Saturday, January 31, 2015

New book in The Unwanteds series!!





Hello Readers! Are you an Unwanteds fan? Guess what! The new Unwanteds book The Island of Shipwrecks by Lisa McMann is coming out on Tuesday, February 3, 2015! I can't wait to read this book, I've really enjoyed the other four books in this series and I'm sure I will love this one!

Friday, January 30, 2015

Five Kingdoms: Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull

Five Kingdoms: Sky Raiders
Author: Brandon Mull
Lexile: 610
Length: 421 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Hello Readers! I’m back with another book review. Five Kingdoms: Sky Raiders is a new fantasy series, which is basically Brandon Mull’s specialty. He’s already written 2 other series of 5 books, so he is basically an expert at writing them. Cole Randolph wants to have an awesome Halloween with his friends, but when they go to a haunted house, they get more than they bargained for. As his friends are taken away, Cole makes a decision. He can either follow them, or go free and get help. But Cole goes through the hole following his friend. Suddenly, he’s not underneath his street anymore. Cole has somehow been transported to another world! But it’s not like any world Cole has ever seen before, it’s known as the Outskirts. It exists between dreams, reality, imagination, life, and death. There are five kingdoms, but things are not as they should be. The magic they use is becoming unbalanced. After being taken by the Sky Raiders, Cole meets an impossible friend, one who can’t be alive. Then he has to travel through one of the most dangerous kingdoms in a search for his friends and help his new friends succeed their mission. There are many tasks to face and new things unlike Cole has ever seen. Will they succeed and stop the horrible plan set up by the high king? Can they save Cole’s friends? Brandon Mull’s new fantasy series is a new thrilling adventure that I’m sure you will love! I did like this book a lot, when I first started it I couldn't put it down! I finished it really fast and went straight on to the next one which was pretty much just as good. The reason I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars though, was because some of the parts that were meant to be surprising, were not. I mean, I've read so many books that I can see that some of the authors use sort of the same plots. But that’s just me, so you could love it and I would still be able to see what was going to happen. Anyway, it is a really great read and you should definitely try it, this could end up being a bestseller series!  











Friday, January 23, 2015

The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel

The Boundless
Author: Kenneth Oppel
Lexile: 730
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: None
Reading Ram Star Rating: 4 out of 5

Hello readers! I’m back with another book review. The Boundless is well, a lot different from most fantasy books. It's written in third person! At first I was kind of surprised because, well most of the books I read are in first or second person, occasionally written like poems but never in third person! But it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of this book though. It’s about a kid named Will. At first it seems a bit like it’s kind of like the real world, but then you realize it’s not. Will starts out poor, really poor. His dad is working on a railway through America, and Will takes a ride with the railway owner up to see his dad. When they arrive, it’s time to put in the last spike. And an unexpected person does it. A natural disaster gets in the way of their plans, however. When Will’s dad saves the owner of the railway, he gets promoted and their family can start to live better lives. After 3 years, the special train built just for that railway is finished. Will has been going to a private school, living a cushy life, and leaving the poverty behind him. His dad is promoted one final time to Chief Engineer, and Will gets to join him on the train. The past 3 years had been fairly normal, with the exception of the circus girl who took something… very special to Will. Now he is going to live his life on the train. The train is incredible, multiple stories high, electricity, running water, and it’s about 5 miles long! Only, of course, for the first class riders, do they get a lot of running water and a life of luxury, which Will has the good fortune of being. Then one day at one of the trains many stops, Will gets off to see the small almost a fair.Then something very suspicious happens, something that changes everything. The aspiring artist has to stay hidden from a villain who wants something he has, get help from some unexpected allies, and get back to his father all the way in the front of the train. This awesome, thrilling adventure will have you on the edge of your seats, make sure you read it soon!










Sunday, January 18, 2015

Time Magazine 100 Best Children and Young Adult Books of All Time

Time Magazine's 100 Best Children and Young Adult Books of All Time



and 

Please check out these lists and comment here on whether you agree with them or not.
 Many of my favorites are on these lists!

Friday, January 16, 2015

The Mighty Miss Malone Book Review

The Mighty Miss Malone
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Lexile:750L
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: Mark Twain Award nominee, 2014-2015
The Reading Ram's Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Hello again readers! If you are looking for a great historical fiction book, and this is your first time reading one, it is a great choice! The Mighty Miss Malone is a touching Depression story in which Deza Malone, the main character, has to go through many hoops to keep her family together and safe. Like many others in the Depression, they struggle for money. Her father, Roscoe Malone, is constantly looking for work in their hometown of Gary, Indiana. Deza has just finished 6th grade with flying colors. Then her father disappears, and they find he has gone looking for money in Flint, Michigan, in his old town. They start a long perilous journey to find him. They are forced to travel long distances, do what they never thought they would ever do, and get used to different things really fast. This story struck me in a special way as I’m sure it will you. It is full of love, family, and tragedy. Will they be united as a family? Will they go back to Gary where they belong? Once you start, you won’t be able to put it down! It is an incredible page turner that will touch your heart and make you thankful for all you have. I honestly was surprised by what happened in the end. If you read Bud Not Buddy, also by Christopher Paul Curtis, you'll know who she kind of is, and how they meet makes a lot more sense. This book puts them both together in a way that really shows off the author's talent. I really did like this book a lot. It highlighted the struggle that so many others probably faced. I really didn't not like any part of this book, it was so sweet! I really hope Christopher Paul Curtis writes another book. If you're looking for another book a lot like this one, then try The Watson's Go to Birmingham by the same author.






Friday, January 9, 2015

In the Know @ St. Louis County Library


St. Louis County Library will begin a new program series in January designed to help teens gain skills to transition to adulthood. The series is called In the Know @ Your Library and will explore topics such as budgeting, interview tips, how to buy your first car and more. A full program schedule is available here. The series is free and open to the public, but registration may be required. 

The Unwanteds: Island of Legends by Lisa McMann

The Unwanteds: Island of Legends
Author: Lisa McMann
Lexile: 770
Length: 478 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: None  
The Reading Ram's Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars


Hello viewers, I am The Reading Ram, and I would like to share my extensive view on books. This is my first blog post with many more to come! For my first review, I will be writing about The Unwanteds, Island of Legends. So read and enjoy!


Attention all Unwanteds fans! The fourth book is out and ready to read! We return to the restored Artime where Alex is the new Mage. After his adventure to The Island of Fire, and his promise to Sky, a new adventure is afoot. They return to The Island of Fire with a crew of the finest magic workers and statues in Artime to save Sky’s mother from the pirates that have captured her. Once on their journey, however, everything is not as it seems. A new sea creature they have never before seen is terrorizing them in search of interesting creatures to take to its lair. This creatures appears to be working with the pirates, in some strange way. But then it takes one of their most loved creatures and now they must break into the pirate’s stronghold for more reasons than one. They devise a plan to break in and get both their friend’s back. While a member of the rescue team is in the pirate’s fortress, they see something that they can’t explain. Something that looks a lot like an item that washed up on the shore of Artime. Mystery, peril, suspense, Lisa McMann has undoubtedly concocted yet another incredible story in the Unwanted series. Weaving in the discovery of another incredible island, and switching from Alex to Aaron in points of view. But Aaron is not to be forgotten, he is about to discover something that could give him a lot of power. With some interesting choices in the new government, the High Priest will become more dangerous than ever before. Will Artime be prepared for what could happen? While their mage is away, what will they do? The Island of Legends is chalk full of adventure, with the ending leaving us waiting for more in a huge cliffhanger!