Saturday, February 24, 2018
Book Review: Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstien is a definitely a book on the better side of the spectrum. It starts with 7th grader Kyle Keeley playing a board game in his neighborhood. In order to win the game, he has to get down to the basement before his older brother mike does, in order to find two coins. He ends up breaking the basement window, thus winning the game, but getting grounded in the process. At school the next day, he remembers an essay contest he could enter to win a lock-in at the new public library. The judge of these essays is the world-renowned board game maker, Mr. Lemoncello. He ends up turning in a hastily and badly written essay consisting of "Balloons. There might be balloons." However, he will not give up, as he types up a great essay, emails it to Mr. Lemoncello himself, and finds out he sent it to a no-reply mailbox. When it is time for the essays to be graded, Kyle finds out his essay has made it into the winner's circle, along with a few of his friends's. When the lock-in is over, Kyle and his friends find out that they are taking part in Mr. Lemoncello's biggest game yet! What are the mysteries of the library? What are the rewards and how will they be found? All of this will be answered in Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library!
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Book Review: Strange the Dreamer
Note- there is a plot twist very early on in the book, so this review may be different than the others, as I do not wish to spoil the book.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is one of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. It starts with the young orphan Lazlo Strange, who loves stories about the Unseen City, a place no one has heard from in two centuries. This place exists at the edge of a vast desert called the Elmuthaleth, on a foreign continent to him, on a foreign world to us, called Zeru. He is enthralled by these stories, but when he is playing a game where he pretends he is one of the Tizerkane (the unbeatable warriors of the city) in an apple orchard one day, the name of the Unseen City is stolen from his mind, and everyone else's across the globe, leaving only the name of Weep in its place. As Lazlo ages, he ends up going to the Great Library of Zosma (Zosma is the name of the continent he lives on), and he is captivated by all the stories there. He then spends the rest of his life there, learning all he can about the Unseen City and writing about it. During his time there, he runs into Thyon Nero, the godson to the Queen of Zosma and an alchemist. Lazlo then helps him with the secret of turning lead to gold (the main goal of any alchemist) out of pity after seeing him beaten by his father in a graveyard. A few years later, Thyon collects all of the books that Lazlo wrote about the Unseen City for an unknown reason.What does Thyon want with Lazlo's books? What are the mysteries of the Unseen City? Read the book to find out.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is one of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. It starts with the young orphan Lazlo Strange, who loves stories about the Unseen City, a place no one has heard from in two centuries. This place exists at the edge of a vast desert called the Elmuthaleth, on a foreign continent to him, on a foreign world to us, called Zeru. He is enthralled by these stories, but when he is playing a game where he pretends he is one of the Tizerkane (the unbeatable warriors of the city) in an apple orchard one day, the name of the Unseen City is stolen from his mind, and everyone else's across the globe, leaving only the name of Weep in its place. As Lazlo ages, he ends up going to the Great Library of Zosma (Zosma is the name of the continent he lives on), and he is captivated by all the stories there. He then spends the rest of his life there, learning all he can about the Unseen City and writing about it. During his time there, he runs into Thyon Nero, the godson to the Queen of Zosma and an alchemist. Lazlo then helps him with the secret of turning lead to gold (the main goal of any alchemist) out of pity after seeing him beaten by his father in a graveyard. A few years later, Thyon collects all of the books that Lazlo wrote about the Unseen City for an unknown reason.What does Thyon want with Lazlo's books? What are the mysteries of the Unseen City? Read the book to find out.
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
Do not read if you do not want spoilers about the Harry Potter trilogy. My thoughts on the first book can be found here.
Dumbledore is dead. The magical world, once filled with wonder, is now a dangerous place to exist. All hope rests on The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They are off on a quest to find the four remaining Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort, in hopes of being able to defeat him. They are being tracked by Death Eaters at every turn, and while they are hunting the 'cruxes, they learn of the three Deathly Hallows, relics that make you unbeatable, death-defying, and invisible, though the first two come with drawbacks. After a realization about said relics, Harry realizes something terrible. Voldemort is after the unbeatable wand. This could change the entire outcome of the Second Wizarding War, so Harry and his friends have to choose- Horcruxes or Hallows? They must choose fast, as Voldemort is about to march on Hogwarts. What will they do? Find the answer in the heart-stopping final installment in the bestselling Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows!
Dumbledore is dead. The magical world, once filled with wonder, is now a dangerous place to exist. All hope rests on The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They are off on a quest to find the four remaining Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort, in hopes of being able to defeat him. They are being tracked by Death Eaters at every turn, and while they are hunting the 'cruxes, they learn of the three Deathly Hallows, relics that make you unbeatable, death-defying, and invisible, though the first two come with drawbacks. After a realization about said relics, Harry realizes something terrible. Voldemort is after the unbeatable wand. This could change the entire outcome of the Second Wizarding War, so Harry and his friends have to choose- Horcruxes or Hallows? They must choose fast, as Voldemort is about to march on Hogwarts. What will they do? Find the answer in the heart-stopping final installment in the bestselling Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows!
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
Do not read this review if you have not read the previous Harry Potters. Here are my thoughts on the first book.
Voldemort has returned! In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort is sweeping the wizarding world. Harry is going to be picked up by Dumbledore to find a new professor for Hogwarts, Professor Slughorn. He does not like horned slugs. After he is dropped off at the home of Ron, Harry learns two things. One, he will be taking private lessons with Dumbledore the following school year. Two, his OWL (ordinary wizarding level) exam results are arriving tomorrow. He fails everything, getting kicked on the curb and leaves Voldemort open to rise to power (just kidding, he does very well) When he gets to Hogwarts, he realizes he doesn’t have a Potions book or scales. He is lent the following items, but his new book is something special. It has been written in, and is full of useful tips about making perfect potions. He looks inside the cover, and sees that the notes were written by the Half-Blood Prince. Who is he? Why is he good at potions? Read the book to find out.
Voldemort has returned! In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort is sweeping the wizarding world. Harry is going to be picked up by Dumbledore to find a new professor for Hogwarts, Professor Slughorn. He does not like horned slugs. After he is dropped off at the home of Ron, Harry learns two things. One, he will be taking private lessons with Dumbledore the following school year. Two, his OWL (ordinary wizarding level) exam results are arriving tomorrow. He fails everything, getting kicked on the curb and leaves Voldemort open to rise to power (just kidding, he does very well) When he gets to Hogwarts, he realizes he doesn’t have a Potions book or scales. He is lent the following items, but his new book is something special. It has been written in, and is full of useful tips about making perfect potions. He looks inside the cover, and sees that the notes were written by the Half-Blood Prince. Who is he? Why is he good at potions? Read the book to find out.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (Book 5)
I implore you to not read this review until you have read the previous Harry Potters. My thoughts on them can be found here.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix is, in my opinion, the worst Harry Potter, although your opinion may differ from mine. It starts out when Dudley and Harry are having a heated conversation in the park, when suddenly, a pair of Dementoids (They're actually called Dementors, but what the heck) come down and start harassing the pair. Harry uses the Patronus charm to avoid removal of a soul, but in doing so, he gets sent to a trial for a matter of underage wizardy. During this trial, he is heavily prosecuted by a toad-faced woman known as Dolores Umbridge. However, Harry is aided by his headmaster, the man with five names, the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! (whew) With Dumbledore's help, Harry is proved guilty of underage magic, but has received no punishment because of special parameters. When he is escorted back to his Godfather Sirius's house, he learns a drastic fact about Dolores Umbrige. What has he learned? Who were the Dementoids sent by and why? These questions will be answered in Harry Potter and the Order of the Felix! (!@$* YOU AUTOCORRECT! THAT'S, LIKE, THE FIFTH TIME YOU'VE DONE THAT!!!!!)
PS: I hid a secret message in the above text, can you find it? Comment below!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix is, in my opinion, the worst Harry Potter, although your opinion may differ from mine. It starts out when Dudley and Harry are having a heated conversation in the park, when suddenly, a pair of Dementoids (They're actually called Dementors, but what the heck) come down and start harassing the pair. Harry uses the Patronus charm to avoid removal of a soul, but in doing so, he gets sent to a trial for a matter of underage wizardy. During this trial, he is heavily prosecuted by a toad-faced woman known as Dolores Umbridge. However, Harry is aided by his headmaster, the man with five names, the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! (whew) With Dumbledore's help, Harry is proved guilty of underage magic, but has received no punishment because of special parameters. When he is escorted back to his Godfather Sirius's house, he learns a drastic fact about Dolores Umbrige. What has he learned? Who were the Dementoids sent by and why? These questions will be answered in Harry Potter and the Order of the Felix! (!@$* YOU AUTOCORRECT! THAT'S, LIKE, THE FIFTH TIME YOU'VE DONE THAT!!!!!)
PS: I hid a secret message in the above text, can you find it? Comment below!
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