• 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 »

    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 »

    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.

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

    The Hunchback Assignments

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:67 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.35 Fraction:3.35★ Rating:67 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.35 Fraction:3.35★ Rating:67 Fullstar:3 Star Piece:0.35 Fraction:3.35½ Rating:67 Star Piece:0.35 Fraction:3.35☆ Rating:67 Fraction:3.3567%
    The Hunchback Assignments
    Arthur Slade
    Wendy Lamb Books, 2009
    Historical Fantasy
    ISBN: 038573784X
    288 pages

    Synopsis

    The mysterious Mr. Socrates rescues Modo, a child in a traveling freak show. Modo is a hunchback with an amazing ability to transform his appearance, and Mr. Socrates raises him in isolation as an agent for the Permanent Association, a spy agency behind Brittania’s efforts to rule the empire. At 14, Modo is left on the streets of London to fend for himself. When he encounters Octavia Milkweed, another Association agent, the two uncover a plot by the Clockword Guild behind the murders of important men. Furthermore, a mad scientist is turning orphan children into automatons to further the goals of the Guild. Modo and Octavia journey deep into the tunnels under London and discover a terrifying plot against the British government. It’s up to them to save their country.

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    A Brief History of Montmaray

    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%
    A Brief History of Montmaray
    Michelle Cooper
    Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2009
    Historical Fiction
    ISBN: 0375858644
    304 pages

    Synopsis

    “There’s a fine line between gossip and history, when one is talking about kings.”

    Sophie Fitzosborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family. When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics of Europe seem far away from their remote island—until two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal indeed.

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    Posted in 2009, Best Of, Classroom, Geography/Culture, Historical Fiction, History/Period, Reviews | No Comments »

    Solace of the Road

    Overall Rating: ★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7★ Rating:94 Fullstar:4 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.7½ Rating:94 Star Piece:0.7 Fraction:4.794%
    Solace of the Road
    Siobhan Dowd
    David Fickling Books, 2009
    Fiction
    ISBN: 0375849718
    272 pages

    Synopsis

    Holly’s story will leave a lasting impression on all who travel with her.

    Memories of mum are the only thing that make Holly Hogan happy. She hates her foster family with their too-nice ways and their false sympathy. And she hates her life, her stupid school, and the way everyone is always on at her. Then she finds the wig, and everything changes. Wearing the long, flowing blond locks she feels transformed. She’s not Holly anymore, she’s Solace: the girl with the slinkster walk and the supersharp talk. She’s older, more confident—the kind of girl who can walk right out of her humdrum life, hitch to Ireland, and find her mum. The kind of girl who can face the world head-on.

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    Posted in 2009, Best Of, Classroom, English/Reading, Fiction (non-fantasy), Recommended, Reviews | No Comments »

    The Graveyard Book

    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%
    The Graveyard Book
    Neil Gaiman
    HarperCollins, 2008
    Fantasy Fiction
    ISBN-10: 0060530928
    320 pages
    Newbery Award Winner

    Synopsis

    Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is like any normal boy his age, except that he’s been raised by a graveyard full of ghosts. When he was just a baby, the man Jack was sent to murder him and his family, but Bod solely escaped. Largely taken care of by a guardian who exists neither within the living or the dead, Bod has to navigate a mysterious and different world than most people, and as a result, growing up can be difficult at times. As he hits his teenage years, he must decide what to do once the man Jack knows his whereabouts again.

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    Posted in 2008, Best Of, Fantasy/Science Fiction, Ignite Imagination, Recommended, Reviews | 1 Comment »

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