The "Wonder" of it all...

This time, we have a special treat for you -- a guest book review by former blog contributor Christina Lister. Thanks, Lister!

TITLE: The Cabinet of Wonders

AUTHOR: Marie Rutkoski

REVIEWED BY: Christina Lister

BRIEF SUMMARY: Petra is on a mission to avenge her father. Her father created a clock tower for the Prince; but after doing his job, the Prince gouged out his eyes to make sure he'd not make something so beautiful again. So Petra runs to Prague to get her father's eyes back and discovers a lot more to complete her mission, with help from some unlikely people!

WHY I PICKED IT UP: Interesting cover, the word "KRONOS" (a fan of Greek mythology and the Percy Jackson series)

WHY I FINISHED IT: Petra is one adventurous girl and the author writes a juicy story, making it hard to put down!

WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: Anyone who likes fantasy series and historical fiction or adventure.

See you at the Library!

"Angels" among us...

TITLE: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

AUTHOR: James Patterson

REVIEWED BY: JPL TeenLink

BRIEF SUMMARY: Max is the 14-year-old leader of a band of misfits. She, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel are unique -- they were genetically altered in a lab and are no longer completely human; in fact, they are 2% bird. Since their escape, they are on the run, hunted by a pack of mutant half-wolf humans called Erasers whose sole purpose is to either recover the children and return to them to the lab, or simply get rid of them. When little Angel is captured, the others must join together to rescue her -- even if it means returning to the School, where they were created and kept prisoner, and confront their pasts, their present, and their destinies.

WHY I PICKED IT UP: Sheer boredom and curiosity. I really wanted something new to read, and I was curious as to why James Patterson is such a popular author.

WHY I FINISHED IT: This one starts of with a bang, and then I really got involved. Max is such an appealing narrator that you can't help but continue reading, waiting to see what happens next. I do have to say that the constantly changing viewpoint took some getting used to -- Max narrates a chapter or two in first-person, then we switch over to a third-person narrator to see what the other characters are up to. Initially, this was annoying, but eventually I got used to it. Still, the characters kept you interested, and short chapters kept a constant barrage of action coming.

WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: My nephew, and anyone who likes adventure books with a bit of fantasy.

See you at the Library!