Thursday, July 15, 2004

All the Time in the World by Liz Nickles

Nicki McBain was ready to become a lawyer in the book, ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD. She thought she had all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted, but then she found out she had a life-threatening disease. While on a cruise with her friends, she falls in love with a photographer, Michael Schuster. She tells Michael that she is dying, and they decide to get married. The part of the book that grabbed me the most was that Michael loved Nicki so much that he wanted to spend every waking moment with her. I also liked the development of Michael and Nicki's relationship. She didn't expect to fall in love, but you can't help who you fall in love with. Chessa H.

Circles by Marilyn Sachs

Everyone who knows Beebe Clarke and Mark Driscoll think they are good for each other. But the problem is whenever they try to meet each other, one of them has an excuse not to meet. They are both juniors in the same high school. Mark's dad is dating Beebe's mom, and both of them can't get their kids to meet. Finally, they meet, and they are both perfect for each other. The part that grabbed me the most in CIRCLES was how they kept missing their meeting time. I thought this book was comical. I also enjoyed reading about the development of Mark Driscoll. Chessa H.

Drawing Lessons by Tracy Mack

DRAWING LESSONS is a book about a young girl names Rory, short for Aurora. Rory is an extremely talented young artist. She is an only child and has a wonderful yet powerful relationship. She also has a powerful relationship with her best friend, Nicky. Her art teacher asks Rory to do a drawing for an art contest. Rory accepts and is happy about it. But when her father is working on a painting, he does something he soon regrets when Rory comes to see him. Then her relationship with her best friend suffers when Rory hides her secret. Her relationship with her mom is tried because her mom finds out the secret. Her relationship with her dad is tried because of that secret. Rory has to work through her emotions because she may give up her art all together. This book is powerful and pulls you into it and shares the emotions with the reader. It's a good book, and I recommend it for all readers. Danyelle G.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

ERAGON by Christopher Paolini may very well be one of my favorite books of all time. It is a steadily fast-paced (which is saying something, considering the book is approximately 500 pages long) story about a young Dragon Rider, Eragon, and his faithful and surprisingly intelligent dragon, Saphira. Early in the book, Eragon is sent on a quest for revenge against the evil and magical Ra'zac who had murdered his uncle and guardian, Garrow. He is aided and trained by the town, Carvahall's, ancient and mysterious storyteller, Brom. He soon learns to wield the magic of the Riders through the gedway ignasia, a silver welt on his hand.

The book contains an unusual troop of characters including Ajihad the leader of the rebellion known as the Varden, Orik the dwarf, Solembum the werecat, Angela the witch, Durza the evil Shade, Murtagh the mysterious warrior, and Arya the elf who was captured by the king, Galbatorix, who was a dragon rider gone evil.

Eragon and Murtagh, whom he had met on his journey, had freed the unconscious Arya from her imprisonment. This occurence triggered a change in the direction of their journey, as they had to go to the Varden's great fortress city, Tronjheim, to attain the antidote to Arya's poison. Murtagh was unusually persistant to stay away from the Varden for reasons later to be revealed. The closer they came to the mountain citadel, the more evident the promise of epic battle became.

Paolini's writing quality was significantly above the norm. I would never expect such a masterpiece to come from an author even twice Paolini's age. It is truly a waste of a summer if you do not read this book. I am dying to read the next book in The Inheritance Trilogy, ELDEST.

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares

This book is about a group of friends who find a pair of magical pants that fit all four of them. During the summer, they all go their separate ways, and the whole summer they mail the pants to one another. When they wear the pants, they all feel braver, which is part of the pants' magic.

I loved this book. The characters seemed so real, not like the made-up ones in most books. They seemed like they really could have been high school girls. At the beginning of the book, all of the girls seemed so young, but at the end, they all seemed so much more mature. The story is about how no matter what, good friends stay together. Cassie P.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Gemma's life in India was far from perfect, but her mother had forbidden her from going to London, a land she viewed as a stylish, sophisticated paradise. Alone in a bazaar, Gemma was suddenly struck with a frightening vision of her mother's death, a vision that swiftly came true. She was sent to London, finding it to be utterly disappointing. At Spence Academy, she was trained to become as society demanded it, soullessly polite and painfully courteous, or so she thought. While settling in, she is threatened by a mysterious cloaked man who warns her to stop her visions before it is too late. But how can she stop something she can't control, and does she really want to abandon these enticing new powers?

From the very first page, A Great and Terrible Beauty held me thoroughly entranced throughout the entire novel with its story of intoxicating power and the consequences of abusing it. I have no doubts that this book will be one of the greatest classics of tomorrow. Tanya J.

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

Henry Atherton was helping an old man named Mr. Fogarty clean out his shed when he noticed a cat killing a butterfly. He ran over and pried the butterfly from the jaws of the cat only to find out that he wasn't holding a butterfly, but Pyrgud Malvae, Crown Prince of the Faeries of the Light. Needless to say, Henry was shocked to find a fairy in the backyard of crazy old Mr. Fogarty, and his adventure began.

Faerie Wars chronicles the attempt of Pyrgus Malvae to return to his home world in time to save the Empire before the Faeries of the Night, aided by a demon army, destroy both his and Henry's worlds. This fast-paced adventure brings fairy tales to life in an exciting and entertaining way. Tanya J.