Showing posts with label J Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J Action. Show all posts

The 21 Balloons

7:53 PM Nikki

The Twenty-One Balloons. William Pene du Bois. 1947. Viking 180 pages.

There are two kinds of travel. The usual way is to take the fastest imaginable conveyance along the shortest road. The other way is not to care particularly where you are going or how long it will take you, or whether you will get there or not. 

I should have believed my mother. She's been trying to tell me that this was a good read for many, many years. And she was right. This is a good read. I'm not sure I'd say it was the best, best book I've ever read. Or the best Newbery I've ever read. But this book is anything but boring! It surprised me in all the right ways.

The hero of this one is Professor William Waterman Sherman. This teacher-turned-adventurer left San Francisco in August of 1883 hoping to spend about a year in his balloon. He'd chosen his design carefully and thoughtfully. And he was so excited at the thought of being away from it all--all the cares, all the stress, all the worries of this world. He wanted FREEDOM and then some. But that wasn't to be...

For an accident leaves him stranded on a "deserted" island. The island's community does NOT want to be discovered by the world, so any visitors are welcomed permanently in the community and renamed. I don't want to give away all the quirks of this one though! But I found this one to be quite a read!

Enjoyable and satisfying...a great way to spend the afternoon.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Swift Rivers (MG)

8:02 AM Nikki

Swift Rivers. Cornelia Meigs. 1932/2004. Walker. 288 pages.

It was the summer that Chris Dahlberg was seventeen that he mowed the high meadow alone for the first time.

I can't say that I LOVED Swift Rivers. But I can say that I did enjoy it--most of it at least. I checked it out from the library not really knowing what to expect. My plan was to give it a chapter or two to see if it was even something I wanted to read. And it was. Chris Dahlberg is a great hero for an adventure story. After his parents' death, his Uncle became responsible for him. But this responsibility didn't include love and respect. Chris works hard day after day after day with no one to really appreciate him. Since the Uncle absolutely HATES his father--Chris' grandfather--when Chris decides to leave home for four days to check on his grandfather, the Uncle forbids him, warning him that if he leaves he shouldn't bother coming back. For he'll never, ever, ever welcome him back into his home. Knowing that the grandfather is getting older, knowing that there must be a reason why he didn't come to help the mowing this year--like he has every year since he can remember--he makes his decision. He just has to see if his grandfather needs help. He needs to see if grandfather is ready to make it through the winter. The uncle is true to his word, but that doesn't turn out to be such a bad thing. For Chris and his grandfather and a helpful neighbor or two come up with an idea. It's a bit of a risk, it's not really been done before, but if it succeeds, it will be the start of something big. Chris and his grandfather are determined to enter the logging business, to cut down trees, and float the logs down the river, etc.

Half of the novel is the adventure of the logs-down-the-river. How this journey changes Chris. So it's a coming-of-age adventure story set in the 1830s. It's an industrious novel--one that focuses on men hard at work. It's a dangerous job that requires focus and skill and determination.

I liked this one because I liked Chris. I didn't necessarily love all the descriptions of river rafting. But even though I wasn't loving each and every page, I still enjoyed it for the most part. 


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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The Trumpeter of Krakow

7:00 AM Nikki

The Trumpeter of Krakow. Eric P. Kelly. 1928. 208 pages.

It was in late July of the year 1461 that the sun rose one morning red and fiery as if ushering in midsummer's hottest day. His rays fell upon the old city of Krakow and the roads leading up to it, along which rolled and rocked a very caravan of peasants' wagons. 

Don't judge a book by its cover. Or, at least don't judge this book by its cover! For appearances can be deceiving, The Trumpeter of Krakow is anything but boring! It's an exciting adventure story with elements that reminded me of some great fantasy novels! (It stars an alchemist and his "student" who is obsessed with finding the philosopher's stone.)

The Charnetski family has come to Krakow seeking protection. The father (Andrew Charnetski) has relatives in the city, and he's hoping to find sanctuary there until he can have an audience with the King (Kazimir Jagiello). But when he arrives, he learns that his relative has died--been murdered--and that the rest of the family has fled. Knowing that his family is in great danger--especially if the man seeking to prevent him from entering the city comes back to cause trouble--he returns to the market to think out his options. Joseph, the son, happens to rescue a young woman from an attacking dog, and in doing so wins the gratitude of her uncle. An invitation is extended to Joseph and his family, and lodgings are arranged. Around the same time, Andrew meets an important man in the city, Jan Kanty, who listens sympathetically and offers great advice. Sell your horses and your cart, change your name, and become the trumpeter in the tower of the Church of Our Lady St. Mary. Andrew is happy to follow this advice closely. He even teaches his son to play the trumpet hymn (Heynal) that is to played four times every hour. There is a story about this hymn, and a legend of sorts about a trumpeter. Readers learn of this at the very beginning, for it is set several centuries before this adventure even begins.

There is never a dull moment in The Trumpeter of Krakow. For there are the neighbors above and below to keep things interesting. The most interesting, perhaps, being the alchemist, Kreutz, he is the distracted uncle of the grateful girl, Elzbietka. He has a student, Johann Tring, a young man that makes many--including Joseph and Elzbietka--nervous. The two--in varying degrees--are obsessed with finding out the secret of how to make gold, fascinated with the philosopher's stone. The niece feels that Tring is a bad, bad influence on her uncle, and that Tring is leading her Uncle into dangerous territory.

And of course, never for a minute forget that this family is being pursued. Why? Well, the family DOES have a secret, they have something in their possession that drives people mad, something that people are willing to kill to have.

The novel is exciting. It has action and adventure, and a bit of magic as well. I do believe this one is more plot-driven than character-driven, but that didn't bother me at all. For it was enough that I wanted to find out what happened next. And the writing, I felt, was pleasant.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Boy At The End of the World (MG)

9:51 AM Nikki

The Boy at the End of the World. Greg van Eekhout. 2011. Bloomsbury. 224 pages.

This is what he knew:
His name was Fisher.
The world was dangerous.
He was alone.
And that was all.

I definitely enjoyed Greg van Eekhout's The Boy At The End of the World. If you like survival stories or action-adventure stories or post-apocalyptic stories, then this one may be for you. Fisher, our hero, is truly the boy at the end of the world. There's a good possibility that he's the only human left on earth. At least the only human awakened from his pod. And if the other arks on earth look like Fisher's, well, the world could be in trouble.

But he's not completely alone in the world. He's guided by a robot, Click, and together they set out on a journey. To find other arks--other survivors, perhaps, and to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the bad guys--the evil robots that have destroyed Fisher's ark. (Not that it was *his* ark. But the ark that housed his pod.)

The Boy at the End of the World is imaginative. The author has created quite a world--an unfriendly world--for our hero to try to navigate. Some of the creatures that have evolved or survived-long-enough-in-the-world-to-evolve are quite interesting. (Though they take some getting used to perhaps.) I did enjoy this one. It was a quick read with plenty of action and suspense.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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The Throne of Fire (MG)

7:51 PM Nikki

The Throne of Fire. Kane Chronicles #2 Rick Riordan. 2011. Hyperion. 464 pages.

Carter here. Look, we don't have time for long introductions. I need to tell this story quickly, or we're all going to die.

The sequel to Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid. Once again it is narrated by a brother-sister team, Carter (14), and Sadie (13). These two were raised apart and they're only now getting to know one another. But surviving dangerous situations one after another after another has helped these two bond a bit. Though they still bicker over who gets to tell what as the story unfolds. In this adventure, the two are looking to piece together the Book of Ra (it is in three sections, each hidden in a secret location). They're hoping the Book of Ra will help them resurrect Ra, a retired Egyptian god. A god they're hoping will be strong enough to help them defeat Apophis. And to add to the pressure, they only have a week to do it.

I'm not a big fan of how this one is told. Of how the book(s) are being recorded on audio, of how both are hoping that by sharing their stories other magicians will step forth to help the two battle the forces of evil and save the world.

And I'm not a big fan of the alternating narrators. It's not that I dislike either Carter or Sadie. It's just that I feel if it was told by one character, that maybe just maybe I'd connect more with the story? I'm not sure if it's the way the story is told or if it's just the story itself.

While I'm mentioning all the little things I didn't quite love, let me focus on the "romance." For me. It distracts from the story. To have Carter DROP EVERYTHING because he discovers the location of a certain someone?! To leave the saving the world to his sister and her friend just so that he can find her, "save" her, and maybe just maybe see if she feels the same way about him as he does about her?! I mean when I got to that section I was like YOU'RE KIDDING ME?! HE'S REALLY GOING TO DO THAT? And I felt the same way when Sadie left Carter--earlier in the novel--to go London so she could celebrate her birthday party with some friends. I mean the world is ending in less than five days and instead of finding a way to STOP it from ending, you want to party?! And Sadie's interest in Anubis and Walt?! It felt weird to me. Not necessarily her having crushes on them both. But on either one being even remotely interested in her in that way. I mean she *just* turned thirteen. And Walt is sixteen. And Anubis--well he's a god, and she's human. I thought the book had more than enough drama without Carter and Sadie being distracted by puppy love.

So what did I love? Well, I loved how compelling the second half of this novel was. I mean once the action starts, it STARTS. And it's hard to put it down once it starts getting good. Once things start to come together, I wasn't distracted by the things that didn't quite work for me. I just had to keep reading; I had to know what happened next.

The Throne of Fire has action, adventure, and drama. Also mythology--Egyptian mythology--of course.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

10:20 AM Nikki

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. C.S. Lewis. 1952. HarperCollins. 256 pages.

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can't tell you how his friends spoke to him, for he had none.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is one of my favorite, favorite books. There are seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia, this is the third. Yes, third. For there is NO other way to read the books then in their proper order: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair,  The Horse and His Boy, The Magicians Nephew, and The Last Battle.

This third adventure stars Lucy and Edmund Pevensie and their cousin, Eustace Scrubb. These three are transported to Narnia--much to Lucy and Edmund's delight and Eustace's horror and disbelief--through a magical painting. Lucy remarking one day that the ship in the picture looks Narnian, that those waves look like they're moving. Once on board this ship, they meet King Caspian. They join him on his quest to find his father's missing friends, these "seven lost lords": Lord Bern, Lord Octesian, Lord Restimar, Lord Rhoop, Lord Mavramorn, Lord Revilian, and Lord Argoz.

The book is a series of adventures; these adventures being loosely tied together by their one mission, one quest, of discovering the fate of these seven lords. They are NOT out to save the world, NOT out to save Narnia from a dark and evil threat. They are adventuring for the sake of adventuring. They are facing risks, yes, because they are curious and brave and loyal. But they are not facing risks because there is evil lurking and threatening to destroy everything they know and love. Why mention this? Well, if you saw the movie, you might have gotten a different idea of their adventures.

What do I love about this one? The characters and the stories! I love to see how Eustace is turned into a dragon. I love, love, love how he's restored and healed by Aslan. That scene being oh-so-magical! (And the movie? Well? They don't quite capture it the way the book did. They changed things throughout.) There are so many elements that I just loved in this one! Lucy "helping" the invisible dufflepuds, Dark Island and the albatross, etc. And then, of course, there is Reepicheep!!!

So do I recommend this one?! Yes!!! How did I feel about the movie? Well, there were places I enjoyed it. But they rearranged things; they changed things; they added and subtracted. And there were a few scenes that just felt tedious. (The big scene that is supposed to be the climax; the big battle). But it was a beautiful movie. It was compelling even if it was different. Were the changes necessary? I'm not convinced they were. Especially how they felt the need to add conflict and tension between the characters--when there wasn't any in the book. But it wasn't a horrible adaptation.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens (MG/YA)

7:25 AM Nikki

Alcatraz Versus The Shattered Lens. Brandon Sanderson. 2010. Scholastic. 304 pages.
 
So there I was, holding a pink teddy bear in my hand. It had a red bow and an inviting, cute, bearlike smile. Also, it was ticking.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Now you throw it, idiot!" Bastille said urgently.

Alcatraz Smedry is back for his fourth adventure. (Alcatraz would want me to tell you it is yet another volume in his biography--not a fantasy novel at all.) The first three volumes are Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones, and Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Chrystallia. While we still don't know how Alcatraz ends up tied to an altar of outdated encyclopedias, readers do finally see how Alcatraz ended up a hero in the Free Kingdoms. For in this fourth adventure story, it is up to Alcatraz and his friends (and family) to save the kingdom of Mokia from the invading army of Evil Librarians. Can Alcatraz make the most of his talents? Can he lead a country--a kingdom--into battle? Can he handle the responsibility?

I love Alcatraz Smedry. I do. He is a great narrator!
If you've ever thought that books are boring, it's because you don't know how to read them correctly. From now on, when you read a book, I want you to scream the words of the novel out loud while reading them, then do exactly what the characters are doing in the story.
Trust me, it will make books way more exciting. Even dictionaries. Particularly dictionaries. So go ahead and try it out with this next part of this book. If you do it right, you'll win the bonus prize. (37)

Change. It's important to change. I, for instance, change my underwear every day. Hopefully you do too. If you don't, please stay downwind.
Change is frightening. Few of us ever want things to change. (Well, things other than underwear.) But change is also fascinating--in fact, it's necessary. Just ask Heraclitus. (56)

In the year 1288, if you were to pass by an old acquaintance on the way to Ye Old Chain Mail Shoppe and call him "nice," you'd actually be calling him an idiot.
If it were the year 1322 instead -- and you were on your way to the bookshop to pick up the new wacky comedy by a guy named Dante -- when you call someone "nice" you would be saying that they were timid.
In 1380, if you called someone "nice," you'd be saying they were fussy.
In 1405, you'd be calling them dainty.
In 1500, you'd be calling them careful.
By the 1700s -- when you were off to do some crowd surfing at the new Mozart concert -- you'd be using the word nice to mean "agreeable."
Sometimes, it's difficult to understand how much change there is all around us. Even language changes, and the same word can mean different things depending on how, where, and when it was said. The word awful used to mean "deserving of awe" -- full of awe. The same as awesome. Once, the word brave meant "cowardly." The word girl meant a child of either gender.
(So next time you're with a mixed group of friends, you should call them "girls" instead of "guys." Assuming you're not too brave, nice, nice, nice, or nice.)
People change too. In fact, they're always changing. We like to pretend that the people we know stay the same, but they change moment by moment as they come to new conclusions, experience new things, think new thoughts. Perhaps, as Heraclitus said, you can never step in the same river twice...but I think a more powerful metaphor would have been this: You can never meet the same person twice. (224-5)
I loved this one. I thought it was a great addition to a fun series of fantasy novels. If you're looking for action, adventure, fantasy, and humor...then consider reading the Alcatraz books! They're great fun!!!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews


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