Long time no hear!

With the new school year storming in, the boys found themselves overwhelmed with obligations. Several of the kids are taking high school classes in middle school, and the high school boys have been taking college classes in high school.

Unfortunately,there have been several other circumstances that have made it near impossible to keep up with our postings. We had to say good-bye to a very dear friend in October after she lost her battle with cancer.

While the boys have not had the time to sit down and write reviews worthy of posting, they do have a list of great reads:

Love {and other uses for duct tape} by Carrie Jones
"Carrie didn't let me down!"

Hit the Road, Manny by Christian Birch
"OMG! Funny!"

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
"This had me on the edge of my seat."

The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha
"Definitely thought provoking."

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
"Intriguing, must read."

The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill
"An adventure well worth the read!"

Hopefully we can pick up the pace after the new year. We are looking into doing vlog's or podcasts. Hoping they might work out better for the boys.

Thanks to everyone who hung in there and supported the boys in their efforts.

I am continually on the lookout for boys who like to read and have time to send in reviews. If you know of any please send them my way!

Wolf Brother-Michelle Paver

Wolf Brother
Author: Michelle Paver
http://www.michellepaver.com/
Reviewer: David

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver is an action-packed odyssey that has been on the National Best Seller list. Set in 6,000 BC, Wolf Brother is about two friends: Torak, a twelve-year old boy, whose father has been killed by a mindless bear and Wolf, a wolf around 3 weeks old whose pack has been drowned by a flood. Torak is able to speak the wolf language because he has a special gift. Unfortunately, early in the story Torak is accused of stealing a roe (an ancient deer), and is taken to Fin-Kedinn, the clan leader, who will decide his fate. Torak’s fate is to fight Hord, a raven clan youth, and Torak wins the fight by blinding Hord with steam from a stew. When a dark evil called the soul eaters threaten to take over the world, Torak and Wolf must fulfill the prophecy given to them by the leader of the Raven Clan and kill the demon-bear. Joined by Renn of the Raven Clan, the threesome journey to the Mountain of the World Spirit where Torak will give his blood to the World Spirit, and the demon-bear will die. The world created by the author is cool, and I hadn’t thought about that ancient time like that before. The dangerous setting was intriguing. Also, the characters were appealing because the wolf and human could talk to each other and were friends. I’d really like to be friends with a wolf. Wolf Brother is the first book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series and is the most renowned, too. The sequels to Wolf Brother are, Spirit Walker and Soul Eater, which are also very good. This book is definitely very hooking, so don’t read it unless you have time to sit on the couch for long periods of time. Lastly, in 2005 the press announced that there will be a movie of Wolf Brother, but the release date has not yet been determined. Overall, Wolf Brother is a big hit and will last for a very long time.

More Books In This Series:

Extras:

You can be a part of the Torak Clan on this awesome interactive website:

http://www.torak.info/

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
http://www.neilgaiman.com/
Reviewer: Joseph

As people who are familiar with his Sandman books will know Neil Gaiman has a twisted sense of reality. Gaiman takes the old theme of a child stepping into a wonderland through a parallel dimension and horribly distorts it. Coraline is a modern fairytale where nothing is as it seems and reality is distorted. In Coraline the young protagonist is drawn to adventure the area around her house because of boredom. The weather is horrible, it constantly rains and is foggy, there are no other children in her neighbourhood, and her parents completely ignore her. She is drawn to a mysterious door in her house that supposedly leads to no where. It is locked and has a brick walll on the other side as she finds out. But when her parents are gone and she finds the key it turns out to be a sort of mirror world where her mother is loving and a brilliant cook, her neighbours are beautiful entertainers, and she plays with friendly rats from the man upstairs. This world seems perfect until she realizes that she is a pawn in a game this other mother has played for years. Coraline is at once a fairy tale, an adventure story, a mystery, and a cautionary tale. It features some extremely interesting characters including a talking cat who guides Coraline, two neighbours who give Coraline the key to her victory against the other mother, a man upstairs who has a band of musical rats (mirrored by the evil rats in the alternate reality), and a father who can’t cook. This book quickly became one of my favourites. And Neil Gaiman also plans to release this book as a graphic novel later this year even though the illustrations by Dave Mckean in the regular version are fantastic.

Coraline is coming out as a film in 2009



And here is a sneak peek we found on YouTube:

The Cry of the Icemark - Stuart Hill

The Cry of the Icemark
Author: Stuart Hill
http://www.doublecluck.com/authordetails.php?aname=Hill,%20Stuart&btype=fiction711
Reviewer: David

"The Cry of the Icemark" is an epic story about a thirteen-year-old girl that has to fulfill her destiny as the Queen of Icemark. Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield is a beautiful girl and is destined to rule the small kingdom of Icemark. Her father, King Redrought, has been killed defending Icemark from the powerful Polypontians. The Polypontians have never lost a war, are more advanced technologically, and will stop at nothing to destroy Icemark. They also have a general that's never lost a battle. In the process of destroying the first army of the Polypontians (there are many Polypontian armies), Icemark's army has been destroyed. Now, Thirrin Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield has retreated to the neighboring allies, the Hypolitan, and must form a collaboration of allies to even hope to have a chance in the upcoming war. Thirrin will forge an alliance with the vicious Wolf-folk, the Dark Vampires from the Lands of the Ghosts, and the courageous Snow Leopards from the Hub of the World. Thirrin won’t do this alone, and will find help from Oskan, a young Warlock who had extraordinary powers and is brave in the face of great danger.

Parts of "The Cry of the Icemark" were catchy, and I enjoyed reading those parts, because there were action-filled battle scenes and heroics. You would like these parts of the book if you’re into books about King Arthur,” “Lord of the Rings,” and the “Inheritance” series by Christopher Paolini. The only bad thing about this book was that it dragged at some times, and it seemed as if there were a few too many chapters about Thirrin finding good allies. I would have liked the climax battle scenes to be longer. This book is the first book in the Icemark Chronicles. The author has created a world that reminds me of Paolini's world with lots of interesting characters, creatures, and conflicts. Lots of readers will have fun hanging out in that world.

What some other fans think found on YouTube:



Chronicles of Icemark

1. The Cry of the Icemark (2005)
2. Blade of Fire (2006)
3. The Last Battle of the Icemark (2008)

Uncle Pirate - Douglas Rees

Uncle Pirate
Author: Douglas Rees
http://otterlimits.org/doug/
http://biography.jrank.org/pages/2228/Rees-Douglas-1947.html
Reviewer: Michael


If you like pirates, talking penguins, and schools turning into pirate academy then Uncle Pirate is the book for you! Wilson has to deal with bullies but now his Pirate Uncle is coming to stay with him. When Uncle Pirate comes Wilson is surprised to see a real pirate and a penguin that talks! Wilson learns a lot from his uncle. Although his uncle is smart he still has to learn to fit in with modern day society. I loved this book and was ready to say ARGH when I was done. You feel so much into the story you will hate to set it down. I highly recommend this book to any kid!

The Outcasts - L.S. Matthews

The Outcasts
Author: L.S. Matthews
http://www.lsmatthewsonline.co.uk/
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/catalog/author.pperl?authorid=58241

Reviewer: Jason

L.S. Matthews’ The Outcasts dares you to think outside the box and discover if the world around you is really what it seems. As a group of misfit teens go on what seems to be a school fieldtrip, they end up being tossed into a different sort of world where the rules don’t apply. Facing one challenge after another, will the group make it out of the alternate world together? Or will one fall behind? The Outcasts keeps you interested with its creepy mood and mysterious twists. I highly recommend it for the great twists and turns it throws at you during the entire story.

Check it out! Tons of resources on The Outcasts:
http://www.lsmatthewsonline.co.uk/theoutcastsresources.htm

Here you can find some teaching ideas for The Outcasts:
http://www.lsmatthewsonline.co.uk/outcasts%20resources.pdf

Glass Houses

Glass Houses
Author: Rachel Caine
http://www.rachelcaine.com/
Reviewer: Jason

The first installment in The Morganville Vampires series, Glass Houses, is a thrilling adventure that tells the story of Claire Danvers as she starts her new chapter in life as a college student. Tired of being bullied by the more popular girls, Claire seeks out somewhere off campus to stay. What she finds is an old house that looks and feels haunted. After convincing her new roommates to let her stay, Claire discovers a dark secret about one of her new friends and the terrible things that haunt the night in Morganville, changing how she lives her life forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I loved the characters and their very different personalities. Some parts will leave you on the edge of your seat, much like the cliffhanger at the end.

If you enjoy a good adventure with a dab of mystery, don’t miss this great series. Be sure to check out the next book in the Morganville Vampires series, The Dead Girls’ Dance. Available now along with the rest of the series!

Also make sure to check out the author’s awesome website, where you can win some free stuff and see her other series that are now available: http://www.rachelcaine.com/index2.html