Tuesday, August 31, 2010

39 Clues Book 10: Into the Gauntlet


I would also like to remind you that Book 10 of the 39 clues is out today so you can check out Borders or Barnes and Noble or other places to get it.


Summary-
Amy, Dan and Nellie arrive in London. They find a riddle but the page is caught by a monkey from the Kabra's private zoo. The kids were able to read the page and realized it was a hint towards William Shakespeare. They go to the Globe theater to see Romeo and Juliet but the show turns into a riot. All 6 teams are at the same performance. The Starling triplets rappel off the roof to the stage causing panic. The other teams also end up on the stage and begin to fight each other. After the Holts use their competitors for Human bowling Dan and Amy escape. They head to Shakespeare's home. There they find a hint to the church Shakespear was buried at. All the other teams once again arrive. They all look for a clues while Ian Kabra tries to figure out how may clues each team has. Isable is nowhere in sight.
The Kabra family is having some serious problems. Ian and Natalie do not agree with their mother's ideas on how to win. Ian finds secret evidence about the murder of Amy and Dan's parents. His mother killed them. Then he realizes what Isabel said about Irina Spasky's death, "why bother"is all she says. Shocked by this he realizes his sister feels the same way as he does. They are not going to be like their mother.
A discovery by Dan leads to the location of Cahill island off the coast of Ireland. They just arrive when the other teams begin to arrive. All the other teams except the Starlings followed Amy and Dan right to the island. After climbing a cliff, Dan, Hamilton and Eisenhower find an elevator. One person from each branch must get in. Alistar, Hamilton, Amy, Dan, Jonah and the Kabra children go. They find out that Jonah and the Kabras sneaked away from their evil mothers to be there. Amy and Dan's branch is finally reveled to the others. When they get out they find Sined Starling. Together the whole group trudges through the Gauntlet. A few accidents happen during rock slides. When they finally reach the end someone is waiting for them. What would Isabel Kabra do to win? Would she shoot her own children?

Monday, August 30, 2010

I know that a lot of people have read these books already but they are still fun. You can find a lot of ways to relate to the characters and they aren't long. You can also check out the movie Romona and Beezus in theaters now.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Update

I've updated a lot of the pages and posts with new links that you might want to chec out. As you can see I also changed the template so I'll be working on this a little more.
-kkuhar

Powers


Powers is the third book about the western shore. It is the longest one too at over 500 pages. I liked this book a lot but it's really different from the other ones. You don't see how Orrec and Gry really are connected till the end. It follows a slave boy named Gav. He is from the Marshes but when he was young, was captured by soliders along with his sister. He has odd visions sometimes about the future and has an amazing memory. He is destined to grow up and become the teacher for his house. He however has a hard childhood with many larger boys. For about 14 years he is perfectly content in his life. He can learn and have "power". Then one event changes him forever. He leaves his life and walks away. For a while he just walks and then he finds people he think he belongs with. Each time he realizes his past makes him too different. He's just trying to fiure out life and freedom. A lot of it is about what freedom really is, ignorance,bondage, wealth, love. It also explains really the mindset of many slaves , or just ignorant people. I really like this book and I hope I can find more by this author.
You can read the beginng here:

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Voices


Voices Is the next book after Gifts. It is wrote by Ursula K. Le Guin. This book is in the city of Annul, a town be the sea. It was once a posperous city, full of wealth and knowledge. For seventeen years it was captured by the Alds, a desert people.They believed that books were evil and had all the books destroyed. This story follows Memer, a seventeen year old girl who lives in the city. Her mother was in charge of a very important house, the warloard's house. During Annul's independence warlords goverened the city, now they lived in smables like the rest of the people. The owner of her house was tourtured and twisted for a year until they let him free. A few years later Memer's mother got sick and died. Around that time she found a secret room, one full of books. At first she didn't know what they were but the warlord taught her how to read.
One morning while Memer is in the marketplace a horse charges suddenly at her. After calming the horse memer realizes the commotion. There is a woman with a halflion. She introduces herself as Gry. Memer tells her where she lives and Gry imediatly wants to come home with her. Her husband is of course Orrec Caspro. Orrec has been invited to recite stories to the leader of the Alds. During the days that follow Annul will be changed forever. From a people in ruins new hope will emerge. The unthinkable will be done, good shall rise over evil. oNe day wil Memer's future be brighter with the help of her new friends?
*I think this is a realygood book:D Definetly read these.
You can read a question and answer with the author here:
You can read an exert here;

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The City Of Embers


The City Of Embers is a interesting idea of what our world may oneday come to. It was wrote in 2003 by Jeanne DuPrau. The City is underground. There is no sun, no sky, just electricity. Life is just as it is here except their life is powered by electricity. The people in the city of embers have lived there about 200 years, and the lights of the city are about to go out. There are many blackouts and supplies is scarce. A group of three kids find the key to their problem, a letter. The only problem is it was destroyed. The kids must find the truth about their world and the rest of it in order to save their people. Is there more out there? Should you listen to people just because they're in charge? What would you do to make sure that your light doesn't go out forever?

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Gifts


Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin. Is a really good book. It is set on the west shore of a unknown land. The uplander(what they call the people in the hills) have gifts. They a basically magical powers. The land is broke into small domains. The domains had been waring for years. In one domain one little boy is born. Soon after a girl is born in the next domain. The boy in named Orrec, Orrec Caspro. His clans gift in unmaking. That means you can look at a animal and turn the bones to mush. His best friend, Gry, can talk to animals. Orrec's mother is not from the uplands. She was a learned preacher's daughter who came to marry a man from the uplands. At the age of about 13 your gift is suppose to work. Gry can now communicate with animals, but Orrec can do nothing. His father tries and tries but Orrec's gift won't work. Then suddenly when he is out riding with is father he "unmakes" the whole hillside. Then he does the same to his dog. They claim he has the wild gift and could be very dangerous. The blindfold Orrec, so that he can't look and destroy anything. One day they travel to another domain. Their power is they say a spell and whoever they say it over will get sick and die soon after. The men there are sometimes rude and drink a lot. They fear Orrec and don't do anything to him. His mother however feels chilled and cannot feel warm again. She gets sicker once the return. For about a year she suffers, it is clear a spell was cast upon her. Finally a year later she dies, but not before she writes books. She writes down all the stories she was taught for her son. He is the only person in the Uplands who knows how to read. For days Orrec's father shuts himself away. The days turn to months and for years he is sad. The only time Orrec ever takes his blindfold off is to read his mother's stories. Gry trains him a guide dog to help in in his life. Finally Orrec takes off the blindfold. He tries to cast a spell but nothing comes of it. Suddenly Orrec knows the truth. He never had a gift, it was a trick. A trick that prevented him from seeing his dying mother, and so much else. What will Orrec do faced with this revilation?
You can read an exert her:

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Fairest


My library is not big, but I love it. You can find great books just sitting there. I just finished reading one of them. It is Fairest by, Gail Carson Levine, she also wrote Ella Enchanted. Fairest is set in the same world with the fairy Lucinda. Aza is a innkeeper's adopted daughter. She is not pretty, not even close to it. In her land bueaty is blond hair, fair skin and light lips. Aza has black hair, pale skin and bright red lips. She has something amazing though, her voice. It's is am amazing voice, which can do almost anything. He land is full of singers and it seems Aza has the fairest voice of them all, but will it lead her to problems? Aza is given the opprotunity to go to the royal wedding and takes it. However, tragedy quickly strikes, and the King is badly injured. Aza becomes the queen's lady-in-waiting. The new leader, Ivi doesn't know the ways of her new land and destroys many coustoms. Meanwhile, she only wants Aza, and the prince. After being together so much the prince and Aza fall in love. When Aza's secret comes out on the midst of confusion she is sent to prison but, she has finally the only thing she ever wanted, beauty. Aza must find out the true meaning of love, friendship, and bueaty. It is a fairytale and the ending isn't really suprising but it's nice.