King's Ransom by Jude Watson (Good)

Hello, again.  I just finished A King's Ransom and wanted to post about it.  Before I get into this particular book, I just want to give you my overall thoughts of this series, complete with pros and cons

1. The series is really good.  (pro)
2. There are, like, six or so authors, so it doesn't really flow very well. (con)
3. There are way too many books, all of them being only about 200 pages.  But, I still read them because I'm caught up in the story. (con)
4. Almost all of the books end in cliffhangers.  It makes the story better, but I can't help being frustrated.  (neutral)
5. A book comes out every two months or so.  You have a new book quickly.   (pro)

As you can see, the bad evens out with the good.  I always look forward to the next book coming out.
Now back to King's Ransom.



IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ONE (rather The Medusa Plot or this book) OF THE VESPER RELATED CAHILL BOOKS STOP READING BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!
This book is about Amy and Dan's attempt to help the hotages that Vesper One is keeping.  They have to find an ancient world map that hasn't been seen since way before they were born.  Not only do the have to find it before the police find them, but they also have the new problem of other Vespers being determined to find the map before them.  They find unexpected allies, some with very complex problems, in unexpected places. 
It was worth reading.  It answered some questions that I didn't even know needed asking and I have to admit that the cliffhanger has me hanging.  You definetly have to read the rest of the series to get this book.  I liked the book, but I wish it was longer.  I read most of it in one car ride (a long car ride, but still).
If you read it tell me what you think about it.
Happy late Boxing Day!

The Shining by Stephen King (Awesome in a weird way)

Hey, guys!  Sorry that I forgot to post on Friday.  I can't keep track of the days of the week during breaks.  Anyway, I finally have a new book to post about: The Shinig.  All I can think to say is wow. The cover:

This is a very famous book.  Most likely one of the most well known Stephen King books. 

The book is about a family (Jack, Wendy, and their son Danny) who move to a hotel so that Jack can be the winter caretaker.  The hotel has many secrets from its past including the previous caretaker, who killed his entire family.  Danny (who has a special gift to see the future) knows that there is something about the hotel that will be very dangerous to his family.  The book is a mix of never-ending parties, a bloody mallet, mysterious hedges, a secret scrapbook, a boiler that creeps, and undead spirits crawling through the hotel.  The question that everyone is wondering is 'Will everything go to pieces in this isolated hotel before the spring comes?'.

For fair warning, this book has very bad language.  It is also might scare some people.  (It has the tendancy.)  Truth be told?  It is not meant for someone below high school, but if you, like me, have an alright filter and don't get insanely freaked out by scary things, you will love it.  I know I did.

I also want to point out that the movie is an almost completely different story than the book.  They didn't even get right who lived and who died.  So if that affects your opinion whether or not to read it, they are completely different, in a good way.

I really liked The Shining.  I wish I could write more in the description, but, like so many other good books, it builds on itself and I don't want to ruin anything.  I will say that half of the best parts occurs in the last 100 pages (out of a little less than 700).  This book will make you cry with despare, rant to someone is frustration, or make your eyes widen with pure shock.  (I know that sounds overly dramatic, but it's true!)  If you read it, you will really enjoy it.

I will be posting a lot soon, so I can cover the books I got for Christmas.

Hope you all had happy holidays!

All of the books from school so far (pretty bad)

Hey all!  I decided to review the books that they made me read for school.  There are two of them. 
The first is Touching Spirit Bear which I didn't like.  It was probably because I hated all of the characters and thought they were all the stupidest people ever.  It was also very metaphoric.  The cover:

It was about this troubled kid that got mauled by a bear (he definetly deserved it) and then blamed the world for it.  He bascically gets banished twice from the world.  For, like, half the book he was lying on the ground having flashbacks.  I'm sure that someone would enjoy it, but, personally, I didn't like it.  I was just overally annoyed at all the characters and the plot just wasn't grabbing enough.

The second book was Chinese Cinderella.  It wasn't all that bad, but I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for school.  Here's the cover:



This book is an autobiography.  It was about a girl whose parents hate her.  She has a lot of family issues growing up and she wrote a book about them.  It was written well and you found yourself hating the right characters and feeling really sorry for the main character, Adeline/ Wu Mei. (That's the same person.  It has something to do with the Chinese Culture.)  It was an alright book overall, but since all the characters had, like, four different names, so I was a bit confused. 

Those are all the books so far.  I will probably post again this week, because school's out!  Hope you all have a great break!

No Post this week

Hey, everybody.  Sorry, I can't post this week; everything is too busy.  Look for a post next week on Friday.  Hope you all will have a good weekend.  

A World without Heroes (Beyonders) by Brandon Mull (Amazing)

I haven't read anything new since last week, so I decided that I would post on one of my old favorites.  Especially since the holidays are coming up.  You have probably read something from Brandon Mull and not realized it.  The Candy Shop War (which is good, even though the title is cheesy), Fablehaven series, and of course this series The Beyonders.  Here's the cover, it person it is made to look 3D:

Come to think of it, I have no idea who the cover shows.  I can picture three different people...
This is a very light read.  Funny-wise, it is 464 pages.  It has all that is needed for a great story:  a fast paced plot, lovable characters, a lot of comic relief, etc.
On a normal day at the zoo, Jason falls into the hippo tank and gets swallowed.  It transports him to a parallel universe, ruled by a corrupt emporer, Maldor.  He is sent on a journey to put something together to defeat Maldor, forever, when all he wants to do is get home.  Jason finds someone from his world, Rachel, and they set out together.  They meet a couple friends, even more enemys, and some betrayers.  Will they be able to find what they're looking for before Maldor kills them?  Find out by reading it.
 This is an awesome book.  I would really recomend it.  The description doesn't give it justice, because of all of the humor in it.
It's sequel comes of in the beginning of January.  I hope you all have a good weekend.
This is a video about the book.  It gives a little away, but nothing after the first two chapters.

Happy Reading!

Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman (Great)

Hey!  Hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving.  Antsy Does Time is a great story.  It was a bit sad a one point, but I was happy with the ending.  It was a classic book by this author who, quite frankly, I absolutely love.  To paraphrase a quote someone gave on his books (you can read it on the cover of some of his books including Bruiser) It will keep you thinking about the characters for years after you read it. 
Here's the cover:

Amazingly enough, it has absolutely nothing to do with jail, as the title may suggest.  Instead, it deals with the trading of months of your life.  It all started when a boy fell terminably ill; Antsy thought he would help him emotionally with giving the boy some of his life.  Time dealing becomes a big, no huge, deal as more and more people add time to this kid's life.  But, something fishy is going on, something involving this kid's family and Antsy is taking it upon himself to sniff it out.
It really only mentions the first book in the "series", like, 3 times.  You would be fine if you didn't read it.  You probably wouldn't even notice one of the references. 
It was pretty funny and I finished it incrediably quickly.  I think you'll love it.
Currently, I'm not really sure what I am doing, reading wise.  I am reading Stephen King's The Shining and loving it, but I am a little shocked because it is so like me yet so not like me to read.  I am also rereading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan which I am shocked that I haven't done a post on.  (That will probably be coming soon.)  I just don't want to read a bunch of books when Christmas is right around the corner.  Come to think of it, if you want me to do a bunch of various book reviews for your Christmas lists, just comment and let me know. 
I hope you enjoyed my special Black Friday post.

Crossed by Ally Condie (Still Awesome)

Hey!  I decided that I will try to post every Friday.  (It's the only day that I have time.)  I thought that I would let you know that.
Anyway, I read the sequel to Matched and found that it was as good as the first book.  Here's the cover:

The cover is a lot like the first book's.  I think that it's an altogether very artsy and basically, awesome, cover.  She's inside the sphere in the first one, she's breaking out in the second, and I would guess that she is either completely out or standing in its ruins in the third.  (It's not out yet.)

The book was very good.  It was a little less love triangle- like and a little more action filled than the first book.

I really do not want to spoil anything for the people who have not read Matched yet...  So, if you have not: STOP READING NOW!!!  Okay, have all of you read it?   It's your own fault if you didn't, so now that I feel better, here is my descriptions.  There's no spoilers if you haven't read Crossed yet.

Cassia and Ky alternate narrating this adventure.  Cassia journeys to find Ky in the Outer Providences.  There they are fired upon every night by some of these "bad guys".  There are some new characters that come along that you can quickly fall in love with.  They travel long and hard across a very entrancing world.  They find out what the Society has been keeping from everyone, find out more of Ky's story, find a hidden community, and as they try to find something...  Even if some of the party would rather it not be found.

Read it to find out where Cassia, Ky, and Xander stand in their relationships and who will ever see the other ones again.

If you have not read it, it is a must read for anyone who likes dramatic love/action books.  It is not my usual kind of series, but it's nice to shake it up a bit.  

I am currently reading Antsy Does Time (which is the sequel of The Schwa was Here).  I will post as soon as a get a chance.  

Until then, Happy Reading!

The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman (Really Great)

Hey everyone!  Sorry that I keep changing my rating scale.  I just have so many books that fall between levels.  I read The Schwa was Here a couple days ago.  Here's the cover:

I read it because the author is really, really good.  (I will have a lot more reviews from him.)  And I wasn't disappointed.  

This book is about a boy who is "functionally invisible" (that means not noticed) named Calvin Schwa, whom everyone calls The Schwa.  It is told from his friend, Antsy's, point of view.  They conduct experiments to see how far The Schwa can go unnoticed.  When they get caught, they have to work for some crazy old man.  But then this girl comes into play...  

It is a wonderfully told book with twists and turns and a lot of comic relief.  I would really recommend reading it.  It has one of the best endings that I have ever read.  It's one of those endings which leaves you thinking about it constantly and thinking " Omg!  That was SO good!"  At least, it did for me.

My one bit of confusion in the entire book was in the beginning, like the first page.  I thought that "dummy" meant "idiot" instead of  "puppet".  That was completely my fault, but I thought I would clear it up in case you get confused.  When you read it, imagine that it was "idiot" and you'll realize why I was sort of shocked.

Anyway, if you're not sure of if you want to read it, read the first page or two.  I am 99% sure that you will love it.

I think there is a second book: Antsy Does Time.  It may not be directly related, so I'll let you know once I read it.  In the meantime, I hope you read The Schwa was Here.  Let me know if you have any book you want me to read/ review.    

Matched by Ally Condie (Awesome)

Hey!  Sorry it took me so long to post, especially since I finished this book on Tuesday...
This isn't one of my normal kinds of books, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My best simplified description is Twilight meets Hunger Games meets The Giver.  
Here's the cover:

Okay, this is a really good book.  I heard an interview-like thing with the author and thought she sounded like she would write a good book.  I was right.  This is one of those weird books that I don't quite know why I like, but that I can't stop reading.  I just want to point out that this is definitively a girl's book, because it is mostly a love book.
My description is this:  A girl named Cassia lives in a Utopia setting run by the Society.  The world, run by the Society, is doing fine because of a system called Matching.  They sort people to find their best partner.  The Matchees see that person for the first time on a screen during a ceremony.  Cassia sees two people flash on her screen.  She starts to love them both.  All three of them are in the middle of a complicate love triangle.  You'll have to read it to find out what will happen next.
I would go farther in describing it, but I don't want to give anything else away.  The pace gets really quick by the middle though, trust me, there's even a mild action scene.  I will say reveal, however, that there are like two poems involved.  (That probably means more than you might suspect right now.)
To explain my earlier description: this is like Twilight and The Hunger Games in terms of the love triangle and like The Giver in the sense of the not perfect Utopia setting.
This is a really popular book and everyone I know who's reading it is completely immersed.  I thought that since I started it late, I wouldn't finish it for a while, but I finished it in like 3 days (despite the length).  This book is one of those you-can't-put-it-down-no-matter-what books. 
Again, I wanted to remind you that this is about as much of a guy book as Twilight is.  I would recommend this to almost anyone (again with this being a girly book).
Tell me what you thought about it.  I really hope you enjoy it.

Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. (Awesome)

Hey, everybody! Sorry that I'm late posting this. I got a little caught up. So, since I haven't finished any of my library books yet, I decided that I would review the Ranger's Apprentice series. This is definitely more of a guy series, but girls will love it too (I know that from experiance). I honestly can't tell you how poplular it is, because I'm not 100% sure.  I know if it's not that it definitely should be.  There are ten books in the series: The Ruins of Gorlon, The Burning Bridge, The Icebound Land, The Battle for Skandia, The Sorcerer of the North, The Siege of Macindaw, Erak's Ransom, The Kings of Clonmel, Halt's Peril, and The Emperor of Nihon-Ja. And here's acouple of the covers:

Those are just a few of them and this is one of those series that have different covers, so don't be alarmed if you see a different kind. 

Anyway, back to the series.  I really liked it.  It had solid characters and perfect plot shifts and turning points.  It was beautifully written.  It kept you guessing about what would happen next and who would attack whom.  The character's relationships were really thought out and intracing. 

My only complaints about the entire ten book series (I would usually have a lot more considering how many books there were) was that the author decided to put books 5 and 6 in the close future and then the series carrys on until catching up with those books and then there was another book or two.  (I really hope that that made sense.) 

Most of the series goes pretty much that part one of the book is book one, the second part of that book is book two, the third book is the start of another adventure, the fourth is the second part of that adventure, etc. 

My second complaint, which is related to the first, is that at the very beginning of the book, the reader has no idea how much time has past since the book before it.  When I read the first chapter of acouple of the books, I was all like "Wow! When did that happen?".  It cleared itself up though really quickly, usually by the second chapter.

The basic premise of the series (this won't give anything away)  is that there is a boy named Will who is chosen to become a Ranger. He learns how to do Ranger like things, but the problem is that a war is brewing just like it did years and years ago. It's up to the Rangers and some of their friends to stop all the other forces before its too late. 

That was mostly the first two books' description, but I think that it is not really nessecary to spoil anything just because once you read the first book the rest will come quickly afterwward.  Most of the books are fast paced and the slow parts are nice and sweet or they're funny.  There are definetly parts that will make you laugh, think, or cry(if you are one of those people who cry when they read).  Actually...  I'm not sure if you would cry, it's not all that sad...

If, again, you don't believe me; go ask someone who has read this series and see what they think.  It's not just me.  It is really amazing.

I'll post again soon, I'm about halfway through Matched so I'll post when I'm done with it, if not before.

Until then, Happy Reading!

*UPDATE: Three years have passed since I posted this review.  I noticed the "rating" was "between good and awesome".  I have no idea what I was thinking! I replaced the rating with the correct one.  This is one of the best series I've ever read.  Since last posting, I have reread it.  Twice.  It is still just as hilarious.  The characters have all been amazing.  In fact, the protagonist from this series, Will, is my favorite character of all time.  I have no idea why I ever doubted the Ranger's Apprentice series.  I apologize for my past self's behavior!

What I just got!

I just asked for two new books from the library. They were The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman and Matched by Ally Condie. I'll let you guys know how they were as soon as I read them! I'm also planning on reading The Outcasts by John Flanagan, but I am not 100% sure yet. I loved the Ranger's Apprientice (my review is coming soon!) and I don't want to read a bad sequaling series. But, while we wait for all that, follow me, comment, do something to show me that I have an audience out there! I'll try to post again on Friday. So I'll see you then.

The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner (Awesome)

Hey! I have another review for a pretty popular series, The Maze Runner Trilogy. This series consists of The Maze Runner, the Scorch Trials, and the Death Cure. The last one only came out this month.  These are the covers:

It's a really good series that gets better and better with each page.  The first book started out strong then teetered a little bit, getting close to being slow, but then as soon as I noticed that, it became really awesome and I couldn't put it down.  The next two books didn't have a single slow spot in them; they were great.  

 The story line of The Maze Runner (with no real spoilers, so don't worry) is that a boy named Thomas comes to in a metal lift with no memories other than his name and how the world works.  He arrives at the Glade, which is in the middle of a maze that changes every night.  The Gladers try to find a way out of this maze, but there's a catch.  There are these things called Grievers that travel the maze at night.  Nothing is as it seems.  

It has many twists and turns that keep you guessing and characters you really care about.

The second book, The Scorch Trials is even better.  *SPOILER ALERT (if you have not read the first Maze Runner book)*  After Thomas and the others have been rescued, things start getting strange as they cross the Crank filled Scorch in search for the safe haven promised to them.*SPOILER ALERT OFF*

The third book, I can't really do a description without ruining the story, so I'll just say that it was really good and consisted of, basically, people running around, making alliances, and then fighting each other.  That was an awful description, but everything builds on itself and I'm not going to be that one person who spoils the ending of the series for you.  So, go read this series because it's amazing, interesting, and let you understand what people are saying.  You'll be glad you read it.  Hope you liked my review!

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (Awesome)

This is my first review, so I'm making it about a very well known book, but since it is so well known, everything I say, you probably know, but hang in there.  Harry Potter is the series that made me start liking to read.  It is a wonderfully written story about a boy named Harry Potter who is in at least ten life threatening adventures over the series.  The characters are really well developed with both their good qualities and the bad ones.  It made them all very realistic.  That and the plot are probably what has made this book so massively popular.  The story in essence, is about a boy who is a wizard and ends up going to a school for witches/ wizards called Hogwarts.  He makes some good friends and plays a very different kind of sport.  Then things turn weird, and Harry has to save the day or else the world as we know it will end.  Over the rest of the series relationships come together and break and things turn sour multiple times.  This is a really good book, if you doubt me, ask anyone who has read it.  You will hear complete love for this book.  It is a must read that will surprise you with its twists and turns and you won't be able to put it down.  I know I couldn't.  This is one of those series that you can read six times and still love it.  (I know that from experience.)  If you haven't read it, go find it and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Welcome!!!

This is my first post, so yay!  Since this blog is new; I wanted to let you know some stuff, so here I go.  I'm planning on posting my description of the book, a book review, etc.  Just so you"re not confused, my scale will be bad, okay, good, and awesome.  (I will most likely put the rating in the title of the post, so you can look for it there.)  I think I'll start with popular series, move on to more obscure books, then write them as I'm reading them.  Feel free to comment!  I'm supper excited and hope you enjoy!