Ms. Lowry wrote The Giver in 1993 (Newbery winner), Gathering Blue in 2000, and finally Messenger in 2004. It is a series of loosely related dystopian novels. A very depressing series, if truth be told, but engaging and well written. Though I’ve read the first one several times (long before my blog), I’ve never reviewed it–yet. Last year […]
The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet (The Secrets of Droon, book one), by Tony Abbott, 1999, Book Review
Early chapter books aren’t my specialty. I don’t read them often, but my son was in need of a new series, so I read The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet, the first book of The Secrets of Droon. I was impressed. The story was very simplistic, of course, but what takes me twenty minutes to […]
Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles, book two), by Rick Riordan, 2011, Book Review
Like most of his books, Mr. Riordan’s second installment in his Kane Chronicles has positive and negative elements. I won’t object to my kids (12+) reading them, but I don’t push them, either. The books are exciting, imaginative and funny, a combination that has made them wildly popular with middle school kids. But they also […]
The House with a Clock in its Walls, by John Bellairs, 1973, Book Review
This book was odd. Recommended to me by a friend, I had high expectations that simply weren’t met. It starts out with ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt on his way to his uncle’s house after his parents’ deaths. Uncle Jonathan is a minor magician, and he lives in an old mansion formerly inhabited by an evil wizard. […]
The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis, 2012, Book Review
I loved this one! The Mighty Miss Malone has everything in it that I appreciate about children’s literature: style, humor, beauty, depth—even history! I have absolutely no complaints about the story. It does have some incorrect grammar and spellings, but that’s because it’s written from the firsthand perspective of twelve-year-old Deza Malone. I don’t like such […]
The Appeal of a Great Brand
Have you, by chance, noticed a little more sweetness around Bookworm Blather lately? That’s because I’m finally taking everything I’ve ever learned about branding to heart. I find I have time for such improvements when I finish a novel. (Hee! hee! See how I cleverly worked a plug in there?) There are so many fish […]
Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, book one), by Eoin Colfer, 2001, Book Review
Artemis Fowl is the first of an eight-book series, the last of which is set to release in July of 2012. I had heard of this book, but I jumped in without reading up on it, so I didn’t know what to expect. (Thanks, Tim, for Kindle-lending it to me!) In the words of the […]
How to Slay a Dragon (The Journals of Myrth, Book One), by Bill Allen, 2011, Book Review
I happened onto this book during a free promo and approached it very cautiously. You see, about five percent of the books I find for free do I actually finish—or even get beyond page fifteen. This one looked cute, however, and I was impressed with the sample text, so I settled in for a longer […]
The Castle of Llyr (Chronicles of Prydain, 3), by Lloyd Alexander, 1966
The Castle of Llyr didn’t win any awards, unlike several other books in the series, but it is my favorite one yet. Within, Taran Assistant Pig-Keeper fights not for kingdoms but for the life of his friend, Princess Eilonwy. Containing all the wisdom and adventure of the first two books, this one attains a depth greater […]
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling, 2005
I stalled out on my Harry Potter reviews over the winter when my own novel was taking priority. This week it was so fun to set other stuff aside and read just for the sake of reading. And no place is more fun to escape to than Hogwarts. A LOT is going on in this […]