Critics' Corner

Gary Paulsen - Brian's Hunt - Review By Arthur Smith-Windsor

2011-11-22T05:41:00.001-08:00

Brian’s Hunt is a fictional story written by Gary Paulsen in 2003. It is about a sixteen year old young man on a journey through the Canadian wilderness in the search for his friend’s campsite, where he believes something terrible has happened. On his way, he is confronted with many obstacles and challenges.In his travels, Brian comes across a severely wounded dog. Brian is faced with the problem of not knowing where the dog came from, or how it got its wounds. Brian takes the dog into his protection. He realized the dog came from the direction he was traveling. He couldn’t help but worry it’s injury might involve his friends. In the novel, Brian is confronted with the conflict “character vs. society.” When Brian returned from the wilderness the first time, he found he could not live around a lot of people and in a society full of pop culture and the latest fads. He became so isolated, longing for the solitude of the wilderness, that he got his parents to agree to allow him to leave school, and let him live in the wilderness again, where he would continue with his studies in a place he would feel more comfortable. An underlying theme running throughout the book is the importance of persevering in any tough situation, and to believe in oneself. The author was successful in presenting his idea clearly and interestingly. For example, when Brian realized what had happened to his friend’s family, he set out to find who or what had done it, and to get rid of the creature that did the harm. Although he was only sixteen he knew, based on his past experience that he had the skill set and patience to track and defeat the creature. The author very powerfully described the suspenseful scenes in the story using phrases such as: ‘It looked like a bomb had gone off in the cabin.’ or ‘The dog stopped, her nostrils flared and all the hair on her back went up in a thick ridge’. He used a lot of descriptive passages that made the scene feel very real. I think the most descriptive point in the story, was when Brian walked into the cabin at his friend’s campsite and discovered the body of his friend, mauled by an animal. Brian moved to the corner and with no breath left now, only fear, he reached for a corner of the torn sleeping bag and pulled it away and saw the body, a human body doubled up and jammed back in the corner, covered and it was Kay-gwa- dausch’s father, David, destroyed, face torn, neck torn open, one arm ripped half off the body, stomach torn open…’Brian’s Hunt is an exciting, suspenseful story. It is an extremely enjoyable read, and makes one think about the contrast between an urban life versus one in the wilderness. Reading the story made me remember my own wilderness experience on lake Athabasca two summers ago. I could relate to the remarks Brian made about how quiet it is in the wilderness, and how you could actually see the stars.

The Hobbit reviewed by Angeline Mavromatis

2011-11-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lives in Hobbiton. He enjoys a peaceful and pastoral life but his life is interrupted by a surprise visit by the wizard Gandalf. Before Bilbo is really able to improve upon the situation, Gandalf has invited himself to tea and when he arrives, he comes with a company of dwarves led by Thorin. They are embarking on a journey to recover lost treasure that is guarded by the dragon Thorin, at the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf has decided, much to Bilbo's chagrin, that the hobbit will make an excellent addition to the team. Bilbo is going to play the role of a burglar. As they start on their way, Bilbo is very worried about the adventure that they are about to have. On the journey, Bilbo and the dwarves encounter all sorts of villains and obstacles. They have not traveled very far when they stumble upon a group of Trolls. With combination of Gandalf's wizardry and Bilbo's burglary they take the group out of harm's way. They are able to replenish their supplies with the food that they find in the Trolls' lodging place. As soon as they move on, they are pensive and fearful. Gandalf leads the group to a place where they can get a short rest and they pass through the country of the elves. It is June and all of the joys and songs of midsummer are on display. Bilbo and the dwarves stay at the house of Elrond, an old friend of Gandalf. As they continue on their journey, Bilbo is depressed and nostalgic. The group passes through a mountain chain and two of the dwarves, Fili and Kili, locate a cave for the group to sleep for the night but the cave turns out to be inhabited by Goblins. Bilbo's startled yell helps to save the group. And after these difficulties, there is trouble with giant spiders and with elves before the group actually arrives at Smaug's mountain. In these travels though, Bilbo has outwitted a creature called Gollum, and gained a ring that makes him invisible. This is certainly helpful in battling the Giant Spiders and getting the dwarves out of the Elvenking's prison. But the ring is especially needed when the group arrives at Smaug's mountain. Once there, the dwarves argue about who will enter Smaug's cave and since Bilbo is the burglar, Bilbo must go ahead and face the challenge. He follows the treacherous course into the heart of the cave and though he is sure he is in danger, he is attracted by a red glow that compels him to approach. This is the glow of Smaug. Bilbo manages to steal a cup and hurriedly exits but Smaug awakens and begins to rage. The lake-town of Esgaroth is the victim of Smaug's terror, for the information that he learns from Bilbo gives him reason to believe that they are involved in the theft of his cup. Bard, the grim-voiced, grim-faced man, is willing to challenge Snaug and he has help from a messenger bird, called a thrush. The thrush relays information that Bilbo discovered while in Smaug's lair: the hollow of Smaug's left breast is not plated with his red-gold armour. When Bard strikes this spot, Smaug falls dead, his massive body crushing the city of Esgaroth. The survivors seek Bard as their new king but Bard provisionally declines the offer, though he intends to establish his own city. As the news of Smaug's death spreads, various groups advance towards the mountain for there is treasure to be had. Thorin continues to speak of the Arkenstone because it means so much to him, as it is an heirloom and he threatens to take revenge on whoever has prevented Thorin from getting the stone. In spite of this warning, Bilbo decides that he will leave the mountain and offer the Arkenstone to Bard; then, Bard can offer it to Thorin in exchange for a fair portion of the treasure. Thorin is thinking of ways to avoid a fair bargain and when battle erupts, it includes men, elves and dwarves. They are ready to attack one another until Gandalf announces the approach of the Goblins, bats, wolves and Wargs. The armies re-align themselves and conduct what became known as the "Battle of Five Armies." The Goblins and Wild Wolves battle against the Elves, Men and Dwarves. Gandalf has expected some sort of assault but it did come swifter than he had expected. The Goblins are initially repelled and ambushed by the Elves, but a reinforcement of Goblin troops tilts the balance of the battle. It is only with the final arrival of the Eagles, that the forces of good are sustained. Unfortunately, Bilbo is "smote" with a "stone hurtling from above...and he fell with a crash and knew no more."
When Bilbo regains consciousness, he finds that he is alone and he has to take his ring off so that the individuals who were sent for him can find him. After recovering in the company of Gandalf, Bilbo makes his way back home and their journey though covering the same perilous terrain is far more pleasant and mild than it was the first time. As Bilbo says, "So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending." Gandalf and Bilbo pass through Rivendell and eventually make their way to Hobbiton. It is summer and Bilbo is disappointed to learn that he is legally dead. Greedy cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses are auctioning his property because he is "Presumed Dead." They are more than a little displeased at his arrival and it takes several years for Bilbo to sort out the legalisms. In fact, Bilbo had to buy back a good deal of his own furniture, his reputation and for better or worse, was harder to reclaim. But as for Bilbo, son of Belladonna Took, "for ever after he remained an elf-friend, and had the honour of dwarves, wizards, and all such folk as ever passed that way.”

Rick Riordan - The Son of Neptune - Review By Jesse Korte-King

2011-11-17T13:56:00.001-08:00

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan is, in my opinion, a five star fiction book. It is the second installment in The Hero’s of Olympus series. This well crafted book filled with demigods, monsters and gods has so many twists and turns that it’s like a roller coaster ride! There are seven main events in this exciting story. The first one is the war game when Frank Zhang, one of the main protagonists of the story, is claimed by his father Mars, God of War [Greek form Aries]. The second event is when Hazel Levesq, the only female of the three protagonists, is captured by the Gods of Grains such as flour, shiest, mulch etc. but she is saved by Frank and Percy. The third event is when Frank fights three Basilisks while Hazel gets Percy to safety because he has collapsed. Frank is able to take one of the Basilisks out using his bow which dissolves upon contact with the basilisks skin so he is forced to use his spear given to him by Mars which produces a zombie warrior who has grey skin and is see through.The fourth event is when Percy Jackson, the son of Neptune [Greek form Poseidon] the main protagonist of the story, Hazel and Frank must outwit Phineas, the son Neptune. The fifth event is when they all fight the Amazons for freedom. The sixth event is when they have to fight the giant Alcyoneus in Alaska at the Huber glacier.The final event is when Percy,Hazel and Frank return to camp Jupiter only to find it is under attack by two of the the three Gorgon sisters, Cyclopses, Gegenies, the giant Polybotes and his army. The giant is killed by Percy and Aesculapius.The central idea of the book is that sometimes the people you think are your enemies are really your friends. Percy is a Greek demigod who becomes friends with the Roman demigods. While Romans and Greeks were generally natural enemies, in the book they band together to save Camp Jupiter.Riordan achieved his goal to write a good book for teenagers because it is captivating, interesting and fast paced. All the many events of the plot happen in just four days. There are lots of battles that are exciting.The writing is well constructed with a story that grabs your interest at the very start and keeps you reading until the last page. For example, when Percy and his Roman friends see the Greek war ship, the Argo II, the suspense builds and you are not sure what is going to happen. If you want to find out, read this book. I highly recommend it` for anyone who enjoys historical or regular fiction.

Catching Fire reviewed by Liam Niznik

2011-11-15T05:55:00.000-08:00

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, is a science fiction book and is the second in a series called “The Hunger Games”. The story takes place in Panem, a fictional country that contains 12 districts, the Capitol, and district 13 that people thought was previously destroyed. Katniss, the protagonist, is a teenage girl. The major conflict in the story is that Katniss wants to start an uprising against the President and the Capitol because he controls all the Districts and is cruel to the people. Katniss is the symbol of the Rebellion as she is the first person to show defiance against the Capitol. But the President of Panem, President Snow, wants to kill Katniss and her family so the rebels will lose their spirit and stop the rebellion. He tells her that she must convince the people of Panem that she fought against him because of her love to protect her friend, Peeta, and not to oppose him.

Suzanne Collins focuses on the theme of love. Katniss rebels and fights against the President because of her love of the people in the Districts. Peeta describes his love for Katniss and convinces the crowds of the Capitol that he is in love with her in order to win their support by saying “we would be a very happy couple if we weren’t going back into the games with a baby in Katniss’.” When the people of the Capitol hear that Katniss and Peeta both have to go back and fight in the Hunger Games, (an arena where 24 people fight against each other to the death and where there can only be one victor), they also start their own uprising and battle daringly against the President. When Katniss realizes she and Peeta will be battling a second time in the arena she decides to do everything she can to protect him.

The author is successful in her description of the conflict between the “bad” President and the “good” Katniss. She presented the main theme of love between Peeta and Katniss and this was obvious when Katniss says “every time we kiss I have a strong feeling in my gut, then it is gone and I’m wanting more.” Suzanne Collins struggles with her descriptions. At times she writes too much on the simplest subject and this can be boring to the reader. For example she spent almost three pages describing Katniss’s wedding gown.

I recommend this book to kids from ages eight to sixteen. When you read this book you feel like you are living in Panem and you watch as Katniss matures throughout the story and becomes more than just a girl from a district but the symbol of a strong leader. The story of Katniss and her rebellion is similar to what is happening to the Middle East today as the people battle against a President who holds all of the power. In the end, Catching Fire, is more than a pleasant book about two people falling in love but it is also an intense story about rebellion and violence.

John Flanagan - Halts Peril - Review by Thomas Saikaley

2011-11-15T05:40:00.001-08:00

Halts Peril by John Flanagan, is the 9th book of the epic adventure fiction series The Rangers Apprentice. The book is about a young man, named Will Treaty, his best friend Horace and Will’s former Mentor, Halt. The book takes place in what would be a long time ago in an imaginary world much like ours. There are many countries in the book that resemble countries we have. The majority of the story takes place in the country of Picta (a representation of Scotland) and Araluen (representation of England). Halt, Will and Horace are tracking a man named Tennyson. He is the leader of a religious cult called the outsiders, but while Halt and Will are looking for tracks, one of Tennyson’s henchmen, Bacari, who is a Genovesan (Spanish) shoots Halt with a poison tipped crossbow bolt. Halt is then thrown into a state of delirium that will eventually kill him. I think the central idea in the book is frienship. Because when the three were battling Tennyson they had each other’s back and never gave up on each other. When Halt was poisoned Will travelled 3 days to go get Malcolm (a very skilled healer who was the one who cured Halt) and 3 days back. Also while Halt was poisoned, and Will was getting Malcolm, Horace took care of Halt. He gathered the fire wood, he cooked and watched guard. Will and Horace were both very loyal to Halt and played a key role in Halts safety and well-being. I think the author presented the central idea very well and communicated the importance of friendship and partnership. Here is a quote from the book explaining how important friendship is: “‛My lady… Pauline, before we left you asked me to look after him,’ (Halt) he said, and she nodded. ‛I remember.’‘Well, I didn’t do a very good job of it…‛But you didn’t, don’t you see? You didn’t let him down,’ she took his hand. ‘ And I know you never will.’”The book had a big impact on me because sometimes I think to myself “What would I have done in Will’s or Horace’s position?” I think of me as a person travelling for 3 lonely, cold and depressing nights and thinking “What if I don’t make it in time? What if I fail?” It really made me wonder how much pressure and self-doubt they must have felt, yet they pressed on believing everything was going to be ok. In the end Halt was saved, but the reason was because of his friends and if he hadn’t been there by his side, it would be no doubt that he would have died.

Jean Little - Somebody Else’s Summer - Review by Emily Kourlas

2011-11-15T05:37:00.001-08:00

The book Somebody else’s Summer written by Jean Little, is an adventurous, fictional book. The story takes place in an Ontario town, where the two main characters, Alexis and Samantha, switch places in the summer. While Alexis is supposed to be riding horses at a camp and Samantha is supposed to be reading books in a stranger’s house, they pretend to be each other. The two girls do their very best not to be caught by their guardians, Mrs. Trueblood and Margaret. The girls worry that they will be caught and sent back to their own home, so they try to avoid this by knowing everything important about each other, just in case they are asked questions. For example, when they are both asked questions about their families, they are both prepared to answer the questions. The author tried to tell the readers that two girls learn something and become better people as they walk in each other’s shoes.It was very hard for me to find out what the message of the book was, or what the girls learnt by walking in each other’s shoes. First I thought that the message was to not judge people. Samantha judged Alexis when she first saw her, but then she stopped and became friends. However, it wasn’t clear why! Samantha could have become friends with Alexis just because she wanted to. Then I thought that the message was to be happy with who you are. At the end of the story, Samantha said she was happy with her life and who she was and she didn’t need to be Alexis. This was the first time the author mentioned that Samantha did not want to be Alexis, and this was only the last two pages!The book was fun to read, because it was exciting and interesting that the two girls switched lives, and because they tried to avoid being in trouble. However, it was neither memorable nor powerful, because the message was all messed up. In many years from now, it’s a high chance that I will not remember this book. It also didn’t seem powerful to me; it didn’t move me. It didn’t change who I am.In spite of it having a hard message to follow, it is a good, fun book that I would recommend to children my age, and younger, because the story is fun to read.

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

2011-11-14T13:46:00.000-08:00

The Throne of Fire is a fantasy based on Egyptian gods by Rick Riordan. The setting is in Brooklyn, New York at Brooklyn House also known as the 21^st Nome of the House of Life. The time is present day. The main characters of the book are 13-year-old Sadie and 14-year-old Carter Kane. These two Egyptian magicians set out to wake Ra, the sun god, before a giant snake named Apophis escapes and swallows the sun, but there’s a catch. A scared old man who is the second most powerful magician named Vladimir Menshikov, other wise known as Vlad the Inhaler, is hunting them down. The two teens go on a long journey through the Egyptian Duat. Eventually, they battle and kill Menshikov. Also, with a little help from Desjardin, they manage to ban Apophis for a while.

There were many specific conflicts that contribute to the novel’s central idea. One is when the French leader of the House of Life, Desjardin sacrificed himself to partially ban Apophis from life. Another conflict is when Bes, the Dwarf god, gets his memory taken away from him by the god of the moon, Tefnut to save Carter and Sadie from losing their own. Also, there is when Carter was poisoned by a mythical creature to help escape from the mansion of Vladimir Menshikov. All these conflicts represent a strong theme, which is; getting what you want comes with a price.

Rick Riordan clearly presented the theme with all of these specific conflicts and made me think of many different questions. For example, “What if the book were true and gods are actually real?” “What if our sun was actually in danger because of a giant snake?” “What if there was a House of Life trying to stop Apophis from rising?” and “What actually happens when you fall asleep?” I felt a variety of emotions during my read like sad when Bes got his memory taken away, excited when the Kanes battled Menshikov, anxious when they fell of in the lake of fire and surprised when Desjardin came to help the Kanes in banning Apophis from life. I also found it was very interesting to learn about all the different types of Egyptians gods.

This was a sequel of the Red Pyramid and a well-written book. It was a true fantasy adventure about two kids trying to save their world from being destroyed by pure evil and chaos. The book was also fast paced, very well organized and is great for kids 10 and up. If there is a sequel to this I will look forward to reading it.

By: Calvin Todd

The Maze Runner reviewed by Paul Haghighat-Talab

2011-11-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, is a well-written science fiction novel. This book is geared towards young adults and takes place in a dystopian setting. The novel emphasizes the themes of friendship, courage and sacrifice.
The story tells about a group of approximately seventy-five teenage boys whom have all had their memories wiped, all they can remember are their names. Thomas, the protagonist in the book, finds the whole situation weirdly familiar. The setting is in a massive courtyard named the Glade, which is located inside big ominous walls that Creators built to test the children. Inside the walls the boys are safe, but outside the walls nocturnal beasts called Grievers torment them. Every night, the walls in the Glade close to stop the grievers from killing the teenagers. They try to survive while comprehending the situation. Who are they? Who puts them here? And why? The answers, they believe, lie in the Maze.
There are many themes in this novel such as truth, trust, survival and courage. But friendship is the most important theme. Chuck was the youngest of the Gladers. However, he was very helpful. He witnessed the arrival of the teenage boy named Thomas who he instantly befriended. Chuck was lonely and Thomas felt awful since several Gladers mistreated him. ”What are you, mind reader or something”, Thomas asked.”Just brilliant, that’s all.”, Chuck winked. At that time, Thomas made enemies with an arrogant Glader named Gally. Later on, Thomas strangles Gally for killing Chuck.
In the resolution, the Gladers flee from the Maze. They end up in a facility where the Creators of the Maze explain to them that they are all being tested to see if they were capable of creating a blueprint for a cure to the Flare. The Flare is an infectious disease caused by the Sun that has engulfed the entire world. The characters battle against forces of nature trying to save humanity from an epidemic plague that is ravaging our planet. They also oppose society since they were furious of the Creators for sending them to such a terrible place (the Maze).
The central idea had so much potential that the author didn’t expand. This plot focuses on a major mystery unknown to both readers and the characters that James Dashner gives away by constantly giving the reader too much information. The author had been very descriptive sometimes Page 39:” It was too dark to make out clearly, but odd lights flashed from an unknown source, revealing blurs of silver spikes and glistening flesh. The creature was a horrific mix of animal and machine, a Griever.” The characters were a disappointment. The author barely explains their physical and mental appearance. Their descriptions weren’t elaborate enough.
Overall, the storyline is very intriguing and I recommend it to all middle school grades. It is hard to put this bookdown.

The Power of Six reviewed by Cameron Butterfield

2011-11-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

The Power of Six is a science fiction book written by Pittacus Lore. It is the sequel to I am Number Four. The series is about a group of aliens, the Loric, who travel to earth after everyone on their planet gets wiped out by a war with another alien race, the Mogadorians. There are only nine Loric who safely made it to earth (or so they believe) with their protectors, or Cêpans. These aliens have to survive and defeat the Mogadorians while using their special superpowers.
The main characters and protagonists, John Smith, Six and Marina have each got their own special superpowers, like fire resistance, invisibility and healing powers. They are traveling through places all around the world trying to get rid of the Mogadorians who are the antagonists. They are constantly engaged in a raging war, but at the same time, John is always thinking about his girlfriend in Ohio who he hasn't seen since the big battle that destroyed their school. He has been on the run ever since. He has a great amount of difficulty keeping away from her, always wanting to go back to see her.
There are two main themes in the book: love and war. The war is about the ongoing battles against the Mogadorians and their intense attacks, which John and Marina experience in their fight for life and freedom. The love is represented by John and Sarah’s long distance relationship in which they are unable to talk to each other in any way. This creates a conflict between the themes of love and war. “We’re not going to Sarah’s,” Sam says, following me along the edge of the forest. “We got this tablet thing, possibly the transmitter we were after, and we’re going back to help Six.” I step towards him. “Six can handle herself. I’m right here and Sarah’s right here. I love her, Sam and I’m going to see her. I don’t care what you say.” This shows the conflict between love and war and how the author presents the connection between these themes in an interesting way. John knows he should be battling against the Mogadorians, but all he wants to do is see his girlfriend, Sarah.
The author does a very good job of clearly stating the central idea to you in compelling way. He also gets you very interested in the protagonists, John and Marina, making you side with them, while you follow them through their adventurous life. He describes everything in such great detail that it feels like you’re right there, as part of the story. This makes the book all the more exciting to read and very entertaining. The author also keeps you reading by switching between the two settings at extremely tense moments. One moment you’re fascinated about what’s going on in Spain with Marina and all the sudden you’re in the US with John and Six. For these reasons The Power of Six is an extremely intriguing book and is almost impossible to put down.
In my opinion The Power of Six is a thrilling novel for any young sci-fi readers or people who enjoy adventure stories. It made me realise how hard it can be to do what is right in times of difficulty. It is a very entertaining book and anyone eight or older would probably enjoy it but I would strongly recommend it to people twelve to eighteen. Overall it's a book that keeps its readers constantly wondering what is going to come next and how John will deal with his love/war conflict, making it impossible to put down.

Once Every Never reviewed by Ariane Hadziomerovic

2011-11-13T18:54:00.000-08:00

“Once Every Never” is a fantasy novel by Lesley Livingston.
The story is based on Clarinet, who is known as Clary. Clary is a “pretty typical not exactly a mischief-maker… but trouble seems to find her wherever she goes…” She follows her aunt, Maggie, an archaeologist; along with her friend Allie, and Allie’s super smart cousin, Milo; to go to a museum to examine the bodies of 13 warriors, sacrificed in the name of a Celtic goddess, Andastra. But when Clare touches an artifact (that she wasn’t meant to do), and goes back in time.

The major theme of the story is trust, for Clare is forced to trust people from the past and the modern world, for if she does not, she will but her life and others lives in danger, and might even get killed in the process of travelling through two periods of time, even if most of the time, she doesn’t know what she’s doing. “What have I done?” is something that appears a lot after her time-travels, mostly when she is in the foreign time at the first 5 chapters. Fortunately, she may trust people in the past, because they can’t see her, until she touches them. This signifies that no one may believe anyone who clamed to have seen a girl from the future. Her friends also ask her to get them out of dangerous situations, and to tell them a bit about the past or the future. But as they trust her so much, would she be brave enough to change history for her friends?

I think that Lesley Lisvingston was successful in presenting trust as the central idea because it is obvious that the central ideas are somewhat important to the story, like when she makes up her mind to finally change history forever. The idea was presented clearly, but some parts were a bit hazy. The book is not very powerful or memorable in any kind of way, but it is still a "refreshing, spirited read…"

This book is very well written for teenagers, from ages 10 to 18, for it explains the story of a girl from the 21st century that gets a complicated twist in her life, but instead of tackling math problems and trying to solve family issues, she is forced to try to save the world by helping a princess save her love. That will be sacrificed in the honor of the Celtic goddess Andrasta, by the princess’s own mother, but this occurred centuries ago. Also, she must try to convince a power-thirsty warrior queen not to take over the modern world.

A Wizard's Wings reviewed by Philip Miles-Kozlowski

2011-11-13T18:53:00.001-08:00

Novelist T.A Barron writes an amazing Fantasy book A Wizards Wings that takes place on the magical and legendary island of Fincayra. The novel is told by Merlin the most powerful wizard in history. Merlin and his most loved friends must unite all of Fincayra against the evil warlord Rhita Gawr and his army of evil spirits from the otherworld. In the midst of all the mysterious Warrior “sword arms” is hunting down the islands children, who's only hope is if Merlin can save them all.

Merlin is the reason the book is so amazing because his love for Fincayra and his
friends are so strong he is willing to do the impossible to save them. In the book he says “I love this land, Cairpre. So I’ll do everything to save it.” T.A Barron demonstrates that if you believe in something there is always hope. Merlin travels to the Forgotten Island where the god Dagda forbids anyone to go. Dagda casted a boundary of spells so no one can go there. The reason Dagda let Merlin onto the island without killing him, is he shows that humans and magical creatures can live together in peace. In the novel, Merlin and Hallia, a deer lady are in deep love and they must separate from each other to save their world.

There are aspects that are perfect in the book and then there are things that do not work. The thing that does not work is, at the beginning of the story is when Dagda comes to Merlin in a dream and tells him that Rhita Gawr is coming to attack on winters longest night and he has to unite all creatures in their wonderful world to fight against him. Later on Merlin has to kill the warrior who is murdering all of Fincayras children. At first it makes the reader wonder what is the main plot of the story, because he starts off going to get allies to fight but then he has to kill the sword armed warrior. This book really ties in to all the other books in the series because in the books before this one he leaves a hint where his next book leads and all them fit well into the real story of Merlin, he knows that he must leave Fincayra to go to earth and help the young Arthur become king.

I would definitely recommend this book to others who like fantasy or magical events. It is a great way to show you what your favorite wizard Merlin did as a young mage. I would rate this a nine between one and ten because there is a great plot and a powerful message. “With friends and if you believe you can make a whole world of difference.”

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne Duprau

2011-11-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

The Diamond of Darkhold is a science fiction book by Jeanne Duprau that takes place two hundred and thirty seven years from now. The book follows off of the People of Sparks and is the fourth book in the series of the Books of Ember.

The main characters in the book are Doon, Lina, the Troggs and Scawgo. The setting takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in the year 2047 that was destroyed by the greed of men. The book mainly takes place above ground after Doon and Lina lead the people of Ember out of their city underground that was built to ensure the safety of humanity. When they reach the surface they find a city named Sparks that they have conflicts with because the people of sparks want the Emberites to go. Some of the book also takes place in the City of Ember which is now dark due to the failing generator that powered electricity in Ember. The situation is a regular tale of man vs. wild for winter is now in full force and the store rooms in the city of Sparks are now dwindling. Also Doon’s father has injured his hand and he needs a medicine that is back in Ember. Doon and Lina decide to visit the ghost city but discover that a new family have moved into their ancient city, and they don’t like visitors. Lina and Doon try to go to the city of Ember to try to collect supplies but they know that their parents wouldn’t let them because of their age. Doon and Lina sneak out of Sparks and then find a way into their city. When they arrive the Troggs, a family that moves into their city, captures Doon and forces him to do labour for them. While being held captive Doon finds a boy named Scawgo. After Doon returns Scawgo’s possessions that were stolen from him Scawgo gives Doon a blue jewel that Doon later finds out can make electricity that helps humanity thrive. He also finds that there are thousand of them that the builders of Ember left to ensure that humanity got a head start in a new life. This perfectly shows that what goes around comes around. When they return their parents were worried about them but mainly, they were glad to find that there was some food left in the city.

The author presented her conflicts in the novel well. This is well represented by Doon and Lina maturing. They both want to help out and do good things but they are often denied the chance by their superiors because of their age. They try to act older than they are by sneaking out and going on these dangerous adventures and that helps them mature by making them exposed to the dangerous environment that is Earth. Also the main conflict is the weather because winter has wiped Spark’s food supply. Also Lina and Doon help the world in a big way by finding electricity and by finding out how to charge the sun’s rays through the jewel. They could have only achieved this goal by ambition, a positive spirit and the will to help others by making the world a better place. The book also teaches us about acceptance because after the Troggs arrive into Sparks Doon gives them back the jewel and the town makes them full citizens. The town also accepts them as other human beings and not uncivilized bruits.The story is about two young courageous people that help make a new start by releasing light into the the dark world.

Julian Yau 7PG

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2011-11-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

“Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins is a science fiction, action packed thriller of a book. “Catching Fire” the second book in the “Hunger Games” trilogy. “Catching Fire” is the story of a rebellion in the making against the fictitious communist government of Panem.

The stories main character, a heroine called Katniss Everdeen un-intentionally finds herself starting a rebellion. Katniss does not want to lead a rebellion but the lives of her family and the whole country depend on her. She fights the cruel President Snow and his empire in a classic tale of good and evil.

Suzanne Collins represents the conflict very well in “Catching Fire”. She shows the struggles of fighting for what you believe in. Katniss overcomes fear to stand firm for freedom and good.

“Catching Fire” is a great read and I highly recommend it to kids twelve and over. It flows very well and really leaves you wanting more.

Catching Fires is a catching read of a thriller. Heroes, rebellions, and murderers - this book has it all.

Anna von Finckenstein 7 GP

The Giver By Lois Lowry

2011-11-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

The Giver is an outstanding junior novel by Lois Lowry. This novel takes place in Jonas’s small hometown. There are two main characters in The Giver. Jonas and The Giver (at the start of the book). Jonas has a very important role in this junior novel. At the ceremony of the Twelves, Jonas is selected by the Chief Elder to be the new Receiver of Memory.This assignment is very rare for a child to be selected. The Giver is the man at the start of the book who trains Jonas to become the Receiver of Memory. When he was Jonas’s age he was selected to be the Receiver of Memory. Time passed and now he is passing the job over to Jonas. Jonas later becomes The Giver when he is older. The Giver gives Jonas memories of things that The Giver has experienced before. The memories are passed on from the Givers throughout the years. The memories are not to be shared with whom are not Receivers of Memory.

As a Receiver of Memory it is against the rules to tell anyone about what is happening to you, what you are learning and the pain you are going through to receive the memories. Jonas has to feel the pain of resisting the urge to tell everyone. He is also not aloud to share his interesting dreams about the Receiving of Memories with anyone. For example, at breakfast one morning before he was selected to become the new Receiver of Memory, he tells him family about his dreams. Now, since he is a Receiver of Memory he is forbidden to do so any longer. In the end, Jonas is having difficulty resisting the urge to tell everyone about what goes on when he is with the Giver what you do as a Receiver of Memory.

Lois Lowry was very successful in presenting a boy who had to resist the urge to do something that he strongly felt he needed to do. He made it very clear how much the boy wanted to tell everyone. He wrote the book so tremendously that it is hard to put the book down. I believe he did an outstanding job on writing this book.

In the end, The Giver is an outstanding novel by a very talented author. The author shows a big amount of change in this book. Which makes this book hard to put down. This book had a huge affect on me it has changed the way I think of things because we think about the world as a safe place but in the end we have to learn from our mistakes. Katie Orr 7PG

The Death Cure by James Dashner

2011-11-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

The Death Cure is a science-fiction novel by James Dashner. It is the story of a boy named Thomas in a post-apocalyptic world. It gives a more realistic sense of how a zombie apocalypse could come about. Sun flares pummeled the Earth and a man-made chemical designed for biological warfare leaked from a military center for disease control. It rapidly spread and turned into a plague known as the flare. This disease slowly turned people into zombies. Thomas was immune to the flare, and that’s why a government organization called WICKED wanted him, to study his brain and form a cure for this terrible plague.

Thomas was struggling with his inner-self as he does not know what to do. Should he return to WICKED (who are attempting to lure him back after he escaped from them early on in the novel), or stay on the lam? While WICKED is promising a cure for the flare to the world, they have lied repeatedly to Thomas and killed many of his friends. If he were to return to WICKED, they would perform fatal surgery to receive a cure that probably would not work. Meanwhile in the real world, there are bloodthirsty zombies (or cranks as the people call them) on the loose everywhere and the street people hate Thomas because he is immune to the flare. He is in a tight position as he is not sure whether to sacrifice his life and help WICKED form a cure that would probably not work, or stay in the real world where even the strongest quarantined cities are falling to the uprising zombie population.

James Dashner showed Thomas’ inner struggle very well, the author had an interesting approach to such a setting. While one would normally expect the conflict to be between countries for resources as supplies are dwindling. Many governments pooled their resources together to make WICKED, creating a whole new conflict between WICKED and its test subjects. WICKED’s test subjects hated WICKED for their lies and the deaths of their friends. Thomas was among these subjects. But on the other hand, everyone in the outside world hated those who were immune to the flare (such as Thomas). This is a different type of conflict than one would expect from this book. I did like this book along with the other two from this series.

The story was great as it showed that everyone can be at peace if it is required in order to save humanity. WICKED may not have discovered a cure, but the fact that there was world peace (among those who were not cranks) is a huge step. In the end WICKED realized that there could not be a cure, but the greatest blessing to man were the immunes. They could rebuild mankind as a peaceful, successful race.

Michael Assheton-Smith

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

2011-11-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

The novel The Son of Neptune is a fantasy book and is written by Rick Riordan and illustrated by John Rocco. The book is based in the present day. It is the sequel to The Lost Hero and is about Greek and Roman demigods. There are three main characters in the novel. They include Percy Jackson, Frank Zhang, and Hazel Levesque. They are very different people but are united on quest that takes them on adventure from California to Alaska to stop a great evil from arising.

The book circulates around ancient Greek and Roman mythology and modern times. Throughout the story, good challenges evil as the main characters, the Demigods, take on the god of Mother Earth, Gaea. Gaea is evil, having murdered her own husband, then gives birth to more sons to fight the virtuous Gods.

The main concept also explores several conflicts. Percy Jackson is faced with amnesia, and spends the book struggling against his own memory loss, slowly piecing the puzzle back together with the assistance of a healing potion. Hazel Levesque presents a unique character, originally dying in the 1940s but brought back to life in this novel. Her battle against her memory of the past haunts her throughout the book.

The character Frank Zhang, offers a further complexity of the novel. Frank’s life depends on a small piece of wood, if it catches on fire, he will die. This causes Frank to suffer from major anxiety, which is finally resolved when he gives the wood to Hazel for safekeeping. This act of trust is a result of both characters communicating their deepest secrets to each other, and in the end they are able to release their own burdens, Hazel no longer suffers from blackouts and Frank is free from self -imprisonment.

The author did a great job of presenting a complex set of characters focused on supporting the conflict of good and evil. The reader develops a thorough understanding of Greek and Roman mythology while keeping entertained by modern day characters which the reader can easily identify with. The book is very interesting, however, it does not deliver an emotional impact, as the storyline is somewhat immature. The way in which the author weaves in mythology is creative but not realistic to the modern day world. The reader is left with enough curiosity to be eager for the next installment without being emotionally attached.

Trent Rechan 7PG

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe By Douglas Adams

2011-11-10T11:09:00.001-08:00

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, By Douglas Adams, is a science fiction/ fantasy book. It is a story about the adventures and travels of a humanoid, named Arthur Dent, and his crew upon the ship named The Heart of Gold. They traveled through space after Arthur Dent’s planet (Earth) was destroyed by the Vogons (a disgusting species) to make a hyperspace bypass, and are getting chased by them because Zaphod Beeblebrox stole the Heart of Gold ship. The group in the middle of the story travels all the way to Milliways- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

It is about the struggle of a humanoid whose planet had just been exploded to make a hyperspace bypass. He meets many obstacles in his adventure through space. Arthur comes into conflict with himself. He faces the struggle of the fact that his whole planet (Earth) has been destroyed and everyone he knew (except for Ford Prefect, Arthur’s best friend, who is from a planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse) was dead and gone forever. He also has the problem of being chased after by the species of Vogons because he was on a stolen ship, The Heart of Gold. It is up to Arthur to find the meaning of life and he beholds the question (answer was figured out by a giant super- computer but they didn’t know the question) but Arthur cannot think of it.

The author created a very weak plot but that makes his writing style unique, interesting, and different. The story does have very many small plots throughout the story. The story is very funny and makes you keep on turning the pages. The author presented the central idea very well and made it shine out and it really gives you a sense of what it is. It is not recommended for young children because of how confusing and difficult a read it can be. The topic changes very quickly because of how confusing it is, for example: when Marvin (a manically depressed robot aboard The Heart of Gold) says he knows the meaning of life from Arthur’s brainwaves it instantly changed topic to a conversation with Ford and Zaphod and doesn’t come back to Marvin. Overall it was an amazing book that makes you ask yourself what is the meaning of life?

This is a story of a middle aged man and his crew in their adventures and travels throughout the universe. Gavin Frodsham 7PG

The Prophet of Yonwood By Jeanne DuPrau

2011-11-10T11:08:00.001-08:00

The Prophet of Yonwood is a sci-fi book written by award winning author, Jeanne DuPrau. It is a great book for people who consider themselves pacifists, and for those who are not too religious. The book makes a great yet unique sci-fi novel.

The novel focuses on a sort of cold war happening in the not too distant future that may come. The author mentions a lot of times that conflicts rise between the United States and the “Phalanx Nations” which are not specified in the novel. The main character, Nikki’s great granddad dies; she and her aunt Chrystal come to a very small town in North Carolina named Yonwood. Their goal is to sell the house that they inherited. However, Nikki wants to move away from Philadelphia and to Yonwood. In Yonwood Nikki finds that, a local woman had a horrible vision of the future, and now one of the town advisors (Mrs. Beeson) is trying to build a shield of goodness to stop this vision from happening. At the beginning Nikki is fine with this whole shield of goodness stuff and actually helps Mrs. Beeson. However eventually the situation gets out of hand and Nikki starts to disagree with Mrs. Beeson. This all ends with the same opinion as Grover a local boy whom she befriends. The novel is set in the small town of Yonwood, North Carolina in a future that doesn’t seem too distant. The townspeople have a very restricted lifestyle. They are not allowed to sin, sing and eventually have dogs, and believe it or not that is just a small part of their limitations.

There are two main central ideas in the novel, they are the possibility of war is the worst position a nation can be in and how not to let religion dominate your life. The fear of the war causes the people to take desperate measures (like turning off lights, giving away dogs) and be under the complete control of Mrs.Beeson, who by trying to build a shield of goodness become the main antagonist. The religiousness of the people causes them to give up everyday comforts like lights, singing and dogs

. The author did an outstanding job of presenting the central ideas. DuPrau has many people say these are desperate times, and she shows the pain that comes from giving up so many things.

The book was extremely powerful yet a little de-meaning of religion. It had an impact on me that made me dislike the possibility of war, a whole lot more even after having read her other two books in this series (The City of Ember and the People of Sparks). However the fact that she says that the church forced them to give up all that stuff is in fact a little offending. As a Catholic Christian I know that the church wouldn’t do that stuff nowadays, because that is medieval type church influence. Also DuPrau mentions that people from another religion took one hundred Americans hostage and vowed never to release them until America converts to the one true religion.

Never the less I still recommend the book to a certain branch of sci-fi fans. On the war side it had a huge impact on me, because most of the books that I have read are from the, my story series (a series of books that are written in the perspective of someone during a historic time like DDAY or WW2), so this was a huge change for me. It was a very significant novel that also taught me that authority can many times be wrong. I do not recommend the book to people who are religious.

By Gianni Di Girolamo 7PG

The Last Dog on Earth By Daniel Ehrenhaft

2011-11-10T11:06:00.001-08:00

The

Last Dog on Earth by Daniel Ehrenhaft is science fiction novel for boys and girls ages 10 to 15. The Last Dog on Earth is a novel about a sad boy, Logan Moore who hates almost everything except his dog Jack.

Logan likes to build electronic things and dislikes sports and school however he does like hiking. Logan’s father left him when he was young; his mother remarried a man named Robert. Robert does not think that Logan can do anything right, and always seems disappointed by Logan. Robert wants Logan to have a dog to learn responsibility and discipline. Logan does not want a dog, so he picks an ugly dog that no one wants and has already bitten three animal shelter people. It is obvious that Logan picks Jack to upset Robert. Logan Moore hates everyone including the father who abandoned him, the stepfather who wants to control him, the kids who get in his face. Except Jack, a mangy mutt that nobody wants. Logan doesn’t care that Jack is ugly. She’s the only one who doesn’t want anything from him . But Jack is in terrible danger. A disease is sweeping across the country, turning dogs into vicious, raging predators. Jack isn’t infected, but that won’t keep her safe. People are shooting dogs on sight, and asking questions later. The setting of this novel mostly takes place in Logan’s hometown and around his house, the boot camp and the woods and around their. It takes place in the late nineteen eighties in a nice neighbourhood.

When Jack and Logan find Logan’s father, Dr. Craig Westerly Logan finally finds someone that understands him. Dr. Westerly also happens to be a scientist helping to develop a vaccine to cure POS or psychotic outburst syndrome with his friend Dr. Marks. To develop the vaccine they must have the blood from an immune dog. Jack is that dog and saves the day Daniel Ehrenhaft makes this book very interesting by presenting the reader with lots of conflicts and explaining how Jack and Logan and others overcome them. One of these conflicts is right in the middle of the book when Logan needs food and water for himself and Jack and shoplifts. He got sent to the police station. At the police station he looks through the policeman computer and finds his real father’s address. Logan lived but Jack did not Jack may have died but he died knowing he saved millions of people’s lives all around the world. The Last Dog on Earth is a story where the message is life is not stable and you can’t make it stable and there are always bumps in the road that you must overcome and keep on going. Last Dog on Earth is about two individuals who conquer something with so much bravery that no one else could do.

Harry Sanders

The Son of Neptune by Ricky Riordan

2011-11-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

The Son of Neptune is an adventurous fantasy novel about Greek and Roman gods and demi-gods. It was written by Ricky Riordan and came out this year in October. It is the second book to the series “Heroes of Olympus”. The story is set in the present in the United States. There are many different characters and the three main characters are Percy Jackson who is 17 years old, Frank Zhang who is 16 years old, and Hazel Levesque a 13 year old girl and Hazel came to life in 2010 after spending 72 years in the Underworld. In this story, Percy, Hazel and Frank meet at Camp Jupiter in the city of San Francisco, which is a camp for demi-gods , Humans can’t see the camp. Thantos is an important character in the story. He is important because he is the god of death and he also makes sure that nobody can come back to the living world without Hade's permission.

What if you looked out your window and saw a 30 foot giant, a bunch of ten feet tall Cyclopes, centaurs and monsters with six arms each? The people from Camp Jupiter would go and turn them into ashes. From Camp Jupiter, Percy, Hazel and Frank set off to free the god of death Thantos who can stop these creatures from roaming the planet and coming to life.

In this fantasy story there are many central ideas associated with each of the main characters Hazel, Frank and Percy so this means that they all have their own problems throughout the story. Percy problem is very bad. His memory was taken from him by Juno/Hera the Queen of godesses. Hazel’s worry is that she was dead. So she is worried that if she frees Thantos she will go back to the underworld and never come back. Hazel is cursed. Her curse gives very bad luck to people. Frank’s life depends on something that you would think is worthless. But he keeps with him at all times. Near the end, Frank decides between the his speical thing and setting free Thantos he is worried because he knowns that is worthless things goes out much faster than than alot of things. This worthless thing is a pecie of drift wood.

San Francisco is the city that Camp Jupiter is in. From there they go to Michigan to meet a blind man named Phinease who can tell the future they need to meet Phinease so that they can find out where the giant Aconyease is. Then they go to Seattle to meet a very large and fierce group of woman who call themselves the amazons they are also known as the people from amozon.ca. They go there to meet Queen Hellya, Queen of the Amazons who hates Percy. A place where a big climax happens is in Alaska at Hubbard Glacier. That is where they meet the oldest giant ever, Aconyease. This is during the present time and a war is happening between demi-gods and the giant Polybotes and his army. This is bad because if the demi-gods die then the giants will be impossible to kill. And it would be most likely for demi-gods to die because the giant Polybotes has an invincible army. This is because the giants can only be killed by demi-gods and gods. During this war only demi-god’s monster gods and any other mystical creatures you can think of that you have heard hero's fight. roman and Greek times. The reason the humans cannot see the war is because of something the demigods and gods call the mist. The mist makes the things that are something like monsters look like anything but what it really is.

Ricky Riordan made this story a action at times the story was confuseing but the rest was very clear. I think Ricky Riordan created this book because he thought it would a fun book for kids to read and he thought it would be nice to get to see what other people might believe in. I also hope you learned that even the smallest and youngest people can help save the world from giants, monster, centaurs, and Cyclopes. By: Eoin Murray

2011-11-10T10:59:00.001-08:00

‘‘Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters’’ Rick Riordan is a thrilling science fiction novel. This book is the second of five in the Percy Jackson series. This time, following their previous adventure with Zeus’s lightning bolt, Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson set out on a perilous quest to find their good, life-long friend Grover. Along the way, the two heroes retrieve a long lost item of great magic, the Golden Fleece, to bring back to camp half-blood near New York as it will save the camp’s great pine tree that has been poisoned by a mysterious attacker. Along the way they meet friends but also they meet foes, monsters and campers alike!

Percy and Annabeth must reach a certain island in the Sea of Monsters where Grover is being held hostage by a gigantic Cyclops by the name of Polyphemus who thinks Grover is his bride. The heroes must reach the island and rescue Grover before the Cyclops starts suspecting or even worse, discovers the fact that Grover is a delicious satyr, or else.

Each half-blood has one mortal parent and one god as a parent. The half-bloods themselves also have powers. Annabeth’s mother on Olympus is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Percy’s dad is Poseidon, as you may know as the god of the sea.

Rick Riordan did well on describing the setting, but also showing that through teamwork and never giving up on your friends, you can succeed. The author also can paint pictures in your mind of the characters and their moods and personalities; this makes it easier to visualize. For example:

‘’Grover is a satyr. From the waist up, he looks like a typical gangly teenager with a peach-fuzz goatee and a bad case of acne. He walks with a strange limp, but unless you see him without his pants on (which I don’t recommend), you’d never know there was anything inhuman about him. Baggy jeans and fake feet hide the fact that he’s got furry hindquarters and hooves”

‘‘Percy Jackson and The Sea of Monsters’’ is truly a great book and part of an even better series. I recommend this book to action seekers and kids and adults alike who enjoy Greek mythology, I know I do! I learned a lot of facts that I didn’t know about the Greek legions, including many facts about Hercules. If you read “The Sea of Monsters”, it will leave you only wanting more and more... this book is worth reading.

Alex Rogers 7PG

Magyk by Angie Sage

2011-11-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

Magyk, by Angie Sage, is an eye opening fantasy novel that includes excitement, suspense, and adventure.

On a cold, winter night, Silas and Sarah Heap have the seventh son of the seventh son. It was believed that the child, whom they named Septimus Heap, would have extraordinary powers. Tragically, on the night of the birth, the newborn dies. That night, when Silas is walking to the Castle, he finds a small, baby girl. He carries the baby to the castle, and when he gets there, Marcia, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, tells him that this baby was born to the Heap family, and he must tell no one that he found her. They name the baby girl Jenna, after Silas’s mother.

Ten years later, on Jenna’s birthday, Marcia comes uninvited to the Heap household, and tells them that Jenna is the long lost baby Princess. The Queen and King had been murdered the night Jenna was ‘born’, which is also the birthday baby Septimus Heap. Is Jenna really the lost princess? How did Septimus Heap die? Or did he actually die? With all these questions swirling about, there is never a dull moment in this story.

I think that Angie Sage does an excellent job describing the conflicts in Magyk. The conflict that I think is the most important and interesting is when Jenna, Silas, and Marcia save Boy 412 from freezing in the snow under packs of ice. She keeps the conflict going as she explains how they rescue him. Sage also explains how Boy 412 is from the Young Army and he thinks this is a life or death task.

Angie Sage’s Magyk is a pleasure to read. She does a terrific job explaining and describing the characters' external and internal traits, while never leaving a part of the book without adventure or excitement.

In conclusion, I highly recommend the book Magyk to kids of the age from 13 and under that like fantasy books. Magyk is very fun to read because you never know what will happen next.

Lauren Peters 7PG

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

2011-11-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is a one of a kind science fiction novel. Arthur Dent, an average law abiding citizen, is about to have his world turned upside down. On a crisp Thursday morning, Arthur’s awakes to discover that his house was about to be demolished to build a bypass, but that’s the least of his problems. Arthur’s friend Ford Prefect arrives just in time and whisks him away to the pub. Then Ford spills a huge secret. Ford happens to be an alien living on earth in disguise. He informs Arthur that the earth is about to be destroyed by Vogons, an evil alien race. Ford and Arthur narrowly escape by hitching a ride on a Vogon ship. All they have is Ford’s trusty satchel stocked with towels, a copy of the Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy and two babble fish. Follow them on their thrilling journey throughout the galaxy.

Ford and Arthur stumble upon many obstacles. They hitch a ride on the repulsive and hostile Vogon ship and are punished with the worst thing in the galaxy, Vogon poetry. Soon after, they are booted off the ship, but they manage to hitch a ride with Ford’s half cousin, Zaphod Beelberbox and Trillian, an earthling whom Arthur once met at a party. Ford and Zaphod always have conflicting ideas on everything in the universe. This time, Zaphod is convinced that he can find the intergalactial fairytale planet Magrathea. However, Ford still believes that the planet is only a fairytale designed to put babies to sleep and therefore it is a complete waste of time to steal an entire spacecraft just to find emptiness. Throughout the novel, Arthur Dent has to overcome his fears of the unknown while trying to escape from perilous situations such as almost having his brain taken out by two mice!

Douglas Adams has created a perfect science fiction novel even for people who don’t like science fiction by blending humor through a set of extraordinary circumstances. Adams clearly demonstrates people’s fear of the unknown and their desire to seek explanations of the meaning of life. You have to read between the lines to pick up the hidden themes; however Adam’s makes it entertaining and captivating. Douglas Adams complements each character’s emotions and personalities with one another to create adventure and humor.

Rachel Kamel 7PG

Fanatics By William Bell

2011-11-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

The fantasy novel Fanatics, written by William Bell, is a thrilling, suspenseful and outstanding read. The story revolves around the main character, Garnet Havelock and his girlfriend Raphaella Skye. Fanatics takes place in modern times in Orillia (near Toronto). Garnet and Raphaella are working in an old mansion and its coach house, where a death just occurred inside of the grand and marvelous library and the grounds are being haunted by the ghost of a sixteenth century Italian Renaissance friar.

There are two parallel stories that go on during the novel. The author also gives two main and very important messages. While Garnet is working at the mansion’s library, he stumbles across some information about a man named Girolamo Savonarola. Garnet and Raphaella both learn that it is the ghost of Savonarola that is haunting the old mansion. Savonarola was haunting the late professor Eduardo Corbizzi (the owner of the mansion before he passed away). The professor had in his possession, the atlas bone of Savonarola and was working on a manuscript that was about the friar. In one of the professor’s unpublished manuscripts, Garnet finds that one of the professor’s ancestors was a direct enemy to Savonarola. Savonarola was a real historical person in Italian History. Savonarola (a Dominican monk) was an utterly terrible person. He burned books and renaissance art. He also said that the entire Roman Catholic Church was unholy including Pope Alexander VI. He also claimed that he was doing all the things that he did ‘in the name of God.’ Savonarola is also in the very popular video game ‘Assassin’s Creed’ as a bad guy who you need to eliminate. Savonarola was considered a theocrat and was hung in 1498. The other half of the story is about a Pakistani-Islamic militia group of eleven people. Garnet finds these people after finding a GPS in a lake. He decides to return it but stumbles across a paintball camp while doing so. He later finds out that the ‘paintballers’ were actually terrorists whose plan was to go into the International Youth Festival with guns. This was also a real situation that happened recently called ‘Toronto 18.’ The terrorists do get arrested (with the help of Garnet) before they manage to carry out their plan. The first message is that the past is always present, meaning that there will always be terrible people who get inspiration from people like Savonarola to do awful things and that the past will always come back in some way. The second message is that religious extremism is never appropriate.

William Bell presented the central ideas in a very exceptional manner. The way that he tied everything to real people and situations was very commendable. The ideas were presented very clearly, extremely interestingly and you could tell that the author did a lot of research before writing the novel. This made the book very powerful and made me want to learn more about the historical characters. Fanatics was full of suspense and was a huge page-turner. There are many passages throughout the novel that keep you very interested. Some examples are whenever Garnet sees the ghost, when you discover different things about Savonarola or the professor and when Garnet investigates the paintball terrorist camp. Fanatics was written fantastically and the author was very successful in presenting the major messages in the novel.

All in all, Fanatics was a well-paced novel that was written exceptionally well. It kept me on the edge of my seat. The novel encouraged me to do more research on Savonarola as well. Bell has written an extremely impressive novel. Ashwin Sharma 7PG

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau

2011-11-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau is a very interesting and exciting science fiction novel, and is the fourth book of the Ember series. Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow have been living in the post disaster society of the village of Sparks for several months now after escaping their dying city of Ember underground with 400 others. Life is very different and much harder above ground, and as it is winter, life is getting even harder. A roamer (a person who goes through the ruined cities and towns from before the disaster looking for things to trade) eventually comes through town with a old, burnt up book with the words “for the people of Ember” inside and a title that says “instructions for use”. After this Doon decides that they must go back to their old city to recover the item mentioned in the book which is a piece of pre-disaster technology, and anything else that might help the suffering village. When they get to their city they find a family of people named the Troggs has taken over the city. When the Troggs kidnap Doon he finds that they have the item he has been looking for which is a blue diamond with a gold band and wires around the bottom. He realizes he must escape from these evil people to inform the people of Sparks about the Diamond. In the end Doon escapes the Troggs and finds thousands of other Diamonds which turn out to be solar panels which brings electricity and power into a struggling society.

The Diamond of Darkhold and the entire Ember series is in essence about the struggle for the survival of the human race. The Diamond of Darkhold is specifically about the struggle for all of the people of Sparks to survive when they are running especially low on supplies. When Doon and Lina find the Troggs in Ember they realize that they must be like Robin Hood and steal from the rich and greedy and give to the poor, good people of Sparks to help the largest post disaster society survive and thrive. Also when Lina and Doon give the Diamonds to the people who they are meant for, they bring in electricity and with it the power to grow and prosper not just to Sparks, but to the entire world. This gives the human race its best chance to survive and become better than the previous generations. While Doon and Lina do not know it, they have quite possibly saved the human race by bringing the diamonds into the world.

I think the author, Jeanne DuPrau, did an excellent job presenting the central idea of the story and the series. In all four books she did a great job of presenting the central idea of the survival of the human race, but this is most present in the Diamond of Darkhold when a few left over pieces of the puzzle from the previous books finally fit in with the big picture. This makes the Diamond of Darkhold all the more interesting of a story and you get such a strong sense of the survival of the human race which was present in the other books but was more in the background. One of the amazing tools that the author used to present the idea was at the end of the book it talked about a city like the ones in Lina’s drawings where Lina’s great, great, great… granddaughter lived in. This gave the sense that Doon and Lina did indirectly save the world by brining the Diamonds and the secret of electricity into the world. My favorite tool that the author used to communicate the message of the story was that in the very end of the book it gave the point of view of an unmanned space craft. This craft was sent from Yonwood before the disaster to communicate with sentient aliens and had finally returned to earth. From its point of view it saw that the grand civilization that it had left behind was gone and replaced by a much smaller one which was slowly growing back to its full self. The Diamond of Darkhold is a very gripping novel and the kind of book you cannot put down. Billy Clements 7PG

A Wrinkle in Time By Madeleine L’Engle

2011-11-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle, is a fantasy novel. It was first published in 1962. The story is about a girl named Meg Murray whose scientist father goes missing while working on a project called a tesseract. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which transport Meg, her youngest brother Charles Wallace and Calvin O’Keefe throughout the universe to different planets to try and find Meg’s father. It is the first book in the series of five books.

The Murry family is loving and close, but feels a great loss with their father missing. Meg and Charles Wallace meet Calvin O’Keefe from Meg’s school. Calvin O’Keefe was escaping his family of eleven kids to spend time with the Murry family. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which turn out to be magical and transport Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace throughout the universe. They discover that a gigantic black being called The Black Thing is attacking the universe. They travel to Camazotz, a planet that is already taken over by The Black Thing where Meg’s father is. The Man With Red Eyes under the power of IT claims to know where Meg and Charles Wallace’s father is. Charles Wallace tries to fight IT with his intelligence, but is taken over by IT. Charles Wallace leads Calvin and Meg to Mr. Murry where they are almost taken over by IT, but thankfully Mr. Murry transports them to Ixchel. Meg goes back to Camazotz alone and takes over IT with her power of love for Charles Wallace. There is a lot of conflict between the good and evil characters such as Charles Wallace fighting against IT.

The author presented the conflict between good and evil well. She showed that good can always overcome evil. Also, the author showed that love is ultimately the answer to problems and uncertainty. The description of the un-real planets and creatures is clear and understandable. At the beginning of the novel, Meg Murry feels uncomfortable with herself. She wishes she could be normal and ordinary like her twin brothers. During Meg’s journey through the universe, they arrive on the planet Camazotz. Here, everything is the same, which helps Meg to appreciate her differences as a special and independent individual. I really enjoyed the novel A Wrinkle in Time because of its cliffhangers, imaginative characters and planets, and its message of good over evil and love conquering all. It is a commendable novel about the true meaning of being an individual and the importance of family.

Sarah Vickers

Double Identity reviewed by Sarah Friedman

2011-11-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

Double Identity, by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a science- fiction novel. The story is set in 2010 (the present), throughout the month of October in Sanderfield, Illinois. The main characters in this setting are: Bethany (an insecure 12 year old), Joss (an unconventional priest), Myrlie (Bethany's optimistic aunt), and Dalton Van Dyne (a incredibly lonesome criminal). The main conflict of this story is that Bethany has found out she is a clone. This horrifies her, and leads to much greater problems.

Overprotected Bethany is dropped off on Myrlie's doorstep, completely unprepared for what is ahead. She soon discovers that she had a long lost sister Elizabeth, who looks exactly like her. Bethany is completely overwhelmed with her situation and there is no contact between her and her (normally constantly present) parents. The world spirals down for Bethany as she discovers that she is Elizabeth's clone. At first she is defiant and shocked, but when she investigates news on Dalton Van Dyne, she discovers that the impossible news is true. She discovers that Van Dyne is supposedly looking for her and wants to showcase her to the world - Bethany's worst nightmare. She then discovers that Van Dyne is in Sanderfield.

Bethany battles against herself with the idea of self-acceptance. She also must realize that she is not just a cheap copy of Elizabeth and she has her own special traits. “It's like, you know how things look differently when you look at them out of the corner of your eye,instead of straight on? Out of the corner of my eye, you are Elizabeth. Same features, same expressions, same person. But straight on, you're different.” It is hard to listen to Joss' words of wisdom when everybody in Sanderfield looks at Bethany with a sad look in their eyes (as they knew Elizabeth in her lifetime). Bethany looks and acts exactly like Elizabeth but people seem disappointed when they see her, they all miss Elizabeth and Bethany believes that she is not a good enough. At the end of the book, Bethany finally excepts herself for who she is. “For my tree, I chose a ginkgo: a tree that's unique, with an unusual history.”

This book did have a clear problem; the conflict kept changing, almost every two chapters. By the end of the book, I wasn’t quite sure what the real conflict of the story was; because it was solved before it had a chance to sink in and really exist. The cloning is what makes this book science fiction and it was not discovered until past the middle of the book. This is somewhat aggravating because the back and front covers really give the impression that this book is very much sci-fi and that it includes a lot of cloning. The subject of cloning only exists for a part of the book; this makes this story more of a drama. Despite these confusions, I really enjoyed this book. It had many cliff hangers, and even for not-so-big-readers like me, it kept me on the edge of my seat and I never wanted to put it down.

The Son of Neptune reviewed by Evan Cheer

2011-11-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan, is a book of the fantasy genre. The book is about a teenager named Percy Jackson who has awoken from a long sleep with amnesia. He still can’t remember much even after Lupa the she-wolf told him he was a demigod (offspring of a god and a mortal) and trained him in the art of swordplay. Percy then sets off on the road and finally makes it to a camp/safe haven for demigods in San Francisco after killing several monsters repetitively. Once Percy makes it to Camp Jupiter, he is told that in four days, a war will happen and the camp could be destroyed by undefeatable monsters. Percy then embarks on a quest to Alaska to free Death (Thanatos) from the clutches of Alcyoneus, the son of the earth goddess, Gaea, with his two new friends, Hazel Levesque, a girl who died seventy years ago, but came back when Death was captured, and Frank Zhang, a boy with many gifts, but whose life rests in a piece of wood.

The theme of The Son of Neptune is courage. Percy and his friends show courage finding Death’s location, freeing Death, defeating his guardian, Alcyoneus, who can’t be killed his home territory of Alaska, and defending the camp from a monster army. To find Death, they consulted Phineas the blind oracle. Since Phineas wouldn’t tell them for free, Percy proposed a high-stakes challenge to Phineas. Even though he knew that Phineas was most likely to win, he did it to help his friends. Phineas was to write down the location of Death, and then choose between the two bottles of Gorgon’s blood that would either kill or heal him. With the consequences in mind, Percy watched fearfully as Phineas used his ability to determine which bottle he would drink and which one was Percy’s. Amazingly, Percy defeated Phineas, got the location and set out for Alaska. Once they made it to the glacier where Death was, they found him chained to a wall. Hazel was before Thanatos when suddenly; a large army of the undead appeared and surrounded them. Hazel turned to the robed figure, telling him that he should call of the army so they could save him. She did this show of courage for her friends, even though she knew that once Death was released, he could take her away. Then suddenly, Alcyoneus appeared and attacked Hazel, and with Percy battling the undead, Frank was left with freeing Thanatos. Thanatos had said “Only the fire of life can melt the chains of Death”. This meant that Frank had to use the only thing able to melt Thanatos’ chains: the piece of wood keeping him alive. Luckily, it didn’t completely burn up. Once Thanatos was free, Percy, Frank and Hazel lured Alcyoneus out of Alaska, where they killed him. They then raced back to defend their camp, hoping it wasn’t already destroyed. Thanks to their courageous acts, the camp stood a chance against the opposing army.

Riordan has written well the adventure of young, courageous characters trying to save the things they love. They were willing to sacrifice their lives so they could help save their camp. He has shown us that when you do what you believe in, things might surprise you. You also must never doubt yourself, because all of us can make a difference in some way. This book is full of courageous feats, suspense and a bit of romance. It is a must-have for all the Rick Riordan and/or fantasy fans out there. Rick Riordan has done it again.

The Lost Hero reviewed by Michaela Turpin

2011-11-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

The Lost Hero written by Rick Riordan is a fantasy fiction novel. The story is based on a modern day setting mixed in with Greek and Roman mythology. There are three main characters in the novel are three teenagers (demigod teens) named Jason also known as the son of Zeus (meaning God of Lightening), Piper the daughter of Aphrodite (Goddess of Love) and Leo is the son of Hephaestus (God of Fire and the Forges).

The story starts with Jason waking up on a school bus not knowing who he is, where he is, and who the people around him are. Piper and Leo explain to Jason that the three of them are enrolled in a school called Wilderness School, a school for “bad kids”. This is the beginning of all their problems. Once they arrive, they discover that one of their classmates is a Venti, (also known as storm sprit) a wind demon sent to kill the demigod teens. They are taken to Camp Half-Blood where kids have one human parent and one Greek God parent. Jason learns that his memories have been stolen by one of the gods, Hera the Queen of Gods and the Goddess of Marriage. Hera has been captured by giants and the only way of Jason getting his memories back is by saving her.

The book is filled with various types of conflicts. Jason, Piper and Leo find themselves on a quest which includes fighting monsters, meeting gods and outsmarting famous Greek figures. For example there is a conflict between Storm Sprits and Jason, Piper and Leo at the Grand Canyon. There, Jason learns that he can fly. After that their lives are changed forever. One of the most interesting conflicts is when Jason fights Porphyrion, a forty-foot tall giant to save Hera to get his memories back.

There are three themes in this novel: they are friendship, loyalty and trust. An example of friendship is when Jason and Leo offer to help save Pipers dad even though it is very dangerous. The dad has been captured by the giants and the only way to save him would be to sacrifice Jason and Leo to the giants. An example of loyalty is when the three friends travel on a metal dragon to save Hera. Piper falls off, and Jason leaps into the air to save her. Finally, Jason shows trust in Leo to build a machine so that they can fly in the air to complete their journey to save Hera.

The book is filled with suspense and mystery. Piper has a secret; her father, a famous actor has been missing for three days. Since his disappearance, Piper has been having nightmares about him being in trouble. During her nightmares she is told that the only way to get her father back is by betraying her friends or letting her father die on their adventure to save Hera. Leo is also keeping a secret at the begging of the story that he has rare godly powers that caused the death of his mother. Leo does not want to tell his friends the secret because the last person who had the ability of fire destroyed London. Leo learns that when a child has these abilities, it usually means something catastrophic is about to happen.

The story was clearly and concisely written. There are many things happening in the plot of the story that makes it exciting to read and allows the reader to use their imagination. This book is filled with suspense and will keep you occupied. Once you’re done reading this book you will want to read the next one in the series. I would recommend this book to people who love adventure and who are interested in knowing more about Greek mythology.

The Son of Neptune reviewed by Rick Riordan

2011-11-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan is a fantasy novel which follows the adventures of Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang on their quest to free Thenatos, the god of death from the giants’ icy prison in Alaska. Most of the story takes place in Camp Jupiter, a secret Roman military camp hidden in modern day San Francisco where the children of both gods and mortals train to fight monsters. While writing this story, Rick Riordan was clearly influenced by Roman mythology and has cleverly given the old legends a modern twist which not only educates but adds to the enjoyment of the reader.
The Son of Neptune introduces many themes like sacrifice, greed and self acceptance. Perhaps, the most important is sacrifice. Throughout the story, the protagonists constantly risk their lives while trying to save Thenatos because as long as he is chained up, all order is lost and deadly monsters can return to life immediately after being killed. The protagonists also put their duty ahead of everything – even their lives and would risk anything for the safety of their friends. At the end of the story when the heroes finally fight the giants to free Thenatos from his prison, Hazel shouts, “If I die, I die. I’ll fight this whole army if I have to. Just tell us how to break your chains.” This novel teaches its readers that throughout their lives, they will need to make many sacrifices and when that happens, they’ll need to move on instead of regretting the past.
Overall, the themes in the story have been presented clearly and have been touched upon thoroughly. The themes Rick Riordan chose are all present in our everyday lives and are easy to relate to. The Son of Neptune stands out from other books because it gives Roman mythology a modern twist. It allows the reader to easily understand the conflict and form connections with the characters. This topic is also new and distinct unlike the overused topics of teenage vampires and knights slaying dragons. Having a distinct topic makes this novel’s plot less predictable and allows Rick Riordan to surprise the reader with sudden plot twists. For example, at the end of the novel, the leader of the giants surprises everyone by shouting, “I am immortal in my homeland, Frank Zhang. You cannot kill me here!” Finally, having a distinct topic adds to the excitement and suspense of the reader and encourages them to continue reading.
In conclusion, The Son of Neptune is an excellent book which introduces its readers to Roman mythology. It is well written and introduces many interesting themes. The characters are brave and courageous and act as role models for Riordan’s younger readers. When you start reading this book, you won’t want to put it down. All in all, The Son of Neptune is moderately difficult read containing over five hundred pages but I would strongly recommend this book to anyone over the age of ten. It is an inspirational piece of literature that will not soon be forgotten.

A Wind in the Door reviewed by Jane Amirault

2011-11-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

“A Wind in the Door” is a compelling fantasy/ sci.fi. novel. It is the sequel to Madeleine L’engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” and despite most sequels was actually better than the original. Much like the first book it deals with travel through dimensions and time. In this book, the protagonist – Meg, must save her little brother – Charles Wallace from all that is evil in this world. Most of the plot revolves around the evil forces in the book, called Ecthroi. Ecthroi are all that is bad; every time a war breaks out or someone is killed, the Ecthroi are responsible. An Ecthros can assume any form, and it’s only goal is to destroy our human ability to love, imagine and be ourselves. In the book the author explains it like this: “Every time a star goes out, another Ecthros has won a battle”. This story takes it’s readers to many different places including the inside of Charles Wallace’s body but the main setting is the rural home of Meg and her little brother. It is set in present day and touches upon many issues we are facing in the real world.

This book seems extremely unrealistic but the theme is ever so simply about imagination and being yourself. Over the course of the story Meg learns the true meaning of accepting the qualities that make you, you and must remember how to imagine and pretend, as if she were child. She does so while finding a way to cure Charles Wallace who is in the midst of being taken over by an Ecthros. She and her partner, Prognokes, along with a few other unlikely helpers, go to great lengths to conquer the Ecthroi throughout the story.

This book was extremely interesting. Some parts were difficult to comprehend at first, but all the details came together in the end. One example of this was when the characters used terms such as “farandolae” and “mitochondria” which were supposedly animal and lands that existed within cells in our bodies, and were too small to see even with the strongest of microscopes. The author later explained this theory in more depth, and showed that these concepts were fake, which was reassuring. A Wind in the Door is the kind of book that makes you question the way the world works; if evil really could possess you like disease. As they repeatedly say in the story; “What is real?” Overall this story was very thought provoking and enjoyable.

In conclusion, this book was fantastic. It was powerful, interesting and enticing. This book is perfect for anyone who is looking for something different, challenging and fun. For most of the story you feel s if you were part of the plot, which adds to the effect of relatable characters and setting, and makes the story so creative. A Wind in the Door was an incredible book and I encourage people to read it.

Bookweird reviewed by Nicole Blondin

2011-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

This novel, Bookweird, was written by Paul Glennon and it is of the fantasy genre. Norman Jespers-Vilnius, the main character, has travelled into four books: The Undergrowth (twice), Fortune’s Foal, Magpie, and The Battle of Maldon. In these journeys Norman fought in three battles, was questioned in New York, lived with gypsies, fought with an Anglo-Saxon boy, and escaped from a bloody battle-mad Viking! Each time that Norman found himself in the real world he was surprised to see himself alive no matter how bruised, scratched or how many things he’d lost.
While in the Undergrowth Norman first finds himself in a forest surrounded by thousands of tiny stoats, runs through a forest hides from wolfs. The second time he finds himself in a ditch, firing arrows at wolfs, and inside of a tiny stoat chapel rewriting The Great Chronicle of the Mustelid Kings. When he finally falls into his sister’s book Fortune’s Foal he is captured by gypsies who are wrongly accused of murder, he helps kill a wolf that follows him from The Undergrowth. During Norman’s dreary stay in the Magpie he is interrogated for being at the scene of a crime, accused of assisting in a murder. While fighting in The Battle of Maldon Norman fights with an Anglo-Saxon boy, fights Vikings and learns how to shoot a bow and arrow. Back in reality Norman’s parents simply think that Norman is either sick or tired so they just let him sleep. Yet they had no idea of what was truly happening to their only son. The truth is that Norman is having five terrifyingly awe inspiring travels that include dreadful battles, heroic gestures, horrible mistakes and yet his parents are none the wiser.

In this book Norman finds the true value of family. This magnificent skill has come to Norman through his travels into stories and the occasional poem. In these adventures Norman finds himself afraid that he may not ever see his family again even if they can be very annoying Norman still loves his family. Even with their cheesy thrillers or girly kids’ books or boring history lesson at meal time Norman will, no matter what happens, love his family in reality and in the creations of others. In the end Norman realises that through his dreadful misadventures and his complex family he’s just like everyone else, freaky flaws and all. “The happiness of three girls seemed to rest on Norman’s shoulders- not just Amelie’s and Leni’s, but also Dora’s. He’d told himself he wouldn’t leave the book until he fixed it for Dora.” (Glennon, 2008)

This book was written with the care and precision that any reader should expect from a famous author like Paul Glennon. This book was written to warm and fill with sorrow the hearts of those fortunate enough to read this outstanding novel about an eleven-year-old boy trying to survive some pretty awful experiences.

Divergent reviewed by Sophie Johns

2011-11-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

Divergent, by Veronica Roth, is a dystopian science fiction novel set in a different world, where the people are categorized by 5 factions. It shows a different perspective on the world and the human race.

The novel is set in an alternative version of the American city of Chicago, Illinois. You must take a test when you are only sixteen years old and must choose one of the 5 factions that you will spend the rest of your life in. The 5 factions include: Candor- the honest, Abnegation-the selfless, Dauntless- the brave, Amity- the peaceful, and Erudite- the intelligent.

Sixteen year old Beatrice and her family are Abnegation. She can either choose to stay or move to another faction based on the test. She is given a vile and electrodes are attached to her head. She finds herself in a transmission, meaning she is in a dream, and based on her actions, she will find out to which faction she really belongs too. The person that gave her the test explained, "My conclusion is that you display equal aptitude for Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. People who get these results . . . are . . . called Divergent." Divergent is very rare and is extremely dangerous. At the ceremony, Beatrice’s decision surprised everyone, especially herself. After, dropping her blood on the coals of Dauntless, she thinks to herself, "I am selfish. I am brave." Beatrice takes on a new identity as Tris, and she fights her way through in initiation facing challenges. She is ranked 1st and is a member of the Dauntless. But what happens when the Dauntless get an Erudite vial injected into them? Will the divergent be able to save the Dauntless?

The author presented the themes of the novel well, some clearer than others. The novel is trying to create the perfect world. It shows that no matter what the world there will always be a downfall. The novel also displays friendship and growing up. She must decide who her true friends are. 16 years old, she is now a mature, independent young woman living on her own in her faction. Another them represented is love. Her parents died for her showing that love is stronger than anything. It was written in a perspective where you never know what was going to happen which made it interesting and suspenseful. At times, the author made it very confusing to follow what was happening because many things were going on.

In all, this novel displays very well the perspective of an alternative world. It is the story of a young girl, growing up and being independent in an original, alternative way.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident reviewed by Milan Roberts

2011-11-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

The book Artemis Fowl: the Arctic Incident is a fantasy fiction book written by Eoin Colfer. It is the second of eight books in the Artemis Fowl series. The first book was published 2001 and the eighth book will be published in 2012.

The Arctic Incident is about a 13 year old boy named Artemis Fowl and his adventure with agents from the Lower Elements Police (LEP). Together, they try to find the Russian Mafiya because they kidnapped Artemis’ father and are holding him to ransom. The journey to find Artemis’ father is not an easy one. They must fight off goblins, dig their way out of layers of ice and survive hanging off a train. To add to all this, Artemis must overcome his differences with his enemy, Holly Short, Captain of LEPrecon Unit. The LEP is an agency in the underground world of Lower Elements that consist of fairies and other non-humans creatures. They protect Lower Elements from the mischievous goblins. Most of the story takes place in Dublin, Ireland, where Artemis lives.

The central idea of this book is never give up. Artemis faces several ups and downs but never gives up trying to finding his father. The LEP never give up and continue to battle the goblins who are trying to steal their human power sources. Also, Artemis and Holly never give up on their friendship. Holly and Artemis hate each other, especially after Holly accuses Artemis of stealing from the LEP. When they are forced to work together, Holly and Artemis must find a way to cooperate and appreciate one another. By the end of the book, they begin to trust and respect each other. For example: on page 139 “Holly closed her eyes and let go unable to believe she was trusting her life to this Mud Boy.”

The themes in this book are somewhat boring because they are common in other books and television stories. The second problem with the book is that the characters are fairies and goblins yet the author shows almost no historical context. It makes no sense that a book written in 2003-2004 has fairies in Dublin, Ireland! For example: on page 144 “All centaurs were a touch paranoid, and with good reason since there were less than a hundred left. The humans managed to kill off their cousins, the unicorns, altogether.” The third problem is that the book is obviously targeted towards younger children. However, the story is about a thirteen year old boy, which gives the impression that the story is meant for pre-teens and young teens.

This is a well written book and I would recommend it for nine to twelve year old children. It is action packed with a hint of mystery and problem solving. The theme never give up is shown in an interesting manner that people can relate to easily because it is something they must experience almost every day.

The Prophet of Yonwood reviewed by Milosh Stojanovich

2011-11-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

The science-fiction novel takes place in Yonwood, North Carolina. The protagonist Nickie and her aunt Crystal drive to Yonwood because of Nickie’s grandfather‘s recent death. Her family inherited the house and came to Yonwood to sell the house. Other common characters is Grover, Crystal, Mrs. Beeson, Otis(Nickie’s dog and Hoyt McCoy. Nickie finds a great passion and desire to stay in Yonwood. Althea Tower has a terrible vision of war and destruction. Then the white house locates some signs of terrorists in the woods of Yonwood. This is a novel that occurs in real life.

The main theme of the novel is that there is an aftershock in everything. Nickie believes she is doing things to help Mrs. Beeson witch it does, but it doesn’t help everyone. When she told Mrs. Beeson about Grover’s snakes in his shed, she told her he showed her a snake eat a mouse. Later on Grover refused to send his snakes into the wild so the police a bracelet that constantly hum’s. Then she told Mrs. Beeson about Hoyt McCoy’s house, she went there one night spying on him because Mrs. Beeson told her too. Someone opened the window at his house and a gun came looking down out of the window and Nickie said she quickly ran away. Mrs. Beeson sent the police to Hoyt’s house, they almost arrested him for attempted murder but Hoyt told the police that it was just a telescope.

It was time for town meeting in the church. Mrs. Beeson stood up and started to speak. “The town must love god so there is something stopping that. Dogs, people love dogs so that love that goes to dogs that reduces the love of god. So I will take all the dogs in town and I will send them in the wild”. One of Nickie’s favourite thing was her dog. Nickie was very mad so the next day they took the dogs and the day after that. Everyone saw the dogs across the street in the park. Nickie saw Otis she ran for him and hugged him. Grover was walking around in the woods and he saw it, it was an albino bear. So he understood it all there weren’t any terrorists in the woods it was just a bear.

Personally I did not like the book because there isn’t any terrorists in the woods and the dogs just magically found their way from the woods to the park. The book also breaks down very slowly and there is not a lot of conflicts in the novel.

Artemis Fowl reviewed by Alex Hoerdt

2011-11-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

The book Artemis Fowl is a fantasy novel written with fairies and other different characters. It takes place mainly in the European countries such as Ireland, Italy and Switzerland and in the fairy bases underground. The main characters in the story is Artemis Fowl one of the 2 protagonists. He is an evil genius who focuses on crime and making money. His entire family legacy is about committing crime. The other protagonist is Holly, she is part of the squad called the LEPrecon. Most people got the name leprechaun from the squad name. Artemis takes her and demands that the LEPrecon gives them a ton of gold.
The plot of the story is how Holly will be taken by Artemis and how they will save the secret of fairies alive. Also how you should never mess with magic. Root, one of the secondary characters is the commander of the LEPrecon. He has a huge temper, no sense of humor and always gets mad when Foaly the centaur and technologic commander, makes fun of Root. Artemis took a book of fairy legends from a sprite,that is how he finds all the fairy secrets. Root and Holly do not know that so they are playing right into Artemis’ hands. Artemis knows that fairies cannot disobey orders told face to face so he tells Holly she can’t leave the house until he gets the gold.
The major themes in the story are hate, trust, and friendship. The theme of hate is how Holly and the LEP hate Artemis, and Butler. That is because they took Holly and almost let out the secret of fairies. The theme of trust is because fairies always have to obey commands told to their eyes, or else they lose their magic. Also Artemis trust’s Butler to do everything perfectly. And the theme of friendship is for how the LEP had a friendship with Holly and had to save her. You could also add belief because not many people believe in fairies, like Juliet, Butler’s sister.
They send in the gold while the time is still stopped. Artemis knows right away when Holly is clear they are going to bomb the building. Artemis sends back the gold foe one wish, to get his mother healed and back. They send in the bomb but somehow Artemis and Butler escape it!
In conclusion, I thought the book was exciting and interesting. I thought it was a bit kiddy but overall it was a pretty good book. I would probably read the next book in the series, and who knows what craziness will happen in that?

The Power of Six reviewed by Duncan Lemieux

2011-11-10T06:37:00.001-08:00

The Power of Six, written by Pittacus Lore and published August 23, 2011 by HarperCollins, is the second book in the Lorien Legacies series preceded by I am Number Four and followed by The rise of Nine. The Power of Six is a mix of the fantasy and science fiction genres. In the first book, it explains that nine aliens were brought to earth from the planet Lorien. Each alien was given a chest containing their inheritance from their parents, money and most importantly, a number from one to nine to identify each of them, and then they were sent off into the world with their Cepan, or guardian, to train and develop their powers. After that, they were to reunite to fight the Mogadorians (or Mogs) whom are the reason they were chased off to earth. The Mogadorians are infact trying to kill them. But it can only be done in the numerical order that was given to them before they were sent off to earth. The first book follows number Four, John Smith, and his Cepan, Henry, as he trains and tries to find the others.

After a certain period of time, he comes to find number six while Henry was killed in battle and discovers that her Cepan, Katarina, was also killed. The second book follows number Six, Four and his best friend, Sam, as they try to find the other numbers. Meanwhile, in Spain, in the small village of Santa Teresa, Marina ( or number Seven) itches to escape from her dreaded religious community for children in need. While she is there, she spots a man watching her, who she believes to be a Mogadorian. She sees that he is reading a book about Pittacus Lore, who was the leader of the Loric, as well as the author of the book. This is why she believes him to be a Mog. I will tell you a bit about the characters on Marina’s side of the book. First, there is her Cepan, Adelina, who, unfortunately, becomes so obsessed with the religion of the community that she tries to pretend that Lorien and the Mogadorians don’t even exist! Then there are Marina’s two best friends Ella and Hector. Ella is a seven year old girl to whom Marina took a liking since she was first introduced to her near the middle of the book, whereas Hector has been her friend since the day that she came to Santa Teresa. Hector is, although a very nice man, a bit of a drunk that spends most of his time in the town café drinking. Hector also has a very sick mother named Carlotta

One of the major themes in the book, which is quite important, is trust and betrayal. This takes place when John, Six and Sam travel to Paradise to try and sneak into a well to recover some information and John’s chest is stolen. As he is passing his old girlfriend Sarah’s house, he stops to visit and tells her to meet him in the park where she calls and turns him into the police, when instead he could have prevented this and recovered his chest if he had just kept tracking the Mogs down, trying to find it like Six told him. So, she has to abandon the hunt and bail him out of jail. John after that incident is quite devastated as clearly shown in the book as he quotes “she couldn’t have turned me in. Please don’t let it be her.” I believe this to be one of the major themes because there are so many events that were built of this like when John goes to jail, the fact that he could have regained his inheritance and one of the biggest parts in the book that creates a “cliff- hanger” ending and may be the most important event throughout the entire book! But I will ruin no more for you as the end of the book is, in my opinion, the best part (in case you want to read it).

All in all, I found this was a very interesting and well written book and honestly I would be glad to re-read it. I found that while reading it, I came to think “how does the author write and come up with all of this” and therefor making it one of the most imaginative books that I have ever come to read. After all, it can’t be easy to invent an entire new planet, race and world. So, I would highly recommend this book to those of you that are looking for something that is action packed, interesting, fun to read, and keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times with a touch of romance all the way through !!!

The Diamond of Darkhold reviewed by Maxwell Thompson

2011-11-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

This is a science fiction book review on the Diamond of Darkhold, Jeanne Duprau is the author of this novel. She has written many great novels including The City of Ember, The People of Sparks and the Prophet of Yonwood.

The story Diamond of Darkhold is situated in a little city in the middle of the flat old grounds called the city of Sparks. The city of Sparks was one of very few towns that remained after a great disaster. The people who lived after the great disaster had a lot of challenges to overcome. Doon Harrow is a 13-year-old boy who is a main character who lives with his dad Loris Harrow. Doon has always been a very serious, determined person. Lina is a 12-year-old girl who is also a main character who now lives with Mrs. Murdo because her dad, her mom and her aunt are all dead. Lina is always sad or happy. She has a lot of feelings for everything around her, she is also scared of dangerous thing like wolves, rattle snakes etc. In the story Doon and Lina found a secret and ancient book that encouraged them to go back to the City of Ember. They thought there might be extra food or “anti-B” (antibiotics) for the citizens of Ember and the citizens of Sparks. The story continues when Doon and Lina go back to the city of Ember (where they where born).

Friendship is an important theme in the story. Doon and Lina create a very big friendship along their journey helping each other survive when they go back to Ember to get anything that can help the people Sparks go trough the tough winter. Doon helps her overcome her fears and shows her the way. Lina joined Doon on a journey she didn’t want to do and helped him when he was hurt. The people of Sparks supported each other going back to Ember, on the trip they developed a better friendship and relationship with each other “it wasn’t because they had extraordinaire powers, really, but because of how well they used the ordinary powers everyone had: the power of courage, the power of kindness, the powers of curiosity and knowledge”.

This is the fourth book of Ember and in my opinion all four books are good. I think the book The Diamond of Darkhold is a great adventure story. The book is well written but some parts every now and then are kind of hard to understand. This book is definitely one that you would remember after all its great adventures. The friendship theme is especially well presented.
This is a great book that is very descriptive and enjoyable to read. I would recommend it to 9-12 year olds. It is kind of crazy how the world is destroyed and the human race is almost gone, but it is also amazing how well the people can live so happily and so comfortably together.

The House of Scorpion reviewed by David Schramm

2011-11-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is a Science Fiction novel. The House of the Scorpion mainly takes place in the Alacrán Estate in the country of Opium, a strip of land in between the United States of America and Aztlán, which was formerly Mexico. Opium ruled by El Patrón – a powerful drug lord who grows poppies illegally. This novel takes place at least one-hundred years in the future. The historical context is that is speaks about the United States and opium which is part of history. The main conflict in this novel is Character vs. Society. Matt, the protagonist, is a boy with short brown hair, he’s slightly tan and is slightly taller than average. His age increases throughout the novel and stops at the age of fourteen. Most of all, he is the clone of El Patrón; he was harvested. El Patrón is revealed the antagonist late in the book. He is the “creator” of Matt and appears frail, wrinkled and small. El Patrón is greedy and roughly one-hundred and forty-five years old.

The major theme in The House of the Scorpion is truth because Matt struggles to find the truth about the lies that his “creator” created to make him believe in him. He seems that he will be the successor of Opium when he is educated whereas other clones are lobotomized at birth. But the truth of El Patrón clones are revealed when he finds out that El Patrón uses him for “spare parts.” His father figure tells him at the middle of the novel: “El Patrón had seven other clones like you, each one educated and believing he was going to run the country.” This tells Matt that he wasn’t the only one that was told lies by his “creator.” This signifies that seven other clones were betrayed just as he. But the only thing that makes Matt different from the seven others is that he escaped.

The House of the Scorpion is a book that is well written and very interesting. The House of the Scorpion was a page turner and keeps you in suspense after every chapter. The title is very appropriate as stated in the quote: “…the scorpion recognizes the fingerprints and DNA of El Patrón.” The plot was clear but not easily exposed. It is very powerful as it speaks about the society in future and how our nature as still not changed. The novel started off quickly and carried on from there and it juggled many conflicts at once revolving around the main theme: truth. In every few chapters, the conflict slightly changes and Matt’s many conflicts appear in every chapter. It also makes you question the situations at the beginning. The book appears to be told in third person but focuses very much on Matt’s thoughts and his only. It is written in a manor that makes you feel just like he is: not knowing what will happen. Overall, this novel was a very memorable read.

The House of the Scorpion was, all things considered, an outstanding read. It did a very good job of highlighting the fact that our personality hasn’t changed in the one hundred or more years in the future. This novel is highly recommended to young teenagers and ages above.

Kit Pearson - The Sky is Falling - Review by Katie McAdam

2011-11-10T06:20:00.001-08:00

“The Sky is Falling” is a historical fiction novel that takes place during World War II, written by Kit Pearson.The book starts off in England in a small town called Ringden with a small family: Parents, Norah, a ten year- old girl and Gavin, a five year-old boy. The story takes place in 1940.After Norah and Gavin receive the news that they are going on a ship to Canada to live with complete strangers until the war is over, the two children express mixed emotions. After finally arriving in Canada after a long yet exciting ride from England, They move in with The Ogilvies: Florence Ogilvie and her daughter, Mary Ogilvie. Norah realizes that “Aunt Florence” prefers Gavin to her. Norah has trouble finding friends at her new school but later she meets a friend, Bernard and when Norah and travels to the Ogilvies’ cottage, they bring along a girl who then becomes a better friend with Norah.The author described how England was at the time of war clearly and made the book made me feel that I was actually traveling with Norah. This book was very interesting and I learned some new things about children during the war such as: How people got along, and what Ringden looked like.I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the war. Since this book is historical fiction, I noticed many changes for the schools and homes/ buildings in Toronto and England in the 1940’s and it gave me an idea of how much different our buildings are today.

Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Review by Cole Cooper

2011-11-10T06:14:00.001-08:00

Brian Selznick’s brilliant novel, “The invention of Hugo Cabret” tells the breathtaking fictional story of an orphan and his journey into friendship and family. Along the way it teaches you about the movie making business of the early 1930’s and life in Paris after World War I. The style of book, a combination of a graphic, picture and traditional novel is covered with 284 pages of astonishing black and white drawing. Unlike most other books these pictures seem to be even more important to the story than the words. The three main The life of an orphan in Paris in 1931 is very strenuous and unforgiving, yet protagonist, Hugo Cabret, is able to flourish in it. For the past 4 months Hugo is able to live alone, steal food and water and do his uncles work while living in the train station walls. There are only a few characters in this book but each one’s unique and interesting. Hugo Cabret, the protagonist, is very strong-willed and independent. Isabelle Melies is Hugo’s one and only friend. She ends to get them in huge trouble but in the end pulls them all into a family. Lastly, the magician/toy store keeper/mysterious movie maker, George Melies is a huge part of the story. He starts off as an antagonist but soon develops into a friend of Hugo. These characters interact as Hugo tries to fix the mechanical man called automata. The story continues as Hugo tries to discover how George Melies and his father are linked to the automata.Hugo faces various conflicts and person versus person problems throughout the story. At each chapter something takes a turn that you never expect. The main idea in this book is Hugo trying to fix the automata. His father became obsessed with fixing the automata but died in a fire trying to fix it. Hugo feels such a strong need to fix it because it is his last and only link to his father. Hugo found the automata very hard to fix because he could not buy the parts and the notebook his father gave him was taken away. This adds to the difficulty 9f building it since the notebook was filled with instructions on how to fix it. Once it was fixed the automata drew a picture signed by George Melies. This led to another conflict, which was trying to figure out the past and history of Isabelle’s’ godfather George. Brian Selznick does an incredible job portraying the emotions and adventures of this terrific novel. When you read the story you feel like you are one of the bystanders in the train station while Hugo franticly sprints through. I really like the way the author shows feelings, not just with words but with pictures. The author shows you such a dramatic and realistic view of life, hope and anger. One powerful part occurs when the automata draws the picture for the first time, Hugo realizes he was immature and naïve to believe that the automata would draw a note to him from his father. In this one line all of Hugo’s hope dies. He had so much while fixing the automata and it was all destroyed in seconds. This novel showed so much emotion and feeling about family life and friendship that I found appealing. Though almost half of this book is pictures, I would still recommend it to children over 10 all the way to adults. I would encourage all of my friends, teachers, and classmates to read this wonderful book.

Kenneth Oppel - Airborn - Review by Jeffrey Brandys

2011-11-10T05:11:00.001-08:00

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, is a science fiction novel. It follows the story of Matt Cruse a young man working as a cabin boy aboard a luxury line airship. When the ship crashes on a deserted island after a gang of pirates sabotage the ship. He must help fix the ship, protect it from pirates, entertain a rich girl and save the crew and passengers.The central idea of the story is Matt’s struggle to fix the ship and get it afloat once again. He is constantly distracted by the beautiful Kate de Vries. She brings him on trips through the dense tropical fauna. Looking for a fabled creature. In the end she teams up with him to help fight the pirates. By the last chapter he succeeds in saving the vessel but he first had to face a group of fierce pirates that tried to destroy the vessel. The author was successful in presenting the central theme at Matt’s battle to fix the ship at any cost. Throughout the book Matt narrates the story in a funny way to keep your interest, but at the same time giving a lot of knowledge about the situation. This book is memorable. The scene descriptions give a clear picture of the environment. “ Great pine-like trees, with slender dropping branches, bristled with spiky flowers”. The story was action packed, suspenseful, unpredictable and brilliant.This is a fine crafted tale with action, suspense and the determination of someone fighting for something with l they have,

Y.S. Lee - The Agency - Review by Paula Werdnik

2011-11-10T05:10:00.001-08:00

The novel I chose for my I.N.S was “The Agency- A spy in the house” and it was written by Y.S Lee. This novel is historical mystery (fiction), the story takes place in Victorian England, London around 1850 and the story mainly focuses on the main character, Mary Quinn. Mary Quinn was a very clever and ingenious young girl but the world as she knew it was hard, unforgiving and despairing, she felt no hope for her future. Later on in the novel she gets a second chance, a chance to improve herself. Now Mary sets off on a dangerous and risky mission and although Mary’s clever she is also very wary and mistrustful of others and to fulfill her mission she will have to learn to trust others and perhaps most importantly, she will have to learn to trust herself.The conflict going on in the story is how Mary Quinn is at battle with herself, not knowing what are the right decisions to make and how to act in certain situations. Mary is a secret agent and wants to fulfill her mission successfully but she has to be extremely cautious in some risky situations and often finds herself holding back, throughout the story Mary tries to learn to trust her instinct and others that she meets along the way. Mary is also trying her best to stay out of trouble but her curiosity and adventurous spirit often send her tumbling into serious trouble, Mary has always gotten into trouble. When Mary was only 12 years old she was sentenced a thief and would have been executed if it weren’t for 2 secret agents, the headmistresses of Miss Scrimshaws Academy for Girls, a school that gives girls another chance at their future. The school sees Mary’s talent though and makes her an agent, and throughout the story Mary meets many new people such as James Easton, Cass and Angelica. I think that the author was successful in presenting her central idea to her readers. The central idea was presented throughout the book in an interesting, knowledgeable way. The message that the author was trying to get across was very clear. Y.S Lee’s message was that we all get second chances and that when we do get the chance we can come very far no matter about our gender or background. The story was unique and attention-grabbing, and I personally enjoyed reading this book very much.Overall, I found this book extremely intriguing and I think Y.S Lee was successful in presenting her central idea and getting her message across to the reader, it had an impact on me because I found this story motivating and inspirational about how much you can achieve when you get the chance to.

Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl - Review by Veraj Paruthi

2011-11-10T05:08:00.001-08:00

Artemis Fowl is a great book written by Eoin Colfer. The main character, Artemis Fowl is brilliant, cunning, devious, and a mastermind. Although he is only twelve years old, he might have the greatest intellect of his generation. His father lost and presumed dead, his mother suffering from a nervous breakdown, Artemis is determined to restore his family fortune using a cunning plan. Artemis plans on kidnaping a fairy from their world and holding her for ransom for fairy gold. But he picks the wrong fairy to kidnap - Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance) Unit. Holly Short was an elf, like all elves she had the power to heal, mesmer, and shield (from humans). She tried using all of these techniques against Artemis, but somehow he already knew everything about fairies. Using his secret source everything goes according to plan for Artemis until Holly Short’s comrades come to rescue her. Artemis’s is succeeding and it is going according to plan, but how you ask. How did he figure out fairies exist, how to capture them and most importantly what is his source. Will he succeed? Read the book to find out!The author presented the themes were well. The themes were greed and the conflict between good and evil. Greed is the first main theme that is introduced into the book and specifically the desire for Artemis to obtain gold. The idea of conflict between good and evil is one that is touched upon in the book in a light hearted manner-although Artemis sees himself as an evil genius at the beginning of the book. But surprisingly at the end of the story brings this idea into doubt as well when he pays to help his mother. There were not many things I didn’t like. I would recommend this book to fantasy lovers. I would recommend it especially to the ages of 10-13. It is an awesome, jaw dropping, intense, and a page turning read. But just watch out he might be coming your way! I would describe Artemis Fowl a book about a young boy on a journey to restore his family fortune, and to be an evil mastermind.