Monday, November 19, 2012

Catwings

Catwings
By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Published By: Orchard Books

The Catwings are, well, cats with wings. Jane, the catwings's mother, doesn't know why or how. I really liked this book. It's short but not too short. It's 48 pages and has four chapters, but I still liked it. I hope you'll like James, Thelma, Roger and Harriet as much as I do. There are three other books in the series: Catwings Return, Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings, and Jane on her Own. I read this in less than an hour, but if you're looking for a short story, not really a full-length novel, Catwings is great.
Rating (out of five): *****
Suggested Age: 7 and up
Happy Reading,
~B

Friday, July 20, 2012

Warriors: The New Prophecy: Midnight & Moonrise

Midnight and Moonrise
Author: Erin Hunter
Publisher: HarperCollins

Midnight is the first book in the next series of Warriors, The New Prophecy. It is about a cat called Brambleclaw, who receives a message from StarClan. He goes on a quest with five other cats to see what midnight tells them. You'll never guess what midnight is!






Moonrise is the second book in the New Prophecy. Erin Hunter has surprised us again with yet another "Clan", apart from BloodClan. This is the Tribe of Rushing Water, and they believe that Stormfur is the chosen one that will kill Sharptooth, a mountain lion. But is Stormfur really the one?

Rating (1-5): *****  
Suggested Age: 8+
~B~

Sean Griswold's Head

                 Sean Griswold's Head
                Author: Lindsey Leavitt
                 Publisher: Bloomsbury



      After finding out that her father has multiple sclerosis, Payton Gritas is set up by her parents to meet with the school's Guidance Councilor. The councilor suggests having a Focus Object, which is supposed to be inanimate, but Payton chooses the back of Sean Griswold's head. (Which she stares at through-out most of Biology.) After prompting from her best friend, Jac, She plucks up the courage to talk to Sean. Was choosing the back of a head for a focus object the best choice? This answer gets harder to answer as Payton finds herself falling for Sean Griswold.

     I LOVED this book! I read it in four hours. It keeps you guessing until the very end about what will happen between Payton and her family, Jac and Payton, AND Payton and Sean. A page turner and definite re-read!

     Rating: (Out of five) *****
Suggested age: 12+
Caution: Swears
-D

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Legend By: Marie Lu

               Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: The Penguin Group


     In what was once known as California, two very different teens live: Day and June. Day is a famous crimanal and June's a soldier-in-training. Their lives suddenly intertwine when June's brother (and last person in her immediate family), Metias, is killed and Day's the only suspect. June get assigned the job of finding Day, and reporting his whereabouts to the government.


        This book is packed with thrilling events which, by the way, kept me up until two o'clock AM reading... I enjoyed all the surprises Lu put into the book. Legend is a wonderful book, and I recomend it to 7th and 8th graders.

Rateing: (out of five) *****
Suggested age: 12+
Warning: Swears, Violence, Romance


-D

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning
By: James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

In the fourth book in the Maximum Ride series, The Final Warning, Max and the flock are sent by her mom and father to Antarctica to help with the "Saving the world" business. When their there, Total, their talking dog, falls for a malamute, Akila. (Who by the way, does NOT talk.) While there, one of the researchers gets attacked by a leopard seal, and it is discovered that she works for the bad guys. Meanwhile, Max and Fang's relationship becomes more and more confusing for Max, as he's spending most of his time with a young scientist.  Angel goes off to find a penguin, and falls into a crevice. Max and Fang go out to rescue her, and the three of them get kidnapped. (Surprise there! Not.) Will they be able to escape while a category 4 hurricane batters there imprisonment?

I liked this book, although it wasn't my favorite. I liked one of the later books best. I'm getting a bit tired of the fact that the plot keeps repeating, but Patterson always finds a way to make it different then the others.

Rating: (out of five) ***
Suggested age: 12+
Warning: Violence and Kissing and Swearing (Use caution!)
-D


Monday, June 25, 2012

Maximum Ride: School's Out- Forever

                              Maximum Ride: School's Out- Forever                        
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company

   The Second book in the Maximum Ride series, School's Out- Forever, is just as thrilling and action-packed as the first. In this book Max and the flock, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel; are discovered by the FBI. The younger kids take a liking to one of the agents, Anne. She lets them stay at her house with one catch, They go to school. After two months of enduring school, an surprise attack from Erasers, whitecoats, and some crazy staff, the flock leaves Anne behind to escape.

I liked this book a lot. Patterson writes these amazing stories from Max's perspective. I enjoy reading her story, and she tells it hilariously. I end up laughing at the strangest times.

Rating: (out of five) ****(and a half)
Suggested Age: Mature 11, 12+
Warning: Violence, swearing, and kissing
-D

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

                         Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
                         Author: James Patterson
                         Publisher: Little, Brown and Company


        The first book in the Maximum Ride series is The Angel Experiment. It's about a group of kids, ages 6-14, who have been genetically altered. They have been living a happy four years together, ever since Jeb, a "whitecoat" had rescued them from the School, where they had been held and tested on for most of their lives. All that falls apart when the youngest of the group gets taken away by Erasers, boys with wolf genes in them. The rest of the book is devoted to finding, and rescuing her, along with finding their long-lost parents.
      Over all, It was a great book. It kept me up till 11 pm, and I read it in a day although it was my second time reading it. It is filled with violence and suspense, so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 12.

                                              Rating: (out of 5) *****
                                              Suggested age: mature 11 or 12+
                                              Warning: Major Violence, swearing.

-D