Ripley’s Believe it or Not: Enter if You Dare

About the Book: This book is filled with a selection of wacky, crazy and incredible facts. There are also features relating to these facts and interviews with the people associated with the stories included in this book. The book has been newly designed for this new year edition. Within the book, you will find information on how to access the fully-integrated Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Enter if you Dare website, where you can gain access to a plethora of video clips that accompany the book. In the gatefold section, there are eight. amazing pages worth of tales of vampires that are said to be “true”! There are also additional pullouts with amazing, full-size images that are downright shocking!

What Makes it Great: If you asked our son he would say it was because it is filled with odd and interesting facts that are simply unbelievable! He asks for these books every year, so it’s kind of a tradition in our house making sure that he gets them for Christmas. They are always some of his favorite presents every year, too. This makes a great gift for an older child or an adult that likes learning about oddities and things that are too weird to normally be true!

You can learn more about Ripley’s Believe it or Not: Enter if You Dare on the Ripley’s website. You can also purchase this online, at Amazon for under $18.

Guinness World Records 2011

Check out some of the new Guinness features: New to The Guinness Book of World Records 2011 edition is a new design. To usher in the new decade, those behind this infamous book have given it a new, eclectic design with a fun, poster-style motif sure to remind you off the circus, the wild west and there are even pressed WANTED ads. The records are presented GPS style. Starting in Greenwich, London, the starting place of time, Guinness takes us round the world, city by city, to find wild, crazy, and amazing, world record setting feats. There is an extensive glossary, that is bound to help you learn new words, and a selection of spreads on the Space Shuttle being retired this year, the 75th year (Diamond) Anniversary of Television, a Pop Culture Chapter with information on all your favorite movies, comics, manga, graphic novels, DVDs, and more, and, of course, information on Mr. World Record Breaker.

What Makes it Great: It seems silly even filling this section out. Everyone knows what makes the Guinness Book great. Filled with record breaking items, the Guinness Book gives the average guy or gal a chance to be a record holder. I know in our house, every year this is a must-have gift for our son. He’s been collecting the Guinness books ever since he discovered them when he was around five years old and he’s not planning to stop any time soon. The Guinness book is one of those rare gifts that works just as well for an eight year old as it does for an eighty year old!

You can learn more about Guinness 2011 at the Guinness World Records website. You can pick up the Guinness 2011 at Amazon for under $17.

Crave by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz

Description for Crave: The rare blood disorder that Shay was born with has confounded even the most dedicated of doctors, including her step-father, Martin. Shay’s mother married him who was one of her doctors, and he has been trying to figure out both what is wrong with her blood and how to find a cure for Shay. He even stopped work on his world-renowned leukemia research to help Shay. Things change for Shay when she turns 17. Not only is she given new blood transfusions, but she begins to feel stronger. These transfusions comes with a price and soon Shay is having weird visions…visions that include vampires.

What Makes it Great: Vampires are all the rage these days. Normally, I am pretty against them because while I love vampires, I find that writers usually mess them up. Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz do a nice job building characters that we can enjoy. Fans of Roswell might recognize the names Burns and Metz as they used to write for the show prior to creating this book concept. Shay is an interesting, if not sometimes frustrating, character that suffers from a debilitating illness that limits her life. Through a series of events Shay’s life soon changes and the things that happen make it easy to lose yourself in what appears to be the first novel in a future series.

You can learn more about Crave at the Simon and Schuster, where you can purchase the paperback for $9.99. You can also pick this up at book stores and department stores where books are sold.

Slayed by Amanda Marrone

Description for Slayed: Vampire hunting is a legacy for Daphne and her family. The sixteen-year-old is a part of the Van Helsing family of vampire hunters, a tradition dating back hundred of years. Daphne is not thrilled to be passed down such a legacy, especially when her parents are off decapitating vampires for money. Daphne craves normalcy. She’s tired of moving around and wants to settle so she can actually attend school and make friends. Instead, this young vampire has left her fate in the hands of her family, spending her life going from motel to motel, but never without a hefty supply of garlic!

Daphne’s life changes forever when the Van Helsing’s must head to a small coastal town in Maine. These vampires have no fangs, but they enjoy eating small children, a new breed of monster they have never seen. Along the way, she meets and falls for a boy, Tyler Harker, but he is the son of her family’s slaying rivals, so their relationship can never be…or can it?

Tyler Harker, AKA, the son of the rival slayer family. What’s a teen vampire slayer to do?

What Makes it Great: Amanda Marrone has a knack for writing books about teenage girls that have parents that just don’t get where they are coming from. Daphne is seventeen (though I felt she was written slightly younger) and she wants to be normal. Vampire slaying isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be unless you’re Buffy. Making use of the Dracula line of characters, this future tale will make fans of the classic novel curious and it will thrill teenage girls that love fantasy. This is a fun, light-hearted kind of read that goes by relatively quick. Vampire-loving, fantasy enthusiasts should enjoy this young adult novel.

You can learn more about Slayed at the Simon and Schuster website. You can purchase this wherever books are sold. It is currently available in paperback form through the Simon & Schuster website for $9.99.

Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

Description for Crusade: Jenn has been training and living at the Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones in Spain for the past two years. She is one of a select few who have pledged to defend humanity or die in the process. With each passing day, vampires gain power, and the fierce battles she will face against them are just beginning. When a family member dies, Jenn returns to San Francisco, which has become a stronghold for her enemies. Alone without her slaying team, Jenn feels isolated and knows she has put herself at risk just being here. She also misses Antonio, her fighting partner, whom she has fallen for, despite the odds and dangers of having any form of relationship with him. When Jenn faces a massive betrayal, she begins to doubt herself and her cause, but she must rely on her head, her heart, and her training to stay alive.

What Makes it Great: Girls that like a little romance with their violence, fear, and intimidation are going to be mighty fond of Crusade. In a world where vampires reign supreme, ruling the world through violence and fear, there are only a handful of people able to fight the good fight and keep them at bay. As you might imagine, its a fight that these rare vampire hunters probably will not win. While Crusade takes a couple of chapters for some to warm up to, the writing is captivating and the story should prove to be pleasing to the teenage audience that it was written for. Teenagers will appreciate this in their stocking or as a gift because not only will it entertain them, but it’s the first in a new series, so now is the perfect time to pick it up!

Crusade is available at major bookstores and other stores were books are sold. You can learn more about Crusade on the Simon & Schuster website, where the hardcover is available for $16.99.

The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith

Description of The Other Side of Dark: Katie Mullens has gone crazy. She was normal once, before her mother died…before she started filling her sketch pads with insane drawings filled with darkness and blood. Law Walker knew Katie before she went crazy, when she was just your average, talented, artist, but he does not know the truth behind her artwork. Katie sees dead people, in accidents, from suicides and in a variety of other fashions and then she draws them. Law wants to get to know Katie better, even if his father is against this, especially since Katie is white and potentially dangerous. One of the dead people she sees has a secret and Law needs to know it, even if it is more shocking than he anticipated.

What Makes it Great: The Other Side of Dark succeeds on so many levels because the author had the ingenious idea of taking a good old fashioned ghost story and melding it with history, romance, and a nice dose of suspense. Smith’s writing cuts right to the heart of things. She has a way of putting words on a page that let you know exactly how her characters think and feel. This gives the reader a chance to really feel the characters emotions and it enhances the connection between the reader and the book. While I am new to Smith’s books I look forward to reading more of her work as soon as possible!

The Other Side of Dark is available in hardcover format for $16.99 and e-book format. You can learn more about the book at the Simon & Schuster website.

Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

Blank Confession Description: Even in a new town, Shayne Blank is in trouble right away. The new kid on the block, the other kids find him to be weird. Though he seems smart and fearless, there is something that isn’t right concerning his background. Then, one day, Shayne walks into the Police Station in town and confesses to a murder. This shocking revelation leads investigators down the road into an even more complicated series of events than even they could have anticipated.

What Makes it Great: Told through alternating viewpoints, when the new kid in town walks into a police station to confess to being a murderer, it’s up to the reader to get a grasp as to how the new kid got himself into that situation. Hautman is known for his writing skills and with that in mind, this would be a great gift for his fans. The only real downside to this book is that it goes by fairly quickly. It’s not very long, but it is a compelling story and it does not make any attempt to overstay its welcome. If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer and need an intriguing book, this might work out well. It’s the perfect size to peek out of a stocking and it will be an easy read to finish before school is back in session.

You can learn more about Blank Confession on the Simon & Schuster website where it is available for $16.99.

The Mortal Instruments Box Set by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments Boxed Set Description: The Shadowhunters-touched by angels and charged with protecting innocents—battle demons and other evil in the bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

City of Bones: When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons—and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It’s also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

City of Ashes: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? Clary would love to spend more time with her best friend, Simon. But the Shadowhunters won’t let her go—especially handsome, infuriating Jace. Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil—and also Jace’s father. When the second of the Mortal Instruments is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor suspects Jace. Could Jace really be willing to betray everything he believes in to help his father?

City of Glass: To save her mother’s life, Clary travels to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters—never mind that by doing so she is breaking the Law, which could mean death. Even worse, Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by Shadowhunters who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight. Luckily, Clary finds an ally in the mysterious Sebastian, who holds a strange attraction for her. As Valentine musters a demon army, can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their ancient hatred and work together? And can Clary harness her newfound powers to help save them all—whatever the cost?

What Makes it Great: This is the perfect series for a middle or highschooler looking for something new and interesting to keep them busy. I have seen this series compared to the likes of Harry Potter, Twilight, and even Percy Jackson and the Olympians. While I admit, I have not read most of those series, I will say that I loved this one. The world is similar to the others, in that this is a fantasy style book, as well. However, comparing this to Twilight does a great disservice to Cassandra Clare, who seems to have a decent grasp on writing and plenty of talent. With strong characters, a well drawn-out plot, and excellent storytelling The Mortal Instruments set will be sure to please any book addict between the ages of ten and forty.

You can learn more about the Mortal Instruments Boxed Set at the Simon and Schuster website, where you can also purchase it for $26.99.

Garden of Shadows by VC Andrews

Garden of Shadows Description: Before Flowers in the Attic there was a young girl, filled with hope and innocence. That woman was Olivia, soon to be Olivia Foxworth. Despite to feel joy in her life, the happiness she expects to feel from marrying rich and powerful Malcolm Foxworth and living in Foxworth Hall never appears. Malcolm barely pays attention to her, and she is stuck in a gloomy, lonesome, forboding, and huge mansion. With nothing to do but let her emotions fester, life in the Hall sets the stage for an evil that will triumph over the lives of her children, as well as their future generations to come.

What Makes it Great: V.C. Andrews is one of those writers that is so dramatically scandalous you can’t help but want to read her soap opera style of writing. Her characters border on ridiculous at times. No matter what series you are reading you know that someone is going to fall and end up in a wheelchair and there is going to be a plot that includes incest in some form or fashion before the end of the series. I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone that was on the younger spectrum of their teenage years. It contains rape, incest, abuse, and plenty of other adult topics. While the graphic nature of these things are not always laid out, it’s still a pretty scandalous for younger audiences. If you’ve read Flowers in the Attic, this prequel is certainly worth checking out. It will lead you to a much better understanding of how Olivia Foxworth came to be the woman that she ended up being later in life.

Garden of Shadows is a reprint from the original novel which came out in the late 80s. You can pick up either print on Amazon for under ten dollars.

The Dragon’s Apprentice by James A. Owen

Dragon’s Apprentice Description: The sequel to The Shadow Dragons, takes place seven years later. John, Jack and Charles are finally able to make it back to the Archipelago of Dreams. This reunion, though joyous amongst the three and their friends, is overshadowed by the threat of Ecthroi, primordial Shadow, and the threat of the splitting of Time. This trio must travel through a forgotten Door from the Keep of Time, which was destroyed, in the hopes of restoring time. There, they must seek the Dragon’s Apprentice. Failure means the end of both of these worlds, but success comes with its own drama.

What Makes it Great: Our son read the previous book in the series and made us swear that we would get him this one. Since then, he has read it several more times. Despite the high number of pages in these books, time seems to fly when reading them. The writer, James A. Owen has a great grasp on what it is to tell a story, so you will be shocked at how fast reading this will go. If you are buying for someone that has never read the other books in this series, it would do you best to start from the beginning. However, if you know someone that has read the other books and has been waiting for this one, you have to get it for them. Fans of the previous novels will not be disappointed.

You can pick up The Dragon’s Apprentice at Simon & Schuster where it is available for $17.99.

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot & Ruin Description: Benny Imura is more than just your everyday teenager. He is living in a zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America. In this world, it is every teen for himself. Teens must find a job by the time they turn 15 or they end up losing half their rations. Benny is not thrilled at riding shotgun with his older brother, Tom, who is a zombie hunter. Not wanting to lose his rations he has no choice but to become Tom’s apprentice. Thinking the job is going to suck, Benny soon learns there is much more to this job, and being human, especially in this chaotic world he lives in.

What Makes it Great: It’s a zombie book. Do I really need to say more than that? Zombies battle it out against the Bounty Hunters that are there to make some cash by bashing in some zombies. I had no clue who Jonathan Maberry was until reading this, but you can bet I will be keeping him in my sights now that I know what he is capable of writing. This is the first in the series, so get it while its hot. Zombie, horror, and violence/action fans will really enjoy Maberry’s take on the modern day zombie and the cash-for-hire hunters that are trying to get rid of them.

You can pick up Rot & Ruin through the Simon & Schuster website for $17.99.

Technorati Tags: 2010, Holiday Gift Guide, LI Kids, Top Ten, Books, Literature, Teens, Tweens, Reading, Must Have, Holidays, Christmas, Chanukah, Hanukkah, Winter Celebration

When I was given The Magnificent 12: The Call to read for LI Kids, I looked and saw that one of my favorite authors, D.J. MacHale, author of the Pendragon series, had something interesting and positive to say about this book. When I saw this, I knew right away that this was going to be a good book, but as always, I still had a few doubts. I wanted to prepare myself just in case it was not as good as Hale claimed.

Up to this point, I had never read anything by the author, Michael Grant, but I was willing to give this book a chance. One of the main reasons for this is because I like teen fantasy and adventure books. So, when The Magnificent 12: The Call was offered to me, it was an easy decision to make. When I read this novel, I was pleased to find it was both funny and adventurous all at the same time.

Synopsis:
The Magnificent 12: The Call offers the perspectives of two different people, in two different time periods, switching in between parts of the book. In the present, the protagonist, Mack MacAvoy, is chosen to be one of the Magnificent 12, a group of 12, twelve year olds. This group is chosen by Grimluk. Grimluk is an old man, who when he was a twelve year old, personally met the original ‘Magnifica’, as they called them in ancient times. Grimluk was responsible for sentencing the Pale Queen, an evil creature with twelve lives, to The World Beneath for three thousand years. The Pale Queen has a daughter, Ereskigal, who is also known as Risky. Risky, like her mother, is an evil creature with twelve lives, as well.

When Mack starts his adventure, he is in the boy’s bathroom with the school bully, Stefan. When Grimluk appears, Mack is told that he is one of the Magnificent 12. Later in the book, Mack gets a Golem as a friend to take his place as Mack at his house. Then, an old lady gives Mack and Stefan one million dollars from a Swiss bank account, with access to it through two credit cards, iPhones for both of them, and two plane tickets to Australia in order to fulfill their mission.

Trouble begins to brew during the plane trip to Australia, where Mack and Stefan first meet Risky. The plane starts to go down, and later, Mack and Stefan find themselves falling through the sky. The two boys end up landing in the water. Unfortunately, things get quite tense when, stuck in the water, they believea shark is after them. Soon after this, Mack and Stefan reach Australia, where they meet Jarrah, a twelve year-old Australian girl, who Mack finds out is another member of the Magnificent 12.

From here, the story switches perspectives and we learn that the twelve year old Grimluk is married to his wife, Gelidberry. Grimluk lives with his wife, baby son, whose name has not yet been determined, and his two cows in their village. When someone comes to his village saying that the Pale Queen is coming Grimluk and his family are told to flee their home. Grimluk and his family take all their prized possessions, and flee the village to find the Magnifica. Later, Grimluk meets the Magnifica, and battles the Pale Queen. He and the Magnifica bind the Pale Queen for three thousand years to The World Beneath, but, all is not safe because as long as Princess Ereskigal is alive, if the Pale Queen were to die, Ereskigal would get the Pale Queen’s terrible power. So, bound in chains, The Pale Queen goes down to The World Beneath, for three thousand years.

The writing for The Magnificent 12: The Call was great for a pre-teen or older age group. The author said things in a way that this age group could understand without any trouble. The only unusual thing about the writing for this book was the words used for the spells, and the pronunciation of Risky’s actual name, Ereskigal. However, these things have more to do with the fun way things are handled in fantasy novels and not usually the fault of the writing or the author.

The Magnificent 12: The Call costs $16.99 and is being put out by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. I feel it is worth the cost to get this book and it will be great for anyone that is a pre-teen or older. Your pre-teens and teens will like this book, and chances are, so will you.

Final Thoughts:
If I were asked to read this book again, I would. I actually hope I do read it again. This book makes a great beginning to the series, The Magnificent 12. This book had me so interested in the outcome that I can honestly say that I cannot wait to find out how it all will end.

Technorati Tags: The Magnificent 12: The Call, Michael Grant, Pre-Teen, Teen, Teen Fantasy, Adventure, Katherine Tegen Books, HarperCollins Publishers, Book Review, LI Kids

Signing up is just like your traditional movie subscription service, except that you will receive books. You visit the Book Swim website and pick your plan. For this review we were offered the three books at a time plan. Once you’ve signed up it’s time to fill your queue. We didn’t have any problem finding things we wanted to read. Dominick loves Patricia Cornwell books, so we added some of those and CT has expressed an interested in reading the Percy Jackson series, so we added The Lightning Thief to the queue, as well. We added a variety of other books, but the first three we received were two Cornwell novels and The Lightning Thief. This is pretty fitting because they were the first books that we added at the time.

The quality of the books that we received varied greatly, but they were all readable. If you’re used to checking books out at the library you know what I mean. For example, one of the Patricia Cornwell novels looked almost new. On the other hand, the Percy Jackson title looked as close to worn down as it could look without ripping. One of the obvious differences was that the Jackson title was older and it was soft cover not hard cover. Obviously, it was going to be easier to gain that worn look, especially if it was well-read, which this copy seemed to be.

Once the books are read you just put them in the enclosed envelope and attach the shipping label and send them back. All books need to be sent back at the same time. You receive a certain amount at a time and send them back when you’re done. It’s really that simple.

Shipping time didn’t seem to take more than a few days at most. Once we signed up and picked the books we wanted, we had the first set within three days. Return acknowledgment happens within two to three days after you return them and a few days later you have new books. It’s safe to say that within a week or returning your books you will have new ones.

Book Swim offers a variety of membership options based on the amount you read and how fast you do it. The best plan for most is the three books at a time plan, which runs you about $24 a month. It’s worth it because Book Swim gives you the convenience of letting you pick the books you want to read from home. You won’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on books or spend gas money driving around town to get them. You will also save plenty of time and energy in the process. After all, no one has to know that you’re ordering books for the whole family in your pajamas. If you find that you have plenty of readers in your home, Book Swim is a quick and easy solution to getting the books you want at a price you can afford.

Technorati Tags: Book Swim, Rental Service, Product Review, Books, Reading, Rent, Convenient

The Prince of Mist is set around WWII and though it never says where it takes place, one can deduce the Carver family lives in England. They escape the city in 1943, to get away from the war. There are also hints it is set in England, as the children call their mother, Mum. While I find the overall story quite good, the wording for The Prince of Mist is a bit off. Other works by Zafón have translated with better success, such as The Shadow of the Wind, which is why I am slightly disappointed with this. Some of the language is a bit stilted and the transitions aren’t quite as smooth as they should be.

The protagonist is 13 year old Max Carver. It is early summer and Max’s birthday, when his father, Maximilian Carver, tells his family that he is moving all of them out of the city to a small town by the sea. The move will happen the next day, and though everyone is initially shocked, the others quickly accept these changes. Max, on the other hand, worries about his friends, the life he knows and cannot sleep. He realizes quickly that the move is also hard on his father, an eccentric watchmaker, who does not sleep a wink that night either, as he worries about whether this is the right move for his family, or not.

Max is the middle child, and only boy. His younger sister, eight-year-old Irina and his older sister, sixteen-year-old Alicia, bicker constantly and things get worse as they arrive at their new home. Waiting for them at the station is a cat that Irina insists upon keeping. Max also notices something odd about the station. The clock there is moving backwards. Thus begins a strange journey of living in a sleepy little town with hidden, terrifying secrets.

Though Max makes a friend quickly in seventeen-year-old Roland, the adopted grandson of the lighthouse keeper, Victor Kray, who also hits it off with Alicia, bringing her out of a massive funk, their lives seem complicated by the mysteries hidden in the Carvers’ new house. The house was built by Dr. Benjamin Fleischmann for his wife, Eva. The two eventually had a son, Jacob, but he died by drowning at age 7. After that, Dr. Flesichmann died and nobody knows where Eva went.

Max is intrigued by a locked gate full of stone statues and home videos they find filmed by Jacob Fleishmann. These seem to be the key to unlocking the puzzle. It will be up to Victor Kray, who was the lone survivor of a shipwreck off the coast of the town, to help them put the pieces together. When The Orpheus sank in 1918, Victor Kray was lucky enough to escape. However, he holds many secrets about what happened, why it sank and how it relates to the strange happenings at Max’s house. He also happens to know about Cain. Cain is bad news. He’s the Prince of Mist, and he’s about to make his resurrection with his sights set on Max, Alicia and Roland.

The story moved at a fairly fast pace. I don’t recall much swearing or bad language, so parents squeamish about giving their pre-teens and teens books filled with nasty words can be rest assured this book is fairly clean. As for sexual content, it really is limited. There is some minor kissing and making out. Where the imagination goes from there is up to the reader, but nothing further is spelled out. It really wouldn’t have enhanced the story to go any further with it anyway. In all, there is mention of kissing on one or two pages.

Honestly, I enjoyed reading The Prince of Mist. The story kept me intrigued and wanting to know more. I don’t want to say it was predictable, but I did guess what could have potentially happened (and did happen) before the end of the book. I don’t think it is that obvious, but readers should have the thought of maybe this could happen by 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the book. My big problem is the flow of the language. Again, I must stress that I believe some of this got lost in translation.

While adults can enjoy this as much as young adults, I feel that the problems with translation, which cause a lack of smooth transitions and stilted dialogue, will dissuade most adults from giving this book a chance. Still, it is worth the read for Zafón’s ideas alone.

Book Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: The Prince of Mist, Little Brown, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Book Review, Reading, Young Adult, Fiction

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi not only reaffirms my belief, it makes me want to continue reading novels in the young adult genre. Apparently, this is the first young adult novel for Bacigalupi though he has won awards for previous work that he’s done in other genres. I think the thing that I liked the most about Ship Breaker is that while the main characters are children, this is a novel that just about anyone interested in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy realm could appreciate. The kids have a very adult feel to them because the world they live in, while similar, is far different than the one that your children could relate to or understand. This is a novel that is filled with excellent writing, engaging characters and a strong plot that takes you on a roller coaster ride from beginning to end.

The problem with a fantasy novel, specifically when reviewing one, is offering some of the story without giving too much away. Often the best part of fantasy is revealing this new world for the first time and learning about it with each turn of the page. Keeping this in mind, there are some things that can easily be told without ruining anything for the reader.

Nailer, is a teenage boy, somewhere around the age of 13-15 years old. He isn’t sure how old he is, but he knows that he’s not older than his best friend Pima, a hard as nails girl that he has grown up with on the beach where they live. In the Gulf Coast region of the South, life as we know it is a different experience. Oil is a hot, and often rarely found commodity. Oil tankers no longer carry crude. Instead they lay on the beaches and are disassembled by light and heavy crew. Nailer and Pima work light crew together. While Pima is the boss of the crew, Nailer is still small enough to be able to climb through the various caverns of the tanker, stripping copper to make quota.

More than anything, Nailer dreams of making it off of the beach where he scrounges for copper and wishes for a better life. He dreams of a place where he can have a good meal when he’s hungry and where he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder for his dad that knocks him around when he’s sliding. He dreams of sailing away on a clipper ship, the boats that only swanks and the extremely lucky crew have access to. However, after a storm, a clipper ship lands in Nailer’s lap, along with a huge amount of scavenge. The scavenge includes a girl around his age that needs to rely on Nailer to survive. It’s up to Nailer to make the choice to strip the ship and take everything he can for himself and his family or to save the lone survivor on the ship and risk his life for the prospect of a better one.

I don’t normally recommend a YA novel to everyone, but in this case that is what I am going to do. If you love to read, I highly recommend you check out Ship Breaker. This is a fabulous novel that ends in a perfectly resolved manner. The only complaint I have is that I feel like this ended too soon. I will miss Nailer and his crew, although, I am sure this was just my first time of many to actually read this great of a book.

Technorati Tags: Nailer, Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi, Young Adult, Novel, Book Review, Swank, Clipper Ship, Oil

Snakes Don’t Miss Their Mothers

The story begins with the adoption of Placido, a one eyed Siamese cat. From the moment Placido is adopted, there are bets on how long it will be before he will return to the shelter. You see, this was not Placido’s first placement. In fact, there were many before this nice new family, according to Irving, a 12-year old German Short-haired Pointer, a lifetime shelter resident who just loves watching the adoption interviews.

Placido moves to live with a child performer and her widowed father on a houseboat. Surprisingly enough, he fits in nicely. However, he leaves behind many friends who we are able to get to know. We meet Goldie (Rex), a yellow Lab who is separated from his family, but eventually finds his way home, Marshall a King Snake who has never had the pleasure of meeting his mother, and Catherine an old, retired Greyhound. Finally, we have Irving the loyal Critters shelter pet.

This holiday is full of surprises and involves the entire gang and even some humans too. There will be some betting, some adventure, and a whole lot of fun. If your child is an animal lover they will simply love this book that is centered on the animals first and last on the humans, who make nice side characters.

M.E. Kerr has a way of writing the perfect older children’s book. Offering humor, drama, and a caring nature, Snakes Don’t Miss Their Mothers has something for all animal loving kids. There is just the right amount of description, easy to understand, vivid passages, and a writing style that is sure to please.

Snakes Don’t Miss Their Mothers is listed as being appropriate for eight to twelve year old children. We had our 12 year old son read it and he loved it. He read it in one day and got plenty of laughs from the scenarios presented in the book. For alone reading we definitely agree with the age assessment. However, if you wanted to read this to a child it would be easily understood by younger ages, as well.

Bottom Line: If you like animals and want the experience of having plenty of animals with you, even if they are on paper instead of in your home, then Snakes Don’t Miss Their Mothers is a perfect pick for your family. Kid’s will love it and it will save you the trouble of having all of those animals at home!

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Technorati Tags: Snakes Don’t Miss Their Mothers, By: M.E. Kerr, book review

You can read this book as a family, or assign it to an older child in homeschool or for extra reading practice. We read this with our son who is home schooled and 12 years old. From the first page until the last he was entertained. In fact, he didn’t want to put it down.

He found the information to be interesting and it brought up some questions that we answered about slavery and the times when Wheatley was alive. Many of the spots had him laughing and reading on his own when we planned to take a break.

As an educational supplement, a home schooling addition, or a traditional book kids can read on their own time, most kids will love this book. Phillis Wheatly is excellent because you have the benefit of reading, which is fun for many children, but it also allows children to learn something historical, as well.

This is a good book to show children that not all slaves were treated poorly and that there were slaves that were able to make an impact on society. They were able to become something and they also were able to learn and grow despite their oppression.

Teaching younger children about slavery can be hard because of the harsh conditions, but adding something like Phillis Wheatley into the fray will offer a positive spin to the information, and make it easier for children to process the information.

Phillis Wheatley tops out at 119 pages and at the end there is a list of fun facts about Phillis, information about the time she lived, and a few definitions that may not have made sense to the children reading this book. This addition really adds to the book because the first question our son asked, was “What happened next?”

From an adult standpoint, I can say that before this book I knew little about Phillis Wheatley. I learned quite a bit of information about Wheatley and for the most part I was very entertained. As a history major I felt it offered plenty of information without being overbearing.

Bottom Line: The illustrations and writing presented in Phillis Wheatley: Young Revolutionary Poet will prove to be beneficial for children of all ages. The book was entertaining, enlightening, and educational. Additionally, it gives people an excellent chance to learn about a wonderful and perhaps, underrated poet.

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Technorati Tags: Young Patriot Series, Phillis Wheatley, Young Revolutionary Poet, childrens book, Patria Press