Book Review - Rowan of the Wood

Rowan of the Wood, by Christine and Ethan Rose is the story of a twelve year old boy named Cullen. On the way to school everyday, he walks through a Redwood forest usually stopping to read there and get away from home. While in the forest, Cullen discovers something very interesting; a magic wand that a wizard named Rowan is trapped inside of. Once Cullen finds the wand, Rowan posesses Cullen. Fourteen Centuries ago, Fiana – Rowan's bride – and Rowan were seperated on their wedding day. Rowan went into hiding in the wand, and became stuck in time. During that time, Fiana used different magics to stay alive, enabling her to search for her lost husband. As she continued centuries of searching, Fiana became darker and darker, making her evil. Cullen/Rowan and his loyal friends, Maddy and April, help them in their adventures, Rowan emerging in times of need for him.

Rowan of the Wood was a great book to read! Some of the chapters were so good, I went back and reread them! I thought that Cullen's friends were really cool also. I would definitely love to have them as friends! Everything that goes on in Rowan of the Wood is very interesting. The idea that the authors had about Rowan being trapped inside of the wand, I thought, was brilliant. I love the setting in the book, too. The Redwood forest sounds just so...intriguing. I enjoyed reading this book so much, that I finished it in a day. I couldn't stop reading it! I would recommend Rowan of the Wood to anyone ages eleven to fourteen.

My Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Book Review - Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea Of Monsters is the second book in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. When Thalia's tree is poisoned and the borders of Camp Half-Blood begin to fail, Percy and his friend Annabeth set out to find the Golden Fleece and Grover, who is held captive by a monster. Along the way, they are accompinied by someone else and Percy learns something he never knew about his family. On their quest, they must sail through the Sea of Monsters, running into old friends during the dangerous journey. Once they have possesion of the Golden Fleece, they can return it to Camp Half-Blood and restore the magical borders that protect the camp. But, the Fleece does something more than everyone expected.

I'm going to start off saying that I loved the book! I enjoyed reading this book as much as the first in the series, and look forward to reading the rest. All of the events in The Sea Of Monsters were very exciting! I liked what the author, Rick Riordan, did with the ending a lot. I liked some of the new characters in the book, also. I stayed up at night until I was told to go to bed just to read this book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone ages ten and up.
My Rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Book Review - Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief  by Rick Riordan is about a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson. He has ADHD, dyslexia, and Percy has been kicked out of every boarding school he's gone to. His stepfather wants absolutley nothing to do with him, and his mom is really the only person in the world who really cares for him. After almost being killed, Percy is taken to Camp Half-Blood. There, he learns something he never knew. He is the son of Poseidon, the Sea God. In the midst of that, Zeus's Master Bolt is stolen, and the first person that Zeus suspects is Poseidon. Percy is sent on a quest with his good friends Annabeth and Grover to retrieve the Master Bolt from the Underworld, and return it to Zeus by the summer solstice.

After finishing The Lightning Thief, I instantly wanted more. I though it was a great book full of such interesting adventures and characters. I just loved the idea in the book that the gods had many other children and at Camp Half-Blood, they get to stay in a cabin with the other children of their mother or father. When the author described the setting of the camp, I really wanted to be there, in the story! It sounded so magical and exciting, also scary though! All of the different creatures in The Lightning Thief are so different and I think that the author, Rick Riordan, did a fantastic job at making each character so special. Whenever a character would smile, I found myself smiling too! I got completely lost in the story! I would reccomend The Lightning Thief to children ages nine and up.
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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Today, my mom commented on how most of my ratings for books are five stars. I told her it's because I only read good books. :)

Book Review - Beautiful Creatures

SPOILER ALERT Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is about a small town highschool boy named Ethan Wate. When Old Man Ravenwood's niece, Lena, comes to town and starts going to the highschool, she's seen as a loner. She doesn't wear the right clothes, doesn't have a tan and she's the niece of Old Man Ravenwood. Mr. Ravenwood has a big, old house and of course, it is referred to as the "Haunted House." Right before Lena arrives in town, Ethan began to have strange dreams. In the dreams, he's falling and trying to hold on to the girl's hand who is falling with him too. But, he doesn't know who the girl is. When he meets Lena, she's not exactly open to him, but eventually he earns her trust and they become friends. Gradually, their friendship turns into something more and they begin to have feelings for eachother. Lena then tells Ethan a secret she has never told any Mortal before. She's a Caster, and so is the rest of her family. Ethan is very understanding about who Lena is and actually helps her find the Book of Moons. The Book of Moons had been lost and was filled with powerful spells. But, there is something that Lena is dreading. Her sixteenth birthday. That is the day that she will be Claimed. Light or Dark. Lena is convinced that she will go Dark, because her mother, Sarafine, is the most powerful Dark Caster of all time. Once it's finally her birthday, her mother pays her a visit. When Sasrafine stabs Ethan, he begins to slowly die. Then, Lena does a spell to bring him back, forgetting that you must give something in return for a life. In the end, though, she is not Claimed. Yet.

I thought that Beautiful Creatures was an amazing book! The whole story is just so creative and I liked how during the story, the authors put in parts from the past. I think that the History of Gatlin is really interesting too. My favorite character in Beautiful Creatures is Ethan. He doesn't judge Lena for who she is and he sticks by Lena even when he doesn't want to. He always does his best to protect Lena as a Mortal. I absolutely loved the book and all of the characters. I also really like the names chosen for the characters! I think that the authors did a great job of creating this story and they left me wanting to read more! I would recommend Beautiful Creatures to anyone over the age of ten. This book is really interesting and I think that anyone who reads it will like it.

My Rating: ✯✯✯✯

Book Review - The Lovely Bones

SPOILER ALERT A book I recently read was The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. This book was about a fourteen year-old girl named Susie Salmon who was murdered in a cornfield, by one of her neighbors. The story is told from Susie's perspective in Heaven. In Susie's afterlife, everything is perfect. But, on earth, her killer– Mr. Harvey –still hasn't been caught. Mr. Harvey had killed many other young girls and women before, never being caught. While Susie is in Heaven, over the years, she watches her family fall apart. Her father becomes suspicious of Mr. Harvey, getting injured in the process of finding evidence. Her mother leaves the family for a while and Susie's sister, Lindsey, helps their father to raise their brother Buckley. After their mother left them, their Grandma Lynn came to take care of them. In the end Lindsey was the one to break into Mr. Harvey's house, to find any trace of evidence. Mr. Harvey comes home to realize someone had been there, and he left town. More years passed and the Salmon family slowly started to heal and Susie began to feel at peace. Still, Mr. Harvey was not caught. In an attempt to get a teenager into his car, he slipped and fell. Mr. Harvey then died, and Susie could finally spend her afterlife in peace, family members eventually joining her.

In my opinion, The Lovely Bones was an amazing and heart wrenching book. I did cry a few times while reading the book and seeing the movie. The book was just so sad! I love any books that can make me cry, though. The Lovely Bones was a book that I just COULD'NT put down, with the exception of school. I would reccomend this book to tweens and above. I have to say though, this book was a bit too grown up for me probably. Still, this book really opened my eyes to what really happens around us each day. And I'm really grateful for the people who try to make young people realize this situation.

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮