• The Power of Six

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:72 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6★ Rating:72 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6★ Rating:72 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6½ Rating:72 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6☆ Rating:72 Fraction:3.672%

    I Am Number Four

    Pittacus Lore

    Harper Collins, 2011

    Fantasy

    ISBN: 0061974552

    416 pages

    Synopsis

    I’ve seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he’s a mystery. But to me . . . he’s one of us. Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We’re hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we’ll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I’ve been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

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    Posted in 2010, Best Of, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

    Across the Great Divide

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:81 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.050000000000001 Fraction:4.05★ Rating:81 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.050000000000001 Fraction:4.05★ Rating:81 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.050000000000001 Fraction:4.05★ Rating:81 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.050000000000001 Fraction:4.05☆ Rating:81 Fraction:4.0581%
    Across the Great Divide (Frontier Magic, Book 2)
    Patricia C. Wrede
    Scholastic Press, 2011
    Fantasy
    ISBN: 0545033438
    352 pages

    Synopsis

    Eff is an unlucky thirteenth child – her twin brother, Lan, is a powerful seventh son of a seventh son. And yet, Eff is the one who saved the day for the settlements west of the Great Barrier. Her unique ways of doing magic and seeing the world, and her fascination with the magical creatures and land in the Great Plains push Eff to work toward joining an expedition heading west. But things are changing on the frontier. There are new professors of magic for Eff and Lan to learn to work with. There’s tension between William and his father. And there are new threats on the frontier and at home. To help, Eff must travel beyond the Barrier, and come to terms with her magical abilities—and those of her brother, to stop the newest threat encroaching on the settlers

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    Posted in 2011, Best Of, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Ignite Imagination, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid-The Ugly Truth

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:74 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:3.7★ Rating:74 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:3.7★ Rating:74 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:3.7½ Rating:74 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:3.7☆ Rating:74 Fraction:3.774%
    Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Ugly Truth (Book 5)
    Jeff Kinney
    Amulet, 2010
    Fiction, Graphic Novel
    ISBN: 0810984911
    224 pages

    Synopsis

    Greg Heffley has always been in a hurry to grow up. But is getting older really all it’s cracked up to be? Greg suddenly finds himself dealing with the pressures of boy-girl parties, increased responsibilities, and even the awkward changes that come with getting older—all without his best friend, Rowley, at his side. Can Greg make it through on his own? Or will he have to face the “ugly truth”?

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    Posted in Art, Best Of, Classroom, Graphic Novels, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

    The Scortch Trials

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3½ Rating:86 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.386%

    The Scortch Trials

    James Dashner

    Delacorte, 2010

    Fantasy

    ISBN: 0385738765

    368 pages

    Synopsis

    Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to. In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

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    Posted in Best Of, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

    I Am Number Four

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:72 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6★ Rating:72 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6★ Rating:72 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6½ Rating:72 Star Piece:0.6 Fraction:3.6☆ Rating:72 Fraction:3.672%

    I Am Number Four

    Pittacus Lore

    Harper Collins, 2010

    Fantasy

    ISBN: 0061969559

    480 pages

    Synopsis

    In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

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    Posted in 2010, Best Of, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Ignite Imagination, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

    Dragons of Silk

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:90 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:4.5★ Rating:90 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:4.5★ Rating:90 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:4.5★ Rating:90 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:4.5½ Rating:90 Star Piece:0.5 Fraction:4.590%
    Dragons of Silk
    Laurence Yep
    HarperCollins, 2011
    Fiction
    ISBN: 0060275189
    352 pages

    Synopsis

    The Weaving Maid wove robes of silk for Heaven, but when she met the Cowboy, she abandoned her loom to be with him. But Heaven would not allow this, and put the Milky Way in between them.

    Silk binds the lives of four girls from different generations with the fate of the Weaving Maid. Across a span of seventy-five years both in China and America, each girl shows the strength and courage of a dragon as she fights and sacrifices for the survival of her family and the pursuit of passion.

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    Posted in 2011, Classroom, English/Reading, Fiction (non-fantasy), Geography/Culture, Historical Fiction, History/Period, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

    Behemoth

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3★ Rating:86 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.3½ Rating:86 Star Piece:0.3 Fraction:4.386%
    Behemoth (Leviathan, Book 2)
    Scott Westerfeld
    Simon Pulse, 2010
    Fantasy
    ISBN: 1416971750
    496 pages

    Synopsis

    The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

    Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan’s peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

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    Posted in 2010, Best Of, Classroom, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Geography/Culture, Ignite Imagination, Recommended, Reviews, Science/Engineering, Series | No Comments »