The Mysterious Benedict Society

Released: March 7th 2007
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Series: The Mysterious Benedict Society #1
Page Amount: 492 pages, US hardback

"Dozens of children respond to this peculiar ad in the newspaper and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests, which readers take along with them. Only four children-two boys and two girls-succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. But what they'll find in the hidden underground tunnels of the school is more than your average school supplies. So, if you're gifted, creative, or happen to know Morse Code, they could probably use your help." ~GoodReads

My thoughts on the book: This book can be summed up in one word...FUN! It was just fun the read. The tests at the beginning really get you thinking. The test in the back lets you know what characters you are. (I'm Katie Wetherall lol) The main characters are children so their development is beautiful and diverse. The middle gets a little slow but makes up for it with the amazing ending. The picture are just adorable. This story is a perfect combination of Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Do I recommend this series? Yes! It is a fun read that brings out the child out in you.

This book is for you if you like: Harry Potter- A Series of Unfortunate Events- Adventure- Puzzles

~Stacy

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Released: June 5th, 2010
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Series: The Twilight Saga, 3.5
Page Amount: 178 pages, US hardback
This is a Twilight novella. Although we do not post intentional spoilers in our reviews, please do not continue reading unless you have read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer.
"Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire.
All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.
Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?"
Information from Goodreads.com

REVIEW: 

I thought that this was a very cute book, as far as a book about murderous vampires could be cute. I really felt for Bree, and after reading Eclipse you know how her story ends, but you still can't help hoping that somehow Bree's ending will change.

I don't know why everyone gets on Meyer for her "immature writing style." In fact, it drives me crazy when people do it. Meyer is an author, she spends her time focusing on character development and plot instead of focusing on grammar and I have no issues with that because it is the editors responsibility to fix typos and other sentence issues. I think that Meyer has a magical way of pulling me into a story and keeping me there for days. She writes like I think instead of how I would write, and it makes the story seem so much more realistic. Even after being in the Twilight world for such a brief amount of time I was dying to revisit the previous novels and even a day after reading it I am still missing my Cullens.

I think Bree is a great character and I would have loved to see more from her. She shows the dark side of vampires, the ones who think humans are just snacks, rather than the Cullens who believe humans are humans. Yet somehow, you still feel for her. You are still rooting for her as she goes along on her discoveries.

All in all, this book is a lot of fun to read and it helps you understand Eclipse a little better because you get to see the other side. I will read anything Meyer produces with the utmost confidence that I will thoroughly enjoy it.

FIRST LINE: 

RATING BREAKDOWN: 

Plot: 17/20
Characters: 17/20
Writing: 19/20
Creativity: 17/20
Ending: 8/10
The 'It' Factor: 8/10
=86/100 B ()

PARENTAL SUGGESTION: 

This book contains the following:
Violence
Mild/Excessive Cursing
Mild/Excessive Sexual Content
Drug/Alcohol Abuse

Pegasus by: Robin McKinley

Release: 2010

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Series: Pegasus

Page Number: 404 pages

Series Number: #1

"Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pegasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication. But it's different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close-so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo-and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.
New York Times bestselling author Robin McKinley weaves an unforgettable tale of unbreakable friendship, mythical creatures and courtly drama destined to become a classic." ~ Goodreads


 My thoughts on the book: This book is so frustrating! First of all I LOVE the concept of Pegasus. My dad use to tell me stories about them and even my childhood imaginary friend was a Pegasus. You can see how excited I was for this story. The flow of this story was awful! The main character inner thinking was jumbled and she would get side tracked too often. It was hard to follow the story at times. There were parts of the book that I thought were unnecessary and made the story boring. I don't think this is Robin McKinley's fault. Whoever edited this book should have pointed out that the story was not reading well. However under all of this is a really good story line. I will read the next one hoping that Sylviianel will stop dreaming up a whole back story every time someone talks to her.
 Do I recommend this series? I don't know yet. The first one was decent but I will read the next one and let you know if it picks up.
This book is for you if you like: Horses- Princess Stories-Mythical Beasts
~Stacy

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Released: December 12th, 1966
Published by: George Allen & Unwin
(That is the information for the original publish date, not the copy I am reading myself.)
Series: The Lord of the Rings, Book One
Page Amount: 423 pages
"In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in THE HOBBIT. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose."
Information from Goodreads.com

REVIEW: 

I have always loved the tale of The Lord of the Rings. Back when the first movie was about to come out, my father gave me his copies of the books and told me that I should read them. Well, they were much too intimidating at such a young age for me, so I stuck with enjoying the story on the big screen. My family went to see every one, and I adored them.

Now that I have finally had the chance to read the story for myself, I have to say I was not disappointed. I have heard things about the book being too much description and nonsense rather than actual story, and in some ways I can see where people have got that. There are a lot of confusing names and places, and I don't think I would have understood as much if I had not seen the movie first. With that being said though, I never really felt overwhelmed with information like I thought I would.

I think that the book is actually better than the movie, which isn't really too much of a surprise because they usually are, but the LotR movies are pretty darn good so I was worried this may be an exception. I loved following the characters and getting to know them all so much better. I also loved getting to see a little bit more of the world, because while the movie was pretty accurate to the book, they did leave out some things like good ole Tom Bombadill and other details that really enhanced the story.

The plot is amazing, and I can really understand why this series had such a huge nerd following. There are so many magical details involved, and for those of us that wish we lived in older times where magic was still believable and knights and princesses and dragons and elves all still existed there is no better place to explore than Middle Earth. I also read online that J.R.R. Tolkien originally told these tales to his children (more so The Hobbit than the darker tales of Frodo) and I am super jealous. These would have been amazing stories to hear and probably really sparked the imagination of his children.

All in all, I will definitely be continuing with Frodo on his journey to save Middle Earth. And if you have been too intimidated to read this series, or have heard it is all scenery, please give it a chance for yourself because you may be surprised!

FIRST LINE: 

"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."

RATING BREAKDOWN: 

Plot: 20/20
Characters: 20/20
Writing: 20/20
Creativity: 20/20
Ending: 10/10
The 'It' Factor: 10/10
=100/100, A+ ()

PARENTAL SUGGESTION: 

This book contains the following:
Violence
Mild/Excessive Cursing
Mild/Excessive Sexual Content
Drug/Alcohol Abuse

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

 
Stargazer by Claudia Gray
Released: March 29th, 2009
Published by: HarperTeen
Series:Evernight, Book Two
Page Amount: 329 pages, US paperback

This is the second book in the Evernight series. Although we do not post intentional spoilers in our reviews, please do not continue reading unless you have read Evernight by Claudia Gray.  

"Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them. But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school. Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca's secrets will force her to live a life of lies. Yet Bianca isn't the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning."
Information from Goodreads.com

REVIEW: 

I have to say I didn't really enjoy Evernight when I read it in 2010. The characters were lacking, the story took a strange turn that felt fake and I didn't enjoy the plot until about halfway through the book. I was glad to see that I had none of those problems while reading Stargazer.

Stargazer does a great job helping the reader remember what happened in the first book. I read it two years ago, and I didn't feel like I missed out on anything when picking this book up because the recap was amazing.

While Stargazer still followed a lot of the typical YA rules, I feel like it improved a lot from the first book. Bianca was so much less annoying for some reason, maybe because she wasn't obsessing over Lucas the whole time, and it really improved the story. I also felt that the chemistry between Bianca and Lucas was really improved so it made me actually be able to sort of root for them. That being said, however, I am totally team Balthazar. He was my favorite character in Evernight and that didn't change with Stargazer.

I'm glad I kept going in this series, because Stargazer was much less of a pain to get through. Although, I still recommend getting Evernight from your library and seeing if it is for you, and if you're intrigued by the ending like I was, I feel like you'll like this book as much as I did.

FIRST LINE: 

"Frost began to creep up the walls."

RATING BREAKDOWN: 

Plot: 15/20
Characters: 15/20
Writing: 15/20
Creativity: 13/20
Ending:8/10
The 'It' Factor:7/10
=73/100, C ()

PARENTAL SUGGESTION: 

This book contains the following:
Violence
Mild/Excessive Cursing
Mild/Excessive Sexual Content
Drug/Alcohol Abuse

The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan

The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan
Released: October 1st, 2002
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: The Saga of Darren Shan (better known as Cirque Du Freak), Book 2
Page Amount: 256 pages, US paperback
This is the second book in the Saga of Darren Shan. Although we do not post intentional spoilers in our reviews, please do not continue reading unless you have read A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan.

"Darren Shan was just an ordinary schoolboy until his visit to the Cirque Du Freak. Now, as he struggles with his new life as a Vampire's Assistant, he tries desperately to resist the one temptation that sickens him, the one thing that can keep him alive. But destiny is calling. The Wolf Man is waiting."
Information from Goodreads.com

REVIEW: 

This series is so adorable. It is more of a pre-young adult series when you look at the writing style, but that doesn't mean it isn't something that can be enjoyed by everyone.

It was really nice to read something that wasn't trying to a complex elaborate novel, with thirty plot twists, a love octagon and magical vampires that could take you to never never land (second star to the right, and straight on till morning!) And while this book was still on the lighter side, it had plenty of content and story line to keep me captivated and excited to read it.

The characters are all really easy to fall in love with, and you see a little bit of development in the ones that stick around.

I love that this book left so much to be said for the series, so there was a larger plot going on the whole time, but in that larger plot, there was the smaller plot that made up this particular book. A lot of series try to master this, and it seemed to be done effortlessly in The Vampire's Assistant.

Let's just say, I can't wait to get my next ticket to the Cirque Du Freak!

FIRST LINE: 

"My name is Darren Shan. I'm a half-vampire."

RATING BREAKDOWN: 

Plot: 17/20
Characters: 17/20
Writing: 17/20
Creativity: 17/20
Ending: 7/10
The 'It' Factor: 8/10
=83/100, B ()

PARENTAL SUGGESTION: 

This book contains the following:
Violence
Mild/Excessive Cursing
Mild/Excessive Sexual Content
Drug/Alcohol Abuse

Strife by Cate Tiernan

Strife by Cate Tiernan
Released: January 18th, 2002
Published by: Puffin
Series: Sweep, Book Nine
Page Amount: 188 pages, US paperback
This is the ninth book in the Sweep series. Although we do not post intentional spoilers in our reviews, please do not continue reading unless you have read Book of Shadows, The Coven, Blood Witch, Dark Magick, Awakening, Spellbound, The Calling and Changeling by Cate Tiernan.
"Frightening things are happening when Morgan is around. Books are flying, lightbulbs are exploding, and no one knows the cause. Morgan's friends think she's the cause of this strange activity. How can she prove she's not to blame?"
Information from Goodreads.com

REVIEW: 

As I've said in past reviews, I really enjoy this series. However, I think the books are a little too short to really qualify as an actual book in my mind. There are fifteen books in this series, and I feel like it could have been condensed into longer books, considering they really pick up right where the last book left off.

That being said, I think Strife was one of my favorites out of the series. I am, however, getting really tired of Morgan's power. Being more than halfway into the series, I feel like she should have a little more control by now considering they try to teach her more in every book. I understand that Wicca is a very complex religion and Morgan is supposed to have more power than someone who understands it very thoroughly would know what to do with it, but I feel like for the books sake they need to give her a little credit. It is a constant game of tug of war: Morgan is so powerful, her magic is so much trouble, let's teach her, Morgan saves herself without really knowing how, and then its back to Morgan's magic is too powerful for her own good again. Sigh. I think this book took a teeny tiny baby step in the development of it, but not nearly as much as I'd like.

I also felt like the end didn't really do the story justice. I had predicted all along who was behind the dark events, it's really easy considering all the information you're given, and then when it was finally revealed it wasn't really acted upon. So it was kind of a bummer, but it might play on later in the series.

One thing I love about this series is the magic involved. It is so much fun to learn about Wicca, and I would love to see how it is actually practiced outside of the fictional world because it is just so darn interesting. And I love how they focus on the Earth and its many uses, because I strongly feel like our society focuses way too much on engineered products when everything they're looking for is at their fingertips in the produce aisle. Who needs protein shakes when you have eggs and legumes?

FIRST LINE: 

"At the end of the summer the sea always seems to be railing against the thought of another long, fierce New England winter."

RATING BREAKDOWN: 

Plot: 16/20
Characters: 16/20
Writing: 16/20
Creativity: 16/20
Ending: 6/10
The 'It' Factor: 6/10
=76/100, C ()

PARENTAL SUGGESTION: 

This book contains the following:
Violence
Mild/Excessive Cursing
Mild/Excessive Sexual Content
Drug/Alcohol Abuse