Library Raid

So, I'm heading out west in a few days for a nice long family vacation. And, naturally, I was in some serious need of something to read for those nice long hours locked in the mini-van with my brother. So, basically, I loaded up on some to-reads, and now I'm really pumped. My only downfall, it is going to take me forever to get all of the up-coming reviews done once I get back... But, anyways, my library raid!

Well, let us see what we have here... Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima, Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck, The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, The Alchemyst by Michael Scott, and TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow. I have never read any of these, so hopefully I'll like them or I may end up sitting in boredom listening to my brother sing ELO songs badly out of tune instead of reading. Emma would not enjoy that. Do you think libraries in Wyoming would let me mail them books back? That could solve some serious problems... I once had a library book mailed to me. But that was because I was certain that I was going to use the drawers in the hotel room, and then forgot that I had my books in the drawer after I left. The manager was kind enough to mail my books back to me so I didn't have to buy the library new ones. I have yet to use hotel room drawers since that incident. I think that I could get a library out west to loan me some books. You know, break out in hysterics saying that if I have to listen to an off pitch Mr. Blue Sky one more time that I will literally go insane. But then again, if I'm already on my knees crying, the librarians will probably think I'm already crazy... So yeah... I really hope I like these books.

I think I made some good selections. Unlike orchestra camp, I can't say I have books about wisecracking demons and flesh-eating horses, (that seriously put Morgan through a spin), but I have Cyborg Cinderella, Todd and Manchee (I love that name), and magicians vs. chaos snake, so I think I'll keep thoroughly entertained! Wish me look guys! I'm heading out west!

They Never Came Back

By Caroline B. Cooney

200 Pages

Published by Delacorte Press

★★★★

By Mel

 

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was more of a realistic book then what I normally read, but it still held enough mystery and suspense that I couldn't put it down. But, it's also a little sad.


This is a story about a ten-year-old girl whose parents turned out to be thieves. As soon as they discovered that the police were on to them, Murielle's parents (Rory and Cade Lyman) planned an escape. Taking Murielle was part of the plan until her Aunt Lois stepped in. She never took Murielle to the airport where her daddy was waiting for her. He had no choice but to continue without her and meet her mommy in England. The one thing Murielle never let go of was the hope that they would return for her. She loved her parents and had never seen then as bad people. But, five years later they were still gone and Murielle now seemed to have disappeared too. 


Cathy Ferris is a fifteen-year-old girl who is trying to learn a year of Latin in a few weeks of summer school. One day she is taken completely by surprise when this boy, Tommy, comes up and mistakes her for Murielle, his long-lost cousin. He exclaims how mush he has missed her and asks where she has been. All Cathy can say is that she isn't Murielle and then asks who she even is. Soon this whole ordeal becomes the talk and focus of the sixty summer school students. They all research the Lymans and find pictures of the little girl. The one thing they know for sure is that Cathy does strike a remarkable resemblance to Murielle. 


This book is definitely a book worth reading. The author writes in a unique fashion that I found enjoyable. the only downfall to the book was the ending. i felt like it sort of never had a real resolution. I would have enjoyed an epilogue or something. But it wasn't too bad. I still think it's a good book for everyone o read.

Flip

By Martyn Bedford

258 Pages

Published by Wendy Lamb Books

★★★★

By Mel

 

This book was fantastic! I picked it out as and in-between book to read while I waited for the next book in my series to arrive at the library. I am so glad I picked up this book!

Basically, it's about a boy named Alex who one day wakes up in another boy's body. This other boy is named Phillip (aka Flip) and Alex has no idea how to be like this guy he has never met or why he is suddenly in his body. And on top of that, it seems Alex has missed six months of his life. All he wants is to go home and have his own body back. But, that proves difficult seeing as how he is now all the way on the other side of Britain. Alex also wants to know what happened to Flip. If Alex is in Flip's body, is Flip in Alex's body?


This book was extremely intriguing and kept me hooked until the end for sure. I only have two complaints. First of all, the ending kept one major question just hanging there. It's obvious that this was done on purpose because the author lets you know that the main character doesn't know the answer either. My sister read this book immediately after me and agreed that it would have been nice to know that answer.  And secondly, there were a few inappropriate references. Nothing too bad that would make me sop reading the book or make my mom disapprove of it, and it only occurs two or three times. I guess it was more awkward than inappropriate. But despite these two blemishes, this book is definitely a must read. It was awesome!

The Scorpio Races

By Maggie Stiefvater

409 Pages

Published by Scholastic Inc.

★★★★★

By Em

 

When I checked this book out from the library, the librarian told me that she didn't like this book. As having read it once before, I instantly looked like this. >
No, not a crab, to the many people who think I magically turned into Sebastian at the check out counter.  But my jaw? Total dropage!

 I can't comprehend someone not liking this book. Some of you may know that I'm a huge Maggie Stiefvater fan. I adored her Shiver Trilogy (Pretty much the only solid romance books that I like). But The Scorpio Races? This book was just one big WOW!

On the island of Thisby, the Scorpio Races are held. Every year in November, the capaill uisce, the water horses, emerge from the sea, where they are captured by the bravest of men and rode in the races. Sean has been racing ever since he was a young boy, and he watched his father die on the sand they raced on. Now he is a four time Scorpio Races winner and on the way for his fifth victory. But this time, there's even more at stake for him. Puck was never meant to be in the races. But when her brother is planning on leaving the island forever, she hopes that her rebellious outburst will force him to stay with her and her younger brother. But she will be faced with far more problems off the sand than on them, as she is the first girl to ever race. Traditions must be upheld...!

Let's start with the setting. The island that the Scorpio Races take place on sounds like such an enchanting place. I think that Maggie does such a great job describing settings, and this one was a home run. After reading this book I have thought up at least a dozen stories where the setting would look just like the one in this book. Pirates of the Caribbean sometimes gave me little glimpses of what I imagined it looking like during the day time, but I have yet to see what I picture it looking like when the sun is setting. I just wish I had some artistic skills because I would love to paint out what it looks like. But sadly... I have no such skills and it would probably just look like a tomato had exploded all over the canvas...

The water horses themselves were incredibly original. There are thousands of vampire, werewolf, and fairy books, but never before have I seen flesh-eating horses. Maggie Stiefvater said once that she'd tried multiple times to do a water horse story. I think she figured it out, and did an absolutely perfect job! The horses were so unique, each one different. You could see the difference in personality with the horses. take Corr and Skata. Utterly different. That was cool., because sometimes writers make it seem like animals are all the same and don't really have a personality at all. Maggie does a great job of proving them wrong.

The festival that is held before the races also sounds fascinatingly creepy. Like how a creepy horse lady with blood running down her arms hands out a shell that gives people a wish. Or how people throw sea wishes (which are really more like curses) off the cliffs. Or that the riders must put blood on their sacred rock thingy (or something like that) to officially proclaim that they are in the races. I'm not sure if that's a party that I would want to attend, but it's fascinating none the less. And I would also really like to try a November cake. Here's a picture that Maggie Stiefvater has of one of them.Yummy, right?

So, truthfully, this is up there with some of my favorite books. No, it doesn't bypass Harry Potter, or Percy Jackson, or The Hunger Games, but it sure is up there on the list! I was originally sad when I heard that Maggie would not be doing a sequel to this book, but now that I think about it, I don't want her to touch a thing. It is absolutely perfect the way it is!

Eagle Strike

By Anthony Horowitz

340 Pages

Published by Philomel Books

★★★★★

By Mel

 

Wow. I can't tell you how much I love this series! Anthony Horowitz, you have certainly done an amazing job with these books. And this book takes a whole different route from the rest.  This time, Alex Rider is on his own.


Alex goes on vacation and suddenly his past life as a spy comes back to haunt him. He believes he has a lean on the man behind the disruption of his vacation. The problem is, when Alex goes to MI6, they don't believe him. How could the pop star, Damian Cray, be behind an attempted murder? He has been campaigning against violence, raising money for starving African children, and all the files they have on him seem completely normal with no suspicious behavior. But Alex can feel something is very wrong with this guy. So, frustrated with MI6, Alex takes on the job of spying on Damian Cray into his own hands.


Again, this book kept my eyes glued to the pages until the very end. I loved the suspense, mystery, action, and (just like the previous books) the humor. I can't believe it took me so long to find this series and read it.

Skeleton Key

By Anthony Horowitz

264 Pages

Published by Philomel Books

★★★★★

By Mel

 

 Well if it was possible to top the first two Alex Rider Adventures, then this book certainly would have. From the beginning until the end, Horowitz constantly twisted the story with surprises I could never have expected. It was so shocking at certain points that I would gasp or talk out-loud when I read it. 


Alex Rider, the fourteen-year-old spy, is taken to an island with two agents from the American CIA. He is yet again forced to work as a spy against his will. His longing to go home strengthens when he figures out that he was lied to about why they were at this lovely vacation spot, Cayo Esqueleto, which is Spanish for Skeleton Key.

I really can't say a lot without giving to much away. But this book was definitely packed full of adventure, mystery, action, and plenty of humor. I absolutely love the comedy in this book. Some parts would be all serious and then WHAM! Mr. Horowitz makes you laugh out loud with some hilarious joke that Alex makes. I mean, what fun is a story if it's all gloom and unsolved mysteries? Anthony Horowitz definitely knows how to balance all aspects that make up an amazing book.

Heist Society

By Ally Carter

287 Pages

Published by Hyperion Book CH

★★★★★

By Em 

 

 By now, I hope everyone knows that I am a HUGE fan of Ally Carter. And if you don't, well... where have you been? I have adored the Gallagher Girls series far longer than I can remember, and I was super excited to get my hands on her new series, Heist Society. I was so, so so happy with this! I read half of the first chapter when my friend was reading it, and at first, I was leery. But once I reread it and got into the story, I couldn't put it down. Read the whole thing in one day! 

So, Katarina Bishop wanted to be normal. She left the family business to go to a very prestigious boarding school. But of course, she scammed her way in to it. Because scamming is the family business. When Kat's friend W. W. Hale the Fifth comes and "retrieves" her from her new school, the last thing she wanted to here was that her father is on the top of Arturo Taccone's hit list. Why? Because he wants his paintings back. And who's more likely to have them than one of the world's top art thief (among being a thief of many other things). Now, Arturo expects Kat to get the paintings back, in only 14 days time. So, she calls on her friends, the dashing Hale, the stunning cousin Gabrielle, the humorous Bagshaw Brothers, Angus and Haymish, and techy Simon. Together, they plan one of the hardest scams imaginable.

Like I've said, loved it! It was so different than the Gallagher Girls. Okay, I lied there. They are both spy books, basically, but now we have new characters and a totally new situation. Sure, Cammie and Bex and everyone else had their problems, and a lot of them, but they never had to save their father's life in only two weeks. I don't think Liz would have let them have only two weeks. Watching the development of the scam, well, more like the scam itself, was so interesting, because it would have to take a genius to come up with such a perfect plan.

 Okay, favorite characters. Bagshaw Brothers 100%. I simply adored Angus and Haymish. They were downright awesome. The fact that they were able to steal a Tyrannosaurus rex from the Museum of Natural History, or that they got into serious trouble for accidentally conning a nun. For their awesome tango skills (that they only have when they dance together), or their capability to openly discuss bra sizes with Simon. It was practically love at first sight for me! They also have this wonderfully mastered skill for blowing things up. Who doesn't love a guy who can do that?

Another thing I liked about this book is the style. The cool break paged that they added really made the whole book look quite polished. They told us how many days until the deadline, and where they were int he world. I think that that is a great thing to add to a book where the characters have a deadline and are traveling all over the place. This way, readers won't be amazed when suddenly thedue date is tomorrow when they thought they still had a week, or that the characters somehow magically appeared in Poland where they are supposed to be in Paris. These break pages helped clear things up in the book, and while they clearly aren't important to the book, I still loved the addition of them.


All in all, Ally Carter makes every one of her books enjoyable through the humor and adventure. Morgan and I took turns sharing every funny part of the books we were reading at camp (and I will admit it, Morgan's hot dog party totally won!). The voice that she gives all of the characters is great. But what is even greater are her ideas. I have no idea how this girl comes up with al of her ideas. I think she may be a serious art thief behind the writing disguise. She is so creative, and I'm quite curious to see what she came up with for the sequal!

Point Blank

By Anthony Horowitz

215 Pages

Published by Putnam

★★★★★

By Mel

 

 After reading Stormbreaker, I just had to read the second Alex Rider Adventure, Point Blank. This book definitely lived up to the standards the first book set. I loved it! It was filled with even more adventure, mystery, and surprises!

Alex has just gotten back from saving millions of British school children from a madman on his first mission as  a spy. Now he is sent back to school to be a regular teenager. This is short lived as MI6 finds another job for Alex. It is his job to go to a school for troubled boys, pretending to be the son of a rich man and figure out what is going on there. MI6 had linked two deaths of some very famous and rich men to having a son at this school. Alex finds that in only a few weeks, these rebellious teenagers were transformed into perfect model students.

Alex realizes he has only a short time to get to the bottom of this before they do the same to him; whatever it is that is happening to these boys. He has no way of easily escaping, as the school is located in the Swiss Alps and the only was down is either by helicopter of skis (except that ski season is over and he has no skis). Also, there are no phones, computers, or easy way to communicate with anyone in these excluded mountains.

Again, Horowitz takes you on another crazy adventure. I was constantly in suspense, trying to solve the mystery. And, as i said before, I loved it!

Demonglass

By Rachel Hawkins

368 Pages

Published by Hyperion  Book CH

★★★★

By Em

 

         "Why had my life suddenly become a Nancy Drew mystery from hell?" -Sophie Mercer; Page 268

 

Does this girl know what she's talking about or what? That quote right there, it totally sums up everything that this book is about! (And it was so perfect I ever resorted to using a sticky Jolly Rancher wrapper to book mark it!) Rachel Hawkins' second installation of the Hex Hall series was astounding. I loved it even more than I loved the first one! 

Sophie Mercer learned in the last book that she is a demon, not a witch. As soon as she knew this, she was positive that she wanted to go through the Removal; a process that strips a witch, or in this case demon, of their magical powers, with the off-chance of maybe killing the person. Now, her father she barely knows has come to take her to London for the Removal, but not until he's spent time trying to change her mind. She is to spend the summer in the enchanting Thorne Abbey, where she shares the house with not only her demon father, but the surviving members of the council, and two other demons as well. She can already tell that she is in for one crazy summer. 

This book is constantly full of mind turning moments that make you question every character in the book. That's what makes it so darn interesting. It is, as Sophie said, a Nancy Drew mystery from hell. There are constantly twists and turns that make you suddenly jump up screaming, "What the-!" (And many musicians will look strangely at you if you do that during orchestra camp. Been there, done that.)  

They introduced new characters that I found enjoyable. Cal, the groundskeeper, who I think is way cooler than Archer.(Though, as groundskeepers go, Hagrid still has my vote!) Daisy and Nick, the demon couple who are both reckless and fun to hang around. All of the councilmen have their own secrets, making them very hard to trust, but interesting none-the-less, especially, Lara, Mrs. Casnoff's sister. All of the characters were increasingly important throughout the story, and I think each one really added something to this book. 


What I really didn't like about this book, was the classic love triangle that we see so many times. And it really can go either way. Take Twilight or the Hunger Games. One I loved, one...not so much. (Cough cough...Twilight...cough.) This one was... interesting. Um, I wouldn't say I liked it, but I wouldn't say I disliked it either, because it was done in a way I'd never seen before. (How often do you see a modern betrothal?) But, like I said, love triangle, slightly over played... 


Besides that, I truthfully liked this book. It took me but a day to finish, and I'm excited to read the next one. Ms. Hawkins left us with such a cliff hanger. When I finished, my first reaction was, "What? Wait... WHAT?" I couldn't believe it was done. I seriously can't imagine having to wait for the next one. I already have it on hold at the library. To those people who were waiting months and months for the third book, I feel really bad for you. That was serious cliff hanging there. This book was quite exciting, and I'm excited to see just what happens next.

Stormbreaker

By Anthony Horowitz

192 Pages

Published by Puffin Books

★★★★★

By Mel

 

 Okay, I heard about this book a few years ago, but I turned it down; big mistake. I loved this book! It caught my attention right away and I couldn't put it down. It was amazing! 

Alex Rider is a fourteen-year-old boy who lived with his Uncle Ian who just passed away in a strange accident. The police claim it was nothing but a regular car crash, and his uncle wasn't wearing a seat belt. Alex knows better. There's something strange about the way he died. He was always careful and would never drive without wearing his seat belt. Alex soon discovers bullet holes in the windshield of his uncle's car. Then, he finds out the truth about his uncle. He was no banker, but instead he was a spy for MI6 in Britain. Now, it is Alex's job to finish what his uncle started and face Ian's killer. 


I loved the character Alex. He was confident but realistic. He made mistakes on the first mission like a normal kid would. He wasn't completely fearless but you can definitely describe him as brave. He was also very creative and clever. And my favorite thing about him was that when he was offered the job to face these evil thugs in a life-threatening mission, he didn't want to do it. MI6 had to basically black-mail him to get him to go. 


This book has a lot of action, mystery, and some humor; all great characteristics of an awesome book! I'm definitely going to have to re-read this book some time int he future. That is, if I ever get through the list of books I am constantly adding to...