Friday, December 25, 2015

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson


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The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Lexile: 730
Length: 448 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: William C. Morris Debut Award FINALIST
Reading Ram Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars


                Elisa is a princess. She is also the bearer of a powerful stone called the Godstone, given by God Himself. (Oh, and it is in her stomach, probably her belly-button.) You would think that she would be cherished beyond belief, right? Wrong. Everyone looks down on her. Even her nursemaid Ximena. They treat her as if she is a small child. As if she is a useless waste of space. And she is 16 years old!!! So Elisa has turned to food for comfort, and now in addition to being looked down on, she is overweight. She is very insecure about herself, especially her weight, and the way people treat her just adds to the misery. But the thing is, she is extraordinarily smart! She has read all of the war books available to her. She is fluent in more than 1 language as well. People had no reason to treat her badly! Yet they did anyway. Then, on her 16th birthday, she is married of to the king of a neighboring country. Her time in the palace is short, for she is kidnapped by a people who need her help in winning a war. Elisa is changed on the inside and out, mentally and physically. She grows stronger, and becomes the true queen of the country.
                I loved this book so much. It was so deep, and it really touched me. It covered obesity and insecurity in teenagers and yet was still a fantasy book! I thought that it was very well written. Thankfully it is part of a series, so now I can read the rest of the book! Elisa sounds like a very real and relatable character. I really enjoyed reading it. I would only recommend this book only to 7th grade and up. It covers topics like being overweight, and insecurity. I don't think that a fifth-grader would truly be able to understand this book. You should seriously try this book out, it is amazing! It was so so so so good and you will love it if you are okay with these topics! And if you love a good fantasy story.

                        Hello Readers! I thank you for reading my blog all year. It has been awesome! Writing a blog about things I like, books! I read a lot, and I wanted to share some good book choices with the rest of the world. Well, I must tell you something. I am transferring ownership of this blog to another person. I have blogged on it for a year, and it is time to let somebody else share their favorite books with the world. Again, thank you for reading my blog. I have had a great time making it! 

Friday, December 18, 2015

Ruby Red by Kersten Gier


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Ruby Red
Author: Kersten Gier
Lexile: 680
Length: 352 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction/Sci Fi
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 4.8 out of 5 Stars



                   Gwyneth is supposedly a normal girl. Or at least, that is what she has thought for the last 15 years of her life in London, England. The Time Travel gene that runs in her family has skipped over her. Her perky, smart, and perfect cousin Charlotte has inherited it. At least that is what everyone else in her family thinks. Until one day, Gwyneth travels back in time instead of Charlotte. It is not as great as it sounds. Her cousin is instantly jealous, and Gwyneth's life is put through a cyclone. Now aware of her new status, the people in the league of Time Travel scientists are positive that she is the Ruby, the last time traveler in the 12. Her male counterpart from the other time traveling family is Gideon de Villiers. He is smart, handsome, courteous, everything. And he has stolen her heart. Without any training to time travel, Gwyneth is instantly lost in a world of fancy clothing and parties. But what is in store for her? Nobody will tell what her fate is. Will she be destined for greatness or death?
                    I thought this book was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love time travel (Cough *Doctor Who* Cough Cough), and this book perfectly suited that. Plus the fact that it is a British book. Even more like (Cough Cough *Doctor Who* Cough Cough). Gwyneth was very sure that she didn't have it, but she did. Now on to the Star rating. Honestly, why why why why why was there so much ROMANCE??????? Sheesh. Gideon breaks her heart by doing blah blah blah, and also blah blah blah blah blah. It was sweet at the end, but seriously! In the middle of the book, I thought it was just there to fill up pages. I got a teeny bit bored. Now, did that stop this book from being one of my favorite books? No. (I then proceeded to read the other two books in the series in less than a day. Oops.) This book was a little inappropriate. Not that bad. There was some British cussing though, and that was pretty funny. So I would recommend this book to 7th grade and up. It was really amazing though, and you really, really, really, really, really need to read it. Now. Go to the library and get it. Or buy it. NOW. (Please though, it is very good. You won't regret it!)

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Lexile; 730
Length: 576 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: None
The Reading Ram Star Rating: 4.9 out of 5 Stars





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                     Beginning of WWII, in Germany; Liesel became an orphan. She had already lost her father. Then her mother sent her and her brother to live with another family, because she couldn't support them on her own. But her brother never made it past the train ride. Liesel was alone now, sent to live with the other family. There was a man, a very nice man. And a woman. Whose niceness was questionable. The man started to teach Liesel how to read, and she grew to love him more than she ever could've imagined.
                     Years passed. Liesel made new friends. A boy named Rudy was her best friend. She started to steal things with him to quench her hunger, and something else. The desire to read. The war also played a part in her life. It took many people away from her. And it caused many things to occur. As many accidents wreaked havoc on her life, she wrote a book. And that book is the book of her life. She lost many terrible things. She was so sad, she thought she could never get over it.
                      By the way, this book is from the perspective of  Death. He is telling Liesel's story for us. It makes for a very interesting read.
                      I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! I read it for school, and I cannot get over how deep it is. There are so many hidden meanings, so many tragedies. It was perfect! I only gave it 4.9 Stars because of the ending. It didn't specify a lot of stuff that I really wanted to know. Sorry, I can't give away any more information than that, otherwise it would ruin the book for you. I would recommend this book to 6th grade and up. Because it is a little sad, and there is a lot of bad language, even though it is in German. The bad language, not the entire book. So yeah, read it! It is AMAZING!!!!

Friday, December 4, 2015

Icebreaker by Lian Tanner


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Icebreaker
Author: Lian Tanner
Lexile: 720
Length: 304 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
               
                      Imagine a gigantic ship that is on the verge of breaking completely. They travel in the freezing ocean waters of the north/south oceans. (It was never really specified in the book.) It is always very cold, and everyone on the ship is miserable. There are main tribes on the ship, that feud CONSTANTLY, but the main character, Petrel, is not one of them. Petrel's parents are dead, and she has been left to fend for herself on the ship. She is alone most of hte time, with no allies among the crew. Her only friends are a pair of grey rats. That can talk and do human things. (Go figure.) Now to explain the feuding tribes. There are three groups of enemies aboard the ship, the Officers that steer the ship, the cooks that make the food, and the engineers that fix everything when it breaks. But they are constantly feuding, and the only way they work together is for their own survival. One day, a mysterious child, a boy, is found on an iceberg in the middle of the sea. Naturally, the crew is suspicious, and they lock him up for questioning about where he came from. The big deal is, they never get visitors. Ever. The boy escapes from his imprisonment with the help of Petrel. But when he is discovered missing, he is accused of murdering an officer. Petrel helps him, but her choices might not have been wise. Now she and the boy are running for their lives on a ship, that, is completely and totally against them.
I thought this book was AMAZING!!! The author painted the story so well, with such a unique topic. They have technology, but not that much. And you later learn that there are people who want to destroy the ship, and it just makes the story so much better! I loved it, you should try it out in your free time!


Friday, November 27, 2015

Ink and Bone; The Great Library by Rachel Caine


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Ink and Bone; The Great Library
Author: Rachel Caine
Lexile: None Yet
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Fantasy/Dystopia
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars


                 This is a world where the Library rules everything. You may think that is a good thing, but it is not. At all. They control what the people know, and what they aren't allowed to know. By using a powerful new technology called Alchemy, they can copy any book into their system effortlessly. Since the library has all of the knowledge, they have all of the power. Their empire stretches around the world, with members in almost every city.
                  Jess' dad is a rich man. Rich from selling real copies of books. The very books that the all-powerful library ABSOLUTELY forbids. So if anybody finds out about their family, they will be arrested. Jess likes reading the books that his family sells. His family sometimes say that he has ink in the blood. Which is why they send him to be one of the Libraries' assistants. To train there, but also to be his family's spy. As the challenges given by the library grow and grow, Jess wonders how long he can stay loyal to his family. And how long it will take before somebody finds out about him. He meets some amazing people, and one with an even bigger secret then his own. But will he uncover things about the library, or will he be loyal to them?
                   I LOVED this book! It was amazing! I think that it might be one of my favorite books. Yes, it is THAT good. It only came out this year, so the rest of the series isn't out yet. I am DYING for it! It was amazing! The author rewrote history in a way that wasn't necessary, but gave it a nice touch when you are reading it. For example, it mentions in the book that Alchemy was discovered in the 14 or 1500's. You didn't need to know that, but it is a nice to have a little backstory. The reason I gave this book 4.9 Stars though, was because of Jess' name. It is so common. Please, author, make it more interesting. It is a world where the library has taken over! Make it something cool from history. All of his other friends from his library training has interesting, and very nice names. I know I shouldn't be this nit-picky, but I just disliked that when I was reading it. Of course, I finished it in about a day, so I didn't have to struggle very long. :) I would recommend this book to 5th grade and up. No inappropriate parts, but it is complicated, and you need to be old enough to comprehend it. But you should SERIOUSLY try this book out in your free time. You won't regret it. TRUST ME.