The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales

Okay to set this straight I am not a big princess fan! But this book is not about a princess in a tower and a prince comes fights some beast, gets her out of the tower, and they live happily ever after. There are six stories in this book, The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, For Biddles Sake, and The Fairy's Return. My favorite story out of them is probably The Fairy's Mistake in which a girl named Rosella who is given what is supposed to be a gift from a fairy named Ethelinda (because she gives her some water from a well) turns out very wrong. Rosella's sister named Myrtle also gets something from Ethelinda, but it's supposed to be a punishment and Myrtle turns it on her to help herself. Myrtle gets a punishment because she doesn't give Ethelinda some water from the well.


I think all the stories were very untraditional for princess stories and had some surprises in them. In one of these stories there is a boy who makes up jokes and riddles and I think the jokes and riddles were pretty funny. This book is by Gail Carson Levine and also the author of Ella Enchanted. I think really any age is a good age to read this. -Tess (Age 9)

I'll Be There

I'll Be There is a terrific book that has yet to hit bookshelves. It is sort of a romance/adventure book about two brothers, Sam and Riddle, who have to take care of themselves while on the run with their criminal, and not completely sane, father. In the beginning Sam, who is about 17 or 18, and Riddle (9 or 10) meet a girl named Emily. The two connect on an extremely high emotional level while Emily is singing Micheal Jackson's "I'll Be There" in church. Sam runs off, gets a new haircut, and is confused by what he feels for the girl he hadn't even met until earlier that day. Meanwhile Emily tries to figure out who he is and how to contact him.

The view changes from the two brothers and Emily to people you eventually meet in the story like Emily's parents, Sam and Riddle's dad, Bobby (who has a stalker like crush on Emily), and a bunch of other creative characters. I cant wait for this book to come out because I know it will be popular. I really liked it because of its twist-filled plot and it is not like the whole romance stuff in Twilight. I recommend it for ages 12 and up. The reason I got it early is because I was able to snag an early copy from ALA. It is expected to be published May 3rd 2011. The author is Holly Goldberg Sloan.
By Chase (Age 12)

Great Book! Terrible Movie! [I Am Number Four]

I Am Number Four is currently my favorite book because of everything about it. It's basically about an alien that comes to Earth after his planet Lorien is attacked my another race of aliens. His people look like us, speak pretty good English though they usually have an accent that people mistake for French, but are super fast, strong, and eventually develop powers like shooting lasers, turning invisible, controlling the elements, etc. Only nine children, nine protectors that are more like humans because they don't do anything special, and a captain to drive the escaping space ship make it off the planet alive. Sadly the people who destroyed Lorien have found them on Earth and are hunting them down. Lucky for them there is a charm so they can only be killed in a certain order. Obviously the book is about Number Four, unluckily for him the first three of them are dead so he is next in line.

I saw previews for the movie first and I didn't even know it was a book and when I found out it was, I was overjoyed. Then I saw the movie. Truthfully the movie wasn't that bad but after reading the book I was kind of PO'd. They took a perfectly good book and changed it into a unrealistic action movie with the guy from Alex Rider and the hot cheerleader from "Glee". They didn't talk about the backstory at all, the action looked like something from a video game, and they changed a bunch of details that wouldn't have changed the movie at all but they still decided to mix it up anyway.

I give the book a 5 out of 5 and the movie a .5 out of 100. Age 12 and up (a couple of cuss words). The book will have a sequel called The Power of Six which is due out September 2011. The book is by Pittacus Lore who is supposedly also a Lorien elder. By Chase (Age 12)

The Percy Jackson Series Book No. 1

This book is called The Lightning Thief. It's about a boy named Percy Jackson, a girl named Annabeth Chase, and a satyr named Grover. It all starts one day when Percy and Grover are on a field trip to a museum where Percy accidentally vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher. Then he is whisked off to Camp Half-Blood where he learns he is the son of Poseidon the Greek god of the sea. It actually turns out that Percy isn't actually supposed to be born. Then Percy is offered a quest because Zeus's master bolt was stolen from him and he thinks Poseidon has it, and that Percy has taken it to him. So Percy goes up to the attic and the oracle tells him a prophecy which I will tell you now.  

You shall go west and face the god who has turned, 

You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned,

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, 

And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end. 

So Percy, Annabeth, and Grover go on a quest to get the master bolt back to Zeus.

I think this book was heroic, adventurous, and funny. The chapter names were hilarious and I especialy like the one called I Become Lord of the Bathroom in which Percy well, exactly like the title says, becomes lord of the bathroom! If you haven't read this book, I highly reccommned it to you. (By the way I think the movie was not really like the book.) By Tess (Age 9)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is a book about a world in the future in which the government holds a tournament, called The Hunger Games, that pits teenagers against each other in a fight to the death in which only one can survive. The main character Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen year old, lives with her depressed mother and younger sister Prim. But when Prim is chosen for The Hunger Games, Katniss takes her place as the female tribute for their district, she is whisked into a world of danger, and cold-blooded murder. Lucky for her she is armed with her ability to shoot a bulls eye with a bow and arrow with ease, thanks to her deceased father and hunting partner Gale (illegal hunting that is). The games are dangerous filled with kids who have never even held a weapon to ones that have been training all their lives for it. This book is filled with action, twists, and even a "fake" romance. Most likely a book for ages 12 and up, I really enjoyed this book and so have many others have too. It is the first book in a trilogy followed by Catching Fire and eventually ending with Mockingjay. By Chase (Age 12)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Right now I'm reading Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. The book is about a girl named Ella who is bestowed with a terrible curse. Ella must get to the fairy who made this curse and get her to take it away or will she have to be careful about everything she does and everyone she meets?

This is a wonderful book about adventure and a girl who has lost things and isn't perfect but makes her way through it all. -Tess (Age 9)

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

It is about a brother and sister charged with being a witch and wizard.  There is a new government called the "New Order" and they are taking away kids and putting them in jails for reasons that are not clear at first.  In charge of the new order is a man who is known as "The One Who is the One".  One night a bunch of New Order soldiers come to their home and Wisty and Whit are taken away to jail for being a witch and wizard.  Even with the magic dampening spell on the jail, they learn to use their powers and escape.  They meet up with a bunch of kids who have started a revolution against the New Order.

It is fun to read because of references to popular culture like Lay-Z (Jay-Z), and Percival Johnson, the Thunder Stealer (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief).  Fast paced, it is pretty good book with lots of twists and turns.  I think people should read it.  I would describe it as an adventure/science fiction story.  There is a second book in the series Witch and Wizard, The Gift which continues the story.  10 and up.  -Chase (Age 12)