Book Review : Pillage

Title: Pillage
Author: Obert Skye
Publishers: Shadow Mountain
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Pages: 312
Rating: 9/10

The small creatures in the nest squeaked and stretched. They were all different colors and slightly different sizes. Most had wide-set blue eyes with protruding noses and big mouths. Some were uglier than others; a couple of them were even cute. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

This is an excerpt from when Beck, Kate, and Milo are at the conservatory, and Beck sees dragons, which are from the big stones he planted, and he is amazed.

Pillage is the first book in this series, and Choke is the second book. Obert Skye is a well known author of the Leven Thumps series: Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret, Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want, Leven Thumps and the Wrath of Ezra, Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder. Obert Skye has already started a new series called “Geth and the return of the Lithens.”

In this book, Beck Phillip’s life takes a turn for the worst. His “Mom” has died from sickness. Since his mother died, Beck has had to live with his crazy uncle whom he had not known about. During his stay with his uncle, Beck finds mysterious things happening in his uncle’s mansion, like lights flickering on and off. Beck finds himself with baby dragons, which he “planted.” Beck also finds out that dragons have killed everybody in his family. Will the Dragons destroy the town of Kingsplot? Most of all, will Beck manage to stay alive by using his special talent and stopping the dragons?

I think Pillage should get a 9/10 because of many reasons. First of all, the story is very interesting. Secondly, the humor or sarcasm in this book was awesome! Thirdly, at the end of each chapter Obert Skye added bits of history about Beck‘s family, which I thought was good because in the book you have to know some history. In the climax the history plays a big part. And, I love the fact that Obert Skye described a dragon holding a mailbox in the book, and the front cover of Pillage matches the description. In most books I don’t see that. It is very unique. I loved this book and I can’t wait to read the next one.

I would recommend this book to people who love Fantasy and adventure, especially dragon lovers. Also I would recommend this book to kids at least in third grade through eighth grade.

Book Review: The Demon King

Title: The Demon King
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Genre: Adventure, Fiction
Pages: 506
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Rating: 9.5/10

 Have you ever been famous? And not in a good way? Reformed thief Hans Alister was poor and would do anything for money. He used to pick pockets, but that was before. He was a new man now. Or boy, to be exact. But being honest isn’t easy, especially when you want to sell something to get a lot of money. The only thing Han had to sell were the silver cuffs that were magical, and wouldn’t come off. And those would definitely have sold for a lot of money.

Everything changes though when he and his friend Dancer run into a couple of wizards, and Han ends up taking an amulet from one of them, Micah Bayar. Now with the amulet which once belonged to the Demon King, Han must strive to reveal the secrets that surround his life, and start a new life that he never imagined would be his.

While Han deals with his dilemmas, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna has to go through the horrors of finding a suitable husband. But being fifteen, adventurous, and wanting to be like the legendary queen, Hanalea, is a trying combination for what Raisa’s mother expects her to be. Also when her friend Amon Byrne comes back from Oden’s Ford, she finds that now, she and Amon seem to be more than just friends, which makes Micah Bayar--son of the high wizard, Gavin Bayar-- quite annoyed.

My favorite character in the book, The Demon King, is Han. His full name is Hanson Alister. Han is my favorite character because for one, Han’s a character with a sense humor. Also he is an adventurous person. Most of the time he does dangerous things, which is one of the things that make this book very interesting.

Another one of my favorite character is Raisa. Marrying is definitely not on her agenda, but as she finds herself closer to her Name Day, and suffocated by suitors, she finds a way to sneak out and have adventures. I like Raisa, because she is a strong-willed, determined person who will stop at nothing to get what she knows is the right thing.

I like the author Cinda Williams Chima, because her stories captivated me, not letting me drop the book. The book has surprises, twists and turns, which many books miss by a long shot, making it quite an entertaining book.

I like the book, ‘The Demon King’ because it is a book in which anything that seems impossible can be possible, when just one small discovery can lead to a chain of discoveries that can either make or break the world, a book in which one small object can cause much havoc, and in which a couple of words magical or not can lead to laws being broken, plans of death being made, and reveal the truth of the past.

Join Han and Raisa as Han explores, and Raisa dances, into one incredible adventure that twists and tangles their lives together, forever.

Video : Rick Riordan book information

This is a video about Rick Riordan, which I thought was very cool. I thought this video was cool because Rick Riordan talked about the Percy Jackson series. Also Rick Riordan mentions how he got the idea of Greek Mythology and the Percy Jackson series, and talks about future books he is going to write.

Review: The Lost Hero

Title: The Lost Hero
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Disney Hyperion books
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Pages: 557
Rating: 9/10



He woke up in the backseat of a school bus, not sure where he was, holding hands with a girl he didn’t know. That wasn’t necessarily the rotten part. The girl was cute, but he couldn’t figure out who she was or what he was doing there. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to think.

This is an excerpt of when Jason is on a school bus and doesn’t remember what happened or who he is. At that time he is trying to remember what he is doing on the bus, with the help of a strange girl he doesn’t know.

The Lost Hero is the first book of a two book series. The second book, called the “Son of Neptune” will be published on October 4^th. Rick Riordan has written other books such as the Percy Jackson series, which is very well known. The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian are the other books in the series. Riordan also has another mythology series called the Kane Chronicles. In the Kane Chronicle series there are currently two books : The “Red Pyramid” and The “Throne of Fire.”

The main characters in “The Lost Hero” are Jason, Piper, and Leo, who are all demigods. In the beginning of the story Jason has lost his memory, and he ends up in wilderness school, which is a school for people who did something very bad in their life. Also in the school are Piper and Leo who are Jason’s friends, whom he doesn’t remember. Piper has a secret, and the secret is that her dad has been kidnapped. When a mysterious attack happens, Jason and his friends end up in Camp Half-Blood and go on a quest. Will they be able to get Jason’s memory back? Will they be able to find Piper’s dad?

This book is fantastic, because the characters are very interesting. Jason, Piper, and Leo are good characters because they have their very own personality, and they are very heroic and brave. My second reason for considering this book so fantastic is because of the good story. The Lost Hero had detail, suspense, and a lot of twists and turns. Another reason for liking it was that it had a good conclusion. The Lost Hero ended with suspense, which left me wondering. This book was definitely better than any other book that Rick Riordan has written. This book is also one of the best books I have read. I liked the fact that Rick Riordan connected The Lost Hero to Percy Jackson. It is very cool that you get to read about Percy Jackson and his friends again. I also loved the fact that Rick Riordan included Roman gods in this book instead of all Greek gods.

I would recommend this book to all the people who are Fantasy fans and Greek Mythology fans. I would also recommend this book to 3-7 graders.

Review: The Red Pyramid

Title: The Red Pyramid
Author: Rick Riordan
Publishers: Disney Hyperion
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 517
Rating: 8/10


The building shook again. At the opposite side of the room, part of the wall exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Two people stepped through the gap-- the man and the girl we’d seen at the Needle, their robes swirling around them. Both of them held staffs.

This is an excerpt from where Carter is at a museum with his father and sister Sadie. Their dad, a famous Egyptian specialist, is trying to get his wife back from the dead. But then he does something wrong.

This book is in a series of two; this is the first. The second book is the Throne of Fire, which was published on May 3^rd. The author Rick Riordan has written other books in different series. He has written The Percy Jackson series, The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian, which are very successful. Rick Riordan has another series connected to Percy Jackson called The Lost Hero.

 The main characters in this book are Carter and Sadie. When Carter and Sadie’s dad tries to make things right by bringing back their mom to life, he makes a big mistake. He unleashes a very bad god named Set. He also imprisons himself in a tomb, with Set guarding him. Then Carter and Sadie discover that they are magicians. Magicians in this book are people who are trying to stop gods, especially bad gods, from being unleashed. Will they be able to save their dad, and destroy the Chaos god, Set?

My opinion of the book is that it was good, but not as good as some other books Riordan has written. I liked that on some pages the author had hieroglyphics explaining what hieroglyphics looked liked and meant. Also it was interesting that in this book Rick Riordan included artifacts that actually exist, like the Rosetta Stone, The Red Pyramid, and The House of Life. I bet that he had to do a lot of research. I loved the fact that Rick Riordan narrated the book from different view-points, like one chapter was narrated by Sadie, the next by Carter. He should use that strategy more often in his other books. I am definitely going to use that strategy when I get older and write books.

I thought this book was very cool. I would recommend this book to anybody who is fascinated by Egyptian History. I would also recommend this book to people who love Fantasy mixed in with a little facts.

Book Review: Princess Academy

Title: Princess Academy
Author: Shannon Hale
Genre: fiction,romance
Pages: 314
Publisher: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books
Rating: 9/10

‘ “Sir,” said the older soldier courteously, “we are here to escort the girls safely to the academy. These are the kings orders. We mean no harm, but I do have instructions to take any resisters directly to the capital.” ’

This excerpt is said by one of the soldiers who takes Miri to the academy. Miri is a girl who lives on Mount Eskel in the kingdom, Danland, with the rest of her village. A day before the soldiers come, the chief delegate of Danland announces that a girl who lives in the village on Mount Eskel, will be the future king’s bride. When they get to the academy, the girls of Mount Eskel will spend a year of princess training in hopes of becoming the princess. The girls are taken to be taught how to be a princess. But as danger appears, Miri, named after the tiny mountain flower, will stand up and defend herself and her classmates.

My favorite character is Miri. She is fourteen years old, and is quite small for her age. Her father will not let Miri work in the quarry, (where they mine linder, a plentiful, beautiful rock that is found on Mount Eskel) since her mother died from an injury she had gotten mining before Miri was born. As Miri works in the academy, she strives to become the best, the academy princess. And as she works, she puzzles over many things, quarry speech being one of them, and her family the other. She wants to marry the prince so her family will not have to worry about money or food, but her feelings of love toward her childhood friend, Peder, conflict and leave Miri unsure of what she should do.

One reason I like the book, ‘Princess Academy’ is because, one message it shouts out is: it doesn’t matter about your size, or your looks. What matters is your strength, and Miri proves just that, as she saves her classmates from danger.

Another reason I like this book, is that Ms. Hale, writes so that you feel you are Miri. No matter what type of personality you have, you can always relate to Miri, and can picture yourself with Miri. You can feel the tension, the happiness and the fright, one after the other.

Read the book, ‘Princess Academy’, and join Miri as she courageously does one brave act after the other, learns how to act like a princess, and adjusts to her new life, that has been changed by love and knowledge. I recommend this book to anybody who has read any books from Shannon Hale, or who likes a little bit of romance, and a lot of adventure.

Review : Diary of a Wimpy kid - Do It Yourself

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It Yourself
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publishers: Amulet Books
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 213
Rating: 9/10



This book is in a series of seven books. The series includes Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules, The Last Straw, Dog Days, The Ugly Truth, and The Movie Diary. You all have probably seen the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It Yourself, but have you seen the new and improved one? This new and improved book includes 16 new comics and 60 new fun pages.

Jeff Kinney writes this book as a question and answer book. For instance, it asks you about what you have done in your life that was bad. Also what was the best prank that you pulled off. And there are many more questions like these. When I read these questions I really laughed out loud. It was so funny! Also in the Do-It Yourself book different people write about different things. Like Rodrick, he writes about what he usually does. This book also includes different types of puzzles. Most of the puzzles are in a page called Rodrick’s things to do. This tells you what Rodrick usually likes to do. For example there are word scrambles and mazes. You can also make comics. You can finish comics that Greg and Rowley have started. There is more! In the middle of the book Jeff Kinney includes 32 colored comics which are written either by Greg’s friends or enemies. There are also multiple black and white comics. Jeff Kinney guides you in an adventure of humor. Now this is fun!

When I showed this to the people at my school, they loved the fact that there was a part where you could write your own Diary or journal. My friends pounced on me, because they wanted to read the book. It is fun to write a journal or a diary because you feel like it is really being published. Also that it feels like that you have accomplished something very good in your life.

Even though this book is very different from the other Diary of a Wimpy kid books, it is still very good. As I said this book asks you many questions, and once you have answered them, the answers are used to write your own story at the end of the book. This book asks you questions in a way that is funny, which makes it good. Also what I found out is that the book plans out your story by asking and answering questions. Once you have done that, you can write your story very easily.

I would recommend this book for people who love to write and read comics. This book is filled with comics and writing activities. Also I would recommend this book for comic readers because there are many comics in this book like Joshie or The Fart Police.

A new Diary of a Wimpy Kid is coming out soon, and it is going to get published in November 2011. I do not know what it is called yet. I bet it includes new pages of comics and laughter.