The Amaranth Enchanment By: Julie Berry

The Amaranth Enchantment by: Julie Berry is an amazing book. It is a wonderful story about a young teenage girl caring for herself. In The Amaranth Enchantment, we learn that we all need some one to look after us. We learn this because the main character gets in a lot of trouble when nobody is looking after her.

Before I tell you about the story, I need to give you some background information. You need to know that Beryl is not from our world. She came to our world on accident. In order to get back to her world,

In this story, the main charater's name is Lucinda. When Lucinda is very young, her parents die in a carriage accident. She goes to live her aunt and uncle. Lucinda adores and loves her uncle but hates her aunt because her aunt treats her like a maid or slave. Her aunt makes sure that Lucinda earns her stay by cleaning their little goldsmith's shop.

One day, a mysterious woman came into the shop and asked if her large, shiny stone could be placed in a protective lining. She leaves the stone with Lucinda's aunt. Lucinda learns that this woman's name is Beryl. A few minutes after Beryl leaves, the prince enters the shop looking for an engagement ring. Lucinda immediately develops this love for him. She doesn't realize that he is the prince until she runs into him later in the plot.

That night, a strange boy named Peter enters Lucinda's bedroom. He is a runaway criminal. Peter decides to stay the night and Lucinda reluctantly agrees. When Lucinda wakes up the next morning, Peter and Beryl's stone are missing. When she goes downstairs, she learns that her uncle passed away in his sleep. Her aunt thinks she killed him so she kicks her out of her house. Later that day, Lucinda runs into Peter. She asks him to give the stone back to her. Peter told her that he had already sold it to the prince.

Lucinda tells Peter that it wasn't her stone and she needs to get it back to Beryl. She bribes him into helping her get it back. Peter teaches Lucinda how to steal from someone without them knowing that you are reaching in their pocket. That night, at a celebration, Lucinda successfully steals the stone out of teh prince' s shirt pocket. However, the royal guards catch her. They throw her in jail. After someone (who is to remain unnamed) bails her out, she runs to give Beryl her stone. She learns that Beryl is living in her childhood home. She makes a deal with Beryl. They decide that if Lucinda helps Beryl return to her own world, Lucinda will have her childhood home back to herself.

In the process of helping Beryl get back home, Lucinda reunites the lost prince with his family. Once Beryl is back in her world with her family, Lucinda moved back into her home and lived happily ever after.

This book was an entertaining and surprising novel. I loved reading it because it wasn't predictable. I found it fun to predict that something would happen and then have the complete opposite of what I thought was going to happen occur. I found it entertaing because it had parts of popular fairy tales, like Cinderella and Rapunzel, tied into it as well as being it's own story.

The author, Julie Berry, brings up something that I agree with and don't agree with. I agree that everyone has a chance to obtain what was once theirs. I don't think that it is okay to steal in order to gain these things. I think that you should have to earn them.

This book can be related to a large topic that is huge in our everyday world. I related this book to child abuse and neglect. This is constantly going on in this book. For example, when Lucinda is kicked out of her aunt's house, she is left to her own devices. When she was living with her aunt, she would sometimes be sent to bed without a meal. These are examples of neglect. Sometimes Lucinda's aunt would punish her by hitting her. This is an example of abuse. This is the biggest issue in the book. A smaller issue is thievery.

I absolutely loved this book! I thought it was well-written and fun to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and fairy tale stories. I would rate this book an A+.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret By Brian Selznick

I read the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret By Brian Selznick. This book is a really good book if you like adventure and non-fiction types of books. I would consider the main idea of this book is that if you put your heart to something, that great things may occur.
This book takes place in the early to mid 1900's. Hugo is a 10-year old boy who's mom dies during child birth and his father dies in a fire. After his father dies, he has to go live with his uncle in a clock tower and has to help his uncle run the clocks and help him around at the station.


Hugo's uncle has to leave one day and said he would be back soon. But, the uncle ends up leaving Hugo all on his own to feed himself and take care of the clocks. When his father had died he left Hugo an auto human, which is a mechanical doll. Hugo had tried to fix it many times with the notebook that his father had left with it. One day he was trying to steal gears and toys from the toy store. When Papa Georges, the owner to the toy store, steals Hugo's notebook.


Through out the whole book he is trying to get his notebook back. On his adventure, he meets Papa Georges grand daughter, Isabelle. Isabelle helps him find his notebook and they become really good friends. They can not find the notebook anywhere. But they do find something that has been there all along. Isabelle's key. Her key is made to fit Hugo's auto human.


They get the auto human to work and they are both really surprised at what it draws. It draws one of the famous pictures drawn by Papa Georges, and it is signed by him to. They both wonder how that is possible. Hugo's dads auto human, but it draws something that Papa Georges drew. In the end they figure out what a great artist and magician Papa Georges was. He had just been hiding it for many, many years.


This book shows a lot of friendship and commitment. It shows that if you make a promise than you better stick to that promise and follow through with what you do. Many people break promises and don't do what they say they are going to do. As for, this book is a good way of showing a good example of friendship and commitment.

I really enjoyed reading this book and hope that you will read it too! It is a fun book and shows many interesting qualities. It is a really fun book and has really interesting parts that I didn't want to put the book down for! A-




Hugo movie Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcdEXHIuTxw

Brotherband Chronicles The Outcasts

If you liked the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan, then you will love the book, Brotherband Chronicles, The Outcasts, by the same author. The story takes place in Scandinavia and is told from the perspective of Hal, a boy considered by most to be an outcast. His father was one of the greatest warriors the country had ever seen, but was killed in combat when Hal was just 5 years old. Following his father’s death, Hal’s mother has struggled to provide for her family. Hal is thought to be strange because he spends his time building random things and befriending the city’s laughing stock, Thorn. Despite this, Hal is determined to make something of himself.

Hal is able to realize a long time dream by buying himself ship. Hal creates a sail for the ship that helps it to go faster. After demonstrating impressive sailing skills, the town realizes that perhaps Hal is more than what they originally thought.

Soon after, Hal begins his brotherband training where he is trained to be a Viking warrior. After a full year of gruesome training and learning to work with others as a team, Hal overcomes many trials and proves that he is not an outcast by finally becoming a warrior. Following this, there is an exciting unexpected ending, which leads into the next adventure.

I really liked this book and I can’t wait to read the second book in the series. I love how John Flanagan can tell a story. I would give this an A-. If you like the Ranger Apprentice series, or just Vikings in general then it should be a good read.

UnEnchanted

     UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn was one of the best fantasy books I have read in a long time! The book showed that everyone is faced with challenges but we all need to find a way to overcome it.

     Mina Grime is a high school student. She is very shy and she like to go unnoticed. Her father died when she was little and her other family members are her little brother and mother. She has a major crush on the school's jock, Brody Charmicheal. She has never talked to him ever in her entire life. Until the day when she is on a field trip with him. They are at Babushka's Bakery on the catwalk that towers the entire bakery. Mina accidentally drops her pencil. Luckily no one else sees it. She goes to get it and realizes it is right next to Brody's foot. He slips on the pencil and almost falls off the catwalk. Mina jumps and saves him!

     Mina starts getting a ton of attention. More than she has had in her entire life. Brody not only starts talking to Mina but also taking a love interest in her. One day she is at the library with Brody. And she gets attacked by a crazy man asking for a book! She tells her mother and soon finds out her real last name is Grimm. She finds out she has to go thought all the stories in the Grimm books to survive and keep the curse away from her little brother! The library incident was just a little part of what faces her in the future.

     This book was very intense and interesting, but way too predictable. I also thought the book was too comparable to the Twilight Saga. I thought the the author could have done a better job describing important details and describing the setting. At times in the book I couldn't visualize exactly where or what was happening. The book hints that even if you start out as a no one anything can happen. Also, it demonstrates that challenges will come but we can always figure them out.

     If you are interested in a fantasy book with romance this is the book for you! Also, if you enjoyed the Twilight series this is a book for you too. It has its flaws but I still enjoyed it quite a bit!

Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow

The first thing you should know about this book is that it is amazing. It is an autobiography, in which Tim Tebow, professional quarterback for the Denver Broncos tells his story. You find out that he actually has an amazing background. You usually look at people like his and assume that they are just rich and spoiled. Considering his circumstances, Tebow is very different. It really surprises you, some of the things he tells about himself. But it definately kept me intrigued.

Now, like any other autobiography or biography, it didn't necessarily keep me flipping pages in suspense, but I kept reading it because it was very inspirational, and only motivated me even more to commit to things I have a passion for, because that's exactly what he did. Surprisingly, I found out that up until high school, Tebow played baseball. And not only played it, he had a gift for it, and likely could've found himself earning a career in the sport. However, as I mentioned before, he had a passion for football, so he went the direction he wanted to, and look where it got him today.

Another thing that I personally found interesting was that he is a hard core Christian. He grew up in the shadow of his father who was a pastor and a very good man in Christ. His family went on mission trips to the Philippines, where they helped kids who were struggling, and Tim, along with his two brothers would speak to them, and help them better understand and grow closer to the Lord. Thus, throughout the book he gives full credit of his success and his blessings to the Lord, which is one of the reasons I admire him as a person. From reading this book, you can really tell that he is such a good guy, and is one who is able to handle the fame without making bad choices.

Lastly, throughout the book, you learn several important life lessons that he, and many others have been through. It shows a lot of insight, which is good because we all get insight from people we know. However it is good to get it from someone in a different position as well, and it teaches you a lot about staying committed, and believing in yourself and giving the credit to Christ. That was the best piece of information I got out of this book. But there us much for us all to learn from Tebow as a person and a player.

All in all, I give this book an A for its purpose and theme. Tebow also showed that NFL players aren't always retarded, and he can write a successful book. He definitely succeeded. Ultimately, this book is mainly inspirational, but also a little bit informational, and I would recommend it to anyone with a passion because it gives you a lot of inspiration. I know it inspired me to do my best. And even if its not a sport, there's still so much to learn from reading this book.

The Hunger Games~ Suzanne Collins

" I take his hand, holding it tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go." Although used as the last sentence in The Hunger Games, I guess I might as well use it as a start to my book review. If you couldn't tell, I read The Hunger Games; and one word... AMAZING! At the start, I only read it to stop the amazed looks I'd get when I said I hadn't read it, but in the end I totally LOVED it. It is hard to explain it, but I would say if I had to describe it I would probably say it is exciting, romantic, and epic. It's exciting because it moves at a fast pace and is definitely a page turner. Also, it is romantic because, well all adventures are. In this case, it is all the mush with Katniss and Peeta. And lastly it is epic because... it just is okay!? Katniss is amazing and just the whole idea is crazy. And the adventure these kids are forced to go on is one word.. epic. So, there you go. Now, that pretty much sums up my opinion. So, unto the story behind it.

Katniss Everdeen is a 16 year old girl who grew up and country called Panem, in district 12. She was just like any other girl in the Seam, hungry and helpless, only one thing set her apart- she hunted. Once her father died, she found food was hard to get on the table and that hunting was the only way, although it was totally illegal. This did not matter it Katniss. She and Gale would go almost everyday to get food on their tables and make a few extra dimes.

It was that time of year again; that time every child between the ages of 12 and 18 dreads and families fear. It was time for the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is more or less the Capitol's way of saying they are still the boss and just to show their power- or at least that is what Katniss says. In my opinion, these 'games' should not be games at all! I think the Hunger Massacre would be a more appropriate title. This is how the games works: 1. A male and female 'tribute' are picked from each district to represent their district in the games. 2. They get sent to the fancy Capitol to be feed and given training (They need to know at least kinda what they are doing or the games would be no fun to watch.) 3. Place all 24 tributes in an arena and watch them slay each other until there is only one tribute left. Simple as that. Three easy steps. This is the Hunger Games. The time for choosing the tributes is now and shock spreads over the citizens of district 12 as Prim Everdeen is chosen. Prim. She had one slip. She is 12. She is too young to die. Again the audience is dumbfounded as Katniss gladly steps in for her younger sister. Then Peeta Mullek is chosen as the male tribute and simple as that- the games begin.

As you go through the book you watch the games as they are 'played' and witness as the tributes one by one die off. This is why the book got an A instead of an A+, at some parts it got a little gory, which does not tickle my fancy. Anyway, there are lots of twist and turns you would never see coming and that is what makes it interesting.

In this book, there could be hundreds of themes. I think one may be that when you work together you both get farther; as displayed with both Katniss and Reu and Katniss and Peeta. It also may be trying to say that kindness always pays off; like with Katniss's run-in with Thresh. Another theme may be that people shouldn't be treated like raved dogs and made to do things most would never want to do. Peeta says that he wants to go and be more then just a piece in their game. I think by this the author is saying that people should be valued and cherished and life should be lived to the fullest, not to be lived in fear and used for others entertainment. I have to agree. Life is so amazing and no one should take away someone else's just for the entrainment of those watching. Each person is an individual and is special and we are not just merely pieces moving through the game board of life but we are real live people that need to be treated that way. On a different note, another one may be that winning is not always as good a deal as it seems and may sometimes include giving up something you love. These are only a few, but these may be what the book is trying to get at.

In a nutshell, this book was the simple definition of extraordinary. It had a little bit of everything to thrill every kind of audience. I would tell anyone to read it and if I had to say one bad thing about this book, it would be that I took so flippen' long to read it. Don't make the same mistake I did.

*Fun Fact! They are coming out with a movie of this ever so amazing book and in only a few short week it is coming to theatures!!! Here is to get you excited. But yet again I still am yet to figure out how to post a trailer... So click on this big long thing

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgssLmsOa2s ) to get in on the action.

Once Upon a Marigold

Once Upon a Marigold is by Jean Ferris and by crickey's she did a good job at writing this book. This book is a great book about love and how two best friends who only knew each other over letters found themselves knowing each other in person.
The book starts out with a troll named Ed in a forest on his way home when he finds a boy named Christian on his own. Christian had ran away from home and doesn't know where his home or parents are. Ed ends up adopting him and well both Ed, Christian and of course Eds two dogs Bub and Cate get along fine.
Anyway, a few years go by and Christian was looking across the river at a princess who was reading a book. He wanted to know what the book was about so, he sent her a p-mail which is basically a letter but a bird sends it to the person you are giving it too. The princess writes back and then they keep sending p-mails to get to know each other more. After a few or maybe even around 20 p-mails they become best friends.
Anyway, Ed wants Christian out of the house so he can get a job and live his own life. So, Christian decides to get a job at the castle as a servant so he can see the princess who is named Marigold, all day.
At first he didn't want Marigold to know that he was her best friend so he didn't tell her but, then he touched her and he also remembered that Marigold has a curse. Marigold's curse is that when she touches someone, she can read their mind. Luckily Christian wasn't thinking about the p-mails he was sending her so, it was still a secret, until she touched him again.
All of a sudden things started getting weird and information was getting to Christian that he did not like. He found out rumors about the Queen and also that Marigold were to marry a prince named Magnus. Then, Christian got put in a dungeon after the Queen saw Marigold and Christian hugging. Ed, Bub and Cate were in the dungoen too.
While all of these things were going on, the king was asleep until he woke up after hearing Marigold running down the hall yelling and someone following her. He got very worried and asked one of the servants where Marigold was. King Swithbert found out that Marigold was also in the dungeon because Queen Olympia had put her there. Without telling the Queen he went down to the dungeon and got Marigold out but not Christian, Ed and the dogs because he had no room to hide all of them. He also found out about the Queens plan and wanted to change that without the Queen knowing.
King Swithbert did just that and well, the ending was a happy ending because Marigold and Christian, wait... I shouldn't be telling you about the ending because it will give it away so, all i will say is that the ending is a happy ending. This book is truly a fantasy and a fairytale and a comedy book all in one.