The City of Ember (guest review) ~ 4 stars

Guest post by A.B.


The City of Ember is the first in a four book series by Jeanne DuPrau, and a book that I really enjoyed.

The story starts off on Assignment Day in the city of Ember. By order of the mayor, all citizens shall be given jobs at age 12. Lina Mayfleet hopes to be a messenger, but instead of that she draws the job of Pipeworks laborer, which no one wants because it means long hours of underground work.

However, her classmate Doon Harrow draws messenger – and afterwards, asks Lina if she wants to trade! He wants her job because the generator is underground, and Doon wants to figure out how to fix it. The enormous lights of Ember have kept the darkness back for as long as anyone in the city can remember. There is no light at all unless the electricity is on.

But now, not only are supplies in the city running low, but there have been frequent blackouts. Everyone in the city is afraid that some day, the lights will go out and never come back on.

Lina eagerly trades jobs with Doon, and the two of them go their separate ways. Until one day, Lina finds a secret message, which was inside a box buried deep in her grandmother’s closet. When she finds the message, it’s full of holes, but Lina thinks it could be something important. She shows the message to Doon, and together the two of them try to figure it out...

I liked The City of Ember partly because of the setting of the story. Ember is very different from our world in many ways. Something that was unusual there is that Ember has no animals, just insects. This means that the people do not eat meat, but they eat a lot of vegetables and canned foods. Also, there are no trees in Ember, and the only plants are in the Greenhouses, outside of the city. I also found it interesting that citizens of the city received no more education after age 12.

Of course, the fact that all of Ember depends on the electricity provided by the generator, is also strange in a way. When the lights go out, people are helpless. They can't do anything but wait, terrified, in the dark.

Another thing I liked were the main characters, Lina and Doon. They were believable, which I liked, because they’re not perfect. Their plans didn’t always work out, and they had to come up with different ideas, which is something I appreciate in a story.

Overall, I’d say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading The City of Ember. It was a clean book, with no bad language, and it was pretty well-written, making for an exciting read. I would say that it was probably written for readers about ages ten and up, and since I'm a little older than that, I think it was a little below my reading level – but nonetheless engaging and fun. I’m looking forward to reading the second book in the series, The People of Sparks!

Hank the Cowdog (series review) ~ 4.5 stars

Time for a fun review of a very fun series that’s great for just about any person of any age. I haven’t met anyone so far who doesn’t like these books, and since I love them so much, it’s high time I wrote a review.

John R. Erickson is a author from Texas who has written 65 books (and counting) about a fictional dog called Hank the Cowdog. Since I have yet to read a Hank the Cowdog book that isn’t worthy of at least 4 stars, this review will be a general one that can apply to any one of the books.

Hank the Cowdog, the narrating character, is the Head of Ranch Security on a ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Basically, his job is to keep the entire ranch running and safe from coyotes, monsters, and whatever else might pose a threat. He also barks the sun up every morning, herds cattle, helps the cowboys bale hay, and keeps his screwball assistant Drover from causing too much trouble.

Hank is a real character—you can’t always trust everything he says. Half it is exaggerated or completely made up, and the other half is the result of a garbled conversation with Drover. According to Hank, he’s a blue-ribbon, papered, pedigreed cowdog—the truth is that he’s just a ranch mutt with an inflated opinion of himself. But Hank’s adventures are not exaggerated—while he may not fight Laundry Monsters in Sally May’s front yard, he does have some narrow shaves with cannibal coyote brothers Rip and Snort. And there’s the time when he ends up in the dog pound, and the time when he’s stranded in town, and, well, you get the idea. Plus Hank thinks he’s a big favorite with the lady dogs, which adds another level of hilarity to every encounter he has with them.

Drover, Hank’s assistant, is the source of a lot of the humor in the Hank the Cowdog books. He spends most of his time daydreaming, watching the clouds, and otherwise behaving in what Hank would call a “frivolous manner.” Drover has a hard time dealing with reality, and his preferred response is to run to the safety of the machine shed until things blow over. He spends most of his time confused, and this has led to a lot of misleading conversations with Hank that have caused some pretty spectacular mix-ups. Take, for instance, the time Drover thought the world was coming to an end after Sally May went to a clearance sale in town.

There’s a mixed bag of other recurring characters in the Hank the Cowdog books that are just as important as Hank and Drover. There’s Slim, the bachelor ranchhand and Loper, his boss. There’s Sally May, Loper’s wife, and Pete the Barncat, Sally May’s pet. There’s also the buzzards, Wallace and Junior, a tribe of wild coyotes, J.T. Cluck the rooster, and a whole bunch of others. They all add up to make the Hank the Cowdog books some of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Hands down.

Why are they funny? It’s hard to explain, but John R. Erickson takes full advantage of all the screwy characters in his books and uses them to create situations that are funny in a way that makes you laugh out loud. It’s not slapstick humor, and it’s not a dumb kind of funny. Hank the Cowdog is always hilarious in new ways every time, and it’s good, clean humor that everyone can laugh at because it really is funny. Hank’s adventure’s are also just plain entertaining, and they’re just as fun to read the eighth time as they were the first time. Basically, I’d suggest you get the first five of these and start reading them. We bring them along to read aloud in the car. If you’re that kind of person, I bet you could read them to the kids before bed. And if you’ve got kids who are starting to get interested in reading, these are definitely good books to put into their hands. I really can’t recommend the Hank the Cowdog series highly enough.

This isn’t the first Hank the Cowdog review I’ve written either. I had one published in my local newspaper, and also posted a short review on my other blog, Too Hick To Be Square. But trust me, they all say the same thing. Hank the Cowdog is a great series. They’re fun, they’re funny, they are really, really good books. Enough said. Now get yourself to a library and check one out.

Link to author website: http://www.hankthecowdog.com/

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy (guest review) ~ 5 stars

Guest review by Eli Hansen

     Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is the title of an epic fantasy series by Tad Williams. The title is deceptive, since the name of the trilogy is not the name of the three books, which are titled The Dragonbone Chair, The Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower. My name is Eli Hansen, and epic fantasy is definitely my cup of tea – perfect for my guest review on my sister's blog.

     One thing we can all agree on is that this is an exceptionally long story. Altogether, the edition of the series that I own was about 2600 pages long. That's close to even the Harry Potter series, and I can assure you that Tad Williams' writing is much more complex than J. K. Rowling's early work. 

     In fair warning, this series was also one of the slowest series to "get in to" that I've ever read. Some reviewers say it takes 100 pages in to the first book to really get moving, others say 200 pages, and others say it takes half of the book before the story really get started. In my opinion the story really didn't get so exciting that I didn't want to put the book down until I was 600 pages in, almost all the way through the first book! Even for a seasoned reader, that's a long time to stick with a book that just doesn't seem all that great at first glance before you get to the good part. I would almost have to say it was poor writing. To me, the set up for the rest of the story was worth it, but I've had a hard time getting other readers (like my sister!) past the long intro to the rest of the trilogy without losing their interest. 

     Once you do get past the intro, however, you get to all the good things that I enjoy about Tad Williams' writing. For one thing, he keeps it real. The protagonist of his story starts out as a servant boy at the castle and over the course of 2600 pages, he develops from a simple adolescent who dreams of achieving great things, but would rather avoid responsibility, to being a strong leader and actually becoming the ruler of the human kingdom. But the development of this young man's character is never as if the author waved a magic wand and suddenly made him into a saint with all the virtues of a fairytale hero. Through the experiences he faces, the character actually comes to adulthood. I don't know any better example of character development in a piece of fictional writing.

     The other fantasy races that Tad Williams uses in his story also help to keep it real. He takes races like elves and dwarves and succeeds in making them really unique and distinct. Their motivations, their thoughts, and their culture are different and much stronger than the stereotypes that are typically portrayed for those races. 

     Another characteristic of Tad Williams' writing is that it's very dark. The situations his characters encounter can be very desperate, and you never actually know which ones will survive to see "happily ever after." Personally, I enjoyed the dark style of writing in the series; however, I know it can be offputting to some. Who wants to read about more suffering when there's already plenty of it to go around in the real world? As a sidenote, of all the books that Tad Williams has written, this is actually the least dark and grim.

     The plot of the series is definitely archetypical of the classic fantasy or fairytale type of story. It has some elements of mystery mixed in as well. I guess the reason I like it so much is that it is such an epic fantasy tale, but it does not resort to the kinds ofdeus ex machina and implausibilities that are so common in the genre, like waving the author's magic wand to change a formerly shallow and selfish character into a brave and self-sacrificing hero with no explanation for his change of heart. The characters, though, are the best part of the story – all very realistic in their choices and their motivations.

     The length of the story and the dark style of writing definitely make it a series for an experienced reader. There is some adult content; while it's not too overt, nor is it the focus of the story, it's there, so beware. The best thing I can say about the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series is that it will blow you away with its depth. It takes a plotline that really is a classic example of fantasy and makes it so much more than its stereotype. A piece of "easy reading" it is not, but if you like writing that challenges you and really makes you think to keep up with the author, you will really enjoy Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. I encourage you to give it a read!

     Noodle: Thanks, Eli! He has is own website and blog over at www.elihansenart.com which you should really check out. Eli asked me to review this series, but I really think we can all agree he did a better job of it than it than I would have.

Agnes Grey - 3 stars (guest review)

Guest post by jayden robyn


     Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte's first of two novels, is a quick, easy read. I liked it, but I found the overall plot to be somewhat lacking, which is why I settled on three stars for my rating.

     Agnes Grey focuses on the story of a young woman who becomes a governess in an attempt to earn her own living. The book opens with a brief overview of her childhood and relations with her parents and older sister, before moving on to Agnes taking up a position as governess at Wellwood House. Agnes struggles to handle her pupils, who are cruel and unmanageable. She is relieved of her position after a year, and after returning home, Agnes then takes up another post as governess to the Murray girls, who are older than her previous charges. She has a much better time with them, even if they are still troublesome, and she also meets the curate Edward Weston, with whom she falls in love.

     Anne Bronte is a very good writer, with prose that is clear and easy to read. She is my favorite of the Bronte sisters. However, I found Agnes Grey to "get going" almost immediately without much introduction to the characters, so I wasn't fully drawn into the story for several chapters. It is a very quiet story without much, if any, action; basically it is a snapshot of the story of a young woman making her place in the world in 19th century England.

     Agnes does not really grow much throughout the story, but Bronte does a good job of portraying the people surrounding her main character (who narrates in the first-person), from the cruel Bloomfield children and their parents to the somewhat shallow Murray girls and their mother, as well as the kind Edward Weston. The romance between Agnes and Weston is very understated and (again) quiet, but I liked that Bronte wrote it that way. Bronte honestly portrays the governess' lot of the times, and she ends the novel well, giving us a glimpse into her characters' futures without stifling the sense of completion.

     Overall, I liked Agnes Grey, but the fact that it took me several chapters to get into the story, as well as the overall tameness of the plot, lowered my rating. I prefer Anne's other work, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, but Agnes Grey was still worth a read.

Delirium Trilogy ~ 4.5 stars (guest review)

Guest post by jayden robyn

     Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy, consisting of Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem, for young adults is one of the many popular dystopian trilogies of recent times, and is quite possibly my favorite young adult trilogy. This review will cover all three books. 

     In Delirium, we meet Lena Haloway, a girl who is approaching her eighteenth birthday—and the “cure.” In Lena’s futuristic world, love has been declared a disease and must be eradicated. When everyone turns eighteen, they must receive the cure that renders them forever unable to love. They are then paired with someone who will be their spouse and basically live their lives as they are told. This twist on the dystopian world easily could have gone wrong, but Lauren Oliver presents it in a fashion that is very believable, and she gives us background on how her world works without ever bogging the story down. 

     Lena is eagerly awaiting her cure—that is, until she meets a young man named Alex. At first, Lena is wary around him; after all, until they are cured, boys and girls are segregated and do not have contact with each other except for family members. But Lena is intrigued, and soon she begins to doubt the world she has grown up in. Alex tells her about the Wilds, a place outside the borders of the U.S. and how “Invalids”—those who are not cured—live there, free to choose for themselves and free to love. Then Lena discovers that she has fallen in love, and decides once and for all that she will not be cured, and she and Alex plot a daring escape to the Wilds. 

     The entirety of Delirium’s 441 pages covers Lena’s journey to realizing that her world isn’t all that it is made out to be. It is relatively slow-placed, though it does have its exciting moments, and the ending is definitely a major cliffhanger. I found the pacing to be much less bothersome and the story itself more enjoyable the second time around. I would rate Delirium 4 stars. 

     Pandemonium, fortunately, does not fall victim to the “second-book syndrome” that many middle books in trilogies do. I found it even better than the first. Its pacing is much quicker, and the storyline goes back and forth between the brewing rebellion during the present time and Lena’s adjustment to the Wilds during the not-too-distant past. This presentation was smooth and allowed us to follow Lena’s journey without getting bogged down. 

     Pandemonium also introduces several new interesting characters, including Raven and Tack, leaders of the group that Lena joins in the Wilds, and Julian, a likable young man who was raised his whole life believing that love is a disease, just like Lena. Together they take part in the rebellion that is being formed by the people of the wilds to bring down the loveless world that Lena formerly inhabited. A love triangle also begins with Lena, Julian, and Alex. I normally do not like love triangles in the slightest, but Oliver pulled it off well enough that I didn’t mind. I would rate Pandemonium, which ends with another huge cliffhanger, 4.5 stars. 

     Requiem, the conclusion of the trilogy, didn’t disappoint. In this installment, the story alternates between the point-of-views of Lena and her childhood friend Hana Tate, who has been cured. Writing point-of-views, particularly first-person POVs, that sound unique is tough to do, but Oliver pulls it off well. The separate paths of the two girls eventually meet near the end of the novel, which is somewhat darker than the first two but not overwhelming. The rebellion is growing stronger each day, and Lena also has to choose between Alex and Julian, as well as reunite with her mother, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

     The ending of Requiem has been hit-or-miss with most people, and I personally liked it. Oliver wraps up the majority of the story’s loose ends, but leaves her characters’ futures uncertain while still ending positively. I wasn’t sure that I would like that, but in the end I found myself satisfied. I would rate Requiem 4 stars. 

     Lauren Oliver is a talented writer; her words flow smoothly and she has a unique way of describing things without ever feeling stilted or forced. I could easily picture in my head what she was writing about. Her characters are well-rounded and believable, with their own distinct personalities and motives. I liked Lena, Alex, Julian, and Raven, and while I didn’t totally like Hana, she was still interesting. Lena was probably my favorite character overall, and probably my favorite heroine of all the young adult trilogies. She is strong and capable, but she is far from perfect. I felt that she reacted believably to her circumstances in all three books. The romance is also clean. 

     My main complaint about this trilogy is the language. Oliver consistently uses curse words throughout the trilogy, and occasionally she’ll use big ones, too. They came often enough that I couldn’t just ignore them, and it detracted from the story somewhat. In fact, if Oliver hadn’t written the curse words, or at least not so often, I would’ve rated Pandemonium 5 stars and the other two books 4.5 stars. Overall, however, the Delirium trilogy is one of my favorites, and Lauren Oliver is still one of my favorite authors. I’d recommend this trilogy to anyone 14 and up. 

Link to author website: http://laurenoliverbooks.com/

Shadowfell ~ 4.5 stars (guest review)

Guest post by jayden robyn.

     Shadowfell is the first in a trilogy for young adults by respected fantasy author Juliet Marillier. It is set in Alban, a world not unlike a fantastical Scotland, and follows the story of a sixteen-year-old girl named Neryn.

     Neryn has been on the run for the last three years of her life, because of a secret she holds: Neryn can call the Good Folk, fairy-like creatures that inhabit Alban. A Caller is born only once a generation, if even that often. If Neryn’s magical ability is revealed, she will be captured and sent to the cruel King Keldec, and she will be forced to do his bidding.

     Alone and wary, Neryn is searching for a place called Shadowfell, rumored to be the hideaway of the rebels who seek to bring down Keldec’s rule. With help from the Good Folk and a mysterious stranger, Neryn journeys to find Shadowfell, which she worries may just be a rumor.

     Marillier’s writing is lyrical, and her characters are well-written and multi-dimensional. Neryn is a likable heroine; she is tough, and despite going through tragedies at a too-young age, she stills retains a kind heart. Neryn is not your typical heroine—she has no fighting ability, rather slipping away into the woods whenever danger approaches. While this starts to become a bit of a problem for me in the second installment, I liked this aspect of Neryn in this book.

     Flint, the troubled anti-hero of the trilogy, is very well-written and likable. While he struggles with the double life he leads, he is kind to Neryn and respects her. The romance that develops between these two is clean, as well as slow burning, a relief from the cases of instant-love that appears in many books today.

     There were several very likable characters among the Good Folk, and although they talk in thick Scottish brogues, I found them easy to understand for the most part. In fact, several of the Good Folk were probably my favorite characters out of the entire book.

     The story, your traditional quest tale, is slow-paced, but it never really dragged despite its 410 pages. Marillier manages to balance Neryn’s book-long journey with meetings with the Good Folk, close encounters with Enforcers, the men who do the king’s bidding, and finally, meeting the rebels of Shadowfell. Despite its dark moments, Marillier keeps a beam of hope shining throughout the story. The ending is not a cliffhanger, rather wrapping up the story of book one while still leaving more to be discovered in the second book. There was only one small instance in the book that I think would probably not be age appropriate for some under 14—however, the particular moment was not presented crudely.

     Shadowfell is my favorite book by Juliet Marillier, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good fantasy read—I’m not sure that it would appeal to those who aren’t into fantasy.

Link to author/Shadowfell website: http://www.julietmarillier.com/books/shadowfell.html