Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

Synopsis: This book is the last of the Heir series. This book is about a boy who is very anti-hero, he doesn't want to do things the traditional way and sometimes even gets his friends hurt. He is not a powerful Weird like his friends, but he ends up playing a vital role in the climax of the series.

Review: He makes mistakes, has a prideful attitude, and is a typical rebel teenage boy- yet you know he would always do the right thing in the end. If I met him in reality I know I would not like him, but I would be lucky to have him as a friend at the same time. The truth is I read the first three books years back and remember liking them so much that I bought the latest book recently. I don't like this book as much as the others. Maybe it's because my taste for books has changed, but I thought the story was a little frustrating. I did like some of the adventure though, and the plot was pretty twisty.

Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

Synopsis: Based on the legendary figure of Helen of Troy, this novel tells the story of Helen as she grew up in Sparta, before she became the figure of fame. Helen is a wild child with a determined will of her own. She wants nothing more than a good adventure, to hunt and fight like her big brothers. She comes from an adoring ruling family and has lived with special privileges all her life. As she embarks on adventures of her own she soon learns important life lessons along the way: the need for kindness, the role of gods and the role of man, the importance of comradeship, and loyalty to family.

Review: It was enjoyable and entertaining, but I felt like the writing was a little flat and impersonal. I liked the characters alright but it was hard to really relate to them when the words wouldn't let me. I felt like the writing was like a frosted lens between myself and the characters and heard what they were like, but rarely felt it. I did like the Greek mythology and the wild adventures that she had, but I would only rate this book as "Ok".

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

(Same review and synopsis for both books in the duet)

Synopsis: The Countess Meliara, known as Mel, and her brother swear to her dying father that they will lead a revolution to usurp the throne from the greedy Galadran. Their rebellion leads to a war that they are unevenly matched for; equipped with impoverished farmers and makeshift weapons, they use their best strategies to hold their own, until the Marquis is called in by the King to solve the problem. After the war settles, Mel finds herself in even more dangerous waters at court. Here her sword is useless and she must learn quickly to use an even more dangerous weapon: her mind.

Review: I love this book and have read it several times. My copy is well worn and well loved. I think this is a classic adventure/romance novel with nonclassic characters and a well organized plot with twists and turns I never saw coming. It reminded me vaguely of another book I read called Trouble with Kings which too is about a war and court life, romance and fighting. I think this book is a great read and recommend it to others looking for a good, past-time read.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Synopsis: Santiago is a simple shepherd boy who gave up his families intentions for him to study at the monastery and took on the life of a shepherd, traveling among the vast country side of ancient Spain. When Santiago begins to have a recurring dream about the Egyptian pyramids, he decides to leave his flock behind in pursuit of what he believes to be his Personal Legend, his great search for a great treasure. Along his way Santiago encounters many dangers: love, loss, decisions and disaster.

Review: This is in my top 5 books that I have ever read. Every time I read it I feel like I have understood a new life lesson, and feel like I gain serious insights into my own life. The author has a gift to write in such a way that he seems to be telling a story, but in reality he is really sharing what he believes are the meanings of life. The story is told very well, if a little differently because of translations from Portuguese, and I love the simplicity of the book's style.

The Crow by Allison Croggon

Synopsis: Hem is Maered's orphaned younger brother whose stuggle for survival ends as he is reunited with his sister by some strange miracle. Their reunion is bittersweet and leaves a lasting impression on the sibling's hearts but is short lived as Maered is forced to travel north with Cadvan to unveil the life-threatening riddles that haunt her. Hem is sent to study at a Bardic schools to nurture his magical gifts with Saliman, a powerful and respected Bard. Hem and Saliman form a touching and powerful relationship, similar to father and son, as they face wars and horrifying strifes. Together they escape and thwart the Nameless One's plans as they struggle to find their way back to Maered as the Dark Army marches northward.

Review: This was a very dark and depressing novel, lacking beauty and full of sorrow. I had a sad demeanor throughout my days as I read this book. It was continually hardship after hardship and I began to lose hope for a good ending, but the author managed to reel me back into the story by the end and I knew I needed to get the final book to find out how the story would unfold.

Riddle by Allison Croggon

Synopsis: the second book of the Pellinor series, the story follows Meared on her great adventure as she travels to the snowy, beautiful North. Though she faces many perils and powerful adversaries, she quickly learns that her greatest enemy is potentially herself- though she doesn't learn so quickly enough to keep her friends from harm. Alone and determined, Maered ventures to the furthest reaches of the North testing the strength of her spirit in her desperate search for the Treesong, the only weapon strong enough to bring down the Nameless One, with only a dead prophesy for help.

Review: This is my favorite of all the other books in the series. I think the adventures were lively and intense and Meared as a character is strong and easy to feel for. Her adventures were hard but there was a strong undercurrent of hope that I hung onto as I read about her challenges after challenges. I loved the description! I felt like I was there. Well done, Croggon!

Naming by Allison Croggon

Synopsis: Maered has been a slave at the dreadful Gilman's Cot since she and her mother had been sold into slavery when she was a very little girl. She has no memories of her life before slavehood, but yearns for the freedom she must have known before. One say as she is milking cows she is surprised to find a stranger hiding from sight. The stranger, named Cadvan, takes a great interest in her as he realizes she has seem him, and decides to help her escape. Once released from the bonds of slavery and the walls of Gilman's Cot, Maered is tossed into a fierce and intense adventure which tests her abilities as a human being, as well as her newly discovered magical powers which Cadvan helped her to find. He introduces her to the world of Bards, full of magic and mystery and becomes her teacher and friends on their journey to correct ancient wrongs.

Review: I liked the first book very much. I think it moved a little slowly, but I found that I didn't mind-most of the time. Croggon has a wonderful way with description that interests me. She also impressed me with her development of this fantasy world which she created an entire history and culture for. I felt engrossed in the world and intrigued by the various folklore. I really like the poetic inserts often found between chapters, that portrayed their folklore and mythology.

Book Theif by Markus Zusak

Synopsis: This book takes place in Germany during WWII. It is told by a very unique and original character: Death. Death finds the story of Leisel Meminger who has a habit of stealing books. The story starts with Leisel and her brother being taken to live with new foster parents by their mother, but on the way her little brother dies on the train and they stop to bury his body. While they bury his body, Leisel sees a book in the snow by his grave and takes it, partly out of curiosity, but mostly as a token to remember her brother. It was the first of a successful career in book burglary. Her foster parents treat her well and she quickly and easily settles into her new life although she is cursed with dreams of her dead brother and missing mother by night. Eventually her foster parents decide to take a Jewish man named Max into hiding in their basement. Max and Leisel become dear friends who learn to understand and express themselves with one another. This book is the account of Leisel Meminger and the lessons she learned in the form of a story through her life experience living through WWII.

Review: Excellent. Five stars. Two thumbs up- it was phenomenal. I was hooked by the very first paragraph. The narrator, Death, is a very intriguing character whom you both fear and sympathize with. I like that the author chose Death to be the narrator of this great story. Death neither loves nor hates the human race, though he is greatly effected by them. Death learns that human kind is capable of both horrible, heart-wrenching things as well as unexplainable, inexpressible acts of selfless compassion. Humans confuse him, intrigue him, and continuously haunt him. The story itself was touching and full of meaning. Though I doubt I will ever find myself in such extreme war-faring circumstances, I believe I have learned valuable life lesson that will and have benefited me for the life I live day by day such as: the value of human life, service to those in our lives, and compassion freely given, even to those who will never be able to repay you.

Incantation by Alice Hoffman

Synopsis: This book does not flinch away from the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition era and depicts many of its horrors and challenges faced by those whom it effected. Estrella lives a comfortable life as a Catholic in Spain around 1500 in a small beautiful and very old city. She and her best friend, Catalina, are close and have grown up together since early childhood. The anti-Jewish riots that sweep through her town barely touch her life at all until she discovers that her family is keeping a terrible and fatal secret. Simultaneously she finds herself falling in love with Andres, Catalina's cousin who is expected to marry Catalina. Estrella very suddenly is put into very difficult situations attached with decisions that mean life or death to those she loves most.

Review: I loved this book. It is written very poetically and was well written. You can tell that Alice Hoffman put much thought into it and organized it extremely well, weaving symbolism and understanding into every paragraph. I will read this book again, I'm sure I will read it several times in my lifetime. I felt deeply touched by this characters experiences and felt my curiosity spark towards the Spanish Inquisition as I found myself falling in love with their peculiar culture. I want to learn more about the Inquisition and about Spanish culture during the time period. Alice Hoffman's elegant, beautiful and fluid style of story writing is enchanting and left me wanting more.

White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

Synopsis: Symone, a 14 year old girl from the UK, is obsessed with Antarctic exploration. She has even taken Titus Oates, one of the many explorers whose life was claimed by the cruel and unforgiving antarctic wilderness, as her very own imaginary friend. The only person in Sym's life that seems to take any interest in her, besides Titus, is her Uncle Victor, who is a long time family friend. Since her father died Uncle Victor has taken on a father type figure in her life. The story begins as Uncle Victor unexpectedly takes Sym on a vacation to Paris, only to discover that her Uncle has other, very dangerous and exciting plans for her- a trip to Antarctica!

Review: It was harder to read than most books, mostly because I did not like the main character- in fact I did not like an of the characters. But in this story I do not think any of the characters are supposed to be liked. Throughout the whole book you know something bad is going to happen, you can feel it coming, you don't know what but you know it is going to be really bad; this was probably the only thing that kept me reading. I did not care for the characters as I said before, the plot was unbelievable and unrealistic, and the ending I think was unsatisfactory. Symone herself was a hard character to take the story from; she was so apathetic and indifferent and lacked passion until it was literally forced on her.

Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Synopsis:

Matt, Callie, and Emmy are siblings in a dangerous world. Though, for them, the danger isn't outside the home, it's inside. Their mother, Nikki, is a continuous nightmare who has them living in fear from the moment she walks in through the front door. So what keeps them there, besides their fear? Love. Matt's story is a hard one of a great escape from the one who claims to love him the most. A story of the nature of love, and to what ends it is justified.

Review:

This was a hard book to read. I felt that there wouldn't/couldn't be a happy ending, because even if they did manage to escape their mother, their memories would haunt them for the rest of their lives. At least I think that is the case for Matt. Emmy and Callie seem able to move on, in their way, and take advantage of their fortunate opportunities. But Matt, being the oldest, is continuously daunted by his learned "rules of survival". A thought provoking novel to say the least and a heavy hearted one. There was a point in the book that I had to put the books down and go on a walk and try to be happy for a while because the story depressed me so much. I can't say even the ending was satisfactory, though I admit it aroused great questions and insights. I don't feel that I gained much from reading this book in a rewarding sense.

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Synopsis:

Written from the perspective of a young teen-aged girl who is called D.J., this book is an account of the challenges she faces as an ordinary high schooler in Wisconsin. With her father unable to work the farm D.J. suddenly finds herself baling hay while her friends are hitting parties. Despite her hard work nothing she does seems to be good enough for her father, and her mother is no help as she sits passively by, keeping her opinions a well-kept secret. He brother, Curtis, may be her only friend, besides her best friend Amber, and his aptitude to prefer silence over conversation keeps D.J. and him at a friendly understanding. But her comfortable world is suddenly shaken when Brian Nelson shows up on the farm out of the blue with instructions from his football coach to learn the meaning of hard work.

Review:
The important messages given to us in Dairy Queen are not given directly to the reader. The lessons to be learned are written very subtly. The story, however is written very bluntly and from the point of view of DJ, a girl living in Wisconsin, who loves football. I would say that this book is more for leisure time reading than anything else. I doubt this book will ever be known as a classic but it was certainly an easy read, entertaining, youthful and straightforward novel. It would not be the first book I would recommend.