The Throne of Fire

    Rick Riordan has again outdone himself with this addition to the Kane Chronicles, The Throne of Fire. After reading the first book I wasn't sure he would be able to pull off a book as good as the first, but he definitely proved me wrong. This fiction and action-packed book left me wanting more after every chapter. This is a sequel as I mentioned before and you will definitely need to read the first book to understand this one. This book is about a brother and sister named Carter and Sadie Kane who are very powerful Egyptian magicians. They work together to fight the forces of Chaos and have to do a lot of it on their own. It is definitely a very fun and exciting book!

    As I said before, Carter and Sadie are young Egyptian magicians who study their magic at their uncle's home. Being blood of the Pharaohs, Sadie and Carter are very powerful but because of that power they are often in extreme danger. Carter receives a vision that the world will be destroyed in just 4 days because the overall master of Chaos Apophis is rising. If Carter and Sadie can't awaken the long rested king of the gods Ra soon, the entire world will be destroyed by the evil serpent Apophis and his forces of Chaos. 

    Carter and Sadie are challenged with this very dangerous quest and accept it knowing that they could easily die and fail. In order to awaken Ra they must first find the heavily protected sections of the Book of Ra. Without much knowledge on where to find the sections, Carter and Sadie travel with a new friend named Bes. Bes is the god of dwarfs and helps Carter and Sadie on their quest and he helps them search for the sections of the Book of Ra. Throughout the quest the Kanes are tested and pushed to their limits. They battle demons and even gods who side with the forces of chaos. Carter and Sadie face some of their hardest challenges, and it definitely makes this book very intriguing. 

    This book is definitely one of the most interesting books I've read. Learning about the Egyptian mythology and the many different things their culture had is one of my favorite parts about reading this series. I love how Riordan uses real events that have happened on this earth and has given reasons of how magic forces caused them and that what we think is completely wrong. That great imagination is really one of the reasons I think I like this book so much. It is very entertaining and the humor that Riordan adds just makes the book that much better. 

    I seriously enjoyed reading this book and it was very entertaining. The great mythology and crazy magic is such an interesting thing and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun book to read. Just remember to read the first book in the series before you read this one!

    

The Jungle

    The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, begins with the wedding of two Lithuanian immigrants, Ona Luzoskiate and Jurgis Rukdus (I probably butchered their names, no pun intended), near the meatpacking district of Chicago in 1906. Many of the guests gorge themselves with food without paying. Ona becomes concerned about how much the wedding will cost them, and Jurgis vows to pick up another job to make extra cash. However, the jobs in the meatpacking district of Chicago pay far below any reasonable minimum wage, and the workers suffer from horrible conditions, as the companies put profit ahead of worker safety.
    Jurgis and his family go on a tour of the meatpacking district, and even the shocking images there of the animals suffering and being slaughtered in the abattoirs were enough to dwindle Jurgis' optimism. It is revealed that the government inspector that is supposed to supervise the carcasses and check for diseases, such as tuberculosis, often lets several of them go unchecked, out of sheer laziness. The spoiled meat is doctored in secret before it is sent to the canning department.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY BE SOMEWHAT GRAPHIC IN CERTAIN PARTS, DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ARE
     Jurgis' first job is sweeping the entrails of slaughtered cattle and pigs through trapdoors. Although the stench is horrendous, he earns just over two dollars for every twelve hour work shift. Jurgis even ends up enjoying his job, and he doesn't understand how the other workers hate their jobs and bosses. He does not join the labor union, which is lobbying for a reduction in the fast work pace. He believes the other workers are quite simply lazy. Jurgis also discovers that a lot of unfit meat, including calf fetuses and animals that had died of disease, were slaughtered and packed along with the rest of the meat.

    As winter approaches, many of the workers in Packingtown die from hypothermia on the meatpacking production line, literally, their bodies right next to the bodies of slaughtered cattle. The companies failed to provide the workers with adequate heating. Many of the workers also die from disease on the production line. So imagine that, dead people with diseases in their body in an abattoir. There were also some people whose limbs and phalanges fell in to some of the meat... and it was canned with the meat...

    The real estate company has also trapped the family in a scheme involving a house that was advertised as a for sale, but given to them as a rental. Their wedding has also put them over one hundred dollars in debt. The house they were given was also not in the condition in which it was advertised, and is somewhat overpriced.

    Okay, I-I'm sorry, but I can't write the summmary anymore. The book was just so... informative... I honestly believe that it was necessary, because had it not been published, there would be no FDA. There would also be no laws about worker conditions. But it also made me physically ill to read, I'm not exaggerating. Even writing this is making my hands shake. I also did some research on the book, and the president, Theodore Roosevelt, called Sinclair a 'crackpot' for his socialist point of view. I also was surprised at how the immigrants were treated, and it is somewhat sad, because even though we don't do THIS (all of the above) to immigrants today, we still often treat them as second class citizens, which is wrong no matter who you are. I would have to give this book an A+ for informing the public, but also a B+ for making me sick. So that averages out to about an A- I think. I definitely recommend it if you have a strong stomach.

Golden

    Golden

 Cameron Dokey

    This is the story of Rapunzel. She is kind, gentle, meek, and bald. Yep, you read right... she's completely bald. Her mother craved the herb rapunzel when she was pregnant, so her father stole some from the sorceresses garden. The sorceres of course caught him, and asked for something in return. The deal was that the mother could have as much  rapunzel as she wanted until she gave birth, but when she did give birth she must swear to love her just as the baby is and what she becomes. If not then the sorceress would claim the child as payment for stealing the rapunzel from her garden. Of course her mother gave birth to a bald child and said that she couldn't love her because she wasn't beautiful. The sorceress, Melisande, took the child away to live with her.

       Now I know what your thinking, "Oh no, this child is going to have an awful life, she's living with a sorceress..." but that is not true in any sense. Melisande was a wonderful guardien. The child she took she named Rapunzel, (fancy that) and she never grew any hair. Ever.  Rapunzel grew up kind, gentle, meek, and yes. bald.

       One day, a tinker comes to visit Melisande and Rapunzel. With him, he brought a boy. This boy was the same age as Rapunzel and  named Harry. (I promise that you will learn to like Harry as a character. He is so cool.) Rapunzel catches Harry trying to escape one night and confronts him. He tells her that he was trying to get back to a normal life and that the Tinker took him away from his dead parents. Rapunzel convinced hime to stay and they became fast and good friends.

       So the story continues and Rupunzel and Harry grow up and became close. (No, Rapunzel still has not grown any hair.) Then the story tilts and a huge dramatic scene takes place between Rapunzel and Melisande. Melisande evidently has another daughter. She is trapped in a tall tower and has to wait for someone to come and rescue her. (sound familiar?). Melisande's daughter, Rue, has to wait for true love to set her free. Rapunzel agrees to help her, and calls out to Rue. "One so fair, let down your hair and let me go from here to there." All of a sudden this huge long braid comes down from the top of the tower and Melisande and Rapunzel climbe up.
       So if I say anymore, I will spoil the story. You'll just have to read it for yourself. This book is not like your stereo typical Rapunzel story. For one thing, she's bald, and another, there is a purpose behind the writing of this book which I thought was interesting. Many members in Cameron Dokey's, the author, family suffer from alopecia atreata, an autoimmune skin disease which can result in the loss of all hair on the body. Her brother's daughters both had this disease and aksed Dokey if she could do a version of Rapunzel where she doesn't have any hair. Dokey obviously accepted, and it turned out to be a hit. So this book is a great read, but it also has sentimental value to it which is awesome.
       I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was creative, entertaining, up beat, and enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone who loves romance, fairy tales, values, and hair :). I would give this book an A-. It was very good, and was written well.

Fablehaven

     Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. Fablehaven is a fantasy, mystery book. It starts out when two kids named Seth and Kendra go and visit their grandparents while their parents go on a vacation. While there they realize their grandma hasn't been seen in a while. However Kendra and Seth's grandpa gives them a lot of clues to reveal a mystery and also get to take care of a chicken. When they drink this special milk, they finally get to see the land of Fablehaven. Fablehaven is like a home for creatures that are magical or that you wouldn't ever see. Now something bad has happened in Fablehaven and it's only up to Kendra, Seth, and Grandpa to save the world.
     
      This book was clever and was exciting. I couldn't stop reading, because they always would leave you hanging. I think the author was trying to tell us the importance of looking at things differently and also to be careful with the environment. I enjoyed this book a lot. it was very suspenseful and fun to read. Next I am going to read the next book.
   
      Overall, I thought this book was well written and was exciting to read. The only problem is a couple of chapters are slow. However that is like most books. I would give this book an A- because of what I said earlier. I would recommend this book for people who like fantasy stories.

Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz

      Alex Rider returns in the third installment of the Alex Rider series. For those of you who don't know the story so far, let me get you up to speed.
      Alex Rider lives in Great Britain in the modern age. He lived with his uncle, Ian Rider, due to his parents' death, and their housekeeper, Jack Starbright. Well, he used to. He still lives in Great Britain, but things have changed. Ian Rider was shot and killed, and up until his death, Alex had no idea that Ian worked for MI6, Britain's Intelligence agency. That explained the long trips that Ian always took. Ian had raised Alex teaching him skills he needed for spy work. Now, Alex works with MI6, though he despises doing it. He has definitely proved himself useful after saving the world - twice - from madmen.
      Now he must do it again. General Alexei Sarov, a Russian general, purchased uranium for a nuclear weapon, though no one knows for sure what he will use it for - or if he even HAS a nuclear weapon. Working with two CIA agents, Alex must pose with the agents as a family to enter Skeleton Key, a Cuban island where Sarov resides. Time is running thin as Sarov's plans with the nuclear weapon draw nearer to a conclusion...
      Stormbreaker, book 1, and Point Blank, book 2, were both far from a disappointment. Book 3 was better than both of them. Horowitz was able to quickly draw me into the story with a gripping introduction to the book. All the way through the book, every chapter except for the first 3, maybe, tensed, forcing me to keep reading. With some action packed in every chapter, how can you not continue? Horowitz's skill to build rising action is phenomenal. It very gradually built higher and higher until the book ended with a huge bang. The penultimate chapter ends leaving the reader hanging on a cliff, but brings them back up, so to speak, in the conclusion.
      There was one major flaw in the book, though. For the third time in a row, Horowitz has focused the theme on one person basically wanting to rule the world. Stormbreaker - it was a man who wanted revenge, and to be able to rule the world. Point Blank - Dr. Grief, doing something quite strange, in order to take over all of the large corporations of the world. And now, Skeleton Key, with Sarov ALSO wanting revenge on an entire country and the ability to rule the world. I sure hope that Eagle Strike, book 4, isn't like that...
      Despite its one flaw in the theme, the benefit, like previous Alex Rider book, far outweighs the negative. I'd give this book an A-, due to the repetetive theme. Otherwise, this book was fantastic, and I highly reccommend it to eager readers and not-so-eager readers alike. A job well done yet again. Nice, Horowitz!

Ender's Game

Ender’s Game is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is the youngest child in the Wiggin family. Ender was part of an Earth program to produce some of the most brilliant officers and became a third child. Ender was constantly teased as a "third" since there was a limitation of a two-child policy. He had a close relationship with his sister Valentine, but feared his brother Peter, loved manipulating and tormenting him.  

Ender has had a monitoring device as long as he has remembered. The monitor has acted as a source of protection and guidance. However, when he has this device removed he is now vulnerable to everything.

            Battle School is in a facility outer space where the most talented children are trained to fight against an alien species known as buggers. Both Peter and Valentine have gone to Battle School, but were sent back after a few years in the program. To Ender’s surprise, he was also accepted into Battle School and was faced with the decision to either stay on Earth with his family or help fight against the buggers.

            In Battle School Ender quickly surpasses his fellow classmates and was placed with an older group of boys, his capabilities were overlooked until he lead his team to victory. Ender is soon promoted to a squad leader to some of the youngest cadets in the school. However, with the disadvantage of inexperienced classmates, Ender is able to lead his squadron to victory and the competition. Many squads try to mimic his battle tactics, but Ender is able to come up with new tactics every time. Even with his success, Ender soon finds the game unfair and no longer wants to participate.

            I absolutely loved reading this book and found the story of preparing kids for a battle that may no longer exists a very interesting plot. Some topics that Card brought up throughout the book include: family, friendship, strengths and skills, identity conflicts, trust, and individual needs versus the common good.

            I do want to warn the reader that there is quite a bit of foul language throughout the book and should be considered before reading. Also I’d like to point out that a film of Ender’s Game will be coming out on November 1, 2013. I look forward to watching the film and see how the book was interpreted. I challenge anyone who hasn’t read Ender’s Game to read it soon, and I hope that they are able to enjoy reading it as much as I have.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night is a book about the holocaust, so if you're interested in that, then go ahead and read it, but if I were to describe this book in one word it would be: horrible.

Eliezer (or Elie... he's a boy) lived in Transylvania, Romania with his father, mother, and 3 sisters. A Jew from his town, called Moshe the Beadle was deported in 1942, and returned to warn everyone in town about the Germans and the horrible things he saw. No one believes him, not even Elie, but him and his family are taken to Auschwitz. There, the family is separated, boys from girls. Elie and his father see that people  and particularly babies are being thrown into a fire at the crematory. One of the most memorable parts of the story for me is where the Germans go around camp looking for the strongest men. Elie hopes they will choose him so he can get away from the camp for a while. He does not get chosen, and later when he finds out what happened he is glad. A "strong" man returns and says that he was forced to throw people into the fire, and one of those people was his own father.

The prisoners move to Buna, a different camp, after a short stay at Auschwitz. With difficult times in concentration camps Elie is always questioning his faith in God.  Him and his father survive beatings and selections of who will be burned in the crematory. They go on train rides where people murder each other for scraps of bread. In the winter, the prisoners are relocated, and they go on a long march in the snow. Elie and his father support each other, but later he becomes focused on his own survival. The difficult march takes them to Buchenweld, where his father falls terribly ill (SPOILER and eventually dies a really terrible, haunting death which I will not describe because you have to read it to find out. But that death has stuck with me... END OF SPOILER) Of course, he got out of the camp, or else he wouldn't be able to write the book, but I recommend you read it to find out how.

So, this book was different... I think the Holocaust is really interesting, but I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in a concentration camp. Based on his descriptions, it's amazing that Elie suvived. I've read Anne Frank, but this book is not really like that.

I can't exactly decide how I feel about the book though. Night definitely had it's flaws. First off, it was difficult to follow the characters. Elie and his father weren't bad, but he met so many other people, and they all had name's I've never heard of. He'd mention someone that he met earlier and I can't even remember who they were and when he met them. To add to that, it's a bit harder language. Not really hard, you can tell what's going on (unlike Treasure Island. I was clueless through that whole book!). But you've got to focus. Doze off for a few seconds, and you've missed something.

This was not a boring book. It was very interesting. There was never any boring chapters. It was hard to read because it was so sad. Ellie is great at describing what happened and how he felt, and it's not happy. So the reason I described it as horrible was not because it was bad, the stuff that happened in it was horrible, you know? I learned a lot of new things about concentration camps and those places are truly horrible. It was actually hard for me to read this book because there was some stuff I just didn't want to know about. To think something that terrifyingly bad happened to normal people! I've learned about the holocaust and researched it, but it's still hard for me to wrap my head around it because of how horrible it was. That's the best word to describe it, really!

I'll add a few more words to describe Night, and to sum up: well written, interesting, depressing, insightful, descriptive, difficult. I guess I would recommend it because it's a new experience, and I've never read anything like it. A-

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

     Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is the third book by James Patterson in the Maximum Ride series. I thought it was a great book loaded with action as well as wit. I think it might be the best book in the series so far.
     Max and her family of friends are the product of crazy scientists who grafted bird DNA into them. Ever since they escaped the awful place they were born and raised, the "flock" has merely tried to live. (If you want to know more, look at the book review of the first book, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment) At the beginning of the book, the bird kids are on the run from the crazy scientists and a worldwide company called Itex. Itex has an insane plan to kill every human in the world with imperfections and problems and to create genetically improved people instead. Itex wants to do this because they think that the world has become really polluted because there are too many people in it. They created Max and the bird kids, but now that Max knows about their plan, she has set out on a mission to stop it. While on her quest, she and the bird kids are captured and put in an Itex prison.
      While she is stuck there, an old enemy returns named Ari. Ari is part wolf and has tried to kill Max on numerous occasions, but now he has gone good, or so Max thinks. Ari helps them escape, but Fang, one of the bird kids, doesn't trust Ari. Because of this, the flock splits up. This is a huge problem. While they are apart, it becomes harder and harder to be safe, and the bird kids are in more danger than ever. The only trick up their sleeves is Fang's blog to spread the word about Itex all around the world to help save the planet.
     I liked with many of the themes in this book. One of the biggest themes in this book is that pollution is bad, but there are answers to put a stop to it. Pollution plays a big roll in the book. One of the other main themes is that giving someone a second chance pays off. The bird kids give Ari a second chance, as well as a man named Jeb who betrayed them, and it ends up being for the best. I liked the themes, but there were some loudly expressed opinions that I didn't agree with and didn't seem neccessary to the plot, but I enjoyed the book enough to look past those things.
     Although this book may not be my favorite, it is definitely worth the time to read. I thought it was very creative and interesting. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is another great hit for James Patterson.
    

The Scorch Trials

     The Scorch Trials, written by James Dashner, is the second book in the Maze Runner Trilogy.  In the first book, The Maze Runner, teenagers are put into a maze to test their skills.  Their goal is to try to get out of the maze.  These teenagers are called gladers.  After the gladers make it out of the maze in the first book they are taken by unknown people to a "safe place".  All the gladers are so happy that they are out of the maze and are safe.  They go to bed with the thought of it being all over, but they couldn't be more wrong!

     The Scorch Trials begins with the main character, Thomas, sleeping.  Thomas has a friend named Teresa.  Thomas and Teresa can speak to each other in their minds.  While he sleeps, Thomas' mind hears that she has been taken again by other people.  Suddenly loud screams come bursting from outside of his room.  He wakes up and sees zombie like people outside the windows of the room.  Thomas gathers up the gladers and decide that they should leave the room.  They open the door and it is pitch black!  They feel like they are running into something, and turn on the lights.  There are dead bodies hung from their feet.  They keep going and find where Teresa is supposed to be, but instead they find the name Aris next to Teresa's door.  They go inside the room and find a boy that is all alone.  He tells the gladers that there were two mazes and he was in group B.  Instead of a ton of boys and one girls, in his maze there was him and a ton of girls.  Then the gladers walk outside and the bodies are gone and right away they know that they are being watched.  A couple days latter a man appears in the main part of the building and tells them that they have caught a disease called the flare and that they need to find the cure.  He tells them that they need to get to a place called the safe haven.  Although that seems easy, they have difficult challenges ahead.  Right away the gladers know that this is just another silly test.
     This was a great book that interested me very much.  One night I read 160 pages straight just because it was so entertaining.  Books aren't usually what I do for leisure time, but this book was my leisure time.  Instead of watching television, computer, or video games I chose to read.  In the past month James Dashner became my favorite author.  It seems to me that he knows me, and what I like to read.  This book made me think about how our country would be like if people didn't work together, and if we didn't have our freedom.  It made me appreciate our country's government, although it isn't perfect.

     All in all, this book was an amazing book.  It was very interesting and mind blowing how an author can create a whole different world for his readers.  I would encourage you to read the Maze Runner trilogy because I know that it will fascinate you like it fascinated me. 

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

(warning! Possible spoilers!)

    This book is told from the point of view of Lena Haloway, a seventeen year old girl living in the town of Portland, Maine in the future United States. In the future, love is seen as a disease. They have named this disease "Amor Deliria Nervosa", but many people just call it the deliria. Lena is afraid of the disease, mainly because her mother committed suicide do to the affects of it. However, she is counting the days until she receives her cure, a surgery which can make you immune to the deliria, when she turns eighteen years old. Then, in a strange turn of events, Lena meets a boy by the name of Alex Sheathes, who is cured, while she and her friend Hana Tate are on a run. They have met once before, when Lena received her evaluation, which was disastrous. Lena then begins to fall in love with Alex, but she is blind to it because of her knowledge Alex is cured. But when Alex reveals to Lena he in fact not cured, and was born in The Wilds (where those who resist the cure live), she is terrified for her life. 

   Delirium is a wonderful book. I absolutely adored the idea and also the well development of characters in it as well. It is well written, adventurous, and romantic all in one. There is a lot of swearing in the book, including the mother of all curse words twice. There is also one love scene where it gets a little steamy, but nothing much really happens. Overall, Delirium was fabulous, but it did have a little short of an ending and some inappropriate scenes. In the end, I give this book and A-.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Over the past few years there have been many prequels to popular series. Puss in boots, Prometheus, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Star Trek. This book however is the prequel to one of the greatest Disney movies of all time. Peter Pan. This book titled Peter and the Star catchers, starts out with five orphan boys being dropped off by a carriage to a port. They board a ship that will take them across the sea. Peter is the leader of these boys. While aboard Peter meets a girl named Molly, and discovers a magical trunk that gives the power of flight. While trying to break in and look at the trunk again Molly stops Peter and tells him about her father and how they are part of a secret organization that protects the stuff in the trunk, also known as Starstuff. This book also switches points of view with Peter, Black Stache, a.k.a. Captain Hook, and Molly's Father. While trying to purse the treasure Black Stache hijacks another ship that unfortunately for him had a fake trunk aboard. He soon figures it out and goes after the ship that Peter and Molly are on. When Black Stache gets there Peter has been thrown overboard but survives. After taking the ships crew captive Black Stache leaves the ship and the rest of its passengers to die. The ship capsizes and falls apart.

Molly uses the star stuff and escapes, both Peter and Molly safely get to an island, as do all of the other boys and Black Stache. The boys encounter natives, and face their laws. After escaping they locate the trunk and start back to the beach. They encounter survivors, and Black Stache. In a final battle Peter faces Black Stache and cuts off his hand which is then eaten by the crocodile. The natives host them for a dinner and Peter decides to stay on the island.

I really this book although it did start out a little slow. At first it was boring but that was before the rising action started. I recommend it to those who like Peter Pan as well as fiction. This book reminded me of  a few others because of its theme. It greatly incorporated it. But because of the slow start and a few other things, it could have been better. A-

 

City of Fallen Angels by: Cassandra Clare was, as always, a beautifully written book. Being the fourth book of the series and having such high expectations after the third, it did not disappoint. *SPOILERS*

            This book begins a few months after where the third left off. Everything is serene. Valentine and Sebastian are dead. Clary and Jace are officially a couple, and Jocelyn and Luke are getting married. Finally. It seems as if nothing could disturb the peace. They had never been so wrong. Shadowhunters have been found dead in several territories with no known suspects. Also, Simon is being hunted by mysterious hooded figures that would go to dangerous lengths to please their master. Camille has returned to take back her place on top of Manhattan. Simon, who still struggles with his existence as a downworlder, is fighting for his life to keep out of the reach of power hungry vampires.

            But Simon is not the only one having troubles. Jace who seemed to finally be free of his past is now sucked into something even worse that he can imagine. A great and ancient power has returned with dark plans for Jace and is not going to let anyone get in their way.

            Clary, now expanding her skills and knowledge as a shadowhunter, digs deep into the secrets of the past. Clary finds that Lilith, the first demon, has returned to raise Sebastian. Clary must stop at nothing to keep her from succeeding.

            Without spoiling the ending to much, this book was amazing and came together very well. What’s a good book without a killer cliffhanger?

            This book really goes to show that no love is perfect. Every character has a story and must learn to overcome the obstacles laid out before them. All in all, life and love are not easy.

             This book is filled with tragic romance, betrayal, suspense, and of course, sarcasm. Although, it was slow in some parts, I still enjoyed it. The world of angels lies before you in this book and I definitely recommend the series. I do have to warn you that there are intense kissing scenes and mild profanity. Not to worry, it was an amazing book and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly suggest you do.

 

The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde

You should be able to tell what The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde is about from the title: a collection of all the fairy tales that Wilde wrote, which includes two books, The Happy Prince and Other Tales and A House of Pomegranates. The stories are around ten pages each, and all have interesting and meaningful morals. I am going to write about  one short story in particular, and then on Wilde's writing.

My favorite story from the whole of the book was "The Nightingale and the Rose," a heartbreaking tale of death and lost love. Actually, love was crushed by a wagon wheel in the icky gutter in this story. It opens with a lovesick student's cries of despair: the professor's daughter will only dance with him if he brings her a red rose, but there is no such flower to be found in the student's garden. A nightingale pities the student in his distress, and decides she must find him a red rose to take to the professor's daughter. Unfortunately, the only way to get a red rose is for the bird to press her heart against a thorn of the dead red rose bush and sing all night, which would cost the nightingale her life, but she does it anyway, for the sake of love. In the morning, the bird is dead, but the student takes the rose to the girl. Here's the horrible part: the girl says, when presented with the most beautiful rose ever to grow on this earth, "I'm afraid it will not go with my dress," and throws the flower in the gutter, so the student gives up on love and goes back to philosophy. The theme here is... love is stupid? Love only leads to death and philosophy is better? I don't know, to be honest. I think that love is beautiful and necessary to true happiness in this life, and many of Wilde's other stories in the book come to that conclusion, but this one does not. Perhaps "The Nightingale and the Rose" is something of a retelling of one of Wilde's personal experiences with love... (This is the part where you stop reading and comment, because I could actually use some insight here. Anyone?) Anyway, whether with or without a moral, the story was lovely to read, as well as all the others. Which brings me to the next topic...

I found all of Wilde's stories to be beautifully written, and thoroughly enjoyed most of them, whether sad or amusing. The problem I had while reading this book was that the language was a little difficult, and though it wasn't hard enough that I couldn't understand the stories or appreciate them, the fact that I occasionally had to look up words or infer their meaning sometimes took away from the stories in and of themselves. However, this may not be an issue for some, and may deter others from giving Wilde's work a chance. Also, I found that there wasn't as much room for characterization in the short stories as there is in a novel, so I missed the connection between myself and the characters which I so love in books usually. All in all, though, I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who is okay with a measure of sadness and is up for the slightly challenging language. A-

Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen

     This book is a sequel to Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans. Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen starts just after the previous book ends. Having escaped the Elgen Academy in Pasadena, and adding new friends and members, Michael Vey and the rest of the Electroclan are on their way back to Idaho. They succeeded in shutting down the academy, but they didn't find Michael's mother, who in fact wasn't being held at the academy. So, the Electroclan tries to find where she is being kept. Grace, one of the electric kids with the ability to download and store data like a flash drive, downloaded data from the Elgen's mainframe. The Electroclan hopes to find out where Michael's mother is, and they find out she is being kept in an Elgen facility in Peru. That's when they begin planning her rescue. Through most of this, Michael Vey and the Electroclan have been receiving help from an anonymous person calling them. The caller gives them transport to a place nearby the Elgen Starxource plant in Peru, where they execute the plan. Michael gets captured as the Electroclan escapes, but is freed when the rest of the Electroclan destroys the plant. The book ends as Michael Vey tries to find them.
     I enjoyed this book and I would give it an A-.

           Catching Fire is the second book of Suzanne Collins hunger games trilogy. The book starts with Katniss and Peeta celebrating their victory of the 74th hunger games and is on their victory tour to each district. While on this tour Peeta discovers that Katniss did not really love him and just acted like she did just for the sake of the viewers. From then on Peeta stays his distance while Katniss needs to prove to President Snow that the two are truly in love.

            Every twenty five year there is something called the Quarter Quell and a twist on the hunger games. All that Katniss remembers hearing about the previous Quarter Quell is that they sent twice as many tributes into the arena. For the 75th annual hunger games the tributes are chosen out of previous victors of the hunger games. With this unexpected surprise Katniss prepares to return to the battle arena once again. Between Peeta and Haymitch, it was quite obvious that the star crossed lovers would be reunited in the games again.

            As Katniss and Peeta are preparing for the games, they are faced with the challenge of not knowing the strategies of the victors before them. The thing about the hunger games this year is that it is nobody’s first time. Their strategy of being I love with each other is the same as the previous year, but along with their opponents President Snow does not believe their act. During training Katniss and Peeta spilt up into separate stations to get as many allies as possible for the games. Once in the arena the clock is ticking to stay alive and get out safely. The question is will Katniss and Peeta be able to survive the challenges that the arena poses yet again?

            I really loved how Collin was able to describe a totally different arena compare to the one in the first book. I also enjoyed how Collins was able to describe the other tributes more in Catching Fire opposed to her first book. I loved how Catching Fire had the same topics like an over powering government, family, friends, and trust.

            Ultimately Catching Fire is a phenomenal book filled with science fiction, suspense, action, and romance. It is a very interesting book that is hard to put down. I loved reading this book and I would highly recommend those who have not read to read it soon. I cannot wait until the movie comes out in November and compare the similarities and differences with the book.

The Last Season

    

  
The Last season, A Team in Search of a Soul, is written by the Nine-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson  who is known as one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA. He has been able to lead two teams to multiple NBA championships. In this auto biography of what Phil Jackson thinks will be his final season coaching. The Lakers 2003-2004 team was loaded with star talent but the question was would they have the chemistry to achieve their goal of winning another NBA championship...

The Story starts with NBA free agency where the Lakers were able to sign future Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Jackson believes these two players are the final pieces of the puzzle. Until Kobe decides to physically assault a maid in Colorado. Kobe ends up spends most of the season side tracked with court hearings. He is able though to make it to the all of the games but everyone can tell that Kobe Bryant just isn’t the same.

Phil Jackson says that he wanted to trade Kobe right when he got the news. Kobe would still have trade value and they would be able to acquire players with less "off-court" distractions in return. This though did not happen because The Owner Jerry Buss is betrayed as a real jerk. Making money is his main priority and if Kobe makes him money then he is not going to trade him. Mr. Buss makes Mitch Kupchak, the General Manager, baby Kobe because he’s a free agent and a future star that they can’t lose. Kobe with his enormous ego causes many team conflicts, fights with Shaq, and overall probably causes the season to become a fail. Jackson also gives insight on the Media circus of Shaq and Kobe. Where they seemed to never get along and took it out on each other in the media.

Jackson’s book is interesting because it tells of the drama that goes on during an NBA season. The inside accounts of games and players teach that the "NBA Life" isn't that great. It's not all fun and games like we tend to believe. If your not a fan of basketball then this book really isn't for you but... if you want to remember why you hate basketball you might just like it. Also, there is also a lot of swearing when players especially Kobe Bryant are directly quoted. Kobe seems to enjoy saying swear words when it really isn't necessary. Overall this book is a good read. Learning about the NBA from someone who experienced it first person makes it even better. A-

 

Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz

 

    Point Blank is the second book of the Alex Rider series, following book 1, Stormbreaker.
     To recap, Alex Rider is a 14 year old boy who lives with his uncle, Ian Rider, and the housekeeper, Jack Starbright. However, Alex's uncle died in a suspected car crash and was found with his seat belt unbuckled - a precaution Ian always made sure to take. Alex had never known much about his uncle, and to satisfy his curiosities, he started to hunt down clues about Ian. All of what he uncovered eventually had him all tangled up in MI-6, Britain's top secret intelligence agency. After completing a mission that his uncle started, Alex has been called back from his normal life to complete another mission.
     One of the United States' most powerful man has died, and nobody knows the cause. Michael J. Roscoe was leaving his office for lunch, and when he stepped into his elevator, he disappeared, and was later found dead at the bottom of the elevator shaft. What's more, his son, Paul Roscoe, was sent to a finishing school for the sons of rich men and women, due to Paul's unsteady relationship with his father. However, MI-6 is suspicious and has decided to send Alex in as a student to investigate. After living with a rich family to get to know his environment, Alex is sent to the school where, right off the bat, meets the odd director.
     It took me a while to get fully hooked, assuming a day or two is a while. However, despite the slow beginning, the story picked up fairly quickly and kept me intrigued to the very end of the book, and then some, where you are left with a cliff hanger. I loved the action in the book, especially in the end (but then again, who doesn't love a good action novel?) where there was even action on the very last page.
     However, the theme of the book was a little cliche. There's a bad guy who wants to rule the world, but there is one person or group standing in their way that they have to get rid of first. This theme appears a lot in novels and even sometimes in real life, but there is only one solution that Horowitz also seems to agree on: good will always prevail over evil, or at least that is the solution in fiction. Sadly, the same is not always true in reality, but plenty of times it is. I think that despite the cliche theme and the other little downsides, anyone who gets their hands on this book ought to read it. This book deserves an A- grade - a grade that could be better, but not by much. I anticipate that the following books will be even better than this book was.

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

     Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli is a realistic fiction book. This story tells the reader to treasure time and moments with others. The main character, Will Tuppence, is a science geek that questions the world around him once there is a scientific breakthrough that a proton has actually died. He realizes from this that one day, everything is going to disappear.
      9th grader Will Tuppence and his best friend, Mi-Su, love to attend star parties (events where people meet to stargaze). When he is forced to take his annoying little sister, Tabby, to one of these parties, he finds his other best friend, BT, and Mi-Su kissing! Through his feelings of anger, he begins to realize that he likes Mi-Su. While spending so much time thinking about her, he doesn't realize how important his family is.
      Smiles to Go was a very sweet and memorable book because of how Will changed throughout the book. Also, the lesson I learned will stick with me. Smiles to Go affected me a lot because it taught me to savor moments with others, because you never know when everything can be ripped out of your hands. I always knew that time was important, but now I understand what could happen if I don't use my time wisely.
      I really liked the point that this book was putting across, but the writing style was confusing, and the beginning didn't make very much sense. Also, if you like books filled with suspense and drama, I do not recommend this book. Although, I think that the lesson in this book is one that everyone should learn. Overall, it is a great read.

The Power Of Six

     The Power Of Six, is the second book in the young adult fiction series The Lorien Legacies. Written by Pittacus Lore. The Story is about alien children that look just like us that were sent from their planet Lorien after the attack by the Magadorians, to Earth. The Magodorians next target is Earth. The kids were numbered and sent to Earth with an individual guardian. Although, the problem is, there is a lot more of Magadorians, and they're more powerful. Yet, the kids are expected to fight, and defeat them, the kids are just starting to develop their legacies and learning to use them. Yet, using them is still foreign. That is to say, they aren't quit ready to fight the Magodorians yet. That's not exactly their decision to make though.

      The story is told by various members of the Garde: Number Four (John Smith), who is on the run with Sam, Six, and his dog Bernie Kosar, and Number Seven (Marina), who's hiding at Santa Teresa, a convent in Spain. While John, Number Six and Sam try to stay ahead of the Mogadorians while searching for the other surviving Loric, Number Seven searches for news of John after his heroic battle at the school that came at the end of I Am Number Four. They realize that sitting and waiting to be caught, or hiding, or running is not the solution to defeat the Magodorians. They must unite. John, Six, and Sam are on the run trying to find the others. On their way, John opens his Loric chest and gets tracked by the Magodorians without his knowledge. Sam convinces Six and John that they need to go back to Paradise, their home, because he believes that his, "abducted" father has left something for them. While in Paradise, John reunites with his love Sarah and she rats him out to the police. Sam and John get caught but Six helps them escape. Although, the Magodorians are still right on their tail. And they still have a goal to get to the others. Will they get caught? Or lead them to the rest of the Garde?

     This story is also told by Number Seven, Marina. She is stuck in a religious convent, and stuck with a denial guardian of any of their Lorien background. Seven is basically on her own. Except for her new and first friend that she has made at Santa Teresa, Ella. Like I said, her Guardian wont help her even though she knows that the Magodorian are right on her case. So she drugs Adelina to open her chest with her, only to get tracked just like John did. More people in her life know about Lorien then she would have ever expected. Now she needs to make decisions that are best for her, her friends, and Garde. While finding the others. 

     This book is constantly has more and more surprises and action in every chapter. It is very entertaining and sucks you right in. The second book is not as good as the first. But I still loved it! This series is definitely a memorable book. I loved the characters, the suspense, romance, and confusion even! I feel like I really got to know the characters and learned a lot from them. Also the book brings up and makes you think about the possibilities of aliens. Could they be out there and look just like us? Fighting for our lives? Peoples have theories out there, this book just helped settle mine. It constantly has you thinking and wondering. 

     All in all, I feel that the book was very good and fun to read. It had a lot of stuff going on, but it just made you keep thinking. I really got into it and enjoyed reading it. I would suggest this book to people interested in suspense and mystery and action. Truly I'm not that into the whole alien stuff, but this author did amazing at not making a weird alien book, but a GREAT non-weird alien book!

A-

Mockingjay

 Mockingjay, the third and final book in post apocalyptic-young adult series, immediately picks up where the second book, Catching Fire left off. If you didn't already know, in Catching Fire, main character Katniss, and one of two love interests, Peeta, are thrown back into the games for the Quarter Quell. What they didn't know is that many of the other contestants (also former victors of the games) are rebelling against the capitol and have a plan to make it out of the games. Towards the end of the second book, Katniss is rescued out of the games by the rebels and is sent to District 13 which was thought to no longer exist.
      In the third book however, there are no more games, which I originally thought there might be. Mockingjay is all about the rebellion against the capitol, in which Katniss finds herself being the face of the rebellion, the Mockingjay. The problem is, all of this comes with a cost. Peeta is not in District 13 with Katniss like everyone else is, and District 12, among other districts are destroyed. But not to worry, Gale and Katniss's family are indeed safe in the thirteenth district - for now. The book follows all plans of the revolution and the war that will take place to get there. The surprising twists and turns make the book more interesting too, and will keep the reader guessing on what will happen next.
       However there were some parts in this book where I would be bored and lose interest. For instance, there are so many hospital scenes in the book. After awhile it just gets pretty boring to hear the same thing over and over again. Also readers may not be 100% satisfied on how the book ends, and to be honest, I was pretty shocked myself on some parts. Other parts, I already saw coming. There are several deaths in Mockingjay that most of the readers are probably not going to be too happy about. This can make some people hate the book. For me though, I definitely do not hate this book. As a whole it kept me entertained for the majority of the time.
         The concept of The Hunger Games is truly frightening though. Nobody wants to think that something like this can happen to a government. The whole series is an eye-opener. An eye-opener to never let history repeat itself. We as a country, and other countries too, need to always make sure we don't make the same mistakes someone else already has made in the past. We can learn from our mistakes, and if we do that then nothing will get out of hand.
     Overall I thought this book was pretty good, and worth the read. I don't think it is quite as good as the first two books in the series, but it is still enjoyable. I would encourage anyone to read this book, after they read the first two of course. I give it an A-.