The Stowaway

R.A. & Geno Salvatore's The Stowaway is a part of the new Stone of Tymora series. One of the central characters is Drizzt Do'Urden, a dark elf who had his own series not too long ago. The Stowaway focuses on the life of Maimun. An orphan since birth, Maimun is plagued by the Stone of Tymora. Constantly on the move, Maimun is hunted by the demon Asbeel, who hopes to use the power of the stone for himself.

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REVIEW: Fun, exciting, and intriguing. The story is told in flashback fashion, reverting to the 'present time' in between phases of Maimun's life. A good style for its type. A good story filled with very interesting characters. Can't wait to read the rest of the series. 8/10

The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha

Caleb Dunne, slacker extraordinaire, coasts through life doing the minimal effort. His overachieving girlfriend, Vicky, has different ideas about Caleb's future though. She convinces Caleb to join a club based on the controversial book The Rule of Won. Caleb goes along with it, thinking the whole thing is just a big joke. As the club gains popularity, however, things start to get out of hand. Caleb realizes that the only thing worse than doing something about the new cult is not doing anything at all. But he soon realizes, stopping The Rule and it's followers won't be as easy as it sounds....

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REVIEW: A definite gem. Petrucha sheds light on the dangers of group thinking and how sometimes our inner desires can be taken a little too far, all with a twist of some delightfully dark humor. Excellent plot and characters. A marvelous read, definitely recommended. 9/10

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Part 2

The adventures of Vladimir Tod continue in this sequel to Eighth Grade Bites. As Vlad discovers more about his own powers, he begins to realize how much a part of both the human world and the vampire world, and yet how much apart. But his training won't come easy, not with a slayer in Bathory. And he might be closer than Vlad thinks...
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REVIEW: A remarkable book. Definitely upholds the story I sought as a sequel. Weaves a charming tale of a boy not quite sure where he belongs in the world, but still pulls through thanks to his friends and family. A good read for those interested in the winged and sharp. 10/10

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer

Vladimir Tod is a vampire hybrid living among the people of Bathory. His best friend Henry and his surrogate mom Nelly are the only ones who know. Since the death of his parents, Vlad has been on his own. But his father's legacy seems only to bring him trouble. It seems Vlad's father took something the vampires want back, and they'll do anything to get it....

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REVIEW: I absolutely loved this book. It's a gripping tale of a child struggling to live where he doesn't feel he belongs. A tale of friendship, courage, and most of all, family. A marvelous read. 10/10

Caught Between the Pages by Marlene Carvell

PJ Barnes is a high school slacker on the fast-track to nowhere. Everyone is on his case about getting his life in shape, specifically his English teacher Mrs. Jordan. After a mix-up with some papers, PJ ends up with Mrs. Jordan's personal notebook. He reads the journal, hoping to an easy A in his English class. What he finds startles him more than he anticipates, connecting him and Mrs. Jordan like PJ never expected.

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REVIEW: The book was a good example of a confused teenager trying to sort things out. Despite his torn apart family, PJ desires to do the right thing. I found the book an entertaining read and recommend if you are looking for a little something to pass the time. 6/10

More thoughts on The Book Thief

I stated before that this was and is one of the best fiction books I'd read in a while, and I stand by that. There were several things that struck me about this book; I want to talk about them a little bit here.

First, Death as narrator. An interesting idea, and one that I thought Zusak pulled off well. Death was quite a sympathetic character; one who didn't necessarily love his job, but didn't loathe it, either. I thought it interesting that when it came to adults, he would just as easily sling the soul over his shoulder to carry them, but children he always carried lovingly in his arms. It's not often to find an author that can portray Death as an interesting character; only two others spring to mind, actually. Piers Anthony did it well (and interestingly) in On A Pale Horse, and Neil Gaiman's portrayal of Death as a perky (yet at times insightful and downright snarky) goth chick in his Sandman stories/mythos certainly is one not to be missed.

The theme of the power of words really hit home with me, though perhaps I'm a little biased, being an English teacher and all. I found it interesting that Liesel's first act of thievery occurs when she is illiterate and dreams of meeting Hitler, yet as the book progresses and she becomes increasinly literate and intellectually driven, her understanding of Hitler's words grows and she begins to loathe him and the effects his words have on her immediate world and the world at large, reflective of Hitler's difficulties with (and loathing of) intellectuals of his time.

Anyone else? I've got more, but let's hear you first!

The Book Thief

A few weeks ago, I was sent a copy of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief for consideration for the book club. I spoke with the students about it, and we've agreed that it will be the featured book for the month of January, with the goal of having it read by January 16, so we can attend the Boulder Bookstore's Teen Book club meeting on January 16. I decided to cheat a little and read it over the holiday break; I finished it today.

The Book Thief is one of the best fiction books I've read in a while... it's absolutely worth the praise it's been given. I don't want to say a lot more about it yet because I don't want to ruin it for the students and staff who might read the book with us, but I will definitely post my comments up soon. For now, I'll just say that if you haven't read this book yet, I heartily recommend it... it's nothing short of amazing.