The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey Book Review

Name of book: The Sleeping Beauty

Publisher:Luna

Published:July 1st, 2010 

Age group:13-17

Number of Pages:336

 Summary

With signs and traditions pointing to an all-out war set to break out among the kingdoms, Rosamund, the king's daughter, is "playing dead" as two princes show up at the palace intent on waking her with a kiss. But, as the two of them start to fight it out, Rosa's godmother cuts them all short and takes charge. Now, with two princes competing for the hand of Sleeping Beauty-one of them, the one with roving hands (Prince Leopold) probably "should" be her prince, while the other (Prince Siegfried) doesn't seem to belong here at all-more complications occur. The king dies and the neighbors start looking at Rosa's kingdom. But with the palace filling with young and old princes intent on winning Rosamund's love, invading the kingdom and putting those young men in peril would mean incurring the wrath of thirty other countries!

Review
Normally, I don't exactly like princesses. To me, they don't really deserve their happy endings. It's basically by chance and luck - and magic. and in the real world, that type of stuff doesn't exist here. Cinderella's fate may seem horrible (to do chores every single day), but in reality, that's an everyday thing. A lot of kids in this world have to survive with having a 'evil' stepmother or stepfather. And do they get a fairy godmother? No. Surprisingly, this actually wasn't bad. The description that I read from the book was completely different from what I read,though. I loved the creative streak inside this book, how there was a twist of both snow white and sleeping beauty.I just loved the uniqueness of this book. I wouldn't exactly call this a fairytale retelling because it's one on it's own. This story is full of love, passion and confusion at how everyone's lives are going to play out after a disastrous accident. No one would really expect a dash of humor in this - but it does have some. I loved the hilarious rhyming parts and other things that made me laugh so hard. I really like Mercedes Lackey's work, and I would definitely reccomend it to other peopleNormally, I don't exactly like princesses. To me, they don't really deserve their happy endings. It's basically by chance and luck - and magic. and in the real world, that type of stuff doesn't exist here. Cinderella's fate may seem horrible (to do chorse every single day), but in reality, that's an everyday thing. A lot of kids in this world have to survive with having a 'evil' stepmother or stepfather. And do they get a fairy godmother? No. Surprisingly, this actually wasn't bad. The description that I read from the book was completely different from what I read,though. I loved the creative streak inside this book, how there was a twist of both snow white and sleeping beauty.I just loved the uniqueness of this book. I wouldn't exactly call this a fairytale retelling because it's one on it's own. This story is full of love, passion and confusion at how everyone's lives are going to play out after a disastrous accident. No one would really expect a dash of humor in this - but it does have some. I loved the hilarious rhyming parts and other things that made me laugh so hard. I really like Mercedes Lackey's work, and I would definitely reccomend it to other peopleNormally, I don't exactly like princesses. To me, they don't really deserve their happy endings. It's basically by chance and luck - and magic. and in the real world, that type of stuff doesn't exist here. Cinderella's fate may seem horrible (to do chorse every single day), but in reality, that's an everyday thing. A lot of kids in this world have to survive with having a 'evil' stepmother or stepfather. And do they get a fairy godmother? No. Surprisingly, this actually wasn't bad. The description that I read from the book was completely different from what I read,though. I loved the creative streak inside this book, how there was a twist of both snow white and sleeping beauty.I just loved the uniqueness of this book. I wouldn't exactly call this a fairytale retelling because it's one on it's own. This story is full of love, passion and confusion at how everyone's lives are going to play out after a disastrous accident. No one would really expect a dash of humor in this - but it does have some. I loved the hilarious rhyming parts and other things that made me laugh so hard. I really like Mercedes Lackey's work, and I would definitely recommend it to other people.

Rating
B+

Snow-burn by Joel Arnold Book Review

Name of book: Snow-Burn

Publisher:Studio city

Published:September 4,2010

Age group:13-15

Number of Pages:97




Review
When I first started this book, I didn't know what to expect. I liked the mysterious beginning and the way the characters were described. I also really liked that I could tell that each person's charecteristics were different and special. I liked how you could feel the emotions of each moment and sort of 'see' the triumphs of the characters and the near-death-expieriences as well.
I really liked Snow-burn. There are the moments that you think, "The character is really dead now," Or the moments that you're saying "I can't believe that happened!"

Vince was a really compassionate character in a way. Maybe daring but sort of compassionate. Like the way that he said that he would still take Hitler in even knowing how bad he was.

The "braniac" was really the basic everyday teenage braniac. The not daring type of person unless someone pushes them to do it.

Snow-burn had a unique personality, and anyone who is a fan of teenage adventure stories or thrillers, this is for you.

Bethany

Artemis Fowl The Eternity Code By Eoin Colfer Book Review

Name of book:The Eternity code

Publisher:Scholastic

Published:2003

Age group:10-16

Number of Pages:309

Summary

Artemis Fowl II, criminal mastermind aged 12 is off on another crazy encounter with fairies accompanied with his ever-faithful bodyguard Butler. In this adventure, Artemis builds a cube with stolen fairy technology. It is stolen by Jon Spiro, a Chicago business man who shoots and kills Butler.Holly Short, Captain of the LEP heals Butler with magic.

Unfortunately, the healing does not work as planned. It leaves Butler alive, though fifteen years older and unable to carry out his duties as a bodyguard. However, his sister, Juliet, agrees to help Fowl recover the stolen computer. With the aid of the rest of the LEPrecon team and kleptomaniac dwarf Mulch Diggums, they break into Spiro's company, Fission Chips, in the Spiro Needle. They begin their mission once Artemis is captured and placed inside the company.
Artemis lets Foaly take control of the C Cube and tricks Spiro into going to the offices of his rivals Phonetix in order to sabotage their work projects, but Artemis gets Spiro arrested by a SWAT team.
After recovering the C cube, Commander Julius Root orders Artemis Fowl, Butler, and Juliet mind-wiped before they cause anymore damage to the fairies.




Review
I absoloutely loved the first and second Artemis Fowl books-and this one was of no exception. Eoin Colfer's books just draw the reader in and make them desperate to read more. There were only a few exceptions that made Eoin Colfer's book away from perfect.
I didn't exactly understand the process of crygogenics. The freezing of the body makes the corpse survive even if it isn't breathing because...? I think that's only for the masterminds to determine.
I really liked The Eternity code-it's one of the books that I love reading over and over and over again. Artemis fowl and the Eternity code has gotten a new twist-Artemis Senior is alive-Artemis Junior's father. And this time...he doesn't care for the gold. He cares for his family.

Rating
Grade:A+


Beth

Cinders by Michelle Davidson Argyle Book Review

Name of the book: Cinders

Publisher:Michelle Davidson Argyle

Published:June 28th, 2010

Age group:12-16


Number of Pages:180


Summary

Cinderella's happily-ever-after isn't turning out the way she expected.With her fairy godmother imprisoned in the castle and a mysterious stranger haunting her dreams, Cinderella is on her own to discover true love untainted by magic.

Review
         Reading the summary of Cinders already made me excited enough to read the book. As I watched the book trailer, my eagerness to read this book grew. I happened to recieve the book just today, and I raced through it in atleast 2-3 hours. Michelle Davidson Argyle is a great original fairytale story reteller. I did happen to enjoy her book-I just had a few things I wished could be changed.

          I thought Cinderalla was a character that couldn't decide what she wanted anymore-the stranger or Rowland, Peasant life, or the life of a monarch. I was a little bit confused on what type of character she was. But as the story went along, I understood her better, and got to know her side of the story.

           Kale was the unknown stranger haunting her dreams. I thought that he was really mysterious, which was good-it left me hanging off at a end. What I didn't like about him was that he decided to let Cinderella choose another path instead of the one she'd be happier on.
I liked the feeling of suspense, worry, intrigue. I thought this book measured up to Gale Carson Levine's stories, and I hope to read more of Michelle Davidson Argyle's books. Hopefully there is a sequel-it was partly unfinished at the end.

Rating
Grade:A

Luv,
Beth <3

Reunion of The Untouchables by Kurt Frenier

Name of book: Reunion of the Untouchables

Publisher: Eloquent books

Published: July 12th, 2010

Age group: 10-14

Number of Pages: 210

Summary

Five hundred years ago, Master Magician Mikhail Pilkington III created a magical flying train, the Study Train. His vision: to take average teenagers aboard, show them the world, and turn them into leaders. Ethan is invited on the train, escaping his miserable life in Switzerland, and soon discovers that the train is all but ordinary. It is filled with magic, secrets, people with interesting histories, and much more. Ethan's intrigue and hunger for knowledge and power catches the attention of a hidden, ancient alliance called the Untouchables. Soon, Ethan learns all their mysteries, powers and sorcery. He stands out from the rest of the students and is recognized as the long-awaited leader for the Untouchables. But his dark side - The Dark Fire Inside - grows and becomes much stronger than anyone thought it would. Ethan gets sucked into a web of conflicts and feuds while battling his own inner feelings. Will he go for power, or turn toward good?

Review
I just recieved this e-book yesterday-and I'm already finished with it-which is amazing, considering how many books I have to complete reading before school starts. I have to say, The reunion of the untouchables is a wonderful book-with just maybe a few parts that I would like better if it was changed.

I liked Ethan and sympathized with him all the way. I thought it was great that he was accepted onto the studytrain. My only problem with him is: how could he have betrayed everyone on the studytrain like that-especially when they rescued him from his misery? I would have liked it much better if Ethan realized the flaws before the ending. I think Ethan was over-powerhungry-especially since he was just rescued from his personal home of a cell.

Alesia was nice, kind, and what I heard from Ethan-pretty. She was much more powerful than I perceived and is purely good and true. I didn't like it much that Alesia wasn't heard from almost halfway through the story, and then she appears again at the end-she should have been included in some parts of the story, atleast mentioned-she was the chosen one, after all. But otherwise, Alesia is my favorite character.

Lena...I can't say she's my favorite. As for the other minor characters...they're not my favorites either. But Parker is the one character that I completely despise-just waiting for the day that the leader of the untouchables would come, hmm?

But I fully enjoyed the story-just maybe at a little minor part here and there, you can see how rebellious Ethan is. Too rebellious-now if he wasn't accepted back, what would happen then?

Rating

Grade-A-

Why?: The plot was good, but Ethan sounded like such a good character-until the middle and end. We need to know Ethan more in depth. Also, some things aren't exactly clear:how did they study, what did they study particularly? but otherwise, not bad.

In My Mailbox (3)

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Ebooks

Reunion of The untouchables


Chicago Squeeze


Hardcover recieved

Cinders


Thank you to all of the authors who have sent me a copy to review!

Luv,
<3 Beth