Summerlost

Summer would be same and never the same.

Last summer we had a dad and a brother and then they were gone.

It's been a year since the devastating car accident that killed Cedar's father and young brother, Ben. But now Cedar and what's left of her family are spending the summer in her mother's hometown of Iron Creek and trying to amend their broken pieces. Memories surround Cedar, including strange gifts that begin to appear in the night- the type of small household items her brother Ben used to collect.

Until one day a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike, and everything about Cedar's summer changes. Soon, Cedar not only has a jov working at the reowned Summerlost theater festival, but also a growing friendship with Leo that will blossom as they piece together clues about the short and tragic life of one of Iron Creek's most famous residents. - excerpt from book.

Summerlost by Ally Condie is a standalone middle grade book. It's about this girl who is 12 years old and trying to grief on her father and brother's death. Her summer is totally different because of the missing family members. I really like the characters of this book because it's quite realistic. I could sort of relate to them easily and how they try to deal with their grief. I loved the activities that the festival has, it was quite interesting. I also love the interactions between characters especially Cedar and Leo, Cedar and her other younger brother. I definitely look forward to reading about them all the time. The side chracters are really interesting people too and I wished the author would have gave them more depth like Leo's family.

The plot of the book was very basic and simple with the topic of grieving as the main thing. This was a really short read and so there weren't too many twists and turns, just a reasonable amount. The flow was really smooth, everything happened at a good pace. I truly wished that their adventures would be longer so I would have more to read. I love the writing of the book as how the author managed to describe Cedar's feelings simple yet wonderful at the same time.

If you tend to enjoy middle grade books then do give this book a try. I find that even though it was short it captured my attention well and I love how I could relate to the book. I love that I learnt new things when it comes to the subject of grieving. 

Doll Bones

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they've been playing one continuous, ever-changing game - a game that takes place in a world populated with pirates and thieves, mermaids and warriors, Ruling over them all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll imprisoned in a cabinet, cursing those who displease her.

But the three friends are in middle school now, and Zach's father is pushing him to give up make-believe for basketball. When his father gives him no choice, Zach quite the game and lies about the reason. It seems like their friendship might be over, until Poppy declares she's been having dreams about the Queen- and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave. 

And so Zach and Alice and Poppy set off on one last adventure to lay the Queen's ghost to rest. But nothing goes according to plan, and as their adventure turns into an epic journey, creepy things begin to happen. Is the doll, or is there something more sinister at work? Has Poppy been telling the truth, or is she tricking them into playing a new game? And if there really is a ghost, will it let them go now that it has them in its clutches? - excerpt from book.

Doll Bones by Holly Black is a book about adventure and though it is for middle grade I still picked it up as this author is my favourite. I won't be giving a long review as this was a short and nice book to read. It had just the right amount of adventure and mystery to it. Even though the cover looked creepy it was not scary at all. I loved the setting of the book and how the plot progressed. There were a good amount of twists in the story to keep it interesting.

The characters were really cute as they just entered their middle school years and this story definitely talks about growing up. I liked their friendship and it's really good to read about their interactions with each other. The characters are really typical teenagers that you'll encounter in real life. I had a good time reading this book as it's a different intended audience from the author, but you could still read her style of writing in the story which is what I love about her. I definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy Holly Black's writing because don't let the middle grade part fool you, she still wrote this book well.

The Iron Trial

Friends and Foe.
Danger and Magic.
Death and Life.
Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.
Not Callum Hunt. Hw wants to fail.
All his life, Callum has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.
So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.
Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.
The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come...  -excerpt from book cover.

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare is about a boy who was to fail a test in order not to be admitted in the Magisterium. When I got news that two of my favourite YA writers are working on a series together, I was super excited. If you didn't know, Holly Black wrote many good series such as Spiderwick Chronicles and Cassandra Clare is the author of Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices. Once the book was out, I tried to get the book ASAP but it took sometime before I got my delivery.

I truly enjoyed the book and I feel it is a good start/introduction to the world in the story and also preparing the readers for more of the series. If not mistaken this would be a five book series. I cannot wait for more and I highly anticipate that it will get better and better. I could not find any parts that distinctively tell it's written by Holly or Cassandra. The writing flowed so well, it was just like one person written it instead of two. I think they both have great ideas and this book is not like Harry Potter series at all. 

When it comes to magic school, people tend to relate it to Harry Potter but I have to say besides studying magic, everything else is totally different.  Even the methods to conjure magic is totally different from Harry Potter, although the combination of mages form a group of three is similar but it's sort of a requirement for their training. The characters of the book are so so different from Harry Potter which I truly enjoyed. I really love the main character of the book, he has many struggles and thus it turned him into the person he is now. I love the growth of the main characters too because as time passed and certain things happening they changed.

The plot twist was really well done and not easy to anticipate although one element of the story was easy to guess, I think it was the intention of the authors in the first place. I think the plots were really smooth and well timed. The only complaint I have is the length of the book, how I wished it was longer and more could be written on their process of learning magic or more interactions with other students. But overall, it's a great start of the series where it contains some mystery that will slowly unfold throughout the series. I hope the next book will come soon as I cannot wait. I highly recommend this to readers who loved Harry Potter, magic and fantasy.  

The Islands of Chaldea

The time came for Aileen to go into the Place where she is suppose to get visions. Those visions are the initiation of her becoming a wise woman just like the other women before her (Aunt Beck and her mother). Aileen was afraid of being alone and cold underground and she tried really hard to keep her eyes open for fear she missed her visions. After not knowing how long she's been there, she saw a light coming into the Place and she scrambled to get out of the place. After she was out, she noticed that  not much time had actually passed and so she went back underground and finally fell asleep.  In the morning when her Aunt Beck came to fetch her, she told her there were no visions which resulted that she failed.

Aileen was depressed, sad and tired so after eating she went to sleep. But she didn't get to sleep longer because the King had asked her aunt and Aileen to join them for dinner. Ogo who is a boy from Logran was to fetch and escort them to the palace. When aunt Beck asked what was the matter he had no clue at all. Dinner with the King was weird as High King Farlane who is King of all the islands also joined for dinner and it did not happen often. Many important people were at the table and so the reason was told by High King Farlane that according to prophecy told by people from other islands, if the wise woman were to journey to each island and bring one person from it and then head to Logran, the wall that was brought up by Lograns would fall. The mission was to save the King's son who was kidnapped along with his men who went hunting with him. Aileen's father was one of the men who was kidnapped many years ago. Aunt Beck, Aileen, Ogo and the King's son Ivar were to go on that mission.

The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones, completed by Ursula Jones is the last book that Diana wrote while she was sickly but did not complete due to the severity of her cancer which eventually took her life away. I was really happy to read another title of hers but sadly it's her last one. This book has some good adventure in it and it was entertaining. It isn't her best work but her standards are there. The events happening in the book can either be mediocre or very exciting. The fan girl that I am would be comparing this book with all the titles that I have read and her writing really brings nostalgia of her other books. 

The character of the book are interesting people and the main character herself does go through character development which I felt it was good. This book was completed by the author's sister and I could not tell where the book was left off for her to fill in. I'd say Ursula did a great job writing just like her sister. It would be wonderful if the story was longer as I felt that if Diana was alive it definitely would be so. Unfortunately for us it had to be that way but it was still enjoyable reading it. I only recommend this book to fan of hers as I felt for people who have not read her books before might get misdirected. The misdirection would be thinking that her writing is like this but I can tell you she has many books who have very magical stories in it. Read her books by following the date of publication and then you would know how great a fantasy book writer she is. After reading this book, I could not help but re-read some her books which I really love. 

A Tale of Time City

Vivian Smith and many other children from London was being evacuated into the countryside because of the war. She was going to live with Cousin Marty until it was safe to go home. Once the train had arrived at the platform, a tall person took her suitcase and escorted Vivian around the station. She followed him because he took her suitcase. She had no idea how cousin Marty look like so she assume this must be him. She followed him into the Waiting Room of the station and then something weird happened where she was crowding with the person in a telephone booth. 

Once everything seemed clearer, she found she was in an office and there was a small boy waiting. The small boy said happily "You got her" and Vivian know something strange is happening. The taller boy slowly stripped off his costume and he had pigtails, his name is Jonathan. The smaller boy had red hair and his shoelace was undone is Sam. Apparently Vivian is the time lady and they kidnapped her to save Time City which was where Vivian is currently at. They both asked her about her husband Faber John who is the founder of the city and where to find to him. Vivian told them the truth that she has no husband and she does know who Faber John is. It seems that Jonathan and Sam have kidnapped the wrong Vivian Smith because she is not the time lady. They both are in big trouble because they have broken many laws by time travelling and also bringing a person from history into the city.

A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones is about a city that is about to crumble and three children doing something in order to save the city and history. This book has an excellent story because the plots are quite surprising. It's isn't about how the characters grow but it's about their adventure and how they act on each incident. It's quite straight forward who these characters are but there are some who are unexpected. The description of the city is detail and if you have a good imagination it's a beautiful and weird place at the same time.  

The author truly made this story real and true to the behaviors of human. Although stories regarding time travel is tedious but don't think too much into it and just enjoy the plot. I have to say that the time travelling does indeed impact those places but because of certain factors it happened without any flaws. I have always loved this author's books and this one is another added to my favorites. Even though this book is intended for young adults but I feel any age would love this book. If I wanted an adventure that had time travelling and a unique city this book is definitely a good one. I would read this book again because it's just a wonderful adventure. I also forgot to mention that this book is funny too.