Thursday 27 December 2012

Review of 'Summer Secrets'

Yesterday, I finished reading 'Summer Secrets' written by Sarah Webb, which is the second book in the series of Ask Amy Green.

    It is a book on a family holiday gone wrong.Constant two weeks of screaming, competitive games, heavy rain, secrets makes Amy Green go mad. So, when a surprise invite to the US of A comes to her, Amy goes out of her way to receive it. But when Amy reaches USA she finds that a super-famous star needs her problem-solving skills to get him out of trouble. Amy tries her best to solve his problem but this time can the problem-solving supremo succeed?

   The best part about this book is that it can stand as an individual book in itself, and you don't have to read the first or latter books to read this one.

   This book is a fabulously funny read and captures the feelings and concerns of preteens girls perfectly. I would recommend this book to all my friends and readers from 11 to 14. Of course if you love the book too much there is always the third book- Bridesmaid Blitz- to look forward to!

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Review of 'Jason and the Argonauts'

'Jason and the Argonauts' is a Greek legend and I am going to review this legend as retold by Felicity Brooks. It is a 144 paged novel and is quite adventurous

Jason is a young man who struggles onwards through enemy territory, battles a merciless sea god and commits feats that some people can only dream of. Jason is a hero, not to mention his fearless crew - the Argonauts. Together they can do anything.
Brooks thrillingly retells this heroic tale of myths and monsters in her own way.

I think everybody would like this book because everyone loves an adventure tale.Of course, if it is retold this fantastically, no one can refuse it. Hats off to Felicity for retelling this book so magnificently. Jason's story itself is so overwhelming that I can even go to the Ancient Greeks and thank them for believing in such terrific legends. :)

This book is really good and I would recommend it to all from 9 to 99.

Review of 'Pretty Bad Things'

I read the book 'Pretty Bad Things' yesterday. The young adult novel is written by C.J. Skuse and is an interesting read.

There were these six-year old 'Wonder Twins'. Ten years later they hit the headlines again, but this time because they are tearaway teens.This book revolves around Beau and Paisley, twins who are searching for their dad since ten years. This time their search has taken them to Las Vegas. One day it so happens that they see their dad on the streets but before they can reach him he goes away. On an idea they decide to make news by going on a crime spree in order to make their dad notice them.

This book is a thriller and is quite interesting. Some parts are a little stretchy but that is my point of view. It has no sequel/prequel, and is a single book. All ages 12+ can read it.

Review of 'The Fire Thief'

Today my pick is...'The Fire Thief' written by Terry Deary. Its the first book in The Fire Thief Trilogy and is 250 pages long. It is a mix of mythology-history-fantasy, so I would call it a thriller/fantasy.

This book revolves around the Greek Titan Prometheus who, in search of a hero, time travels into another Time Period-1858 Eden City. Unknown to him, a Fury is chasing him for his life. In Eden, he meets an orphan who agrees to help him. Will Prometheus find a hero and survive?

The book follows two story lines which crisscross each other on many occasions. One shows us Olympus, back at The Dawn Of Time. The other follows the adventures and labors of Prometheus.

It is a short book but Trilogies usually are.This book has Greek mythology, humorous footnotes, goriness, sarcastic comments, adventure and is a pack of fun for anybody to read. This book is simply enjoyable, I would recommend it to all children 10 above.

Friday 14 December 2012

Review of 'Endymion Spring'

Today I'm going to write about a book written by Matthew Skelton titled 'Endymion Spring'. This 448 paged novel was published in 2006 and is a fantasy-thriller.

Endymion Spring cover.jpgImagine a book about a mystery of a book. That's exactly what Endymion Spring was. It was about a young boy Blake who finds an old dusty book in a library. As soon as he touches it, he realizes there is is a mystery behind the book. In  his quest to free the book, return it to its rightful place, he overcomes many problems and obstacles. However when he embarks on the quest he finds out he has to battle the Person in the Shadow, a person whose heart is totally black and full of evil. There is also another storyline in which another boy-the original Endymion Spring- is on the run to save something, whose value he does not understand then.

This book has a totally different plot from other usual books, and is a very interesting read. It is a must read for all children who are bored of the usual books and long for something different to read.

 All people 11+ can read this book and enjoy till its last page.

Review of 'Magyk'

A week ago I started (and finished!!) reading the big 564 paged novel 'Magyk'.It is the first book in the series of Septimus Heap written by Angie Sage, illustrated by Mark Zug.

Now I know, the first thing that comes into your mind when you see the book is that the title is spelled incorrectly. That is where you are wrong. Magyk and Magic are two very different things. For one, Magic is the art while Magyk is a type of Magic. Nevertheless, I'll leave the explaining to Sage.

Magyk is a fantasy book, and is about numerous things. It is not focusing one one story but dealing with three-four things at once, and can be confusing at times. Who is Septimus Heap? What is he? Is he alive? Who is the Princess? Will she survive? How come the Princess is a secret?...are few of the questions you deal with.

To tell you the truth, I didn't like the book too much, it was all too pulling on for me. It could have its bit of shortening. Another thing was that it was quite predictable...but I think inexperienced readers would have a little trouble foretelling the end.

All in all, the book was interesting but lengthy, suitable for all children above 12  years of age.I hope you like Magyk good enough to read the next book in the series, which is 'Flyte'.