I am so excited to share this book! I have read over two hundred MG/YA books since reading The Hunger Games, a series that totally floored me. Out of those hundreds, Open Minds is the only one that glued my butt to my couch as The Hunger Games did. In fact, this review will be a […]
The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier, 2011, Book Review
I found this book on a library list of notable middle grade books for 2011, and I loved the cover, so I picked it up. I’m glad I did. It turned out to be one of my favorite adventures of this year. The book opens with Trei on his way to the Floating Islands. His […]
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 […]
Eligere (Seranfyll, book two), by Christina Daley, 2012, Book Review – Bargain eBooks
Christina Daley’s second book in her Seranfyll series is well worth reading. I think I liked book one just a touch better, with its unexpected magic and the delightfully eccentric character of Domrey (read my review of Seranfyll), but this is a solid second installment. Domrey and his adoptive sisters and brother, Rain, Snow and […]
The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain, 1) by Lloyd Alexander, 1964
Though I have heard of the Chronicles of Prydain, and over the years have even gleaned some knowledge of Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and Hen Wen, his oracular sow, I’ve never had occasion to delve into the series until this winter. I was hugely impressed. The prose is gorgeous, the characters unique and well-developed and the […]
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by JK Rowling, 2000, Book Review
This is one seriously long book! As much as I love the story–this is my third time through and I’m delighted all over again because my brain just doesn’t retain details–one of my few complaints is that it is so long. I know more than one kid who has balked at its length. Personally, because […]
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling, 2000, Book Review
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is perhaps the lightest book in the Harry Potter series, with no Voldemort appearances or the intense darkness that surrounds him. This one’s mostly illusion, and it happens to be my favorite one, the one that REALLY makes me wish I could attend Hogwarts. Hogsmeade, the town just outside […]
The Magnificent 12: The Call, by Michael Grant, Book Review
I have just finished reading The Magnificent 12: The Call, the first in a brand new fantasy series by Michael Grant. With twenty-one phobias and counting–including a fear of phobias–twelve-year-old David MacAvoy (Mack) seems an unlikely hero. But through the pipes in the boys’ bathroom, Mack receives word from a 3,000-year-old man that the Pale […]