Book of a Thousand Days

By Shannon Hale

Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

With a small nod to the fairy tale of Rapunzel, Hale writes a hard to put down piece of fiction. Dashti is a "mucker," a commoner alone in the world after the death of her mother. Muckers are well known for their healing songs which ease pain and suffering. With nowhere to turn, Dashti goes to seek training as a maid in the royal city. She is assigned to the Lady Saren, a royal lady Dashti's own age, who makes her swear to stay with her. Little does Dashti know that Saren has just been sentenced by her own father to be locked in a tower for seven years--or until she agrees to marry the fearsome Lord Khasar. Dashti keeps a journal of their trials in their prison, including visits from Khan Tegus, Saren's long distance lover, and from the evil Lord Khasar himself. But after two and a half years, Dashti finds a way for them to escape the tower, only to find the country destroyed; laid to waste by the ambitious Khasar. Their best hope is to travel to Song of Evela and to throw themselves on the mercy of Khan Tegus. But Lady Saren seems mentally unstable and unable to care for herself, and Dashti finds herself forced to be leader and nursemaid. When finally the pair reach the Khan's home, Saren refuses to reveal herself and word on the street is that Lord Khasar is on his way to attack Song of Evela, too. Dashti is brought to the Khan to sing the healing songs for his old leg pain; should she take the chance to unmask Saren when so much depends upon it? Hard choices, bravery, songs, romance, loyalty and duty are all major plot themes and will keep readers turning the pages to see how everything ends. Written as journal entries, the sections feel so short you keep reading just one more...just one more....just one more....until suddenly the conclusion is upon you. Hale has gotten kudos before now for her wonderful descriptive writing style, particularly for her fabulous Newbery Honor book, Princess Academy (see review). Fans of rewritten fairy tales and fantasy will find much to like here.

The Land of the Silver Apples

By Nancy Farmer

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

This is the sequel to The Sea of Trolls. It helps if you have read the first book, but new readers will be able to follow along fairly well even so. Set in Great Britain in the year 790, 13 year old Jack is a bard-in-training in his tiny village. Trouble is afoot when Jack's beautiful and selfish little sister Lucy seems to go mad. The Bard travels with Jack's father, Jack, Brother Aiden, and the freed slave Pega, to the monastery of St.Filian's to hopefully purge Lucy of her condition. But when Jack sees the monks mistreating the people who come for help, his anger unintentionally causes an earthquake through his staff. A chasm appears in the earth, and Lucy is snatched away by an elf queen. To set things to rights, Jack is forced to journey through the tunnels with Pega and the slave Brutus to Elfland to try and recover Lucy and get the waters flowing again. The trio have numerous adventures, like running into monsters, meeting up unexpectedly with the pillager Thorgil, and being held captive by the hobgoblins before they finally reach Elfland. Readers will be riveted to the pages as the young teens face each new hurdle, making friends and enemies as they journey. Fantasy and adventure lovers alike will be more than satisfied by this inventive story, which mixes magic with the history of early Great Britain, Christianity and the old gods. A historical note in the back provides information about life during that period of time. A third book is promised in 2009, titled The Islands of the Blessed.

Dragonhaven

By Robin McKinley

Rating 4 1/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

Kudos to established fantasy writer McKinley for doing the unexpected. Instead of putting us in a new fantasy environment, this novel places us in what seems to be normal, every day America with one big difference--dragons exist. Our narrator is the teenager Jake, who lives at the Institute, a nature preserve for dragons. And like most non-profit places, it is struggling to survive. Dragons, for all their size and glory, seem able to hide away, and almost no one ever sees them. They also seem to be dwindling in number. And then Jake goes on his overnight solo in the park and finds both a dead poacher and a dying dragon who just gave birth...and one of the dragonlets is still alive. Unthinking, Jake picks up the baby dragon and before he knows it, Jake becomes both the dragon's mom and on America's most wanted list for it is a crime to try and save a dragon's life. The Institute rallies around Jake and his big secret (whom he names Lois), and then things get really out of control. While Jake is learning all about dragons from birth on up with Lois, the Institute is under attack from a group trying to close them down for protecting dangerous creatures--the fallout of the dead poacher. Jake has to leave the Institute with Lois and head out into the backcountry to hide, and it there that he makes contact with other dragons. Real dragons. Big, fire-breathing, house-sized dragons. Can Jake find a way to communicate with the dragons and save the Institute? This novel is compelling, especially told from Jake's stream of consciousness point of view where raising a dragon is tackled from a very practical standpoint. The existence of dragons among us is enough to tease in many a reader, but all of them will stay to see what ends up happening with Lois, Jake and the Institute. Thumbs up!

Elissa's Quest

By Erica Verrillo

Rating: 4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

This is the first book in the Phoenix Rising series. As far as Elissa knows, she is an orphaned peasant girl, apprenticed to the healer Nana in a small village. She fantasizes about the identity of her unknown father, only knowing that her mother died in childbirth. Elissa does have one secret: a magical gift to speak to and understand animals that Nana warns her to keep silent about. Then when Elissa is 13 years old, her father appears, and he turns out to be the prince of Castlemar, Lord Falk. In an instant, Elissa is swept out of the only life she knows and brought with Lord Falk on a journey to meet with the Khan. Although Elissa is desperate for a sign of love from her father, she despairs when Lord Falk tells her that she is to be used as a bargaining chip with the Khan so he'll lend Falk the army he needs to win a war in Castlemar. Left in the Citadel with her faithful donkey Gertrude and a young enslaved serving girl named Maya, Elissa begins to learn of her destiny when she hears a prophecy about the Phoenix and the Seeker. But first before she fulfills any prophecies, Elissa must escape the evil Khan! Can she find a way out of the Citadel and back to her father? This is a very likeable fantasy, with a plucky heroine. Although some elements of the story are rather contrived and convenient, most readers won't mind and will be swept up in the fast-moving plot. Those who like this story will look forward to the sequels.

The Dark is Rising

By Susan Cooper

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Newbery Honor

Reviewed by Noelle

This is book 2 in the excellent 5 book The Dark is Rising Sequence. Will Stanton turns 11 years old in December, and his whole world changes. For Will is an Old One, the last one to be born in the world, and with his eleventh birthday, he becomes the Sign Seeker. He must collect signs from the different elements as he finds them, and in so doing, help to defeat the Dark. For the Old Ones are of the Light, forever fighting those who serve the Dark, in an everlasting battle for dominance of the planet. Will finds the change bewildering, as he still is a young boy celebrating the holidays with his large family as much as he is fighting the Dark in moments that are out of his time. As Will journeys through long winter days, he discovers the powers that are his right as an Old One, and the long arm the Dark has to reach into Will's every day world and family. It is as much an adventure in being and becoming and standing for what is right as it is racing the Dark to collect the signs. Merriman Lyon, the professor we met in Over Sea, Under Stone, makes an appearance here as well, as Will's mentor and an Old One himself. Readers will enjoy the many-layered plot, the symbolism, and the action, and will look forward to reading book 3, Greenwitch, when the characters from the first two stories come together. The film of The Dark is Rising: The Sign Seeker has just been released (October 2007), although what previews I have seen seem to suggest some pretty major changes. Still, fans of the book may be interested.

The Treekeepers

By Susan McGee Britton

Rating: 4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

In the country of Wen, the Tree That Speaks has fallen, when Soladin, the Treekeeper, is betrayed by the evil Rendarren. Since then, the evil king has set about destroying any mention of the Tree and of thalasse, the magical liquid the Tree would produce. When the orphan Bird summons Farwender to help a sick child, she sees him use a vial of thalasse, the last in the world. To protect Bird from the Searchers, Farwender takes Bird to stay with Soladin, where she finds other orphans around her same age. There, Bird discovers she is the chosen one in a prophecy telling of one who will plant the seed that will bring back the Tree. Then Rendarren takes action, and Soladin and Farwender disappear, leaving Bird and the other children to set off on a dangerous quest to bring the seed to Wen and make things right. This is a great story, filled with magic, betrayal, courage, a perilous quest, friendship and adventure. Bird is a fierce but lovable character, stubborn but true. Her personal quest to find her father is woven into the adventure as well. Readers will enjoy this quick-paced and satisfying fantasy.

Once Upon a Crime

By Michael Buckley

Rating: 4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

This is book 4 in the Sisters Grimm series. Picking up where we left off in the third book, The Problem Child (see review, October 2006), Granny Relda, Mr. Canis, Mr. Hamstead, Daphne and Sabrina are all driving pellmell to New York City to find the fairies who live there in the hopes that they can cure the seriously injured Puck. The fairies take in the once-banished Puck to cure him, but the Grimms soon are embroiled in another mystery when Oberon, the King of the Fairies (and Puck's father), turns up dead with a red handprint on his body. The Scarlet Hand strikes again! The Grimms are hired to track down his killer, but as they run into the Everafters living in New York, they uncover another secret. Veronica Grimm, mother of the girls, was heavily involved with helping the Everafter community--and her family knew nothing about it. The news about her mother confuses Sabrina, just when she was deciding to give up fairy tale detective work. But as the family unravels the clues, running into Sinbad the Sailor, Mother Goose, the Seven Dwarves, the Wizard of Oz, and other new characters, Sabrina realizes she is doing just what she is meant to do. There are plenty of chases and escapes, and plenty of humor as usual, in this Sisters Grimm story. Fans will be happy to know book 5, Magic and Other Misdemeanors, will soon be available.

The Hero and the Crown

By Robin McKinley

Newbery Award Winner 1985

Rating: 4 3/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

This is the prequel to the excellent The Blue Sword (see review, Oct. 2006), and is set hundreds of years in the past. Aerin is the misfit daughter and only child of the king of Damar. Other members of the royal family possess the "Gift," a type of magic. But Aerin remains stubbornly without any such proof that she belongs in the family. Her only friends are her old nurse, Teka, Tor, the heir to the kingdom, and Talat, her father's castoff war horse. But when Aerin stumbles across a recipe for kenet, a salve that supposedly makes one fireproof, she becomes a slayer of the small and nasty dragons who inhabit the country and feels she has finally found a niche in her world. Trouble is also brewing in the North, and talk comes of trying to find the long lost Crown, which makes the wearer unbeatable. Then Maur, the last great dragon, awakes to lay waste to Damar. Will a second-rate king's daughter, kenet and an old war horse be enough to face him? And what happens when Maur is just the beginning of the threat to Damar? Readers cannot help but be swept into Aerin's world, where she undertakes the slow changes from the girl who hides in her room to a hero of Damar. A fully realized world and great characters make this a fantastic work of fiction.

Magic By the Lake

By Edward Eager

Rating: 3 3/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

Jane, Katharine, Mark and Martha were last seen in the story Half-Magic. Now, the four siblings are at a cottage called Magic by the Lake for the summer with their mother and new stepfather. The children happen to wish for some more magical adventures and the turtle Mark had caught earlier turns out to be a magic turtle, capable of granting their wish. From their previous experience with magic, the children know they need to be careful, so they make up some rules like grown ups being unable to see what magic is going on, and adventures only can happen every three days. But the four are still able to mix it up with pirates, discover the South Pole, tangle with cannibals, and many more adventures before Martha wishes to break all the rules and the magic in the lake goes haywire. Can the others fix the magic before it is too late? A light and fun bit of fantasy and adventure. Eager takes a page from his favorite children's author, E. Nesbit, in his style. Readers will be happy to know more books in the series exist, including Knight's Castle, Magic or Not?, The Time Garden, The Well-Wishers, and Seven-Day Magic.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

By J.K. Rowling

Rating: 4 3/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

The last of the Harry Potter series, the seventh book, was not what I expected it to be like, and for that, I think it is one of the best of the series (although Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite). Except for a somewhat slow portion in the middle, the book is nonstop action and full to bursting with information we need to follow the plot and wrap up our time in Harry's world. We pick up the story fairly close to where we left off. The magical protection of staying at the Dursley's ends with Harry turning 17, so the Order of the Phoenix is taking the Dursleys into hiding as well as Harry. But things go wrong from the get-go. And keep going wrong, as Voldemort and his Death Eaters are concentrating on finding Harry and don't care who they kill to do it. So Harry, Hermione and Ron are on the run, trying to puzzle out where to search for horcruxes (and destroy them) as well as figure out the meaning to the objects that Dumbledore left to them in his will. The horcrux search is nearly derailed by a new quest for the Deathly Hallows, 3 magical items from a fairy tale which may prove to be extremely important or a wild goose chase. There are many risky plans and lucky escapes as Harry struggles to meet his destiny. Although there are many doubts about what he is doing and hitches in the plans, Harry, Ron and Hermione fight their way towards the ultimate showdown between Harry and Voldemort. Hogwarts will host the final battle between Death Eaters and the good guys, and not all of the good guys will make it out alive. We discover the pasts of both Dumbledore and Snape, and did I mention the ultimate importance of the Deathly Hallows? Any which way you look at it, this book is a nail biter, nearly impossible to put down, as fans will be looking to see if the theories and rumors are true or proved false. There is always a sense of disappointment when a series ends, and readers will miss the anticipation of new Harry Potter stories, but overall, they should be satisfied by the conclusion to the series. Bravo!

Physik

By Angie Sage

Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

This is book 3 in the Septimus Heap series. Sage continues her lighthearted wizarding series with a stronger entry than the last one, Flyte (see review, October 2006). Newcomers will definitely need to have read the first couple of books to follow this new storyline. Septimus' father, Silas Heap, unseals a room in the attic of the palace and unleashes the ghost of Etheldredda--a horrible queen from 500 years ago. Etheldredda plots to take her queenship back up, but to do so, must dispose of both Jenna, the current princess, and Septimus Heap, the apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Both Jenna and Septimus (as well as Nicko and a newcomer named Snorri) will find themselves victims of Etheldredda's plot and be sent back 500 years into the past. Sideplots which weave into the main story include the dragon named Spit Fyre, Snorri the Northern trader and spirit-seer, Marcellus Pye and his experiments with "physik" (which involves medicine and chemistry), and a mysterious illness plaguing the town. The series continues to add some layers to its characters, insert humorous incidents, and bring the overall storyline a little further along. Fans will be happy to see Silas and Sarah Heap, Lucy Gringe, Stanley the message rat, Wolf Boy, Beetle, and other favorites. The plot moves well and wraps up the main points, but leaves us hanging for the next installment, for there is unfinished business involving Marcellus Pye, Snorri and Nicko. Overall, a solid entry in this enjoyable series.

Gregor and the Code of Claw

By Suzanne Collins

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

Collins finishes her fabulous Underland Chronicles with her 5th book about Gregor the Overlander. In this final storyline, war has been declared between the rats and the humans who live in Regalia. The final prophecy from Regalia's founder, Sandwich, proclaims that the war hinges on breaking the rats' new code, the Code of Claw, and Gregor's sister Lizzie even gets involved in the codebreaking. The prophecy also predicts that Gregor must face the Bane, the evil white rat who started the war, and that both of them will die. Gregor has a hard time facing his doom and an even harder time wondering what will happen to him if he does survive the war. What of his family? What about his rager abilities? And his friendships with Luxa, Ripred, Howard, and Ares? How will the Underland fare when the war is over? It would be giving away too much to tell more, but readers will not be disappointed by the big wrap up, unless it is to be saddened by the end of a great series. There is plenty of action, adventure and character growth for everyone. Thumbs up for the whole series.

Dreamquake

By Elizabeth Knox

Rating: 4 3/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

This is the sequel to the excellent Dreamhunter (see review, October 2006). We last left our young dreamhunter, Laura, after she caused everyone at the Rainbow Opera to have the nightmare "Buried Alive" to fulfill her father's goal of making others realize how dreams can be used in negative ways. Laura escapes with her sandman--a golem-like creature she calls Nown, created with magic and song and a strong need. When she flees to her aunt, Marta brings her to the Grand Patriarch to hide and recover, and Laura finds out her father Tziga is really alive, although injured. Meanwhile, her cousin Rose stays with her friend Mamie and discovers rails are being brought secretly into the Place by Mamie's father who is quite important in the government. When the family is all together again, they compare notes and realize the Dream Regulatory Board seems to be up to something in the Place. They also begin to suspect there is more to the Place than was previously thought; that maybe someone or thing is trying to communicate to the outside world from within it. The Hame and Tiebold families hatch a dangerous plan to discover the evil intentions of the government and expose them to the world. There will be love and loss experienced along with adventure, and readers will be shocked when the origin of the Place is revealed. This is a deep, dark and fascinating end to a fantasy duet and fans of the first book will not be disappointed by its conclusion.

Trickster's Choice

By Tamora Pierce

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

Aly is the daughter of the famed Lioness of Tortall, Alanna, and of spymaster George Cooper. At age 16, Aly finds herself bored and looking for a direction in life. She would like to become a spy, but both her mother and father react violently in the negative to that suggestion. But when Aly's sailboat is attacked by pirates and she is taken to be sold as a slave, she uses all the spy training her father ever gave her to figure out how to free herself. After being thrown in with some other slaves to serve a duke's family, Aly's plans for freedom are halted when she is visited by the god of the Copper Isles--Kyprioth, the Trickster. He makes her a wager--keep the elder, half-raka daughters of the duke alive through the summer, and he'll send her home. She'll even get help in the form of his favorite birds, the crows. After she agrees to the challenge, Aly finds herself in the middle of a brewing revolution that needs a girl with exactly her skills for planning and spying. The native raka are ready to overthrow the invader luarin people after generations of servitude, and the duke's daughters by his first wife, Sarai and Dove, are the heirs apparent. But even with the family in exile to avoid the king's madness, the girls are in grave danger that is going to take all of Aly's wits to avoid. Filled with political intrigue, plenty of spying techniques, action, and a touch of romance, this well-plotted tale will keep readers riveted to the pages and ready to pick up the sequel, Trickster's Queen. You may also enjoy other stories by Tamora Pierce set in the same world, like her Alanna series about Aly's mother and her Protector of the Small series about Lady Knight Keladry.

Soul Eater

By Michelle Paver
Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

This is the 3rd book of a projected 6 titles in the excellent Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series (you can read reviews of Wolf Brother and Spirit Walker in the October 2006 archives). It is winter, and Torak and Renn are out hunting with Wolf when Wolf scents "strange prey" and runs off after it. When Wolf doesn't return, Torak knows that he has been captured and being taken into the Far North, well beyond the Forest that they know and are comfortable with. Torak and Renn immediately pursue the wolf-nappers, and only survive the frozen tundra when someone from the White Fox clan takes them in. Soon they discover that the trail they are following is left by none other than the evil Soul Eaters, and they are gathering other "hunter" animals to sacrifice to release a great evil upon the world. Torak will have to infiltrate the very group he is bound to some day destroy if he wants to save Wolf. Can he do it and come out alive? Like the previous books, this one is hard to put down as it is filled with adventure, woodcraft, and ancient magic. More information about the Soul Eaters just whets our appetites for the final battle to come! Another outstanding entry in this compelling series. The 4th book, Outcast, is due out in 2008.

The Stone Light

By Kai Meyer

Rating: 4 1/4 stars

Reviewed by Noelle

This is book 2 in the Dark Reflections Trilogy, which began with The Water Mirror. This book takes up where the conclusion of the first one left us. Merle has escaped Venice, which is besieged by the Egyptians, on Vermithrax, the flying stone lion. Merle has the goddess of the lagoons, the Flowing Queen, inside of her, and the trio are heading to find a way down into Hell to ask Lord Light to aid Venice. Meanwhile, Serafin, once of the Thieves Guild, is recruited by his old enemy Dario to help in an assassination attempt on the Pharaoh. The operation is the brain-child of Lalapeya, one of the very magical, almost ageless sphinx, who has been living in Venice before it even existed as a city. Both Merle and Serafin will find nonstop adventure in their quests. Merle will uncover the truth about Lord Light and Hell and meet up again with her friend Junipa of the mirror eyes. Serafin will discover the true purpose of Lalapeya and experience the despair of betrayal. Readers will be drawn pellmell to the conclusion, where both Merle and Serafin find themselves stranded in different ways and places. Readers will be anxious to read the last installment, The Glass Word, due out in the fall of 2007. A unique and intriguing fantasy.

The Last Dragon

By Silvana De Mari
Rating: 4 1/4 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

This Italian import is a great combination of fantasy, humor and adventure. Yorshkrunsquarkljolnerstri (called Yorsh for short) is an elf, one born lately, as he puts it, in a land where elves are hated and feared by humans for their magical powers, and are even placed in internment camps. But despite this, Yorsh is aided by two humans, Sajra and Monser, who come to love him. When the trio finds a prophecy, they believe it comes to be fulfilled when Yorsh discovers the last dragon and agrees to stay and care for it. But this, which seems to be the end of the story, is really the beginning. For the dragon will give birth to a baby dragon, and Yorsh will discover there is more to the prophecy than he realizes. His new adventure will involve the daughter of Sajra and Monser, the evil judge administrator of Daligar, the freeing of orphans, the once proud history of the elves, and of course, the last dragon and the last elf. This is an enjoyable read from start to finish, with adventure, magic, laughter, sorrow and love throughout. Thumbs up!

Fly By Night

By Frances Hardinge
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

Mosca Mye is the daughter of Quillam Mye, a famed radical writer, but she doesn't know it. All Mosca knows is her father is dead and she is escaping the small, wet town of Chough with a very protective goose named Saracen and a small-time villain who could charm the skin off a snake named Eponymous Clent. In Mosca's world, all writings not approved by the guild of Stationers are banned. Many years ago, a group called the Birdcatchers had come to power and caused riots and war, book burnings and arrests. Now the different guilds maintain rule, watching each other warily, and keeping their leader, the Duke, under a close eye. With Clent, Mosca travels to the city of Mandelion and is instantly pulled into intrigue when she finds Clent is a spy for the Stationers and the Duke's sister, Lady Tamarind, recruits Mosca to spy for her. Someone in the city has an illegal printing press and is printing radical leaflets. The different guilds are all ready to blame each other, and Mandelion teeters on the brink of war. Mosca is soon surrounded by lies, betrayal, and murder, and must work out for herself who is really behind the troubled times in Mandelion. Is it Clent? The Stationers? The Locksmiths? Mr. Kohlrabi? Mr. Pertellis? Readers will get dizzy from the number of characters, gods, and plotlines to follow. While the density of the book and the number of new vocabulary words may put off quite a few readers, those who persevere will find a complex tale of adventure and intrigue. For the serious reader only!