Reader Views

The Dark Legacy: Calderwood Kids

K.G. McAbee’s thrilling and enchanting tale, "The Dark Legacy," does well in all the themes it aims for -- such as adventure, mystery, and fantasy. The journey the characters go through is heartbreaking, exhilarating, and scary. The entire book’s storyline is superior and astounding. That saying, "You can’t judge a book by its cover," applies here nicely because a lot of times you look at a book, and say," Well, that’s not my type of book." Just because it looks or sounds like it might be a pirate book doesn’t mean the book is only about that one thing. Although it has some pirate subject matter in it, it also has other storylines as well.

It was a very fun book to read. I think anybody would enjoy reading it because of all the animals in it, even someone 6 or 7-years-old would like that. The only problem for a 6 or 7-year-old might be the number of pages, and some of the larger words. The descriptions in the book aren’t too specific, and I think a lot of readers would like that because their minds can picture it however they like.

The characters in the book are really remarkable. Noah’s, Holli’s (his big sister), and their dog Gilbert’s personalities all contain one thing in common, they are very adventurous. The other characters’ personalities define the true animal inside. For example, Rowley’s personality makes you really understand why the author made him a raccoon. It was unusual how they never saw their Uncle in their journey, and Noah never found out why the cook was so suspicious. I loved it in the end when Holli, Noah, and Gilbert found out what the crystal staircase was. If I saw it in real life, its beauty would amaze me.

The author’s writing is excellent. He explains the title of each chapter while you are reading, although sometimes you don’t find out the true meaning of the chapter’s name until the very end. There’s not a lot of real history in the story, but the author’s version was amazing. I would rate the book a 4 out of 5. "The Dark Legacy" by K.G. McAbee was outstanding overall, and I loved it so much that I recommended it to my brother.

The Dark Legacy: Calderwood Kids
K.G. McAbee
Calderwood Books (2008)
ISBN 9781934614280
Reviewed by Brenna Bales (age 11) for Reader Views (9/08)

Big Big Sky: A Novel

"Big Big Sky" is a book about a group of female warriors--Rustle, Loo, Roku, Solomon and Shona-- who are betrayed by one of their own and are about to be deplugged or killed when they make their escape out of the mountain they lived in… and into the big big sky where they have to learn to survive, or die, fighting for their freedom. Through many battles, sacrifices, betrayals and alliances, they find their true lives, free from orders and killing.

Kristyn Dunnion is a creative and funny writer. She makes each character speak and think their own way, giving everyone a defined personality; Rustle the curious one, Loo the tough and brave hunter, Roku the silent thinker, Solomon the peacemaker, and Shona the brave leader and troubled girl. Some words were difficult to get at first, like, "Whafa" and "Prolly" but you grasp their meaning quickly.

I think Ms. Dunnion is trying to teach us about free-will and freedom: how we should all get them, that they are both a necessary component to life and society, what happens when we lose free-will and freedom, and how, without them, we all turn to mindless people who can’t survive on their own.

Everyone wants freedom. Sometimes we have to fight for it, like Rustle and her podmates had to. Sometimes we receive it as a gift or right. But some people don’t have it and need it. Free-will and freedom are things everyone and everything needs. We all need to see the big big sky.

"Big Big Sky" is a book for girls. Boys might enjoy it, but it is a slim chance. It almost has the same ratio of boy-girl readers as "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer did. But this book is for older kids, for some parts are not suitable for girls or boys that are not at least twelve. Either way, it is definitely a book for older girls, by an older girl.

"Big Big Sky" by Kristyn Dunnion is an enjoyable book about freedom, life, death and betrayal--a book full of fast-paced adventure. We all need to understand what it is like to get out of our mountain and look at the wonder of the big, big sky.

Big Big Sky: A Novel
Kristyn Dunnion
Red Deer Press (2008)
ISBN 9780889954045
Reviewed by Austin McCredie (age 13) for Reader Views (9/08)

Adventures of Moniko: Evolution of the Soul Through the Spirit of the Child

"Adventures of Moniko: Evolution of the Soul Through the Spirit of the Child" is a book of mystery and weird sci-fi-like magic. As you travel with the main character Moniko around the land of Sun and to different places on Earth, Moniko learns about life, love and how to live in peace and harmony.

LS Myers definitely has a unique writing style all her own. I don’t know what her main point was in "Adventures of Moniko," but if it was confusion, she was right on track. I don’t even know if Moniko is a human or an alien-morphing-like creature.

If I had to suggest "Adventures of Moniko" to anyone it would be a young child under 12 who likes to read weird sci-fi books with a storytelling-around-a-campfire feel.

"Adventures of Moniko: Evolution of the Soul Through the Spirit of the Child" is a book that I thought I would like by the look of the cover, but as soon as I started reading, that old saying popped into my head. "You can’t judge a book by its cover." Although I may not of liked "Adventures of Moniko" somebody else might like it. I just thought it was full of confusion not mystery and I suggest LS Myers rethink her writing style.

Adventures of Moniko
LS Myers
Booklocker.com, Inc. (2007)
ISBN 9781601451286
Reviewed by Mary Johnson (age 15) for Reader Views (9/08)

Mrs. Dole Is Out of Control! (My Weird School Daze #1)

"Mrs. Dole Is Out of Control" is a book about a PTA president named Mrs. Dole. Mrs. Dole wants everybody to graduate from the second grade at big party. The PTA vice-president, Mrs.Young, just wanted a normal "step-up" party for the kids to move on to the next grade. But, Mrs. Dole insisted there was a gigantic party with all sorts of crazy stuff that was not necessary. For example, she wanted a petting zoo with farm animals, a huge rocket of fireworks and an airplane flyover.

The kids in the school get involved in the argument about what to do. The kids all think Mrs. Dole should do what she wants, including all of the craziness. They are looking forward to having lots of fun at a big blowup of a party. But things don’t work out so well in the end. There is a fire and they realize that Mrs. Dole should not be in charge.

"Mrs. Dole Is Out of Control" by Dan Gutman is a good book for anybody who likes silliness and fun. It is part of a series of books about goofy grownups so I think you should read all of them. This book made me laugh a lot!

Mrs. Dole Is Out of Control! (My Weird School Daze #1)
Dan Gutman
HarperTrophy (2008)
ISBN 9780061346071
Reviewed by Matthew Feliciano (age 8) for Reader Views (9/08)

Fancy Nancy: Let’s Get Fancy Together

We love the fancy glasses! We liked the purse; we pretended it was luggage for our trips around the world.

Madeline: There are a lot of cool ideas about making glasses fancy. I don’t see how they call this a book, because there aren’t any pages!

Sophia: I like the little book inside the purse.

Parent Comment: This is a great accompaniment to the book "Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Words" by the same author. "Fancy Nancy: Let’s Get Fancy Together" by Jane O’Connor is a nice piece that got their imaginations going; that is always a good thing.

Fancy Nancy: Let’s Get Fancy Together
Jane O’Connor
HarperCollins (2008)
ISBN 9780061576713
Reviewed by Madeline (age 7) and Sophia (age 5.5) McElroy for Reader Views (9/08)

In Mind: A Collection of Poetry

Diya Das’ poems range from simple and sweet-

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. / It’s raining today. / Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter. / It’s raining on a Saturday.
Raining on a Saturday

To emotional and thoughtful-

Whisper softly in my ear / Those words I don’t know / Tell me everything I always wanted / Teach me how to let go.
Whisper Tonight

Diya Das has written 99 poems that have been cultivated over a period of six years. Das was born in New Delhi, India. She is a senior at Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Kingston, Pennsylvania. She has written a book of poems perfect for teenagers. Many of her poems echo thoughts I have had. I recommend "In Mind: A Collection of Poetry" to every teenager who comes across it.

In Mind: A Collection of Poetry
Diya Das
Tribute Books (2007)
ISBN 9780979504556
Reviewed by Neha Kashmiri (age 14) for Reader Views (9/08)

Rowan of the Wood

"Rowan of the Wood" by Christine and Ethan Rose is the story of 12-year-old Cullen who has a dreadful life with a horribly mean foster family. One day when he was in the woods he "heard" two strange words and said them out-loud. A strange stick floated off the ground, there was a flash of light and Cullen felt as if he were being rooted to the ground. Later that day he found an odd tree-shaped birthmark on his chest, Cullen was positive that he had never had a birthmark. He felt that his life was going to change, but for better or for worse? What was going on?

Cullen’s foster family, the Samuels, were very nasty people who made Cullen do all the chores at their house. Cullen only found refuge from the Samuels when reading his books or hiding in the forest. If he was lucky on his birthday, after he did all the chores, he could have a bit of free time in the redwoods. One day Mr. Samuels told Cullen to burn some leaves in the back yard, so Cullen went to work. When the leaves were burning nicely Cullen started reading a book. When Mr. Samuels came outside and found Cullen reading, he was infuriated and told Cullen to throw all the books that he had onto the bonfire. Cullen miserably did as he was told. When he was done, he remembered that he had one book that he had forgotten to put on the fire, he quickly ran to the forest to hide it.

When Cullen was in the woods burying his book, he had a strange experience and in a flash of light the great wizard Rowan was released from his wand. After spending so much time in his wand, Rowan had no body of his own, so he possessed Cullen and became part of him only to be drawn out when Cullen was frightened. When his foster brother Rex and a couple other bullies were terrorizing his best friend April (who was blind), Cullen was very frightened and Rowan became his outer self. April was freed from Rex and his buddies.

While Rowan inhabited Cullen’s body, he was searching for his wife Fiana from whom he was separated about a thousand-years ago. As legend had it, Fiana had used dark magic to stay alive while searching for Rowan. Unfortunately, she had turned so far to the dark side that if she found the wand that held Rowan she would now be unable to release him. Will Rowan ever find her? Or will she have become so consumed by darkness that she will attempt to destroy him?

I would recommend "Rowan of the Wood" by Christine and Ethan Rose to people who like fantasy and adventure. There was only one bad word in the book; otherwise there was not much that parents would object to. This was a good book and I hope that everyone who reads it likes it as much as I did.

Rowan of the Wood
Christine Rose and Ethan Rose
Dalton Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9780981744315
Reviewed by Ben Weldon (age 10) for Reader Views (9/08)

Out of the Wild

Though she may appear to be so, Julie Marchen is anything but normal. After all, when your mother is Rapunzel (yes, the one from the tower), you brother is Puss-in-Boots (the talking cat), and you just defeated the dangerous fairytale world called the Wild after it took over your hometown in Northboro, Massachusetts, any degree of normality is rather difficult to achieve. So even though Julie hopes that all these reporters and scientists will lose interest over the recent phenomenon caused by the Wild, she knows it’s not likely to happen, especially when the Wild spits out Julie’s father in exchange for a poetic blind mouse. And although this unexpected event confuses Julie (not to mention to shock caused to Rapunzel), Julie couldn’t be happier: her family is finally together. Unfortunately, family bonding time (as well as adjustment to the 21st century for the prince) will have to wait: Julie’s dad has set off to rescue the kidnapped Sleeping Beauty. But is this a valid rescue mission, or are Julie and her father just playing into the hands of the devious Wild? Either way, the Wild is back, and Julie’s got to save the world from it.

Sarah Beth Durst has woven another fun and fantastical tale in "Out of the Wild" that was just as good, if not better, than its prequel "Into the Wild." "Out of the Wild" is a twist on fairytales in combination with the modern world, and the resulting story is just fantastic. The idea behind the Wild is so unique. It is so difficult when creating another world to become repetitive or boring, and after reading "Into the Wild," I was almost afraid "Out of the Wild" would only be mediocre. Fortunately, I was proven wrong, and "Out of the Wild" was fresh and exciting with unforeseen plot twists. Any annoying similarities between "Into the Wild" and "Out of the Wild" can be chalked up to the uniformity of fairytales.

I was almost as impressed with the characters as I was with the ingenuity of the story and plot. However, since the story is told mainly from Julie’s perspective, some of the other characters were a bit confusing. Sometimes it seemed that there were a bit too many characters, but once again, this can easily be explained by the abundance of fairytale stories and characters. I felt Julie’s characters could’ve been better developed beyond the fact that she was valiant for battling the Wild and a little shy around cute guys. This slightly lack of character development was made up for by the creativity of the characters; the fairytale characters living in the 21st century were quite interesting as was Julie’s place between the two worlds.

Much of the success of this story comes from the sheer creativeness of Sarah Beth Durst’s creation of the Wild. I commend this fantastic story she has written in "Out of the Wild" and hope she will write subsequent novels featuring Julie and the fairytale world. "Out of the Wild" and "Into the Wild" can be enjoyed by readers of all ages as long as they’re willing to use their imagination. "Out of the Wild" can stand on its own, but I suggest reading its prequel "Into the Wild" to understand the references to Julie’s earlier adventure and also just because it’s another great story

Out of the Wild
Sarah Beth Durst
Razorbill (2008)
ISBN 9781595141590
Reviewed by Rachael Stein (age 15) for Reader Views (9/08)

Presidents FYI

"Presidents FYI" by Gary Drevitch is an exciting, interesting book that gives you amazing, one-hundred-percent true facts on all the presidents America has had yet. The author’s informative style keeps you completely engrossed in the story, and when you finish it, has you itching for more.

At the first glance, it may look like a schoolbook some kids would be reluctant to read, but when you open up the book and read the first page, you will be compelled to keep going. It keeps you consumed by giving you a bunch of facts about each president, instead of telling you only one or two facts then moving on the next president. The facts fit together so well, and the writing is excellent throughout the book. Besides the rousing writing the author uses, the layout of the book makes the information easily accessible. There is a picture of every single president, something he did, and a spot in the corner of a page that looks like spiral-bound paper with something special about that president or his time. The bright, colorful pages keep it from seeming like a textbook.

Gary Drevitch’s fact-filled style is one of my favorites. For people who love learning new facts all the time, this book would be perfect. There isn’t one sentence without one fact in it. I learned a lot from this and loved every bit of it. I had originally known the basic facts of presidential history, like that Lincoln was the one who had helped end slavery, and things like that, but not all these facts! It actually mentioned how tall or small or heavy or light each president was. I learned that James Madison was only five-foot-four and around 100 pounds, and that he was nicknamed "Great Little Madison." After, and during, reading this book, if someone said some offhand thing about George Washington, I would be unable to contain myself from blurting out a fact about him. And, even if it seems like it would mention only the presidents in this book, it also mentions their staff, what was going on at the time, and even their wives and children!

"Presidents FYI" by Gary Drevitch is a rapt, informative book full of facts. It is a great book for kids over age seven. I would recommend it to my friends with a smile. I can’t wait to reread this one, and hope Gary Drevitch writes more books.

Presidents FYI
Gary Drevitch
HarperCollins (2008)
ISBN 9780060899912
Reviewed by Avery Largent (age 9) for Reader Views (9/08)

The Midnight Twins

Identical twins, Meredith and Mallory, are a very unique pair of girls. They have different birthdays because one was born one minute before midnight on New Year’s Eve while the other was born a minute after. Although they seem to be complete opposites, they are exactly the same. Meredith, ‘Merry’ is the outgoing and happy one while Mallory, ‘Mally’ is more thoughtful and worrisome. These seemingly different twins do everything as one -- thinking, dreaming and even speaking a unique language of their own. But when the twins’ thirteenth birthday arrives, they are nearly killed by a fire of dubious origins. And then, they aren’t the same anymore. Merry and Mally begin to have different visions and dreams, which frighten them as well as test their sisterhood. So when it appears that these visions are trying to tell them something, Mally immediately wants to take action but Merry is skeptical and just wants to pretend the visions never happened. But as more concrete evidence appears, Merry has to accept that someone she knows isn’t the person he appears to be. Merry and Mally will have to embrace their gift if they want to survive.

"The Midnight Twins" has a very interesting and promising basis for its story. It’s a bit of a mystery with a mythical aspect. The story starts off well, if a bit slowly. Much of this story is actually not too action-filled, making it dull at times. The plot does speed up towards the middle of the book as the twins start to use their visions to sneak around and help people, but it slows back down at the very end. It was a little disappointing that the story was not more exciting than it was, because frankly, the story was mostly pretty boring for me to read. The most redeeming part in the plot was the action-filled middle, because that’s when the twins start to really use their wits to put their visions to good use. I felt Mitchard’s writing was at its best during these action scenes, because I could really feel the twins’ fear and desperation when they were in danger.

Twins Merry and Mally were a fascinating set of characters. Though I confused them a little towards the beginning of the story, I soon grew to know and distinguish the two. Merry is always the happy-go-lucky one while Mally tends to be more anxious. Both girls were well-developed to the extent that I totally understood them; there were only a couple of instances where their motives and actions were confusing. I liked Merry and Mally the best during the action-packed middle though, because that’s when their true colors really showed. Also, the twins’ strong bond of sisterhood was very heartwarming and sweet, because these girls would do anything for the other. Merry and Mally are by far my favorite characters in "The Midnight Twins" and possibly even my favorite part of the whole book. Characters are probably Mitchard’s strength in "The Midnight Twins." On top of Merry and Mally, the minor characters are also sufficiently developed.

I didn’t feel that "The Midnight Twins" by Jacquelyn Mitchard filled its potential to be amazing. I had high hopes that this book would be great because of its unique plotline, but it was only good. The strongest point of the story was the characters which helped make up for a slightly lackluster plot. If you like books with strong characters, then "The Midnight Twins" is a good choice; otherwise, if you are more focused on plot, then I would not recommend reading this book.

The Midnight Twins
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Razorbill (2008)
ISBN 9781595141606
Reviewed by Rachael Stein (age 15) for Reader Views (9/08)