Friday, January 30, 2009

Keeper of the Earth

Back-of-the-Book Description: Having found the Board of Fire, Jenna and Simon hurry to decipher the clues that will lead them to the Board of Earth—and mastery over the very land itself. But on their way to locate the tomb of a mythical English hero while fending off shadowy new attackers who want the Boards for themselves, an offer of help comes from a surprising source. Can Jenna and Simon trust this offer—or are they walking straight into a trap set by the one who has coveted the Boards for millennia?
My Description: When I write my reviews I try not to give anything away. I keep my mouth shut mostly. But there are some cases when it is necessary to reveal certain things... and this is one of them.
I've read and loved this series. I've given a piece of my heart to all of the characters. I've invested myself in the Daughter of Destiny series (including Keeper of the Winds, Keeper of the Waters and Keeper of the Flames). And in this book, Simon Monk dies.
My sister read Keeper of the Earth first, and she told me, and I am ever grateful to her that she did. His death was very well written, and that almost made it worse. You put down the book to cry a little, finally feel better, start reading and then sob all over again. How could the author have killed Simon?!? He's been there forever, he's the safe one... I'd rather have any other character die, just not Simon! It broke my heart, and I lost that little piece I gave him. I also lost the piece I gave Jenna, because she is heart-broken too. The worst part is during that last few pages of him dying author keeps giving you hope that he'll make it, that Jenna will find a way to save him... and then she doesn't. That's why I'm telling you: because I couldn't have taken it if Dear Sister hadn't told me about Simon dying, so I'm saving you from facing that alone.
His death made me utterly hate this book, even though it is wonderful, and almost exceeds the others.
I would have liked to have learned more about Jenna's ancestor Morgan Le Fay, and I was bothered by Jenna saying nonchalantly to Simon "You don't trust anyone!" when he tells her he's suspicious of someone... Yes, Simon hardly trusts anyone, but the funny thing is even though he hardly trusts anyone, he's always right!!!
Besides the problems I stated earlier, this book was great. Interesting, fun... not to mention a wonderful premise. I would have loved it...

...if Simon had not died.
Pages: 256
Recommendations: To those who don't like the character of Simon.... Okay, okay, to teen girls, or others who liked this series. It's a little violent, so be warned.
Writing Rating: 7
Story Rating: 8
Overall Rating: 7 3/4


Book #7 of '09, Book #57 of all

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Keeper of the Flames


Back-of-the-Book Description: From the searing desert of the Middle East, Jenna and Simon travel to the ancient city of Pompeii, following the clues to the hiding place of the Board of Fire—also known as the Board of the Flames. But Peraud is hot on their trail, and is more determined than ever to claim the two Boards the Keeper already possesses. Jenna must also contend with her growing attraction to Simon, who is torn by his desire for her—and his sacred duty to the Church.
My Description: A little more violent than the last book (Keeper of the Waters, and before that Keeper of the Winds), this one is still interesting. Jenna should quit bugging Simon, and the whole plot twistish thing near the end was really predictable. Anyone reading could figure it out, but I'll keep my mouth shut just in case.
The Boards' personalities are pretty cool, and the story is still interesting. This book keeps up with the others, and I'm enjoying the Daughter of Destiny series so far... still, it's a little annoying how someone says "Those dogs are actually ancient spirits", and then a chapter later someone else says the same thing and people act all shocked about it. Hopefully that's something that won't show up in the next book.

All in all, I enjoyed it. Hopefully the next will be as good.
Pages: 272
Recommendations: To those who liked the other Daughter of Destiny books... Probably teen girls.
Writing Rating: 7
Story Rating: 8
Overall Rating: 7 1/2


Book #6 of '09, Book #56 of all

P.S. There were some things left unexplained (like how someone pertaining to the plot-twistish thing knew things he/she shouldn't have), and it was also quite confusing here and there. I forgot to mention this stuff earlier, so I thought I should now.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Keeper of the Waters

Author: Jenna Solitaire

Back-of-the-Book Description: Having mastered the power of the Board of Air, Jenna travels to Jerusalem to find the Board of Water. She is accompanied by Simon Monk, who seeks the Boards on behalf of the Vatican. Jenna doesn’t trust Simon, but he’s her only source of information about the Boards. In Jerusalem, Jenna meets Saduj, a local guide who claims to be able to help them find the Board they seek. Simon is suspicious, but Jenna finds herself strangely attracted to Saduj. Jenna must find the Board before it awakens and causes unimaginable destruction. But will she lose her heart—and possibly her life—in the process?
My Description: Keeper of the Waters in the Daughter of Destiny series is about as interesting as it's predecessor, Keeper of the Winds. Shifting a little in theme from the first book (which introduced the first Board and the central characters) this one centers around finding the next Board--the Board of the Waters. Simon is still a cool character, but his fights with Saduj get annoying. Jenna gets angry with Simon too easily, and the one time she should really blow up at him she forgives him almost instantly.
The last book was more geared towards teen girls, but boys would have enjoyed it and younger peoples--or a family reading together--would have also... this one is definitely in teen territory, and moved even more to the girly side. Upped in violence slightly (but less death than the other) this book also has romantic content that should be for older readers.
Jenna makes some comments she shouldn't, and should have trusted Simon a lot more than she did. A little confusing in all, but still really interesting and I highly enjoyed it.
Recommendations: To those who liked the other Daughter of Destiny books... Probably teen girls.
Pages: 256
Writing Rating: 7
Story Rating: 8
Overall Rating: 7 1/2


Book #5 of '09, Book #55 of all

Fairest



Author: Gail Carson Levine
Back-of-the-Book Description: In a world in which elegance, beauty, and singing ability are revered, Aza is bulky, awkward, and homely. Her saving grace is that she can sing and has a gift of voice manipulation that she calls illusing. Through a chance meeting at her family's inn, a duchess invites Aza to act as her companion and accompany her to the palace to attend the King's wedding. When the beautiful new queen discovers Aza's gift for throwing her voice and for mimicry, she sees a way of protecting her reputation and disguising her own lack of talent. Pressured by the woman's threats upon her family, Aza deceives the court into believing that Ivi is a gifted singer. When the ruse is discovered, Aza is forced to flee the castle in order to save her life. Through her adventures, she discovers her own strength of character, learns about her true heritage, and decides that her physical appearance is not worthy of the stress and worry she has wasted on it.
My Description: I enjoyed the first part of this book; it was quite interesting... but the rest fell a little flat. It never really 'climaxed', and I expected more out of it. I was also a little disappointed that we never found out who Aza's birth parents were.
Another issue I had was with Queen Ivi (the villain); she attempted to kill Aza--twice--, threatened to harm her family if she didn't do her bidding, was terrible to her subjects, Aza was accused of terrible crimes and Ivi just went along with it... the King heard of this, and did nothing more than send her to a different castle and abdicate his throne so he could be with her. WHAT?! I was not satisfied with that. Not in the least.
Aza forgave Prince Ijori too quickly... I understand her forgiving him, but she shouldn't have done so so quickly.

All in all, it was okay. The beginning was interesting, but it just didn't do it for me.
Recommendations: To those who like books by Gail Carson Levine...? (I'm not sure who to recommend this one to--I don't mean this book isn't good for anyone, just that I don't know who to recommend it to)
Pages: 352
Writing Rating: 7
Story Rating: 7
Overall Rating: 5

Book #4 of '09, Book #54 of all

Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

Author: John Flanagan
Back-of-the-Book Description: Like the other 15-year-old wards of Castle Redmont, Will is nervous about Choosing Day, when each of them will be assigned to a different master for training. Though his dearest wish is to enter the Battleschool, his small stature prevents it. Instead, Will is apprenticed to the grim-faced, mysterious Ranger. Soon Will learns that becoming a ranger is more difficult, dangerous, and worthwhile than he had imagined. He earns the respect of his elders and the friendship of a former foe, but all this is prelude to the great adventure that follows, when his skills wielding a knife and keeping a heightened awareness of his surroundings become vital to the survival of his mentor and the safety of the kingdom.
My Description: Have you ever heard the saying 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'? It applies here. The cover made me think this book would be dark... I read the description, and it actually sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a go...

This book is not dark. It's suspenseful, interesting, exciting, but it's not dark. It was wonderful to get a book that started light-hearted, and ended light hearted... not only was it light hearted, but it had Justice. Often in stories, when something happens to a character and people think badly of him/her when it's not their fault the author just leaves it like that, or the bad characters get away with whatever they were doing... I HATE that... but it doesn't happen in this book; there was justice to some pretty bad characters in this story that made me literally giggle with glee.

The Ranger, Halt--Will's mentor--was a really awesome character. He reminded me of Brom, from Eragon. He was so... cool. I had the best time reading about him, and his relationships with other characters was cool too. But now I'm paranoid that he's going to die in the last book of this series... I don't want him to die! He's too awesome to die! Please don't kill him off, Mr. Flanagan!

A good deal of time was spent describing the other wards that Will spent his time with before he was apprenticed, but they didn't show up much after he became a Ranger--with the exception of Horace. It would have been nice if there hand been more with them, but I suppose they'll show up more in other books.

Mr. Flanagan spent a good deal of time in the middle of the book going into Horace's perspective, and I really liked that, but at the last third of the book we didn't go to his perspective anymore, and I would have liked to have seen more of him.

Will and Alys (I hope I spelled that right... much apologies if I didn't) getting together made sense, and I suspected it would happen, but I would have liked more time to get to know Alys... she doesn't show up all that much in the story, and as a result I don't know her character that well, even though Will does. I would have liked it if either more time had been spent on that, or if Mr. Flanagan had waited a few books before it happened.

This book isn't actually a 'comedy', but the way the characters interact with each other, and things they say made me smile a few times. There were also a couple points in the writing of the story that were silly as well, but I wouldn't say it was a comedy exactly, so I didn't add the label. Just know that you will smile now and then when you read this book.

Anyways, all in all this is a wonderful story and I highly recommend it(I've already got the second!)!
Pages: 272
Recommendations: To both boys and girls 10 and up, or a family reading together.
Writing Rating: 7
Story Rating: 8
Overall Rating: 8



Book #3 of '09, Book #53 of all.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Author: Gail Carson Levine
Back-of-the-Book Description: Addie admires her older sister Meryl, who aspires to rid the kingdom of Bamarre of gryphons, specters, and ogres. Addie, on the other hand, is fearful even of spiders and depends on Meryl for courage and protection. Waving her sword Bloodbiter, the older girl declaims in the garden from the heroic epic of Drualt to a thrilled audience of Addie, their governess, and the young sorcerer Rhys. But when Meryl falls ill with the dreaded Gray Death, Addie must gather her courage and set off alone on a quest to find the cure and save her beloved sister. Addie takes the seven-league boots and magic spyglass left to her by her mother and the enchanted tablecloth and cloak given to her by Rhys--along with a shy declaration of his love. She prevails in encounters with tricky specters (spiders too) and outwits a wickedly personable dragon in adventures touched with romance and a bittersweet ending.
My Description: It was nice reading a book where two sisters actually love each other!!! In so many stories these days sisters have this weird "I absolutely hate you and wish you had never been born, I still love you but can never be happy when I'm around you" relationship that drives me MAD. My sister and I have wonderful relationship, so it was nice to read about sisters like that in a book.

Now, about the story....

I felt a little resentful of our heroine, Addie, at first for trying to keep Meryl from going off on her adventures, but as I read on and learned more about Bamarre and the characters that resentment disappeared. Addie was like-able (even with that short bit of resentment), and though it could be said that more development was necessary for her and Rhys' relationship, their love wasn't the main story of the book, so I personally think that Ms. Levine spent just enough time with it as a side story--and a sweet one at that.

Addie's emotions when she was running off to save her sister I found incredibly easy to relate to... Her fears and her wishes for some reason not to have to go, but still knowing she must and not letting anything get in her way, her need to be there for Meryl's last days conflicting with the need to have more days with her sister, her gazing through her magic telescope just to glimpse poor Meryl... I think that Ms. Levine did a fantastic job with that, and would be quite surprised if she didn't have a sister of her own.

Meryl and Addie's father is not a good one, and I was hoping for either him to change somehow, or for SOMETHING to happen with that... But, just to warn you, that was left unchanged and unexplained, so poor Addie and Meryl are still stuck without a decent father at the end of the book.

The story relies heavily on a certain poem known as Drualt about a hero of Bamarre's past... the verses sounded odd when spoken poem-like, and didn't rhyme. Though I understand the difficulty, I think a little more time spent on making Drualt rhyme, or at least flow would have made the book a bit better.

Anyways, to sum it all up, I really enjoyed The Two Princesses of Bamarre... it was fun and I had a wonderful time traveling with Addie as she found her courage to save her sister.
Pages: 272
Recommendations: Girls 10-14 who enjoy fantasy-adventures with a bit of romance... but I'd say this book is great for anyone who has a sister they'd die for.
Writing Rating: 7
Story Rating: 8
Overall Rating: 7 3/4


Book #2 of '09, Book #52 of all

P.S. There was this one dramatic moment at the end that I just can't give away that I could so see happening between Dear Sister and me... it was almost scary!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Ever


Author: Gail Carson Levine
Back-of-the-Book Description: Falling in love is never easy, but falling in love with an immortal god while your days on Earth are numbered is almost more than a young girl can bear. Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning new world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows, and ancient omens in this spellbinding story of Kezi, a girl confronted with a terrible destiny. Attempting to thwart her fate, Kezi and her love, Olus -- the god of wind and loneliness -- embark on a series of dangerous and seemingly impossible quests.
My Description: I was really excited about Ever... I'm just now getting into 'romance' and the book looked and sounded very interesting... Unfortunately, it fell a little flat.
Olus falling in love with Kezi was believable to me, because he had watched her and her family for over six months, but her falling in love with him so quickly seemed a little rushed. I'm used to love happening quickly in movies and stuff, but I think there should have been a bit more time set aside for that.

The whole 'test' thing seemed a little odd to me... it was like the gods were setting Kezi up to become a 'heroine', rather than her becoming one of her own. Not only that, but it seemed a little easy, and if she wasn't searching for Admat it would have been easier. Still, that wasn't so bad, and I enjoyed how Kezi handled her test--muscle memory saved the day!

I was a little sad that Kezi ended up away from her family... I kept expecting something to happen that would change the course of the story... Something to make everything alright... but that was another thing about this book, it stated where it was going, and that's where it went; there weren't any twists.

Also, I would have liked it if Olus and Kezi had found Admat (the god Kezi always believed in, but she started doubting his existence when she met other gods who didn't know about him), or proved he didn't exist. That was a mystery in the story that I was looking forwards to having solved, but it was left open.

Ever wasn't really bad, it's just wasn't making me jump for joy or anything. It was okay throughout, with a bit more action in the middle. I had a good time reading it, I suppose, but it's not the best.
Pages: 256
Recommendations: To those who enjoy romance for a rainy day... I don't know why but it seems like a good 'rainy day' book to me.
Writing Rating: 6
Story Rating: 7
Overall Rating: 5 1/2


Book #1 of '09, Book #51 of all