Clear Skyes

Just a reminder to everyone, go get on the waiting list for City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare! It came out at the beginning of the month and the waiting list at my local library, at least, is already very long. For those of you who haven't started the Mortal Instruments series yet, I highly recommend it. I won't say that it is a coming classic, like I believe Harry Potter to be, but it is still a really goo series. Very fast paced and fun. Onto our book, Pillage by Obert Skye. Now many of you might ask why his name sounds familiar. I'll tell you: because he wrote Leven Thumps! Pillage is about a boy who has to move in with his uncle after his mother's death. Beck (the boy) thinks his uncle is extremely strange and the two don't exactly hit if off, but after a bit of time, an odd bit of info comes into the light. Beck's family has a curse. A curse that allows members of his family to make plants grow on command and, this is the weirdest part, make dragon eggs hatch!
OK, I really love the Leven Thumps books. I read them super quickly and I gave a copy of the first book to my little sister to read just a few months ago. This high opinion of Obert Skye, plus the very cool book cover, made me think that Pillage might be even better. I mean, Leven Thumps is great, but this book has dragons! Unfortunately, I was very let down. This book was not that good. Honestly, it was far too short for the story that Skye was trying to write. The book honestly felt forced, and I wanted way more. Sorry, Pillage, but you just don't measure up to the Leven Thumps standard.

Rating: 2/5

Of New Books and Old

Hey there, readers. I can't believe it is already May 6th! Time is just flying by. I am so sad I wasn't here to update you on the fact that Insurgent by Veronica Roth and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore both came out on Monday! I have been excited for both of them for so long now and I am dying to get my hands on a copy of both of them. Fantasy readers, I beg you to go read book one by Kristin Cashore, Graceling. It will blow your mind. It was the first adult fantasy book to really hold my attention. Also, I don't think I have forgotten to mention to my dytopian-loving readers that Divergent is worth your while. So please go to your local library or go buy a copy of these books, because they are all very very good. Also, The City of Lost Souls, book #5 in the Mortal Instruments is coming very soon. I am talking 2 days away, people. And since I am on a very very long waiting list, those of you who get your hands on it before me, please let me know if I have to read the rest of the Infernal Devices books before I read this one! 

OK, now onto the book that I actually have read. The school year is finally finishing up, which means that I am just about done with school required reading for a few months. Usually the books we have to read in school just drive me insane, but I finally got my hands on a classic that I really enjoyed: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This book follows George and Lennie, men who travel and work together to scrounge up whatever money they can in the hope of someday having some land of their own. But Lennie can be trouble. George says he just isn't bright, but we as future readers know it is more than that. Lennie doesn't understand most things and even as old as he is, his only real joy is in touching things that are soft. Like rabbits, or the fabric of a nice dress. But sometimes his limited understanding can get him and George into a lot of trouble.

This book just blew my mind. It was really nicely written, and it was really short so it didn't take me that much time at all to read. The characters didn't have a lot of time to be developed, and yet I understood them perfectly. I understood their motivations and feelings and felt like I was right there in the book with them. I understood George's anger at Lennie and I wanted to hug Lennie for just always trying to make it better when he knew he had done something wrong again. This is a beautifully written book, and it should be read by all children so that they can have an understanding of the value of some of these classics. This is one of the good ones. 

Rating: 4/5