Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

Reading Level 5.2

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Fantasy

Pages: 344

This book was recommended and loaned to my by my 10 year old niece. It took me a while to finally begin reading it, but once I did, I was sucked into it. I barely cleaned or cooked for my family today. I read it in two days but could have done it in one if I didn't have other responsibilities.

This book is about a young girl who's parents run a museum so she is around ancient artifacts all the time. However, there is one very odd thing about her -- she can see curses. Being around a lot of ancient Egyptian artifacts means she runs across a lot of cursed items. This strange ability that allows her to sense evil and good in items throws her into an adventure she wasn't searching for of secret societies -- one searching for good and the other creating chaos. Both want her and her special gifts. What will she do? What does she decide?

This was a FANTASTIC book. As I said, once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. There were 2-3 minor curse words in it, though. Beyond that, it was a very clean book.

I rate it with 5 stars!!! *****

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Winnie's reviews: The Adventures of Loriel the Wood Fairy

Loriel is worried about Grandfairy Cyce . She hasn’t heard from her in a while. Loriel gets the news that Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by a goblin! Will Loriel ever see her again?

I liked this book because I love fantasy! My favorite part was when Padra (the house mouse) thought the dragon was going to eat him. There was a problem though. Some characters' names were similar to one another and the author sometimes used the wrong names on the characters. It was a bit confusing. For this reason I rate only 3 ½ stars.

Author: The back of the book flap reads, "I have always been a reader and I loved reading to my children as well as my grandchildren. I hope that comes through in my writing. Opening children's eyes to the world of books is awesome. Seeing their eyes light up to an exciting passage is so special. Computers are wonderful but holding a book and relying on your own imagination is special and individual to each one of us."

Linda's Review: Loriel's Grandfairy Cyce has been kidnapped by smelly goblins. She must figure out a way to rescue Cyce without putting Cyce in more danger.
This is a fun little story with cute pictures. I think some of the words could be difficult for children and not easy to figure out in context. However, great opportunity to learn to work a dictionary. ;) The story moves quickly and keeps the reader engaged. Occasionally, I had to go back and reread sections because I didn't catch it well the first time. That may have been me though. Overall, I'd give this book three stars. ***
It was fun! It'll be a fun read aloud to my children this year too.

Disclaimer: This was a complimentary copy of the book given to me in exchange for an honest review.

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Kids Korner: Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians

Genre: Auto-Biography, Children's Chapter Books, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Adventure

Synopsis: Warning: Librarians do NOT want you to read this book. By reading this book you will be open to a world the Librarians do not want you to discover. This is the actual, factual narrative of a young hero named Alcatraz Smedry who receives a bag of sand for his 13th birthday. (Insert "I've got a jar of dirt" jokes here.) However, this is no ordinary sand but a very rare type that is valued above all else. Alcatraz, like any Smedry would, lets it get stolen by the Evil Librarians. Adventure ensues, thrusting young Alcatraz into the world of the free kingdoms, becoming a hero, and trying to find out for himself just who he is. (This is the secret that the Librarians are trying to keep from us the Hushlanders. Our world, The Hushlands, is filled with lies and is controlled by the librarians. Just FYI. Keep it to yourself, trust me you don't want Librarians to know that you know.)

Review: This book had my kids, my husband and me laughing out loud constantly. Of course, none of us should be surprised that Sanderson once again did an amazing job in writing a book. My entire family loved this book and we were sad to return it to the library. So sad, actually, that as soon as we got home we ordered the entire set from Amazon. Go get this book now; really, go get it. If you don't you should be flogged with a large fish by a Canadian Moose.

Author: To the right is a picture of Alcatraz Smedry. (from book flap) "Brandon Sanderson is the pen name of Alcatraz Smedry. His Hushlander editor forced him to use a pseudonym, since these memoirs are being published as fiction.
"Alcatraz actually knows a person named Brandon Sanderson. That man, however, is a fantasy writer- and is therefore prone to useless bouts of delusion in literary form. Alcatraz has it on good authority that Brandon is actually illiterate and dictates his thick, overly long fantasy tomes to his potted plant. Count Duku.
"It is widely assumed that Brandon went mad several years ago, but few people can tell because his writing is so strange anyway. He spends his time going to science fiction movies, eating popcorn and goat cheese (separately), and trying to warn people about the dangers of the Great Kitten Conspiracy.
"He has had his library card revoked on seventeen different occasions."

Rating: FIVE STARS ***** (This was, of course, unanimous because this is one of the best written and entertaining books any of us have read in a long time.)

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Flashback Friday: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Genre: Fiction/Classic/Adventure

Review: Let me start by sharing that when I am asked "What is your favorite book?" This book is always my answer. I have read this one over and over and over again. I had watched the BBC Robin Hood Television show and wanted to learn more about what really happened. So, I found this book at the library and fell in love with Howard Pyle's novel. If you go into this book expecting the Hollywood stories, well, you'll be a bit surprised. I won't say disappointed because I LOVED it! It is just extremely different. It's a bunch of short stories of Robin's and his men's adventures. There isn't a single plot that flows through the whole story but many.
I loved Robin's personality in this. He's so carefree and laughs all the time. Only a few of the Hollywood Robins came close to portraying his fun-loving personality correctly. This is an awesome book and I recommend it to everyone. :)

Author:He was born on March 05, 1853 in Wilmington, Delaware and died on November 09, 1911. For more information click here.

Rating: ***** FIVE stars

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Flashback Friday: First Test (Protector of the Small #1) by Tamora Pierce

Fridays are my day to review books that are not new releases. There are a bunch of fabulous older books out there so, here is today's, published in 1999.

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Adventure

Review: In the realm of Tortall it was traditionally only males who became knights but after the Lioness had pretended to be a boy and became a knight, a decree was passed permitting females to become knights. Keladry of Mindelan becomes the first female knight in training. The boys give her a hard time and no one thinks she will make it through the training. Meanwhile, a war is brewing and Keladry must prove herself to help save Tortall.

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The Skin Map (Bright Empire Series Bk 1) by Stephen R. Lawhead

Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure

Review: Kit is an average Londoner who has average problems. He isn't really happy with anything in his life but nothing is horrible either. Then, after a series of very bad luck on the metro system or "tube" he bumps into someone he never expected to see -- his great grandfather. Of course, after doing the math the man should have been over 125 years old. Suddenly, Kit finds himself with his grandfather in another world in another time using the ley lines (dimension and time jumps). Together, they go on an adventure to find the skin map that is a map of the ley lines that has been tattooed to the skin of a fellow "Questor".

This was a fun read. The only problem that I had with it was the fact that I kept getting confused. There are quite a few characters and a lot of jumping in time and locations and I tended to get confused. I am also sometimes a bit ditzy so that could have something to do with it as well. Overall, this was a great adventure with plenty of suspense and humor mingled in it as well. To see the review on The Bone House (the sequel) click here.

Author:  Lawhead was born in Nebraska in 1950. His childhood was spent around the U.S. and then he later earned his degree in Fine Arts and spent two years in school for theology. He started full time writing in 1981 and has since written many books. He and his wife, Alice, live in Oxford England and he is father of two boys.

Rating:  **** Four Stars

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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The Bone House (Bright Empire Series Bk 2) by Stephen R. Lawhead

Genre: Fantasy-Adventure

Disclaimer: Imagine yourself on the 50 yard line of a football field. You are standing in the center of the field. Before you are four ropes with each end tied to the goalposts at each end of the field. In the center of these ropes is an impossible knot. You have to untie it. You can make out how the knot is shaped and even manipulate it a bit but without obtaining the beginning of each rope you cannot untie it. What are you feeling?

That is how about how I felt as I started this book. Before starting it I didn't know this was a sequel. I was tossed into the middle of an elaborate tale that was not written for the inattentive reader. Booksneeze has since rectified their mistake and sent me a copy of the first book, The Skin Map, which will be reviewed soon.

Review: After finding on part of the Skin map, in the first installment of the series, our traveler Kit Livingstone must quicken the pace if he is to restore the map of the multiverse. Along the way he encounters the dreadful Burley men as well as the astute and resourceful Mina, both of whom are fellow ley travelers. Unsure of where the map leads or the meaning of his quest, he only knows that he can't let the Burley men beat him to it. With flashes into the life of Arthur, The Man Who is Map, and side excursions into the beginnings of Archie Burley, the quest takes the reader to several exotic locations in a breathless attempt to reveal the secret of The Bone House.

Other than not having read the first book, The Skin Map, this book was an exhilarating read. Similar to coming up for air, I found the style of the novel to be so far above the drab novels that are so prevalent right now that it improved my outlook for the future of writing. With a vocabulary the rivals the SAT exam and college level spelling tests, Lawhead paints a vivid picture of not only the characters but also the environments which they visit.

While reading the picture that was painted was both enjoyable and clean. Although the method of time and space travel confused me, my own fault not the author's, I enjoyed the freshness of his vision. I cannot say that this will be enjoyable for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Note: If you do choose to read this book, be sure to read it in a distraction free zone. This novel reads so quickly that if you don't pay attention or reread then you will miss crucial elements.

Author: Lawhead was born in Nebraska in 1950. His childhood was spent around the U.S. and then he later earned his degree in Fine Arts and spent two years in school for theology. He started full time writing in 1981 and has since written many books. He and his wife, Alice, live in Oxford England and he is father of two boys.

Rating:  ***** Five Stars

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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