Return of the King: J.R.R Tolkien

        The Return of the King, by J.R.R Tolkien, is the final book in the series, The Lord of the Rings. It continues again Frodo and Sam's quest to reach Mount Doom and destroy the ring.
        War is kindling over all of Middle Earth. Sauron is gathering armies from all over Middle Earth and planning to plant the final blow on Minas Tirith. Now King Theoden and the riders of Rohan must go and aid Gondor in the battle that will decide the doom of their time. But, will Gondor and Rohan be enough to defeat the armies of Mordor? No of course not. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimili, along with other rangers go to the Paths of the Dead to awaken a dead army. Meanwhile, Frodo has been stung by Shelob (the giant spider) and has been taken by orks to the tower of Cirith Ungol. Now Samwise the brave must go through a tower of orks to rescue Frodo so they can continue their journey to destroy the ring.
        I thought that this was an amazing book, and I thought that it was well written except for some slow parts, but I guess that is the way they wrote book back then. I  also really liked the courage of Sam and Frodo, because they get in the most impossible situations and they still persevere through basically anything. They even come home to a destroyed place, but they still fix that too.
      All in all, since this was an amazing book, I would give it a grade of and A+, and I would recommend anyone to read the Return of the King, after they read the Fellowship and Two Towers.
       

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.

Halo: the fall or Reach
By: Eric Nylund


   Imagine humans 525 years into the future, with multiple planets we now call "home", and us at war with an alien group known as the covenant, and you've got this book. Prequel to the game series Halo, this book is a great science fiction read. On a human colony known as Harvest, an evil alien society attacks. Because of this we enter a huge war. But men win wars not guns... so we created the Spartans 9ft. tall genetically engineered super humans in huge power suits. This book follows the story of a 6 year old boy (later grows up) known as soldier John 117.
   I enjoyed this great book because of its story of how John was taken at an early age and endured difficult military training. As he grows up John faces life threatening encounters with the covenant. Asd I read this book i felt every hard pace he endured and the challenging trials he faced from bombing a ship to surviving long trips in snowy mountains. This book changes with great transitions from each and every year in spartan training. But all the training and violence pays off when he lives as the last spartan and  faces his most challenging trial yet on the planet Reach. Where the most important war happens in the whole universe.
   i highly recommend reading this great novel because of how well it is written. The great story in this book describes what would happen if we where ever at a point this high of hardship. This is one of my favorite books i have read by far. A

The Hobbit By: J. R. R. Tolkien By: Andrew Williams

Bilbo Baggins, a simple Hobbit, never asked for adventure. It literally came knocking on his door, 13 dwarve and Gandalf the wizard show up to tea to hire Bilbo as a thief in their quest to reclaim a hoard of treasure. It's stashed far away and guarded by a fierce dragon, Smaug. Bilbo will have to cross the Misty Mountains, troll and goblin country, and the untamed wilds of Mirkwood, where straying from the path can be deadly. In exchange, he gets an even share of the treasure and quite a story to tell. One of the dwarves in Bilbo's parlour is Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain son of Thror, King under the Mountain. The dwarves of the Lonely Mountain were a race of highly-skilled craftsmen, workers of stone and metals, wealthy and strong. That is Thorin's rightful inheritance, but the kingdom was lost to the worm dragon Smaug. Now Smaug sleeps deep in the heart of the mountain on his huge heap of treasure. One of the most significant events in the book is when Bilbo finds a magic ring, deep in the heart of the Misty Mountains, after he has been captured by goblins and taken down, down into the deep tunnels and black halls of the Great Goblin. The ring is a pretty handy thing to find because it enables Bilbo to escape from his captors and later on it helps him to confront Smaug the dragon. The ring makes you invisible. In the end, the confluence of events, including his daring rescue of the Dwarves, from a horde of larger-than-life spiders in Mirkwood, teaches Bilbo that he does indeed have a strength within himself. Bilbo finally faces the worst of his fears, conquers them, and confronts the deadly dragon Smaug, deep in the the Lonely Mountain. The moment when Bilbo overcomes his fear is the moment in which he, finally and completely, transforms from who he was into who he was always meant to be. Bilbo achieves his full potential and, as a result, gains treasures far greater than the gold he carries away from the Lonely Mountain, and like all Hero Quest stories, Bilbo must go back to his home. He and Gandalf finally take their final steps toward The Shire, Gandalf says, “My dear Bilbo! Something has happened to you. You are not the Hobbit you once were.”

J.R.R. Tolkien- The Two Towers

     Welcome back to Middle Earth, folks! This right now is a really bad time to be here for there are Orcs (evil elvish like dudes), Elves, Dwarfs, Giant tree things (ENTs) and of course, Hobbits. This story takes place shortly after what happened in The Fellowship of the Ring. (By the way, if you are currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring, don't continue reading this review because I may ruin the end of it for you!) Anyway, it starts off with the Company searching high and low (mostly low) for Samwise Gamgee and Frodo. A downfall to reading what happened with Sam and Frodo is that it is over half way into the book. By then many events (good or bad) will happen to the rest of the 

Company. As the reader, you will for sure see a familiar face if you have read The Hobbit. Then later, there will be many battles and the beginning of a raging war. If you have The Lord of the Rings book with illustrations, you got lucky because it is way better with a little visual to get an image in your mind.

   I would totally recommend reading this book after the first one. If you just pick it up and start reading, absolutely none of it will make any sense to you. If you are barely starting to read The Two Towers, when it gets to the part with Saruman, go to the back and read his section of the appendix, if you have one. This book can also be very hard to comprehend in minds due to it's way of saying things. But, never give up and continue reading and you'll be glad that you did.

The Fellowship of the Ring

      The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien is probably the best fiction book I have ever read. It has multiple themes, but one main theme is that even people who seem insignificant have a lot of potential, and there are many characters in the book that this applies to. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it starts Frodo's dangerous adventure to the evil land of Mordor. This book contains many different mythical races, including short creatures with big, hairy feet that want nothing to do with adventure, called hobbits.

    Frodo Baggins, a peaceful hobbit, is given a magical ring from his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. A wizard named Gandalf the Grey warns him about it, so Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin (Pippin) Took, and Merry Brandybuck rush to Rivendell, a city where elves live. On the way, they encounter evil Black Riders, some helpful allies, and a mysterious man named Strider. In Rivendell, a council is held, and people from many different races attend. At the council, they must decide what to do with the magical ring. There, they form 'The Fellowship of the Ring.' A company that is made up of four hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry; Gandalf the Grey; an elf named Legolas; Gimli the Dwarf; Aragorn the Ranger; and a mortal man named Boromir.

      This book was very epic and well-thought through. J.R.R. Tolkien created a whole world called Middle-Earth! You can feel the structure of the plot, the characters, and the settings as you read the book. Also, the author brings up many issues like racism, because of the different races. For example, the elves and the dwarves do not get along well, and they don't treat each other very well. The Fellowship of the Ring affected me, because it taught me that even if someone seems insignificant, or that they aren't good enough for something, they can make a huge difference in the world. We shouldn't judge people that are different than us.

      I absolutely loved this book. I have always loved the Lord of the Rings movies, and I finally decided to read the book. It was very well-written, and I was surprised at how many similarities there were. However, the beginning of the book is VERY SLOW. If you are a reader that gets extremely bored with slow books, than I would recommend not reading this book. J. R. R. Tolkien is a brilliant writer, and his books will continue to be read for many years.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare is an incredible book written for young adults. The main idea with not only this book but, most of the books in the Mortal Instrument series, is good intentions will lead to success. Many of the characters find this easier said than done.

     
          In brief, this starts out where City of Ashes left off; Valentine is currently in possession of two of the three Mortal instruments. With the Mortal Cup and the Mortal Sword he can now raise demons and plans to destroy any Nephilim, A.K.A. Shadowhunters, that have ever interacted or consorted with a Downworlder. Clary and the Lightwoods set off for Idiris to find a potion to save Jocelyn, although, Jace has other plans in mind. When Magnus opens the portal to Alicante, the Lightwoods and Simon are attacked by hordes of demons and are forced to jump through the portal without Clary. Now with no way of joining the group, Clary must use her newly found talent and create a portal rune to take her into Idiris. When Clary jumps through her makeshift portal with Luke close behind, she quickly finds that she can't get into Alicante without authorization and instead is thrown into Lake Lyn and forced to hike to the gates.

After several chapters of exploring the new city and meeting new people, Clary journeys to find the Book of White that Jocelyn has hidden in a brilliantly named book (that you will just have to read to find out) in the Wayland manor. She is now accompanied by the handsome Sebastian, who Clary seems drawn to in a way. So not only does Clary have to worry about her mixed feelings for Jace and Simon, but what has now become an odd love square between them and Sebastian.

As the Nephilim prepare for the oncoming war, Jace and Clary must journey into the past to find out their true heritage. Once Jace has gone in search of Valentine, Clary must find a way to lessen the tension between Downworlders and Shadowhunters and create an alliance rune so they can all truly fight as one.

Without spoiling too much, I have to say that the ending of this book was probably the best out of all three and I would definitely read it again. This book was my favorite so far and will always be memorable. Especially, Jace's and Simon's wise crack jokes. One of the big issues that this book brings up is that you should always know where you stand and even if you feel your intentions are good they may be looked down upon by the angels and other people and are not always for the benefit of others but for yourself instead. I am in total agreement with Cassandra that in order for change, everyone needs to come together and work as one. This book goes to show that there are people in the world like Valentine but that there are also people like Clary and Jace. One person can make a difference and change the world.

All in all, City of Glass is my new found favorite in the series. Don't worry; most of your questions from the previous books will be answered in this book. Even though this book didn't have a suspenseful cliff hanger, it is still compelling you to read the next. I do have to advise you that this book is mildly gory and will be slightly confusing during the process of tying everything together. Besides that, this book will make you want to sit in the corner with your blanket, teddy bear, and all the Jace you can handle. It's an excellent read and you should definitely consider cracking open this series.

Divergent by: Veronica Roth

     Divergent is a post apocalyptic novel that starts out as any other book of it's kind, the worst of man kind has been brought out and must be fixed.  Set in  futuristic Chicago, society has been split into five different factions, each with a different characteristic.  They are know as the Dauntless, the brave, Erudite, the intelligent, Candor, the honest, Abnegation, the selfless, and Amity, the friendly.  When you are sixteen   you take an aptitude test to decide which of these factions you belong to, and then chose which one you want to spend the rest of your life in.  Although these results are not always conclusive, as the main character, Beatrice Prior, soon finds out, these people are known as Divergent, and that can be dangerous.

      Even though these people may belong to more than one faction they  can only be part of one.  This makes Beatrice's decision very hard.  She could stay with her family in the Abnegation compound or go find a life someplace else.  The worst part is she can't even talk to family about her situation because no one must know that she is Divergent, and when she goes to the Choosing Ceremony to pick her faction her choice changes her whole life, and let's just say it's not Abnegation.  In her new faction she must learn how to adjust to her new life quickly, and along the way makes a number of friends as well as enemies, especially with a young man who is just simply known as Four.

     I find this book to be very interesting as well as one of my favorites.  At the beginning it sounds just like any other dystopian novel you may have read, but your mind shortly changes with the fact that there is not some all powerful government controlling everyone.  Everyone uses their skills and talents to work together and make a simple peaceful place to live, although it doesn't always stay that way. Also, the way the plot is developed, and the romance that happens in it is made is truly unique.  You know what the one thing is this book doesn't have that most young adult books have these days, a love triangle.  I love the way that this book doesn't have two guys fighting over a clearly confused girl, is has instant chemistry that is made between two characters that is built on through out the book.   You may feel at times that a love triangle is slowly forming but that idea is soon shot down with new events that happen, 'though the product of these events aren't always happy.

     This book makes you see how amazing humans really are and how diversity really shouldn't be taken for granted.  It's all the little things of our personality that add who we are and it is important to have a little of everything.  For example, people in Abnegation are completely selfless and that's really basically all they are.  They take the idea to selflessness to a whole new level.  Seriously, they are not allowed to eat hamburgers or chocolate cake or any thing that is truly delicious because it is considered self indulgent and is thus for selfish, but at times we do need to be a little selfish and think of our needs before others.  We shouldn't center the whole world around us but we still need to keep in mind what we want after all that is one of the many things that make us human.

     Overall this book was really fantastic.  Although, it is pretty gruesome and at times does have a few sexual comments but these parts add to the characters and the overall story line.  This book became a fast favorite of mine and would highly suggest it to any one.  I give it a big fat A+.

   

Candle Wax

In a world where four kingdoms occupy the mysterious land of Lackanay, and a great evil waits for the right moment to emerge again, there must be corruption. C. Bailey Sims delivers this world of supernatural magic in this book shown to the left. The story starts with a sixteen year old girl named Catherine leaving her room and walking down a dark corridor in the middle of the night. She gets outside through a secret passageway in the kitchen. After that she heads to the vault, she gets the guards to open it and grabs some money and the Ancient Onyxes given to her by her grandmother. She leaves the vault, dresses as a boy to be able to leave her kingdom unnoticed, and rides a horse towards the bay of Portsland, where she will take a ship away from the mainland to start a new life. Along the way she is attacked by a 732 year old Farrier cat, a living legend. He eats her horse and she must go on a journey to help this Farrier cat, named Spelopokos, or Pokos. This is all because of the Onyxes. In the ancient land of Devona, a great evil awaits to awaken that can only be stopped by Farrier cats. Without a mate Pokos will die, and leave this great evil to take over all four kingdoms of Lackanay. They travel to a town to get Catherine new supplies where she is befriended by a kind lady who takes her in. Eventually, Catherine's father tries to locate her. She runs away from the village with the daughter of the kind woman who gave Catherine assistance, but they are then captured by the men of a power-loving ruler of one of the four kingdoms. With the help of Pokos they escape and are found by the king of Candle wax. The reason she ran away from home, she was to marry him. They group together and travel to Candle wax. Pokos and Catherine plan to run away to the land outside of Lackanay, called Cinna to find another Farrier cat as he is the only one left in Lackanay.
         They are stopped by the king of Candle wax named Cyril. Cyril and his advisor join them in their quest to find another Farrier cat. While in Cinna, they kill four Farrier cats in self-defense, encounter Cinnans and travel to their mountain fortress, join in a competition to earn their freedom, and chase after the corrupt rulers of Cinna. Pokos is shot by an arrow in the neck and almost dies. With the help of survivors of a shipwreck, they must take Pokos to his brthplace to heal, and Catherine must take the Farrier cats found in Cinna to Lackanay. When Pokos left Lackanay, the great evil awoke and started to march across the land. The other kingdoms soon start to hold back. Eventually Catherine makes it back to Lackanay, and they meet the traitor... The rest you will just have to read, because the rest of the story is too complicated and long to explain in this review. This book was really good and I recommend it to all who enjoy fantasy and made-up creatures. It was an excellent page turner. A+

FYI: If you were wondering, there will be a sequel.

The Hobbit By J.R.R. Tolkien

         What is a hobbit? Well, a hobbit is a mythical creature created J.R.R. Tolkien. A hobbit is about half the size of an average man, and they live in a peaceful country with almost no history of war. They also like to stay in their hobbit holes were they are comfortable. If you want to know more about the hobbits go read the book, but for now this is all you need to know.
         We start in the magical land of the shire. Here is where a very special hobbit lives named Bilbo Baggins. He is one of the many respectable hobbits. One day Gandalf comes and talks to Bilbo about going on this adventure with him. And with Bilbo being a hobbit he kindly refuses for they like to stay where they are comfortable. Then on the next day 13 Dwarves show up in his house along with Gandalf, they eat almost all his food in his house, and Bilbo doesn't like it one bit. He just wants them to get out of his house. So, he lets them stay one more night and they leave him a note in the morning. He decides to go on that adventure, and runs to meet them. On there trip they have many obstacles in their way. First they go and see Elrond at The Last Homely House. He gives them horses and supplies before they go into the Misty Mountains. Then they get banged up while in the mountains, it rains and snows whole bunch, they run into some goblins. Then Gandalf has to go and save them, but not Bilbo. Bilbo gets lost where he finds a ring. He then plays a game of riddles with Gollum. Gollum is a very nasty creature. Then when Bilbo finally makes it out they are attacked by goblins and wolves, only to be saved by huge eagles.  In the end Bilbo ends up really rich and the Dwarves get back their gold and mountain.
           This book is truly amazing. It is very entertaining and exciting in my eyes. The reason why is that it just has so many obstacles the characters have to go through and it makes it exciting. And then they always go from one problem to another it's like give these guys a break already. Although they do get some breaks throughout the book it's not that many.
           If you are looking for a good book to read let this book be it. This book is very adventurous it is filled with many obstacles and many fun parts in it. A+.

"Night" By Elie Wiesel

     "Night" - By Elie Wiesel, is a depressing and inspirational auto-biography about his time with his father spent in Nazi German concentration camps; Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Though it is only a 100-page book, it holds terrifying opinions and history - he talks about the death of god and how much he is sickened by humanity. The original book was an 865- page book written in Yiddish, and 50 years later, it had been translated in to more than 30 languages. 

     The book starts off by telling the reader of Elie's hometown - Sighet, Romania, and of a strange man, hollering about the horrible things "they" have done to him. The man goes all around the town, telling people that he had been abducted and brutally tortured. Nobody listened, at least, nobody but Elie. He would spend almost every afternoon with the man and listening to his stories of going to Hell and coming back to tell the tale. 

     In Spring of 1944, the Nazi's begin shipping carloads of Jews to Auschwitz, and Elie's family is sent in the last car, a few days after the rest. A woman on their car was hysterical, screaming visions of flames and furnaces. 

     Finally, on the third day of their car-trip with only minimal amounts of food and water, they arrive at a concentration camp and see a large furnace with black smoke flowing out the top. Elie and his father go with the "healthy" group to work, while his mother and sisters are sent the Birkenau to be killed.

     Wiesel has won a Nobel Peace prize for his literature, and has gone on to write two other books about his thoughts after the Holocaust. If you haven't already read this book, you'd better find a copy and read it to yourself because it is definately a "must-read." With all it's gruesome detail and horror stories about his time spent in Auschwitz, it can make someone go from a happy-go-lucky American into a starving and dying Jew in Auschwitz.

The Lightning Thief by: Rick Riordan

This fascinating book "The Lightning Thief" is a great fiction/Greek Mythology/fantasy type of book. Rick Riordan (the author) in my opinion is one of the best authors ever. This book is is so intriguing and entertaining.

Oh no! Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen! Who would steal it??? Of course they would choose the poor innocent guy who doesn't know the first thing about Greek Mythology... Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon (Poseidon is the god of the sea and the brother of Zeus). Percy Jackson is just a regular guy, besides the fact that he is a delinquent, until the day he is told that he is the son of Poseidon, Zeus including all of Mount Olympus thinks he stole Zeus' master lightning bolt, and that he has ten days to bring it back and find out who did it. Pretty tough for a guy who probably didn't believe what they were saying at first. Anyway, he and his best friend Grover (which he met at a regular school and Percy just found out that he is a saytr) get sent to a place called "Camp Half-Blood" to train for the mission ahead. So to shorten things up he leaves and goes on this crazy adventure that includes chopping of Medusa's head, eating burgers with Ares, and fighting Hades. Its not looking good for him and his friends but Percy's life pretty much depends on finding this lightning bolt. Can they find out who actually stole Zeus' bolt? Can they do it in ten days?

This is literally one of the best books I have ever read. It kept me up all night reading and reading and reading. It was so good. I don't think I would've changed anything in that book although you might want to study up on your Greek Mythology because it gets really hard to remember all of the names of the gods and goddesses. I really like how the author put this in modern day times instead of the 70s or 80s or something like that. I think that it was a great idea and it couldn't of been any better than it was. A+

a long way gone

"A long way gone, memoirs of a boy soldier" by Ishmael Beah, was by far the most humbling book I have ever read. With everything that happened recently with Kony, I wanted to learn some real facts about what is actually going on over in Africa. I never expected to learn some of the things I read in this book.
This book was told by Ishmael, about his experiences being a boy soldier. He was actually lucky and escaped before it was too late. But, there are millions of children out there who aren't as lucky as him. At the age of 11, Ishmael was separated from his family and forced to live on his own. For almost a year, he ran from village to village, barely escaping the Rebels. Eventually he became part of the army, which is supposed to fight against the Rebels and protect the citizens. The army is supposed to be the good guy, but they're not. That is one of the main problems with this country--evil fighting against evil.
After reading this book, I realize how ungrateful and selfish I can be at times. I am so grateful for this free country we live in and all the rights we get. At many times while reading this book I had to stop and remind myself that what I was reading was someone's true story, not fiction. Many parts of this book were almost incomprehensible. They took my breath away, and not in a good way. For example, Ishmael recalls a time when him and some of his soldier buddies took over a village. They found a pregnant lady in her house and cut her belly open. They removed her baby, chopped the head off of it and made the mother watch. And then they left the mom there to bleed to death. Gruesome right? This is only half as bad as some of the things written in this book. The really sad part is all of the boys are so high off of so many drugs that they don't even realize what they are doing. They have lost all sense of feeling; only years later do they realize what they have done.
Ishmael ended up being one of the luckier ones. He was removed from the war and put into a rehabilitation center with hundreds of other boys. For months, the boys would have horrible nightmares of incidents that happened while they fought in the war. I cannot imagine living life with the knowledge that you had killed so many people. Ishmael now lives in New York City, working as a motivational speaker. He graduated from college and lives his life to inspires others.
If you like to believe that we live in a perfect world, then this is not the book for you. If you want to know what is actually happening in other countries, then I hope you will read this book and appreciate it as much as I did!

Ranger's Apprentice Ruins of Gorlan

This story starts with a 15 year old boy named Will. He lives near Redmont Castle with his four ward mates. When you turn 15 you are selected by a Craftmaster to be their apprentice. There were many subjects you could be chosen to learn. Some of them were battle school, bakery, horse riding, Diplomatic Service, scribe, and a ranger. If you weren’t chosen by a Craftmaster, you were forced to work on the farms for the rest of your life. All of the wards knew they had the potential to become one of these things one day. All except Will.

When the Choosing Day finally came around, all of the wards went to the castle to be selected by a Craftmaster to be their apprentice. The first four wards got selected by a Craftmaster. Will was the last one to go. The Baron (the king of the castle) asked Will where he wanted to go. Will replied, “Battle School, sir.” Sir Rodney, the Craftmaster of battle school, did not want Will as an apprentice because he was too small. Will’s second choice was Horseschool. He was also not wanted there either. When the Baron asked if any of the Craftmasters could use Will as an apprentice, they all shook their heads. All except the man in a dark cloak in the corner of the room. He was Halt, the Ranger of Redmont.

Will learned many things his first couple of days as a Ranger. He learned that Rangers are pretty much spies. They have to watch over Morgarath and his evil army and look out for anything suspicious. He learned about the weapons that Rangers use. He trained very hard with these weapons every day. He even got his own Ranger horse, Tug. Life as a Ranger was very different from what Will thought.

After many days of training Will and Halt go to the Ranger’s Gathering. All the Rangers from across the land come with their apprentices to show the judges that their apprentice was good enough to continue training as a Ranger. Many apprentices are cut each year because they don’t have the true skill to become a Ranger. When Will and Halt got to the Gathering however, things were different. There had been evidence that Morgarath’s army had been spotted just outside the Mountains of Night and Rain. Everyone thought that he and his army were killed many years ago in a huge war. Instead, Morgarath had come back to power.

Now it was up to young Will and the Rangers to stop Morgarath.

This is a very fast-paced, thrilling, suspenseful book that kept me reading and reading. The series has ten books and this is the first one. Since this is the first book of such a long series, it kind of sets up the whole story because there is a ton to be told. This book has many crazy events that keep you turning the pages. I would recommend this book to anyone!

The Hunger Games

First of all, let me just say, Suzanne Collins has created a masterpiece. I just barely read this book, and it took me three days. I would have to argue a little bit about actual story itself. Meaning I don't see why you would write a book about putting a bunch of teenagers in a big arena, and watching them kill each other. However, I must say that even with that problem, I was addicted to this book. So I'm sure most of you have read this book; but if you haven't, read this review!

As usual, the book starts out by giving you background information, and then slowly gets more exciting until you're biting your fingernails, and wishing you could read twice as fast. Katniss Everdeen lives in district twelve in the futuristic country of Panem. The capitol of the Panem chooses two children between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in a fight to the death in a chosen arena. This is known as the Hunger Games. After Katniss's innocent little sister is chosen to be in the Hunger Games, Katniss has no choice but to volunteer to take her place.

She then is transported to the Capitol, where they prep her for the games. Then, they are all flown to the arena. The Hunger Games then begin. Now, I'm going to stop there, because if I tell anymore about the story, I'll probably get too excited and give it away. So if you want to find out how it turns out, read the book. Actually, read the book anyway, you will be glad you did. You'll most likely find it to end unexpectedly, and be wondering if the story has been told, or if it is just beginning.

As expected, the author's style was very unique; however, it seemed to make the story much more exciting. For example, she told the story in first person, but also in the present tense. I have never seen that before, but found it to be very interesting because she is telling the story as she goes, so anything could happen at any given time. Also, there is the theme which she cleverly tied into the story. I think that she was trying to show everybody how much we are under the control and power of the government, and that we need to speak out and stand up for ourselves. And, obviously, it teaches you to never give up, which is a little bit too common in books, I think. However, it did teach me a lot about life and how to deal with certain situations.

To wrap it up, I'll say once again that although the point of the story is a bit disturbing, the story's suspense, along with the author's characterization, style, and details definitely made the story one of the best I've ever read. With that said, I'd recommend it to anyone out there. However, just be careful, because there are some pretty surprisingly violent parts in it. But ultimately, the story just wouldn't be the same without them. And yes, I give it two thumbs up and an A+.

Hunger Games

      I know others have done The Hunger Games on this blog, but it was so good I couldn't resist! This post-apocalyptic book is an adventure, romance and horror all at the same time. I would give it an A. The world has ended and America has been re-named Panem. Panem is split into 13 districts, well, 12. 13 was destroyed.
       Every year, the Capitol forces one boy and one girl from every district to fight to the death in an arena to remind the citizens of Panem who's the boss. The games are called the Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen is a girl from District 12. Her existence is a grim one, her father died when she was 12, forcing her to hunt every day for food with her friend Gale while her mother suffers from a deep depression and won't take care of her family.
       It's Katniss's beloved sister, Prim's first time in the reaping ball and for the first time Katniss is scared for not only her life, but for her sister's as well. Naturally, that means Prim is chosen. Katniss is stunned. Prim's slip of paper was one in thousands! Katniss can't let Prim go, so she sacrifices herself for Prim. The other tribute is Peeta Mellark, a boy who had once taken a beating to help Katniss in a time of need.
       I am amazed at Katniss's bravery. If it had been my little sister, I don't know if I would've had the guts to volunteer for her. It shows how crazy family love can get sometimes.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

First of all, this historical fiction book is really slow. At least at the beginning. It isn't neccessarily a hard book to read it is just slow. Anyway, Leisel Meminger is a nine year old girl who has been through a LOT in her life. Just so you know this takes place during World War II in Germany 1939. Anyway, Her real mom got sent to a concentration camp so she had to send Liesel and her brother she has to send them to Hans and Rosa Hubermann. On the way her brother dies. It didn't really say how he died because "Death" was the narrator in that part. I will explain that later. So before they actually get there they have to obviously go bury him and as the two people are digging a book falls out of one of their pockets. She picks up The Grave Diggers Handbook and takes it... BUT she doesn't exactly know how to read and she is still scarred because her brother died right in front of her eyes. I couldn't imagine what that would be like. So she goes to the Hubermanns and every night she has a nightmare about her brother and every night Hans goes into her room and comforts her. Later Hans discovers the book and decides to teach her how to read. Then she starts to steal more books out of curiosity. Also Hitler is obviously their leader and so later on in the book they let a Jew stay in their basement... That was not a smart thing to do at that time if you know what I mean. It is pretty much just about this girls life during World War II...

I don't know about you but I LOVE learning about World War II and how it was like to live there. Surprisingly I learned some new stuff while reading this book. It was so weird how the could change people view of things that were bad so easily. I also think it was different than any other book I have read because "Death" was the narrator. It was a very interesting way to write a book.

In the back of the book somebody wrote to Mark Zusak and the person asked "How did you decide to make Death the narrator of the book?" and Mark Zusak replied, "With great difficulty! I thought, "Here's a book set during war. Everyone says war and death are best friends." Death is ever-present during war, so here was the perfect choice to narrate The Book Thief. At first, though, Death was too mean. He was supercilious, and enjoying his work too much. He'd say extremely creepy things and delight in all the souls he was picking up... and the book wasn't working. So I went to a first-person narration , a simple third-person narration... and six months later I came back to Death-- but this time , Death was to be exhausted from his eternal existence and his job. He was to be afraid of humans-- because, after all, he was there to see the obliteration we've perpetrated on each other throughout the ages--and he would now be telling this story to prove to himself that humans are actually worth it." I just thought that was a really cool idea.

Just so you know it is slow at the beggining but it does get a LOT better as the book goes on. If you don't like a sad ending this isn't really the book for you. I'm sorry but I didn't write the book I wish that he wouldn't have made the ending so sad. It is just almost unfair. Overall, it is a pretty good read. B+

Inheritance

Eragon (main character) is just a poor farm boy when he stumbles upon a legendary dragon egg. This egg hatches and Eragon becomes a mythical dragon rider with his new dragon Sapphira. The dragon riders were legendary warriors who were unmatched in swordsmanship and magic. The dragons were well... dragons. Fierce beasts that could breath fire, could talk with their minds, and were bigger than houses. The dragons and their riders were immune to age and would live forever if not killed. The dragon riders and their dragons became nearly extinct a long time ago when Galbortorix, a fellow rider, betrayed everyone and killed off the riders. He now rules over the land in evil tyranny and will forever unless challenged. Eragon embarks on a quest to kill Galbortorix and free the land. In the first three books of the series Eragon goes through many adventures, and learns a lot as he trains to become a powerful rider.

In the fourth book of the Inheritance cycle, Eragon sets out to destroy Galbortorix and bring peace to the land.Eragon must fight for his and many other people's lives. He is the last hope against the empire. That isn't his only quest though. He has to go through many other quests in order to gain an advantage against the empire. Some include finding out who he really is, living up to the expectations of the rebel leaders, and trying to get his lover to love him back. Eragon has to fight with all his might to defeat Galbortorix.

This book was written by Christopher Paolini and is a fantasy book. I think that this was a interesting, entertaining, and instructive. It was very complex and had a ton of details that made it interesting and hard to put down. It is entertaining because it had very well written action scenes that were described amazingly well. These scenes made me reread them multiple times in order to pick up all the details. It also had some very assertive opinions in it that proved themselves as the story went on that made this book instructive.

One of the opinions that the author put in this book is that understanding is power. I agree with this because all across history and even today people have been blinded by lack of understanding, and it has caused them to be deceived or fooled. If someone is completely undereducated and illiterate and doesn't understand a thing, then they will with no thoughts behind those actions

Another opinion that is expressed in this book is that you shouldn't pledge your loyalty to too many people. I agree with this because when you do this, you may end up having to become disloyal to someone trying to what someone else wants you do who you are also loyal to. This could happen because while groups or people may the same view on one subject as another group or person, they could have a completely different view on another subject.

This book challenged my views on whether or not evil should always be vanquished. While most of the time it should be, sometimes it would more harm than good to people especially if the evil doesn't have such a huge effect on the people. It made me wonder whether or not all the sacrifice necessary to destroy evil is always worth it. Then as I thought and read on in the book, I realized that almost always it is worth. Even though in a short term view it may not look like it's worth it, it is almost always is worth it in the long term view. My feelings may not of changed much on this subject, but my feelings definitely changed for those who live with evil without rebelling. Most of the time they don't think that it is worth it to rebel, especially if they are undereducated like I said earlier.

"The way of the warrior is the way of knowing."(pg I 705) I thought that this was a really good way to end the series. It was and exciting and surprising story that really dragged me in. The very end bugged me a little though, but I couldn't see a much better way to end it instead. I also think that this book was a little rushed which may sound weird considering it's 800 pages long, but it still was. It may of had great details on the important parts but it less important details that break the tension. I think that the author should of turned this book into two books and made a five book series. I would of liked it better if he had done so. I still thought that it was really creative, interesting, and entertaining. It also gave great opinions about life. I gave it an A- because of all this. I would like to send a warning out to all those who don't like violent books though, because it is detailed in that area too. Don't be intimidated by the size either. It's so good that you'll be done in no time at all. I hope you liked my review and will read this book and the rest of the series!

The Band of Sisters By: Annette Lyon

The Band of Sisters, by Annette Lyon, is an amazing LDS fiction novel. This book is about five women whose husbands are deployed in Afghanistan. The story line is set in Utah.

Each of the men's families has their own problems or trials. Nora, who is Russell's wife, finds out her mother is dying of colon cancer. Marianne, Brian's soul mate, does not have a great relationship with her teenage daughter. Tim's wife, Jessie, is trying t0 raise three children without her husband there to help out. Brenda, Rick's husband, has two young twins and a second-grader who are driving her bonkers , while Justin's wife, Kim, is pregnant and due before her husband arrives back safely in the USA. The women are all stressed and worried about their loved ones.

While fighting against the Taliban, Russell, Brian, Tim, Rick, and Justin become great friends. Each husband encourages his wife to get to know the wives of the other men. Eventually, the wives meet up and go out to lunch once a week. After a few of these weekly lunches, the women become bonded. They help each other get through the trials they have.

These women help each other get through deployment, job issues, and depression. After one of the husbands die, these women become more bonded than they had ever been before. Beacuse they feel like they are a group of close friends, they call themselves sisters.

This book was an entertaining, informative, and interesting book. I learned al ot about how badly soldiers' families are effected throughout deployment. It was fun to read the stories of each wife and learn how little things, like someone knocking on the door, frightens them.

I agreed with a lot if the author's opinions and views. I can relate to the religious things these women do to calm and reassure themselves. The author put a lot of her own feelings into this book, although it was very discreet.

This novel is a very clean book. There is nothing inappropriate or offensive. However, there is a part about Marianne's oldest daughter that involoves drugs, cutting herself, and dating a guy her mother doesn't approve of. It doesn't go into a lot of detail though.

I really liked this book. In some parts, I wanted to cry and in other parts, I couldn't stop laughing. It was a fairly quick read. While reading this story, I learned about a whole new perspective about families and war. This book was very appropriate for all ages. I rate this book an A+.