Monday, February 22, 2010
Beowulf, adapted and illustrated by Gareth Hinds
In the book, Beowulf, a man who has been called by a king to defend against a monster octopus-like creature and her son, a big and bad troll named Grendell. Beowulf travels to a city that is unknown and on an island. He must defeat Grendell and go after the octopus creature and defeat her before they come and take over and kill everyone in that city. Before coming to the island, he had a swimming race with his friend. Some sea creatures came after them. Will Beowulf defeat Grendell and the octopus creature, and will his friend survive the sea creatures, or will Beowulf and his friend get overcome? Read this awesome book and find out! One of my all time favorite adventure books has got to be this. It has all the qualities to be a full fledged fantasy and thrilling book. This book has a lot of thrilling moments but the reason it get my vote for best adventure book is the story line and events.
-Reviewed by ER, grade 9.
Labels:
Adventure,
Beowulf,
Classic,
Classics,
Gareth Hinds,
Graphic Novel,
Teen Book Reviews
Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, is shown through the eyes of Rose Hathaway, who attends a school for vampires and learns to become the best bodyguard for her best friend, the Moroi princess Lissa Dragomir. After being brought back to St. Vladimir’s Academy after hiding for two years, the girls try to fit in again. However, the Strigoi, vampires who kill other vampires, are trying to break into the academy and Rose and Lisa try to survive with the help of Dimitri, Rose’s fighting teacher. This is a great book to read if you are into the supernatural, and it gives a whole new outlook at vampires.
-Reviewed by NM, grade 9.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Paranoid Park, by Blake Nelson
Paranoid Park, by Blake Nelson, is the story of a young, middle class high school skater who lives in Portland. One day, while skating at an illegal skate park (Paranoid Park), he ends up trying to hop a train, and when discovered by a security guard, the skater accidentally kills him. The book then follows the skater, who is unnamed, as he deals with deciding if he should tell anyone of the incident while at the same time dealing with divorcing parents, girls, sex, and life in high school. Paranoid Park is written in a first person perspective, and a majority of the book is his narrative of the life of the progatanist as he deals with the weight of killing someone, while dealing with high school. It realistically shows the world through pre-teen to teen eyes, and the progatanist's narrative stunningly shows the inner emotional feelings of an adolescent going through hard times, and his attempts to hid his feelings, and the accident, while his world crashes down around him. A great narrative of teenage life, at its worst.
-Reviewed by Anonymous, grade 9.
-Reviewed by Anonymous, grade 9.
The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud is about a young magician in training named Nathaniel. Nathaniel lives in London where the government is completely controlled by magicians. What's worse is that all these magicians are backstabbers who would slit each others throat the first chance they got. Nathaniel, after being humiliated by a very powerful magician named Simon Lovelace, summons the djinn Bartimaeus to steal Lovelace's most prized possessions: the amulet of Samarkand. Nathaniel unovers more than just an amulet, including a cult that could destroy reality as we know it. That's not all, Bartimaeus isn't about to just follow Nathaniel's orders. I liked this book because there are a lot of twists and turns and I love the 20th century rendition of London in which so many classics take place. What's interesting is that the story is told in two different perspectives: Nathaniel's and Bartimaeus'. Although Nathaniel's perspective can be rather droll Bartimaeus' perspective comes alive. He is hilarious and he always has witty to say to or about someone. Throughout his parts of the story you will find countless citations of quick things to note about the magician world or even funny anecdotes of his life with his previous masters. Another thing about the book that I liked so much was the psychological warfare that went on between the magicians. Magicians could be described as a cross between politicians and mafia bosses because they are deceitful and lie and they have the power to take out anyone who knows their secret or anyone they just don't like with the power of spirits. When you think about this, and the fact that these baddies are the ones the main character is after, you will probably think there's no way he can pull it off, but Nathaniel is also smart and has his own power.
-Reviewed by H.S., grade 9.
-Reviewed by H.S., grade 9.
Galilee, by Clive Barker
Galilee, by Clive Barker, is an intense story of two different, but equally powerful families, whose fates have been intertwined ever since the beginning of each dynasty. The Geary and Barbarossa families are both powerful and influential families, beyond an average human's understanding. The Barbarossa family is not only powerful, but also divine. A simple girl from Daskey Ohio, Rachel, marries into one of the families, the Geary family. Little does she know that behind all the flashing lights, there are generations of scandal and dirty secrets. She meets a man from the Barbarossa household, Galilee Barbarossa. She is immediately blown over by his beauty, and amazing build. She finds herself madly in love with him. He has fallen for her as well. Will Rachel and Galilee end up together?
Galilee is a book that is definitely worth reading. It has mystery, suspense, romance, and scandal as well. While it may be for adult audiences, it has a very interesting plot. The story has many different layers that unfold with every chapter. The book lets your imagination run wild as you try to guess what will happen next. Galilee will keep you guessing until the last page, and leave you asking for more. It is up to your imagination to come up with the rest.
-Reviewed by MH, grade 9.
Labels:
Adult Books with Teen Appeal,
Clive Barker,
Fantasy,
Galilee,
Horror,
Romance
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