Holes

Stanley Yelnats didn't do anything wrong, yet the courts say otherwise and so he is being sent off to Camp Green Lake. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. Only dirt, heat, dangerous animals, and holes. The boys dig holes to "build character." It is long hard work that seems to do nothing but waste time. But then the Warden seems to be searching for something. Whatever is it? 

My son and I read this book and very much enjoyed it. 

Characters were many and sometimes hard to differentiate between, but they were still fun and enjoyable. Setting made me need a drink of water all the time. But what I most enjoyed was the plot and flashbacks that were present to help enlighten the reader as to what was actually going on. Miss Katherine and Sam were my favorite and I really felt for them. And you feel sorry for Stanley and Zero and all the other boys. 

The Tower Treasure

Nancy Drew is awesome. Female sleuth, solving mysteries, simple reads that can help people get into the genre. Always good times. What goes right alongside Nancy Drew? The Hardy Boys, of course!

I hadn't ever read any of the Hardy Boys books, but had grown to love the characters in Her Interactive's Nancy Drew PC Games. They are great mystery (point and click, for the most part) games starring Nancy with help from her friends with the Hardy Boys as occasional guest stars. They were so fun to play with/as and I found that I loved them as characters. I needed to read these books! So I picked it up for my son and I to read, though HB books for a six year old is maybe too young. *shrugs * I enjoyed it anyway.

The Tower Treasure is the HB's first mystery. It begins with them almost being run off the road when a crazy driver wizzes by a few times. They come to find out that robberies have been happening all over their little town and it seems to be done by the same man. When their friend's car is stolen they start their investigation off seriously to find the missing vehicle. They receive threats, find a few dead ends, get their "gang" to help as well as the police and their detective father. But it isn't only grand theft auto they are worrying about, the Applegate's--a very rich family in town--have also been burgled with jewels and other things missing from the family safe. Mr. Applegate suspects one of his employee's but the HB's are convinced the man is innocent. Can they find the crook? This is a real caper.

It was a nice mystery that I finished in two days. Clean, cut, ironed and pressed all with a sandwich for the road. Done in the late 1920's, it is simple and proper as expected and delivered.

There isn't really anything wrong with the books, especially because they are meant for a younger audience. There is the definite slang of the time: "swell," "rap" (as in knocking on the door which I guess is still technically okay, but who uses "rap" now a days?), "bucks" instead of dollars was considered rude ("not in this house"), and a few other ones I can't think of off the top of my head. It was funny and kind of shocking, though obviously not in a proverse or scared way. Just unexpected, though it was stupid of me not to.

The thing that I didn't like was the portrayal of girls and women here. The friends who are girls  or who are presented here are always shocked and don't do anything. When their father gets arrested and they find out the girls dramatically clutch their throats and their mother faints needing her smelling salts and medicine. Even Mrs. Hardy is depicted as only cooking, constantly making sandwiches, and either worried or proud and the situation calls for it. Part of me, though, was surprised that Mrs. Hardy was around and mentioned. Even in Nancy Drew, Nancy's mom is dead. Though a lot of Mrs. Hardy's time was making sure her boys were fed. I guess that's what mom's do, feed the family, but I know that's not all I do. I wish she was given more of a personality than cook. Very much playing on stereotypes all around. Mom's, fainting girls, hobos, and other stereotypes. Those were very prominent.

Though, many of the characters were very simple, almost flat. There was very little difference between Frank and Joe where they could have been the same person, which was rather disappointing because in the PC games they were very different. This could be that this is the first story and it is a simple mystery focused on the mystery instead of the characters. The same thing could be said for the setting. There was very little description actually given as the story developed.

I'd be interested to read some of the other books, though I might not read then in the publication order. Just to see how far the boys develop.

Good book for younger kids, though maybe not a six year old. Lol.

White Sand Volume 2

Reading White Sand Volume 2 was a fun adventure. Obviously you need to read the first volume (which I found was much more enjoyable my second time through).

This is the continuation of the "White Sand" series by Brandon Sanderson in the Cosmere universe.

Here Kenton is working with Khriss to keep the Diem going. On he verge of collapse and bring posted by the Dayside government, they work hard to negotiate with and persuade the probable to keep the Sand Masters running and a part of the city and culture. All the while defeating same creatures, visiting parties and government dignitaries, and killing assassins who want Kenton dead. He very much has a full plate to work on.

This graphic novel is done really well. It seems more artistic that the 1st Volume in some of its mirror-ment.  Though at least in the last chapter of my edition, the artwork style changed suddenly to something far more simplistic. It didn't give a reason and it didn't seem like it would be important thematically. Aside from that confusion, it worked well. 

This time through the series I enjoyed the story a lot more than simply reading one volume at a time. If you are going to read this series, do so with multiple volumes in hand. The flow is better, the plot makes more sense, and it the lack of climax at the end of the first volume can be overlooked.

I very much loved Khriss in this book. She is my favorite character here by far. The other characters do get their time to grow and become interesting, but I love her most.

I am far more interested at the end of Volume 2 than I was with 1 and can't wait for Volume 3 to be published though it has no publishing date as of yet.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

This was such a cute book.

None of the Prince Charmings are the same person. Didn't everyone know that? They have names. Liam, the dashing hero who saved Sleeping Beauty from the evil fairy/dragon. Gustav, the large, strong man who rescued Rapunzel from the evil witch and freed her from the tower. Duncan, who's kiss awake Snow White. And Frederic who searched the land looking for Cinderella. Also what you don't know is that Liam does not like Sleeping Beauty's attitude. Gustav gets made fun of for falling out of the tower and having to be saved by Rapunzel when he goes blind. Duncan is odd and has no friends. And Frederic has practically never set foot outside of the castle and is afraid of practically everything.

Cinderella decides to go off on an adventure to find the countries missing bard, because life is too tame in Frederic's castle. Frederic, not wanting her to be hurt, follows slowly and tries to track her down. Frederic ends up running into all of these other Princes Charming on his quest to find his fiance. But then only realize too late that she has been kidnapped by the witch who held Rapunzel captive for so long. This witch is sick of being made fun of by those lyrical bards and always singing her as the bad guy and giving her a bad reputation. She will put a stop to all of these heroes.

This is a very comical book full of archetypal tropes turned on their heads. The Princes Charming are so much more than they appear. It is funny and a really light hearted read, even though the witch was planning on killing a lot of people. *shrugs* It is very much the basic hero's journey in plot, very much a heroes journey in tale too, but that is to be expected. Look at the title. I enjoyed the characters and the twist that Christopher Healy gave them. I love the fact that Cinderella is the most adventurous, next to Liam, because she her archetype is one of submissiveness whereas here it is so not the case.

The reprise of this story was just fun!

This is a book I'd suggest for a boy who is wanting a fun book to read. Girls can enjoy it too, but I find that it is harder for parents to find engaging books for their sons. This is one that I think they would enjoy and have fun with.

I enjoyed it and am excited for the next two books.

The Amulet of Samarkand

The Amulet of Samarkand is book one of the "Bartimaeus" series by Jonathan Stroud and is very funny.

In an alternate universe where magicians and "magic" run the most notable governments, Bartimaeus, a djinni (demon), is summoned to acquire the Amulet of Samarkand from a very prominent and powerful magician. But this Amulet is more than what it seems and the small boy who summoned him is more powerful than the people around him give him credit for. However Nathaniel, quickly gets in way over his head. Of course he does.

The alternate reality took a little getting used to because I didn't know how far it intended to go. But Bartimaeus took good care to make sure we don't drowned while adventuring through his ocean of a story. Bartimaeus doesn't even break into his story for the explanations he gives. They come by way of footnotes. They are humorous as well as informational.

It is a young adult "boy" book (though obviously girls enjoy it too), that I'd suggest for any junior high or younger high school student. It isn't a romantic in any way, and there are really no girls in it all. But if there was a boy who was looking to start reading something, this would be one that I'd suggest to get him reading again.

Bartimaeus is, as said, very funny. He is a very sarcastic and very willing to drop the fourth wall barrier. Nathaniel is a little less exciting, but it was cool to see him grow throughout the book. Bartimaeus is the ringleader and main attraction to the story. And I'm okay with that.

I enjoyed the plot. Almost like a heist story or the suspense of one.

I enjoyed the story over all very much and would like to read the next one as well.

Promise of Blood

Promise of Blood is a mix of the French Revolution and magic.

Field Marshal Tamas and his group of powerful Gun Powder Mages overthrow their king who was about to pretty much enslave their people to another nation because the debts were too high. Tamas successfully takes the city for the people and is rather successful at keeping it too. But then trouble comes calling not only from outside forces (the nation they were about to be sold off to, though not in so many words), but also from inside his own group counselors. Tamas is ambushed, kidnapped, severely injured, and almost dies often in this book as he's trying to find out who he can trust.

Adamat is a retired investigator who is hired by Tamas to find out information about a they dying words of cabals they were killing during this coup. Then to investigate who this traitor is among the ranks. But is he able to be trusted too?

Taniel, Tamas' son, is sent with his mute "savage" companion to track down the Privileged, a high powered sorceress, who decimated a portion of Tamas' troops. But there are more things gone one than just being a powerful Privileged. She seems more than just good.

Then also there is Malahi, this mysterious chef who appears out of nowhere, cooks the best food which also appears out of nowhere, and supposes himself a God.

This book actually took me a long time to read, comparatively. There were moments in the middle of a fight when I was willing to put it down and go get a sandwich, which is pretty sad. It seemed very slow going and it was hard to tell where our destinations were. There were few lamp posts in this fog and they seemed very far apart. You could chop the book up into two parts, I guess. Easily based on the "mystery" part that the investigator Adamat and what he finds out. But it felt weird because I didn't know where it was going.

It also got very bloody (hence the title) right off. Much like the French Revolution, there were mass executions of the nobility just so then they couldn't have claim to the throne. It dims down on the gore part as it goes on, so if you don't care for messy scenes and you can muscle through it, it'll get better. Though the fight scenes happen very often. As I said, Tamas gets kidnapped, ambushed, sliced and diced, and gets broken a lot. Though he doesn't heal instantly, so I'll give him that reality. But that was just Tamas, not everyone in this war.

This is not a romantic fantasy story in any real sense of the word. There are five girls who are named and alive in the whole book that aren't background characters. One is just a background character for this book who gets a few lines said mainly to Tamas even though she is Taniel's ex-fiance. Two are seen as crazy and trying to kill everyone. Another is a laundress who gets the most wordage on the page, but there still isn't much of it comparatively to the other characters. And the last is a mute, who is supposed to be mysterious and funny, which I guess she is, but there are other ways to make a girl mysterious without cutting out her tongue.

There is a lot of jumping in this book from different peoples point of view. Which I don't mind, but it had the tendency of shifting the time line a little, I think. It was a very character based book with their decisions making the story go forward. Which is okay, I personally would have wanted more plot points to help me guess where it was going.

It seemed seems the book was based around fighting and food. Lol.

I think it was well written and the mix  of gunpowder and magic is new. The religion that was created was intriguing and I would like to see how that develops more. The world setting and cultures of the people were well developed.

I will probably read the next ones in this trilogy because the characters that were developed were intriguing enough and the world was fantastic. I do hope that the girls do get some more voice and that the mute finds someway to speak through her sorcery powers.

Alcatraz Verses the Evil Librarians

The book Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians was a very fun read. Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite writers and I'm close to reading everything that he has written. This edition of Alcatraz will soon be re-published by Tor (I believe) and will soon be giving out the last book in the series which readers have been waiting years for because of complications with Scholastic Publishing.

Like I said, it is a very funny read that gives us the definition of breaking the fourth wall. This book is the autobiography of Alcatraz Smebry. He is trying to correct some of the wrong information that has been presented about himself in the Hushlands (the US, Europe, and Australia) and the Free Kingdoms (the places of the world that the Evil Librarians haven't taken over). The Evil Librarians have taken control of a vast amount of the Earth and has changed the history of the world. What we of the Hushlands believe to be history is actually a fabrication that the Librarians have employed in order to keep order. Their belief is "Ignorance is Bliss." Most of the ruling governments don't even know they are being manipulated.

Alcatraz is introduced to this world after he sets fire to the kitchen of his 27th foster families house--he has a Talent for breaking things you see. He gets a package in the mail full of sand with a note saying that it is his inheritance. It ends up getting stolen and his quirky and rather ridiculous Grandfather who has a Talent of being late for everything comes to save the day. They end up having to infiltrate a library to keep both worlds--Hushlands and Free Kingdoms--safe. Here we learn many new things about how the world really is, like the dinosaurs are actually not extinct, there are continents we don't know about, etc.

The autobiography of Alcatraz has many of different quirky things that happens that were entertaining, yet sometimes annoying. He breaks into the middle of the action, often, to explain things or to simply be obnoxious--he is a thirteen year old kid so what can you expect. At the end of chapters there is always a cliffhanger that makes you want to read more, but then he goes on dialogues with you, the reader. He also calls you out on little things that readers often do such as reading the very last page first, or skipping a head when you should (at which point in Chapter 15 he calls you a Moron--but not really).

These can be fun if you read it in as few settings as possible, if it takes you too long to read the book it can start to get daunting and somewhat annoying.

I found this very enjoyable probably mostly because I am a Librarian. I hope I'm not evil, but there are moments that are were extremely funny because of my current employment. At one point he mentions, while breaking the fourth wall, that you are probably reading the book in a variety of locations, one of which was the library. At which point I almost burst out laughing because I was at work in a library reading the book. The irony was sweet.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a light hearted read. Brandon Sanderson is an excellent writer who knows what he's doing. Sanderson comes up with the most amazing and different ideas that really haven't been done before--which is extremely refreshing. I can't wait for the next few to come in at my local library so I can continue the series.