Puddlejumpers by Mark jean & Christopher C. Carlson

Wow, I really enjoyed this book. This is definitely one of the better books I have read this year. It reminds me a lot of of a really good bedtime story. It does a great job of balancing its fantasy with the thrill of very present danger. The villains are just described enough to be really creepy if you have a good imagination, and are just the right amount of bad, which means entirely bad. The heroes, an orphaned reprobate and a irascible tomboy, are in over their heads, and might not make it out alive as they try to stop the incarnation of evil. It sounds like fun doesn’t it?

Ernie Banks is an orphan who is constantly getting into trouble. He gets one last reprieve when he is sent to work on a farm instead of being sent to Juvenile Hall. Ernie isn’t a bad kid, just stubborn, fiercely independent, and loathes authority. No wonder he is in constant trouble, right? He has lived his entire life in an orphanage and only has a crystal acorn that he wears around his neck as a mysterious sign of his origin. Unbeknownst to him, Ernie is actually a participant in a war between Puddlejumpers and Troggs. Puddlejumpers are small creatures much like pixies or brownies, who live deep underground, care for mother nature, and can teleport themselves to the Up Above by jumping through puddles. Troggs on the other hand seek destruction, misery, and the enslavement of all puddlejumpers. Fortunately there can be an end in the battle between the two, because Ernie’s birth was actually foretold in Puddlejumper lore as a child who would be destined to journey to the heart of the Most Dark and make it rain. On top of all this Ernie will also face himself, and discover where he came from and where he belongs.

Like I said above, I really enjoyed this book. Another aspect I liked was that the novel deals deals with environmentalism tangentially, and never in a preachy or ham handed way. The environmental message is there (if you look for it) yet the story is never sacrificed to get this issue across. It’s more of a tacit suggestion. The book is appropriate for all ages, and would recommend it for everyone. It’s a great read.

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Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

What would you do if a meteor hit the moon and caused an apocalyptic climate change that left billions dead and forced you to survive in the world with no modern conveniences, such as heat, running water, or refrigeration? And did I forget to mention that everyone is out to protect themselves and just may kill you for your can of beans? Or that disease has run rampant and your loved ones may not survive against an onslaught of West Nile virus, and the deadliest flu in a hundred years?

These are the situations that Miranda, the main character who just wanted to enjoy high school, has to face in Life As We Knew It. The novel is written in diary form by Miranda herself. In the beginning she is just enjoying being a teenager, school, and hanging with her friends and wrestling with her feelings about her divorced parents and how her step-mom is expecting a new baby in a few months. Miranda mentions off handedly that a meteor is expected to hit the moon and how everyone is excited to see it occur. After the meteor impact the moon changes (it’s tilted and looms larger in the sky) and so does Miranda’s life. Immediately the ocean tides rage out of control flooding the coastal regions of the world. Volcanoes spring up where none existed before. It could quite possibly be the end of humankind. Fortunately, Miranda’s mother has the foresight to stock up on supplies (food, water, winter clothing). Miranda’s family decide to hole up at their house at the edge of town instead of migrating south like a large majority of people. But with four people in the house and chaotic weather patterns will they have enough to make it through winter? And even if they do, will civilization be waiting there for them? Or will they truly be alone and just forestalling their own extinction?

If you can’t tell I really enjoyed this book. It took me a while to get into the diary format but once I did the story became a real page turner. There is a lot of suspense, and heartfelt drama as this family struggle with surviving and surviving each other. It reminded me a lot of Hollywood disaster movies but better, since this story has real characters and situations that anyone could relate to. The book is appropriate for all ages, but would especially appeal to girls or anyone who is into disaster yarns.

Life As We Knew It has a sequel, The Dead and the Gone, about a boy surviving the same event, but in New York. I really can’t wait to read it and it has a lot to live up to!

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The Babysitter by R.L. Stine
5 stars

The Babysitter by R.L. Stine This book is way better than any of the Goosebumps series that R.L.
Stine wrote. It is about a girl name Jenny has recently taken a babysitting job for the mysterious Hagens. There are some weird babysitter attacked going on in her town, but the chances are slim of the attacker targeting her right? Well, that what she thinks until she meets the shadowy next-door neighbor, and the phone calls start. I think this is the book for people who like suspense and mystery. It is very hard to predict the future in this book, so you never know what’s around the next corner.

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Eragon by Christopher Paolini
5 Stars

Eragon by Christopher Paolini is about a young boy named Eragon who lives in a world of danger, war, and rebellion. While out hunting, he finds a stone which happens to be a dragon egg. It hatches and he names the dragon Saphria, and the two team up with Brom the storyteller. They must join they rebellion to defeat the evil king with danger around every corner. This is a perfect book for anyone who likes suspense.

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Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith

Who hasn’t dreamt of being a superhero? I have, and to be honest I still do. Yes, I am 29 and I daydream about being a superhero. But it’s all good because it only takes up like 75% of my day. I think I sleep and eat that other 25%… and work… and family… and read… and video games. How do I fit 150% of stuff in a 100% day?

Jeff Smith, the creator of Bone, has produced a wonderful new spin on the Captain Marvel mythos. Billy Batson is a young homeless boy who is called upon by the ancient wizard Shazam to be a force of good in the world. By saying a magic word, (Shazam!), he turns into the mighty superhero Captain Marvel. Although he has similar powers to Superman, I believe he is far superior because he has the heart and the outlook of a child. These new powers of Billy’s are put to the test when he comes up against the villains of Mr. Mind (an intelligent worm) and Dr. Sivana (a super genius that happens to be the Director of Homeland Security). He does have help along the way. He guide for this journey is the talking tiger Talky Tawny and his little sister who shares his powers Mary Marvel. He can also rely on the ghost of the wizard Shazam who resides in the Rock of Eternity (which is located before space and time!).

I really enjoyed this for a variety of reasons. First off Jeff Smith’s art is astounding. A color comic has never looked this good. I was entranced by how he drew the ideas from the book from many different religious traditions, while making everything entirely accessible to readers of any age. Another aspect of the book is how great the characters are. They all have internal struggles, that are externally expressed with great dramatic effect. Billy as Captain Marvel is at once a kid and an adult and must balance the two. Mary Marvel is a six year old girl with powers to match her brother, but she never loses her sense of fun. This book has great depth but yet is still relevant for the young or young at heart. Smith also adds in references to the our own world, our fear of terrorism and how our government has reacted. Although this could have been very preachy it really adds a new flavor to the story, and I think it works well as a representation of how a child would respond to the world we live in.

All in all, this is a fun read. If you like Bone, if you like superheroes, you’ll love this. Highly recommended for all ages.

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The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Richard Yancey

Alfred Kropp is a loser with a big head, yet he totally rocks. This book starts with Alfred being sent to live with his uncle when his mother loses the battle against cancer. Alfred is big for his age and doesn’t really excel at anything. He gets bad grades, kids make fun of him at school, and everyone keeps mentioning how huge his noggin is. Life couldn’t get much worse for Alfred, or could it? One night his Uncle comes home with a proposition, help him steal a sword from the office building where he works as a night watchman. His uncle is going to be paid a million dollars for the heist and offers to share it with Alfred in exchange for his help. At first Alfred refuses but his uncle threatens him with putting him into foster care. They eventually get the sword, but only after a sword fight with mysterious hooded monks. Plus the combination of the safe in which the sword was kept was Alfred’s own name. It seems that it’s all too much for Alfred’s big head to handle. But it gets worse. When Alfred and his uncle hand over the sword to the person paying them a million dollars, the dude immediately impales the uncle with the sword, takes the million dollars, and leave Alfred reaping the devastation.

It turns out that the sword is actually Excalibur, as in King Arthur’s Excalibur. And whoever wields the sword can conquer the world. When Alfred hears of this his heart just sinks lower and lower. First he stole a sword, then he gets his uncle killed, and now possibly the world. And this is just the beginning! Alfred tries to make up his failures by going on a quest to retrieve the sword. He encounters more hooded monks, knights of the round table, evil knights, a shadowy spy organization known as OIPEP, and even gets to drive really fast cars and shoot guns. The adventure takes him to Canada, Europe, Stonehenge, and eventually Merlin’s ancient secret lair.

This book has so much action in it. I couldn’t wait for the next chapter. Its a very exciting and humorous adventure yarn/coming of age story. At the end I absolutely adored Alfred and his ginormous head and am eager to read the second book in the series. Highly recommended. Appropriate for anyone 10 an up.

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H.I.V.E. : Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden

I am torn about this review. On one hand I really enjoyed this book, and on the other I mildly dissatisfied with it. H.I.V.E. is the first book in a series that follows young criminal prodigy Otto Malpense and his friends. They all attend a boarding school for potential criminal masterminds against their will, and vow to escape. The school, the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, or H.I.V.E, is much like a hidden lair of a generic James Bond villain, or even Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. This aspect of the book is very reminiscent of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter books. H.I.V.E. is a place of where the students learn the different aspects of being dastardly, such as espionage, martial arts, mad science, and even the embezzling of monies. Instead of a well wizened wizard as headmaster there is Dr. Nero, a nemesis in the vein of Dr. No, or another agent of S.P.E.C.T.R.E, who must balance caring for his students and continue to be a evil mastermind. As you can tell the book has a lighthearted tone where the instructors are tongue-in-cheek stereotypes of spy thriller baddies. And this is where things get dicey for me as a reviewer. H.I.V.E. is highly enjoyable and fun, with great action and shows great promise for the future sequels. However the novel spends more then half of the book on the children’s first few days in H.I.V.E. facility. The rest of the novel quickly covers months of their school year, to the point where I could easily picture the movie montage of elapsed time. Then all of a sudden you are thrust into the climax of the plot with a scant hundred pages left. Now the last hundred pages are all action, which does make up for things, but in the end you are left with the question of what was the point? Otto even ponders this himself towards the end, why put so much energy into escaping when there is nothing for him and his friends on the outside world.

So I have to call it like it is, H.I.V.E. is an exciting premise and I am already planning on reading the second book (which is already out). As a standalone novel it focuses too much on surroundings and characters instead of plot. But it is just those aspects that redeem it and make it a very good book for reluctant readers: it moves at a fast pace, is easy to follow, and leaves you wanting more. I would recommend this book for anyone 10 and up.

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