A Great and Terrible Beauty

This book is about a girl named Gemma, who lived with her mother in India. Gemma's mother is killed by some sort of shadow figure, so she is sent to an all girls school called Spence Academy. When she arrives at the school she realizes that her mother is still alive, and that she is a powerful witch. She travels to another realm and meets different magical creatures. She also figures out that she has to stop a powerful witch that is posing as a teacher at the school. Gemma needs to find out who it is and get rid of her...quickly and quietly. Along the way trusts are formed, friends are made, and another death might rip reality apart.

Gregor the Overlander

I read this book a while ago but it definately makes my top five list. It's about a boy who falls under NYC with his little sister and discovers a whole new world. In the beginning of the book Gregor is dubbed "The Warrior" and throughout the entire series he has to fullfil many dangerously adventurous prophecies. Suzanne Collins is by far one of my favorite authors. If you like Hunger Games and Catching Fire, than I strongly reccomend you read the Gregor the Overlander series.

The Great Ship of Knowledge: Learning Earth's Deathly History

The story opens with a group of space ships approaching a beautiful new planet, on the other side of the universe from Earth. We learn that on these ships are the last remnats of Earth's inhabitants- animals, plants, humans, and technology. Most of the humans on board of these ships are living in life cells, living a virtual life on Earth. They are learning Earth's Deathly HIstory. We learn that a terrorist group, called DOOMS-TEAM, has pummled America with nuclear weapons, and America along with her allies, has sent nuclear missels back. Now the whole world is destroyed in a WWIII. People are suffering from cancers and starvation, going mentally insane due to destruction. The book paints a bleak picture of a future Earth.The beggining of this book, the introdction, was a wonderful addition. It really helped to set the mood for the story. I liked the way it let us get to know the history of the story and the author behind it. The plot of the story was not very original, but the presentaion made it fresh and new. The book was filled with details that made it clear the author had a percise vision. Though this was William Bailey's first book and he has little writing experience, it was a good first effort. The describtion of destroyed Earth was truly terrifying, it especially brought a chill down my spine when describing NYC and Long Island destroyed, my home. The author really focused on the Midwest, where he is from, in descrbing the destruction, which was a little weird to someone not from there. It made it sound like the terrorists were trying to hit Detroit instead on of NYC or LA, which is a bit unrealistic. I found that although there were many details, there were only a few spots where the authour 'over-detailed', like at the Navy Seal Operation Sea Otter. The author showed many different perspectives, that showed a new part of the story each time. You really got to know the characters and feel for their struggle, this was made more interesting by the array of characters (from an albino Navy Seal to a Middle Easter heart surgeon). The plot kept many secrets and surprises, even after the end. I look forward to part two in The Great Ship og Knowledge trilogy.

Maximum Enjoyment! Maximum Ride

Hello - I cannot believe I did not read Maximum Ride until now. So many of you have said " Mrs. Roberts- read this book" but sadly I did not heed your advice for whatever reason. I really should have listened- I LOVE THIS BOOK! Great characters and a page turning plot make for maximum enjoyment. I hear that there is a movie in the works, which is too bad - it just couldn't be as good as this book. In a nutshell, 6 kids, ranging in age from 6-14 are living science experiments- their DNA has been recombined with avian DNA so they appear to be "normal" but they have bird qualities too, that is they can fly. They live on their own, and a brand of mutant evil "erasers" are out to kill them. Their adventures and emotions are so realistic, I feel as though Max, the main character(her full name is Maximum Ride) could walk into the IMC at any moment. She is a caring and funny leader of her "siblings" and her personality draws you right into her adventure. Please please please,,,, READ THIS BOOK!