The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
What caught my eye on this book was the sub-title: The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel. As a fan of the Harry Potter books by JK Rawlings, I was curious. Nicholas Flamel is a character in The Sorcerer’s Stone. I found out the he is actually more then that but is a historical figure that lived in Paris (c. 1330-1414 AD). He has also appeared in more books including The Da Vinci Code.
After having my interest peaked by the sub-title, I set down to read the book. I was totally caught up by the wonderfully crafted tale of two teenagers who where living in Southern California. They are twin brother and sister who have befriended Nicholas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle. The Flamel’s are who get Sophie and Josh Newman involved in the age-old battle between the forces of good and evil.
This book is extremely enjoyable to read and full of twists and turns that keep you turning the pages. What I enjoyed more is the author’s use of historical and mythological characters to populate the novel. I found myself spending some time re-familiarizing myself with old friends from my studies in college. Even though I have a base knowledge of the characters, people with out that knowledge will find this book enjoyable.
The story starts with Sophie and Josh witnessing Nicholas and Perenelle using magic to fight off their enemy Dr. John Dee. Everything that the teenagers think they know about the world is challenged from there. Perenelle is captured and Nicholas and the twins go on a magical trip through California and the world trying to rescue her and safe the world from destruction by the Dark Forces. Okay, the plot line seems hokey but I ensure you that it is not. I finished the book in a day and went out at bought the second in the series. I loaned my copy of The Alchemyst to a friend, how is enjoying it. I am waiting for the release of the third book in paper book but may head for the library to check a copy out.
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Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Yes, this is another vampire story, but it takes place in the elite social circle of New York City not in the wild setting of Forks, Washington. The main characters are all of the upper crust of society, with the riches and gossip that goes along with it. The vampires are immortal and be killed by fire or having all of their blood sucked out. Some one is killing the young vampires. Okay, the vampires choose to life in cycles. They are “born” to new parents and grow up until they choose to die only to restart the cycle in a few years. All of the vampires, in modern day New York, where vampires who arrived in America on the Mayflower and other ships. A “Silver Blood” destroyed the settlement of Roanoke Virginia. The “Silver Bloods” are vampires who choose not the follow the codes that where created so that the vampires could prove that they where good. It seems that the Vampires are really the fallen angels that where cast out of heaven with Lucifer. So, Blue Bloods is nothing like Twilight. Nevertheless, it is worth reading and very enjoyable.
I like the fact that Cruz uses incidents in history to explain some of the happenings in modern day society. The author also uses the biblical story of Lucifer and the angles to help build the suspense in the book. I would encourage people to read this book. It would appeal to young women more so then the guys. After finishing the first book of the series, I went out and got the next two books, Masquerade and Revelations. The next book is being released in October of this year. I will be reading it.
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Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
I decided to read this book after having a number of students at the school that I was student teaching at not be able to tell me anything about the story. I was amazed that they didn’t have an idea about what was going on but they could read to me passages from the book with very little issue with the vocabulary. They did keep reading the book and my time in their classroom was over before any of them finished the book.
I was hooked on the book by the second chapter. The main character is a high school senior that used to be “Nerd Boy” until he got caught and arrested for doing graffiti on the school building. Now he is either a person to be avoided, a person to be snubbed or an extremely cool person, depending on who you asked. The book is written from Tyler’s point of view. He opens up about many of the social issues that people face in school. There are times that he seems to be suicidal but that is never sensationalized. There is hardly any romance in the book although Tyler talks about his interest in one of the most popular girls in the school.
The students who could not tell me anything about the story where 8th grade males. I think that part of the reason may be that they did not want to have to talk about the emotional roller coaster that they face in their lives.
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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I will have to say that this is one of the first books that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning to finish reading in a long time. I have done so a few times in my life but it has been many years.
This novel takes places in the future but has parallels to the present. There is suspense and adventure enough to catch the male readers but enough philosophy and romance for the female. The main characters of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are both in their late teens and face the challenge of the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are used as a way for the ruling class to keep the masses controlled. The Hunger Games are a fight to the death between a male and female from each of the twelve districts that ring the Capital of Panem, a nation that is where North America is today. The winner is rewarded with riches and fame, where the loser gives their very lives. This is all done on live TV.
I started reading the book with one of the students in my classroom. I was going to try to read only as much as he did so that we could talk about the book as we read. It did not work. I was hooked on the book in the first chapter. The student did read a fair amount, I never told him that I finished the book in one day. (I hope that he does not read this post.) He was involved in reading and really had some wonderful things to day about what was going on in the story. There were a few words that he had to look up in the dictionary but he is in the 8th grade.
If you are looking for a page turner that has something for everyone in it, read this book. I am patiently waiting for the next one to come out. (The book ends with the words END OF BOOK ONE). The second book comes out in September 2009!
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Football Genius by Tim Green
I read this book simply because I heard Tim Green speak at the middle school that I was doing my student teaching. He is a very engaging speaker and the eight graders that I worked with had positive things to say about his talk.
Football Genius is Tim Green’s first book for young adults. It is very well written and keeps the action moving from chapter to chapter. The main character, Troy, is a young man who loves playing football but never gets the chance to because his coach does not put him in any games. Troy is a quarterback and so is the coach’s son, even though Troy is the better player he does not get to play. Troy also has a gift. He can predict any football play before it happens. His Mom gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons and Troy sees that as his chance to help his favorite team get out of the slump that they are in. Troy finds that proving that he can help is not going to be easy. Very few adults will lesson to an eleven-year-old boy.
I read the book in a day but then I read very fast. It is a page turner though which kept me from putting it down. The chapters are just the right length but you read on because you want to discover what happens next. I recommend the book even for people who do not really like football. (I am not a big football fan and can’t even name more then a few football teams.) The characters are written as if they are real people and you care about them. With each turn and twist of the plot, you want to find out if Troy can prove that he is a football genius, save his Mom’s job and help the Falcons win a championship.
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