The Battle of Hackham Heath (Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years #2) by John Flanagan 4.5/5 stars

Hey, guys! Whether I should be reading this prequel series to Ranger's Apprentice is up for debate; however, I know I am definitely enjoying it. After reading The Tournament at Gorlan, I was ready for the next book in this series. 

The Cover:

The Cover:
It shows a monster reaching for the crown, as Morgarath pitches his attempt to claim the throne and the kingdom from King Duncan. B cover.

Official Description:
The peace in Araluen is under threat and newly crowned King Duncan must prepare for war. Morgarath is in hiding, recruiting an army of savage beasts known as Wargals for his next attack.
Halt prepares for a seemingly impossible task – to scale the Mountains of Rain and Night to spy on the enemy and uncover their plans.
He knows that one wrong move could be deadly, for at the Battle of Hackham Heath the fate of a kingdom will be decided.

My Review:
The Battle of Hackham Heath was an exciting book. Most of the book was spent on various battles that the Rangers and kingdom fight against Morgarath who is now equipped with some deadly allies, the Wargals. By controlling the Wargals with mind control, Morgarath can set these beasts on the kingdom as he seeks revenge and power. 

The plot is very fast-paced as the characters plan and then execute various battle strategies and tactics. It was most similar to Battle of Skandia in its story. 

The characters were as great as ever. Halt and Crowley were lovable as always, with dry senses of humor as well as a lack of regard for other's opinions of themselves. Their relationship is one of the highlights of this prequel series.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Battle of Hackham Heath. It wasn't the best Ranger's Apprentice book, but I enjoyed it all the same. I believe this prequel series is supposed to be a trilogy, but I'm not sure how that will work. The ending of this book felt like closure enough! Either way, I know that I will be reading it. 

Phrase:
Wargals

If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
The Brotherband Chronicles
Legend

If you're looking for a good book, check out my Suggestions Page!

Happy Reading!

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The Tournament at Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice:The Early Years #1) by John Flanagan 5/5 stars

Hey, guys!  The Ranger's Apprentice series is one of my favorite series of all time.  (If you haven't read it, you should.  It has some of the best characters I've ever read.)  At this point in my life, I will admit that I've probably aged out, but even being much older than the intended audience, I loved it.  I can't deny that I love a good jousting/kidnapping/attempt to overthrow the king/sword fight.  You really can't go wrong.
While connected to the characters of the earlier series, The Tournament of Gorlan is completely a standalone.
This book, I was a little skeptical about reading.  John Flanagan has not stopped writing books in this universe! He wrote the original Ranger's Apprentice books, the Brotherband Chronicles, as well as this new offshoot.  I decided to pick it up, and I'm glad I did.

The Cover:

The Cover:
It shows a central jousting tournament that occurs at the climax of the book (and at the Tournament of Gorlan).  I like the colors of the cover, and it grabs your attention.  Grade A cover.

Official Description:
When Halt and Crowley discover that the ambitious Morgarath has been infiltrating the Rangers in order to corrupt the Corps, the young Rangers travel north to find Prince Duncan, seeking a royal warrant to stop Morgarath before it is too late. By weakening the Rangers, the most powerful force in support of the King, Morgarath plans to steal the throne. 
Yet when Halt and Crowley arrive in Gorlan, they discover just how close Morgarath’s scheme is to success. Morgarath has a plan to discredit the Prince and alienate him from his father. At the same time, the Baron of Gorlan has been conspiring to win the trust and admiration of the Council of Barons to further his plan. If the young Rangers are to prevent the coup from succeeding, they will have to tread a dangerous path, which leads them to a thrilling climax at the annual tournament at Gorlan, where a series of bitter duels must be fought and won.
This origin story brings readers to a time before Will was an apprentice, and lays the groundwork for the epic battles that will culminate with The Ruins of Gorlan and The Burning Bridge—Books 1 and 2 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series.

My Review:
I enjoyed this book.  It was full of medieval warfare and drama.  One of the best things about these series is the characters.  They are all so complex, unique, and just generally quirky.  By the end of the book, you are sure to love at least one of them.  
The plot was exciting.  Trickery and alliances were abound.  The plot was fast-paced, and I read it super quickly.  
I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone's who's read any of the other books by John Flanagan.  If you haven't yet, give his books a try.  They're all really good, and I often find myself referencing them in my everyday life.  Give them a shot.

Phrase:
A surprise dip in the river.

Happy Reading!

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Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Amazing)

I was really excited about reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  This might have stemmed from either (or both) the fact that John Green wrote part of this book or the fact that not one but both of the main characters were named Will Grayson.  I have been liking John Green at an alarmingly fast increasing rate starting about a month ago.  I am working my way through reading all of his books while watching his amazing youtube channel, vlogbrothers.  (It's the best youtube channel in existence, check it out!)  My second compilation to read this book was simple yet may be confusing.  I have noticed that if there is a supporting or main character named Will in any type of fictional story, he will become my favorite character.  I'm not sure if its because I connect them all with my favorite character of all time, Will from Ranger's Apprentice (link to my review in labels), or because writers make the same type of character and decide to name them Will.  Maybe it's a mix of both, but nevertheless, it caused me to be super excited about this book because, well, there are two of them. I was not disappointed.
The cover:

The cover shows what I think are the stage lights for Tiny's musical. It might just be a pattern, but that's how I like to think about it. 

*To distinguish the Will Graysons, I am going to call one "Will Grayson" and the other "will grayson" *

Summary:
Will Grayson and will grayson have very different lives.  Will Grayson is a relatively normal guy, but his best best friend, Tiny, is different.  Tiny is gay and huge.  At the same time, will grayson lives in a different city where he is in love with a man who he talks to on the internet.  In a bizarre twist, both Will Graysons meet during a crazy, perhaps life-altering night.  Their lives collide together, and they might never be the same.

I loved this book! It was so great in every possible way.  The characters were all realistic with their own motives and personalities.  The potentially confusing area of "Which Will are they talking about?" was a nonissue, and the characters were different enough that it wouldn't have been a problem even if the writers didn't do the strange writing technique for will grayson.

Speaking of which, the strange writing technique was that the second Will Grayson's chapters did not have capitalization.  I know that that sounds confusing and terrible, but it actually worked really well for his character.  It may seem like a shock at first, but I found that I didn't even notice it after a little while.  Both Will Graysons were amazing characters with similar problems and vastly different ways of dealing with them.

All in all, this book was amazing, lovely, hilarious, and just plain meaningful.  I feel like a more complete person after reading it, and I know you will too.  I read it in a single day, and HIGHLY recommend it.  Please note that it is geared toward a more mature audience than what I normally post about, but it is worth reading anyway!

Please go out and read this book.  You'll love it, and join my on my new mission to make everyone alive read Will Grayson, Will Grayson.

Phrase: Phil Wrayson

The Outcasts by John Flanagan (Great)

I read the first book in the semi-new series, The Brotherband Chronicles.  This is a sequeling series to The Ranger's Apprentice and the short story collection: The Lost Stories.  Those were links to my reviews of those books by the way.  The books before have no mention in this new series.  Just the general setting of the series are the same.  Here's the cover:

This book is about a half Skandian, half Aurlen boy.  He is an outcast because of his mixed race and because he is smart in a land that values strength.  The boy, Hal, is old enough for Brotherband training, which is a competition of sorts/ school where boys learn how to sail, navigate, work as a team, etc. Hal's brotherband has to compete with two others in a bunch of risky, interesting contests.  A lot of things happen that "rocks the boat" (and no that is not supposed to be a bad pun) and everything gets complicated...

The book ended on a cliffhanger, which I absolutely hate!  I really enjoyed this book. I would suggest reading it.  My advice: the sailing terminology at the beginning of the book is really unnecessary, so you can skip reading it if you want to.  It just gave me a headache reading it, and I didn't think it helped me a lot.

I hope you decide to read it.  I'll write again once I finish reading the book I'm on: Downsiders by Neal Shusterman.

Happy Reading!