Star in the Storm (book review)

Star in the Storm, by Joan Hiatt Harlow, takes place in the small Newfoundland village of Bonnie Bay. Twelve-year-old Maggie, her younger cousin Vera, and their Newfoundland dog Sirius have become targets of the wrath by Howard Rand, the richest man in the village, and his daughter Tamar. Tamar has never liked Sirius, and when one of her sheep is killed by a dog, she blames it on him. Maggie knows that Sirius would never do such a thing, but there is no way that she can convince Tamar of that. Soon, Howard Rand passes a law that forbids all dogs except sheepherding ones.

Maggie will never give up Sirius, so she hides him away in a secret cave which only she and Vera know about. But on the night of a dangerous storm, a steamer carrying more than 100 people crashes into the rocks near Bonnie Bay. No one will dare risk heading out into the wild waters to save the people. Maggie knows that Sirius can swim as well as a fish, but if she brings him out of hiding, she will be risking his life. Can Sirius find a way to save the passengers' lives...and his own?

I thought this book was very good for a first novel. It had a heroic dog, a witch of a girl, and lots of wild adventures! It took place in a unique location, and the author mixed in the legends and daily life of Newfoundlanders among the rest of the book.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I am using this book for the weather-event title in my What's In A Name Challenge.

Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine (book review)

Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine, by Georgia Byng, is the fourth installment of the Molly Moon series. In this book, Molly Moon, eleven-year-old hypnotist, time traveler, and time stopper, has gone to the future to look for her lost brother, Micky. She finds him in a horrible city, a city of hypnotized citizens and mutant animal-humans (actually, the latter are very helpful later in the book). And to top it all off, the city is ruled by a six-year-old! But bratty Princess Fang isn't just any six-year-old. She's also an evil genius who has invented a machine to suck the knowledge out of people.

Molly has to find her brother before it's too late! But when Princess Fang catches her sneaking around the castle, she puts Molly on the mind machine and sucks her hypnotic knowledge out!

Without her special powers, how can Molly ever save Micky and get out of this horrible place? Well, soon enough Molly discovers that she has a new incredible ability--she can read minds!

I liked this book, and I thought it was just as good as the previous three. Each adventure was unique and different, and it makes me look forward to the next one even more! The books are funny, scary, and action-packed!

The Goose Girl (book review)

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale, is a retelling of the classic Grimms Fairy Tale. Princess Anidori (aka Ani) has a special gift: she can speak with birds. As she is Crown Princess and next in line to the throne, Ani has to learn how to socialize, something she isn't good at.
But then Ani gets a surprise: she isn't going to become queen of her kingdom, Kildenree, after all! She will marry the prince of Bayern and become queen there!

But on the journey, her trusted maid named Selia, along with half of Ani's guard, rebels. Ani manages to escape, but there is danger everywhere now. She ventures into the capital city and finds a job as a goose girl. She also finds a group of true friends. But Ani knows that sooner or later, she will have to face Selia and let everyone know who is the true princess...

I absolutely loved this book and I can't wait to read the sequel, Enna Burning. It was amazing how the author managed to keep every single detail from the fairy tale! My favorite character was Ani. She was strong and believable, and she didn't give up!

The Tulip Touch (book review)

The Tulip Touch, by Anne Fine, is the story of Natalie. She and her family have always lived in hotels, but when they move to The Palace, Natalie's life changes forever. For this is where she meets Tulip. No one else has befriended Tulip, and it's easy to see why. She tells the most outrageous lies and is mean to everyone else. But Natalie is somehow drawn to her. Her dad calls it "the Tulip Touch". At first, Natalie has nothing against the games they play, like Stinking Mackerel and Road of Bones. But the games start getting more and more gruesome and dangerous. Does Natalie have what it takes to say good-bye to Tulip, once and for all?

This was a very sad book. It was the story of a child who, abused at home, takes her anger and sadness out on everyone else. Near the end of the book, Natalie says, "I felt sorry for Tulip, and guilty. Guilty."

Up for a challenge? ***Sticky Post***

(Scroll down for more recent posts.)

UPDATE: I decided to set up a separate blog for the challenge. Head over to What's in a name?" for future info. You can sign up either here or there--I'll try to check both sites. Thanks!

I hope you answered "yes!" and that you'll join me in my reading challenge! I've been wanting to host a reading challenge for a while now, and finally decided to just take the plunge. Be patient with me though, since I've never done this before, o.k.?

This is a challenge that anyone can join, no matter what types of books they like to read. You should be able to find books from any genre that will work.

I'm sorry I don't have a banner for the challenge. I just don't know how to make one.
Update: Thanks to Court, we now have a couple of buttons to choose from. They're wonderful! Thank you, Court!










Update: Angela has also created some great buttons you might like. Find them at her icon journal. Thanks, Angela!


"What's In A Name?" Reading Challenge

Dates: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008

The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a color in its title. Examples might include: The Amber Spyglass, The Red Pony, Blue Blood

2. A book with an animal in its title. Examples might include: The Hound of the Baskervilles, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julie of the Wolves

3. A book with a first name in its title. Examples might include: Jane Eyre, the Harry Potter books, Anne of Green Gables

4. A book with a place in its title. Examples might include: From Russia with Love, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Out of Africa

5. A book with a weather event in its title. Examples might include: The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Red Storm Rising, Tornado Alley

6. A book with a plant in its title. Examples might include: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Name of the Rose, Flowers for Algernon

--You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category. (For example, you can use The Red Pony for either a "color" book or an "animal" book, but not for both.)

Prizes: Yes. There will be some small prizes (unless someone can convince my parents to raise my allowance!) awarded throughout the challenge, and a larger grand prize at the end. More details about this later.

To join in, simply leave a comment on this post with a link your list. I will post a list of participants here as they sign up.

Once the challenge has begun, I'll make a new post where I will link up everyone's reviews.

See, isn't this easy? Just six books in one year!

Have I left anything out? If so, please feel free to ask!
Answers to questions:
1. You don't need a blog to participate. Just put your list in the comments, and I'll post it here.
2. Feel free to change your list throughout the year, if something new pops up that fits the category.

***A big thank you to Chris for teaching us how to make this a sticky post!

Participants:
--Annie
--Debi
--Raidergirl3
--Diane
--Joy
--3M
--Jean (her list: COLOR--The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, ANIMAL--The Cheese Monkeys, FIRST NAME--Maisie Dobbs, PLACE--The Road, WEATHER EVENT--Isaac's Storm, PLANT--The Bean Trees)
--Maria
--Chris
--Court
--Lynne
--Angela
--Handyfemme
--Daphne
--Nyssaneala
--Athena
--Framed
--Tinylittlelibrarian
--Michelle
--Lightheaded
--Sam
--Melanie
--Christina
--Lenneth
--Kara
--Booklogged
--HoshiChan
--Susan
--Rebecca
--Michelle
--Paula
--Callista
--Nymeth
--Gautami Tripathy
--Rich
--Workingwords100
--Rhinoa
--Lizzysiddal
--Melody
--Dana
--The delinquent debutante
--Alison
--Stephanie
--Lisamm
--Mimi
--SomeReads
--Carl
--The Biblio Brat
--Ennavic
--Shelley
--Juli
--Cath
--Lake Oz Fic Chick
--Karen
--Kristi
--Grammy (her list: NAME--The Redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis, ANIMAL--The Wolf and the Dove by Katherine Woodiwiss, COLOR--The Silver Touch by Rosalind Laker, PLACE--Texas by James Michener, WEATHER EVENT--Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, PLANT--A Dinner of Herbs by Catherine Cookson)
--Stefanie
-- The Book Fiend
--Sam
--Mos Stef (Stephanie)
--Booksplease
--Beastmomma
--Lesley
--Iliana
--Steve-o
--Caroline
--Stephanie (Happy Medium)

My List for "What's in a Name" challenge

Here's my list for the "What's in a name" challenge:

1. Black Beauty by Anne Sewell (a book with a color in its title)

2. Star in the Storm by Joan Hiatt Harlow (a book with a weather event in its title)

3. Molly Moon, Micky Minus, & the Mind Machine by Georgia Byng (a book with a first name in its title)

4. The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine (a book with a plant in its title)

5. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (a book with an animal in its title)

6.Two Girls of Gettysburg by Lisa Klein (a book with a place in its title)