The Island of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer

The Island of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer is the third installment of the trilogy including The Sea of Trolls and The Land of the Silver Apples. In this book, a draugr is terrorizing the small village where Jack, Thorgil, Pega and the Bard live. The draugr was once a beautiful mermaid who fell in love with Father Severus while he was exiled on an island. Because he refused to take her as his wife, she turned into a sea hag and was left to die. She returned as an evil draugr when Father Aiden accidentally rings the bell of St. Columba. The draugr is bent on exacting revenge - a life for a life. Jack, Thorgil and the Bard set out to prevent anymore deaths from occurring. First, they must go to Bebba's town with Thorgil's brother Skakki on his berserker Northman ship. Once there, they must gather supplies and trade so that the village is prepared for winter. Finally, the trio must travel to Notland and meet with the deceitful finfolk to bargain, hopefully putting a stop to the draugr's killing spree. Along the way, Jack and Thorgil face many creatures, including a half-troll that turns out to be Thorgil's brother, a hogboon, an evil king, and more!

I loved this book just as much as the other two! These books are so full of adventure and suspense. I also absolutely love the last 20 or so pages the author includes about the folklore and research behind the events of the story. Almost all of the creatures and strange situations that arise in this book were based on stories, mythology, and long held beliefs from various cultures and religions. I highly recommend this trilogy to any fantasy fan!

Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber Series #1) by P. W. Catanese

Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber Series #1) by P. W. Catanese is about a strange twelve year old boy called Happenstance, Hap for short. Hap doesn't remember anything about his life before a man named Umber and his crew found him trapped in a cavern, deep under an explosive volcano. All he had with him was a note addressed to Umber. Hap is not like other people - he has strikingly green eyes which allow him to see perfectly at night (which is nice because he doesn't sleep) and he can jump higher than any human. He can also see "threads" that seem to link things together, but he can't quite figure out what to do with them. Umber takes Hap back to his home at Kurahaven. Hap is excited to be a part of something, but continues to wonder who he is and where he came from. He knows Umber holds some clues in that note, but Umber won't tell Hap anything. It doesn't take the group long to realize they are being followed. The Creep, called Occo, followed Hap across the sea and to Kurahaven. He even tried to attack Hap in the market one morning! Thankfully, Hap's special abilities allowed him to escape unharmed, but now everyone is afraid that Hap has brought unknown evil to their town. As he tries to fit in and learn more about himself, Umber withdraws into a deep depression. It seems as though everyone is against Hap and that he'll never know the answers to the questions he has about himself. That is, until he meets the evil queen, Occo returns, and Umber is kidnapped!

This was an excellent story! I can't wait to read the second book, Dragon Games, when it comes out in January of 2010. This story reminded me of a combination of P.W. Catanese's The Mirror's Tale, Christopher Paolini's Eragon, and Jane Yolen's The Wizard's Map. I love the way the author wove twists and turns into the story and filled it with adventure and mystery! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy!

What I Call Life by Jill Wolfson

What I Call Life by Jill Wolfson is about Carolina Agnes London Indiana Florence Orion Renee Naomi Ida Alabama Lavender, or Cal for short. One unfortunate afternoon, Cal's mother has one of her "episodes" at the library, and eleven year old Cal is whisked off by a social worker to live in a group home. Cal goes along with everything because she doesn't really consider this event as a part of her real life story. She's certain that Betty, her mother, will be waltzing through the door at any minute, to pick her up and resume their wandering life together. However, days upon days go by, and Cal begins to doubt her relationship with Betty. As she gets to know the Knitting Lady and the girls in the house, Cal's certainty falters and she's left not knowing what her life really means. All of the other girls at the house have their own life stories that all lead to them ending up with the Knitting Lady. Through stories of her own, the Knitting Lady has unique ways of teaching all of the girls about their stories, and imparting valuable life lessons.

This was a great book. Cal was named for every place and person who affected her mother positively. The first letter of each name spells out California - Cal for short. This was such a unique story. While each of the girls at the Knitting Lady's home had very sad stories, this book focused more on the positive aspects of life and of the life lessons one can learn from each other and everyone's shared history.

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan is about juvenile delinquent, Jake Semple and his experience living with the Applewhite family. Jake has had it rough - his parents are in jail on drug charges, he's been kicked out of nearly every public school in Rhode Island, he'd been accused of burning down the most recent school from which he was expelled, and even his grandfather doesn't want him. That's how he ends up in foster care at the Applewhite's acreage, Wit's End. Every member of the Applewhite family is an artist of some kind, except the middle child, E.D. Her calling in life is organization. She's the only one of the many Applewhites that doesn't accept Jake immediately. She's the only one who cares about his all black clothes, his swearing, his fire-engine red spiky hair, and his bad attitude. Once Jake realizes that those thinks don't get a rise out of anyone anymore, he just sort of loses them. The Applewhite kids are all home-schooled and get to learn by doing what interests them. Jake ends up helping E.D. with her butterfly project, much to the chagrin of them both. Eventually, Jake ends up finding a passion in the arts that he never would have expected, and a love for a family (including a pushy puppy) that he never could have imagined.

First, I have to begin by stating that I have passed up reading this book MANY times purely based on the cover. I should have remembered not to judge a book by its cover, because Surviving the Applewhites was AWESOME! I would love to be a part of the crazy Applewhite family! What a great story.

Dodger and Me by Jordan Sonnenblick

Dodger and Me by Jordan Sonnenblick is about Willie, a 5th grader who has everything going against him... his parents (especially his mom) don't trust him, his best friend moved away, an annoying girl from England keeps hanging around him, and he completely blew one of his team's most important baseball games of the season. Things for Willie can't get much worse, right? WRONG! On his way home one afternoon, he comes across a Happy Meal sack and picks it up - out pops Dodger, a big blue orange Hawaiian shorts wearing chimpanzee with an eye patch, who only Willie can see. Willie thinks Dodger is a genie and will grant him three wishes. Unfortunately, Dodger has some different ways of solving Willie's problems than Willie is ready for. Instead of getting Lizzie to leave him alone, Dodger solves that problem by making Lizzie friends with him! Instead of making Willie a baseball star, Dodger convinces Willie to practice his way - by throwing balls at him to get rid of Willie's 'fear' of the ball! And, to get Willie's mother to trust him, Dodger decides Willie needs to conquer FIRE! They do this by trying to cook a meal for the family, which literally goes up in flames! Just at that point, a strange genie shows up and explains that Dodger is not who he made himself out to be... now what will Willie do? He's in an even bigger mess than ever, and now his best friend, Dodger has been banished, Lizzie won't talk to him, and his kitchen is in shambles, not to mention the biggest baseball game of the season is just days away!

This was a great story! I loved it because it's about a regular kid - he's not great at sports, he's not 'Mr. Popular', and he isn't the smartest kid in school. I saw Jordan Sonnenblick talk about this book at the International Reading Association convention in Minneapolis in May of 2009. He's a great author and a fun speaker! I'm looking forward to reading the sequel to this book, Dodger for President.

Lost at Sea by Jonathan Neale

Lost at Sea by Jonathan Neale is about a vacation gone wrong. Eleven year old Orrie (Orchid), twelve year old Jack (Sky), six year old Andy, their mother and their mother's new boyfriend, Skip all set sail across the Atlantic on Skip's sailboat. During the night, only a few days out, Skip falls overboard, leaving the rest of the family to reach Antigua on their own. Jack and Orrie have to take over because their mother immediately slips back into a severe depression she's suffered with on and off for awhile. She can't even make it to the bathroom by herself, much less take care of the kids! So, Jack and Orrie take turns at the wheel of the boat, while Andy cooks and looks after their mother. Everyone is tired, but mostly OK. They think they can make it the 25 - 30 more days it will take to get to Antigua. The kids passed up their one chance at rescue - an oil tanker - because they were afraid of what would happen to their mother. The oil tanker warned them of a storm that was coming - a really bad one. Jack rushed around the boat, getting it ready for the worst, and that's when he told Orrie that Skip had ruined the motor. They couldn't rely on it at all. They'd have to sail the boat through the storm. When the storm is finally at its worst, it is too much for Orrie and Jack to handle together. Orrie falls and bruises, or even breaks, her ribs! She can't hold the wheel any longer. She, Andy, their mother, and Jack are all huddled together in the small wheel house in despair... will they ever make it to their dad in Antigua, or will they suffer the same fate as Skip?

This was an AWESOME book! It was full of adventure from page one! The story is told in alternating views, from Orrie to Jack. It's a nice way to see the girl's perspective versus the boy's. Needless to say, they have differing ideas about most of the events in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good adventure!

Mister Boots by Carol Emshwiller

Mister Boots by Carol Emshwiller takes place just before and during the depression. Bobby (Roberta) is 10. She has lived all her life with her mother and sister, Jocelyn. While her sister and mother stay inside and knit all day to earn money, Bobby is free to roam around the California desert where they live. On one such occasion, Bobby meets Mr. Boots. At first, she thinks he's a bum - she finds him beaten, starving, and naked. Later she finds out that amazingly, Mr. Boots is actually a horse! He escaped his harsh life with humans and ended up in the wilderness. Bobby tries to nurse him back to health, bringing him her long-lost father's old clothes, left overs, and keeping him company. Then, the worst happens. Bobby and Jocelyn's mother dies and their father returns. Mr. Lassiter is a famous magician, and, thinking Bobby is a boy, decides to take 'him' performing! Jocelyn and Mr. Boots have become quite close since the death of the girls' mother, and the decide to go, too, to make sure Mr. Lassiter treats Bobby right. Bobby and Mr. Boots become a regular part of the act, traveling from place to place performing. As much as Mr. Lassiter would like for Mr. Boots to transform onstage, he refuses. He only transforms to his horse form, Midnight Blue, when he's really upset - like when the magician threatens to beat Bobby. Things go from bad to worse when they meet up with a huge group of other performers and find out that Mr. Lassiter is married! The entire group continues to try to perform, despite the economic strain, due to the Great Depression. Eventually, things come to a head when Mr. Lassiter tries to beat Mr. Boots and Bobby reveals her true GIRL self to him.

This was a very strange book. I didn't really like it. There was so much going on throughout the whole thing, I had a hard time deciding what the story was really about. It was part fantasy, part realistic fiction, part historical fiction. It had issues including death, abuse, relationships, the depression. There were horses, circus performers, singers. There were so many different ideas, I felt like I got cheated out of really getting to explore each of them deeply.