Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - 2012 Book #16

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville is a story about the boy Jeremy Hatcher who unknowingly ends up buying a dragon's egg when he happens upon a magic shop while running away from bullies at school. Once he discovers that it's a dragon's egg he has, he struggles to figure out how to take care of the dragon on top of other things going on at school. At school, there's a girl who likes him and who has declared her intent to kiss him, there are the bullies from the beginning of the story who continue to bother him, and his art teacher seems to hate him. This last one seems particularly hard for Jeremy to deal with since art is his favorite subject, and no matter how hard he tries, his efforts never seem to be good enough to his teacher.

As the dragon grows, it becomes harder and harder to keep it a secret, not just because of the dragon's size, but by how much it eats and also Jeremy wants to tell others about the dragon. His best friend is curious to know what's going on in his life, and Jeremy's not sure that his friend will believe that he's been raising a dragon, especially since the dragon seems to be invisible to everyone but Jeremy.

This book is a fun, easy read and shows the growth in the relationship between Jeremy and his dragon, but it could have been a lot longer and more in depth. The book kind of skims over lots of time and doesn't go into a whole lot of detail about particular aspects of the story. There could be a lot more character development if the book was a little longer with more added scenes in the times that are just skipped over. But overall, it was a good read.

The Education of Bet - 2012 Book #15

The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted was a very good read. I read the whole book in one sitting. This story takes places sometime in the 1800's. The narrator of the story, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a maid. When her mother died along with the master and mistress of the house from typhoid fever, she and their son, Will were taken in by his wealthy uncle, Paul and raised together until they got older. At that point, Paul's relatives were apalled at how he was raising the two children as equals when clearly they were not. Will was sent off to one school after another, while Elizabeth was left home where she lived not as a servant, but not as a member of the family either.

When Will comes home after being kicked out of school for the fourth time, Elizabeth gets upset at him. It has always been her dream to go to school and receive an education, and Will's had the opportunity his whole life and has just thrown it away. Will admits it's because what he really wants is to go join the military, but his uncle doesn't approve. Elizabeth, or Bet as Will calls her, comes up with a plan that can help them both do what they want. She convinces Will to help her "become a boy" so she can go to school as him, leaving him free to go join the military. He agrees to her crazy plan and helps her learn how to walk and talk like a boy as well as how to dress and write like a boy. Finally, it's time for her to go start school. The two head off to live their dreams, both not really knowing what they're getting themselves into.

Bet is shocked by what she finds at school. She has had an extremely sheltered life at Will's uncle's house and is totally unprepared for bullies, attractive roommates, and school dances, but she is determined to learn as much as she can while she has the chance for an education. Bet finds it harder sometimes than she thought it would be to hide the fact that she's a girl, but she finds friends she can trust with her secret in unexpected places who agree with her that girls should be able to have an opportunity to gain an education.

The one big problem I had with this book was that it wasn't long enough. It seems to rush through certain parts of the story where there could be some more details and added character building to get to the end of the story. Also, at the end of the book, it simply ends right after revealing some major secrets that were kept hidden throughout the entire book. The ending is decent, but it leaves the reader with a lot to guess at. The reader just has to assume that certain things happen or will happen in the story. But, overall, it's a good read.

Anastasia's Secret - 2012 Book #14

Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Emily Dunlap wasn't quite what I was expecting. It is the story of the duchess Anastasia Romanov told from her perspective. It follows Anastasia from before the start of the world war and Russian Revolution. Anastasia befriends the young guard Sasha that works at the palace. He helps her see that everything in the world isn't as perfect as she thinks it is. This book about Anastasia looks a lot more into reasons behind the revolution that happened in Russia and the causes behind all the trouble for the Romanovs. As Anastasia gets older, her feelings for Sasha get stronger, and she finds that he's her only real friend besides her family. He's also the only one that takes her seriously and the only one that will tell her about what's really going on in Russia. Sasha becomes more and more involved with those heading the revolution as Anastasia gets more worried about what will happen to Sasha and her family.

Since the story is told by Anastasia, it does get a little confusing to know what's going on with the revolution and in Russia in general, since the only things the reader finds out about are the things that Anastasia knows about; and she only knows the things that Sasha tells her, which sometimes he is very vague about as he doesn't want to worry Anastasia any more than he has to.

The story remains engaging throughout, although sometimes it's confusing to the reader how much time has passed between sections of the story. Also, as Anastasia becomes increasingly obsessed with Sasha, the focus of the story changes a lot. The ending of the book is really abrupt. It just ends and then has a note from the author summing up the rest of what happened to Anastasia Romanov and her family and friends.

Flood and Fire - 2012 Book #13

Flood and Fire by Emily Diamand is the sequel to Raider's Ransom. It picks up pretty much right where the first book ends. Lilly Melkum, a fishergirl, is stranded in the middle of the ocean after a major sea battle. Pieces of ships are floating all around her as she tries to get Lexy, the Prime Minister's daughter, safely back to her home. Zeph, the pirate boy, returns home after the battle to find that he won't be able to take over as Boss as easily as he thought he would. His half brother Roba is putting up a fight for the title of Boss. But, to make matters worse, the other pirate clans are mad at the state the Families have been left in after the war that Zeph's father started. They want to make Zeph's entire family into slaves or wipe them out all together. In a moment of desperation, Zeph promises to find Lilly and give her and her computer to the pirates to save his Family. Lilly, meanwhile, is lost on the ocean, struggling to find a way out of the mess left after the sea battle. Her computer, or puter as she calls it, begins to complain of being too wet to work properly. Its battery is also running low, and it threatens to cease working if she is not careful.

In an attempt to reboot her computer, Lilly accidently activates a formerly unknown computer called the National Security Response, a computer that is programmed to restore England to the rightful government in the event of the downfall of the government. It is determined to do this at all costs, even at the cost of human lives. Once the knowledge of this computer is discovered, many people want to find it to use it for their own purposes. Lilly wants to find it to help reboot her computer, the pirates want it to help them win their war against the Pirme Minister, Scotland wants it to study it, and Zeph hopes it can be a way out of his promise to betray his friend. In the search for this computer, friendships are tested, new and old characters make an appearance, and help comes from unexpected places.

Like the first book in the series, the story is told in first person by both Lilly and Zeph. There is still the same confusion at the beginning of each chapter as to who is narrating that section. Also, like the first book, the story is told in present tense, which makes it a little confusing sometimes when they start telling the story at a later point and then tell what happened to get up to that point.

However, despite these points, it is a very engaging read. It has an interesting setting of being in the future but having the feel of being in the past with how people live. There is some advanced technology, but most people don't use and have never seen it. They are certain that it is evil and the cause of all the natural disasters that have happened in the world. It is not super predictable which makes the story interesting to read. Also, it's neat to see how the characters have changed over the course of the story, from the beginning of the first book to the end of the second book. It was a very good read.

Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion - 2012 Book #12

Seeds of Rebellion is the second book in the Beyonders trilogy written by Brandon Mull. This book continues the story of Jason and Rachel, two thirteen-year old kids from the Beyond, or Earth, as they try to do their part in helping to defeat the wizard Maldor in the land of Lyrian.

Jason is stranded back at home and is struggling to get back to Lyrian. He feels bad about that fact that Rachel is still there, and he's at home. Also, at the end of the first book he discovered a secret that he feels he has to share with the others in Lyrian, especially with Rachel and Galloran. He hasn't been able to just get back to his old life and is continually on the watch for a way he can get back and help his friends. He goes back to the zoo where it all started and finally, finds a way back in to Lyrian.

Meanwhile, Rachel is in Lyrian where she is practicing the Edomic that Drake, who she's been on the run with, has taught her. While she and Drake are trying to lose the mysterious creature that's following them, Rachel can't help but wonder what has happened to Jason. The last she saw him, he was being taken prisoner at Maldor's city, Felrook.

As they struggle in their quest to defeat Maldor, the two kids meet new and old friends and enemies, come across giant monsters, sinister shadow creatures, and the undead. Characters' motives and loyalty are questioned as they try to find out who's on their side and if they have any hope at all of completing their mission.

I really like the way this book is written. It flows nicely, has lots of action, and keeps the reader interested. It also is an original idea and very creative. I also like the characters and how they change and grow throughout the story. Also, I like how Brandon Mull teaches important lessons through his story. There are some good messages in there. Also, the story is not really predictable, so it keeps things interesting.

The ending of the book is a cliff hanger, but not as bad as the end of the first one was. It tied up the mission that they set out to do, tying off some loose ends but also leaving it wide open for the third book and what was coming next. The last book comes out next spring.

Obsession - 2012 Book #11

Obsession is written by one of my favorite LDS authors, Traci Hunter Abramson. In this book, Kendra Blake, who's a famous singer, has a rather paranoid father. He wants her to have security everywhere. She has finally convinced him that she doesn't need all that security and has managed to make it down to having only one bodyguard. But at her latest concert, someone overtakes her bodyguard and plants a bomb that goes off backstage. Everyone is fine, but her dad wants her to come back and live with him and have a huge security team. Kendra doesn't want it, though. She feels as though she's been stifled her whole life and wants some freedom and some time alone to write her songs. Her grandpa offers to let her stay in his cabin in the woods to get away but has an old FBI friend of his put an agent in the cabin next to hers to keep an eye on her without her knowing to make sure she's safe.

The agent in the other cabin is Charlie Whitmore. As he gets to know Kendra, he is surprised to find that she's not the typical celebrity as he had originally thought and dreads the day that she might find out that he works for the FBI and has been sent there to protect her.

Power outages, serial killers, and suspects keep the plot moving as Charlie tries to help figure out who set off the bomb at Kendra's concert and determine whether or not it is safe for her to return home.

This book is written in such a way that it keeps the reader going from chapter to chapter to find out what is going to happen next. It has great character building from the beginnning of the book to the end as the reader gets to know the characters, and they get to know each other. The book has some unexpected twists nearer to the end of the book and keeps the reader guessing. I'm happy to say, though, that I figured it out before the FBI did. All the clues are there to find.

This was a great read that ties into the other books written by Traci Hunter Abramson. Charlie Whitmore is the brother of Amy Whitmore in the Saint Squad Series, and his brother is one of the main characters in the Undercurrents trilogy.

Dragon Slippers - 2012 Book #10

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George is the first book in the series that tells the story of the girl Creel.  It's told in first person by Creel herself and starts out with Creel saying she is going to be sacrificed to a dragon. Her parents died from the fever, and she's been living with her aunt and uncle who are very poor. Her aunt comes up with the perfect solution for what to do with the girl: let her get captured by a dragon and talk a knight into rescuing her, who will then have to marry her. So Creel lets herself get captured by the dragon, but she doesn't want to marry the knight who's coming to rescue her. She wants to go to the capital city and get a job sewing. That will solve her aunt's problem of caring for her, and she gets to do what she wants. So Creel talks the dragon into letting her go and into giving her something from it's hoard. What she chooses is a pair of slippers. The dragon is shocked at her choice and doesn't want her to take them, but he had promised her she could have whatever she wanted, so he lets her take them.

Creel is pleased with her new slippers and continues on her journey to the capital city where she hopes to find work sewing. When the slippers start making her feet itch, and a spoiled princess wants her slippers, Creel wonders if the slippers are worth keeping. But deep down inside, she knows that if anyone else gets their hands on the slippers, something terrible will happen. As Creel tries to figure out the secret of the slippers, she makes some new friends and some enemies, some of them from unexpected places.

This was a really good read with some very surprising things right at the end of the story that make the reader want to read the next book in the series.

The Dead of Night - 2012 Book #9

The Dead of Night by Peter Lerangis is the third book of the Cahills Vs. Vespers series, the follow-up series of The 39 Clues. In this book, Amy and Dan Cahill are searching for a stale orb to trade to Vespers to keep their kidnapped family members safe. Dan's best friend, Atticus, has been kidnapped, and he is determined to save him. Atticus's older brother Jake has decided that the Cahills are in something much deeper than he had first suspected and declares his intentions to help them rescue his brother and find what they are looking for. To add to the confusion Dan is already feeling, while on their search he keeps receiving text messages from someone who calls themselves by the initials of his father, who he had believed had died when he was really little. Was it possible that his father was alive? And if he was, why hadn't he tried to contact them before now? This book is packed full of action as Amy and Dan run from one place to the next searches for clues that will save their family. All the action keeps the reader engaged and wanting to keep reading to find out what will happen next.

One thing that bugged me about this book, though, was that it kept changing which character's point of view the scene was seen through. This alone wouldn't bother me; I do that a lot myself when writing. What bothered me was that it did it in an overlapping way several times throughout the book. It would tell the beginning of a scene as it was perceived by one character and then tell the ending part of the scene as it was viewed by another character, but not starting at the point where the first part ended. It overlapped by a few things that happened. It was confusing what was going on when they kept switching, and, at one point, I reread the two segments three times and still couldn't figure out what had happened exactly. The two seemed to contradict each other.

Other than that, this book was a really good, easy read.

Janitors - 2012 Book #8

Janitors by Tyler Whitesides was a fun, quick read. The book has many exciting twists and turns that keep the reader interested and engaged and curious to know what will happen next. This book is the story of a sixth grade boy named Spencer. He is a new kid at a new school, and sixth grade is the worst time to be a new student at school. He is trying to get used to his new school and make friends, but he is not having much luck. One day, the classroom bully draws on Spencer's face with permanent marker after he falls asleep in class. Spencer goes to the bathroom to wash it off. He uses some soap that was sitting on the counter that burns his face but does get the writing to come off. When he goes back to class, he sees a strange bird-like creature in the classroom. No one else seems to be able to see it, and no one believes he really saw it either. He begins to see other creatures around the school as well. A girl known as Daisy "Gullible" Gates may be the only person who might believe him, unless she thinks he's trying to trick her as well.

This book has many unexpected things that happen. Just when you think you know what's going on, something happens that changes the way you see things. This book also shows through Spencer's experience some important life lessons that readers can learn from this book. This was a great read.

The Fire of Ares - 2012 Book #7

The Fire of Ares by Michael Ford was a lot different than what I was expecting. I saw on a list of books labeled, "If you liked Percy Jackson, try these!" Because of that, I was expecting it to be similar to the Percy Jackson books. It's not anything like the Percy Jackson books. The only similarity is that they both talk about things that happened in ancient Greece and mention some Greek gods and goddesses. The Fire of Ares actually takes place in ancient Greece. The main character is a twelve-year-old boy named Lysander. He has lived his whole life as a slave to the Spartans, the ruling class of Sparta. His mother is ill, and he has spent his days trying to get extra grain in the fields to help pay for medicine to care for his mother in their little shack. He has been training secretly with his friend in the mornings in hopes that one day, he can join the rebel slaves and take over the Spartans to gain their freedom.

His life changes drastically, when one day, a noble sees an amulet Lysander has had since he was born - the one thing of value that he owns. Lysander gets the chance to train as a Spartan. He decides to do it, mostly because his amulet had just been stolen, and he believes it was stolen by someone in the barracks. He brings his friend with him to help him and starts the harsh training of a Spartan warrior.

He is treated differently from the start since many of the boys know that he used to be a slave and aren't sure how he got to be there to train as a Spartan warrior. Many of the boys think he is some sort of spy, and Lysander feels sort of like a spy to. He still feels like he is not a Spartan, and often relates better with the slaves in the barracks. As Lysander struggles to find where he fits in in his new life, he also frantically searches for his missing amulet, and in the process, begins discovering other things as well. Things that he maybe shouldn't be discovering.

What I thought was going to be somewhat of a fantasy ended up being a historical fiction book, which is fine by me, since I really enjoy those as well. There is a lot to learn from this book about how life for different people was like at this time in history. This was a great read, and I look forward to reading the sequel.