Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where 0 = no objectionable content and 5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content.
Please visit the “ratings” tab for a complete explanation of the rating system.
The First Book in The King of the Trees Fantasy Series
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Rolin, the Tree People and Thalmosians’s battle Felgor, his foot soldiers-Army of Gorks, Gorgorunth the Black Serpent/Dragon and the Yegs to rule the kingdom. Waganupa – The Tree of Life is burned and destroyed.
Sexual Content: Rolin and Marlis kiss, as they are married.
Adult Content: Symbolism of Christ the Savior’s sacrifice, atonement, and resurrection for all mankind.
Summary
Rolin, son of Gannon sets out to solve a riddle left behind by his grandmother: an old wooden box, a jeweled pendant, and the mysterious green cloaks. Rolin’s adventures take him worlds beyond the walls of his little log cabin. With the help of some grumpy griffins and a long-lost prophecy, Rolin and his friends battle a sorcerer and his underworld army; deadly snake-trees; dragons and other mythical creatures. On their perilous quest for the fabled Isle of Luralin, they must trust the King with their very lives. In the end, they learn that “The greatest help oft comes in harm’s disguise to those with trusting hearts and open eyes.”
This is a Christian Fantasy book, written in the tradition of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. A great coming of age story! Burt is a beautiful writer, with an exceptional grasp of language. Although, I did stumble reading some of the character’s names aloud. However, a glossary and pronunciation guide is provided. I recommend this book for all ages.
Title: The Ruins of Gorlon (The Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 1)
Author: John Flanagan
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Pushing, name calling, humiliation – like having to stand holding a heavy rock over his head, and enduring beatings with heavy sticks. A boy is held with a knife to his throat, fighting with a wooden sword and canes, and a boy is paddled and kicked. A monster receives an arrow in the eye, screams in rage and fury, is pierced with arrows and pikes. There is a battle using war axe, broadsword, arrow, and pikes, without a lot of gory descriptions. There are 2 or 3 descriptions such as “blood streaming from a half-dozen deep slashes in his back.” A monster emits piercing screams of agony as it burns.
Sexual Content: Will is kissed on the mouth once by a girl and he thinks about the memory later.
Adult themes: Abusive hazing
Summary
Fourteen-year-old Will has one great dream: to become a knight in the Kingdom of Araluen. If only he would grow!! As the smallest of all the orphans being kept by the Baron, his chances of being chosen for Battleschool are slim. When he is finally assigned an apprenticeship, it is his abilities to move across a field unseen, climb steep tower walls like a spider, and his great inquisitiveness that land him an assignment with the Ranger instead. The next days are filled with learning about Rangers—they are the intelligence arm of the king’s forces. The next months are filled with practicing the skills Rangers use—knife throwing, stealth moving, tracking the enemy, listening in without being seen, and learning to work with his unstoppable pony Tug. In the meantime, Will’s friend Horace is having a harder time in his assignment at Battleschool. He is humiliated, harassed and beaten by three upper classmen, and he thinks the authorities intentionally look the other way. A deep resentment starts burning inside of Horace, with a bitterness that threatens long-term trouble. He doesn’t realize that his instructors look at him as “a natural”, with the talent to be one of the great swordsmen of all time. Horace alienates his friends, including Will, and then they face life-threatening danger together. Bigger trouble lies ahead as rumors of war whisper through the intelligence community, and Will joins his master in facing the dangerous beasts called Kalkara that are slaying the military leaders of Araluen.
Will begins as an orphan, a common place to start in this kind of adventure, and ends up in battle, a common place to go. However, a story does not have to be original to be good! I like the way the relationship between Will and Horace develops, because friends do butt heads and have hard feelings, and sometimes these things really cement a true friendship. Although a medieval fantasy, these young men face struggles real kids might face. I thought many parts of the story were realistic, not overly contrived. Good adult characters add a lot to the story. Most of the adults in this story act logically and honorably, and show patience and understanding in training the young people. The Ranger’s description of the Battlemaster is choice: “He’s got a little more up top than the average bush and whacker.” This adventure would appeal to boys in the 9 to 12 age range.
Violence: Captain Jibby’s hand was once eaten by a tiger (and was replaced by a Swiss Army Knife with multiple, useful tools.) The “Coats”–referring to the men in suits chasing after the Cheeseman family–use guns to threaten Captain Jibby. The Coats kidnap Ethan, the father, and his son Gerard at gunpoint. A monkey accidentally shoots his spy partner in the leg with a banana-shaped gun. Captain Jibby rams his bus into a chain link fence that one of the Coats is climbing. Captain Jibby stabs a Coat in the shoulder with his knife-hand.
Adult Themes: Mrs. Cheeseman was poisoned and killed by the evil men who want her husband’s time machine.
Synopsis
Ethan Cheeseman is a scientist/inventor who has developed a super-secret time machine. The problem is, the secret got out and now a whole slew of dirty government spies and evil thugs all want a piece of it–or actually, the entire thing. This means Mr. Cheeseman and his three children, who are all “smart, pleasant, witty, attractive, polite, and relatively odor-free” are constantly on the run, moving from city to city and barely staying in one place long enough to make any friends. The evil “Coats” will stop at nothing to get their hands on the time machine, even poisoning Mrs. Cheeseman, who dies before the story begins. But this clever family is resourceful and quick, eluding the Coats at nearly every turn, changing their names with each move (half a chapter is devoted to recounting their long string of hilarious pseudonyms) and relying on their trusty, hairless, clairvoyant dog Pinky, who warns the family when evil is near. Along the way, they meet and make friends with the odd members of a traveling circus sideshow and a quirky cowboy poet. The story is narrated by Dr. Cuthbert Soup, “founder of the National Center for Unsolicited Advice”, and–you guessed it–he doles out short tidbits of advice on everything ranging from tattoos (“avoid getting one at all costs”) to dealing with ghosts (“listen to them carefully”) to squash recipes (“eat doughnuts”).
We read this one as a family, and there were several places where I found myself laughing so hard that my kids had to wait for me to catch my breath before continuing! An entertaining, offbeat, and clean adventure, one that everyone will heartily enjoy. I hope this debut novel from “Dr. Soup” is not his last.
Author: Herman Melville, adapted by Lance Stahlberg and illustrated by Lalit Kumar Singh
Ratings Explanation
Language: one instance each of hell and damn
Violence: Whalers hunt and kill whales. Moby Dick destroys the Pequod and Captain Ahab is dragged under the water.
Adult Themes: Vengeance
Synopsis
Out of money and anxious to see the “watery part of the world”, young Ishmael decides that his next adventure must be on a whaling ship. Pairing up with his new friend Queequeg, they sign up to sail on Captain Ahab’s ship, the Pequod. Ahab leads his crew on a marine adventure to destroy Moby Dick, the greatest white whale ever encountered.
Having never read Moby Dick, I enjoyed getting the highlights of the story. My two boys got a hold of this graphic novel before I did and both read it in a day. An 80-page version, as opposed to the over 600 page version, makes this classic story accessible to much younger readers. My hope is that when my boys are required to read the original at some point in their educational future, they will be less daunted having had this introduction to Moby Dick.
I liked the style of Singh’s illustrations. Captain Ahab looks crazy with revenge while he is hunting Moby Dick and I loved the depiction of Queequeg, a tattooed harpooner from New Zealand.
Violence: The boys in town pick on other boys (especially a new immigrant boy) and prove who is the toughest amongst them through fist fights that result in black eyes and bloody noses. Very typical of the time period, however.
Adult Themes: Tom has quite the ability to swindle other kids, especially his younger brother John, and be able to talk his way out of any guilt. There is one chapter in which a friend who has lost his leg talks about and attempts to commit suicide, (quite comically, however) because he feels “plumb useless” at his inability to do any chores. Tom saves the boy’s self esteem by helping him cope and succeed with his new disability.
Synopsis
Take a step back to a simpler time–where dirt roads run through town, when boys played in vacant lots, carried marbles and slingshots in their pockets, and schools were the one-room variety. This is Adenville, Utah, circa 1896. The Great Brain is a comical book told through the eyes of eight-year-old John (the author) who is the youngest of three boys. His ten-year-old brother, Tom, is the Great Brain. Tom uses his great brain to earn money, usually through swindling. He charges the neighborhood boys a penny apiece to watch the first “water closet” in town flush. Tom also comes up with a scheme to get the new school teacher fired when Tom feels unduly punished. But, Tom is also the town hero when it is his plan that saves two boys who are lost in a cave. There is never a dull moment around Adenville with Tom Fitzgerald on the loose!
If you liked the antics of Tom Fitzgerald in The Great Brain, then you’ll be excited to read more! It is the first book in a seven book series.
I loved this book as a child and have loved sharing with my children. It was a great read-aloud during a car trip. All ages can enjoy the mischievous antics of The Great Brain.
Title: School’s Out Forever (Maximum Ride, Book 2)
Author: James Patterson
Ratings Explanation
Language: Frequent profanity, occasional swearing and some crude words like “piss” and “crap”.
Violence: As in the first book, Erasers and the Flock battle repeatedly with kicking, hitting, slashing with claws, etc. Fang and Ari are both brutally beaten. During training, Ari hits his opponents over the head and back with a long, thick stick. As both species can fly they fight in the air using round house kicks and flying side kicks. Hand-to-hand combat. Ari bits his own arm in anguish and rips a bite out of Angel’s arm. Max strangles her opponent but stops before killing her. Gazzy and Iggy blow things up but no one is hurt.
Sexual Content: Fang and a girl kiss and he slides his hands up her back. Max and Sam kiss. He puts his arms around her waist.
Adult Themes: Ari is jealous of his father’s affection for the Flock. Ari steals a Game Boy. More than anything, the Flock wants to find their real parents and live normal lives. They are able to locate Iggy’s real parents and he goes to live with them, but they eventually want to exploit him for money. The Flock is betrayed by Anne.
Synopsis
This second installment in the Maximum Ride series finds the Flock still on the run and fighting the Erasers, but their lives change dramatically when Anne, an FBI agent, takes them into her home. Although, they are not completely certain they can trust her, life sure is easier knowing they have somewhere to sleep and three meals a day.
Having a home doesn’t cure Max’s headaches though, and she still hears The Voice in her head telling her she has to save the world. That’s kind of a lot of pressure since The Voice doesn’t tell her how or from what. And finding their real parents is still a priority for all six of the kids, so things get complicated when they actually find Iggy’s parents and they want him to live with them. It’s another great Maximum Ride so hang on!
James Patterson can write a page turner, but, like Angel Experiment, I think the violence and language are a little heavy for the younger end of the 6-10 grade spectrum suggested by Library Journal and Booklist. My favorite part of book 2, as with book 1, is Max’s character. She is one tough chick, but so tender with her little flock. I really like her.
Violence: The dragon Kyto threatens to crisp the fairies of Never Land. During the battle seven fairies are lost to his flaming rampage.
Synopsis
Gwendolyn Jane Mary Darling Carlisle is the descendant of the famous Wendy Darling of whom we hear so much about in the tales of Peter Pan. That first ‘kiss’ that Peter gave Wendy (in this story it is an acorn), has been handed down from generation to generation enclosed in a locket. Gwendolyn cherishes this ‘kiss’ which she carries around in a locket on a chain. Every night she dreams of fairies and hopes that Peter will come to take her to Never Land so that she can see them. The ‘kiss’ occasionally gives Gwendolyn visions of things happening in Never Land. Months and then years pass before the day Peter arrives and asks Gwendolyn to come with him. Upon arriving in Never Land, as tradition would have it, Peter puts her to work mending socks and washing dishes. When Gwendolyn is finished, she sneaks out to find the fairies hoping to make friends with them. The fairies are not so excited to see her. They call her (and every other human) a Clumsy. She slowly wins them over with special gifts she has brought. Gwendolyn spends all of her time observing and helping the fairies. She also meets the island’s protector, Mother Dove, who guards a magical egg that gives Never Land its power. The fairies’ peaceful life is interrupted when they find out that the island’s dragon Kyto is planning to escape his cage and destroy the Fairy Haven. Gwendolyn begs to help but the fairies are somewhat unsure of her abilities. Gwendolyn must learn to find her own talent and trust in her new friends in order to save them all.
If you are a Peter Pan lover you may want to stick with the classic version. Peter makes only necessary occasional appearances in this story and seems to forget that he even brought Gwendolyn to Never Land. Even Tinker Bell has abandoned him to live in Fairy Haven. This story is for the fairy lover. Gwendolyn has been one her whole life. Her passion is a little overboard and I found her character frustrating at times, but the young fairy lover will surely overlook these flaws and enjoy the story.
*This review refers to an advanced copy. Matched will be available for purchase November 30, 2010.
Ratings Explanation
Violence: The townspeople themselves experience no violence in their society. They do watch a film which shows a person being shot. Blood stains his shirt and he falls to the ground. This is so surreal to the audience that they laugh. Cassia hears stories of poisoned rain and rivers which kill people. She also learns of Ky’s past from pictures he has drawn showing him holding the words “mother” and “father” in his arms shaped like drooping dead bodies. Pictures of the officials in these drawings show red hands representing their responsibility in what has happened.
Sexual Content: Cassia remembers playing kissing games as a young child. She is relieved to know her match so that she can finally think of him with more romantic thoughts. Xander and Cassia kiss after a recreational activity. Cassia describes the feeling as “sweet”. She and Xander hold hands and hug. Cassia begins to have feelings for Ky after she has been matched to Xander. She and Ky find opportunities to hold hands. Cassia has a strong desire to kiss Ky but knows what it will do to Xander and her family. Cassia finally gives in and kisses Ky. It is all that she had hoped. As part of Society rules, the optimal age for citizens to conceive, resulting in healthy offspring, is discussed.
Adult themes: Cassia lives in a society where the government makes all of the hard decisions and leaves their citizens with few opportunities to make choices of their own. This appears safe at first, but through major life changing experiences, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s rules. One of these was the mandatory death of her grandfather, at which she was present. Cassia is provided with many opportunities to succeed in her society but chooses to go against them.
Synopsis
Cassia has always trusted the Society. They are never wrong. They choose what you eat, what you wear, who you marry and when you die. Life has been better for everyone since the Society has been in control. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she will attend her Match Banquet to find out who she will marry. When her best friend Xander’s picture shows up on the screen she is surprised and relieved. It is uncommon for a person to know who their match is, but she has known Xander her whole life and loves him dearly. When Cassia gets home and puts in the computer chip to view background information on her match, a strange thing happens. Xander’s picture comes up and then the screen goes black. For a split second another face shows up on the screen. Even stranger, is that it is a picture of another person she knows, Ky. Cassia is puzzled. How could this happen? Was she really supposed to be matched with Xander? Throughout the summer Cassia finds opportunities to be with Ky and learns that he has come from the outer province areas where he lost his parents. He also knows how to write something that has not been taught for generations. Cassia asks him to teach her. This is stepping on shaky ground and could get them both into serious trouble. As Cassia spends more time with Ky she wonders why there is so little creating and ability to make choices in their world. She begins to question all that the Society does to ensure happy productive lives for it’s citizens. Cassia must now decide between the safety of being with Xander, whom she has always loved, or Ky who helps her to feel alive, real and free. It is a decision that will change their world.
This is a must read. Not only is Matched a touching love story, but it examines the very basis of what makes us happy and gives us purpose. It will leave you thinking and grateful for all you have and all that you can be.
Violence: Girl in Nazi concentration camp is hit and taken in for beatings. Johann is attacked by a werewolf. Brigitta and Johann are attacked by snakes and creatures. “Creatures claws tore at her flesh, ripping large gashes…and sending lances of pain throughout her body.” Monster raises knife over Gwen. The floorboards and walls are streaked with blood. There are a LOT of sword fights, battles, and creature attacks; more than can be listed here. Guards beat prisoners. Rufus stabs a creature in the heart with a jagged shard of poison-stained glass. Karsten is run through with a sword and then extracts the sword from his chest, “crimson blood dripping.” “With a mighty heave and a keen eye, he launched the sword at his brother, impacting him directly in the center of his chest.”
Adult Themes: Nazi concentration camps are mentioned. There is magic, black magic and sorcery. Death and a sort of afterlife are referred to.
Summary
Two German brothers create a music box that holds a magical kingdom inside. Through time the music box somehow gets passed through many different people and places. People mysteriously disappear when listening to this music box. Inside the box, the Canticle Kingdom resides. The Kingdom is being attacked by an evil, dark power. The Queen falls ill and it is up to a few loyal subjects inside and outside the music box to help to save the kingdom.
I had a really hard time getting through this book. It was confusing and disjointed. Many things made no sense to me at all. It wasn’t until chapter 9 that I started getting a few explanations. Now, I understand ” keep the reader guessing”, and mystery and all of that, but this was really just confusing. I found many of the characters and their actions unbelievable. So many times there would be fighting and someone would be injured terribly, like a sword stuck in their chest. The character is near death, bleeding and almost ready to pass out and then they would proceed to pull out the sword and continue fighting. For a long time. In my notes I wrote, “How many times can one dude fall on his back, have bruised ribs and feel like he was dying and then get up and do it all again?” In the end, I didn’t have any real feelings for any of the characters. I’m not sure if it was the style of writing that made it so hard for me, or if the writing just lacked development. I think the story idea is good. On the up side, there was no foul language or sexual content. There was a fair bit of violence though. I laughed at the end when I read this next part because it summed up almost exactly how I felt about this whole book. “Capt. Edison tried to explain what was going on to his wife the best he could but found that he scarcely understood it himself.”
Title: Peter and the Shadow Thieves (Starcatchers Series, book 2)
Author: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Ratings Explanation
Violence: The pirates on Mollusk Island kidnap the island chief’s daughter. It is briefly mentioned that Slank (one of the “Others”) killed and ate Little Richard while lost at sea. In London, Peter runs into a man who beats runaway children; Peter is attacked by a street vendor who sells birds and has captured Tinkerbell, then arrested by a policeman for hitting the bird seller. The Others kidnap Molly’s mother. A servant girl working with the Others tries to stab Molly with a kitchen knife. At the Tower of London, Molly tells Peter the story of two princes who were locked up, beaten, and murdered in the Tower by their cruel uncle. Mr. McGuinn, a fellow Starcatcher, is killed when he falls from a stone stairwell. In the final battle for the starstuff, both Peter and Molly’s father are shot by the Others (both recover.)
Adult Themes: Peter is arrested and sent to jail, where he encounters several other boys (street urchins) who have been sent there “to rot.” Boys who have been arrested are seldom set free again, but generally face a lifetime of imprisonment or hardship (very Dickensian). When Molly’s mother is kidnapped by the Others and held for ransom, Molly’s father must choose between surrendering the starstuff to the evil powers or saving her life.
Synopsis
In this sequel to Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and his gang of Lost Boys now live on Mollusk Island and gamefully spar with Black Stache (now nicknamed “Hook” by Peter & co.) and his fellow pirates. But the day a different ship arrives on the island bringing Slank, the noseless man Nerezza, and a dark, creepy figure called Lord Ombra in search of the magical starstuff, Peter smells trouble. When Ombra and his men learn the starstuff is in London, they sail off, and Peter decides he must head to England to warn Molly and her family before the evil men get there first. He stows away on Ombra’s ship unseen, then flies off in London with Tinkerbell to find the Aster family. London does not receive Peter kindly, and he is cast into jail and Tinkerbell kidnapped by a bird seller before they can even blink. They escape, of course (the ability to fly can come in handy) and eventually reach Molly, but not before the eerie, inhuman Lord Ombra kidnaps her mother for a starstuff ransom. Ombra steals people’s shadows (and their souls), reads their thoughts, and turns them into emotionless robots. But Peter, Molly, Tink, and even a young George Darling team up to combat the nefarious shadow-thieving Others and ensure that the starstuff does not fall into their filthy hands.
This sequel-to-the-prequel proves just as satisfying as the first, but has a different tone. There is less swashbuckling and pirate jargon, as Hook and his crew on Mollusk Island take a back seat to the main storyline set in the streets of Dickens-era London with the spooky Lord Ombra, whose shapeless figure can creep under doorways and suck up people’s shadows without warning. Famous London landmarks (the River Thames, the Tower of London, Kensington Gardens) make brief but shining appearances in the story, with the final showdown between good and evil being set in farm country at a very familiar, “stony” location. The authors even have James Barrie (Peter Pan’s creator) make a clever cameo in one scene. Another entertaining and adventurous read.
Title: The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2)
Author: Michael Buckley
Ratings Explanation
Language: Insults and name calling are prevalent throughout this book. “Dirty little snot face, horse breath, you are as slow as you are ugly, ugly freak, big goon, numbskulls, idiot, stupid, fat boy” and so forth. (There are way too many to list.) In one place a teacher calls a student a worthless fat body and then says, ”I bet you didn’t forget breakfast. Everyone can see that.” The teacher calls all the students morons. Someone “mumbled a bunch of cuss words Sabrina had never heard before.” There is talk of barfing and farting.
Violence: Ms. Smirt pinches the girls repeatedly. Sabrina and Daphne find Mr. Grumpner dead. They see his “bloodless purple face.” People are attacked and chased by a frog girl. Then they are chased by killer bunnies. Sabrina hits a monster in the head with a shovel. There is a “sound of ripping flesh” and then a bloody knife. Monsters capture people and attack Sabrina. Sabrina breaks her arm and is violently thrown against the wall. Puck and the Big Bad Wolf fight. “I’m going to kill you.” The school explodes in flames and smoke.
Sexual Content: Ms. Smirt tries to flirt. Daphne says, “You are in love with her. You want to kiss and hug her!” Someone gives Snow White “a huge kiss on the mouth.”
Synopsis
In this second book of the Sisters Grimm series, Sabrina and Daphne continue to help their grandma solve mysteries in the small town of Fairyport Landing. Fairyport Landing is the town where the Everafters live. Everafters are actually fairy-tale characters who fled Europe to escape persecution. Settling in the little river town almost two hundred years ago, they now use magical disguises to live and work alongside their normal neighbors. Sabrina and Daphne start school and find Snow White as a teacher and the Pied Piper as the principal. When the kids find a teacher dead, they have a new mystery to solve. Sabrina continues working to find which Everafter is holding her parents captive. She becomes increasingly angry and distrustful of every fairy-tale resident. Her anger takes center stage in this book and fuels the fire of the villains. Literally.
I find I have much to say about this book, but if I say it all, I may reach epic levels. The good: pictures, silhouettes at the beginning of each chapter and a fun storyline. I really do think the ideas behind these books are good. In the first book I loved all the vocabulary lessons given because the younger sister, Daphne, didn’t understand some words. This happened much less in this book, which I was sorry about. I love the magic mirror. He’s my favorite character. He shows you what you want if you ask in a rhyme. He also keeps all the magic “stuff” organized and under lock and key. There are many things I didn’t like. I did not like all the name calling and insults. Do kids really need to hear that? I especially did not like all the references made about “chubby” kids. If I were a child who was overweight, or even felt overweight, this book would make me feel bad. I guess the problem I have is that all the insults and name calling are supposed to be funny but the reality is, words like that do hurt. Especially when coming from teachers or other role models.
Now, here is something I can totally relate to. “When one wakes up to find a giant hairy spider crawling on one’s face, one should be allowed to throw a hissy fit.” (I completely agree with this!) Next is my favorite line from the book. “Of course the Big Bad Wolf does yoga, why did I even bother to ask?”
Language: Four common swear words and four uses of the name of deity.
Violence: The government uses Court TV as the judicial system. Criminals are considered terrorists and have no human rights. Near drownings, beating and sometimes crucifixion is used as punishment. A young woman was beaten because she tried to help a dying contestant on a Reality TV show. Many contestants are allowed to be maimed, injured, suffer disease and are even killed as part of the entertainment. A horse is eaten by a killer whale. It’s blood and guts float in the water. A seal is shot for food. The pony is killed by the hungry dogs. A survivor’s toes are frostbitten, amputation is considered.
Adult Themes: Children being used on a survival show for the entertainment of the masses. TV has become the crime deterrent and educator. A contestant has lost both parents. A young man must decide whether or not to intervene with the government to save the contestants and stand up for their rights.
Synopsis
In the year 2083, our nation’s government has turned to television to fight crime and educate the masses. All programming is meant to be so captivating that citizens will be glued to their screens instead of looking for trouble. To boost ratings, the Secretary of Entertainment has decided to use children as contestants in her next installment of the TV hit, Survival. This series has contestants literally fighting for their lives while reliving history through episodes such as The Alamo, World War II and The Plague. This time, five 14-year-olds have been chosen to relive Robert F. Scott’s 1912 expedition to the South Pole (this was a real expedition and selected entries of Scott’s journal are used throughout the story). What they don’t know is that they will be all alone without a camera crew. To save the lives of her crew, the Secretary has had cameras implanted into one of the eyes of each contestant, unbeknownst to them. She has also scripted several catastrophes to mimic the original expedition as well as help boost ratings. As the children embark on their journey, they encounter all of Antarctica’s beauty and danger. They quickly learn to depend on each others’ skills for survival. True to her nature, the Secretary delivers catastrophes and hardships for the contestants. Back home the public becomes enraged as they watch children facing certain death. An editor named Steve is faced with the opportunity of secretly intervening and must decide whether or not to follow his conscience even if it means being beaten and being sent to prison. Through the heroic actions of many, the children are rescued and the public is forced to take a good look at their values and government.
I am not a big futuristic fiction fan so this book took me off guard when I found myself still engrossed in it two hours later. I appreciated how the contestants learned important life lessons and self-reliance as they had to completely depend on each other to survive. I also liked that Steve had the courage to stand up against terrifying odds to do what he felt was right. A great book to help young readers examine their values and priorities.
Language: There is one reference to deity in the Princess Bride itself, but several during Goldman’s storyline interjected throughout the novel or during his editing comments. Also, two other “major” swear words are used. There are a couple of derogatory comments referring to the Spanish race.
Violence: With sword fighting between Inigo and the “man in black”, a fight between the giant and the “man in black”, and the revenge sword/knife scene between Inigo and Count Rugen, there is plenty of action. There is also a kidnapping, a planned murder of the bride, and the use of clubs.
Sexual Content: This mainly occurs in the sequel, “Buttercup’s Baby”. Buttercup reminds Westley that even though they have “true love”, they have only kissed. They engage in dialogue discussing the answer to the question, “What else is there?” Also, Goldman becomes infatuated with Morgenstern’s daughter who is using her feminine charm to entice Goldman to sign legal papers regarding manuscripts.
There is one scene where Count Rugen’s wife lustily looks at Westley in the Princess Bride.
Adult Themes: There are descriptions of Westley’s torture in the Zoo of Death by the prince and Count Rugen. Brandy is drunk excessively by Inigo. Wine and poison by iocane powder are used during the “battle of wits” between “the man in black” and Vizzini.
Synopsis
The Princess Bride is S. Morgenstern’s classic tale of true love, high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and even some wild beasts. That’s something for everyone to love! The original 1000 page story was edited down to 300 by Hollywood screen writer, William Goldman. The 30th anniversary edition begins with lengthy introductions of how Goldman’s father read the book to young William and why he felt the need to abridge the novel. This edition also includes an abridged version of a Princess Bride sequel, “Buttercup’s Baby”. Goldman wrote the screenplay for the 1987 movie. That is why the movie and the book are nearly one and the same (dialogue and all).
The beautiful peasant, Buttercup, loses her true love–Farm-Boy, Westley. Devastated, she reluctantly agrees to marry Florin’s Prince Humperdinck. Hoping to start a war with the neighboring country of Guilder, the Prince arranges for Buttercup to be kidnapped by mercenaries. His plan is foiled when Buttercup is rescued by a mysterious pirate, “the man in black”. She is returned to the palace, unwillingly marries the Prince and then is saved by the same group who captured her in the first place. During her adventure she meets Vizzini, a criminal philosopher, Fezzik, a gentle giant, and Inigo, the revengeful Spaniard who seeks to kill the six-fingered Count Rugen, second in command to Prince Humperdinck.
Who doesn’t love a fairytale full of sword fighting, villains, implausible rescues and, most importantly, the greatest motive for heroism—true love? Girls are magnetized by the power of “true love”. Boys feed off of the action, the torture in the Zoo of Death, and the feats of revenge. Or, that’s how it worked out for my kids. Additionally, we all loved the quirky characters. Of course, when I finished the book, I had to re-watch the movie. But remember, even if Goldman tries to convince us otherwise, “The Princess Bride” is fictitious, as are the “European” countries of Florin and Gilder.
Title: The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)
Author: Rick Riordan
Ratings Explanation
Language: “gods” used as an exclamation, e.g., “Thank the gods!”
Violence: A large ship explodes, killing many, including a friend of Percy. Percy takes on an entire army in Hades and single-handedly destroys them all. A full-scale battle in Manhattan with Percy and the other half-bloods battling Kronos and his army. In the battle, Percy tries to wound, not kill, the half-bloods who are on Kronos’s side. Destruction of many monsters. Annabeth is stabbed and another beloved half-blood is killed in battle.
Sexual Content: Percy and Annabeth kiss.
Adult Themes: Strained relationships between the gods and their half-blood children. Some are willing to give their lives in order to advance their cause.
Synopsis
In this last installment of the Percy Jackson series, Percy and his friends from Camp Half-Blood prepare for the final battle against Kronos and his ever-growing army. While the gods are busy fighting the monster Typhon, who is advancing across the U.S., Percy and his army must defend Manhattan and Mount Olympus. Percy finally learns the entire prophecy surrounding his 16th birthday and realizes the gravity of it. It is very possible that he will not survive the fight against Kronos, the Lord of Time. Surrounded by those still loyal to the gods, Percy leads the army in this final conflict.
This was definitely my favorite book of the Percy Jackson series. Percy has always been the kind of hero I like to read about, but his loyalty, strength and bravery were extra-apparent in this book. I especially enjoyed the setting of Manhattan as, coincidentally, my first visit to The Big Apple coincided with finishing this book. Being there made the descriptions of the city so alive I half expected to see monsters and Greek demi-gods rounding every corner.
My three readers ages 13, 10 and 8 all love this series. The level of content (in all 4 areas that we rate) remains constant throughout the series. I find that an advantage since in some series the content escalates with each book, making it inappropriate for younger readers to complete a series. Overall, I honestly enjoyed Percy and his adventures.
Violence: Vision of a boy after he was beaten, bruised and bleeding, about to become a human sacrifice. Scene cut out as the knife is coming down.
Adult Themes: History of human sacrifice to gods briefly discussed.
Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Hector reluctantly accompanies his mom on a trip to Italy for the summer. She was asked to interpret ancient writings for an archeological dig of an Etruscan site. Hector finds a companion in one of the archeologists who suggests that he become his apprentice. Hector’s first find is a strange rock with the symbol of an eye on it. He shows the archeologist, who claims the rock is not Etruscan and must have been dropped by a tourist. Hector hangs on to the rock anyway, for a souvenir. That is when things take an interesting turn. When Hector holds on to the eye rock, he finds himself traveling back in time to when the Etruscans inhabited the area. He meets a twelve-year-old boy named Arath, who is the son of the current priest and next in line to become a priest. His uncle Cai, however, is a jealous man and wants Arath dead so that he can inherit the religious position himself. Arath knows his life is in danger and begs Hector to help him. Hector is forced to return to the present site where unfortunately, nothing has been found to impress the sponsors of the dig. They are threatening to close down the operation. With the help of his eye rock, Hector’s ‘intuition’ leads him to find a few interesting Etruscan artifacts which helps to keep the crew motivated. Shortly afterward, Hector is brought back to the past where he tries to learn more about Arath’s situation. He knows he does not have much time to stop his evil uncle from killing him. Torn between two worlds, Hector’s summer is suddenly turned into a time traveling adventure where he must find a way to save his new friend and keep the site from shutting down.
An interesting plot that really made me want to travel to Europe to do a little digging myself. I enjoyed Hector who was unassuming and awfully normal but brought into the middle of a great adventure. The idea of human sacrifice, especially involving children was hard to think about. Although not described in great detail, I would steer sensitive readers away.
Violence: Some fighting with arrows and swords. Queen is forced off balcony and falls to the river far below. Queen threatens to kill her daughter and the king to gain power. The queen poisons the king to gain control over him.
Sexual Content: A scullery maid forces a kiss upon Christian. Babies born out of wedlock.
Adult Themes: Desire to rule a kingdom no matter the cost to family and others. Dysfunctional family relationships.
Synopsis
Christian is adopted by a troll, Edric, who lives in a crystal lined cave in a forest. The young boy grows up learning the ways of troll life and inventing contraptions from things left behind on the forest road. One of these contraptions is a telescope with which Christian enjoys watching the inhabitants of the castle across the river. As he grows older, Christian becomes more unsettled and wants to see and be a part of the outside world. With Edric’s permission, he leaves the cave hoping to find a job at the castle. Christian finds a job helping the castle housekeeper. This presents him with the opportunity of getting to know the young princess he has seen for years only through a lens. He finds Princess Marigold quite enchanting. She loves the simple things in life like reading, telling awful jokes, and playing with her dogs. She is very lonely however, because of a curse put upon her at birth. Marigold can read the thoughts of anyone that touches her. No one dares to touch her and rarely even talks to her. Christian is not afraid of this and finds Marigold fascinating, simple and charming. Unfortunately, the queen wants Marigold married so that she can take over the kingdom. Christian struggles with his emotions as he watches his new love being courted by neighboring royalty. Things get exciting when Marigold’s forthcoming marriage is announced. Christian finds himself in jail, Marigold’s sisters are locked up and the king is being poisoned. Christian must prove he is not a traitor, rid the kingdom of their evil queen, find a way to save his true love and live happily ever after.
This was your predictable fairy tale with many quirky twists and turns to keep you guessing how the heroes would ever manage to live happily ever after. Christian even manages to re-invent royal life by introducing p-mail, vegetarianism, and one ear piercing.
Language-0
Violence- 2
Sexual Content- 1
Adult Themes- 1
Title: Crown Duel
Author: Sherwood Smith
Rating Explanation
Violence: Meliara and her brother lead an uprising against the King of the land. There is training for war using weapons like swords and arrows. The king’s men are victims of taunting and exploits. Meliara is caught in a trap and hurt. She is captured and put in prison. There is war and fighting. Flauvic is turned into a tree by magic.
Sexual Content: There are a few kisses between Meliara and Shevraeth.
Adult Themes: Magic and sorcery are a part of this book as well as war. Meliara is given a drink that unknowingly makes her drunk.
Synopsis
Meliara and her brother promise their father on his deathbed that they will defend their people against a greedy and evil King. Although her intentions are good, Meliara’s plans don’t always go according to her desires. Her people are ill-prepared for the battle which they undertake. Meliara finds herself caught, hurt and a prisoner to the King. Unexpected allies emerge and a battle is fought. In the fragile peace that comes next, Meliara finds herself in the royal palace where a very different sort of battle is taking place. She must learn a new way of fighting that involves more wit, words and secrets than she has ever known. Meliara decides she cannot trust anyone because friends and enemies look alike.
Meliara is the best sort of heroine. She is brave and strong, yet sometimes she bumbles things up, leading to some grand messes. Her character is believable, and I found myself really enjoying the tale that emerged in this book. I love the fierce loyalty that Meliara has for her people, her family and her land. She desires to honor the “covenant” made with the tree people. It took me a few chapters to really get into this book, but by chapter 8 I was hooked. I loved this book. I even forgot that I was supposed to be reviewing it and taking notes! I guess one of the best parts of this book for me was that I didn’t have to take many notes. It was a good, clean read. This book will make it on my favorites list, for sure. I would recommend 12 and up as a reading level for this book.
Title: The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sister’s Grimm, Book 1)
Author: Michael Buckley
Ratings Explanation
Language: There are many derogatory phrases and insults in this book. For example: loser, dirty little hooligan, incompetent boob, snot, goon, scum, mental patient, and you lumpy bag of foolishness.
Violence: Sabrina and Daphne are pinched by their case worker. The girls are bitten by pixies and they bleed. Three thugs block Grandma and the girls and threaten them with a metal pipe. Grandma hits one thug with her purse while one of the girls kick him. Mr. Canis holds two thugs up by the necks and then throws them to the ground. A giant kidnaps Grandma and Mr. Canis. Jack fires arrows at the Giant and Charming. Jack cuts the dog and leaves him bleeding. Mirror is beat up and bruised. Mr. Canis fights with Jack and bites him.
Synopsis
Sabrina and Daphne Grimm find themselves in and out of foster care homes after their parents disappear, but then they are sent to live with someone who claims to be their grandmother. The girls have always believed their grandmother to be dead, so they are quite shocked to find her not only alive, but full of information about a family history they never knew about. Sabrina and Daphne are descendants of the famous Brothers Grimm, and they learn that the fairy-tales they wrote about are actually history. The girls now find themselves in the middle of a fairy-tale mystery with a giant trying to destroy their home and new found family. When grandma is taken by the giant, Sabrina and Daphne become the detectives, because that’s what Grimms are made for.
I loved the pictures throughout this book as well as the silhouettes at the beginning of each chapter. That is one of the pleasures of reading childrens books. I also really liked how the author uses the younger sister as a reason to explain and define larger words in the book that younger readers might not understand. It’s like having a vocabulary lesson without even knowing it! I could have done without the name calling in the book and the frequent insults. There always seemed to be someone sticking out their tongue. Overall though, a fun read. I’m thinking this would be a fun series to read aloud with my 8 year old this summer. I found this book to be pretty on par with the recommended age group. My quote from this book is, “Fear can make people do terrible things.”
Violence: A drunk man is murdered. 3 murders reported in the newspaper. All 3 had their throats slit. Severino points a gun at Jonathon. Terrorists kidnap Jonathon; they tie a bag over his head, hit him in the head and drag him away. Previous actions of the terrorists are related. They killed a man, a woman and her baby. They plan to torture and kill Jonathon. They shoot at Jonathon and Carlos as they make their escape. Jonathon is attacked in the hospital; he is poisoned and choked.
Although I wouldn’t call this violence, the creepy factor is high in Tombs of Terror. Jonathon falls into an ancient set of tunnels where hundreds of dead spiders fall on him. He also encounters mummies, skeletons, all kinds of icky bugs and booby traps meant to kill trespassers.
Adult Themes: Jonathon and his father have a rocky relationship. Peruvian terrorists kidnap Jonathon.
Synopsis
While accompanying his father on a research trip to Peru, Jonathon Bradford hears the fascinating story of the ancient Incas whose entire civilization vanished in one night to escape the invading Spaniards. Local legends abound concerning the accomplishment of their escape through a set of subterranean tunnels connecting many cities throughout modern-day Peru. But if these tunnels truly exist, wouldn’t someone have discovered them by now?
While descending a jungle trail from Machu Pichu, Jonathon discovers that the tunnels are all too real. In order to survive, he must learn to avoid the perils concealed in them, face the truth about himself and his father, and push his strength and determination to their limits.
I found the story of the Incas disappearance intriguing and enjoyed Jonathon’s transformation from boy to man. It made me want to do a little more research to find out what is really known about the tunnel system in Peru. I thought Adams did an excellent job of illustrating the differences between the predominantly privileged American way of life and the poor, difficult, yet proud life of many Peruvians. Tombs of Terror is creepy, but my 13-year old is lined up to read it next.
Language: There are a few crude words used. Exclamations of deity occur frequently throughout the book (good Lord, Oh God, Lordy, etc.). There is also frequent use of the word hell. The rating of 3 reflects the frequency of usage.
Violence: Bird kids are shot at flying into Africa. They fight back. A young girl cuts herself and then heals herself. A Dr. injects himself with something, grows disgusting sores, cuts his finger off and then heals himself. Bird kids fight against Erasers and kill them. Some bird kids are hurt. Max and Fang are shot at and chased. Fang is beaten up and wakes to find himself hooked to an IV. Bird kids fight against an evil scientist and his men. Mutated bodies are described. Max injects a needle straight into Fang’s heart.
Sexual Content- Fang and Max kiss several times.
Adult Themes- The Apocalypse (the end of the world) is referred to a few times in this book. Bird kids receive tattoos for a gift and discuss how cool it will be to get them. Fang and Max (underage) gamble in Vegas and win.
Synopsis
Maximum Ride is the leader and protector of her small flock of bird kids. Many evil forces are out to destroy them. Over time, Fang has become more than a friend to Max and she discovers her love for him. Then comes a horrible prophetic message that Fang will be the first to die, and soon. Another bird kid, Dylan, is introduced to the group. He has been made especially for Max. The tension in the little flock peaks and emotions run high. Max struggles to keep her flock together, safe, and happy.
I read through this book quickly. It was interesting and compelling. I would disagree with the target age group for this book though. The violence and language alone would suggest this is not a book for children. I like Max’s loyalty to her friends. Maybe it’s my mother emotions coming out, but I can relate to how she loves her flock, her family. Her heart is with them no matter what and she really tries to do the best for them. She wants them to be safe and happy. My quote from this book is, “Did anyone just tell the truth anymore?”
Language: A few instances of the word “damn”; typical derogatory pirate talk.
Violence: A lot of talk of walking the planks, men being thrown overboard, and threats of slicing them up and feeding them to the sharks; the pirates smack each other around a lot. Typical descriptions of pirate attacks on the open seas. The natives on the Mollusk Island throw Peter and his friends into a pit to be eaten by a crocodile. Mermaids viciously attack two seamen who, in turn, attempt to stab and kill the mermaids. The boys beat up one of the seamen with coconuts. Molly is held at knifepoint by a pirate. Black Stache stabs a native in the chest and leaves him to die. And quite a few other instances of pirates attempting to kill Peter, Molly, and other pirates.
Sexual Content: Allusions to Mrs. Bumbrake, Molly’s governess, spending evenings in Slank’s cabin on board the ship. Peter dreams he is kissing a mermaid and wakes to find it is true (she is actually breathing life into him); Peter sweetly thinks about kissing Molly and how “it doesn’t seem so bad”. The pirates wantonly gaze at the sunbathing mermaids (who, being mermaids, are naturally topless but with very long hair discreetly covering certain areas.)
Adult Themes: Mrs. Bumbrake (is she married?) getting cozy with Slank; an allusion to Peter being maltreated at a home for boys; common pirate behavior such as drinking rum into oblivion, ogling mermaids, stealing, plundering, pillaging, etc. The sails on Black Stache’s pirate ship resemble an enormous brassiere.
Synopsis
In this clever ”prequel” to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, we learn all about what happened to Peter before we meet him on Wendy Darling’s bedroom windowsill. The book begins with Peter, a 13 or 14-yr-old (even he’s not sure) and his fellow orphan mates being taken from St. Norbert’s Home for Wayward Boys in London and being placed aboard a ship, the Never Land, which unbeknownst to them will deliver them into servitude on a faraway island. There he meets Molly Aster, an astute, pretty 14-yr-old girl who speaks with porpoises and confides in him about the contents of a mysterious trunk aboard the ship. According to Molly, the trunk contains mystical, glowing ”starstuff”, star matter which falls from the sky and is quickly retrieved by a secret society called the Starcatchers whose job it is to keep the powerful stuff from falling into the wrong hands. Starstuff gives anyone who touches it immediate joy, warmth, increased intelligence, and the ability to fly. It can also transform fish into mermaids, but in the hands of the Others, its power can be used for evil. Peter is instantly intrigued (and a little dazed by the lovely Molly) and vows to help her protect the starstuff from Black Stache, a notorious and greedy pirate whose ship is now in hot pursuit of the Never Land. Inevitably, a storm shipwrecks everyone on a tropical island inhabited by savage natives and a monstrous crocodile. Swashbuckling adventures ensue as Peter and Molly rush to find the trunk before the pirates do.
As with all great children’s fantasy tales, this one indulges the adults, as well. Its classic pirate dialogue (not too randy for the kids), clever storyline, and high-seas adventure will keep the pages of this novel turning. The authors fill in many of the blanks from the original story (and the Disney cartoon) with delightful satisfaction.
Language: Three common swear words used. Belittling of others because of their rank in society. Sarcastic humor used for good and bad throughout the book.
Violence: A group of activists, supposedly protecting children and families, storms an arcade gaming center, damaging equipment and placeing some of the gamers lives in danger. In the game, the participant can virtually kill other characters as well as be killed which starts the game over. There are many battles using weaponry from the middle ages (bow and arrows, daggers, swords, catapults, poisoning etc.) . Many heads are cut off, throats are slit, and bodies stabbed. A young boy is killed for poaching, a man’s head is crushed by a wagon wheel.
Sexual Content: Mentions that sexual harassment is not allowed in the games. A man sits so that he has a good view down the front of a woman’s dress. One of the wizards, a female, uses her good looks and feminine charms to influence men around her.
Adult Themes: Main character does not have a good relationship with her dad. She is uncertain that dads in general are any good. The story is based on total immersion gaming which requires the gamer to link their senses and memories to the gaming system. A group of activists protest the gaming center saying its product is ruining children and families. In the game, minors are allowed to ‘consume’ alcoholic beverages.
Synopsis
Giannine receives a gift certificate for her 14th birthday from her dad. It is for a gaming center which offers Total Immersion Gaming, the latest fad in the gaming industry. When she arrives at the arcade, she encounters a group of protesting activists claiming to protect families and children from this new evil. She decides to go in, despite the protests, and signs up to play Heir Apparent. This game offers a medieval adventure where the gamer is chosen to be the late king’s heir and must gain the confidence of the characters in the kingdom in order to be to be crowned and win the game. Shortly after Giannine is in immersion, the activist group breaks into the building and begins to destroy some of the equipment. Because she has already been immersed, technicians cannot safely disconnect Giannine out without risking damage to her brain. In order to be released from the total immersion status, Giannine must win the game. On her adventure, she meets a spiteful step family, odd wizards, a few untrustworthy advisers, rebelling barbarians and a giant dragon. Giannine must learn how to win their favor and be crowned before time is up. She is killed virtually in several attempts and must start the game over until she finally learns from her mistakes. This is coupled with the pressure of getting through the game in a timely manner so that she can escape her total immersion before her real brain is destroyed.
This book is a unique mix of fantasy and future with a creative story line and characters. I thought it was interesting to see the influence that each of Giannine’s choices had as she returned to the beginning after being ‘killed’. Sarcastic humor was abundant throughout the book and was a little much for me personally. Because of the violence, (even though it wasn’t ‘real’, ) I would recommend it for the older end of the grade 6-9 spectrum depending upon the sensitivity of your reader.
Language: “Damn” and “God’s Damn” are used many times throughout the book.
Violence: Gen is frequently mistreated and abused because he is a prisoner and beneath those he is traveling with. He is slapped, kicked, hit, tied up and beaten with a riding crop. The traveling group is attacked, there is fighting with swords and all attackers are killed. Gen is injured when he tries to slow a group of soldiers by fighting them with a sword. Many people die in the attack. Gen finds the bones of many dead people in the temple of the Gods.
Sexual Content: Gen is stripped down naked and washed.
Adult Themes: Gen is a thief and steals things. The book is based on stories of Gods and Goddesses like the God of the Sky, Goddess of the Earth, the God of Thieves and so forth.
Synopsis The story of Gen begins in a prison where Gen is being held for stealing. He is not just a thief, but a bragging thief. Self proclaimed as the best thief, able to steal anything. The king’s scholar, the magus, needs Gens help to steal a rumored and hidden treasure of the God’s from another land. We follow their journey to the hidden temple of the Gods where Gens abilities are put to the test. The magus has plans, but Gen is a trickster and has a plan of his own.
I did not really get into this book until Gen reaches the temple of the Gods and begins his adventure there. I did love the ending of this book because it went someplace I wasn’t expecting. It unfolded into another story. Honestly, the repeated usage of “God’s damn” in the beginning of the book really distracted me from the story and the mean treatment of Gen was not my favorite. The moment I really bonded with Gen was when he said this in response to Sophos’s question, “If you could be anywhere you wanted right now, where would it be?” “In bed. In a big bed, with a carved footboard, in a warm room with a lot of windows. And sheets. And a fireplace, and books. Lots of books.” That was the moment that I knew I could love Gen.
Title: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1)
Author: James Patterson
Ratings Explanation
Language: Frequent and casual use of “God” as an exclamation. “Freaking” and common swearwords used a handful of times.
Violence: Erasers are part-human part-wolf and their purpose is to kill Max and her flock. The Erasers attack the flock several times in the book. In these fight scenes there is kicking, hitting, scratching, some shooting and a grenade or two.
Angel is kidnapped, stuffed in a sack and zapped with an electric rod. Max takes on several teenage boys who are hassling a younger girl. She breaks noses, cracks ribs, and hits one in the head with a shotgun. They give chase, shooting at her, and one of the bullets finds its mark. Gazzy and Iggy drop a homemade bomb on a cabin. It blows up and two Erasers are killed. The scientists who are holding Angel hostage, torture, study and test her like an animal. Nudge and Fang fight Erasers and Fang is beaten up badly. Ari, an Eraser who is only 7-years old, shoots at Max and the others. Max bites Ari’s finger so hard it bleeds and she won’t let go. They fight the scientists who are holding them prisoner. Hawks tear into the flesh of the scientists. Max is caught by an Eraser, but he suddenly dies. Ari smashes Fang’s head into a rock, Fang kicks him in the chest and Ari elbows Fang in the mouth. Ari and Max fight. He hits her and she kicks him in the throat and chest. She has a hold of his head and when they fall down, his neck snaps and he dies. An Eraser explodes when he steps on the electric rail of a train track.
Sexual Content: Max kisses Fang
Adult Themes: Gazzy, who is only 8, feels guilty for killing the two Erasers. The kids steal a car and money from an ATM. There are many strange mutant experiments. Iggy gets his ear pierced. Max feels guilty and sad for killing Ari. All of the flock are searching for their birth parents. They all want to belong to a real family. They discover that Gazzy and Angel’s parents sold them to the scientists for experiments.
Synopsis
The Maximum Ride series is James Patterson’s first entry into Young Adult fiction.
Maximum Ride and her five friends have 98% human DNA and 2% bird DNA. They are engineered to fly. Having lived most of their lives in a science lab called The School, where they were constantly tested and studied, a scientist named Jeb finally rescues them from The School and takes them to live in a cabin in the wilderness. Jeb acts as the father figure for this makeshift family, but after he disappears, Max and the flock are completely on their own. Erasers, who are half-human and half-wolf, kidnap 6-year old Angel. This spurs Max, Fang and Iggy all 14, along with Nudge 11 and Gazzy 8, to embark on a rescue mission to save their little sister.
While searching for Angel they attempt to learn more about their history. Why were they created? Where are their parents? Why do they continue to discover powers they never knew they possessed? Why is Max hearing a voice in her head? And is the voice for them or against them?
The story of The Angel Experiment is compelling and I finished in only a couple of days. But although it kept me turning the pages, I was uncomfortable with all of the violence the children participated in. Should a 7-year old know what it feels like to be responsible for killing someone? This is not the focus of the book, and the kids are in “kill or be killed” situations, but still it might be disturbing for more sensitive readers.
I do like the character Max . She is strong and smart and tough, but she is also the mother figure to all of the kids in the flock. She is genuinely concerned for their safety and happiness. Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal both recommend this book for ages 12 and up. I think that’s a bit young for the content.
Violence: A cruel man kicks and yells at a hobo when he is discovered sleeping on a train. The diner owner yanks Edward out of a little boy’s hands and slams the rabbit against the lunch counter, shattering Edward’s head. Edward is nailed to a wooden stake and turned into a scarecrow, and the illustration of him resembles a crucifixion. Some of these themes and images may be disturbing for sensitive children.
Adult Themes: A little boy’s father is an abusive alcoholic. The boy’s younger sister dies, and he runs away from home.
Synopsis
In a house on Egypt Street there lives a beautiful china rabbit named Edward. He dresses in the finest apparel and is adored by a little girl named Abilene. But Edward thinks so highly of himself that he thinks very little of anything or anyone else. Being loved by Abilene is fine as long as she doesn’t squeeze him so tightly that his clothes get rumpled. One day they embark on an ocean journey, and Edward is tossed overboard by two careless boys. There on the ocean floor he lays for some time, until a storm tosses him upwards and he is caught in the net of a fisherman who brings him home to his wife. Thus begins an adventure for Edward of being lost and found over and over, from Abilene to the fisherman, from a garbage dump to a hobo, from the railroad tracks into the arms of a deathly sick little girl (who squeezes him very tightly), and all along the way, Edward begins to understand what it truly means to be loved and to love in return. But will he ever see little Abilene again?
I read this book aloud to my little girl before bedtime, and each night after she fell asleep I would keep reading to find out what happened next to Edward. Of course I knew he was just a pompous toy rabbit, but like Abilene, I loved him anyway and became engrossed in his journey. The book is pure magic. Edward is real not just to the reader, but to every character whose path he crosses in the book; the characters themselves are so sweet that it is heartbreaking to see Edward get separated from each one of them. The ending gave me goosebumps. A beautifully told story; it is, however, incredibly poignant and sad in many parts, which may be considered too heavy for very young or sensitive readers. That being said, it is still an extremely worthwhile read.
Language: When writing the ransom note for his illiterate captors, Jemmy tells them, “I’ll tell [the King] you’ve got reserved seats in Hell.” Many instances of demeaning name-calling and mild harsh language, but nothing objectionable; i.e. “dim-witted numskulls”, “insolent rascals”, “scurvy riffraff”, etc.
Violence: Jemmy is repeatedly beaten by the King’s servants, descriptions of which are not explicit. The kidnappers whip the prince and mistreat both boys.
Adult Themes: Child abuse; as the prince’s official whipping boy, Jemmy has been taken from his home to live in the castle and bear the injustice of corporal punishment for the prince. The prince runs away and demands his whipping boy come with him. The boys are taken hostage by two ruffians who threaten and beat them. The boys escape, are hunted by their captors, and are chased through a sewer.
Synopsis
By royal decree, Prince Horace (a.k.a. “Prince Brat”) is not to be spanked, thrashed, cuffed, smacked, or whipped, for it is forbidden to lay a finger on the heir to the throne. So when the prince misbehaves, which is often, it is the fate of poor young Jemmy, former rat catcher and commoner plucked from the streets, to suffer his thrashings for him. One day, Prince Brat, bored of castle life and hi-jinks, decides to run away and forces Jemmy to accompany him. While in the forest, the two boys are seized by the infamous ruffian Hold-Your-Nose Billy and his dull accomplice Cutwater, who demand a King’s ransom for the prince’s safe return. But Jemmy, who is sharper than the two of them combined, fools his kidnappers into thinking he is the royal brat and then escapes their hairy, garlic-scented clutches. Naturally the prince follows, as does adventure and mishap. But soon enough, amidst mistaken identity woes, dank and smelly sewer chases, and a dancing carnival bear, the boys learn the meaning of trust, friendship, and keeping your word. And of course, the rogue captors reap their own due reward in the end, as it should be.
This story is a clever, immensely enjoyable twist on the classic “prince and the pauper” tale set in a day and age long gone, when boys were called “lads” and expressions such as “Do say!” and “As I live and breathe!” found their way into conversation. It comes across as a humorous adventure story reminiscent of Huck and Tom, but it’s clear it claimed the Newbery Medal for its true heart– a tale of two very different boys whose initial mutual dislike for each other turns to appreciation and trust by journey’s end. At one point Jemmy queries, “Was it clothes that made a prince, just as rags made a street boy?” It is great fun to watch as they discover what lies beneath their princely/pauperish exteriors. I marked it for grades 4-5 reading level because of the vocabulary, but it would be a delightful (and quick) family read-aloud.
Sexual Content: Hornet falsely claims she is being molested/kidnapped by Detective Victor Getz, as he is following the orphans through the city.
Adult Themes: Prosper and Bo are orphaned. Their cruel Aunt Esther does not want Prosper at all. She only wishes to adopt Bo, since he is a darling little boy. The orphans would rather live in an abandoned movie theater than live at The Sister’s of Mercy Orphanage.
Synopsis
The Thief Lord is a story of two brothers, Prosper and Bo. Prosper is twelve and Bo is five years old. After the death of their mother, they run away from their cruel Aunt Esther. Esther wants to adopt a perfect little boy, she wants Bo, and only Bo. She wants to send Prosper to boarding school. The boys flee to Venice, the magical city their mother told them about. While orphans in Venice, they are befriended by a pack of orphans and their leader, Scipio a.k.a. “The Thief Lord”. The Thief Lord provides them with shelter in an abandoned movie theater, The Stella. They survive by selling possessions Scipio steals from the wealthy to a quirky and greedy shopkeeper, Ernesto Barbarossa. The boy’s happiness is fleeting. Aunt Esther hires a detective, Victor Getz to bring Bo back to her. Victor Getz finds Bo and Bo tells him where he lives. Victor meets the owner of The Stella, Dottorre Massimo, and finds The Thief Lord is Scipio Massimo, Dottorre’s son. Victor raids The Stella and is held hostage by the orphans. They ultimately befriend Victor and he realizes that his heart has softened towards the orphans and he dupes Aunt Esther.
The Thief Lord’s services are in demand. He accepts the job and enlists the orphans to help him steal a wooden wing from Ida Spavento, a famous photographer. The orphans are caught by Ida Spavento as they try to steal the wooden wing. Ida reveals the story of the wooden wing. The wing belongs on a magical merry-go-round that can make a child an adult and an adult a child. They follow the buyer of the wooden wing, the Conte, to the island, where the merry-go-round is kept. The Conte and Countessa ride and become younger versions of themselves. Scipio rides and becomes and adult. Barbarossa crashes the party and rides, turning into a child, and breaks the merry-go-round. Scipio cannot go home to his father as a grown man so he becomes Victor’s apprentice detective. The orphans grapple with a horrid child Barbarossa. They don’t know how to rid themselves of him. They help Barbarossa trick Aunt Esther into adopting him. Barbarossa begins to steal from Aunt Esther and she sends him away to boarding school where he successfully bullies all the other children and forces them to call him, “The Thief Lord”.
We read this book aloud. I really enjoyed reading this tale set in Venice. Funke is a fabulous writer! I could smell the sea air coming off the lagoon as we traveled through the canals of Venice with Scipio and Prosper.
Language: No swearing but several bits of name calling and taunting. Many of their names are based on primitive crudeness (the Meathead Tribe, Snotlout, Duhbrain, Newtsbreath etc.)
Violence: These young viking characters are all about the ruff and tumble lifestyle of their parents. Lots of teasing, bantering and taunting. A very large dragon has eaten an entire army of Roman soldiers, carts, horses and all. The dragon also describes the best way to bone a human. Live sheep are one of the dragon’s favorite snacks because of their crunchy bones. Two dragons take chunks out of each other during a fight. A large dragon explodes after his fire breathing holes are plugged. His innards are sprayed everywhere.
Synopsis
Hiccup is the unassuming hero in this book. He is the son of the viking Chief Stoik but unfortunately, lacks the brawn and brutal manner that is so important in his culture. As part of a right of passage, Hiccup must capture a dragon and prove that he has trained it. This doesn’t turn out well. He comes back with the smallest, most common dragon that doesn’t even have teeth. Discouraged, Hiccup talks with his grandfather Old Wrinkley who is trying his hand at predicting the future. His grandfather tells Hiccup that there is hope and that he will eventually become a hero. Hiccup finds that using his brains can be just as important as using brawn. He does eventually save his tribe from a gigantic sea dragon using his clever tricks.
A fun read for those that enjoy a quirky sense of humor. There are silly illustrations and ink splots all through the book adding to its youthful appeal. Hiccup is the true underdog hero that we all find ourselves rooting for.
Language: Referring to the Olympian gods, “Oh my gods” and “thank the gods” used as exclamations. Percy and his friends visit Hoover dam, in jest they refer to the “dam bathroom, dam french fries, dam snack bar” and laugh about it.
Violence: A monster masquerading as a professor changes back into his true form and shoots poison darts at Percy, then Annabeth stabs the monster with a sword. There is a fair amount of sword fighting in the book. A vicious, armed game of capture the flag. Thalia blasts Percy with electricity. Skeletons, under the direction of “The General”, attack Percy and his friends. They try to destroy the skeletons but they are able to reform. They are also attacked by a lion and they kill it with arrows. The skeletons shoot at them and hit Percy but he is wearing a bulletproof fur coat so he is not harmed. They stab the skeletons and they explode in flames. A giant pig destroys the skeletons, smashing them to pieces. A giant metal statue attacks them and a character dies trying to save her friends. A battle with Atlas using arrows, spears, javelins and swords. A character falls 50 feet off a cliff and his broken body lies on the rocks below. A biplane shoots machine guns at the monster army. A character dies from a dragon bite.
Adult Themes: Good vs. evil. One character is disowned by her family and her father is the cause of her death.
Synopsis
In the third installment of the Percy Jackson series, Percy and 4 others are off on a quest to rescue Annabeth and Artemis and thwart the dark plan of the rising Kronos. Traveling cross country from Washington DC to San Francisco, they again encounter several mythical monsters bent on stopping their progress. According to the oracle’s prophecy, this quest will only succeed with the ultimate sacrifice of one of their own.
I enjoy this series. Percy is a very likable hero, humble and flawed, but strong and brave too. All my reading-age children have read this series and loved it.
Sexual Content: Princess Addie and the Sorcerer Rhys kiss. They profess their love for one another and marry.
Violence: The Gray Death kills many people. The Kingdom of Bamarre idealizes their greatest hero in the epic poem Drualt. Drualt is a dragon/monster slayer. The epic poem contains descriptions such as, “”Two gryphons lay dead, Entrails spilling”. The dragon, Vollys, hungrily devours the gryphons. Vollys captures Princess Addie and keeps her prisoner. Vollys blows fire on Addie’s skirt and burns her leg. Addie then discovers a trunk filled with human bones. Addie wields the sword, “Blood-Biter” and wounds the dragon.
Synopsis
Queen Daria succumbs to the Gray Death, leaving behind two young daughters. Princess Addie is reserved and fearful. Princess Meryl is brave and bold. They are very different, but rely upon each other, and are one another’s greatest asset. Brave Princess Meryl becomes ill with the Gray Death. Princess Addie cannot believe that her strong sister is now facing an impending death. Addie is terrified. She knows she must find the cure for the Gray Death and she has just nineteen days before Meryl will die. Addie overcomes her fear and sets out on a journey to find the cure. Addie encounters spectors, ogres, gryphons and the dragon, Vollys, in her quest to save Meryl’s life. Addie ultimately saves the Kingdom of Bamarre.
This is an enjoyable fairy tale. Your young readers will enjoy reading of Princess Addie’s brave crusade.
Violence: Stories where soldiers are wounded and killed are mentioned often as factual consequence to war, not in gory detail. Instances of field mines, sniper fire, drownings and other related causes of death are mentioned. Among the stronger stories are when a leader is shot through the cheek while giving his troops a motivational speech. He continues his speech spraying blood as he speaks. Many soldiers are overcome with fear and drown in the ocean or lay out in the open where sniper fire seriously wounds or kills them. One leader is shot in the stomach while attempting to direct a tank into position.
Adult Themes: Many instances are related where fear overtakes young soldiers leaving them mentally and emotionally paralyzed and vulnerable to enemy fire. These weak moments allowed opportunities for heroes to rise and take the spotlight as they lead their comrades on to battle. Several instances where leaders had to make difficult decisions that could put several soldiers lives at risk.
Synopsis
This book takes a look at one of the greatest invasions in our country’s history, D-day. The author includes insight into the risky plans of the allied forces and takes a look at some of the different missions carried out by thousands of courageous soldiers. The author also discusses some of the successes and setbacks the troops experienced along with stories of individual heroes that helped to turn the war around.
Author Bruce Bliven did a fantastic job in describing one of our country’s important, historical moments. His writing was very reader friendly even for the ‘non-war buff’ like myself. I enjoyed his simple style. It helped me to understand the bigger picture behind the D-day Invasion. Also included are pictures of soldiers in action, as well as a translated letter from a German soldier describing his point of view of one of the paratrooper invasions. There are other books in this Sterling Point Book series that take a look at other historical events in our nation’s history.
Violence: Grace is kidnapped, tied up and help prisoner. Marty hits Butch in the head with a stick. Bertha ties up Butch. A dinosaur kills a person. Characters in peril.
Adult Themes: Grace and Marty’s parents are missing after their helicopter crashes in the Amazon. They go to live with their uncle.
Synopsis
The O’Hara twins, Grace and Marty, are attending boarding school in Switzerland when they learn that their parents have disappeared in the Amazon jungle. Whisked away to live with a mysterious uncle they never knew they had, they arrive on Uncle Travis’s private island in Washington state. Travis Wolfe is a cryptozoologist. He studies cryptids, mythical creatures, like the Sasquatch and the Lock Ness Monster, whose existence has not yet been scientifically proven. Uncle Travis has an excursion to the Congo planned, which does not include the twins, but the twins have plans of their own.
Literally falling into the Congolese jungle, Grace and Marty learn to navigate the dangers of the jungle while trying to find a dinosaur that may not be extinct. If that isn’t enough for the 13-year-olds to worry about, they also have to outsmart Travis’s enemy and cryptid hunter, Noah Blackwood and his henchmen, who are also looking for the dinosaur. Grace and Marty find out what they are truly made of in the jungle, they also find out who they truly are.
This was a fun read-aloud for our family. It is exciting and kept everyone engaged, and it has some interesting relationships as well.
Violence: Katniss witnesses an older man from District 11 forced to his knees in front of the crowd, and a bullet put through his head. Katniss reflects on killing Clove. Gale is publicly whipped for hunting. Gale’s back is a “raw, bloody slab of meat”. Darius, District 12’s Head Peacekeeper is turned into an avox (similar to a eunuch). Katniss is plagued with terrible nightmares. Katniss displays her knot making skills to the Gamemakers by hanging a dummy symbolizing Seneca Crane. Cinna creates a costume symbolizing rebellion. He is knocked to his knees and hit with metal-studded gloves, opening gashes on his face and body. The Peacekeepers drag Cinna’s limp body from the room and smears of blood are left on the floor. Opponents in the Quell Games are slaughtered. Katniss tastes the blood of an opponent while swimming in the water.
Sexual Content: Gale kisses Katniss. Peeta and Katniss feign borderline delirious love for each other. They kiss, dance, and try to sneak away to be alone. Each night Peeta climbs into Katniss’ bed to hold her until she falls asleep. Peeta does this to ward off Katniss’ nightmares associated with killing her opponents. Katniss ponders marrying Peeta. Cray, the Head Peacekeeper for District 12 has a habit of luring starving young women into his bed for money, which make him an object of loathing in the district. The hungriest would gather at his door at nightfall, vying for the chance to earn a few coins to feed their families by selling their bodies. ”Finnick is one of the most stunning, sensuous people on the planet. He’s draped in a golden net that’s strategically knotted at his groin so that he can’t technically be called naked.” Chaff throws his arms around Katniss and gives her a big kiss right on the mouth. Johanna Mason, from District 7 unzips her costume and steps into the elevator naked. The light from Peeta’s costume reflects off Johanna’s bare breasts.
Adult Content: Districts grieve for their children as they are murdered.
Summary
At the conclusion of The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark miraculously survive The Games. They pretend to be star-crossed lovers in order to win the populous’s adoration, and both leave the arena alive. They succeed. However, in their quest for survival they sow the seeds of rebellion by snubbing the president and the Capitol. Katniss is relieved to be alive, however, her life is now lonelier than ever. President Snow makes a personal visit to Katniss and threatens her loved ones if she does not diffuse the civil unrest. Her closest friend, Gale, keeps her at a distance. As victors, Katniss and Peeta’s families move to the wealthy, yet empty part of town.
Katniss and Peeta announce their engagement. Katniss is repulsed by the Capitol’s forced “Victory Tour”. Katniss and Peeta, the victors, must visit the eleven other districts whose tributes were killed, before the next set of Games begin. Unknowingly, Katniss and Peeta have inspired rebellion throughout the nation. The districts they visit are full of unrest. When, Katniss and Peeta arrive in the Capitol, the Quarter Quell is announced and Katniss and Peeta are forced to enter into the arena again. The populous is devastated that the young lovers will now face death. Haymitch orchestrates arena alliances for Peeta and Katniss, but does not apprise Katniss of the situation. Katniss is the symbol of rebellion. The ending is a cliff-hanger….
I abhor cliff-hanger endings! The sequel was not as consuming as The Hunger Games, nor was the violence as graphic. That said, I am disturbed by the amount of violence contained in this series. The intense violence desensitizes. While reading this series, I am a “Deer in Headlights”. I continue to read, because I can’t fathom that each child is really going to be killed by another child –and they are.
Language: A smattering of damn and hell throughout.
Violence: Lily is thrown many times while breaking horses. She is also hit by a car while crossing the street in Chicago. Minnie, a roommate, is killed while on the job at the bottling plant when her long tresses are caught in the massive grinding gears. Her body is severely mangled. Lily pistol whips Ted Conover and breaks a glass door upon exiting his office. Sexual Content: There is an allusion to Lily’s wedding night with Ted Conover. Rosemary swims in her underwear with Fidel Hana and a group of Indian boys at Havasupai Falls. Rex pats Rosemary on the rump, like he owns her.
Adult Themes: Helena commits suicide by hanging herself from the rafters in the one room school house. Lily sells bootleg booze to make ends meet.
Summary
This is the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeanette Wall’s grandmother. Jeanette’s mother, Rosemary, often told Jeanette she was just like her grandmother. Lily’s story is written in an authentic first-person voice.
Lily Casey Smith is a strong, resourceful, and bright young woman who grew up breaking horses in New Mexico. Lily has the opportunity to attend boarding school. She finds attaining an education is much easier and more rewarding than life on the ranch. Unfortunately, Lily’s father gambles her tuition money away, and she is forced to return home to help run the ranch. Lily ascertains that she has few career choices as a female in the 1940’s. She chooses to be a teacher, and must earn her education. Lily has the opportunity to substitute teach, without a teaching certificate. She is thrilled; at age fifteen years old, she rides her horse five hundred miles, alone, to Northern Arizona to teach in a one room school house. She is ultimately fired at the end of World War II, because she lacks her teaching certificate and qualified teachers are returning home from the war seeking positions. Lily then seeks adventure in the big city of Chicago. Her dear friend and roommate is killed. Lily marries a smooth talking, traveling salesman, only to find that he already has a wife and family. She is hit by a car. Lily heads back to Arizona to teach and races horses on the weekends to earn extra money. Lily learns to drive a car and fly a plane. Her younger sister, Helen, finds herself in a precarious position as a pregnant young woman in Hollywood. She travels to Lily’s one room school house to avoid the shame of traveling home to her parents in New Mexico. Overwhelmed with her predicament, she commits suicide. Lily grapples with her sister’s death. She marries Jim Smith, a descendant of Mormon Polygamists. Lily and Jim raise two children and Lily earns her degree. Lily and Jim run a vast ranch in Arizona. Lily survives many challenges throughout her life and masters the art of grace. She witnesses her daughter’s poor decision to marry a volatile man. She inevitably experiences the pain and consequences associated with parenting.
I loved this book! I adore strong heroines who confront challenges. Lily doesn’t make any excuses, she continues to progress in spite of serious set backs. This book is a must read!
Violence: Mafatu kills a shark, a pig and an octopus.
Adult Themes: Mafatu’s mother dies when he is very small. His father does not approve of him because he is a timid child and not brave like the other boys his age.
Synopsis
Somewhere in Polynesia is the island of Hikueru, where Mafatu lives with his father. While a young boy, Mafatu nearly drowned at sea and has been terrified of the ocean ever since. Now at 10 years of age, the other boys tease and taunt him because he won’t go out fishing with them. Mafatu’s father is the chief, and in a society in which bravery is prized, Mafatu can tell that his father is ashamed of his fear. The time has come for Mafatu to face his enemy, the sea. He ventures out in his boat knowing that he will either come back fearless, or he will not come back at all.When my 10-year-old son finished this book he announced, “I just finished Call It Courage and on a scale from 1 to 10, it is a 10!” With that kind of recommendation I thought I better read it too! We ended up reading it aloud with our family, which I highly recommend. The narration and descriptions lend themselves naturally to a great read-aloud book. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and I think the message is important. Everyone has a fear to face, but with ingenuity and courage, we can conquer what most frightens us.
Title: The Swiss Family Robinson (Great Illustrated Classics)
Author: Johann Wyss, adapted by Eliza Gatewood Warren
Ratings Explanation
Violence: The family kills many animals, most of which they eat. Some animal kingdom violence, animals attack and kill each other.
Synopsis
Sailing from Switzerland, the Swiss family Robinson is headed for an island near New Guinea where they plan to establish a colony, but while underway they encounter a violent storm. Abandoned by the captain and crew, the family of father, mother and four sons must fend for themselves. They are able to reach an uninhabited island where they establish a home and survive for years against wild animals and the whims of nature. While on the island their resourcefulness and bravery are tested, but they come to love their home. When a ship sails into their bay, they must decide if they want to return to their homeland or stay on the island.
A true adventure!
There are so many great new books that sometimes we forget to go back and read the classics we grew up on. We read this aloud with our family and it was enjoyed by all. We watched the Disney movie a few years ago so the kids kept waiting for the pirates and the coconut bombs to appear in the story. They never do, so either that part was edited from this abridged version, or the pirates are an invention of Disney. But even without the pirates it is a great read. First published in 1813, this adventure has truly stood the test of time!
Title: Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy
Author: L.A. Meyer
Ratings Explanation
Language: Quite a lot of swearing and some references to deity. Vulgar and mildly offensive phrases (piss off, sod off). Terms referring to sexual relations between boys and men. The schoolmaster teaches the ship’s boys vocabulary words each day and one day the words are, “buggery, sodomy and pederasty.” He teaches these words to “protect them from the sin.” The reader does not receive the definitions of these words.
Violence: 13 year-old girl is hanged in the gallows for stealing. She is not heavy enough to break her neck so the executioner has to jump on her shoulders. Charlie, the leader of Mary’s gang, is killed. Jack is beaten up several times. She is hit and kicked, her ribs are broken and her teeth nearly knocked out. The HMS Dolphin attacks a pirate ship, there are dead bodies and blood everywhere. Jack shoots a pirate in the chest with a pistol and he dies. Sailors and pirates die. Jack stabs a sailor while he is trying to rape her. He staggers and falls over the side of the ship to his death. Jack is hanged, but is rescued before she dies. The pirate captain’s head is cut off to be displayed on the British ship.
Sexual Content: Irish girls took Spanish sailors “to their hearts and their beds.” The ship’s priest explains “sins of the flesh” in order to protect the boys from what the men on the ship could do to them. No details are given, but the subject is raised. Later Jack asks him to explain “the way of a lad with a maid.” He won’t explain and he tells the boys to go to “the tarts for their lessons in lechery and get the pox.” When the ship comes into port, brothels and loose women are mentioned. The other sailors think that Jack has gone into a brothel and they tease him. In reality Jack went into the brothel to ask a woman to give her a female education and explain the ways of a man with a maid. Innuendo about men being with boys on the ship. Jack, who is actually a girl pretending to be a boy, catches the eye of a lecherous sailor. He watches her and slaps her bottom. He comes up behind her, pins her at the ship’s railing and “grinds against” her. He eventually catches her alone and forcibly lays on top of her, he kisses her then pulls down her pants and touches her, at which time he discovers her real gender. This is when she stabs him. Once Jamie knows that Jack is a girl, they kiss and wrap arms and legs around each other. They sleep together in the same hammock. Jamie wants to do more with her, but she holds him off.
Adult Themes: Mary is left an orphan and has to fend for herself in a gang of orphans. The orphans steal to stay alive. Jack begins to mature and starts menstruating. She doesn’t know why she is bleeding and thinks she is dying. When they go ashore the ship’s boys get drunk, get tattoos and pierce their ears. Homosexuality. Sexual abuse.
Synopsis
Mary Faber is left an orphan when her parents and sister die of the plague. With no one to care for her, she joins a gang of orphans and learns to steal and beg to survive. When Charlie, the leader of their gang, is killed, Mary takes the opportunity to start a new life. She dons Charlie’s clothes and takes to the seas as Jack Faber, ship’s boy on the HMS Dolphin. Maintaining “The Deception” on board the ship provides many challenges, but she is able to conceal her identity and endears herself to the other boys and many of the sailors. The HMS Dolphin is looking for pirates and when they find them, Jacky is as brave as any of the boys, and braver than some of the men.
This is a difficult book to rate because the story is engaging, but there is enough inappropriate content that I can’t recommend it. As I was reading the book, it was obvious that an encounter with Sloat, the sailor who is taken with Jack, was imminent. I was so nervous about it happening that I couldn’t enjoy the story until it was resolved. Publishers Weekly recommends the book for children 12 and up. I have a 12 year old and I would strongly discourage her from reading this book. I am listing Bloody Jack as appropriate for high school age, but I don’t recommend it.
Violence: The children have nightmares during which any injury received carries over to when they are awake. During these dreams the children become trapped in a giant shell, caught in an avalanche of building of blocks and are chased by an evil man with a long sword who eventually falls on it, ending his life.
Adult Themes: Ed and Eleanor are orphans cared for by their parents’ siblings. Their Uncle Eddy has suffered severe emotional trauma due to the disappearance of his younger siblings Ned and Nora. He is shunned and teased by the townspeople. Aunt Lily’s love, Prince Krishna, turns up missing as well after trying to find the two missing children. The bank threatens to take the family’s home if back taxes are not payed. Eleanor and Eddy worry where they will live.
Synopsis
Eleanor and Eddy Hall live in an eccentric old house in Concord Massachusetts. The children are in the care of their deceased parents’ siblings, Uncle Freddy and Aunt Lily. Uncle Freddy was once a respected authority on the local transcendentalism (Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau are historical residents there), but after the disappearance of his younger siblings, Ned and Nora, Uncle Freddy’s mind is never the same. Aunt Lily does her best to hold the family together and support them by teaching piano lessons until the bank shows up demanding that all the back taxes on the home be paid by a certain date. Eleanor and Eddy worry what will become of them all. The town already looks on them as outcasts. One summer day changes it all when the two go exploring in the attic. They find a room that seems to have remained untouched since Ned and Nora’s time. It had two little beds and a collection of toys and is lit by a colored glass window. Upon closer inspection, the window reveals a message or poem of sorts with the title Transcendental Treasure. Intrigued by a possible treasure that may help them save their home, Eddy and Eleanor beg to move into the attic. Once settled, the children find their dreams at night go along with clues from the poem etched on the window. They also discover that the dreams are somehow real. Whatever happens, good or bad, is reflected in the real world when they awake. They also catch glimpses of Ned, Nora and Aunt Lily’s love, Prince Krishna. They do find treasure throughout their adventures, but not the kind that brings them money. Their adventures became more and more dangerous the closer they come to the final clue. In the end, Eleanor and Eddy break the spell holding Ned, Nora and Prince Krishna prisoner all these years and return them to a recovered Uncle Freddy and a grateful Aunt Lily. They also come away with a greater understanding of the treasures life has to offer.
I don’t think this book is in print currently but, it is available through places like Amazon. It is actually a first in a series of the Hall Family Chronicles by Jane Langton. A truly unique children’s book with a great mixture of adventure and true life lessons. I am a little partial, because I too am a fan of Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau. One of my favorite Uncle Freddy quotes is ‘… we are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones… So carve yourself well!” A great read for young and old.
Language: 1 instance of profanity. “God Bless America!” used as an exclamation.
Violence: Ghost story mentioned with a chainsaw cutting up a woman and a nail driven into her head (very brief).
Adult Themes: Griffin’s father quits his job to develop an invention. It isn’t going well and his parents are very worried about money. They have to put their house up for sale because they can’t afford it anymore. Kids in the story plan and carry out a robbery.
Synopsis
Griffin Bing is “the man with the plan.” He always knows what to do, but when he is cheated out of a valuable baseball card by a shady sports memorabilia collector, he has to make a plan like no other to get back what is rightfully his. A well planned heist ensues with lots of surprises and near misses.
This was a very fun read-aloud for our family. We all enjoyed the kids getting even with the dishonest Swindle, but they don’t actually get away with the heist. (We wouldn’t want to encourage criminal behavior!) You’ll have to read it to find out how it ends, but justice is poetically served.
Language: The word nigger is used twice by members of the Knights of the Southern Order of Manhood. A group of captured Apache Indians are called the “meanest bunch of cut-throats ever walked on two feet.”
Violence: Mention of violent acts against the black population by members of white supremacy groups, such as burning businesses and schools, destroying property and lynching. A local white supremacy group throws torches into Sarah Jane’s home. Her father threatens to shoot anyone that means harm to the family or property even though he had no ammunition in the gun. Sky defends the property by scaring the group off with well aimed arrows. One arrow does hit a man in the leg. Buster, Sarah Jane’s dog, is shot by one of the group members in the struggle and dies. Sky is attacked in a store by two large men. He skillfully defends himself, ending up with a knife and threatens to scalp one of the attackers.
Adult Themes: Native Americans are shipped by train from Florida to a reservation. Mention is made of their suffering at the hand of the white man. Sarah Jane’s father briefly remembers hard times during slavery. The black population of their town are looked down upon and treated unequally in spite of the end of slavery. Black citizens are threatened, and some beaten, if they choose the exercise their right to vote. Segregation is carried out in businesses and schools.
Synopsis
Sarah Jane and her parents lived in a small Alabama town in 1888. One day, she and her father noticed an unexpected train full of soldiers escorting a group of Apache Indians. They were on their way to a reservation after being held in Florida for the past two years. While her father was speaking with some of the guards, Sarah sees a young Indian boy escape. She decides to say nothing of what she saw because she feels that everyone has the right to be free. A few days afterward, the Apache’s translator, Mr. Wratton, comes to the farm in search of the missing boy and leaves empty handed. Sarah later finds the Indian boy, Sky, hiding in their barn, suffering severely from swamp fever. Her mother takes him to the house and she and Sarah nurse him back to health. Mr. Wratten learns that the boy has been found and decides to let Sarah’s family care for him until his health returns. Sky’s recovery is slow but he learns to respect the family that has helped him so much.
Tragedy strikes when the family’s cotton crop becomes infested with boll weevil. They are unable to pay their debt to the white man that threatens to take over their farm. Sarah finds a carpentry job for her father, who is a skilled craftsman, making desks for an all black school. The debt collector gives them thirty days to pay before he takes over the farm. A few nights later, the Knights of the Southern Order of Manhood threaten to destroy Sarah’s home and all of the wood to make the desks. Sky helps to defend his new family by scaring the group off with arrows. The time to pay off the debt was quickly approaching, but workers were now scared for their lives and no one came to help with the desks. Sky mysteriously dissapears for a few days and brings back Mr. Wratten, along with several Apache Indians, to help finish the project. Through this group effort the job was finished on time and the farm was saved. Sky decides to stay with his new family and hope is restored to Sarah Jane’s family.
McKissack bases this story on her own family history. Her great-great-great grandfather was a Native American who married an African American woman. I found the mix of these cultures fascinating. Both races had suffered so much from prejudiced thinking and fought so hard to stay free. I enjoyed having this story told through the point of view of a child. It was interesting to see her perspective as the nation was trying to redefine itself. Because the difficult topics of this book were handled truthfully yet tactfully, I highly recommend it to young readers wishing to more fully understand this difficult time in our nation’s history.
Language: 2 common swear words and one instance of profanity
Violence: A description of the many ways an elephant can kill a human. A rogue elephant knocks Nick down and almost tramples him. A Japanese soldier hits Indaw with a rifle and kicks Mya. There are two dead bodies lying in front of a home, one has been decapitated and the other, Mya’s father, has been beaten to death. A Japanese soldier is executed (beheaded) for killing Mya’s father. Indaw and other Burmese are taken behind the house and beaten. Bukong uses his cane to maintain order and control. He hits anyone who opposes him or makes him mad. The Japanese colonel hits Bukong with his own cane. An elephant attacks a man and then other men attack the elephant. Some animal kingdom violence. A Japanese captain orders a Burmese house burned for no reason and he hits an old man with a stick. POWs threatened with execution if they try to escape. Captain Moto hits Nick, Mya and Hilltop with his baton and threatens them with his sword. An elephant flips a jeep over and it kills Captain Moto, then the elephant gores Bukong with his tusk, killing Bukong. The elephant is shot at and two Burmese are shot and killed.
Sexual Content: Bukong, who is at least 40, plans to marry Mya, who is 12. He touches her face and favors her. She is repulsed.
Adult Content: Before WWII breaks out, Burma is governed by the English, but many Burmese resent the English and want to govern themselves. This leads to many of the Burmese welcoming the Japanese invasion. The Japanese are generally portrayed as brutal and violent, with one exception being Captain Sonji. Nick’s father is sent on a long march to a POW camp. The POWs are treated very poorly with barely enough food to keep them alive and basically no medical attention.
Synopsis
When Germany bombs London, Nick Freestone’s mother sends him to Burma to be with his father and ride out the storm of the war in Europe. But almost as soon as Nick arrives in Burma, so do the Japanese. The teak plantation his Father’s family has owned for generations is turned into a base for a Japanese air field, Nick’s father is sent to a POW camp and Nick becomes a prisoner in his father’s house. A daring escape liberates Nick and his friend Mya from their captors, but then they must brave the Burmese jungle on elephant back and dodge Japanese soldiers in order to rescue Nick’s father and Mya’s brother.
We read this book aloud as a family and everyone liked it. My husband and I did find ourselves doing a lot of explaining about the Burmese/Enlgish relations before the war and then the Burmese/Japanese relations after the invasion. There are nuances to that subject that children will not understand because of their limited life experience. We also spent time discussing the current positive relationship the US has with Japan.
Author: Ted Bell (New York Times Bestselling Author)
Ratings Explanation
Language: A few common swear words and two derogatory uses of the name of deity.
Violence: Nick, Kate and Gunner are threatened to be electrocuted by a security system if they continue to trespass. A sailor is ordered to be sealed in a torpedo tube of a submarine and launched to his death. Several instances of death and injury occur during a battle between two ships. Sailors are killed or injured by cannon balls, guns and swords and the victims are seen laying on the deck or heard moaning and screaming in pain. Before the battle, the ship’s decks are covered in sand to absorb any blood that would make it slippery. A sailor’s severely injured leg is amputated and thrown into the sea. Nick finds an injured sailor bleeding from both ears. Nick sees another sailor fall on the deck that has “a small fountain of blood bubbling at his belly.” One sailor sits on the deck drinking the last of his rum with only half of his face still intact. Sailors on both sides of the battle are described as “wanting at each other’ throats”. An evil pirate cuts off the end of his own tongue and swallows it to show Nick how sharp his dagger is. The pirate’s dagger is shot out of his hand along with three of his fingers. He goes crashing to the deck below. The arm of the evil pirate captain is cut off and Nick sees the fingers on the stump still twitching. Nick is cautioned to beware of the pirate captain’s bird because it could peck his eyes out. A Nazi doctor aboard the sub tells Hobbes that he is a horrible surgeon but a great interrogator while flashing a scalpel. Hobbes dreams that this crazy doctor cuts out his tongue. The eccentric submarine captain shoots his escaping assistants as they try to swim back to their U-boat. Their blood pools in the water which attracts sharks which finish them off. The captain thinks he is leaving Hobbes and young Kate behind to suffer death by electrocution.
Sexual Content: The pirate captain cannot be found and is suspected to be “sporting with his captured English filly”. He is later said to be sipping tea with his English mistress. Nick finds the woman a prisoner, chained up with “long deep red curls falling over the creamy white silk of her dress and bosom.”
Adult Content: Nick’s father goes against government wishes by being on the look out for the suspicious activity of German Nazis in the waters surrounding his light house. He is later sent a letter telling him that he no longer has a job as light keeper and must move. The submarine spying on them is an experimental Nazi U-boat. It’s captain is short tempered and displays erratic behavior. His assistant, a doctor, uses torture as a method of extracting information. An evil pirate captain kidnaps children and holds them for ransom in the dark dank depths of his ship. Most of the men in the story smoke as a means of relaxing. Alcohol is consumed by sailors as well as by Lord Hawke and company for dinner.
Synopsis
Twelve year old Nick McIver and his younger sister Kate live on an English island in 1939, shortly before WWII. Their father is part of a spy ring that is on the look out for suspicious activity in the waters around their lighthouse. The English government is in denial that another war could possibly be coming and has warned all spying to cease. Mr. McIver is found out and sent a letter relieving him and his family of duty at the lighthouse. Nick’s parents immediately head to London to sort things out leaving their children in the care of an old family friend named Gunner. Meanwhile, Nick and Kate discover a strange chest on the shore near their home. With the help of Gunner and a reclusive neighbor, Lord Hawke, and his assistant Hobbes, they are able to open the chest and discover a beautifully crafted gold ball along with a note inside. The note is from Nick’s ancestor, a sea captain living in 1805. It explains that the gold ball is actually one of two time machines in existence and that he is in desperate need of help. Nick, Gunner and Lord Hawke head to the past to aid the captain. There they find Billy Blood, a common enemy and owner of the other time machine. Blood has kidnapped Lord Hawke’s children and taken Nick’s dog in hopes of obtaining both time machines. This evil pirate has also kidnapped several other children from wealthy families throughout time and is holding them for ransom money. Before it’s all over, the two ships engage in an intense battle leaving Blood with only one arm and fleeing off somewhere in the past or future. After returning all of the children to their families, Nick returns home to find that his sister and Hobbes have had an adventure of their own. They had been captured while trying to deliver secret documentation concerning sightings of a German U-boat. To their surprise, they become the U-boats prisoners. Through careful planning and a lot of acting they persuade the captain of the German sub to return to the island. Hobbes uses the captain’s ego against him and captures the U-boat in a secured lagoon. English government officials are notified and come to inspect the submarine. In the end, the two young heroes, Nick and Kate, are congratulated and reunited with their family.
This book was a fun sea-going journey from beginning to end and certainly satisfied in the adventure department. I enjoyed the characters and found the mix of Nazis and pirates a great combination for some very suspenseful moments. Although this book was written for readers ages 9-12, I thought that the battle sequences and threats of torture by scalpel were a bit intense for the younger reader.
Violence: The Trojan War is described as a bloody field of battle. Odysseus remembers soldiers screaming as they died, and swords and battle-axes crashing into their shields. The Cyclops eats two of Odysseus’ men. Odysseus and his men plunge the burning point of a spike into the Cyclops’s eye, blinding the Cyclops. Circe changes Odysseus’ men into swine. Scylla, a monster, snatches six men into his jaws. Odysseus’ ship sinks in a terrible storm and every member of the crew is lost except Odysseus. Odysseus becomes a prisoner of the Goddess Calypso for seven years. Odysseus kills Antinous with an arrow to the neck, he gags and falls to the ground. Odysseus kills all remaining suitors arrows.
Sexual Content: Beautiful women, the Sirens’, sing a song so lovely that any man who hears it is drawn to them–and to his death.
Adult Themes: Odysseus and his men persuade the Cyclops to drink wine until he is drunk. Odysseus travels to Hades – The Land of the Dead! The aggressive suitors torment Penelope by eating her food, staying in her home, and demanding she choose a new husband.
Synopsis
King Odysseus leaves his wife, Penelope, and his infant son, Telemachus, behind in Ithaca, while he fights in the Trojan War with another Greek King, Menelaus. They fight against the people of Troy for ten years! Odysseus misses Penelope and Telemachus dearly. When the war finally ends, Odysseus begins his journey, his odyssey home to Ithaca. Odysseus finds the journey home to be more difficult than the war as he encounters Cyclops, Greeks Gods and Goddesses, sirens, and monsters. He finally arrives home and battles Penelope’s aggressive suitors.
My 4th grade son, Ansel, recommended I read this book. Ansel devoured this simplified version of “The Odyssey” in an evening. An interesting read, with easy to understand explanations of Greek Mythology as well as great background information about the author, Homer.
Title: Stop That Bull, Theseus! Myth-O-Mania Book Five
Author: Kate McMullan
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Theseus battles Sinis, a troll. Sinis is catapulted through the air to his death. Theseus then battles Sciron, a giant. Sciron kicks mortals to their death from a cliff into the sea, where they are caught in the jaws of a turtle. Sciron belly-flops off the cliff onto the turle’s back. The turtle swims Sciron out to sea, to his death. Procrustes is a mortal and a murderer. He runs a hotel and insists on tucking his guests to sleep. He declares “Our beds are just the right size for You!” He ties his guests to the bed and wields an ax to make them fit on the beds. If the guests are too short, he stretches them and then chops them up. Procrustes proclaims that he got such a bang out of murdering that after a while he quit wrestling so he could whack full time. Procrustes is snapped to death in a collapsible bed. A trap door springs open and the bed disappears into the black hole, with a faint splash. Queen Medea tries to poison Theseus with wolfs bane. She does not want Theseus to usurp her son’s position as the next King of Athens. Theseus vows to kill the Minotaur. He and thirteen Athenian youths are sent as a tribute to the Minotaur. The tributes are not eaten by the Minotaur. They are new wrestling partners for the Minotaur to train with. Theseus forgets to take down the black sails as he returns to Athens. King Aegeus jumps to his death when he sees the black sails.
Sexual Content: ”Zeus was into building a dynasty, which means he married dozens of beautiful goddesses, nymphs, and mortals so he could have hundreds of good-looking gods, goddesses, and heroes as descendants.” Aethra and Poseiden spent a few wild evenings together in Troezen and then they married. King Aegeus came through town and Aethra began to flirt with the king. Aethra jilted Poseidon for King Aegus. Unbeknownst to them, Theseus is really Poseidon’s son, and not King Aegeus’s son.
Adult Themes: Pre-marital sex - Poseidon and Aethra. Aethra then commits adultery with King Aegeus, while still married to Poseidon.
Synopsis
Zeus’s version of the myths is completely wrong. Greek Mythology is finally set straight by Hades, King of the Underworld, as he reveals the true story.
Hades, King of the Underworld, is asked by his older brother, Poseidon, to keep an eye on his son, Theseus. Theseus is extremely forgetful. Theseus and Hades travel from Troezen to Athens. Theseus encounters and defeats three bullies on his “road trip” to Athens. When Theseus arrives in Athens, Queen Medea tries to poison him. Theseus then travels to Crete to battle Asterius, the Minotaur. He finds the minotaur does not want fresh meat to eat, he wants fresh meat to wrestle. Unfortunately, Theseus forgets to change the ship’s sails from black to white on his return to Athens. When King Aegeus sees the black sails he commits suicide, thinking Theseus has been slain by the Minotaur.
My 4th grader insisted I read and post this book. He LOVED it! This is an entertaining read, although more violent than I would prefer. I thought Procrustes’s use of the ax was intense for a 4th grade level book.
Violence: A maid servant is beaten within an inch of her life for oversleeping. The prince kills a sentenced man in front of Ella, in an attempt to show his power and win her affections. As Ella approaches the refugee camp, “screams of anguish and terror” come from the battle grounds.
Sexual Content: Ella describes the power of persuasion through pillow talk “when coupled with a kiss and a breathing whisper and the rest of what men and women do in bed.” Ella says her father was blinded to her step-mother’s faults because of his “desire to touch her skin, caress her body, join his to hers.” There is mention of different privileges for married women than for virgins. Ella is threatened to comply to marry the prince or be “taken care of” by a sentenced rapist.
Adult Themes: Ella’s religious teacher suffers a stroke or heart attack during a lesson and nearly dies. He “fouls himself” after passing out. Religion is talked of as a formality. Brief comments on the sufferings of war. Citizens living on the country’s borders loose their homes and farms to the destruction of war. Ella is imprisoned to weaken her will and force her compliance in marrying Prince Charming. She is fed occasionally, only a bowl of thin gruel with weevils.
Synopsis
A twist on a popular fairy tale whisks Ella off her feet to live in the Charming castle after winning the prince’s affections (without magic) at a ball. As she prepares for her upcoming wedding, Princess Cynthiana Eleanora, as she is now called, is surrounded by tutors and advisers that teach her the proper way to think and behave. Ella quickly becomes uncomfortable with this restrictive, royal life and longs to have some freedom. After suffering ill health, Ella’s religious teacher is replaced by his son Jed. Ella finds Jed refreshingly honest and real and decides to confide some of her feelings to him. He in return tells Ella that his greatest desire is to create refugee camps for those left homeless from their country’s war. As her wedding day quickly approaches, Ella realizes that she does not love the prince and decides to break off their engagement. The prince doesn’t take this well and Ella is thrown into prison until she agrees to the marriage. Meanwhile, Jed is finally given permission to start his refugee camp when palace advisers suspect a relationship forming between him and the princess. After days of torment and starvation, Ella escapes the dungeon by digging her way out. She discovers that Jed is at the battle front and decides her best bet at living a free life is to study up on her agricultural and medical skills, making herself a valuable asset that the refugee camp cannot refuse. Days of travel bring her to the country’s border where she finds Jed. He immediately professes his love to Ella, but she is unsure that this is really what she wants. After agreeing to work at the camp for a while, Ella eventually discovers that Jed is her one and only true love.
What girl doesn’t dream about living happily ever after. The author gave this fairy tale a creative spin by using self initiative instead of magic to decide the heroine’s fate. I did find Ella hard to connect with. I never felt really drawn into her plight. I think the author focused too much on the power of feminism rather than developing believable characters. I also thought that some of the sexual content was too mature for some young readers that might be attracted to a fairy tale story.
Language: As Hattie is milking, the cantankerous cow slaps Hattie’s face with her tail. Hattie slaps the cow back and practices a curse word she heard on the train. Hattie thinks, “There was no Aunt Ivy to recoil in horror at my language and, truth be told, there is nothing like the occasional outburst of profanity to calm jangled nerves.”
Violence: Violet the cow, is attacked by a wolf while grazing. Hattie rescues the cow from certain death. However, the wolf makes off with Violet’s tail. An arsonist set the Mueller’s barn on fire because Karl was born in Germany. A lawyer, Mr. Ebgard, is ruffed up by members of the Council of Defense because he wrote a letter defending a minister preaching to his German congregation in German.
Adult Themes: Prejudice prevails against German Americans during World War I. The Flu Epidemic of 1918 claims the life of Perilee and Karl’s young daughter, Mattie. Hattie helps deliver Perilee’s baby. Hattie ties off the cord, thumps the baby on the back and tries not to be too alarmed by the amount of blood as she cleans up the birthing room.
Synopsis
Hattie Here-and-There, a sixteen year old orphan has been shuttled from one relative to another throughout her life. When given the opportunity to go west and prove up on her late Uncle Chester’s homestead claim in Montana, Hattie courageously begins her journey. Hattie’s best friend, Charlie is ”Fighting the Kaiser” in Europe during World War I. Hattie and Charlie correspond and detail their separate adventures.
When Hattie arrives in Montana, she learns to brave the elements, build fences, milk a cranky cow, cook edible food and nurture her neighbors. Hattie is befriended by Perilee Mueller, her German born husband, Karl, and their children. For the first time, Hattie feels at home. She learns the real definition of home. Hattie finds the strength to stand up to Taft Martin and his gang of rowdies, the “Council of Defense”, who make life difficult for anyone of German descent during World War I.
I devoured this Willa Cather-esque book! I was enthralled with Hattie’s determination as she assumed her late Uncle Chester’s homesteading claim and the many tasks required to “prove up” the claim. I found the history of hardship for Americans of German descent during World War I fascinating. Kudos to Kirby Larson for a well-written story based on her great-grandmother’s homesteading experience as a sixteen year old girl. I look forward to reading more of Larson’s work. A great read for 4th-8th grade readers.
Violence: Two men try to kidnap the main characters in the book, but Milligan, a quasi-body guard, shoots the men with tranquilizer darts. Several children engage in a fight, including kicking, hitting, and shoving. Once again Milligan shoots some of the children with tranquilizer darts.
Adult Themes: All of the children in the book are alone, some are orphaned and some have been abandoned. The antagonist in the story uses these children in his diabolical plot to take over the world. One of the children in the story lies and falsely accuses another child of making him cheat in school.
Synopsis
Reynie Muldoon, an 11-year old orphan, responds to an unusual ad in the newspaper addressed to “gifted children looking for special opportunities.” He and 3 other children complete and pass a series of non-traditional tests that qualify them for a secret and dangerous mission. Together the 4 bright and resourceful children constitute the Mysterious Benedict Society and are tasked with bringing down the evil Mr. Curtain and thwarting his plan to take over the world. Each member of the society has unique talents that are essential to the success of their plan, but learning to rely on each other and working together to accomplish their assignment is not as easy as it seems.
After an enthusiastic recommendation from my 12-year old daughter, I tackled this nearly 500 page book. Overall I quite liked it, although the length may discourage some young readers. A fun story of kids outsmarting the evil adult, it reminded me of Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett. The book also brings up some meaty discussion points like messages in the media, abandonment, loneliness, and putting yourself at risk for the benefit of others.
Violence: Melanie is attacked by a man in the dark and held at knife point. On Fire World, Fire Tasters burned Walking Flowers alive and ingested the smoke as their nourishment. Eight humans surround Wanderer/Melanie “slavering for blood.” Jared backhands Wanderer/Melanie with force enough to slam her into the rock floor. Ian wraps his hands around Wanderer/Melanie’s throat in an attempt to strangle her. Jared, Ian and Kyle take turns beating one another repeatedly throughout the book. Doc kidnaps souls “…and mutilated, dismembered, tortured bodies, ripped into grotesque shreds.”… to learn more about them. Jamie breaks Jared’s nose. Melanie/Wanderer punches Jared after he kisses her. Kyle attempts to kill Melanie/Wanderer and she ultimately saves his life. Wes is killed by a Seeker. At Wanderer/Melanie’s request, Jared hits Wanderer in the face with a rock and scrapes a few layers of skin off.
Sexual Content: Sensuously described passionate kissing between Melanie, a 17 year old female and Jared, a 26 year old male. Sensuous kissing and groping between Jared and Wanderer/Melanie and Wanderer/Melanie and Ian. Ian implies that Wanderer ought to experience sex while she is living a human life. Homosexual reference, one man to another, “But if you try cuddling up to me tonight…so help me, O’Shea.”
Adult Themes: Melanie attempts suicide by jumping down an elevator shaft. She does not die, but is severely injured. Wanderer/Melanie nearly dies of dehydration and starvation in the desert. Euthenasia: Walter, a human suffering from cancer is given a morphine overdose and dies. Wanda decides to sacrifice herself so Melanie can have her body back.
Synopsis
Wanderer, an invading “soul” with seven past lives, has been given Melanie Stryder’s body. A human body – the host body. The unseen souls (aliens) have been invading human bodies in a covert war with the human race. A soul is a small silver centipede being that is inserted at the base of a human neck, where it connects its many legs to the human host’s brain and body, thereby controlling the host body and ultimately causing the human within to disappear.
Wanderer finds her host, Melanie, does not disappear. Wanderer infiltrates Melanie’s memories in search of the whereabouts of the human resistance. Melanie exposes Wanderer to her memories of human love and desire. Wanderer finds that she also yearns to be with this man she has never known. Melanie and Wanderer unite in a dangerous journey to find Jared and Melanie’s younger brother, Jamie as they traverse the unforgiving desert of the Southwest. Wanderer is conflicted as she is forced to choose between the human race and her native race.
The Literate Mother received a specific request that this book be read and reviewed. I had to slog my way through the first 130 pages. The author spent too much time describing the setting of the story and then finally the story began. This book is Meyer’s first foray into writing expressly for adults. This novel may be popular with science fiction fans. “The Host” ultimately questions, “What is our definition of a relationship?” After the unhealthy relationships exhibited in The Twilight Series, this would seem to be a natural course for Meyer’s to explore. As an Arizona Resident, I enjoyed the descriptions of the Sonoran Desert and Picacho Peak. This book would be appropriate for a high school aged reader, if they were captivated by the story. I was not.
Violence: Animal kingdom violence. Bear kills a rabbit by sinking his teeth into its neck (it ends up being a dream), bear kills 3 seal cubs, mother bear is killed by orca whale, bears kill birds and rabbits to eat, bears attack each other over territories. A bear attacks a zookeeper. A bear, who is a shape shifter and turns into a boy, is shot and wounded.
Adult Themes: All three bears in the story are orphaned or abandoned and must make their way alone in the world. Toklo has a sick brother named Tobi. Toklo resents him because their mother gives Tobi all of her attention and because he slows down their progress. When Tobi dies their mother looses her senses. Thinking that Toklo is also dead, she tries to bury him. When she realizes that Toklo is alive, she chases him away and abandons him.
Synopsis
Seekers: The Quest Begins follows 3 young bears separated from their families as cubs. Navigating the dangerous world on their own is no easy task, but they all receive help along the way and also learn to help others. This is the first in the Seekers series.
We read this book aloud as a family and it took a REALLY long time. No one seemed to be very interested in it. Some books just aren’t written to be read aloud and perhaps this is one of them. I don’t plan on reading any more of the books in this series, but if your child really likes animal stories they just might enjoy this book.
Violence: Amy and Dan are physically attacked by cousins also searching for the clues. There is an explosion while Amy and Dan are in a tunnel, they are trapped, but escape. While driving a boat they crash into a larger ship, are knocked unconscious, taken on board the larger ship, and later thrown overboard. Amy and Dan are held at dart gun point by their cousins Ian and Natalie. There is another explosion. Ian is knocked unconscious and Natalie is hit with the tranquilizer dart.
Adult Themes: Amy and Dan break into a hotel room and steal a clue, jumping out a window to escape. They also steal a recipe from a monastery, which they mistakenly think is a clue, but later return it. There is a short conversation at the beginning of the book about whether they will stoop to the dastardly deeds of their rivals to get the clues. They decide that if they really want to win, they will have to play hard ball.
Synopsis
Amy and Dan are on the hunt to collect the 39 clues that will lead them to the Cahill family secret and fortune. This time they are in Austria and Italy searching for clues from Mozart’s life. Their ruthless cousins are still trying to win the contest as well and will stop at almost nothing to get ahead.
I liked the first book better than this one. It felt like this second book was cutting corners and details in order to keep the book short. But, all in all, a fun series for kids with very minimal content to worry about. The violence is brief and non-graphic. Both my 6th grader and 4th grader like the series and my 1st grader has just started the first book. This would be a fun series to read aloud since the books are short and fast paced.
Language: Aunt Elinor curses often. “Elinor swore a lot, and the more upset she was the worse her language became.” The only words mentioned specifically are “damn” and “bloody hell” and one instance of diety. Elinor is also referred to as a “fat woman” (offensive language in my house).
Violence: The villains are from the middle ages. They use brute force first and may or may not ask questions later. Dead roosters are their calling card. They infest the hills surrounding their village base with venomous snakes. People condemned to death are put in a crypt under the church to die. Tires are slashed. Capricorn’s henchmen shoot shotgun rounds at the escaping prisoners. While Elinor is driving the escape car, she collides with a stone wall. Farid is bitten by a marten (a furry creature) and his finger bleeds profusely. Farid hits Flatnose in the forehead with a rock and knocks him unconscious. Mo is bitten by a dog and his sleeve is covered in blood. Eleanor holds a shotgun to Basta’s head and threatens to kill him. Flatnose and Basta are gagged, tied up and the left in the hills. Basta uses his knife to slit throats and gash faces. Dustfinger’s face is scarred by Basta’s knife. Basta cut a pattern into Dustfinger’s face when they both fancied the same girl. Dustfinger pulls a knife on Mortimer. Flatnose puts his hand over a woman’s mouth to keep her quiet and she dies. Farid snares a rabbit and kills it. Farid recalls beatings by the thieves, “they beat me like a dog”. Tresa and Dustfinger are held captive in dangling nets. Meggie and Fenoglio are kidnapped by Basta and Flatnose. Capricorn threatens to wrap “pretty little vipers” around loved one’s necks, he threatens, “You all love something…”. Capricorn seeks the submission of all. The Shadow submits to Capricorn. The Shadow is immortal, invulnerable and as pitiless as Capricorn. The Shadow kills many. An execution is planned and they hope the executioner is good with the sword so it will be over quickly. Meggie kicks Basta in the shins and he drags her back up the stairs by the hair. Dustfinger has the opportunity to kill Basta and he nearly takes it as he runs the knife over Basta’s flesh. Elinor punches Cockerell and bloodies his nose. Mortimer a.k.a. Silvertongue hides in a shallow grave with skeletal remains.
Sexuality: Capricorn refers to Meggie as a “pretty little thing” that will come in handy when she is a bit older. Capricorn has women read out of books by Darius to take care of his needs. Basta likes to use snakes to scare women who reject his advances.
Adult Themes: Capricorn was subjected to abuse as a child. “His father, a blacksmith, made him play with hot coals, and sometimes beat him as hard as he beat the iron he forged. There were more blows if he said ‘I can’t’ or ‘I’ll never do it’.” Arson. A trusted authority figure, a policemen, brings escaped prisoners seeking help, back to their captor, Capricorn. Inkheart is rife with betrayal.
Synopsis
The book’s title is Inkheart “because it’s about a man (Capricorn) whose wicked heart is as black as ink, filled with darkness and evil.”
Meggie is twelve years old. She and her father, Mortimer, have been constantly on the move since she was three years old. Mortimer is a book binder. They are both avid book lovers and voracious readers. Curiously, Mortimer has never read to Meggie aloud. One night, an old acquaintance, Dustfinger loiters under the street light in front of their home. He is invited inside and therein begins the adventure for Meggie. The trio of Dustfinger, Mortimer and Meggie travel to great-aunt Elinor’s to hide. Mortimer is found and taken captive by the villains. Meggie, Elinor and Dustfinger then travel to Capricorn’s hide-out to convince him to free Mortimer. Meggie’s eyes are opened to her father’s mysterious talent. When Mortimer reads aloud, the story escapes from the pages of the book, and is transplanted into their world. Meggie soon discovers that she also possesses the gift. Meggie discovers how to use her imagination to save her family.
“Inkheart” the movie will be released Friday, January 23rd, 2009. The movie will no doubt pale in comparison to the book. They always do. However, if the movie is 2/3 what the book is, it will be a fantastic movie! The bags under my eyes are ENORMOUS today, after reading this book into the wee hours of the morning. The adventure was captivating! I was disappointed by the survival of two of the villians, Basta and Mortola. However, their existence is a perfect segway into a sequel.
FYI: Inkheart was first written in German and then translated into English. The writing style is superb. As a lover of the printed word, I found the inclusion of book binding history to be fascinating.
1/27/09 We saw the movie last night and the plot drastically departs from the plot in the book. My husband, children and I all enjoyed the movie, but it is very loosely based upon the book’s premise. My children were surprised when I outlined the differences and now they would like the book read aloud to them.
2008 Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award Winner
Rating Explanation
Language: The word “blanged” is used as a cuss word in the book.
From the book, “And me and all’em other little nigg–”
“I didn’t even get the chance to get the whole word out. I never saw it coming”
Violence: After the above exchange, Mr. Leroy backhands Elijah across the mouth. He blacks out for a second. The preacher rescues a black boy at gun point who is basically a slave in a carnival. A woman learns through a letter that her husband, who was still a slave in the U.S., was accused of stealing and then beaten so badly that he died. Elijah’s mother relates the story that when she was a girl, her mistress took her on a trip to Michigan. When she comes back and tells her own mother how close she was to Canada her mother hits her three times for not trying to escape. She tells her daughter, “If you gets another chance and don’t take it…or die trying…I swear, girl, I’ll kill you myself once you get back here.” The preacher shoots and beats up a fellow inhabitant of Buxton, then leaves him for dead. Brief description, after the fact, of the preacher being beaten and tortured. He is left hanging by his arms in the barn after he is dead.
Adult Themes: Many issues involving slavery. Slaves in the U.S. trying to escape to Canada. Some are caught and taken back to their masters. While it is illegal to have slaves in Canada, slavery is still practiced in the United States. Several families in Buxton are separated because the father or mother has escaped and is trying to earn the money necessary to buy the rest of their family out of slavery in the U.S. Runaway slaves are chained up in a barn. They have shackles on their hands and feet and are naked. The preacher in the story asks Elijah to deceive his parents and sneak out with him late at night to go to a carnival. He is also dishonest with Elijah when dividing fish between them. He eventually steals a significant amount of money and nearly kills a friend.
Synopsis
Elijah is the first child born free in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of former slaves not far from the American border. He is a “fra-gile” boy who is gullible and given to crying, but he is also honest, kind and, although he doesn’t know it, brave. Elijah’s friend is saving money to buy his family out of slavery in the south, but when someone steals that money Elijah must track down the thief. On his own, he discovers that he is “growned” and can handle the most difficult of situations.
This is an exceptional book. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing which brought Elijah and the other inhabitants of Buxton to life. His humor is priceless, “It sounded peculiar at first, but if you started thinking like you didn’t have no common sense at all it seemed like Cooter’s put it all together real good!” and there are many life lessons, “Let this here be a lesson to you. You caint let your wantings blind you to what’s the truth. You always got to look at things the way they is, not the way you wish ‘em to be.”
This book allows young readers to become more acquainted with the issues of slavery without being too intense. The focus of the story is Elijah, how he grows up, and the adventure he is drawn into. But at the same time we learn about others who have escaped a life of slavery and those who have tried to escape, but were unsuccessful. Some of the lessons in the book will be lost on younger readers and they will just enjoy the story, but for those a little more mature, they will learn that the price of freedom for some is great and for others it costs all.
Amazon lists the reading level as ages 9-12. I agree with the reading level, but I think that an older child would learn more from it. I wouldn’t recommend it for my 9 year-old, but I want my 12 year-old to read it.
Title: The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff: You Wish
Author: Jason Lethcoe
Ratings Explanation
Language: Only one reference to “Profanity Production” in the Curseworks Factory. “In spite of the heavy walls, Ben blushes when he hears the foul curses that were emanating from the room.”
Violence: Ms. Pinch raises her hand to Ben as if to strike him and stops at the last minute. In one of the footnotes a factory worker flies a chair after too much drinking at the pub. He ascends three thousand feet and his body is never recovered. Simon Spinchley is turned into a spider. There is a scaly, dragonlike monster the Curseworks Factory has built. During the battle sequence, hideous creatures screech curses, which emit a horrible green acid that burns. The fanged jaws of a creature crack the windshield. Many of the flying chairs crash during battle, and death is imminent. The Jinns swing giant scimitars like sickles through the Spider Monkeys. Ben is shot by a magical curse-covered arrow. He is immediately in agonizing pain as the liquid fire courses through his veins.
Adult Themes: Ben’s parents die in a plane crash. He recalls how great his life had been before he became an orphan. He recalls being told about their deaths. Ben misses his parents terribly. He finds himself in an orphanage under the watch and care of cruel adults. Later in the story, Mr. Thornblood, the President of the Curseworks Factory, who has a history of being very manipulative, slyly tries to persuade Ben to give his wish to him.
Synopsis
Benjamin Bartholomew Piff is an orphan. Ben he has been living for the past year at “Pinch’s Home for Wayward Boys”, a dilapidated orphanage managed by the cruel spinster, Ms. Eliza Pinch and “The Disciplinarian”, and cook, Mr. Roach. Ben plots his escape and is foiled. Ben then receives a cake from his kind case worker, to celebrate his 11th birthday. Ms. Pinch snatches the cake from Ben and Mr. Roach locks the cake in the refrigerator. Later that night, after Ben has spent hours scrubbing pots with a toothbrush, he unlocks the cake from the refrigerator, lights the candles and makes a birthday wish….and follows the rules for Birthday Wishing:
1. The wish must be made with the eyes closed.
2. Every candle on the birthday cake must be blown out in one breath.
3. The wish must never, ever be spoken aloud.
Ben wishes for the most dangerous wish of all…unlimited wishes. He is thrilled with his clever wish, until he learns he has completely disrupted the fragile balance in the magical realm of wishes and curses. Ben is then recruited by the Wishworks Factory President, Candlewick, to be trained for battle against the Curseworks Factory and their evil army of henchmen. The battle ensues as Wishworks fights to regain power.
The old adage, “Be careful what you wish for…. ” is brought to life in “The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff You Wish”. This story will interest 4th – 6th grade readers as they read on their own. Please don’t forget to read the hilarious footnotes! The book’s gem, “Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge”.
National Honor Book/2003 Newbery Honor Book/Printz Honor Book
Ratings Explanation
Language: Two of the words of profanity used throughout the book mean nothing to us, but are future words of profanity. “Crotting” which means anything to do with “eejits”. The other,”Eejits” are people, clones or animals who are injected with a drug that blunts their intelligence or have an implant in their brain. They are not considered human. They can do repetitive tasks, but cannot think for themselves. ie.)If the eejits are not told to drink water, they will die of thirst. There are minimal references to the Country of Opium as hell.
Violence: Matt as a six year old child breaks a glass window and climbs out. Matt’s foot is sliced open. He is taken to the Alacran Mansion, where he is gently cared for until they realize he is a clone. Matt is then thrown out of the house onto the lawn and left for the day until he is discovered to be El Patron’s clone. Matt is then locked up. There is no bathroom. He tries to urinate quietly and the bucket tips over. Rosa threatens to kill Matt. Rosa takes his clothes, the bathroom bucket and slowly starves Matt. Rosa has sawdust thrown into the room – deep litter. Matt throws an orange at Tom’s face. Tom shoots Matt with a pea shooter. Rosa is turned into an eejit when Matt is found malnourished with a skin condition. Matt and the bodyguard, Tam Lin come upon a dead man lying in the field, a worker, who died of thirst. The eejit is left in the field like a piece of trash. Tom unsuccessfully tries to drown Maria’s dog, Furball. Tom uses laudunum, which is opium dissolved in alcohol to kill Furball. Furball’s death is blamed on Matt. Tom takes Maria and Matt to the estate’s hospital where McGregor’s clone is strapped to a bed, writhing in pain. His eyes and liver have been transplanted. When the eejits die, they are turned into compost to fertilize the opium fields. Felicia unleashes a venomous tirade to Tom how she wants to kill Matt. Matt discovers the eejit pens, where they sleep in filth. The eejits are exposed to carbon dioxide from the wastelands on still nights and are commanded to sleep in the fields, so they don’t die. The army of bodyguards consists of wanted international criminals. Tam Lin, El Patron’s personal bodyguard, was a Scottish Nationalist who accidentally blew up twenty kids on a school bus, instead of the Prime Minister and Prince Charlie in London. Matt tries to escape when El Patron has a heart attack and needs a new heart. Matt is tackled by a guard and strapped to a bed. Matt is poisoned by Celia with foxglove and arsenic to make his heart too unstable to transplant – which saves his life. Matt barely escapes the Farm Patrol into Aztlanos, formerly Mexico. Fidelito recounts his parents being killed by the Farm Patrol’s stun guns. The orphans are beaten for not producing enough each day. They are fed plankton feed, which makes the boys sick and gives them skin conditions. The Keepers are drug addicts and traffickers of laudunum. Matt is beaten by a keeper and he and Chacho are thrown into the boneyard to die. El Patron dies and determines that a toast to him be made at the wake with a special wine he has saved for the occasion. The wine is poisoned and kills everyone but Tam Lin, Mr. Ortega, and Celia who decided not to toast the old man. They are all buried with El Patron. El Patron worshipped the Pharoahs of old, who were buried with their possessions.
Sexuality: Tom, a vicious boy, who torments Matt, is the son of a competing drug lord, MacGregor. While Tom’s mother, Felicia, was married to El Patron’s great-grandson. Felicia ran off with Macregor, only it didn’t work out because El Patron doesn’t like people taking his possessions. El Patron had Felicia brought back to the Alacran Estate. However, Felicia’s husband, Mr. Alacran, did not want Felicia back. El Patron didn’t care. Felicia was the Property of El Patron. Rosa has a lover, Willum the Chief Doctor for the Alacran Household. Maria, the young daughter of Senator Mendoza sneaks food to Matt and spends the night in the locked room.
Adult Themes: Human beings are cloned for transplants, or to be workers in the poppy fields. The minds of the clones are destroyed at birth. The coyotes who smuggle Mexicans into the U.S. and vice versa lead the illegals straight to the Farm Patrol in the country of Opium, where they are injected and turned into eejits. The eejits are essentially slaves to the Country of Opium. The boys in Aztlanos are all orphans of parents who have been turned into eejits, while searching for a better life in the U.S. or Aztlanos. The orphans are kept as slave workers by the Border Patrol in Aztlanos.
Synopsis
One hundred years from now, Matteo Alacran’ will be harvested. Matteo is a clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord. El Patron is the undisputed ruler of a new country called Opium, which lies on a narrow strip of land between what was once Mexico and the United States. Matt’s first cells grew and divided in a petri dish. The cells were then placed into the womb of a cow, where Matt grew from a fetus into a baby. Matt is now like any other boy, except those in Opium do not consider him human. He is considered a monster, an “eejit”. Celia, a cook for El Patron, cares for Matt. El Patron loves Matt, because Matt is El Patron. In fact, Matt is the eighth El Patron clone to be born. The other seven have been sacrificed for El Patron. Their youthful organs transplanted into El Patron to enable him to live for nearly a century and a half.
Matt struggles to understand his existence. El Patron lavishes a privately tutored education upon Matt. Matt’s perspective of the world changes as he sees the cruel reality of Opium. Matt is continually threatened by the evil, power-hungry family, friends and army of bodyguards who surround El Patron and his amassed property. They are all El Patron’s property. Matt’s only chance of survival is to escape from the Alacran Estate in Opium. His escape from Alacran is no guarantee of freedom. Matt discovers his intense desire to live as he confronts adversity.
Ironically, the day I began reading this book, I was stung by a scorpion hiding in the sheets of my bed as I drifted off to sleep – one of the perils of living in a desert. Farmer’s plot was innovative and intense. This is one of the most powerful and thought-provoking books I have read. The story is a coming-of-age story that weaves today’s ethical, scientific, political and socioeconomic issues into an amazing tapestry that becomes a powerful story of survival.
Violence: The story of Harry’s parents death is recounted. Cousin Dudley is cursed with a pig’s tail. A troll sneaks into Hogwarts and creates havoc. Harry and Ron attempt to rescue Hermione and take on the troll. Ron puts a spell on the troll’s club and it hits the troll on the head which knocks him out. A baby dragon nips and bites fingers. A three-headed monstrous dog scares Harry, Hermione and Ron and almost bites off Professor Snape’s leg. Harry is nearly killed playing Quidditch, as he falls from the sky. Hermione puts a “full body bind” spell on Neville and he falls to the floor. A large plant, “Devil’s Snare” nearly suffocates Harry and Ron to death. The Chess Queen knocks Ron unconscious with her stone arm. The most chilling and violent scene is when Harry comes upon Voldemort, a “slithering shadow” as he has just killed the innocent, a unicorn. Harry sees Voldemort lower his head over the wound in the animal’s side and drink its blood. Harry encounters Voldemort again, who has taken over Quirrell’s body as they wrestle for the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Adult Themes: Harry is grossly neglected by the Dursley’s. Age old battle of good vs. evil. The evil states there is no good vs. evil, only power and those too weak to see it.
Synopsis
Harry Potter is an orphan. His parents were killed by the evil villian, Voldemort, while he was still a baby. Harry is unaware of who he really is. Professor Dumbledore leaves Harry, as a baby, on his relative’s doorstep, where he spends the first eleven years of his life living with his aunt, uncle and cousin. The Dursley’s treat Harry horribly. He is neglected. He sleeps in a tiny closet at the bottom of the stairs. On Harry’s eleventh birthday, he is hit with a barrage of letters informing him of his acceptance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His life changes as he attends Hogwarts and discovers who he really is – a famous child whom Voldemort could not kill. Harry makes friends and enemies as he learns about the world of wizardry. Harry has a chilling encounter with Voldemort as they vie for the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Each year, an entirely new group of children are introduced to reading the Harry Potter Series. Ansel, my fourth grader, and I read this together aloud in a week’s time, by alternating paragraphs. (Grab that glass of water.) I found myself tempted to open the book while he was still at school. This first book whet the appetite of both my young readers. Unbeknownst to me, my first grader, Helena was often listening while playing in the same room. We are currently reading book two aloud and Helena persistently asks when we can read the next chapter. I believe I am now locked into reading the entire series aloud. This first book was action packed and I thoroughly enjoyed Rowling’s sense of humor.
{FYI: I have an unofficial tally of “orphan” hero’s and heroine’s in literature…..add this book to your own personal list.}
Violence: Two fights involving men punching, kicking, etc. One fight in which teenagers are involved.
Adult Themes: In the story, two boys become friends. One is adopted and the other one, at age 13, finds out that he was also adopted. He is very upset when he discovers that his parents have lied to him about this fact for his whole life.
Synopsis
Chip and Jonah are normal 13-year old boys. They play basketball and do their homework together and they are both adopted. When they both receive mysterious letters about their past, they become involved in a cover-up so big that the FBI is involved. Chip and Jonah and Jonah’s sister Katherine are in a race to solve the mystery before they lose everything they have ever known.
This is the first book in a new series by Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of the Shadow Children series.
My 11-year old is a big fan of the Shadow Children series and so she was very excited about this new book coming out. We both enjoyed it and it is always fun to talk with your child about a book you have both read. It’s a page turner.
Violence: There are gory battle scenes in which many die. A one-on-one sword fight to the death. People are shot with arrows, beaten up, and burned. Enna and her brother have the ability to set things on fire at will. They both burn the opposing army during separate battles.
Sexual Content: A couple of innocent kisses. Enna has bathed and is wrapped in a blanket while her clothes are drying, a leering soldier comes in and pulls her blanket off. Luckily someone else enters the tent before he can harm her.
Adult Themes: This ability Enna has is overpowering. She feels an incredibly strong desire to burn things, and is sometimes unable to control herself. She tries to set her best friend on fire, but her friend is able to stop her. I think it is disturbing that this young girl could have such a terrible and destructive power inside of her. She tries to use it for good, to aid her own army, but in the end it almost kills her.
Synopsis
Enna Burning is a companion novel to Goose Girl and focuses on the life of Enna, Princess Isi’s best friend. Although this book can stand alone, it is useful to have read Goose Girl for background information.
Following the death of her mother, Enna and her brother Liefer live alone in the forest. Liefer discovers an ancient vellum that contains the secret to a great power. With this instruction, Liefer learns to start fires without help from wood or flint. In a heroic effort he burns an invading army in battle, but the fire consumes him as well. After his death, Enna seeks out this same gift and develops it. She also uses it to save Bayern from an opposing army, but finds that it is harder to control than she could have ever imagined. In an effort to survive, she and Isi travel to a far away kingdom where fire-worshippers live. Together they learn to control their separate gifts and balance the elements.
I read Goose Girl about a year ago with my kids and absolutely loved it. This book I liked much less. It seems heavy and sad most of the time as Enna battles with herself. There is romance and betrayal and rich characters, but for me, not one of my favorites.
Violence: The main characters are caught in a fire started by an arsonist. Three people are assumed dead after an explosion, characters are in peril, there is some fighting.
Adult Themes: The main characters are orphans and then their grandmother dies. They feel abandoned and alone.
Synopsis
Amy and Dan Cahill are members of an extremely large and powerful family. At their grandmother’s funeral they and their cousins are presented with a choice to either take one million dollars right now and walk away, or begin a treasure hunt for 39 clues around the world that could lead to the world’s greatest treasure of wealth and power.
The Maze of Bones is the first in a ten book series that will follow Amy and Dan and their greedy cousins around the world searching for the clues to the treasure. Readers can also collect game cards and participate in the treasure hunt online at www.the39clues.com. Book number 2, One False Note, will be available December 2, 2008.
The Maze of Bones is a fun, clean adventure for kids. The violence is minimal and non-graphic and the story clips along. For any kids who have been to Paris, it will be fun to read about familiar landmarks there. Ben Franklin enthusiasts will also enjoy learning some lesser known facts about him.
Violence: Dracula and other vampires attack people to drink their blood. The following history is reported in a matter-of-fact manner. The Real Dracula, known by historians as ”Vlad the Impaler” was a cruel leader who impaled his victims on a long, sharp pole. He also burned people alive, pounded nails through their heads and chopped them to pieces. Countess Bathory’s gruesome history is also recounted. She lured young girls to her castle. She then sliced them open and bathed and drank their blood in her perverse obsession to achieve youth and beauty.
Adult Themes: Vampires attack and kill humans and various gruesome ways to die are recounted.
Synopsis
This book has a synopsis of Bram Stoker’s tale, “Dracula”. A biography of the author, Bram Stoker, is included, as well as a chapter about the supersitions of vampires and the undead. There is also an informative chapter on vampires in film and the final chapter is a history of bats, “vampire bats“.
The historical approach to Dracula and the history and superstitions that surround him provide an interesting read and would be great to use as a reference for a research paper on Vlad the Impaler.
Violence: Johnathan is held hostage at Castle Dracula in Transylvania. Three female vampires attempt to attack Johnathan. Johnathan escapes by climbing down from the tallest tower at Castle Dracula and is injured. Dracula bites Lucy three times and turns her into a vampire. Dracula, in the form of a wolf scares Lucy’s mother, Mrs. Westenra, literally to death. Lucy bites a little boy’s neck. Silver stakes are then used to stab Lucy, the three female vampires and Dracula to death.
Adult Themes: There are a few vampire attacks, people turn into vampires after three attacks and a mother dies of fright.
Synopsis
Johnathan, a young lawyer from London is sent by his employer to Transylvania to deliver ownership papers to Dracula for a property purchased by Dracula in London. Johnathan is then held hostage by Dracula at the castle. Johnathan faces three female vampires who come to harm him. He is rescued by Dracula. Dracula is saving Johnathan for himself. Miraculously, Johnathan escapes and returns to London to find that Dracula and the other vampires have taken a ship to England. The vampires begin to attack the locals. Dracula turns into a wolf and scares Lucy’s mother, Mrs. Westenra and she dies of fright. He then turns Lucy into a vampire and attempts to turn Mina into a vampire as well. Lucy attacks a little boy. She drinks his blood. Van Helsing, Johnathan and Dr. Seward try to save Mina, who has been attacked by Dracula. They save her and plunge a silver stake through the hearts of all the vampires while they are sleeping in their coffins.
This book is rather detailed in vampire attacks and chilling for a fourth grade reader. After reading this book aloud with my ordinarily brave fourth grader; he has been sleeping on the floor in my room for the past three nights. This is a scary story, not appropriate for every fourth and fifth grader.
Language: 3 swear words, in addition, the word “crevasse” used twice to mean “ass”
Violence: A boy dies while climbing a skyscraper. Climbers die while climbing Mount Everest. A porter slashes a yak’s throat and sleeps in its carcass so he won’t freeze to death.
Sexual Content: Peak, the boy telling the story, explains that he was conceived in a 2-man tent in Yosemite Park.
Adult Themes: Peak’s parents are divorced and he almost never sees or hears from his father. As they get to know each other, their relationship is often strained when Peak’s expectations of his father are not met.
Synopsis
14-year old Peak Marcello is in big trouble. When he is caught climbing the Woolworth Building in New York City, his mother makes a deal that will keep him out of jail. But the deal includes Peak leaving New York and his family to live in Thailand with his famous mountain climber father, Josh. What Peak and his mother do not know is that Josh is planning for Peak to become the youngest climber ever to summit Everest. As Peak becomes aware of his father’s plan, he wonders whether his father truly loves him or whether he is using him for more publicity and fame for himself.
Climbing Everest is TOUGH, but Peak is ready for the challenge and he learns many life lessons as he climbs the world’s highest mountain.
We read this book aloud as a family and both parents and children loved it.
Violence: A man smashes a girl’s arm against the wall. A man changes into a wolf and kills men by ripping out their throats. The wolf is killed with arrows.
Sexual Content: A very brief account of a Lord getting a commoner with child and then abandoning them. Two girls are worried that a group of men will take advantage of them. A man takes his clothes off in front of a young girl – there is nothing sexual or explicit in this scene. He shows her that he can change into a wolf. A girl takes her clothes off in front of an army. Again, nothing sexual or explicit in this scene. It is an act of submission.
Adult Themes: A father locks his daughter and her maid in a tower for 7 years because the daughter refuses to marry the man he has chosen for her.
Synopsis
Lady Saren refuses to marry the man her father has chosen for her so he locks her and her maid, Dashti, in a tower for seven years. During their imprisonment they struggle against cold, stifling heat, rats and hunger, but when Saren’s favored suitor visits he brings them hope and laughter. Unfortunately, he does not come to rescue them as he promised. The arrival of Saren’s other, unwanted suitor brings fear and darkness to the two girls. Their struggle to escape and then to survive results in many changes in both young women.
This is an original retelling of the classic tale from the Brothers Grimm.
I know I’ve read a really good book when, a few days after finishing it, I am still thinking about it. This is the case with Book of a Thousand Days.
When a famous Vermeer painting is stolen, two precocious sixth graders are on the thief’s trail. Petra and Calder are new at being friends but soon discover all the things they have in common. They both love art, adore their 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Hussey, and favor blue M&Ms. Following clues and identifying uncanny coincidences brings them closer and closer to solving the crime and solidifies their friendship.
What a fun mystery!I was drawn into the story immediately. This is a great read for kids who like a good mystery with basically no objectionable material.
Title: Evangeline Mudd and the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle
Author: David Elliott
Illustrator: Andrea Wesson
Ratings Explanation
Violence: Dadoo, a reformed headhunter, in the Ikkinasti Jungle shoots a poisonous dart at Rexi, the villainous developer, which causes him to behave in a strange manner. The Golden-Haired Apes imprison Evangeline’s parents for months. Her parents are brachiated through the jungle by the Golden-Haired Apes. There is a description of the Ikkinasti Spitting Spider, who blinds and then eats its prey.
Adult Themes: Dadoo is a reformed headhunter, who displays his trophy heads by hanging them from the ceiling in his jungle hut. Evangeline is left for months at an extended relative’s home. She is neglected and depressed with her situation.
Synopsis
Evangeline Mudd is the daughter of Merriweather and Magdalena Mudd, primatologists whose expertise is the Golden-Haired Apes of the Ikkinasti Jungle. Evangeline has had an unusual upbringing. She learned to brachiate while still a young child, that is to fly through the trees like a primate. She is also an extremely gifted piano player and composer.
Merriweather and Magdalena are asked to come to the Ikkinasti Jungle for a special research project. Unfortunately, there are only two travel visas. Evangeline is left behind with a distant relative of Mr. Mudd. Cousin Melvin Mudd owns a mink farm/fur coat company. His wife is the famous former ballerina, India Terpsichore, who is apparently consumed with “not letting herself go….”. The combination of this self-consumed couple leads to homesickness and loneliness for Evangeline as a two week stay stretches in a multi-month stay. Evangeline is rescued from the selfish duo by another famous primatologists, Dr. Aphrodite Pikkaflee. Dr. Pikkaflee and Evangeline head to the Ikkinasti Jungle to rescue Merriweather and Magdalena Mudd with the help of Dadoo, a reformed headhunter. They encounter Golden-Haired Apes, Ikkinasti Spitting Spiders and Rexi Pikkaflee, the villainous developer.
A fun read. A delightful and engaging tale for a young chapter book reader. There are great illustrations to help keep your reader focused. I anxiously await a sequel.
Violence: Alex is in peril for most of the book. He is caught in a car crusher, almost blown up in a booby trap, chased by men on 4-wheelers trying to kill him, shot at with a flamethrower, threatened with a knife, and physically attacked several times. Alex sees a man shot in the head at point-blank-range. Alex defends himself with karate. He shoots a man in the hand with a gun.
Adult Themes: There is a bio-terrorism plotto kill school children in England.
Synopsis
Alex Rider is a 14-year old spy for the British government. He happens into this unconventional situation when his uncle dies in a mysterious car crash. Alex soon discovers that the crash was no accident and that his uncle was definitely not the banker he always told Alex he was. Recruited by the government to finish his uncle’s last assignment, Alex is thrust into the dangerous life of a spy. He discovers the deadly plot, but will he be able to get the information to the government before time runs out?
This book came highly recommended by my 15 year old nephew and my 11 year old daughter. I think I enjoyed it as much as they did! It is an exciting story with lots of fun in it too, especially Alex’s great spy gadgets. There is some violence in it, as explained in the Rating Explanation, however, it is not graphic and I was relieved that Alex didn’t kill anyone. Alex is a very likable character and what 14 year old boy doesn’t want to be a spy? I recommended this book for 6th grade and up, but I am fine with my 5th grader reading it.
Violence: Jen, Luke’s new friend, is a key leader in an underground movement to make shadow children, third children legal. Jen and her fellow shadow children demonstrators are gunned down in a political rally as they peacefully demonstrate for their legality. The violent incident was not witnessed by the main characters, but retold by Jen’s father to Luke. The Population Police search for illegal third children in Jen’s home and Luke desperately hides to avoid execution.
Adult Themes: The society in which the Shadow Children live is governed by a militaristic government. Third children are illegal and are executed for their existence. The country has faced famines in recent history. In order to control the toll starvation has had on the population, they have outlawed third children. There are always food shortages and people live in fear that yet another right will be taken away. Luke’s parents have their farmland taken away. The government clears the land to build mansions for the Baron’s, the wealthy class in society. Luke’s mother takes a job in a chicken factory to make money to buy food, since they will no longer be allowed to raise swine due to the smell’s proximity to the Baron’s homes.
Synopsis
Luke is an illegal third child. He has never been to school, never been in a car, had a birthday party, never seen by his grandparents. Luke is one of the Shadow Children. He has lived his first twelve years in hiding. A new housing development is built on his family’s former farmland. He sees a girl’s face in the window in the middle of the day and is convinced that she too is a third child. He courageously sneaks out to meet her. Jen is willing to risk it all, her very life to come out of the shadows and live. Luke learns about other third children and a plan is conceived to expand rights to the shadow dhildren.
I really enjoyed the premise – a society where rights and privileges that we take for granted do not exist for the characters in the book. I could not wait to see where the story would lead me through the series.
Violence: Like in the Lightning Thief, the characters fight and kill many mythical monsters. The characters are almost always in peril, but they always escape. There are battle scenes and sword fights.
Adult Themes: Characters are children of Greek god and human unions, but in this book these relationships are talked about much less.
Synopsis
Percy Jackson is off on another quest with his friends in the second book of the series. Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson, Percy’s newfound cyclopes half-brother, go to the Sea of Monsters to save Grover from Polyphemus and steal the Golden Fleece. The quest for the fleece is actually given to Clarisse, but she needs their help to defeat the Cyclopes and return to save Camp Half-Blood.
I actually enjoyed this book better than The Lightning Thief. Gratefully, it seemed much less like a Harry Potter knock-off than the first book.
In reading both books I realize how much Greek Mythology I have forgotten. They have been a fun refresher course in who’s who in Olympus. The story moves along quickly, always with a new foe on the horizon. I like the surprise ending in this book and will be glad to read #3, The Titan’s Curse. I am going to recommend these books to my 9 year-old son.
Violence: Main character is kidnapped during a robbery and held hostage. Captors discuss killing her. She is hit on the head, her hands are tied, she is blindfolded and the captors threaten her with a knife.
Synopsis
Kaci’s family has just moved into a new neighborhood when she comes home early from school one day to discover intruders in her home. The robbers kidnap her and her nosy, retired neighbor. With quick and clever thinking and faith in a higher power, the two of them cooperate to escape their captors.
This is an exciting story full of resourcefulness. I enjoyed how the author included faith in the story. Kaci believes that God will help her get out of this very scary situation, and He does. Younger or sensitive readers may be frightened because the situation could easily happen in real life. But for those readers who love a suspenseful, dangerous story, this is a good one.
Violence: Mark, Luke’s brother is electrocuted by a live wire fence while trying to sneak into Population Police Headquarters. He is knocked unconscious and taken prisoner and then locked in a cage in the basement. A mob of starving people push a truck over in an attempt to locate food. Mark, a passenger, sustains a severely broken leg. A drive by shooting by food smugglers results in the smuggler’s corpses shown on tv, as a warning to other would be smugglers. A badly beaten prisoner is loaded into the back of a truck, the driver, Trey, is not sure if it is a corpse or a living human.
Adult Themes: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. As governing power changes hands casualties abound. An attempted coup by the shadow children against the ruling Population Police is a violent and courageous undertaking.
Synopsis
A crisis hits and the safety of all third-born children has been severely threatened. Trey, who is a brilliant intellectual, with very little real world experience has been thrust into a role as a pivotal decision maker, a role he is wary to play. Trey’s new role leads him to experience the danger of traveling to the Population Police Headquarters with Luke’s brother, Mark as they attempt to rescue Luke who is a prisoner of the Population Police. This nonstop adventure puts all three boys in danger and risks exposing the underground movement to help all shadow children.
The tempo of the series really picks up with “Among the Brave”, a suspenseful and gripping read.
Violence: Luke Garner assumes Lee Grant’s identity. Lee Grant’s younger brother, Smits starts a fire in his dorm room and blames his bodyguard, Oscar for attempting to kill him. A sledgehammer weapon is found in the door room as evidence. Lee Grant’s parents plan to stage Luke’s death. Smits and Luke then witness Mr. and Mrs. Grant and the president’s gruesome deaths.
Adult Themes: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. Mr. and Mrs. Grant and the bodyguard, Oscar sacrifice their moral and ethical responsibilities in favor of their personal and political agendas.
Synopsis
Luke Garner has lived among the barons for the last four months under the assumed name of Lee Grant. Luke, and illegal third child has spent the last twelve years in hiding. While attending Hendricks School for Boys, his
Luke Garner, an illegal third child, spent his first twelve years in hiding. For the past four months Luke has lived among others, using the identity of Lee Grant, at the Hendricks School for Boys. But just as things are finally starting to go right, Lee’s little brother, Smits, arrives at the school and Luke finds himself caught in a tangle of lies that gets more complex with every passing day.
Can Luke trust Smits to keep his secret? And can he trust Smits’s menacing bodyguard, Oscar?
Book four builds momentum in the Shadow Children Series.
Violence: Many mythical monster attacks in which all monsters are killed. Some of the monsters look like monsters and some of them are disguised to look like humans. Sword fighting and a vicious game of steal the flag.
Adult Themes: The main character’s father is an Olympian god, obviously not married to his mortal mother. Talk of adulterous relationships between Olympians and mortals. All of the main characters in the book are children from these god and mortal unions.
Synopsis
Percy Jackson, a 12-year old who is always getting into trouble at school, discovers he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He also finds out that his best friend, Grover, is a satyr. Grover takes Percy to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for the children of Olympian gods where they learn to fight the monsters that are trying to destroy them. Percy, Grover and Annabeth, daughter of Athena, go on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s stolen thunderbolt. In the process they discover a plot to destroy Western civilization and the Olympians. Their adventure takes them from Hades to Mount Olympus encountering many mythical gods and monsters along the way.
I enjoyed the story but it was impossible to overlook the many similarities to Harry Potter. For example, a young hero who doesn’t know his true identity, a special school for others of his kind, a purely evil power which has been destroyed but is once again gathering strength to regain power, certain names which it is unwise to say aloud, an important prophecy, a wise teacher and mentor, the list goes on and on.
I was really annoyed for the first part of the book, but I got over it and enjoyed the story for what it is. I find The Lightning Thief inferior to Harry Potter, but in all honesty my kids would probably love this book.
Sexual Content: Nina and Jason share a kiss. Nina believes their relationship is based on love.
Adult Content: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. Nina, an illegal third child, is turned in to the Population Police by Jason, her boyfriend, and undercover Population Police Informer. Nina grapples with Jason’s betrayal. While in prison, she is given the choice to either save herself by betraying her cellmates or face death. She ultimately trusts her cellmates and they escape prison together. However, while in prison, the children face starvation, includes a detailed description of hunger and filthy prison cell.
Synopsis
Nina Idi is a shadow child, the illegal third born in her family. She lives in a society where families are only allowed two children. Nina has been betrayed by the boy she loved. She is falsely accused, arrested and thrown into prison by the Population Police. Nina knows she is innocent of the charges. She is enraged and confused.
Nina is now faced with a most difficult decision. She will have to coerce three of her fellow prisoners into admitting they are third children, and she will save herself; or be killed. Ultimately, what choice will Nina make? Who should Nina friendship, trust and love?
Nina has been betrayed and is trying to heal her wounds. Nina has to learn to trust herself before she can again trust another. A thoroughly enjoyable read as Haddix accurately describes the emotions of love and betrayal.
Violence: Luke Garner is bullied and subjected to emotional and physical hazing as the new student at a boarding school. Luke hits Jason, the bully, with a textbook. As a reult, Jason falls down the stairs and is injured.
Adult Content: Lack of food for the population of the country is an underlying theme throughout this series. The existence of third-born children have been blamed for the people’s hunger. Luke Garner has a very difficult time trying to “blend in” and make friends. He desperately wants a friend. Luke ultimately befriends an undercover Population Police Informant, Jason, who is looking to expose illegal third children. Luke confronts Jason and a fight ensues. Jason sustains a head injury. If Luke were discovered by the Population Police, he would be killed for being a third child.
Synopsis
Luke Garner is out of hiding for the first time in his life. He has spent the first twelve years of his life in hiding. Luke is an illegal third child in a society where two children per family are allowed. If his secret were to be revealed, he would instantly be killed. Through an underground movement, he has assumed the name of a recently deceased boy, Lee Grant. Luke is now attending Hendricks School for Boys. He is terrified that his secret will be discovered. He is subjected to his classmates brutal hazing. His instructors are oblivious.
Luke is desperate to blend in. He unknowingly comes across an unlocked door to the outside. Luke will have to find the courage to go outside and find out what really takes place at the Hendricks School.
Luke learns to function in society. He is tested socially and academically as he learns to blend in. He finds that he is a very courageous person. This is an enjoyable story of personal success as Luke learns to overcome the many challenges he faces daily. Ultimately, his character is a catalyst for change throughout society.
Violence: Soldiers shoot arrows at characters but they escape. There is talk about a hanging. A fight between an elf and soldiers ends with one soldier killed. Dragon is killed with arrows while protecting his friends.
Adult Themes: Dragon drinks beer, gets drunk and has a hangover
Synopsis
Yorsh is the last elf on earth and he must find the last dragon to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Helped by human friends, Yorsh finds the dragon and learns about sacrifice and friendship.
I thought the book was a little slow at first, but it picked up and I ended up enjoying it.
