The BFG by Roald Dahl

Reviewed by: Bronwen, age 8 

I think you will love this book. It made me want to read more! It helps me want to be nicer to my siblings and family members.

Genre: Fiction

Setting: Giant Country and London, England

Introduction: A little girl named Sophie meets a friendly giant. He takes her to his home and she finds out that the other giants are much taller than her friendly giant. The other giants are also bullies who like to eat children. Sophie and the BFG try to trap the other giants so that they won't eat any more children.


Themes: Friendship, kindness, bullies, friends can be different

Recommended Age: 7-11

Rating: 5 stars

Other books : The Magic Finger, The Twits, The Witches, and    George's Magical Medicine, Matilda, James and The Giant Peach, and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Reviewed by: Bronwen, age 8

I love this book because it inspires me to read more. My favorite characters are Hermione and Harry because they are smart and brave. I like Dumbledore because he is funny and wise and intelligent. I hope you love this book.

Genre: fiction

Setting: present-day England

Introduction:

Harry Potter is a eleven year old  boy who lives  with his horrible aunt  and uncle, but one day, his life changes ...

Themes: family, bravery, smart is good, magic

Recommended Age: 8 and up

Full Disclosure: none

Rating: 5 stars

Other Books:  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Pottery and the Deathly Hallows

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This book was a good read. The message is very pro-family, if not family-appropriate. I can tell there was a

lot of research put into this book, and the trivia was interesting. The story had lots of twists and surprises, and the characters were well-developed. I would recommend this book highly to anyone over 15. There are also a lot of different elements in this book; Blogger wouldn't me put in all the labels that applied.

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Present day/ancient Russia

Introduction:

Ivan is a non-practicing Jewish boy in communist Russia. His family wants to go to America, so they pretend to be practicing Jews to get passports there. Before they leave, they stop at the home of their cousin Marek and live there until they can go to America. Ivan finds a mysterious part of the forest where there is a circular clearing of leaves, covering thin air and a sleeping princess on a pedestal, with some guardian rustling beneath them. Ivan flees, and the memory does not go away.
Now an adult in America, as well as a professional athlete, Ivan has a good life; he is engaged to a Jewish girl named Ruth, has a career in running and also archaeology. Ivan decides to go to Russia to write a comprehensive book on Russian legends, leaving his family behind until he can publish his book. While researching, he again finds the woods near his cousin Marek's home and the place from his childhood. Suddenly, Ivan finds himself fighting a giant bear, betrothed to a princess he doesn't want to marry, stranded in a land he knows next to nothing about with not even his clothes, and forced to prepare to battle a witch whom he has only heard of in legends.

Themes: bravery is more than not running away, know the meaning of true love, marriage is sacred

Recommended Age: 15 and up

Full Disclosure:

There are a lot of sex references and some nudity, as well as a sex scene (that describes the sensations rather than the actions, it's not completely graphic) and a near sex scene. There is also language.

Rating: 4 stars

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeliene L'engle

Reviewed by: Henry, age 13

A great book that has science and fantasy. I haven't read it in a long time, so I can't remember some, but I remember it was good. With cool time travel ideas, strange worlds, and interesting characters. This was my mom's favorite book as a kid, and she loved a lot of books. Read it.

Genre: Fantasy/ Science Fiction

Setting: Other worlds

Introduction:

A girl's father has not returned. He has not returned from a secret mission. They do not know if he's dead, because the government hasn't told them. He may still be alive. Meanwhile, she is living with her mother and brother. When three strange old ladies come into their lives and offer to help find their father, the girl and her brother follow them on an adventure they never would have dreamed of.

Themes: Family, kids, courage, 

Recommended Age:  9 and up

Full Disclosure: nothing I can think of

Rating: 5 stars

Other Books: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time

The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis

Reviewed by: Henry, age 13

The first in the Seven Wonders series, this book is for those who liked the Percy Jackson series. I only gave it 3 stars because I liked the story, but the writing itself felt juvenile.

Genre: Fiction

Setting: A mysterious island, present

Introduction:

A boy is having the worst morning ever when he gets hit by a truck. He wakes up in a hospital, where a man drugs him. He wakes up again in a crazy institute, where he learns that he has a genetic disease that will kill him without treatment. He also learns that he and the other three patients have to find magic things that will give them superpowers.

Themes: good vs evil, kid power, smart is good, ancient world

Recommended Age: 10-15

Full Disclosure: not very well written, but nothing objectionable

Rating: 3 stars

Other Books:  Lost in Babylon, Tomb of Shadows, The Curse of the King

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

Christopher Paolini wrote this book when he was my age. Now, I can claim to have written two (unpublished) manuscripts before turning 15, but Eragon is close to 600 pages (my manuscripts are about 100 pages each) and way better than anything I could write. He's a fantastic fantasy writer. I loved this book.

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Alagaesia, medieval period

Introduction:

When courier elf Arya is ambushed in the forest, she teleports her precious cargo a safe distance away. It is found by a farmboy named Eragon while he is hunting. At first believing it to be a large precious stone, he is surprised when the "stone" hatches and a dragon emerges. Eragon raises the baby dragon as best he can and forges a telepathic link with it. However, the dragon is growing fast and gets harder to hide, until Saphira (the dragon) carries him off and his house is attacked by mysterious creatures called the Raz'ac and burned, killing his uncle and destroying the farm. With the help of old storyteller and dragon expert Brom, Eragon sets out on a quest to find the creatures and avenge his uncle and gets caught up in a full-scale rebellion against their tyrannical king, who happens to be one of the last Riders and one of the most evil men in Alagaesia.

Themes: Power is within oneself, never underestimate your elders, bear your name well

Recommended Age: 11 and up

Full Disclosure:

This book has some unintuitive pronunciations, be sure to check the guide.

Rating: 4 stars

Other Books:  Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, by J. R. R. Tolkien

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This is a story about a little man who likes nothing more than to stay at home and live comfortably. Unfortunately the wizard has other plans. This book is good for all ages and can be read by younger audiences prior to introduction to Lord of the Rings, or read after Lord of the Rings and treated as a prequel. Both are classics.

Genre: Fiction

Time Period: Unspecified medieval period

Introduction:

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit. A hobbit is a short creature who looks human except for his height and his wooly feet. They also do not grow beards and their hair is always curly. They live in comfortable houses dug into hills (called hobbit-holes.) Bilbo is no exception; he lives in a rather nice hole and has a great dislike for adventures. One day a wizard called Gandalf arrives at his porch inquiring whether he should like to take part in a quest. Bilbo declines but invites him to tea, forgetting all about it until Wednesday when Gandalf is supposed to come. Being quite unprepared when someone he expects to be Gandalf arrives at his house, he is shocked to find that it is instead a dwarf. Soon more dwarves arrive and Gandalf with them, and Bilbo learns that the dwarves are on a quest, and that Gandalf has quite ignored his declaration that he does not wish to participate, and soon he is off on a journey to slay a dragon with thirteen dwarves, a wizard and a constant desire to be back in his hole and not attacked by goblins and wolves and trolls and a dragon and the like.

Themes: size matters not, don't underestimate yourself, don't invite strangers to dinner just because you've heard all about them

Recommended age: 10 and up, younger as a read aloud

Full Disclosure:

This book is a children's book and can be read to children under ten; however they probably will have trouble reading it themselves.

Rating: 5 stars

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

The Lord of the Rings is an epic saga about an unlikely hero and a band of questors who seek to destroy an evil ring. The book is imaginative and well written and a modern classic. It follows the adventures of four hobbits (short human-like people with hairy feet,) two men of high birth, a dwarf, an elf and a wizard as they fight orcs, wraiths, evil men and a vengeful degradation of nature intent on retrieving his precious ring at all costs.

Genre: Fiction

Time Period: Unspecified ancient period (Tolkien originally developed Middle-Earth to create a mythology for England)

Introduction:

Once upon a time, a hobbit named Bilbo went on an adventure. During this adventure, he was separated from his fellow adventurers and came across a creature called Gollum. Gollum was once a hobbit but had devolved beyond recognition. He possessed a magic ring, which Bilbo pocketed after finding it, and kept after Gollum found out and tried to murder him.

Years later, where the book begins, old Bilbo leaves his home after his 111th birthday, never to return, bequeathing all his possessions to his nephew Frodo. This includes the ring. Bilbo's wizard friend Gandalf explains to Frodo the origins of the ring: how it was forged by the dark lord Sauron, the war fought over it, and the powers it holds, and its evil nature necessitating its destruction, as well as how it fell into Gollum's hands and then Bilbo's.

Frodo leaves for the elven city Rivendell with three other hobbits (his devoted gardener Samwise and his two kinsmen Merry and Pippin) to hold council with Gandalf and Elrond to organize the quest to destroy the Ring, but along the way he is pursued by black agents of Sauron who cannot die...

Themes: size matters not, seek not for power, beware of lust/addiction/greed

Recommended Age: 12 and up

Full Disclosure:

This book is very long. The first part (about one-sixth of the book) is rather slow, but the action picks up after the council meeting, so don't give up on it before you finish the first volume. There are also many inconsistencies and continuity errors for canon-happy nerds to look for.

Rating: 5 stars

Other books: The Hobbit, The Silmarillion

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

This is a very good book with surprising turns and satirical and humorous absurdities (like the time period being set after America but before Europe.) If you have seen the movie (which is a classic movie) you will enjoy the book even more.

Genre: Fiction

Time Period: Fictitious medieval era

Introduction:

The story begins on a farm where Buttercup, the farmer's daughter, takes pleasure in ordering the farmhand, Westley, around. When Buttercup realizes that Westley loves her, she falls in love with him. However, he has no money so he goes to America to seek his fortune. When Westley is killed by pirates, Buttercup is forced to marry the prince, Humperdinck. However, before she can marry the prince, whom she does not love, she is kidnapped by a Sicilian and his two henchmen, a Turk and a Spaniard. But Buttercup and her captors are being pursued by a mysterious man in black who seems to best the trio at every turn, leaving Buttercup to wonder as to his true identity.

Themes: true love conquers all, death is but a door

Recommended Age: 11 and up

Full Disclosure:

The author presents the story as written by an S. Morgenstern, and the book as an abridgement of the original. There is no such book or person. Also, the author frequently breaks from the story to narrate the fictitious context of the story with excerpts from his fictional personal life, which may not appeal to some.

Rating: 4 stars