A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Read for: Banned Books Challenge
I’ve been meaning to read this book for a very long time. It’s been sitting on my night stand (where I keep my TBR in the next month pile) since September because I planned to read it for Banned Books Week. But I just never got around to it. But then a friend told me that I had to read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, but that I should probably reread A Wrinkle in Time first. So I finally picked it up. I remember loving this book when I was younger. In fact, I remember it as one of the books/series’ that made me love reading! I read it several times and loved it every time, but I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as an adult. But I did! I think I may like it even more now because I think I have a deeper understanding of the novel now.
I’m surprised that this book has been challenged/banned because it apparently has anti-Christian ideas. I found it just the opposite. I think it has very strong religious themes. People may have been offended by the “witches” and I’m not sure that if this book were published today it would have any problems with it. They have their hands full with all those evil Harry Potter and Twilight novels! 
There were a few things that bothered me about the book but I think it’s mainly because I am not the target audience. The pacing of certain events were a little too fast for me, with not enough character development but I know it’s perfect pacing for a younger audience. I think children need the story to happen faster, but they also have a better ability to accept the characters relationships without a whole bunch of lead-up.
I’m so glad I was able to enjoy this book as much as I did as a child and I can’t wait to reread the rest of the series. I also can’t wait until my oldest is mature enough to read it to him. I love reading to him my favourites from when I was young and I really hope that by doing this I can teach him to love reading and books as much as I do! 
(This is the cover of the copy that I had as a child.)
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Read for: Canadian Books Challenge
Why haven’t I read this sooner?! I loved the Silverwing books and somehow I just forgot about Kenneth Oppel. Then just last week I read a review somewhere (sorry, I can’t remember where) for the third book in this series and remembered that Oppel is Canadian and realized I’d better get on these books! I read this book in a day and I couldn’t put it down!
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on a luxury cruise ship but this cruise ship doesn’t float in the ocean, it floats over the ocean! From the first page Matt and the crew on the Aurora are in for some major adventure. And just when one mishap (or worse) seems to be just about cleared up, something else comes along to cause more mayhem and definitely some of the most captivating story I’ve read in a long time. I don’t want to give anything away about what happens to Matt and the rest of the crew so I guess that’s going to have to be my summary for this one!
Not only was this book very well written, it really was adventure from start to finish. And I just felt like I was right there in the middle of it. And it was truly unpredictable, I was never sure what was going to happen next. As I read, my heart was pounding, I was chewing on my thumbnail the suspense was so great! (And it’s not often a book can do this to me!)
Overall this book was amazing. My library had it shelved in the juvenile section but I’m not sure it should be there. Not that there is any mature themes or anything, I’m just not sure a younger child could understand everything that went on. (And there were people killed in the book.) All I’m saying is that I wouldn’t read it to my 6 year old. I remember the Silverwing books to be aimed at a younger audience. Overall I would give this book a 10/10. I’m so glad I have the next two sitting on my night stand waiting to be read!
Other reviews:
So in September there are two weeks of Banned Books Week (one week is Canadian, the other is the American one.) The Biblio Blogazine has challenged readers to take this opportunity to read some banned books! Since there are quite of few of these on my TBR list I’m going to try to read at least one of them next month.
Here are a few of my options:
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
Here is a list of frequently challenged books. Let me know if there is something on this list that I just have to read!
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
I just finished reading this with my 6 year old and we loved it! I read all of the Ramona books when I was younger, but I had forgotten how delightful and funny they are.
In this first book about Ramona she is four and she is really good at annoying her older sister. From taking one bite out of a whole box of apples to baking her plastic doll into Beezus’ birthday cake, she gets into a lot of trouble! And Beezus, who has a hard time loving her when she’s causing so much trouble, learns an important lesson about sisters. We can’t wait to start the next one tomorrow. I would give this book a 10/10.
10Aug
In Category: Children,
Fantasy
By: Lahni
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
I decided to read this book after reading The Hunger Games also by Suzanne Collins. This book was entirely different (which I was expecting) but I still really liked it. I’ve got the next four books on hold at the library and I’m hoping they come soon!
Gregor, young boy (I think he’s 10) is helping his mother out by doing the laundry and watching his younger sister (2) when she disappears behind the dryer. When Gregor goes to investigate he is sucked into the vent and into the Underland. There he meets the Underlanders who are human and a bunch of giant bugs. He ends up going on a quest with several underlanders. I don’t want to say much more because it would give away too much. This book moved fast and lacked depth but not in a bad way – the book is intended for younger readers and I will definitely read this to my son when he’s a little older. Some of it might be a little scary to him right now, but I know he’ll love it in a few years. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series and I would give this one an 8/10.
Has anyone else read this book? Please leave your reviews/links in the comments.
28Jul
In Category: Children,
Newbery
By: Lahni
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
I just finished reading this with my six-year old and we really enjoyed it. Afterwards we watched the movie and they were quite different. I actually liked the book a lot better than the movie.
Despereaux is an unusual mouse who instead of nibbling on books, like he’s supposed to, prefers to read the books. One day, in the castle, he hears music and follows his ears to find the king singing to his daughter the princess. He is so absorbed by the music that he forgets himself and speaks to the humans. When the other mice find out about this grevious offense, he is sent to his death in the dungeons.
Meanwhile, Roscuro, an evil rat living in the dungeons has been the cause of the death of the Queen and the subsequent outlawing of soup, spoons and rats. Roscuro is angry at not being allowed out of the dungeons and into the light and begins to plan his revenge.
Also introduced in the story is Miggery Sow, a poor, near-deaf, serving girl. It is through this girl that Roscuro plans to take his revenge on the Princess.
This was a fun story with a good message and my son and I both enjoyed it. I’ve definitely read better and more captivating books, but I would still give this one a 7/10.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Short and sweet…except not really sweet in the traditional sense! This one was great, although I liked The Graveyard Book better.
Coraline, for those of you that don’t know, is an average little girl, a little bored with the summer holidays and looking for some excitement. She goes through a mysterious door in her apartment and finds an alternate world that almost identical to the real world but a lot more exciting (and creepy as Coraline soon finds out.) Her “other mother” who seems great at first, is actually an evil being trying to trap her forever in her “other house” and sew buttons onto her eyes!
The book was creepy, but deliciously so. I loved it! And it was a quick easy read (as children’s books usually are – duh!). I think my son (6) would love it. It might be our next read. Keeping in mind that this is a children’s book, I would give it an 8/10.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Winner of 2009 Newbery Medal
I just picked this up at the library yesterday and the cover drew me in right away. Even the title is mysterious and alluring. Anyway, I liked the reading of this story more than I actually like the plot, not that that’s a bad thing, but I found myself wishing for a little more information towards the end of the book. I think it’s partly because it’s meant for younger audiences than myself!
Before I get ahead of myself though…a summary. The book begins as three members of a family are murdered (not graphically, but maybe a little too disturbing to read to my six year old). The murderer heads to the last family members bedroom, a toddler and finds that the baby has disappeared. The murderer follows the baby’s scent to a nearby graveyard where ghosts help protect him and eventually become his family. They name him Nobody, Bod for short, and teach give him the Freedom of the Graveyard which allows him to see and visit with all of the ghosts and learn some graveyard tricks.
The rest of the story is kind of meandering as it tells the tale of Bod’s childhood, but Gaiman is such a good storyteller that the road is actually much more interesting than the destination. Of course, throughout the story, the murderer still looks for Bod and periodically appears, but it’s not until the climax that Bod must face him. Along the way he has many adventures and learns many lessons that aren’t necessarily related to the ending but they are so captivating that as the reader, I didn’t really care. This was a quick, enjoyable read with a little bit of magic and a little bit of intrigue and I loved it!
On a side note, I’ve decided I really need to come up with some kind of a rating system for the books I read because “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it” just aren’t cutting it for me anymore. I think for now I’ll just give each book a rating out of 10 until I can come up with something a little more creative. So for this one, I give it an 8/10, maybe even an 8.5…
Other Reviews:
25May
In Category: Children,
Fantasy
By: Lahni
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
I probably should have reviewed this book sooner but I was kind of disappointed by it and wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to say.
It’s a story about a girl, Meggie, whose father, Mo, can read characters out of books. A long time ago, he read a book called Inkheart and a few bad characters came out of the book. These bad guys are after Meggie and her father because they want Mo to read some more characters out of their book.
The book was really slow and loooong. It could have been half the length and still told the same story. It could have been a lot more exciting and suspenseful. The idea is really cool and has a lot of potential but honestly, I think this one just fell flat. I bought the sequel to this one, but I don’t plan on reading it any time soon and I’m pretty sure I won’t even buy the third one. When I compare this with books like Harry Potter and Fablehaven it just doesn’t even come close. I wouldn’t recommend this book.
Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull
Read for: Once Upon a Time Challenge
This is the 4th book in the Fablehaven series and is just as good as the first three. This time Kendra and Seth and others are trying to find the key to the vault housing one of the five artifacts. The search takes them to a dragon sanctuary in Montana, where they meet giants and lots of dragons.
Of course there are many twists and turns and people who have unexpected talents and identities. I don’t want to say too much about the book because to do so would give away too much of the story. This 4th book in the series is just as exciting and readable as the first three. Definitely a must read!
