Poppy and Rye (book review)

This is also the final book in my list for the Four-Legged Friends Challenge.

Poppy and Rye, by Avi, is the sequel toPoppy. In this book, Poppy, a young deer mouse, journeys through the vast Dimwood forest with her porcupine pal, Ereth. Poppy is heartbroken by her fiance Ragweed's death, and she is determined to tell Ragweed's parents the tragic news. However, upon arriving at the once peaceful Brook, she finds that the family has been forced to move up on top of a hill overlooking the Brook. A group of beavers have moved in and flooded their home! Though the family is devastated by the news, Rye, the family's eldest child, is determined to prove himself worthy of beautiful Poppy's love. He wants to do something about the beavers, something brave and daring. However, Rye finds himself a prisoner in the beavers' lodge! Poppy is determined to save Rye and get rid of the beavers once and for all. But will she give her own life to do it?

This was a book full of humor, romance, and adventure. The characters were unique, and also very complex. In the book, some characters appear one way on the outside, but are actually completely different on the inside. This has been a wonderful series so far!

Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book Nine: The First Collier (Book review)

(This book is also for the Four-Legged Friends Challenge.)

The First Collier, the ninth book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series by Kathryn Lasky, is the story of Grank, an owl who serves the noble King H'rath and Queen Siv. It takes place in the midst of a bloody war between owls and hagsfiends (part crow/part owl creatures possessing natchmagen, or bad magic). Grank is gifted with firesight, which means that he can see visions in flames. But that won't help him when one day King H'rath is killed in battle. The hagsfiends want Siv's egg to use for their natchmagen, and Siv doesn't intend to let them have it. She leaves the egg to Grank and takes the hagsfiends on a wild goose chase in the far north while Grank flies the egg to an uninhabited, forested island to care for it. They both meet unlikely allies and enemies, and make important discoveries that could change the course of every owl's life.

I liked the story's complex characters and plot, and also the wide range of animals featured in it. There were not only owls and crow/owls, but also dire wolves, polar bears, and other birds. The end was a cliffhanger that left me wishing I had the next book!

Watership Down (book review)

Watership Down, by Richard Adams, is the story of a warren of doomed rabbits and how an individual, Fiver, has a vision of death and destruction that will come to them. His brother, Hazel, tries to warn the Chief Rabbit. However, the Chief Rabbit won't believe him. Hazel and Fiver, along with a few other bucks, set off to found a new warren. Along the way, they face badgers, foxes, humans, and other obstacles. Even when the rabbits finally find the perfect place for a new home, they must find does, or their journey will have been in vain.

This was a remarkable story of friendship and adventure. The rabbit characters were very similar to human characters, each with his or her own unique personality. I was sad when it was finished, and at moments I couldn't put it down!

I give this book 9 out of 10 stars.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (book review)

I read this book for both the Newbery and Four-legged Friends challenges.


Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Roberta C. O'Brien, is the story of Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse, and her four young children. Mrs. Frisby is faced with a terrible dilemma. If she does not move from her winter home to her summer home, the farmer's plow will destroy both the house and her family. However, her young son Timothy is ill with pneumonia and if they move, he will surely die on the journey. One day, after saving a crow from the jaws of a hungry cat named Dragon, Mrs. Frisby learns about an intelligent breed of rats who call themselves the "Rats of NIMH". The rats may be the only ones who can help her... but will they?

This was a great story about a mouse who risked her own life to save her child. I liked the way the author compared Mrs. Frisby to a human mother in some ways. There was a lot of adventure in this story, and it was hard to put down at times!

I give this book 8 out of 10 stars.

The Cat Who Went Bananas (book review)

(I read this book for the Four-Legged Friends Reading Challenge.)

The Cat Who Went Bananas, by Lillian Jackson Braun, is the story of Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. In the story, Qwilleran investigates the theft of a rare and valuable book and the suspicious death of an out-of-town actor. He also tries to figure out the mystery behind Koko's strange behavior. Has the cat gone bananas, or is he trying to give Qwilleran an important clue? Read the book to find out!

I loved this book because it was a mixture of humor, suspense, and bonding between people and animals. The funny and clever cats provide a twist to the typical mystery scene.

I give this book 8.5 out of 10 stars.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (book review)

This book was for both the Book Awards Challenge and the Four-legged Friends challenge.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett, is the story of a sly, talking cat named Maurice and his companions, a bunch of rats and a stupid-looking kid named Keith. Maurice is the mastermind behind the biggest pied piper scheme in Discworld. But when he leads Keith and the rats to the town of Bad Blintz, he doesn't know what trouble it's going to cause. Bad Blintz isn't like a normal town... something evil hides here, something that could destroy Maurice's scheme for good.

This book was suspenseful, funny, and dark. It was also a quick read. The characters were well-developed. This was the first book I've read by Terry Pratchett, and I can't wait to read more!

I give this book 10 out of 10 stars.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book Eight: The Outcast (book review)

This book is from my Four-legged Friends Challenge list.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole Book Eight: The Outcast, by Kathryn Lasky, is the story of a young Barn Owl named Nyroc. He has fled from his mother, Nyra, a tyrant who rules the Tytonic Union of Pure Ones. This is a group of evil owls who long to take over the owl world. Nyroc yearns to go to the Great Ga'Hoole tree, where noble owls study and fight the Pure Ones. However, first he must fulfill his destiny by heading to the dark place filled inhabited by warring dire wolf clans and volcanoes spewing fire--Beyond the Beyond.

This was the eighth book in the series, but only the second one that featured Nyroc. I enjoyed some of the books more than others. This was one of the better ones. Maybe I feel that way because there were wolves in it, and wolves are my favorite animal. The wolves had a little Macbeth theme going; a lot of their names were characters from the play. I thought that was interesting since I just read Macbeth!

I give this book 9 out of 10 stars.

The Sight (book review)

(This book was on both my RIP challenge list and my Four-Legged Friends challenge list.)

The Sight, by David Clement-Davies, is the story of a young wolf named Larka, and an ancient prophecy about her and her pack. But an evil wolf named Morgra hunts Larka down, because she knows that Larka has a power beyond her own. Both wolves have a gift called the Sight, but Larka is the key to unlocking a greater power, and perhaps controlling all wolves in the world. Now her pack is on the run, and Morgra follows their every step. Will Larka ever be safe?

The characters in this book were very well-developed, even though there were a lot of them! It was a page-turner and I finished it in two days. I can't wait to read his other book, Fire-Bringer.

I give this book 9.5 out of 10 stars.

Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam (book review)

I read Cracker! The Best Dog In Vietnam, by Cynthia Kadohata, for the four-legged friends challenge. This book was about a boy named Willie, a dog handler named Rick, and a German Shepard named Cracker. It took place during the Vietnam War. When Cracker was taken away from her owner, an 11-year-old boy named Willie, she didn't know what was going to happen. She was paired up with a man named Rick Hanski for military training. But Cracker wasn't so sure about Rick. If he wanted her to trust him, then he had to prove himself to her. By the time the two finally left for Vietnam, they had developed a close bond with one other. However, Cracker was separated from Rick during a battle. Rick was shot, and at the end of the battle, he was picked up by a helicopter and taken to a hospital and then back to America. Would he ever see Cracker again?

This book was very well-written and the characters were very believable people. It was a very sad book, however. Willie lost Cracker and after letting her go, she belonged to Rick and the military. Rick experienced the pain of losing someone close to him when his friend and his friend's dog were shot. His friend ultimately survived and went back to America, but his dog, Tristie, died.

I loved this book and I recommend it to dog lovers and anyone interested in historical fiction.

I give this book nine out of ten stars.

Four-Legged Friends List

I'm so excited to join the new challenge! Here's my list:

White Fang by Jack London (wolf)
Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Outcast by Kathryn Lasky (owls)
Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The First Collier by Kathryn Lasky (owls)
The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lilian Jackson Braun (cat)
Poppy and Rye by Avi (mice)
Cat House by Michael Peak (cats)
Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata (dog)
A Dog Called Scholar by Ann H White (dog)
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett (cat and rats)
Watership Down by Richard Adams (rabbits)
The Sight by David Clement-Davies (wolves)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Robert C. O'Brien (mice and rats)

The animal I'm reading in honor of is our family's beagle, Baker. We got Baker on October 28, 2006, as a birthday gift for my brother Gray. On that day, everyone was so excited. When Mom, Dad, and Gray headed off to Lollipop Farm, everyone at home was anxious to see what kind of dog we would get. They came home with a nervous and excited beagle who came with the name of Baker. What we didn't know was that Baker had thyroid problems, so we had no clue why he kept gaining weight. By January, he weighed a whopping 43 pounds, which is a lot for a beagle! Now, Baker takes a pill for his problem, is on a diet, and now weighs only 38 pounds. Everyone is so happy that Baker became a part of our family (except maybe Aldo, our cat)!