Fire

Fire (Book 2, Graceling series)

Kristen Cashore

Dial, 2009

Fantasy Fiction

ISBN: 0803734611

480 pages

Synopsis

She is the last of her kind…
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.

Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in 2009, Best Of, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Ignite Imagination, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

The Hobbit – Reviewing Classics

Overall Rating: ☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:0☆ Rating:0 Fraction:00%
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkein
George Allen & Unwin, 1937
Fantasy
ISBN: 0618968636
320 pages

Synopsis

Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, is a peaceful sort of cozy hole in the Shire, a place where adventures are uncommon and rather unwanted. So when the wizard Gandalf whisks him away on a treasure hunting expedition with a troop of rowdy dwarves, he’s not entirely thrilled. Encountering ruthless trolls, beastly orcs, gigantic spiders, and hungry wolves, Bilbo discovers within himself astonishing strength and courage. And at the ultimate confrontation with the fearsome dragon Smaug, the hobbit will brave the dangers of dark and dragon fire alone and unaided.

Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Award Winners, Best Of, Classics, Classroom, English/Reading, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Recommended, Religious/Mythology, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:77 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85★ Rating:77 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85★ Rating:77 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85½ Rating:77 Star Piece:0.85 Fraction:3.85☆ Rating:77 Fraction:3.8577%
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s DilemmaTrenton Lee Stewart

Little, Brown Young Readers, 2009

Fantasy Fiction

ISBN: 0316045527

400 pages

Synopsis

Join the Mysterious Benedict Society as Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance embark on a daring new adventure that threatens to force them apart from their families, friends, and even each other. When an unexplained blackout engulfs Stonetown, the foursome must unravel clues relating to a nefarious new plot, while their search for answers brings them closer to danger than ever before.

Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in 2009, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

The Eyes of a King

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1☆ Rating:82 Fraction:4.182%
The Eyes of a King (The Last Descendants, Book 1)

Catherine Banner

Random House, 2008

Fantasy

ISBN: 0375838767

448 pages

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Leo North’s prospects in life are limited. He reluctantly attends military school because that’s what most boys do in Malonia. He grudgingly lives with his pious, fearful grandmother and looks after his young brother, Stirling. He resists his innate powers because those who demonstrate any sort of magical ability are considered enemies of the state. But when he finds a blank book in the snow, his typical indifference melts away. From the very first moment he touches the book, he senses its strange power.

Read more »

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Excellent Underknown, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

The Crowfield Curse

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:80 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0 Fraction:4★ Rating:80 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0 Fraction:4★ Rating:80 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0 Fraction:4★ Rating:80 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0 Fraction:4☆ Rating:80 Fraction:480%
The Crowfield Curse
Pat Walsh
Chicken House, 2010
Fantasy
ISBN: 1906427151
320 pages

Synopsis

It’s 1347 and fifteen-year-old Will, an orphan boy, lives at Crowfield Abbey. Sent into the forest to gather wood, he rescues instead, a creature from a trap – a hob, who shares with Will a terrible secret. Somewhere in the forest behind the abbey where he lives, is a grave. And buried deep in the snow is an angel. But how can an angel die? What has it to do with the monks of the Abbey? When two hooded strangers arrive at Crowfield asking questions about the angel’s grave. Will is drawn into a world of dangerous Old Magic.

Read more »

Posted in Excellent Underknown, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

Sacred Scars

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1★ Rating:82 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.1 Fraction:4.1☆ Rating:82 Fraction:4.182%
Sacred Scars (Book 2 – A Resurrection of Magic)
Kathleen Duey
Atheneum, 2009
Fantasy
ISBN: 0689840950
560 pages

Synopsis

Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss, driven out of Limòri by a suspicious fire, are living in a cave hidden within the cliffs that overlook the city. Somiss is convinced the dark passages of the caves were the home of ancient magicians, and his obsession with restoring magic deepens. Sadima dreams of escape – for her, for Franklin, and for the orphaned street boys Somiss has imprisoned in a crowded cage. Somiss claims he will teach these boys magic, that they will become his first students, but Sadima knows he is lying.

Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Ignite Imagination, Recommended, Reviews, Series | No Comments »

Ptolemy’s Gate

Overall Rating: ★ Rating:65 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:3.25★ Rating:65 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:3.25★ Rating:65 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:3.25½ Rating:65 Star Piece:0.25 Fraction:3.25☆ Rating:65 Fraction:3.2565%
Ptolemy’s Gate (Book 3 – The Bartimaeus Trilogy)
Jonathan Stroud
Disney Hyperion, 2006
Fantasy
ISBN: 078683868X
512 pages

Synopsis

Three years have passed since the magician Nathaniel helped prevent a cataclysmic attack on London. Now an established member of the British Government, he faces unprecedented problems: foreign wars are going badly; Britain’s enemies are mounting attacks close to London; and rebellion is fomenting among the commoners. Increasingly imperious and distracted, Nathaniel is treating Bartimaeus worse than ever. The longsuffering djinni is growing weak and vulnerable from too much time in this world and is nearing the end of his patience.

Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Reviews, Series | No Comments »