The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman (39 Clues Cahills vs. Vespers)

Dan and Amy have to rescue seven Cahills who have been kidnapped by the Vespers. The two travel to Italy where they have to steal a Caravaggio painting called, Medusa, from the Uffizi Museum. The clues lead them next to the Colosseum in Rome.

Book one is vague on plot. It isn't clear why the Vespers kidnapped that many people. I found this novel less funny, less believable, and more violent. Amy has a boyfriend and Dan is more serious. Dan also betrays his good friend which I thought was out of character. The two aren't stealing from family members but are now stealing from others.  Also, Dan considers lighting a match after drenching three men in gasoline. Another character is shot and the bullet has to be removed by other kids. This tale is definitely darker than other books. The novel has no ending - it's not clear what the Vespers want except to manipulate Dan and Amy. Fans should enjoy all of the action.

Reading Level 4.7

:-) :-) 2.5 out of 5 Smileys

The Red Azalea by Anchee Min

We read this adult memoir for book club. The first part is when Anchee Min is a young girl and the Communists take over China. She describes the changes in their living conditions and how she is sent to a labor camp to work in the rice fields. Part 2 of the book is about the oppressive and hard-working atmosphere of life at the labor camp. Part three is when she is chosen to be trained as an actress. Ironically, it's not much better than the labor camp. Communist dogma frowned upon any type of individualism or expression of emotions. Min shows how she and others deal with this through opera, music, knitting, reading and more. The Red Azalea story that Min is supposed to be a movie star in is about Madam Mao who worked beside her husband to provide equal rights for women. This is far from the truth. The irony of the title becomes more and more apparent as the book moves to the climax.

I had to pick up this book twice. I really didn't like the beginning with the choppy writing and word choice. Dialogue is not in quotations and the plot doesn't flow particularly well. Things pick up in part two and the writing improves so that it isn't so jarring.  Min uses swear words throughout and she has a relationship with another woman at the labor camp. There is descriptions of  sex and a suicide.

Adult

:-) :-) 2.5 Smileys

Rescuing Seneca Crane

Kari is tired of hearing her best friend Lucas talk obsessively about her boyfriend, Mr. Makes Me Want to Gag. Kari and Lucas are traveling to Scotland with Kari's mom, a magazine reporter, who is interviewing Seneca, a teenage pianist prodigy. They make friends with Seneca who is kidnapped after a concert. Thus begins the mystery where the two unravel the clues to figure out Seneca's kidnappers. Along the way Lucas rethinks her relationship with her boyfriend and Kari discovers she's not as cowardly as she thinks in the beginning of the story.

I thought this was your average mystery book. The writing wasn't super descriptive and the plot was predicatable. However, the author focuses on the girls and their friendships which young readers will like.

Rather than use swear words the girls use the word "Meep." It sounds like a baby kitten. I think the author was playing on the sounds of people who are beeped on television when they swear. It was cute at first but got annoying by page 288. But I also read the book in one sitting. Maybe it wouldn't be annoying if I had picked it up and set it down more often.

:-) :-) 2.5 Smileys

Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning

Violet Raines not only got struck by lightning she emitted raging electrical bolts at all the people who knew her.

Honestly, Violet is not a very likeable kid.

She is jealous of her best friends new friendship with the girl who has moved into town, but they are so nasty and rude to each other I'm amazed they eventually become friends. This story captures being 13-years-old too well and it is all the ugliness of girls being catty, jealous, and immature. Violet and her best friend, Lottie, have problems when Melissa moves into town. Melissa becomes friends with Lottie and they have makeovers, watch soap operas, and read magazines. Violet gets jealous and mad because she doesn't want her friendship with Lottie to change. Violet and Melissa swap insults every time they are together. Violet shows kindness to Lottie's younger sister but it is too little and doesn't balance out the snottiness of the girls attitudes toward each other.

The writing is quite beautiful. The author's descriptions and the unique voice of Violet are clear and well-done. Violet is manipulating her mom in this passage: "'Now why you asking me that?' I make the exact opposite of a smile. Some people think that's a frown, but they're wrong. The exact opposite of a smile is an I-don't-care face, like I make now. 'Just wondered.' I take a bite out my cupcake. It works, 'cause she looks past me and I can tell she's looking through the memories in her head. Her face gets all soft and, for a moment, she looks young."

While the writing is great, the characters are not.   

Scholastic book trailer video

:-) :-) 2.5 Smileys

The Night Fairy

Fairy godmothers are great but fairy mothers are not great.

They leave their fairy babies after three days to fend for themselves. Some of those fairies don't survive.

So begins Flory's tale in, The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz. Flory is about three months old when a bat mistakes her for a moth and bites off her wings. She falls to the earth and learns to survive in a world of giant-sized animals. Along the way she makes friends and learns to overcome her fear of bats.

The illustrations in the book are beautiful and add to the story. The beginning of the story has too many sentences that start with "she." The rhythmn of the text has a monotonous feel. I almost put the book down. It gets more interesting toward the end and the tension picks up.

This book is simliar to the Rainbow Magic fairy series but a little more difficult to read. I prefer the Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, by Gail Carson Levine which has more tension and action in the story.

Reading Level 4.7

:-) :-) 2.5 Smileys