, and eventually asks her to a ball.  Throughout all of this, her sister catches the plague, Cinder is sold to research, and the Lunar Queen decides to visit Earth.  Cinder must deal with Prince Kai, avoid the Lunar Queen and try to find a cure the plague that threatens to destroy the world.

I had two reactions to this book. First- what a fun idea!  A Cyborg Cinderella!  The action was fast and the story creative even though it is based on a well-known fairy tale.  This book kept me enthralled from the very beginning.

Second reaction: I wish Cinder wouldn't have been so down on herself.  She is constantly demeaning herself, and wishing she was something else.  She never has a good opinion of herself.  Girls get enough of that already, I don't know if they really need to read about it.  On the other hand, it can also make her more approachable as a character, that she has the same feelings that teens do.  While I really enjoyed the book, this was a minor drawback.

Overall, I will still recommend the book.  I think teens will really enjoy the story telling, plus the originality of the idea. Retold fairy tales are huge, and this is a great example of an original twist.  There is a sequel coming soon (February 2013) that I can't wait to read.  Fun book great idea, and lots of twists and turns!

Tags and such....

Hi everyone!  Bren here...

So, I recently went through and added a lot of tags to things so that my blog is more user friendly.  I added more tags to past items, plus started a new rating system so you could find my favorite books!

Here is my ranking system:

Don't Bother- Really, don't bother reading this book.  I didn't enjoy it, and if there is a sequel, it holds no interest for me...

It's Okay- It was an alright book, but nothing special.

Liked It A Lot- I enjoyed reading this book! 

Great Book- These are some of my favorites!  I would recommend to most people!

I also added a tag called "Couldn't put it down," which means exactly what it says.  These books are very engaging and really captured my interest!

Hope these make my blog a little better for you all!  Thanks for reading!

Dark Life

Dark Life

By Kat Falls

297 pages

Late Elementary and up.

Ty is a pioneer, but instead of going west, like the old days, his family went deep!  As the water levels rise and space on land grows more and more precious, people have started going under the sea.  Ty knows nothing but living underwater. He is much more familiar with the life that thrives in the darkness of the deep sea than he is with sunshine and stars. 

One day, Gemma shows up from the world above and changes everything in his life.  She seems so vulnerable alone, searching for her brother that Ty can't just leave her on her own.  As they try to learn her brother's fate, they start finding more than either of them bargained for.

So, this book was okay, but not totally enthralling.  The premise of living underwater is really cool, and the technology is suitably present.  But I just had a hard time finishing this book!  I might recommend it, but it would be pretty far down my list of things to recommend.  A sequel has come out, but I have no interest in it.  To me, the characters were flat, the relationships cliche, and the story line was not engaging.  While the setting was fun, the story never fully explored its full potential.

Vordak The Incomprehensible

Vordak The Incomprehensible: How to Grow up and Rule the World
by Scott Seegert
Illustrated by John Martin
208 pages
Elementary and up!

Vordak is evil.  He is beyond evil, he is Incomprehensible! Learn from him how to be evil! In this book, Vordak discloses all secrets about how to be the best super-villain you can be!   Learn everything from how to choose your name to what colors are acceptable for your costume. Take Vordak's Evil Aptitude Exam, and gets plans for nefarious schemes!

This book is along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid- lots of white space, fun illustrations, and lots of humor.  This would be a great book for any reluctant reader that likes super heroes, or just has a different sense of humor.

While not big on a plot line, this book was lots of laughs.  I would recommend it mostly for boys, but if a girl was looking for something funny, would give it to her too!  Fun book!