Keeper of the Lost Cities: Lodestar

By Shannon Messenger

Wow.  Just...wow.

This book was amazing! I couldn't put it down, though that's how I am with all of Shannon Messenger's books. She is a fantastic writer!

This book picks up right after the 4th book ends, and for those of you who haven't read it, there will be a few spoilers here just to catch everyone up.  At the end of the 4th book, Keefe joins the Neverseen, the evil organization that's bent on ruling the world. It's shocking and heartbreaking, but he feels it's the only way.

In the Lodestar, it is revealed that Keefe is only trying to bring down the organization from the inside. He's working his way in, getting the bad guys to trust him so that he can ultimately defeat them. He does it to help Sophie. I think that he's really doing it because he's in love with her and he wants to save her. But that's just my opinion.  Sophie, of course, is oblivious, but she and Keefe work together over long distances to keep him safe and share secrets.

Sophie is also working with Fitz and the others of the Black Swan to discover what Lodestar is.  The Lodestar Initiative is a plan vaguely mentioned by the Neverseen as their great plan to "save the world" or change and fix it.  Sophie must figure out what it is and stop if before the world around her crumbles. They try to piece together clues hidden along the way, using a symbol they found. Sophie and her friends find out how the Neverseen travels and where many of their hideouts are located.  They also figure out some other secrets too. They get closer and closer just to end up still out of reach of their goal.

In their world of chaos and confusion, peace must be restored according to the Elven Councillors. A Peace Summit is planned, and all the leaders of the other species are invited to meet and discuss terms.  The elves, dwarves, gnomes, goblins, and trolls will all be sending their royalty or representatives to a sit down meeting with the Councillors, and Sophie is invited along with Mr. Forkle, the leader of the Black Swan.

In the end, Sophie figures out the Neverseen's plan a little too late, and someone important dies. Someone VERY important.  (I was so sad!)  Sophie also realizes the the Neverseen also have plans to use her, but they need leverage.  Keefe heard talk that they planned to snatch her family. Sophie thought that meant her new adoptive parents, Grady and Edaline, but she was wrong. They really grabbed her human family! Sophie runs into her little, human sister, who recognizes her.  AND THAT'S WHERE THE BOOK ENDS!

There's really so much more to this book that what I wrote. So much happens, but there's lots of little twists and turns along the way. Shannon Messenger is really good and planting infomration early and throughout the book that, if you're really smart, you piece it together to figure it all out!  Usually you've forgotten a lot of the little pieces until it becomes so obvious that, of course, you need that!  It's phenomenal! I can't say enough fabulous things about this series! I also reading it to my boys, and they beg and beg for me to keep reading.  They love all the characters and the comedic parts (especially Keefe!).

This series is fantastic for upper elementary, middle school, young adult, and anyone looking for a splendid book.  And it's safe! There are no swear words, no sex or drugs, and no graphic violence. It's like Harry Potter, but not as dark. It's so, so good!

Keeper of the Lost Cities

By Shannon Messenger

In honor of the fifth book coming out today, I'm going to talk about the first book in my second favorite series: Keeper of the Lost Cities!  This book/series was recommended to me by a student who was in love with these books (and still is).  She lent me her first book, and after reading it, I knew I had to have it and the next two in the series.  They were fantastic. And not only were they fantastic for me, but I knew my boys would love and adore them too.  Don't worry, they did. And now the fifth book has come out and we had to buy it today!!! We've already started it, that's how great it is.

Keepers of the Lost Cities is a book about a young girl named Sophie Foster. She's twelve years old, but she a child prodigy and is in her senior year at high school. She has no friends, and she feels like she doesn't fit in with her family. Not only that, but she can hear people's thoughts. Not something that endears one to others.

Then one day, she meets a beautiful boy, Fitz, who explains that he's been looking for her. And she's not human. She's an elf! That's why she doesn't belong. Fitz takes her back to the Elvin world, hidden away from humans, where she suddenly has to fit in. Everyone is very suspicious of her. Besides her being able to read and hear others' thoughts, no one, not even their most skilled telepaths, can read hers.  She is an enigma and many don't trust her.

She enrolls at the most prestigious school, Foxfire, and tries not to fail all of her classes. She must relearn many, many things because humans have things backwards at times. She makes friends, for the first time ever, and enemies.  She breaks rules, big important rules, because she knows its wrong not to help. Even though her life and schooling is on the line, she can't just let others get hurt when she knows she can help.

Sophie ends up getting kidnapped, along with her friend Dex. She has help, but in the end she must save herself and Dex, almost dying in the process. When she returns, she finds her friends and family are happy to have her. She finally belongs.

What I love about this book: The characters in this book are awesome! They are complex and diverse, full of quirks that stick with you.  My favorite character is Keefe.  He's always great for a laugh. I also love that this book has fantastic twists and turns. One thing always leads to another which leads to another. They are big books, but things are always happening so there's never a dull moment. My boys beg to listen to this book. I've also read this to 2 of my 6th grade classes and they love it as well, begging me to read the next book to them.

This book is like Harry Potter, but less dark.  There are bad things that happen, but there's always a hopeful attitude in the book.   The author keeps raising the stakes in each book, and they just keep getting better and better. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us in the 5th book!

This series is great for upper elementary, middle school, and young adults. It's also fantastic for anyone who just loves a great book. I can't put them down!

The School for Good and Evil

A World Without Princes
By Soman Chainani

At the end of the first book, Agatha kissed Sophie to save her. As Sophie came back to life, her and Agatha took hands and glittered away, back to their hometown and their old lives, leaving behind their friends and Agatha's Prince Tedros.

And that is where the 2nd book starts off. Sophie and Agatha are back home, celebrities after their exciting encounter in the fairy tale realm. Sophie eats it up, loving every minute of the fame, but Agatha isn't so sure. What's worse, where she thought that all she needed in the whole world was her best friend, her heart sings a different tune. She starts to wish for Tedros, believing that maybe she made the wrong choice. But what can she do?

Suddenly, arrows appear out of nowhere, flying though the air with deadly aim for only one person: Sophie. Sophie is locked into the church for safe keeping, but soon the town realizes that the only way to save themselves is to give Sophie up. Agatha tries to save her, but they are both transported back to The School for Good and Evil. But now it's completely different.

Because Agatha chose Sophie over her prince, fairy tales are starting to rewrite them selves. It's no longer the School for Good and Evil, but the School for Boys and Girls. Girls have distanced themselves from their princes, banding together and believing they now don't need a prince to save them. They can save themselves. This leaves the boys by themselves over in the School for Evil to fend for themselves. But their angry. And it's all Sophie's fault.

Agatha tries to fix the problem. She realizes, and is told by her teachers and other friends, that the only way to make things right is for her to kiss her Prince. She finds a way to get to him, but before they can kiss, something happens. Now Prince Tedros believes Agatha, too, is out to kill him and destroy his happily-ever-after. He wants both Sophie and Agatha dead and has promised his treasure to anyone who can make that happen.

A new trial is pronounced, a trial between boys and girls. Whoever can outlast the other wins. If the girls win, the boys will become the girls' slaves. If the boys win, Sophie and Agatha must be brought to the boys for public execution. Sophie and Agatha work together with their friends, trying to stop all of this from happening, but the trial comes. Things go awry during the trial and the Evil School Master, destroyed in the last book, returns, still wanting Sophie at his side. Sophie chooses him because Agatha has finally kissed Tedros, sealing their love. Sophie kisses the School Master, thereby sending Agatha back to their hometown alone. But before she can fully disappear, she grabs Tedros and he goes with, saving his life.

What I liked: It was a fantastic book, as good as the second. It started a little slow, but picked up. Some of the characters were new and parts of it were a little predicable (maybe that's just me), but there were still a plethora of twists and turns. You got to find out a little more history about some of the characters. Many of my favorite characters from the first book returned, adding comic relief and biting wit. I especially like the character of Dot. In the first book, she was a very plumb young Never (evil) witch who turned everything she touched into chocolate. She was constantly eating chocolate. In the 2nd book, she now is slim and beautiful, turning everything she touches into vegetables, which she is constantly eating.  And she really doesn't want to return to being a Never. She's made friends and enjoys being beautiful and taking care of herself.  I look forward to seeing how she is in the 3rd book.

This series is fantastic for upper elementary, middle school, or anyone who loves great stories dealing with fairy tales. It's not full of fairy tales, but it just has that fantastic quality to it. I can't wait to read the next book!

The School of Good and Evil

by Soman Chainani

What if everything you thought you knew about fairy tales was backwards? What if what you thought was good was really evil? And what you thought was evil was really good? That is the premise of this fantastic story.

The two main characters are Sophie and Agatha, best friends from two different worlds. They both live in a small village outside a giant, foreboding woods that no one can escape. Sophie thinks she is a princess. She dresses in pink and has a ridiculous fashion regiment that includes all sorts of weird things. She knows she doesn't belong in the village, but she tolerates it all until her time comes to be what she knows she is: a princess in a fairy tale.

Her best friend, Agatha, is the complete opposite of Sophie. Where Sophie is light, Agatha is dark. Where Sophie is smiles and fluff, Agatha is frowns and seriousness. Where Sophie dresses in pink, Agatha wears only a unshapely, black shift. But Sophie knows they are destined for great things together.

When they are kidnapped by the School Master (who only comes every 4 years to kidnap a good person and evil person), Sophie knows her time has come. Agatha just wants to go home. She doesn't want to be separated from Sophie, and she doesn't want to be evil. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned.

Sophie is dropped off at the School of Evil where wolves control, ugliness rules, and wickedness thrives. Sophie knows she doesn't belong there and does everything in her power to escape to the School of Good across the way. Everyone in her school also knows she doesn't belong either.

While Sophie is at the School of Evil trying desperately to get to the School of Good to be a princess and find her prince, Agatha is dropped off at the School of Good, where everyone agrees she doesn't belong. Her goal is to get Sophie and get home. So they decide to work together.

Agatha helps Sophie, but Sophie's motives are pure. In the end, it is clear that the girls were dropped at the correct schools. Agatha is pure of heart, proving she is a princess. She even finds a prince who sees her beauty inside. Sophie is selfish and wicked, and with every evil deed, she turns even more ugly until she is a hideous witch. The tables keep turning though until there is a surprise ending.  Agatha saves Sophie and they are whisked away back to their village and away from Agatha's handsome prince.

What I thought: I thought this was a wonderful book. It was fun and engaging. It had amazing, complex characters that kept you on your toes. You were anxious to find out what happened to Sophie and Agatha and discover how their stories turned out. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. It's a trilogy!!

This is a great book for upper elementary, middle school, young adult, and anyone who enjoys a good story that has fairy tale aspects to it. It's good for boys and girls.

Inheritance series

By Christopher Paolini

One of the things my boys and I like to do is listen to audio books in the van. We listen on the way to and from school and on any trips we take. They love it, and they hate when we have to stop. 

It all started last summer when I took all 4 boys to MN by  myself to visit my parents. We couldn't watch videos so I thought we'd try books. That was one of the best idea I've ever had. Since last summer, we've listened to all of the Peter and the Starcatchers books by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, all of the Sisters' Grimm novels by Michael Buckley, The Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner, and a variety of other books. Last spring we started the Inheritance series because I thought the boys would like the dragons and adventure, and we just finished this week with the 4th book.

These books are like the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars rolled into one. There's action and adventure, battles and travel, elves, dwarves, urgals, and dragon riders. There's an evil, tyrant ruler (Galbatorix) and the rebels (the Varden) who are trying to get back control of the empire from him. And all of it rests on the shoulders of one young man named Eragon.

In the beginning, Eragon is just a 16 year old boy who lives with him uncle and cousin on their farm. He's nothing special, and his future looks boring. Until a large blue rock drops near him while he's hunting. He takes it home and it hatches. A beautiful blue dragon appears and chooses Eragon as her rider. He names her Sapphira, and they leave his home. Along their travels, they learn and grow, meet new people and discover enemies. He helps the Varden thwart Galbatorix, becomes an adopted dwarf, journeys to an elven city to learn from a hidden dragon rider, goes back to helping the Varden, fights against another dragon rider under Galbatorix's control (who just so happens to be his half brother), and falls in love. All of this leads to the final battle between the Varden and Galbatorix's army. Eragon is the only one who can defeat him, even if Galbatorix is stronger and wiser.

In the end, Eragon vanquishes Galbatorix as only he can. The Varden take over, and Eragon decides to leave to raise dragon eggs and riders somewhere more safe and remote.

What I liked: This books has lots of great characters with depth and complexities. Some of the side characters are especially great.  I really wish the author would write the back story on Angela. She's one of my favorite characters.  Also, the visuals and descriptions are fantastic! You can really picture everything in your mind. The story is engaging and exciting. My boys and I give it all a big thumb's up!!!

What I didn't like: Some of the descriptions were a little too much. Also, there were some scenes that were a little unnecessary. Sometimes it felt as if he were just trying to make it as long as possible.

This series is great for boys and girls, ages middle school and up. My boys loved it and always begging to hear more, but after listening to it, I think I should have waited a little longer to share this story with them. Some of the battle scenes were a little graphic, and I don't think that was good for my younger sons.

 
 
 

Empire of Storms

by Sarah J. Maas

I actually finished this 4 days ago, but it's been CRAZY in my world. This is the first chance I've had to put this up.

This book was amazing! It started where the other left off and kept going. I was full of twists and turns, just like the others, but I think Sarah J. Maas upped the ante some more. She brings in new characters but also some old ones that Celaena once knew. This book ends with a HUGE cliffhanger, and again I'm left waiting for the next one.

There is a small difference in this book. It starts with a prologue of sorts, going back in time to when King Gavin and Queen Elena were trying to defeat Erawan, a Valg King who was left in the world and was trying to take over.  It hints at how Elena and Gavin (Aelin's and Dorian's ancestors) contain Erawan. Unfortunately, as we all know, Erawan escapes and now Aelin and Dorian and everyone else have to deal with him.

Aelin and her court make it to Terrasen, her homeland, and meet with lords just to find out that they don't think she should be queen. She leaves, promising aid if they need it even if they are turning their backs on her. She travels to a coastal town with her court (Rowan, Aedion, and Lysandra) and causes some trouble. Brannon, a long dead ancestor/god/Fae, visits her and tells her to find the Lock. Only with the Lock can the Wyrdkeys be placed back in the gate. They decide to head south to Skull Bay where Rolfe, the Pirate King, has promised to kill her if she should return. But she needs his help and comes up with a very creative way to get it.

Meanwhile, Erawan wants Dorian who sits alone in the shattered glass palace. He sends the witches to sack Rifthold, destroy the people, and capture Dorian, bringing him to Morath for Erawan to use. Manon, for reasons she doesn't understand, races to Rifthold and kills a witch to prevent Dorian's death. She helps him escape, sending him with Rowan. (Aelin heard about the upcoming destruction of Rifthold and sent Rowan to help save Dorian since he could get there fastest.) Rowan and Dorian escape and make their way to Skull Bay to await Aelin and the others. They also make friends with Rolfe and find that Gavriel and Fenrys, two of Rowan's group under Queen Maeve of the Fae, are already there. They were sent to kill Lorcan, another of their group who went rogue, trying to capture and destroy the Wyrdkeys before they destroyed his queen.  They all sit and wait for Aelin to come and explain her plan to Rolfe.

Manon heads back to Morath where she is tried for being a witch killer. She lies and says that Dorian was her kill and the other witch got in her way, allowing Dorian to escape. She is found guilty and her punishment is that her second, Asterin, will be killed. Instead of killing her, Manon attacks her grandmother, allowing her Thirteen to escape, but she is almost disemboweled. Also, her grandmother reveals that Manon is not all she thinks she is. She is the special. Manon falls off the ledge onto Abraxos, her wyvern, and he flies her away. She's losing too much blood and tells him to fly somewhere safe.

Aelin shows up and convinces Rolfe to join her cause. Again, she's very creative and sassy and it takes some strategic planning and conniving to get Rolfe to help, but in the end he does. She, with her reconnected court and Dorian, and a part of his crew head south to the Stone Marshes where the Lock is supposed to be located. Along the way, Manon and Abraxos show up. They heal Manon but keep her prisoner because they don't know if they can trust her. Dorian is drawn to her though and they get to know each other better. When they get to the Stone Marshes, Aelin and her small group travel inland. The Stone Marshes are a creepy place with vicious predators and dead bodies buried in the water. They find the chest when contains the Lock, but before they open it, they are attacked with a legion of one of Erawan's monsters.  Aelin digs deep, deeper than she's ever dug within her power, and throws everything she has at them. Anything she doesn't get is taken down by the others. Aelin utterly destroys the legion but also depletes her powers. She's empty.

They take the Lock and head back to the boat, only to find more ships waiting for her. They are led by Ansel of Briarcliff, Queen of the Wastes, and one time friend of Celaena. (Ansel is from the novellas. She betrayed Celaena and the Silent Assassins, but Celaena defeated her and spared her life. She called in the debt.) When they all are introduced and plan to head out, they all find another armada waiting. It's Queen Maeve waiting for surrender.  Aelin can't fight because she's depleted her powers. Instead, Dorian solves a riddle and send Aelin and Manon into the Lock, which is really a special mirror. They see the secrets of the past revealed, of how Elena and Gavin contained Erawan in the Lock. The Lock was only a one time thing and it was used once already. The only way to make it work again is for Aelin to fill it with her power. But to do that, she must give all she has.

Meanwhile, Rowan and Dorian and everyone else start to battle with Maeve's armada, trying to stay alive. However, they find out that Maeve is on the shore behind them. The tides of the fight turn, especially when Manon's Thirteen show up to help. This allows Rowan, Dorian, and the rest head to shore to find out what Maeve is doing.

Aelin and Manon return from the mirror, but not from where they started. They are on the shore where they find Maeve waiting. Maeve demands too much, and Aelin sacrifices herself. Maeve takes her away in an iron coffin, vanishing before anyone can stop them. Manon, however, has a great secret! It's a great one.

Galan Ashryver, prince of Wendlyn, shows up with his armada, as well as all the Silent Assassins from across the desert. Aelin called in all her life debts to build an army that can take on Erawan. Manon and Dorian and the Thirteen plan to head to find other witches that can help in the north, and Aedion plans to travel back with Lysandra to Terrasen. Lysandra has shifted into Aelin so that no one knows Aelin's really been taken. Rowan promises to save Aelin, and Gavriel and Lorcan go with to help.

And that's the end!!!!

What I liked: Again, this book had all the great qualities of a Sarah J. Maas book: secrets, twists, turns. Aelin leads us on an adventure. She's such a brilliant, intelligent character, even when she's sassy and frustrating to the others. She's got a heart of gold, even if no one else really sees it. She does her best to protect her family. I also really like Manon and her character. She's like another Aelin. They are two sides of a coin, and now that they've allied together, they will be unstoppable.

What I didn't like: There were two sex scenes in the book that included details. I was really disappointed in this. As an adult, that's fine, but I like to share my books with my students, and I can not do that with this book. Such brilliance and my students will not get to read it.

I would recommend this book for at young adults, both male and female.

Queen of Shadows

by Sarah J. Maas

This is book 4 in the Throne of Glass series, and the ante has been upped.  It's bigger, better, and more exciting!  This books takes off right where the last one finished and drives it further.  It still follows Celaena Sardothien, except now she has embraced who she truly is. She is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen and the Heir of Fire, and she is back to kill the King, save her friend, and reclaim her throne.

Queen of Shadows again follows different people throughout the book, but it mainly focuses on Aelin. Aelin is back in Rifthold after mastering her powers in Wendlyn. She left behind Rowan, though she misses him terribly. He would have stood out too much as Fae. Her goal and focus is multi-purposed. First, she needs to save her cousin, Aedion, from exucusion under the King. She needs to retrieve the 3rd Wyrdkey from Arobynn Hamel, her one time master and the one who inadvertently sent her to Endovier Salt Mines to be a slave for one year.  She does this while also destroying him and his assassin empire. She wants to save her friend, Crown Prince Dorian, who is enslaved by a Wyrdcollar. The Wyrdcollar allows a Valg Prince, a demon from another realm, to inhabit his body and take over. Because the collar doesn't come off, Aelin thinks the only way to save Dorian is to kill him and the demon prince within him. It will be a mercy for him, she's sure. Aelin also finds out how to bring magic back to the land, and she determined to flood the land with it so she can have her powers back. With her powers, she will be able to take on the King and send him back to the hell he came from, making him pay for all the sorrows and suffering he's caused.

Along side her is her cousin, Aedion, who she masterfully saves with help from Arobynn Hamel. Chaol is also helping, though reluctantly.  He is afraid of Aelin, afraid of what she will be and do, especially what she'll do with Dorian. He believes that Dorian should be saved, that he's still alive inside, but Aelin knows better. Chaol is angry with Aelin as well, and they spend a good deal of time arguing with each other.

Lysandra, a courtesan from The Assassin's Blade (the Prequel), returns. She is Arobynn's choice courtesan, but she hates him and plans with Aelin to destroy him. In The Assassin's Blade, Lysandra and Aelin were enemies, but in Queen of Shadows, they grow close, both helping and saving the other.

Rowan, though he's suppose to stay in Wendlyn, follows after Aelin. Neither realized how much they missed the other, and begin to discover that they need each other in more ways than one.

Manon, the Wing Leader of the Blackbeak witch clan, is another main character, and her story continues.  Manon and her Thirteen are stationed at Morath, the home of Duke Perrington. He has secret plans that he is conducting under the mountain, secret evil plans that involve dark magic. Manon is conflicted throughout the book, trying to follow orders and yet do what she feels is right. In one section of the book, Manon and Aelin meet and battle spectacularly, and Aelin saves Manon from death. Manon finally makes a stand in the end, following what's right for her and her Thirteen.

In the end, Aelin and her court save the day, releasing magic, killing the king, and saving the prince.  There is a HUGE secret revealed as the King dies, propelling the story forward and leaving it open for the next book where more action and adventure await. Aeiln and her court head home to Terrasen, excited to finally make it back. But more evil and danger is coming.

This book is amazing! It has everything a story needs: action, adventure, intrugue, secrets, betrayals, romance, surprises, healing, and redemption.  It's a great story for middle school and above boys and girls.

THE NEXT BOOK COMES OUT TOMORROW AND I CAN"T WAIT!!!!!!!!