Fantasy

Oathbringer is the third installation in the amazing Stormlight Archive. With their homeland overrun by "Voidbringers" (or is it...🤔), Dalinar Kholin and co must find a way to end this Desolation without being wiped from Roshar, and without the help of the Heralds of the Almighty, or the Almighty himself. Urithiru, the city of the Knights Radient, has a new, unwelcome occupant that is mimicking acts of violence that happen in the tower city. The city conceals more knowledge that no one knew, including an unpleasent fact about humanity's orgins on Roshar, their "homeworld".

“The Lost Hero” is the first book in the “Heroes of Olympus” series, which takes place after the “Percy Jackson and the Oympians” series so it is recommended that the Percy Jackson series is read before reading this book. The book is about three demi-gods, Leo, Jason, and Piper that find their way to Camp Half-Blood. The three half-bloods end up going on a quest together. Leo Valdez during this book learns new and weird things about his past, he also loves machines and flirting. In my opinion he was the most relatable character in this book of the three main characters and was very lovable. Jason wakes up on a bus and has no idea who he is but all he knows is that something is not right. In this book Jason is not very relatable because of his absence of memory, so we don’t learn many not quest related things about him but he was still an enjoyable character. Piper has secrets and her life is turned upside down during this book. She is relatable at times but Leo is still by far the most relatable character in this book. So the three demi-gods go on a quest together to stop the start of the end of the world and learn a lot of things along the way.

“The Lost Hero” was a good book. While reading I did have to look at my political map of the U.S.A. to make sure I understood where they were going. The plot and quest were overall pretty easy to follow but the book feels a little slow at times. The mythology was very well integrated into the story. The writing style was descriptive and I enjoyed the book being in third person rather than first person, like in Percy Jackson and the Olypians. The book felt really well thought out and it fits really well with the rest of the books in its world. The book had fun small plot twists that I didn’t see coming. You will get attached to the main characters, especially Leo Valdez. I liked how it ended, it wrapped up the story with more to come nicely. The small bit of French in it was easy to understand even if you don’t speak french. Overall, it was a good book and a good start to a series and a wonderful addition to the Percy Jackson world.

I first discovered this book in fifth grade, when my teacher read this amazing book to us. She had told us that it had songs and poems in it, and that she would sing to us, provided that we chose it for our read aloud book. Needless to say, we all wanted to hear our teacher sing. And we were introduced to the wonderful world of Aerwiar and its amazing creatures and characters, which include fearsome Toothy Cows and a crazy man called Peet. Reading it again as a teenager, I enjoyed it immensely for the second time, because of the suspense, humor, and creativity inside.

Ordinary siblings Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igby have lived in Skree, in the small town of Glipwood all their lives. Nine years ago, a Nameless Evil (called Gnag the Nameless), along with the despicable, lizard-like Fangs of Dang, took over both the Shining Isle of Anneria and Skree and now rule it with cruelty and oppression. But there is a secret in little Glipwood. A secret more dangerous than even the Fangs themselves.

Alice has traveled back to Wonderland! She and the other characters must find what has made the Hatter go inexplicably mad, or in his case, sane. And there is another mystery afoot. A mystery that had started before Alice came to Wonderland in the first place. Your actions and decisions affect the story, as you can choose to be Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, or the White Queen, at different times in the story, including future and past...
A choose your own adventure, this book is entertaining for a light read. I enjoyed the different perspectives and whimsical ideas, but as I was reading through to the last ending, I found myself a little bored. I suppose this is because parts of story between the four characters were exactly the same, but told as "Alice said," instead of "I said," for example. I also think that it would have been more interesting if the book had differing interpretations of the same ideas depending on the character being played. However, I did enjoy making decisions for the first characters I chose, because the story was new to me, and I couldn’t predict what I needed to do. But after the first two, I could tell exactly what decisions would lead me to the right places, because the first characters had already finished the story based on the other two's actions.

This book is delightful, despite being only 122 pages (including the author's note, which I also enjoyed immensely). It is presented as a dictionary of quirky, imaginary creatures found in the Wingfeather Saga, which is also by Andrew Peterson. It's filled with elaborate drawings of such creatures, which I deeply enjoyed looking at. The descriptions consist of short stories of "Ollister B. Pembrick"'s encounters with the animals, and his opinions on their demeanor, weaknesses, and even taste. It is very fun to read and I would recommend this to anyone looking for something to cure their boredom. I also enjoyed the made up words in this book such as "quickitude" and "dogths" (a unit of measurement involving dogs). This is an excellent, strange little book that is definitely worth opening.

Howl's Moving Castle is yet another exceedingly charming and wonderfully hilarious fantasy masterpiece written by Diana Wynne Jones. Set in the wondrous world of Ingary, it follows Sophie Hatter in her quest to undo a curse put upon her by the Witch of the Waste that has made her into an old woman. This quest will take her to the chicken-footed castle of Howl, a haughty and capricious wizard, rumored to consume the hearts of young maids. There, she will encounter magical doors, fallen stars, anxious apprentices, and adventure beyond her wildest dreams. Although she'll have to put up with the most annoying wizard in the world to experience it.

I love this book so much because it is the epitome of good fantasy while also spending about half the time blatantly making fun of the entire genre of fantasy. It's good fantasy because it really highlights the best parts of fantasy. It has all the spectacular world building, the whimsical setting, the spectacularly implausible situations, and the characters who treat all of this like normal, day to day life. This stuff is amazing, and its why fantasy as a genre is amazing. But because it is such standard fantasy, it spices it up by poking fun at all the things fantasy takes for granted. For example, Sophie is the oldest of three sisters, which she knows means she won't do much with her life. A huge chunk of her character is her believing she is plain and normal, because that's how fairy tale rules work: the oldest two sisters are examples or background characters, while the youngest shines as a future princess or a powerful sorceress. And its so funny! Because its something we all know, because it happens so often, and because of course the people that live in this world know the rules by now! Another bit that shines is when the characters attempt to use seven-league boots, a classic fairy tale item that allows the user to travel seven leagues with one step. But when the characters try to travel seven leagues, one of them keep accidentally taking an extra step. Because of course they would! If you're getting shoved across seven leagues, you're off balance, so you take an extra step to balance yourself out! Also, how many of us regularly take a single step? So about 3 pages of this book is just a highly relatable sequence of this character shuttling herself back and forth over fourteen leagues, desperately trying to take just one step. And it's hilarious.

Another bit that shines about this book are the characters, and just how human they are. I've already mentioned that characters in this book are aware of trends and realistically skilled, both of which are refreshing in fantasy stories. But they're all also flawed, and flawed in actually bad ways. After reading so many books with characters flaws being things like "too loyal" or "too pretty" or "too noble", I love how this book just has characters that can sometimes be the worst. The character this shines through is the wizard, Howl. He's not annoying to the protagonist because he's "too nice" or "too charming." He's annoying because he throws tantrums and gets slime everywhere and never answers questions and avoids too much work at all costs and is needlessly dramatic and constantly oblivious and carries around a guitar to impress women. He's an amazing character because he acts exactly like a twenty-something with amazing magical powers would. I also love how this quality also affects the female characters, especially Sophie. She can be brash and stubborn and aggressive. She gets turned into a ninety year old, and she's cool with it in like twenty minutes because she realizes she doesn't need to impress anyone anymore. She literally throws acidic weed-killer at Howl because he says something just a little too stupid. This book allows its characters to say stupid things and make stupid decisions, because everyone does that sometimes so everyone in this book will do it too. The level of human understanding that went into this book is astounding.
All in all, this is one of the most fun books I've read in a long time. I would recommend this to anyone who loves relatable characters, amazing fantasy, a good mystery, and a fun read!
Reviewer Grade: 12

Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures has to be one of my favorite books. Not only are every one of the characters realistic and wonderful, but the story carries a beautiful message as well.
Ulysses is a squirrel who was sucked up by a vacuum cleaner and gained superpowers. Flora is a self described, natural-born cynic. Together, who knows what they can achieve?
Flora and Ulysses' personal journeys in the novel are sweet and never fail to impress me, and I especially like some of the more minor characters like Flora's polite and hopeful father and his philosophical neighbor, Dr. Meescham, whom likes to tell stories of her childhood in Blundermeecen.

"[We were] Always opening the door in the middle of the night and finding the face of someone you wanted to see. Well, not always. Sometimes it was the face of someone you did not want to see. But always, always in Blundermeecen you opened the door because you could not stop hoping that on the other side of it would be the face of someone you loved. And maybe, too, the face of someone you did not yet know but might come to love," is my favorite Flora & Ulysses quote, courtesy of Dr. Meescham. Despite this, my favorite character has to be our protagonist, Flora. She claims that she's a cynic, yet sees the good in others. She is independent, literate, and capable, and only occasionally yells out words or phrases that she deems appropriate to the situation, such as "Treacle!", "Seal blubber," or, "This malfeasance must be stopped!".

This is a book about learning to love others and the world around you, about the power in relationships, and the meaning behind words. One of the most powerful aspects of this book is seeing Ulysses find his voice and in turn, teach others to hope.
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures is one of Kate DiCamillo's more lighthearted books, but it still carries a wonderful theme and memorable characters, and for this, I give it 5 stars.

Reviewer Grade 9, age 13

Ender's Game, written by Orson Scott Card, is a fictional account of an interplanetary war between the human race and aliens (known as "buggers"). The protagonist, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, is a young boy when he is selected to battle school, where the elite of humanity is sent to train in case of war. Ender quickly rises through the ranks and joins the Command School, where the elite of the elite train.
In the previous war against the buggers, one man's actions saved humanity, and that man's name was Mazar Rackham. For the upcoming war, Mazar Rackham refines Ender's ability to exploit weakness in the enemy. After the war (no spoilers here!), Ender learns of the importance of communication and trust.
My favorite part was the ending. Even thought it felt a little rushed, it was beautiful. It was filled with kindeness and hope for the future. I enjoyed reading the book because it challenged my vocabulary and helped me look at situations and misunderstandings in a different light. I would recommend the book because it teaches valuable lessons that the reader can apply to their own life.

Wings focuses on a teenage girl, Laurel, who starts to experience strange magic-like events all during the first few months of her moving and going to a public school. When I saw the book, the hints of magic, romance, and the beautiful cover accompanied by the imagery in the synopsis really caught my attention. I did enjoy the romance aspects of the novel as it showed a wholesomeness of teenage couples and the friendship that led to it. Additionally, I enjoyed seeing Laurel grow more into the role of a strong protagonist by taking risks and learning to love, both herself and others. When reading Wings I found parts of the story to be interesting and adventurous, but kept to the trope of magic faeries and many main plot points were fairly predictable. Even though parts of the book seem to be predictable, I would still recommend it, as it is an interesting take on magic in our world with Laurel developing more as a protagonist throughout.

The final book of The Magicians trilogy follows Quentin back on Earth ready to take on a mission to steal a mysterious suit case along side other magically adept individuals, one being Plum, someone whom he knows from initial months after his expulsion from Fillory. Meanwhile, Eliot and Janet, along with new Fillorian royalty Josh and Poppy, work to save their world from destruction.
I really enjoyed this conclusion to this trilogy. The characters are given more depth (Janet makes her reappearance as an important character), storylines/loose ends from the previous books are solved or explained, and there are more perspectives rather than just Quentin. Seeing the story play out on both Earth and Fillory as they slowly come together near the end was a fun experience that wasn't shown in the other books due to their limited perspective.
The plot following Quentin and Plum was definitely a journey! Seeing the initial set up of the mission, the planning, and the execution and follow-up was deeply engaging. Not only were new things introduced, but it did a great job of creating its own story while connecting to previous storylines and the current plot with Fillory.
The events in Fillory were also fun, though they weren't as much of the story as Earth and didn't involve as much Josh and Poppy as I personally would have wanted. Regardless, this side of the story was also fun.
There were a few surprises that came up that were unexpected, but I'll leave them to you to see if you liked them or not.
Reader's Grade: 11