The Drake Equation

Noah Grow is a birdwatcher. Yes, a boring birdwatcher, with a floppy hat and binoculars. But when he finds a small disk that looks like a squished, glittery hockey puck (or a sparkly pancake), his world changes dramatically. The first incident happens when Noah and his friends accidentally freeze their pool in the middle of summer, with the help of their sparkly pancake. What else can they do? Noah is plunged into a small adventure and mystery... but he doesn't forget about the endangered bird family he found. Can Noah solve the mystery of his sparkly pancake? What will happen to his beloved birds? And what about the suspicious girl at school? Will she get in the way? Just because he's a birdwatcher, don't judge this book as boring. It was actually quite interesting and fun to read. And if it seems weird - the author has crafted this book so well, that some parts that might have seemed weird to me, actually weren't weird at all. 

Trust me, The Drake Equation by Bart King is a great read, and not full of action; a break from some books I've recently been reading. 

Back soon! 

P.S. So sorry; I really need to be more consistent (and I need to stock up on books) and faster at reading books. (I'm kind of slow.) Thanks for enduring!

Can You Tell That I Like Books?

Apologies

I read The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson, and it was really fun. It's about a Japanese boy who's father works for a puppeteer and there's this guy named Saburo who's a bandit and stuff (kind of like Robin Hood) and at the end the boy has a friend and his problems are resolved (well, not all of them) and... yeah. I'm too tired to write a whole summary but I'll just keep forgetting until I don't even remember the name of the book, but check the book out because it's really fun. And the kind of theater that they do was real. So yeah. Sorry. Maybe later.

More soon.

Bye.

The Big Wave

The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck, is about a Japanese boy and his family who live on an island with a volcano behind them and the sea in front of them. The boy, Kino, has a friend named Jiya, who lives further on the beach. Jiya is always wary of the sea, which Kino doesn't quite understand, as Jiya's father is a fisherman. Then one day, when Jiya is with Kino at Kino's home, a ginormous wave appears. Dismayed, Jiya wants to run to his family and warn them. But Kino holds him back, as they watch the wave swallow the whole beach and wash away everything except for Kino's home and the Old Gentleman and his grand home. Many people had fled to Old Gentleman's home, but Jiya's family is forever gone. As Jiya tries to cope with the loss, Kino can't help but wish Jiya could stop mourning and be his friend. But Kino's father knows what needs to happen to Jiya. Then Jiya recieves an invitation from the Old Gentleman to be his son. Kino gets worried. Jiya had the chance to chose between Kino's small farm house and the Old Gentleman's grand home. What if he wanted to stay with the Old Gentleman? Will Jiya receive the Old Gentleman's invitation? How will Jiya cope with his loss? Will they continue to be friends?
This book would normally seem like something boring, but it was fun to read. It doesn't have chapters, but it's less than a 100 pages long.

More coming soon!

The Rosemary Spell and A World Without Heroes

Rosemary and her friends Shelby and Adam have been best friends for a long time. They have found a small island in the middle of a river where they love to hang out. Then one day, they finally open the one cupboard that has always been locked. And what they found in there was confusing, terrifying, intriguing, and deadly. Then, using the object, they accidentally erase Shelby. They then begin their struggle to remember Shelby and find a way to bring her back. Will Rosemary and Adam be able to do it? Can they bring Shelby back? What dangers will they face?
I really enjoyed this book called The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman. If you enjoy magical mystery and adventure, as well as good friends, you might enjoy this book.

I also read The Beyonders: A World Without Heroes, by Brandon Mull. Yep. Brandon Mull, the same guy who wrote Fablehaven. Here's how it goes: Thirteen-year-old Jason works at a zoo. One day, however, something totally extraordinary happens...: a hippopotamus eats him. Yep. Crazy as it sounds, a hippopotamus eats him. He had heard beautiful music, and, like  most people, he was curious and leaned in towards the sound. The music was coming from the hippopotamus tank, so when he fell in, the hippopotamus ate him. But instead of finding himself in the hippo's stomach, he emerges from a dead tree. Weird, huh? He follows the music, and finds an odd scene: a vessel containing a group of playing musicians called the Giddy Nine, is rushing along a river, heading towards a waterfall which would plunge them to their deaths. Many people are waiting for the musicians at the falls, all wanting to witness it. Surprisingly, no one will save them. Jason desperately tries to help them, save them from their sacrifice. But... it doesn't really go like he planned. And that was the start of Jason's big adventure. As he searches for a new way home, he learns of the conquering emperor, Maldor. throughout the book, Jason becomes more and more involved in the search for the one word that should destroy the evil emperor. Will Jason be able to find the word? And what about a way home? What dangers will he face? Here's a small sample: ginormous frogs, conscriptors, and a sarcophagus. Who will he meet? So many questions. I liked how capable Jason ends up being, and how brave. His adventure is a fun one, especially with a wonderful wizard of words as the author.

And I have two other books to read, so I promise it won't be long (unless the inter-library loan takes forever to happen).

- Maria

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis is about a Chinese boy (Young Fu) who lives in the country, but moves to Chungking with his mother. There he is apprenticed by Tang, an experienced and known coppersmith. While in his apprenticeship and as a journeyman (later on his apprenticeship ends but not his work in Tang's shop), Young Fu meets a scholar, a group of river bandits, the horrors of living in Chungking, debt, a hateful apprentice, an opium smuggler, and many other things. He learns many wise things from his experiences, and in the end, realizes that he has it good. This book was slow for me, and I would've given up (but I didn't because it was part of my history), but it teaches good lessons, and some parts are interesting to read about (the opium smuggler, for example). If you like the way Chinese speak, the slow journey to the realization of things, and some mild action, this book is for you.

P.S. Okay, look. there's one book I'm reading that just might end up on my blog, and I'm almost done with the tediously slow Septimus Heap series (sorry, but it's just a little too slow for me. The whole story is really exciting, but there are just too many slow parts) and then I can read whatever (I've got a pretty big book list that I can choose from, now that I'm done reading all those series [which is probably boring for you {sorry!}], and I know which series I'm going to try next [don't worry, it's not that long] and I'm pretty sure it will be exciting). So try to hang in there!

P.P.S. I'll try to post whatever random things I have so that you don't get bored while waiting for me to finish reading a book! (Oh, and you'll probably get a Japanese book to hear about soon... and some more... [my history is about the eastern hemisphere, so there will probably {most likely} be another book on some Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese person soon.] But I'll keep reading normal books, so don't worry.)

P.P.S.S. How many times have I said "sorry" or "don't worry" in the last two paragraphs? Go ahead, count. How many? That's right. Four, all together. Yup. Sorry about all the sorry-ies and don't-worry-ies. But don't worry! I probably just have a writers' tick! I'll get rid of it, so don't worry. Ooh... sorry about all those extra paragraphs! But don't worry, I'll make sure that doesn't happen again.

P.P.P.S.S. Yeah... that's how I feel sometimes. "Oh, look how many times I've said that. Yeesh. Well, there's no point in fixing it (or in other words: whatever), so why don't I just say it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....
Goodbye.

P.P.P.S.S.S. There you go Weese; a big fat line of 'post script's for you. :)

- Maria

The End of The Books of Elsewhere

A little while ago, I finished the Books of Elsewhere. I didn't write about it though, because I thought I would have a new book to tell you about (and I would have written about the end of this fantastic series at the same time), but apparently not.
The Books of Elsewhere were awesome. When I read about Olive (the main character, for those of you who don't remember), she just felt so real to me. I would read about her and say to myself, "that's exactly what I do!" or, "that's exactly how I would feel!". Olive is a great character because she's not perfect. Not even close. She trusts all the wrong people and makes bad decisions. But what I really like about her, is that if she does something wrong, she tries to fix it. She wants to do the right thing, wants to help others, and she wants to regain the trust of her friends. But sometimes it's hard for her. I mean, if there was a painted witch trying to take away your house and you had to chose between a trio of cats and two adults who supposedly are magical experts for help, who would you chose? I loved following Olive into this dangerous and unpredictable world of hers. I loved watching her fight a mentally and physically strenuous battle against the evil characters and becoming stronger. I loved watching her try to help her friends. I loved every part of this series.
The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West, has five volumes: The Shadows, Spellbound, The Second Spy, The Strangers, and Still Life. Every single one is a section of the fantastic story of an old house, a not-so-perfect Olive, oily paintings, and evil owners.
This series is a GREAT read. (Well, I loved it, so you probably will too.)






P.S. So sorry I haven't written anything in a while! It's just that once you have about three series going at a time, you don't really have any time for other, new books. More soon! I promise.

- Maria

The End of Conspiracy 365... Or Is It?

I finished the last Conspiracy 365 book today (December, the twelfth book) and it was awesome!!!!!! Although, I wish that the author hadn't skipped the rest of the story and ended with a short epilogue. So to get you a little more interested in this series, I'll tell you the basic parts: Callum Ormond doesn't know that his family has a HUGE secret. Then on New Year's Eve, he suddenly gets involved. The boat he's on gets sabotaged, a almost gets eaten by sharks, and a crazy man tells him that the Ormond Singularity will kill him. From then on, things only get worse. Cal has to solve the mystery of the Ormond Singularity, with only his best mate, Boges (they're from Australia). But that's when Cal realizes that he's not the only one trying to solve the mystery; some of the top criminals in Australia are after it as well. Pretty soon, Cal is accused of murder, and his life turns to one on the run. When he meets a girl named Winter, he wants to trust her... but she lives with a criminal who wants to kill Cal. Can he trust her? Can he clear his name? Can he gain his mum's trust? Can he solve the Ormond mystery? Can he stay alive?

But guess what? There's more! Gabrielle Lord has written a sequal series that includes: Revenge, Malice, Missing, Hunted, and Endgame. (I don't know why, but Missing, Hunted, and Endgame say Black Ops next to Conspiracy 365, but Revenge and Malice don't.) I can't wait to read those! It will be a while before I read all of them, but I'll tell you once I finish!

- Maria

A Poem about Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman
By Me
(Uh... no idea when I wrote this... I think I was nine... or ten... about... 2014-ish...?)

She's working hard in the fields,
Rough hands hard at work,
Every day as the plantation builds,
She never thinks to shirk.

But one day she has a thought,
That she never thought before,
And as she thinks, slowly she is brought,
Right out her master's front door.

Why does she labor?
All the men think she's a pest,
So why didn't she get to savor,
Going to meet in her Sunday best?

So at night she runs away,
With the North Star leading the way,
She never once went astray,
Marching all night, only to rest in the day.

She finally reaches the border,
After much hurry and fright,
She finally brings to order,
"I will get my family this next night."

When the day finally came,
Hiding behind graves,
Freeing black slaves,
Her name became: Moses.

As freeing became her job,
She freed over three hunder'd,
Becoming aware of a mob,
"$40,000 to her capturer!" they thundered.

Her work continues,
Lincoln quickly works,
Her friends make use,
Lincoln's study is where he lurks.

Finally, her freeing ends,
As she gathers 'round with her friends,
A man finishes with an exclamation,
"Now we have read the Emancipation Proclamation!"

This is all I know of Harriet now,
And I hope you finish this with a 'WOW!'
I know that already we have agreed,
Harriet's by whom we want to be freed!



P.S. I'm so sorry that I haven't posted FOREVER, but I just haven't found anything new to read. I'll post as soon as I have one for you, I PROMISE. But meanwhile, I'll try to think of things to write so that you won't get too bored with me. :)

- Maria

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

In the corner of which Fruitless Mountain and the Jade river meets, there is a village. It is a very poor village, as the land near Fruitless Mountain is very hard to grow with. The villagers had to work very hard to get anything to grow. And that is why the whole village is a shade of brown. In that very poor village there was a shack that looked as if it were quote, 'a bunch of matches tied with piece of twine.' In the house there was barely enough room for three people to sit at a table together. And that is where Minli lived with her parents, Ma and Ba. Minli has glossy black hair and pink cheeks, shining eyes, and a fast smile. That was the way in which she was different from everyone in the village. Her name meant quick thinking. That name suited her well. One thing about Minli is that she always wishes to find some way to make them richer.

Ba tells Minli a story every night, something that she loves. Every time he tells her the story about Fruitless Mountain, she wants to bring the four great rivers to the mountain, to make the Jade Dragon happy. She wants to make Fruitless Mountain green again. But everyone says that that is a question she has to ask the Old Man of the Moon, who lives on top of Never-Ending Mountain. 

Then a goldfish man comes to the village, selling goldfish. He says they will bring good fortune into their home if they buy one. Minli can't resist. She pays for it with one of her own two coins, the only coins the whole family has. But her parents are disappointed, especially Ma. So Minli lets the fish go. She feels bad that she spent half their money on just another mouth to feed. Minli is surprised when the fish tells her how to get to Never-Ending Mountain. 

Minli decides to journey to Never-Ending Mountain. 

She leaves a note to her parents and leaves in the middle of the night. 

Throughout the journey, Minli meets a dragon that can't fly. They become friends.

She meets a boy with a water buffalo. He tells her where to go to get to the Inner City. 

She gets a borrowed line from the king. Dragon gets another borrowed line from the stone lions. 

They meet Da and A Fu. They survive the Green Tiger. 

Minli meets the Old Man of the Moon. But he will only answer one question. Minli has more than one question, though! Which one should she ask? 

Join Minli on her fun journey, of which is not very dangerous, but which is long. Grace Lin has crafted a very fun book with a easily-loved character, full of short little chapters. 

I can easily tell you that I enjoyed the slow and easy, but exciting enough for you to automatically root for Minli, called Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.

- Maria

Poor Ella

Ella of Frell is cursed. It all started when she was a baby. Lucinda the fairy had come. Lucinda was known for her 'gifts'. Everyone thought the gifts were horrible, but Lucinda didn't. So when Ella didn't stop crying, Lucinda gave her the gift of obedience. Now Ella would have no choice but to obey everyone and anyone, no matter what they asked her to do. Horrible gift, huh? But Lucinda would not take it back. Ella had to live with it. Years later, Ella's mother dies from a sickness. Years after that, her father meets Dame Olga, Ella meets prince Charmont, and everything starts to go bad. Dame Olga's children, Olive and Hattie are horrid. Hattie figures out that Ella has to obey everything. But she doesn't know the whole truth; Ella's mother commanded her never to tell anyone about the curse. Then Hattie takes the necklace that Ella's mother gave to her and Ella hates her even more. Ella ends up having to go to finishing school with Olive and Hattie. There, she meets a girl that would be a great friend... but Hattie would command her to end the wonderful friendship. Ella runs away from finishing school instead of telling her friend that she won't be friends with her anymore. Through her whole life, Ella has tried to break her own curse. She's figured out how to delay her obeying, and other times she tries to resist it. But things began to get even harder then they were before. Ella meets some ogres (much to her horror), has to try to find Lucinda, and reject the prince's request for her to marry him. She doesn't want to put him in danger because of her curse, so she tries to resist the accidental command. During the main plot, there are so many subplots where she has to deal with all the commands. This story shows you how desperate she is, and you end up rooting for her. But here's the real question: does she break the curse on her own? Find out for yourself.

P.S. I'm serious: if I haven't been clear enough, or you would like some additional information, or if you think this review is too... all over the place, then just tell me. I'll answer questions in Questions And Answers.

- Maria

Space Case

Space Case by Stuart Gibbs is about twelve-year-old Dashiell (nickname: Dash) Gibson in the year 2041... which means the story takes place in the future! Dash's family was picked to be one of the few people that got to live on the moon for three years (I think). His family got to go for free, as his mom (Rose Harris) is a lunar geologist, and his dad (Stephen Gibson) is a mining specialist. (Dash has a six-year-old sister named Violet.) But guess what? Life on the moon stinks. Moon Base Alpha is tiny, and is full of people, especially a really annoying family that only got to be there because they paid: the Sjobergs. Normally, Dash is super bored, but when Dr. Ronald Holtz, the base physician and loved by many is found dead. It appeared that he went out the air lock without out a companion, one of the best ways to get yourself killed. Why? Your spacesuit might not be on right, and there would be no one to check it. So why did Holtz go out alone and in the middle of the night? Since Nina and almost everyone else on the base thinks it was just an accident, it's up to Dash to find out who did it; yes, he's sure that it was a murder. He knew Dr. Holtz wouldn't go out alone, and that he wasn't going crazy. But who did it? He ends up with a number of suspects: the Sjobergs, Chang Kowalski, Daphne Merritt, and more. And when he meets Zan Perfonic (a woman), she tells him that he is the only she could find that believed what she did; that it was a murder. Then Kira Howard comes to the base, and ends up becoming his friend. Will Dashiell and Kira find the murderer? What will the murderer do if they find out they're on his or her trail?
If you read this and love it, there is another Moon Base Alpha novel, called Spaced Out.

This book was quite fun, although, there was a lot of name-calling (well, more than usual) in it.

But for those who love a good mystery and the ideas of what the future might hold, this is a fun book.

Thanks for reading!

- Maria

The Books of Elsewhere

Olive Dunwoody and her parents have just moved into the diseased Ms. McMartin's really old house. It's huge, and has so many creepy places, according to eleven-year-old Olive. There's this one painting that almost looks as if part of it is moving. And none of the paintings hanging on the wall come off. It's as if they're part of the wall itself. But when she finds a pair of old spectacles and tries them on, the paintings come to life; a painting of a beautiful girl winks at her! And there's Horatio, a talking cat. A talking cat! Olive doesn't know who to trust. This house is full of secrets... secrets that Olive is about to explore! Join Olive Dunwoody's adventures as she visits the inside of the paintings - literally. The Books of Elsewhere series by Jacqueline West starts out with volume (each 'volume' is no more than 300 pages, I'm guessing) 1, The Shadows.

P.S. I loved it; I finished it in one day.

- Maria 

"Have you read this?"

I feel like my blog is getting a little boring, as I'm only reading series right now. If you are, then you'll be happy to know that I will be introducing a new book: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken.
Bonnie Green is awaiting the arrival of her cousin, Sylvia. She lives at Willoughby Chase, and the wolves here are very hungry. Bonnie thinks her home is a wonderful one.
Meanwhile, Sylvia is nervously sitting on the freezing cold train, with a strange man that is telling her not to be afraid of the wolves that are now surrounding the train itself.
Does Sylvia get to Willoughby Chase safely? Yes. But that isn't the end of the trouble. There is something worse about to happen... and it starts with a betrayal.
Mr. and Mrs. Green are going on a long cruise, one that will take them about six months. Why? Mr. Green thinks that it will help Mrs. Green's health (I say Mr. and Mrs. Green, because I don't remember their names). Mr. Green leaves Willoughby Chase under the control of Bonnie's governess, Miss Slighcarp. But who is the one to betray them? Miss Slighcarp? One of the servants? Josiah Grimshaw, the stranger who was on the train with Sylvia, who was accidentally hit on the head and knocked out, then brought to Willoughby Chase? And what will happen to Sylvia and Bonnie once they find themselves in an orphanage that, according to Bonnie, is the equivalent of prison?  And what of the hungry wolves? Will they finally have a feast?

One last thing: I finished the third Conspiracy 365 book, March. Again, there was a cliffhanger at the end. And I finished Neverseen, which was - like the first, second, and third books - probably the best series I've ever read.

There. So now you have it. All that I've read since... April fifteenth - or somewhere around that time. Okay... that's not actually a lot. Well, it's probably because Neverseen has around six hundred fifty pages. They keep getting bigger. (Hee hee hee!)

Thanks for being patient with me (actually, you probably haven't been - I wouldn't) and for actually reading this stuff. If I were you, I'd probably just skip all the chit-chat and skim the reviews. Yeah, that sounds like me....

Now, about that title. Sometimes that's what I feel like when we're at the library.
Mom: "Have you read this?"
Me: "Yeah."
Mom: "How about this?"
Me: "Yeah."

We haven't actually had a conversation like this, though.

But other times it's like this:

Mom: "Have you read this?"
Me: "No!"
Mom: "Does it look interesting?"
Me: "Yeah!"
And so on.

Again, we haven't actually had a conversation like this. It's just all in my head. Luckily, the latter example is the one that is the closest to reality: there are tons of books I want to read.

Oops. I'm just going on and on again.


Bye.

- Maria

Really Need To Catch Up!

I'm so sorry; I haven't posted anything for - how long has it been? - probably a month. Or longer. I'm not sure. But, you've probably guessed that I have just been reading a lot, and when I'm not reading, I don't have time, or just forget about it. But if you haven't guessed that... then I don't know what to say.

So on to the book reviews. Um... I'll probably forget some, because it's been so long (already!) since I've read some books that I love.

1. I know for sure that I finished the third book of the series by Shannon Messenger called Keeper of the Lost Cities. The book's name: Everblaze. One thing I love about these books, is the fact that the very first chapter leaves you biting your nails (or sighing with relief... I don't quite remember). But in this particular book (I probably won't have that much information - sorry! - about the book because I move on to another book right after I finish one, so it's hard to remember what happened in which book), Sophie tries to heal Fintin's (I think that's his name) mind. "What's wrong with his mind?" you might ask. Well, his mind is broken. In other words, he's crazy. Like the kind of crazy where you're mind is full  of jumbled thoughts and emotions and you can't think straight (now that I think about it, it's a little hard to explain the term 'broken mind' to a person who hasn't read the book). Anyways, it not only doesn't work; Fintin starts an Everblaze (keep in mind that I'm not sure - sorry about that - if it was an Everblaze or just a fire. All you need to know is that it did a lot of damage). Will Sophie and her friends get out in time? And if they do, will they ALL get out? Or will someone be left behind? But the real question is, "What happens next?" Because the fire does not start at the end of the book, it starts in the middle. What else is there in this book? I can tell you one thing: it has to do with a heart-wrenching betrayal, Mt. Everest, and a bunch of problems (not to mention some shockingly good writing and an epic story). But if you're the person that doesn't like cliffhangers (sometimes I don't, because I get most of my books from the library and sometimes I have to wait a while for people to finish reading it and for the library that owns it, to ship it to ours), then you should get the next book before you plunge into Everblaze, the fourth book in the always exciting series written by Shannon Messenger, Keeper of the Lost Cities.

2. So... I finished the second and third books in the Septimus Heap series (the second book called Flyte, the third called Physik). It was a little hard to get through book two, because I had other books that were way more exciting (but Flyte was worth reading!), but it was really fun to finish. Let's see... if I remember right, Septimus's sister (Jenna - she's actually adopted) was kidnapped by his (Septimus's) brother, Simon. Simon's the oldest brother, but he hates the fact that Septimus got to be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's apprentice; something that he had always wanted. And another thing Simon doesn't like: Septimus had been just a Young Army boy (boy 214, to be exact) and then came the sudden realization (well, they had known Septimus for a while, but the revelation was sudden) that Septimus was the missing seventh son of a seventh son - or in other words, the long lost (youngest) Heap. Later on in the book, Septimus is still trying to get rid of Simon (who, in case you haven't noticed, hates Septimus), and steals the flight charm that Simon's been trying to use. But that's honestly all I remember. Oh, but there's an awesome realization, as well.
In the third book (Physik), however, Silas (Septimus's father) accidentally releases the ghost of a long-dead Queen Etheldredda - often called Etheldredda The Awful (or at least, that's what I recall... I could be wrong). But she really is awful. In fact, she pushes Septimus into a river... on purpose. The real problem is, she's different than most ghosts - in a bad way. But the biggest problem yet, is when Septimus goes missing... and the ExtraOrdinary Wizard (Marcia Overstrand) finds a letter addressed to herself FROM SEPTIMUS that was written five hundred years ago. Now the real problem is sorting all this out; the missing Septimus and Etheldredda. Oh, and I forgot: there's a sicknesse - a horrible sicknesse - that is said to be caused by the rats, and the bad thing is, that it's going all over. Will Jenna and the others be able to find Septimus? And if they do, how are they going to get him free? And what is causing the sicknesse? What about Queen Etheldredda? Well, I can tell you that they not only think that she's a real pain in the neck, but that she's a real problem. If you want to know how it all ends, just read book three (called Physik... but DO NOT skip books one and two) of the series: Septimus Heap, by Angie Sage. (P.S. I'm not spelling these words wrong, if you think I am. The author just likes to add an 'e' to the end of an occasional word. On purpose.)

3. I started this series that is called Witherwood Reform School by Obert Skye. What's it about? An eleven-year-old girl named Charlotte, and a twelve-year-old boy named Tobias, of whom are brother and sister (their last names is Eggers). One day, they end up pulling a prank on their rude... let's just call her a babysitter (the reason? I don't remember what she is. Her name is Martha). But the catch? They end up with her choking, getting the something they put in her gravy out, then screaming at  them. Unfortunately, their father (Ralph Eggers) had to come home right as Martha had come out of the house and had started screaming. So the angry Ralph brings the kids to the front of the Witherwood Reform school; something that his dad had done to him as a kid. Then he left them in the rain in front of the school (which is on a mesa, by the way) and drove away. He was going to come back after they had gotten scared, but things didn't work out. The two siblings watch in fear as he drives away, and then with some disgust, work their way into the school (to try to make their dad sorry for what he did), not realizing how bad of a decision that was. The result was them getting trapped in the school, and their dad crashing his car and then left with a case of amnesia - one bad enough that he does not remember anything except waking up in a hospital. And I'm not exaggerating. What will the Eggers children do? How will they get out? What is up with Witherwood Reform school and why are the children there acting so weird? Are the students getting brainwashed?Find out stunning things in book one, AND book two, Lost and Found by Obert Skye.

4. I started a series called Conspiracy 365 by Gabrielle Lord. It's about a boy name Callum Ormond (I think he lives in Australia, but it's just a tiny hunch), who has a mother and a little sister, but not his dad. His dad has died due to a skin virus. But unbeknownst to him, Cal's dad has given clues... important clues. And the most unsettling thing is this (just so you know, I'm quoting this directly from the book, so it's more exciting for you):

As the swooping shape neared, I saw that it was a muttering, gray-looking man. He was wearing a dark bathrobe and had a weird, lopsided run, as if he was off-balance and dizzy. I was just about to cross the road to avoid him when I made out what he was saying. With a rush of fear, I realized it was me he was coming after!"Cal!" he screamed. "Callum Ormond!" He stumbled towards me, his wild eyes almost bursting from their sockets. He half-limped, half-ran, his flailing arms reaching out in front of him. A siren wailed in the distance and within seconds and ambulance with flashing lights appeared at the other end of my street. It was driving towards us, fast. The crazy man was almost on top of me. I could small his foul, musty breath. "Keep away from it, Callum!" he spluttered as drool fell from his gaping mouth. "They killed your father. They're killing me!"

And then I'll just skip a few paragraphs...

 He stared into my eyes. "The Ormond Singularity," he said, between gasps of breath. "Don't let it be the death of you too, boy! Get out! Get away! Hide and lay low until midnight December 31st of next year. You don't know what you're up against. Listen to me! Please! 365 days, Cal. You have 365 days!"

Oh, good. Now I don't have to try to explain everything to you. But you get the picture, right? Most of this book and the second book (which I've read) are just Cal running and hiding and getting kidnapped. And each book is a whole month, so, as you might guess, there are twelve books. For example, book one is called January, book two is February, book three is March, etc. But it's pretty epic. There's not one boring part. (Oh, I also wanted to mention something: the page numbers in these books are backwards. What do I mean? I mean the author wrote the book in such a way, as the page numbers count down. So the last page is titled page number one.)

Whoa, whoa, wait. Did I seriously not write about finishing the Leven Thumps series? OR the Pillage Trilogy? SERIOUSLY!????? (If you haven't noticed I find that very hard to believe.) Okay... well I did. In... around February. Or January. I loved the Leven Thumps series and the Pillage Trilogy, but I'm very sorry that I can't tell you anything about it. Mostly, I can just remember the end. So... (I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T WRITE ABOUT THAT YET!) yep. That's it. I guess if you want to know how it ends, you need to read the books.

Ooh, look at all those juicy paragraphs! I hope this is exciting enough for you to get through, because I know that if something is that big, I don't usually read it (well, that's only happens while I'm reading my Mom's blog though...).

And, again, I'm so sorry for all that waiting! I'll HAVE to do better. There's just no doubt about it. I've been putting it off for to long, too many times! Besides, I don't want to leave my dear readers hanging.

Thanks for reading all this. It makes writing these posts a lot more fun, knowing you read it all. But I hope that some of you try at least one of theses books (or series) and like it. At least one. But don't feel bad if none of this is interesting to you... I just like the idea of helping someone find a book (or, again, series) that they end up loving.
But that's all for today. Thanks for reading!

P.S. Sorry the same pictures have been on my blog forever. I just can't find ones that are big enough!

- Maria

Keeper of the Lost Cities: Exile

Sometimes I think I need to work on my summary skills.

Okay, so I had a very fun time reading this book, and I know my Mom liked the first book. I did too.
Sophie is searching for a sasquatch, but ends up forgetting all about it when she finds a rare animal, one of which is in danger of extinction. An alicorn. Sophie will have to help rehabilitate the alicorn, but troubles arise. And even more unsettling; Sophie is still uncovering secrets about her past. Secrets that make her uncomfortable, but yet secrets she wants to know. And another unsettling thought; the Black Swan keep sending messages to her. But - not surprisingly - Sophie gets into trouble. Trouble that leads to wounds... physical and mental. Can Sophie heal a much-loved friend? Can she make things right? Find out in Exile, book two of the series Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger.

- Maria

Magyk

Sorry I haven't written for a while. I just haven't thought about my blog lately.

Magyk by Angie Sage starts out kind of slow, but once you get to the middle it starts to pick up.
Silas Heap is trudging through the snow coming back home to his family of six children and a wife. But then he finds a baby girl in the snow and takes her with him. He opens the door to his home and is surprised as the Matron Midwife rushes out carrying a small bundle. Turns out, that small bundle was Sarah's newly born baby, Septimus Heap. But luckily, Silas has the small baby girl for his wife Sarah to take care of. But sometimes they wonder who the baby girl they named Jenna is, and where their son Septimus is. Sarah suspects that Jenna is the Queenling... but what if she's not?
This book consists of wizards, magogs, witches, and necromancers. The people don't really think much of wizards anymore, but Silas makes sure the Heap family all learn to become wizards, or at least know some spells. All wizards' eyes turn green... all except Jenna's.
I really liked this book, and I'm really enjoying the second in the series (called Flyte).

I also just recently finished Ambush, the last book in the trilogy called Pillagy. It was as good as ever. And, of course, I already finished book two and three of the series Leven Thumps (The Whispered Secret and The Eyes of the Want) and am reading the fourth book, The Wrath of Ezra, all of which I've enjoyed reading. And, thankfully, the second book in the series called Keeper of the Lost Cities is waiting at the library for me. I'm going to try to finish it quickly.

Thanks for reading!

- Maria

The Storm Makers

First off, I want to congratulate Jennifer E. Smith, for her wonderful book, The Storm Makers.
Here's what it's about: Simon and Ruby McDuff are twins of which used to always do things together. But since their family moved to a dusty, dry, absolutely hot farm, Ruby notices that she and Simon haven't been as close. But that's not it. Ruby has seen someone in their barn... that wasn't invited. But later, on a dusty road, all by herself, she meets him again.
         "Nice weather we're having," he says. But before Ruby can disagree, he twirls his hat in the air, looks up at the sky, and it begins to rain, right in the middle of that blazing hot Wisconsin drought. This strange man says he's here to help her brother, and that Simon needs her. Who is this strange man, and how does he know Simon's name? When Ruby gets home, Simon has a bad fever... and there's a lightning storm, full of rain. Simon ends up at the hospital, and when Ruby comes to see him, she meets the strange man again. He says his name is Otis Gray, and that Simon is a Storm Maker. Ruby refuses to believe him... but what if he's right?
This wonderfully imagined book is full of fun, and I absolutely loved it.

Second, I'm sorry to say that I will not be finishing Slathbog's Gold; I was in the middle of the book and nothing at all was happening. Maybe when I'm older.

But guess what? I have lots of books that I want to try, all of which I have written down, so that I will not forget them. I'm willing to try them.

Oh, but one more thing. I have just finished Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret, the second book in the series (I'm just going to call this series the Leven Thumps series. That's my nickname for it), and Choke, the second book in the trilogy called Pillagy, and I loved both.

You know, I think I might have to add a couple school or nonfiction books in here. I really hope that's the case, mostly because I only read fictional things; fantasy, pretend, fantasy, pretend, fantasy, pretend, and so on (except, of course, my school books. All of those are nonfiction... except for two or three [but hey, they're historic fiction, those two or three books. Like... Old Yeller, or By the Great Horn Spoon]). So, hopefully this blog won't be full of fantasy, pretend, fantasy, pretend, fantasy, pretend....

- Maria

Four books!

Sorry I keep forgetting about my blog. So, I've finished four different books though.

1. Capture the Flag by Kate Messner is about Anna Revere-Hobbs, who gets stuck at the airport, due to a violent blizzard. She meets Henry and Jose, who she realizes she's seen before.... These three kids are stuck at an airport, along with the people who stole the Star Spangled Banner. They end up chasing the thieves... but will Anna, Henry and Jose find them? This book is full of dashing baggage, stalling, and spying.

2. Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger is about Sophie, who, when she she was five, bonked her head... really hard. Ever since then, Sophie had heard the thoughts of the people around her. She suspects that she's been adopted, but her parents deny it. But one day, while in a museum, Sophie finds a boy named Fitz... who says she's the one he's been looking for. His thoughts are silent, but why? Fitz tells her that she's not human, but an elf. Sophie's life becomes an adventure, learning things she never thought possible. She learns to levitate things, read people's minds, and she makes new friends, who care. Sophie's like no other elf... she can read anybody's mind. The elves have a way to block others from reading their thoughts, but it doesn't work on Sophie. Nobody can read Sophie's mind... her mind is too strong.

3. Leven Thumps book one, The Gateway to Foo, by Obert Skye, is about fourteen-year-old Leven, who lives with his mother's half sister. But Leven's aunt doesn't want to be called his aunt. Leven's aunt and uncle want nothing to do with him. But one night, Leven meets Clover, a sycophant who claims Leven is the only one that can save the world, but he won't say anything else, except that Leven is Clover's burn. Winter has chosen to come from Foo to help save the world with Leven, but she enters earth as a baby, and soon forgets all about Foo. Winter lives with a mother that doesn't want anything to do with her either. She and Leven meet, and that's when the adventure begins. Leven learns that he can see a little into the future, and sometimes slightly change it. Winter can freeze anything with her ice, and distant memories are hidden in her mind, waiting to be remembered. Leven and Winter are supposed to destroy the gateway to Foo, but Leven is plagued by shadows that try to get Leven to change his mind. How are they going to get to the gateway? Can they conquer the shadows? Can they destroy the gateway?

4. Heroes of the Dustbin, the fifth and final book in the Janitors series by Tyler Whitesides, ended with a surprise. Spencer and Daisy have accidentally freed three evil witches, that want to kill education. The BEM (in case you didn't know, BEM stands for Bureau of Educational Maintenance. Those are the bad guys) is getting stronger, and is becoming more violent, destroying Spencer's house and taking all the Rebels (the good guys) they can find, not to mention Spencer and Daisy's families. The Aurans try to help Spencer and Daisy defeat the witches, and Marv helps them with a plan to break the Rebels out of their prison. When the time comes, the hero of the day is someone who no one would ever expect. Spencer and Daisy have to take risks with the last of the Rebels, and a couple of times, they're tricked.

So, yes. I have been busy. Just so you know, I will be getting the second Leven Thumps book, and I'm reading a book called Magyk by Angie Sage. So far, I like it.
I really like the idea of reading almost everything in the Juvenile section, although I know for sure that I never will read all of those books. I probably won't even read half of it. But sometimes it's fun to imagine things.
I'll probably go to the library tonight, so I bet you that I'll have something to report soon.
Bye for now!

- Maria

Two books to talk about

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while; I've been so busy with school, I've hardly had time to even think about my blog!

While I was gone though, I finished two awesome books. One (the first one that I finished), was My Diary from the Edge of the World, by Jodi Lynn Anderson. It's about a girl with a fiery spirit... one whose mother got her a diary to write in. The whole book is her diary, but it still sounds like a normal book. Her name is Gracie, and she lives in a world where there are Sasquatches, dragons, mermaids, Dark Clouds, and more. She had a little brother named Sam, and an older sister named Millie. Gracie is around twelve years old. She's living a normal life (well, it's normal in her world)... until a Dark Cloud is found drifting their neighborhood. Dark Clouds are odd; they don't act like normal clouds. They take certain people away, almost like they're taking the spirit of a dead person. It's like dying in our world. The result of a cloud not being there when someone dies, is a ghost. Gracie's family is worried; is The Cloud coming for someone in their family?

The other book that I finished, was Pillage, by Obert Skye. It's about a teenage boy (named Beck), whose mother dies. He goes to live with his Uncle in a humongous mansion in Kingsplot, but is only greeted by the small staff, which consists of only four people. Strange things began happening, and Beck doesn't know what to do. As he investigates, he uncovers more and more, learning more about his genealogy. His uncle is a secret himself; he confined himself to a small portion of the mansion, closest to the roof as he can get. Beck's uncle has been living up in the highest floor of the mansion for a long time, never leaving. What secrets will Beck uncover? Is there a basement? If so, where is it? What's in the backyard behind the bushes?
I read this book in one day (if you can't tell, I thought it was a really good book; it was exciting, mysterious, and... I don't have the right word right now), and was sad when it ended.
Pillage is part of a trilogy, called Pillagy. The next book is called Choke. I can't wait to get it from the library!

Luckily for you, I have five different books that I have waiting for me to read. I'm reading Capture the Flag right now, and I have The Keeper of the Lost Cities, Heroes of the Dustbin (Janitors book 5), and Shadow of the Dragon. I'm still trying to get through Slathbog's Gold. I wonder if it will get better soon. Anyways, I have lots to read.

I hope to be able to write soon! Happy reading (to you and me)!

- Maria

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Sorry I haven't been writing lately. I just haven't gotten around to it. Sometimes the problem is that when I do have time, I'm doing something and don't think at all about my blog.
But enough of that! During the time that I haven't written, I was able to have to read The Mysterious Benedict Society. I've read it before, once, but when I read it only a few weeks ago, I realized that I know enjoy the book more than I ever have! It's about a boy named Reynard (Reynie is his nickname) Muldoon, who is a gifted child. He is an orphan, who stays in an orphanage, his tutor (Miss Perumal) coming by every day. Reynie meets three other gifted children, and they are expected to become a team. Someone is damaging the minds of people all over the world, without anybody realizing. The four children (all orphans, I might add) set out with a mission to try to find out more about the damaged minds.
This book is very well written (I was sad when the book ended [everybody gets sad when a book ends, but I was a little more sad than I normally would be], but I was willing to part with it), and I am looking forward to reading again after a long while.

I've gotten some more books from the library (Adventurers Wanted: Slathbog's Gold, My Diary From the Edge of the World, Capture the Flag, and Pillage) and I'm hoping that they'll be good. So far, Slathbog's Gold is great. But there is a possibility that I will end up not liking it. I've read one chapter of My Diary From the Edge of the World, and... well you can't tell after just one chapter, can you?
I've read Capture the Flag before (only once), and really liked it. Let's see if I still like it.
I have no idea about Pillage. It has a dragon on the cover. The title text is fancy. It's paper-back. (I don't know what to think about Pillage! Now I'm just writing stuff.) Yeah.

Sorry, I'm not in much of a writing mood right now. I'm just... in a weird mood. Hard to explain.
I hope you have a good week. I am. Have fun reading.  :|  :{  :}


P.S. Do you ever look back at something you've done, and think "Why did I do that?" or "I can't believe I did that!" or "I actually did that? It's hilarious!" or "Wow, I actually managed to write something that weird?"? Boy, have I. I've done that a million times.

- Maria

My Life on TV

I've finished My Life On TV, and I gotta tell you, I'm surprised at how much more I loved reading it than any other time I've read it! I really liked Sam's 'blog', I really liked the story, the characters (sort of), I just loved all of it!
Though, this last book (My Life On TV) wasn't nearly as good as the other two books. It was really good, but not as good.
In this book, Sam decides that she has to go to the extremes to keep her family happy and in the same house. Near the end of the book, Sam's all stressed out, with her plan to 'save' her family, and with the problem of being on the verge of loosing her best friend Olga. Things get rough for Sam in this book.
So, yes, I've read this series (okay, sequels) at least three times now (I was probably seven or eight when I finished reading the sequels for the first time), and really, I loved it way more than I've ever loved it!
Oh, something you might want to know. In the first book,, Sam's twelve (and her little kid family nickname Little Bit, is getting a little bit to little kid), in the second book, I think she's close to turning thirteen, and in the last book, I think she's a little bit close to being fourteen. Danni's around seventeen, and Olga's the same age as Sam (I guess you could call her Samantha).
After I've been reading these books, and Sam's 'blog', I sort of have a good idea of what her 'blog talk' is like. I actually think it's been rubbing off on me. It's kind of weird though, since Sam's not a real person. I don't know. I usually have tons of fun reading good books, and when I do, I... it's hard to explain. Let's just say that I act different around books (wow, that sounds really weird doesn't it?).

Thanks to my Grandma, I have lots of books that I'm going to try to find at the library (and read of course), which means more soon! :)

- Maria

The Fame Game and Me

I finished The Fame Game and Me a little bit ago. I'm surprised at how much more I like it, compared to when I read it before. I find myself enjoying Sam's 'blog' more then ever. I think more about how Sam feels, and what it would be like to be in Sam's shies. In this book, Sam and her family find something new, that leads them to England. They head out on a cruise, and by the time they head back, things have become so confusing, stressful and problematic that Sam doesn't think Danni can handle it. Oh, and since I started reading the next book, My Life on TV, I found out for sure that yes, Rose (Sam and Danni's mom) is Danni's manager. Sam really had an exciting, but stressful adventure in England. So, since I can't think of anything else to write about The Fame Game and Me, I'll just say (again) that I really like this series (well, book and two sequels, more like).

Sometimes I feel like I'm not giving enough of an idea of what the stories are like, but I don't really want to spoil the story (if you ever read any of them. I won't be offended if you don't). I guess it doesn't matter much to you, or much to me.
I wonder many people will being reading my blog in a year. Ten? Twenty? Four? I wonder how many exactly are reading right now. I also wonder how long I will keep writing these blog posts. Two years? Four? So many questions.
I like to look at my Mom's blog about our family, which she started in 2009. I love her writing, I love how long she's done it for, I love how many fun memories and pictures are in it. I love everything about it, and of course I can't help but hope that I grow up to have a blog exactly like hers. 
Oh, sometimes I just want to sleep for a long time, then wake up in the middle of the night, when everybody is asleep. I wish that when I wake up, the middle of the night will last for as long as a day would, and I would be the only one awake, eating food by myself for a lunch, and a breakfast, and just do stuff during the night. I know it's sort of weird, but that's what I think would be nice. Oh, well. Guess I'd better wrap it up now.

More soon!

- Maria

End of Fablehaven

As you can probably guess already, I have finished Fablehaven. This is going to be a short blog post, so be prepared for little words.

I know that when I read books and it gets to a really exciting part, sometimes, I admit, I quietly squeal to myself, which tells me that I kind of exaggerate over books. I also think that because I get excited over reading a book, I will get excited over  blogging about books (normally I don't think about my blog being a blog, but that's what it is, right?).  I'm going to try not to do that this time.

So, Fablehaven ended with a bang! Everything started to happen at once... and then it suddenly calmed down, and stopped. It got really exciting, and stayed that way for quite a while, but then, it got even more exciting. Just so you know, I don't think kids under nine should read Fablehaven. It's intense, and sometimes, people die (I think I am safe to say more than two times, but you only read about it happening to friends three times), and there are some battles. But, overall, I think that it's the best book I've read in my entire eleven-year-old life.

See, this last sentence wasn't in bold, it wasn't italicized, it wasn't underlined, IT WASN'T CAPITALIZED, and it didn't have exclamation marks (!!!!!).

But, whatever. What I'm trying to say, is that Fablehaven was awesome, I (like I always do) overreacted when I was getting near the end. Happy reading!



P.S. Sometimes, like my thoughts, I think that my sentences jump around, changing from this subject to that, making everyone confused. I know it's not really like that... but tell me if you think it is. :)

More soon!

- Maria 

The Moorchild

I finished the Moorchild yesterday too (in case you're wondering, the other book I'm referring to, I posted about today, the one about My Sister's a Pop Star). It's very interesting, and I think it needs a sequel. So the Moorchild is about Folk that live on the moor. The Folk are sort of like elves, or pixies. They trick the villagers that live below the moor; the village called Torskaal. One of the Folk (Moql'nkkn), can't do the tricks right, though. Moql's parents (the Folk have parents, but they never see them) aren't both Folk; one is Folk, but the other is human. Since Moql has some human in her, she's dangerous to the Folk. The Folk have to exchange her. The Moql grows up with humans, not knowing that she's a changeling from the Folk (she knew about the Folk, but just forgot over time). She grows up to be eleven, thinking that her name is Saaski, being teased by the other village children for looking different (and sometimes acting different). Poor Saaski (or Moql'nkkn) has to have an adventure, the villagers stealing glances and talking behind Saaski's back. It really is quite an adventure, both for the reader and the character. The author, Eloise McGraw, really made this book interesting. While reading, I bet that you'll feel sorry for Saaski (again, you could call her Moql), and all her troubles. This book will (could) delight anyone of any age. So happy reading for now! I will post again soon, I promise soon! :) 

- Maria

My Sister's a Pop Star

I surprised myself yesterday, when I finished My Sister's a Pop Star. I've never finished that book in one whole day, but I'm not that surprised. So, as you might have guessed already, I've read My Sister's a Pop Star before. Well, since I haven't read it since I was probably nine, I'd decided to read it again so that I could have the story refreshed in my mind for you (my readers). I was mildly surprised to find that I enjoyed the story more than I ever have in my life! I really felt sorry for the main character, Sam (Samantha), even though, of course, Sam isn't real. My Sister's a Pop Star, is about a girl (Sam) whose sister becomes a pop star (obviously). Sam keeps an online journal (or, you could call it a blog) and sometimes you see a blog post of Sam's in the book. I think it's fun that way. Sam is a likable girl; she does funny things, she likes horses, and she loves her family. Okay, so Sam is already tired of her sister (Danni) being gone all the time, and tired of her Mom (Rose) hanging up on Danni (sometimes they get mad at each other [I'm pretty sure, but not totally, that Rose is Danni's manager, not to mention mom. I wanted to find out exactly what Rose does in Danni's career, but I couldn't find it. Sorry!]), and tired of Robert Rubens (Robert is Danni's music agent. Sam is pretty sure that she and Robert are enemies) being around. But Sam is excited to think of her new house, a big one, that she, her mom, and Danni, are moving into, out of their apartment. But on moving day, Sam gets a surprise, which doesn't actually please her. The rest of the book is about her life getting tangled up with Danni's, and how almost every day ends in disaster. Sam learns how to adjust to her new life, even though it really is hard. She learns that some things she had thought before mattered about Danni, actually mattered more about Sam. The book really shows what the author, Kimberly Greene, thinks a twelve-year-old girl would think about her new life. It really had emotion in it, and a couple times, I felt so bad for Sam (keep in mind that I thought this was silly, since Sam isn't real), that I was close to wanting to cry, thinking about how I would feel if I were in Sam's position. There are three books in this series, though you won't find them like you would a series. They're more of sequels to each other. Here are the three books in order: My Sister's a Pop Star, The Fame Game and Me, and My Life on TV. I'm reading book two now, so you can expect another blog post about Sam (Well, okay, a blog post about The Fame Game and Me) soon! :)

 P.S. If you're a girl under the age of... maybe, maybe, thirteen, then (I'm sort of sure you could not like the book, but you could!) you'll like it. And I quote, from the review on the front of the first book: "Fun, fame and fiasco-you'll love it!" Girl Talk. (End quote.) 

- Maria

The begginning of the end

Thanks for your tips! And I like how you said that sometimes you look up the physical location and other things to help your imagination. I bet it would help mine too, if I did that. Maybe I will.

So this post is called The Beginning of the End, because I just started reading the last Fablehaven book. Book four, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, ended after revealing many surprising truths. They are betrayed once again, and someone they thought was an enemy, finally showed them that she isn't still an enemy. They risked lots, but barely succeeded.
The fifth book starts its action in the second chapter. They're welcomed by someone other than they expected, and as far as I have gotten, they're already starting to think about risks they might have to take.

I still haven't gotten to the last Janitors book, but I know for sure that the next time I go to the library, I bringing back lots of books to try. I have some in mind. And during the summer, I think I'll have an extra bunch of books by my side.

So happy reading to you, and thank you for reading.



 

- Maria

One more thing....

I know that it hasn't been that long since my last post, but I just wanted to stay up to date. I just finished Janitors books three and four: Curse of the Broomstaff, and Strike of the Sweepers. My guess is, that there's only five books.
These last two books have had a lot of action in them. It's not crazy full of action, but there's quite a bit. Almost every second you're biting your lip, and thinking, What's going to happen next? Janitors really gets interesting in these two books. New gadgets, and new powers make it more exciting. Things get tough, and they narrowly dodge the bad-guys. Spencer and Daisy learn lots, and become even more experienced with the 'special supplies' (I don't really want to say what kind of supplies they are, because I don't want to ruin the story for some readers, even thought the readers I know I have now, probably won't read these books). Yes, Janitors really gets exciting. If some of you are thinking about reading Janitors to some kids that are... maybe around six, then you should know that someone dies in the third book. I won't say who, though.
Anyways, I just wanted to get a quick post in, before I forget about it. If you're around eleven, and like books that full of action and fantasy, then Janitors might be good for you. If you don't care what you read, then I don't know. Let's just say, that if you're not over... fourteen, then you could possibly like it.



P.S. Sorry, Grandma. I haven't gotten the Rithmatist yet, but I'm trying. 

P.P.S. Fablehaven book two was great, along with book three. Book two is called: Rise of the Evening Star. Right now I'm reading Fablehaven book four, which is called: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary. There's also five Fablehaven books.  

- Maria