The Books I've Read

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Call of the Wild - Jack London

Rating:

4.04/5 1,562 customer reviews

Review:

Summary

An unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, is forcibly taken to Alaska where he eventually becomes leader of a wolf pack.

Good Points

Famous Scholastic Classic Book.
Great story line.
Cute.

Bad Points

Gory/cruel.
Repetitive.

Overall

I really loved this book! I recommend this to dog lovers and adults/young adults.

Buy on Amazon:

The Call of the Wild

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Predator's Gold - Philip Reeve

Rating:

4.04/5 1,562 customer reviews

Review:

Summary

Tom and Hester are in danger.

Pursued by the grim aviators of the Green Storm, they stumble onto the ice city of Anchorage just in time. But Anchorage is not a safe refuge: devastated by plague and haunted by thieves or ghosts, the city is barely lurching along. And savage Huntsmen are closing in. Surrounded by danger, Tom and Hester struggle as jealousy threatens to destroy them and the city.

In a desperate bid for survival, the young ruler of Anchorage sets a course for the Dead Continent: America.

Good Points

Action packed.
Great characters.
Well thought out plot.

Bad Points

Starts out slow.

Overall

Brilliant book! I really liked Professor Pennyroyal and Hester's character/personalities. I recommend this book, the rest in the series and all the other prequels if you are looking for steam-punk and action filled story.

Buy on Amazon:

Predator Cities #2: Predator's Gold

Monsters of Men - Patrick Ness

Rating:

4.3/5 54 customer reviews

Review:

Summary

As a world-ending war surges around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many. The consequences of each action, each word, are unspeakably vast: To follow a tyrant or a terrorist? To save the life of the one you love most, or thousands of strangers? To believe in redemption, or assume it is lost? Becoming adults amid the turmoil, Todd and Viola question all they have known, racing through horror and outrage toward a shocking finale.

Good Points

Creative.
Easy read.
Good plot and action.

Bad Points

Not as good as the rest of the series.
Repetitive and sad.
Bit boring

Overall

I enjoyed this book but I feel that this was not as good as the rest in this series. I strongly recommend this to teenagers and young adults.

Buy on Amazon:

Monsters of Men: Chaos Walking: Book Three

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Artemis Fowl and The Lost Colony - Eoin Colfer

Rating:

4.6/5 160 customer reviews

Review:

Summary

Demons are beginning to materialize without warning on Earth. If humans were to capture one, all fairies would be exposed. In order to protect themselves, the fairies must decipher complicated equations to determine where the next demon will appear. Not even the brilliant Foaly can make heads or tails of the formulas – but he knows someone who can: Artemis Fowl.

When a very confused demon imp appears in a Sicilian theater, Artemis is there to meet him. But he is not alone. Someone else has unlocked the secrets of the fairy world…and she is only twelve years old. Now, in a race against time, a newly-reformed Artemis Fowl will have to dip into his bag of dirty tricks if he is to save his fairy friends from his latest nemesis, not to mention a power hungry demon warlord who is poised to invade our dimension with his savage army.

Good Points

Fantastic characters and ideas.
Humorous.
Very interesting and detailed.

Bad Points

= ) None at all.

Overall

Awesome book! I loved this book and the rest in the series. I super strongly recommend this book to all readers out there! (If You Are Interested: Click The Link Below).

Buy on Amazon:

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony (Book 5) (Artemis Fowl (Quality))

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Rating:

4.1/5 2,176 customer reviews

Review:

Summary

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?

Good Points

Artistic in a way.
Very interesting and exciting.
Completely original and classic.
Won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
Won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in Best Adult Fiction.

Bad Points

A bit gross and gory.
Confusing.

Overall

I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit gross in some parts of the book, but not often. I recommend this to adults and young adults.

Buy on Amazon:

Life of Pi

Skipping Christmas - John Grisham

Rating:

3.7/5 949 customer reviews

Review:

Summary

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty, they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash, they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences—and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.

Good Points

Funny.
Great story and relaxing to read.
Very easy to understand.
Perfect length.

Bad Points

Too normal and not much excitement.

Overall

OK, it was funny and had lots of interesting bits to it, but it lacked action and suspense. I recommend this to people who practice the Christmas celebration and like a very normal/everyday life kind of book.

Buy on Amazon:

Skipping Christmas: A Novel

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

Rating:

4.5/5 95 customer reviews

Review:

Summary

Imagine a million clever rats.
Rats that don't run.Rats that fight...

Maurice, a streetwise tomcat, has the perfect money-making scam. He's found a stupid-looking kid who plays a pipe, and he has his very own plague of rats -- rats who are strangely educated, so Maurice can no longer think of them as 'lunch'. And everyone knows the stories about rats and pipers...
But when they reach the stricken town of Bad Blintz, the little con suddenly goes down the drain. For someone there is playing a different tune. A dark, shadowy tune. Something very, very bad is waiting in the cellars.
The educated rats must learn a new word.
EVIL.
It's not a game any more. It's a rat-eat-rat world down there. And that might only be the start...

Good Points

Great ideas for names and characters for the story.
Carnegie Medal award.
Long and very funny read.

Bad Points

Quite confusing at times.

Overall

Amazing ideas and characters! Terry Pratchett described and personalized the characters really well. When something happens to one of the characters (trying not to give anything away) I could feel the suspense and sadness from the other characters. I recommend this to everyone above 11 or 12.

Buy on Amazon:

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents