Found Not Lost

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

and the winner is…

Comment number 5 is from Linda from One Desert Rose’s Blog. Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway and left comments. Stay tuned for more giveaways!

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Book: North Or Be Eaten
Author: Andrew Peterson

Summary:
Readers thrilled to the phantasmagorical adventures in On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Book One of the Wingfeather Saga. Now in Book Two, Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby, mom Nia, ex-pirate grandfather Podo, Peet the Sock Man, and trusty dog Nugget flee north to rebel headquarters.

Their escape brings readers to the very brink of Fingap Falls, over the Stony Mountains, and across the Ice Prairies, while villains galore try to stop the Igibys permanently. Fearsome toothy cows and horned hounds return, along with new dangers: a mad man running a fork factory, a den of rockroaches, and majestic talking sea dragons.

Andrew Peterson’s lovable characters create what FantasyBookCritic.com says made Book One “one of the best fantasy novels in a very long time,” and Book Two contains even more thrills, exploring “themes universal in nature, ranging from the classic good versus evil, to the importance of family, and burdens of responsibility.”
Read more…

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was declared the Newbery Award Winner for 2009. The Newbery Award is an annual award given by the American Library Association to the author with the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The Graveyard Book, in true Neil Gaiman fashion, the first chapter is titled How Nobody Came to the Graveyard. You see, the book is about a kid named Nobody who was raised in the graveyard by ghosts. The tale starts with a violent home invasion where Nobody’s family is stabbed to death by a man named Jack. It’s a bit of a violent start for a children’s book but the book is geared for children over 9 years old and they have, if they’re anything like my daughter, seen their share of violence much worse than this in TV shows and in the games they play.

When I first started reading the works of Neil Gaiman, I never thought of him to be a children’s books writer. But then when I thought about it, I said, well why not? He is a gifted storyteller and there is no more appreciative audience for a good story than kids. After I read Stardust, I passed it on to my daughters and we have since all gotten hooked to Neil Gaiman’s stories.

Isn’t it then such a great coincidence and a great compliment to the author that while the movie adaptation of Coraline is out in theaters and getting good reviews, Gaiman is also awarded the Newbery? That just speaks volumes to the kind of author Neil Gaiman is and if you haven’t discovered his work yet, I suggest starting with this one. I’ve already placed my order.

“At the end of the day, I’m a storyteller”
~Neil Gaiman

At the end of book 3 in the House of Night Series, Zoey Redbird has totally messed up and pissed off all her friends and all her boyfriends. Yes, you heard right, all her boyfriends. She had three. Except that one died so really, only two boyfriends are mad at her. That’s still way too many boyfriends mad at you if you ask me. But, that’s how Zoey’s life is. Like it’s not complicated enough being a fledgling vampire who happens to be extraordinarily gifted and trying to fit in to a new school.

Untamed is the fourth book in the House of Night series by the mother/daughter team of authors, P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast about the House of Night which is a school for young vampires. The main character is Zoey Redbird who first becomes Marked as a vampire in the first book and so had to leave her human family and friends to go to the House of Night. Since she’s moved to the school, Zoey has had one paranormal adventure after another all the while still dealing with teenage issues that plague all teens, vampire or not.

This is the book I took with me to California last week. It was an easy read and interesting enough to keep me going. If you’d like to learn more about the House of Night series, check out our previous posts on the earlier books:
The Chosen
Betrayed
Marked

You may also be interested in learning more about the series straight from the authors:

Watch a video of the authors talking about the series and Untamed.

I’m getting ready to leave for trip. I leave in a few hours to be with my family in the next week to celebrate my lola (grandmother) who left us earlier this month. I’m not packing much but one of the necessities is of course something to read. I’m bringing a couple of books, both of them teen fiction borrowed from my daughter Asi.

The first one is Untamed (House of Night, Book 4) by the mother and daughter team PC Cast and Kristin Cast.

The book is part of the house of night series, what I call the Hogwarts for vampires, where young vampires go to learn all about vampire lore and control their growing powers and thirst. Zoey Redbird is a highly gifted fledgling (that’s what they call young vampires) who has been designated as high priestess in training. Through all the vampire stuff, she still deals with typical teenage issues as well as typical teenage friends.

This should be an easy read which is probably all I can handle to read right now anyway.

The other book I brought with me is Soul Music by Terry Pratchett. My daughter and her friends love Terry Pratchett’s books but I haven’t had a chance to read any of them yet so I can’t really tell you how this book is going to be or what it’s about. It will be a surprise for me too and I have it reserved in case I go through Untamed too fast.

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If you’re interested in the previous books of the House of Night series, check out my reviews:

The Chosen
Betrayed
Marked

It’s been a while since I read this book which is the first in the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray. This was another recommended reading from my daughter and her friends and again, their taste is right in line with mine. I’ve only read up to the second book of this trilogy so I can’t really tell yet whether I like it as a whole.

This first book was interesting enough. The story starts in India where Gemma Doyle grew up with her parents. After her mother’s death under mysterious circumstances, Gemma returns to England, to a boarding school for girls. The boarding school for girls is, as it often is, rife with intrigues, cliques and conflict between the students. Not long after arriving at the school, Gemma finds out about a forbidden wing in the school where the students aren’t supposed to go. But of course, as soon as you tell someone not to go somewhere, what do they do? Of course they go in!

All through the adjustment to her new environment, Gemma soon realizes that she has a guardian of sorts and a hidden talent that is just slowly starting to materialize. She finds out that an Indian young man, Kartik, followed her all the way from India and is keeping an eye on her. She soon finds out though that right where she is, in England, is where an ancient order existed and her mother was somehow part of it. The bottom line is, Gemma has a talent or power, whatever you’d like to call it, which sets her apart from everyone else.

This was a nice read and I’d really like to finish off the series.

My daughter and I couldn’t wait for this third installment of the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and daughter Kristin Cast. We both enjoyed reading the book, but it left us hanging and sort of unsatisfied. It wasn’t long enough, too many plots left unfinished… So we’re hanging until the next book, Untamed.

“..darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good”

This has been cautionary words of wisdom, since the beginning. The book, it’s story line and the sub plots have all pointed to this truth that things are not always as they seem or what you think they should be.

In this third book, Zoey is still dealing with her best friend Stevie Ray being undead as she tries to find ways to get her friend back the way she was. She also has to deal with another death at the school, this time around one of the professors die. She is still juggling three romantic interests; and while my daughter thinks she was being totally stupid in her choices, I think she is just being a typical teenager. She also has to make a mature choice in working with her former enemy, who may turn out to not have been an enemy after all.

There are certainly enough subplots in this book to keep you engrossed. I read this in one sitting, practically, and was left wanting for more.