Boondocks Fantasy

Boondocks is a collection of short stories about the backlots or boondocks of the USA. All of the stories hold a delightful taste of the strange and mysterious, the supernatural and extraterrestrial. There is quite a diversity between each story though. In some, there are the demons who help mankind to help themselves. However, there are some in which demons wish nothing better than to cause havoc and destruction. Some stories are about how the strange and the supernatural save humans because it is the right thing to do. While other stories are about how supernatural beings attack and maim because it’s fun for them. There may be a lot of change and difference between the stories, but there is always one ever-present detail that interlocks all of these stories together with a firm hand; they all start in the boondocks.

I found that the fervor of getting a new book quickly died while reading this storybook. The stories did not explain themselves well. Many brought in characters without explaining who they were or how they got there, and in quite a few of these stories nothing at all happened until the last page of the tale. If you’re looking for an exciting book with a good storyline and interesting characters, I suggest you pass this book by. However, it would be insulting to suggest that the language used to write the books was not well done. The main problem with this book is that many of the stories hardly ever explained themselves. Even though the overall book was not my cup of tea, there were definite high points. My favorite story was “The Devil Is a Gentleman” by Raymond Benson. It was interesting and fast-paced, plus it explained itself very well and was anything but boring. Another story I enjoyed very much was “Protection” by Timothy Zahn. I found it fast paced, exiting and well written. In complete contrast to my favorite stories are stories that I found so confusing and slow that I couldn’t even finish them. “Siren Tears” by John Lambshed, for instance, in which nothing much happened except that a man walked around town. “Black Rider”, by Brian Hopkins, started off well and then just seemed to drift into nonsense. All in all, not one of the better books I’ve ever read.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Monrovia, MD USA

Rex Riders by J.P. Carlson

Everything is going along fine at Zeke's uncle's ranch
until a Triceratops rages at a stagecoach and the town.
Zeke saves the town including Angelia and Maria from
certain death. Zeke then finds an unconcious stranger a
little ways from Dos Locos who is accompanied by a T-Rex.
When the stranger "comes to" he tells them that
D'Allesandro who does not like Uncle Jesse, is trying to
bring a Triceratops herd into Dos Locos. Zeke and Angelia
must travel to a prehistoric world to try to save the
town.

I think Rex Riders is excellent. The book
draws you into its pages with its vivid descriptions. I
especially like how the author mixes dinosaurs with the
Old West perfectly. He makes it seem so natural. I
recommend this truly prehistoric book to anyone 12 and up.
This book will have you dreaming about dinosaurs for
weeks. I can't wait for the next book in this series to
come out!
Reviewer Age:12 Uxbridge, Ma USA

Review of Bug Island by Bug Island by RG Cordiner

Barely surviving a horrific shipwreck, not only do survivors have to try to stay alive, they also must deal with the bugs. They are toe biters, pond skaters and harvest men. Normal bugs right? Wrong. The insects are 7, 8, 10 feet tall at the minimum! Being trapped with a six meter giant centipede was not on the cruise itinerary! Now all they want is to get off without getting squished! (Or worse...)

To me, Bug Island reminded me of the stories we wrote in third grade. The characters seemed flat, and I didn't see a single comma anywhere in the whole story. I'm exaggerating, but when I read this book I couldn't get around the fact of the lack of commas.

But it was a wonderful idea and was mostly enjoyable. It would generally be categorized as "horror", but to me it is more of "horror lite". I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Thrillers/Horror/Action books such as Time Machine and the like, but not to those that don't like predictable plots.

Reviewer Age:11

Reviewer City, State and Country: Seattle, Washington USA

Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming

In the novel Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming, Amelia's life story unfolds for all to see. Starting at her childhood and going all the way through the epic story of her disappearance. Amelia Lost also gives the inside story on her record setting flights . It not only tells the story from her point of view, but also through the eyes of her family, her instructors, friends, and her husband. Along with her life story, the story of the search for her is told. Through many perspectives, including stories from people who claim they heard Amelia calling for help in what may have been the last moments of her life.

Overall I thought this book was nicely written well-presented. It mostly gave new and interesting information that really helped to better understand Amelia's story. I think this book gave me a better respect for Amelia, and also a greater realization of her accomplishments. Amelia shows you how to really live life, with no regrets.

Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leawood, Kansas United States

Kindred by Tammar Stein

Stein weaves a carefully crafted web of plot. The protagonist Miriam has visions where she encounters angels. She also supposedly has missions to fulfill for God. She makes it her primary objective to accomplish these tasks and even flees her hometown to try and escape her visions. Interestingly enough, her mother is a former nun, and her father is a rabbi. As for her twin brother Mo (short for Moses), he claims to have visions from the devil. The dichotomy of good versus evil and chance versus destiny are blinding. There is some swearing, but it is from a troubled character and only in a few instances of dialog. There is also some romance but it is not graphic. The notion of how Miriam thinks and how she thirsts for a man for fulfillment is more repulsing.

God is spoken of in this book. However, there is not really any heavy theology or even the notion of Jesus being brought up. Some ideas about God incurring wrath on a works (what you do for God) basis is also wrong. Themes like angels and demons and good versus evil arise. The story starts off kind of shaky, but eventually picks up and hooks the reader. Some little errors are in the book. It is stated that rabbis take the Bible to be true. Jews only take the Torah (Old Testament or first half of Bible) to be true since they deny Jesus Christ. Also, the angel Raphael is mentioned as being a "Christian" angel. In actuality, Raphael is not even mentioned in the Bible. His name appears in the apocrypha; these are books not in the Bible (due to heresies and obvious contradicitons).

Reviewer Age:19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Troy, NY USA

Alberic The Wise by Norton Juster

Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys is a compilation of several intricate short stories by Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth. The first is a tale about a man who has success in his failures. The second is about a boy who gets pulled into a painting--maybe. The third is about two kings, one happy, one sad, who will soon switch places. Even though it was written in 1965, it still has many relevant morals for today.

I think that it is a great collection of short stories. The stories keep you interested because they have plot twists every couple of lines and the descriptions are so vivid that you can imagine yourself in the characters' places. The stories are slightly confusing, so you have to pay attention. My favorite of the three tales is the first one because, to me, it has the best moral. Overall, I strongly recommend this book.

Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Sammamish, WA USA

Women Heroes of World War II by Kathryn Atwood

Women Heroes of World War II is about twenty-six women and teenage girls who helped fight the Nazis. They joined Resistance groups, hid Jews, and distributed forbidden newspapers and pamphlets. This book starts with an introduction about the well-known heroes of World War II such as Winston Churchill and the troops who fought during that time. After the introduction, the book includes a background of each major country during the war. Finally, the book describes the individual stories of each woman or girl who acted as a hero during WWII with photographs beginning every account.

I highly recommend Women Heroes of World War II to anyone, especially women and girls of all ages. I learned so much about the Resistance organizations during World War II and about what was going on in each country.

Several times I got chills after reading what these amazing women did. I also learned more about the women that I already knew of, such as Irena Sendler, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and Sophie Scholl, who helped make and distribute pamphlets called The White Rose.

I have always been interested in the world wars so I know a lot about them, but I never knew women played such an important role, besides being nurses. Every time I read about the world wars, I am blown away by how a person can be as unbelievably evil as Hitler was. And after I've read this book, I am amazed that some people say that the holocaust never happened.

What these incredibly brave and courageous women went through is astounding, risking their lives for the safety and justice of other people. This is one of the most inspirational books I have ever read.

Reviewer Age:15

Reviewer City, State and Country: Rockford, Illinois [IL] United States

Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce

Tortall and Other Lands is a collection of short stories by fantasy novelist, Tamora Pierce. Each story shows the growth of the protagonist by the end of the story, and they have the common theme of an internal conflict, the ever epic battle between what you want and what is right. Although not all of them take place in the Tortallan universe (the one that she's most known for), they're all filled with Pierce's signature style - fantasy and feminism.

I absolutely love, love, love Tamora Pierce. If you have no idea who Tamora Pierce is and love fantasy, go check out Alanna: the First Adventure. You won't regret it! The style of her books is very similar to the style of Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore; there's a strong female protagonist, magic, and romance. She is one of the few authors for which I can proudly proclaim that I thoroughly enjoy every one of her novels, and this one's no exception. I love the creativeness of her worlds and how vividly she can convey them through writing. I love that she's one of the few authors who can write a good, strong female characters; most of the time, the strong female character that the author tries to create is too flawless - to a point where the book gets annoying to read.

However, I didn't enjoy this book as much as her other ones; that's probably because instead of one storyline in a book, there are multiple. I found that her stories to be a little formulaic at times. Another thing I didn't like about this book was the fact that it was disorienting to go from story to story (some are set in the real world, some in Tortall, and others in a fantasy world other than Tortall). I guess those things are to be expected since the stories are a compilation of her over-a-decade-long writing career.

This collection is a documentary of sorts; I could tell which ones were her earlier stories because her writing matured as time progressed. The two stories in this collection I found were the most enjoyable was The Dragon's Tale, which is set in the same world as her The Immortals quartet; it gave a glimpse of Daine and Kitten all grown-up. The other one is Nawat, which continues Ali's story from The Daughter of the Lioness. If nothing else interests you in this collection, at least read those two.

Overall, if you're not a die-hard Tamora Pierce fan in the I-absolutely-have-to-have-all-her-published-novels kind of way, you're not going to want to buy this. Most likely, you'll borrow it from the library, read it, and enjoy it that way.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: Hinsdale, IL 60521

Baby Grape and The River Folk by Thom Rogers

The second book of the Baby Grape series, Baby Grape and the River Folk, follows the beloved teen Toby and his ever growing group of friends as they work the rivers around Pittsburgh in a steam boat. With the many immigrants searching for transportation and work, Toby has his hands full. Using the gold he accumulated in his previous journeys, Toby begins to create a wonderful living for himself, on the river and on land. However, life for Toby never seems to remain peaceful for long, and soon he is running from the law, encountering deathly illnesses, and dealing with some 1800's drama. Amazing adventures are the norm for Toby, Gina, Jaynee, and the rest of the gang as they fight for survival, once again.

Baby Grape and the River Folk, incredibly, has even more adventure and suspense than the first Baby Grape book. There is a great variety in the predicaments Toby encounters, which moves the story along at a fast pace. Characters, both old and new, are developed well with believable personalities and fun quirks. Like the first book, Baby Grape and the River Folk seems to move from one set of characters to another very quickly. There was a lot of thought put into the newest of Toby's friends, and I only wish they appeared for longer periods of time over the course of the story. I loved the ending, because it cleared up some confusion I had felt about character's thoughts in a cute, bittersweet way. I would recommend this book to tweens and teens who like historical fiction and adventure, along with a little drama and romance. If you read the first book and liked it, you will love Baby Grape and the River Folk.

Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: , Pennsylvania USA

Amos Daragon

Amos Daragon is a poor boy who never dreamed of doing anything but helping his family get the money they need to survive; however, Amos is compelled to leave home when he meets a mermaid princess, who gives him an ivory trident and a small white stone, and asks him to deliver a message to Gwenfradrille. When Amos reaches the city, he outwits a devilish innkeeper, and meets Beorf, a bear-man. Beorf was forced to hide from people, since the officials would burn anyone associated with magic, and humanimals like Beorf counted. Eventually, Amos reaches the Woods of Tarkasis and speaks to Gwenfadrille, who tells him the white stone is a stone of power. She places the stone in the mask of wind, which she then gives to Amos. Back in the city, Medusa, a foul gorgon, has turned Beorf to stone. Will Beorf be revived? How will Amos learn to control the powers of the mask?
The Mask Wearer is an original tale with elements from several other stories and myths. If you know the Greek myth about Medusa, you will understand why I can t believe Beorf thought Medusa had the most beautiful eyes in the world. It was surprising to learn that a snake-man, also called a naga, was Medusa s father. The fact that the mask made Amos a friend to birds and allowed him to speak to people far away was amazing. The author gave each of his characters individuality, like Junos, who gave the main character in all his stories his own name. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes gorgons, other fantastic creatures, or has at least basic knowledge of Greek myths.

Reviewer Age:12
Reviewer City, State and Country: Lake City, IA USA