THE INVADERS

  Book 2 of the Brotherband Chronicles, The Invaders
                       By: John Flanagan


This book is about sailing, vikings, battles, and Brotherbands. Very suspenseful, and exciting! "They'll be ready for us when we come back they'll know what's coming"Thorn from the Brotherband Chronicals.
    As champions of the Brotherband competition, the Heron Brotherband had to protect the lands most precious artifact overnight. They failed it was stolen. Chasing down the pirate that took it they came upon a town that the pirates crew and his colleges crew had tooken over now they must get the artifact back or die.

I really enjoyed this book! If you like mid evil battles as much as I do, this is the book for you. Across the storm white seas, and in small harbor towns. I read the Rangers Apprentice series first then found the Brotherband Chronicals series a sister series to Rangers apprentice books and got so excited! You will get hooked! Read these books!    

  

Rebel Angels

Rebel Angels

by Libba Bray

“Imagine a world—these realms—where women rule, where a girl could have whatever she wished” (Bray, 158).  Can you imagine being able to go into an enchanted world, turn flowers into gems, and have all of your wishes come true? In this Fantasy/Adventure you will be able to! This is the world Gemma has the power to conjure up at will. She and her friends have many adventures in this magical place called the "realms"--among them are riding a gorgon ship, chatting with centaurs, and escaping sirens.

  

This extraordinary magic comes with a price. Gemma is a member of the Order, a group of female sorceresses that have power of the realms. She has been charged to keep the realms safe and disciplined, but with the evil Circe on the loose everything is falling apart. Magic is loose in the realms for all of the creatures that live there to use, for good and evil. Gemma must find a way to bind the magic, or colossal danger will befall her and everything that she knows and loves, all while keeping up the perfect image of a distinguished young women from a wealthy family in Victorian London.

The setting of this book is very unique. Gemma lives in the Victorian age. She is away at a strict boarding school where her Grandmama hopes she will become an impeccably mannered, well learned woman who can be married off to a well-to-do family, thus improving her social status. But inside the hallowed halls of the boarding school things are stirring. Gemma's magical world called the realms is a place of magic and dreams. It has some element that are very greek and others that are original to the author. The story also travels through all of London form the wealthy neighborhoods, to the shops, to the insane asylum (a.k.a. Bedlam). It is very refreshing to read a book that combines the past and mythical magic so harmoniously. 

This is the second book in the Great and Terrible Beauty Trilogy and I guarantee that this book will be page-turning, thrilling, and addicting book, for those of you that love mystery, adventure, and a little splash of romance, read this book! There were many different themes that all complemented the main theme.  The whole book made me think a lot and inspired me. The characters were portrayed and described very well. I felt like each one of them was real and I knew them as well as Gemma did. You will not be able to put this book down! I hope you enjoy Rebel Angles as much as I did!

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

     This book, called The Alchemist, by Michael Scott is a book that I couldn't put down. Here is what it is about. There is this couple that was over 500 years old that could drink a potion sort of thing every month and stay young. When they met it was like that love at first sight sort of thing and he knew that he was going to marry her. Perenelle basically mastered all the arts of magic and Nicholas mastered alchemy, but was better at it than Perenelle.
     Their job was to protect a book that could destroy the world or save it and they had to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Long before us in this book there were Elders. Before them were the Earth Lords and before them were the Archons. Each were very powerful and wanted to rule the world. The Elders overthrew all of them and either trapped them or killed them. So at the time being they were the rulers for many centuries. Then then it jumps to the future and it is Nicholas and his wife who want to live ordinary lives and keep their powers a secret. But all that is going to change.

     A pair of twins work for them, one named Josh who works for Nicholas, and one named Sophie who works for his wife. The Flamels have been looking for a pair of twins with gold and silver auras (gold and silver auras are very rare and means you have a lot of power) and have found plenty, but they have all died or gone crazy insane from a process called the awakening. When Sophie is asking questions about the awakening she says, "We're going to be trained as magicians?" "As magicians and sorcerers, as necromancers, warlocks and even enchanters." Flamel smiled. I just think that's funny.
     But when they find these two they know they are different. Then they get attacked from a character who wants to take the book from them and give it to the dark elders. The dark elders are the elders who want the world to themselves and to get rid of all the humans. Then they started using magic on each other and it is very exciting. I can imagine what they are doing from how descriptive it is and it seems too me that it is really cool. But every time they use magic it drains power from them and they have to wait a while before they use it again or else they will burn up and die within seconds.
    When both Josh and Sophie have been awakened (which does not happen until the third or fourth book) they have extraordinary powers and it's amazing what they can do. There are many characters in this book that I have not mentioned and they are pretty cool, each with his/her own special talent that they are best at. If you want to learn what happens in all the books and all the awesome adventures and monsters they face then I suggest you read this series of books. Also, if you are a person interested in magic, adventure, and action then this is a book for you.

Quantum Prophecy Michael Carrol

 The ability to look into the future, A Blessing? Or a Curse?- New York Times        Science-Fiction   
                                           Michael Carrol

                In Quantum Prophecy, you will learn.

 Ever seen a human jet? A human fork lift? Now you can...
This Book is about 2 boys named Colin Wagner, and Danny Cooper, They live somewhere in Europe that is urban and busy. They are walking home from school with another good friend of theirs', Brian McDonald when Brian's sister, Susie, comes biking around the corner, right as a school bus comes down the road. She is about to be hit when in the blink of an eye, Danny has ran out into the middle of the road, picked Susie up and carried her to safety on the far side of the road. Brian is astonished. When he is going to bed that night he realizes that Danny is a super human. Colin, that very same night, gains the ability of super hearing, able to hear everything going on in the near  by area. Danny learns not only is he super fast, but he can see parts of the future, including his own.  Colin and Danny are super humans, they are the off spring of supposed to be disappeared heroes of a long time. Danny and Colin have to decide what to use their powers for, self use or to save the world from villains.

I really liked this book because it has some decent action and good dialogue and story back round. This book brings super man to other people.  My favorite genre is Science Fiction because it brings things that are fake but that could become real in the coming years. I reccomend this book to those who like to read action books.

Later in the book They come upon a building that is guarded very closely, and Colin needs to get inside. A friend of his leads them inside into a shooting frenzy, with bullets flying everywhere Colin has to find a way to his friend Danny's rescue. Many people died during this fight and Danny's father died as well.

I had a connection with Danny, seeing as he has a step-father too I guess. I have a step dad too and sometimes he can be a real pain but when it comes down to it I have spent more time with him than I probably will with my own father.

 The ability to look into the future, is something you do not want.- Danny Cooper

 

The Help

   "What does it feel like to raise a white child when your own child is at home being taken care of by someone else?"

         Katherine Stockett's historical fiction novel and hit movie, The Help, is definitely a novel that grabs your heart! You want to root for just about every character! It is based on what civil rights were like in the South during the 1960's.

         Aibileen Clark was just your average help. She did everything Mrs. Leefolt wanted, steered clear of trouble, and took care of Mrs. Leefolt's beloved baby, Mae Mobely. One day, Miss Skeeter, Mrs. Leefolt's best friend, comes back from Ole Miss only to upset the balance. Skeeter, an aspiring writer/journalist wants to find out the truth behind black society and being the Help. The first to confess reality, despite the fact that it could lead to trouble, was Aibileen. She told Skeeter everything from bus rides, church, her own son she hardly ever had time with, and being Mrs. Leefolt's help. Many of the other maids in Aibileen's community wondered how she could have possibly done this, she could potentially end up in jail! Dismissing their confusions, soon others joined in the what was to soon be Skeeter's book about the help. Boy did they have a lot to say? By doing this, many old friendships, jobs, and new friendships hung in the balance. These were changing times and everyone wanted to be a part of it.

     What I really took away from this historical fiction novel was the theme. I think Stockett is trying to express through writing that there really shouldn't be any segregation between races. She wants us to all be equal and express ourselves. We must always stand up for ourselves. It truly is an inspiring novel.

      I strongly recommend this book! If you like a little humor, history, and inspiring stories you would love this book! The Help contains so many characters you just want to root for the whole way through your reading. Stockett tells you what life was like for blacks and whites and what would happen if they got mixed. She explains very historically accurate. I couldn't put it down! Stockett leaves you wondering what will be said by the help or the white society girls next! 

The Way We Fall

"Most people think the scariest thing is knowing that you're going to die. It's not. Its knowing that you might have to watch every single person you've ever loved - or even liked - waste away while you just stand there." 

Kaelyn has enough troubles already. Her best friend just left to go to his dream college, her brother Drew seems to be becoming more distant, her mom has started working night shifts at the gas station, and her dad seems to be spending more time at the hospital than he does at home. 

And then it all changes. Kaelyn goes over to Rachel's house one day to work on a school project when all of a sudden Rachel's father comes out and starts hugging everyone, babbling like a baby about who knows what. Although she's a little bit stunned, Kaelyn thinks nothing of it. That is, until her father tells her that Rachel's dad died the next day.

"It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be babbling your secrets and chatting with strangers like they're old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in. And then you're dead."

What starts out as a single case soon turns into a full epidemic. Within a few weeks, the whole island gets quarantined. Will Kaelyn be able to protect herself from the virus while trying to save those she cares about the most?

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the way the Megan Crewe wrote it as a journal that Kaelyn kept during the epidemic. I was able to make a good connection to this book because right before I started reading it, I had watched the movie Contagion. Like The Way We Fall, Contagion is about a virus that sparks an epidemic. Although it isn't a happy story, I really liked the idea behind it. The Way We Fall is an extremely good book that I would highly recommend to all.
-Natalie Freeze