Fantasy

A quick summary of this book is that three kids, Wren, Leaf, and Ivy, all live in a world filled with dragons. Wren was sacrificed to the dragons by her village leaders but she escaped and befriended a dragon named Sky. Leaf wants to slay a dragon and take revenge on the dragons because he believes that the dragons ate his sister, Wren. Ivy is the dragonslayer's daughter and she starts finding the truth about what happened when her father slayed the dragon. Ivy starts to realize that her father is the entire reason the dragons hate humans. When Leaf comes to Ivy's village to seek out the dragonslayer, Ivy and Leaf decide to go to the desert dragons stronghold to find Ivy's lost aunt Rose and return the dragons treasure to them. On the way they meet Wren and together they find out the truth about how the dragonslayer actually killed the dragon and try to make amends for it.
This book was one of my favorite books of the entire Wings of Fire series. It has a ton of amazingly portrayed action scenes. Tui T. Sutherland, the author, did a marvelous job of using imagery to make you feel as if you are in the book. I also really enjoyed how all the books in the series are connected. You see characters from other books such as a Nightwing named Deathbringer, who is from the Dragonet prophecy series and also the second Winglets book. My favorite character is probably Wren because she is so brave, courageous, resourceful, and smart. I also love Sky, Wren's dragon, that she befriends. He is so adorable and kind of funny at times. There was nothing in the book that I didn't like. Over all this book is one of the best ones I have read this year. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in dragons or fantasy/adventure. (8th grade)

The Last Guardian—the final book in the Artemis Fowl series—could not have gotten here any faster. In my mind, the series was basically over once they did the "time travel" book in the fifth entry, The Time Paradox . That The Atlantis Complex felt like the weakest in the series meant I didn't have high hopes for this wrap-up of the series. Fortunately, the downward trend since the third book did not continue here, and it finished on a satisfying high note.

Perhaps due to this being the last book in the series, the whole "deus ex machina" style of returning everything to normal by the end of the book seemed to go out the window here. This allowed for some truly exciting developments—not the least of which includes the death of main characters. Using not one, but two of the series' best antagonist was also a smart move to increase the stakes to the highest they've ever been in the entire saga. All these things combined into an entertaining ending that reminded me why I kept with this series for so long.

There wasn't any reason to hold anything back in this book, and Eoin Colfer flawlessly left everything with a satisfying conclusion. Sure, there were some romantic aspects of the titular character's life that I would have liked to have seen wrapped up slightly differently, but I also understand that this middle-grade series never had that as its strong suit (other than the "will they/won't they" between him and Holly Short). Ultimately, would I read this series again? Probably not. However, I would pick up a few entries to read again, and this is definitely one of them.

Ending the Artemis Fowl series on a high note, I give The Last Guardian 4.0 stars out of 5.

Backstory can often be a difficult element to work into a series. To keep the action in the present and moving forward, there’s rarely time to go into the background of the characters, let alone the main character of the series. This is why side stories like Fairest and The Wind Through the Keyhole exist. There’s a subtle need to explore the troubled past of a main character, but to get into the depth of their backstory requires a significant amount of words that won’t fit into already full books in the main series.

In The Wind Through the Keyhole, Stephen King lets the reader see the origins of Roland the Gunslinger. What’s interesting here is that King does so in a series of nested stories, almost evoking something from Inception (2010) or Cloud Atlas. After all, a single story hardly affects real people but is instead a string of interactions that themselves were influenced by the past events of other characters’ lives. And while knowing these stories doesn’t add to the whole of the Dark Tower series, they confirm some things that Roland alluded to from his past.

With many moments in the core Dark Tower series being used to show character development for the rest of the members of the ka-tet, The Wind Through the Keyhole provides the foundation for the titular Gunslinger that was mostly missing from the main series. Considering that King wrote this book almost a decade after the series concluded, it’s no wonder that the universe of Mid-World feels as rich as ever in this side story. Adding this mid-series book after the fact meant that King still had more to clarify and The Wind Through the Keyhole definitely delivers.

A Dark Tower side story with plenty of character background, I give The Wind Through the Keyhole 4.0 stars out of 5.

This book is the perfect example of a great concept with poor execution. It is about a bunch of kids trapped in a grocery store amid an apocalypse, and trust me, it isn’t as good as it sounds. First of all, the worst thing in this book was the handling of 13 year old Sahalia, at least in the beginning. Her character in itself was creepy and unnecessary. Under no circumstances should a character who is only my age be described like that. She was handled well in the very end, but that’s about it. Besides that glaring issue, the rest of the book is flat at best. I will definitely not finish this series. (8th grade)

A Monster Calls is excellent for what it does. A young boy battles with his feelings over his sick and dying mother. He is haunted by a certain horrible nightmare. A monster outside his window causes havoc on various levels to evoke his true thoughts. He isn't afraid of anything, because nothing is scarier than his nightmare. The story reads similarly to a fable in that it weaves itself perfectly neatly. There are no subplots, extra characters, or excess in this novel. Instead, it marches on to the structure that one would expect, in three acts, each with appropriate escalation. The structure of this novel was refreshingly minimalist, and it helps highlight Conor's strengths and flaws in a powerful way. A Monster Calls is a short read, but it is heartbreaking and beautifully done.

Daniel, the main character of the novel ‘Took’ is struggling with family issues, but then his sister, Erica, is taken from plain sight. It can’t be the woods where the witch lives, so what happened to Erica? The book is about Daniel uncovering new clues and going through twists and turns to find his little sister.
I absolutely loved this book! I’ve read it at least three times and it never gets old. I can appreciate everything about this book from the detailed scenes to the simple, but chilling artwork on the front cover.
Reviewer Grade: 8

This ghost story revolves around a pair of siblings, the older sister named Diana and the younger brother named Georgie. The strange thing about these two is they don’t have any parents or legal guardian looking after them. It has always been Diana and Georgie on the Willis Farm. The two have a strict set of rules to follow which may lead to consequences if they break.
I really enjoyed this book. It was really an attention grabber and I was extremely interested in the plot because I haven’t read anything like it so far. Diana and her little brother Georgie are really complex characters and their relationship is interesting to follow throughout the entire book. This book is another ghost story from Mary Downing Hahn. If you have any free time, I recommend picking up the book and start reading!
Reviewer Grade: 8

League of Liars is an excellent read for fans of anything from fairytales to Ace Attorney. I enjoyed its heart-racing mind games and plans. The prison’s ever-changing playing field always made sure the characters didn’t have things too easy. I also loved the interesting magic system, (and the legal consequences that come with it). However, I think that the plot could have been instantly resolved if magic was used, which makes the characters, who took the hard way, feel idiotic at times. Other than that, if you like well-crafted fantasy worlds, page-turning mysteries, more twists than a bag of pretzels and twice as many likable characters, read League of Liars! (8th Grade)

The third book in the Dresden Files, Grave Peril continues the adventures of Chicago’s resident wizard as he takes on ghosts, godmothers, and ghoulish vampires. While it’s definitely an improvement from Fool Moon, Grave Peril still has some of the misogynistic flaws of the series’ titular character. On the plus side, we finally get to delve into deeper lore for the series. And we get Michael. He’s the best new character in this series and by far my favorite for many reasons—mainly because how he does things differently than Dresden.

I’ll admit that it took me a while to get through this book, which felt odd considering the action was superb, the writing was proficient, and the story was thrilling. For some reason, I didn’t feel the motivation to continue reading and went weeks between picking it up and continuing. I think if I had read it all as quickly as possible, then it might have earned another half-star. I know it’s not this book’s fault for my inability to focus on reading to save my life (thanks to the pandemic; I think). Perhaps there’s something subconscious about this book that prevented me from devouring it, though.

Since the Dresden Files are mainly written through the POV of Harry Dresden, this might be my biggest qualm right now. I absolutely adore all the new characters introduced in this book, but I cringe at all the obvious instances of “men writing women” that have persisted since book one. In fact, I’d almost rather have an entire series from Michael’s point of view, because he seems much more interesting in his denim-wearing, sword-wielding ways. I’ll still continue with this series, but only to see where it takes Michael.

Great new characters and a deeper dive into the lore, I give Grave Peril 4.0 stars out of 5.

Donna Barba Higuera takes on a futuristic dystopian space adventure in her story The Last Cuentista. A young, curious girl named Petra lives in a distant timeline on Earth, where scientists are helplessly searching for a way to avoid certain doom. While in the face of death, Preta leans on her abuelita’s stories, which are rich and full of life. Yet, as the clock starts ticking and Petra is forced to leave it all behind, the one thing she keeps with her is the power of tales. The Last Cuentista is a brilliantly written novel depicting a world in space, where the connection and true heart of human-kind is severed. Petra shows the reader what true perseverance is, and reminds us all of what it means to truly be human.
(Reviewer Grade: 12)