I was very eager to read Cress, the sequel to Cinder and Scarlet, and it didn’t disappoint. You definitely need to read the series in order or you won’t have any idea who anyone is. Like the others, a new fairy tale is wound into the story in innovative ways. In this book, it’s the […]
Chains
February 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Like many Laurie Halse Anderson books, Chains often feels like a punch to the gut, but you also just can’t put the book down until you get to the end. This historical novel tells the story of Isabel, a young slave from Rhode Island in 1776. When her relatively kind mistress dies, Isabel knows that […]
Mississippi Bridge
February 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Mississippi Bridge is an illustrated novella rather than a novel, but the slim size and pictures shouldn’t lull you into thinking it’s a sweet book for young kids. It’s a powerful picture of racism in 1931 Mississippi, told from the point of view of a ten year old white boy. Jeremy, our narrator, spends a […]
The Titan’s Curse
January 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jeff Dougan. The Titan’s Curse is the third installment in Rick Riordan’s bestselling series about Percy Jackson & his friends. The success has inspired a direct response called Son of Angels, published for Christians who think fantasy is evil. The first two books, The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters, have […]
The Thief
January 24, 2014 by 3 Comments
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. It’s always interesting when someone takes a fantasy novel and kind of moves it away from the Tolkien England/Norse “standard” fantasy you’ll find in a lot of books. In The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner gives the place far more of a Mediterranean feel. On an island next to a big continent […]
Darkfall
January 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Healing Wars trilogy comes to a conclusion with Darkfall. Nya has become a hero because of her abilities, and a lot of pressure is put on her young shoulders. She learns about her own destiny, tries to protect her friends and family, and works to defeat the Duke and save Geveg. You definitely need […]
The Whipping Boy
January 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Whipping Boy tells the story of, well, a whipping boy and the prince whose punishments he gets. The whipping boy hopes to be dismissed from the castle so he can go back to the sewers to work as a rat catcher like his father did. He fondly remembers the freedom of that life. The […]
Blue Fire
January 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
In Blue Fire, the middle book of The Healing Wars trilogy, Nya ends up in Baseer, separated from her friends and her sister. You definitely need to read the books in order, so I will assume you’ve already read my review of The Shifter. Many of the things from that review apply here as well, so […]
Harry Potter, books 3 & 4
January 6, 2014 by 1 Comment
Review written by Clark Valentine. (This gleefully spoiler-filled review focuses on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (PoA), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (GoF). I also assume you’re read my review of Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets. If you haven’t, go do that. It’s OK, I’ll wait. Go on. Shoo. […]
The Shifter
December 31, 2013 by 2 Comments
In the world of The Shifter, magical healers can draw pain out of victims and into the healer—the injuries are typically healed as well, although only the pain is passed on to the healer. The pain is then transferred into a piece of pynvium, a metal that can store pain. Things made out of this […]
