Review: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

title: The Alchemyst

written by: Michael Scott

series: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1

genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

page count: 375

publication date: May 20th, 2007

publisher: Delacorte Press

rating: 4/5

He holds the secret that can end the world.
The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.
The records show that he died in 1418.
But his tomb is empty.
The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.
Sometimes legends are true.
And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

The Alchemyst was a book I was really looking forward to. I had heard amazing things about it from lots of friends, so I was sure I'd love it before I even started reading. And as always, high expectations only lead to enormous disappointment. I was expecting this would be one of my favorite books of all-time. But it surely wasn't...! I still liked it, it just didn't have that 'wow' effect on me.

The story begins with a short introduction to the normal life of Sophie and Josh Newman, just 2 ordinary twins living a normal life. But of course, as always when books start like that, there are some major changes about to take place. They find out who the owner of the book shop (Josh's boss) really is, and they discover both of them are special. They have pure aura's, one gold, the other silver. They set out on an epic adventure.

Scott's writing style was very pleasant to read. I can't really comment on the choice of vocab and all of that because I read the entire novel in Dutch. However, all events described in this book took place in only 2 days, which seems kind of incredible to me. Still, the novel was very fast-paced!

The plot of this novel was not as interesting as I expected it to be. Ever since I read the first Harry Potter novel, Nicholas Flamel  has beenone of the most interesting people in history to me, so I was hoping for a lot of Nicholas Flamel. I didn't get it, and to me that was the biggest disappointment of this entire novel. Too much of the twins. I have not many problems with the twins, I just prefer Nicholas Flamel... Still, the plot was really interesting, and this novel was a page-turner. I really liked it and think people slightly younger than I am will enjoy this one thoroughly!

I rate this book 4 stars and will recommend it to everyone who is looking for something like Harry Potter, 'cause I really feel like those two are very much alike. This novel was full of suspense and magic, two amazing things.

Love,

Mar

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

title: Liesl & Po
written by: Lauren Oliver
genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
page count: 307
publication date: October 4th, 2011
rating: 5/5 stars!

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice,until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.


That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.


Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

Liesl & Po is one of the cutest books I have read in a while! Lauren Oliver is one of my favorite authors, and I absolutely love all of her books. Delirium is great, Before I fall is one of my favorites of all time, and Liesl & Po can be added to that list of all-time favorites. 

The story starts when Liesl meets Po, a ghost that just appears in her 'bedroom' together with its cat/dog. Po has forgotten about his/her former life. Even if it was a boy or girl! Po's stuck between life and death, unable to move on. Then we get to know about Liesl's life. She lives alone in a tower, imprisoned by her stephmother (this reminded me of 'the cupboard under the stairs') and is never allowed to go outside. Her father died and Liesl wasn't even allowed to see him when he was dying. After meeting the 2 title characters you meet Will, the alchemist's apprentice. He is a cute, brave boy who is always looking at the mysterious girl in the tower.


When the story really started I found myself mesmerized by it. It was so cute, all characters were extremely funny and very likeable, and the writing style was amazing. As the reader you already knew what happened before the characters found out. It was kind of special, as usually you find out what happens when the character finds out what's happening. 


As the story proceeded I started to like it even more. I could really relate to Liesl, and Po was such a cute ghost. It contained lots of things my inner younger me thoroughly enjoyed. It felt like the first time I was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone! 


Altogether I would recommend this book to everyone! This book fits every age group! The story is uncomplicated, hilarious and touching. The characters are all relateable and cute and all of it was amazing. I give this book 5 stars and I added it to my list of all-time favorites!


Love,
Mar

Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan

title: Birth of a Killer

written by: Darren Shan

series: The saga of Larten Crepsley #1

genre: young adult, historical, fantasy
page count: 261

publication date: October 5th, 2010

my rating: 3/5 stars

Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze...
Before he was a vampire.
Larten Crepsley was a boy.
As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children.
In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.
This is his story. 

Before reading this book, I read the entire 'saga of Darren Shan'. This series is a prequel to that series. I liked the saga of Darren Shan, but it wasn't one of my favorite series of all time. Still, I read all 12 (!) books, and I enjoyed them. Then I found out about this prequel series, that spotlighted Larten Crepsley, a character that has always fascinated me, and I just had to read it. So I did. And I liked it :)

As the story begins, Larten is just a normal poor factory worker in the 18th century (not sure about the exact time). He doesn't know anything about vampires, or his own future, while I, as a reader, did. That's what I enjoy most about prequel series, I sort of know what's going to happen. I like to 'predict the future' in books.

What I also liked about this series was that I already knew a lot about the main character before I opened the book. This way it was easier for me to 'jump into' the story, as I did not have to get to know all new characters. I also really liked to see back some of the characters that always fascinated me in the saga of Darran Shan. Some background information is always welcome :)

The plot of this book wasn't very surprising. My brains weren't overprocessing information, neither were they doing nothing. It was historical fiction, which I usually enjoy, although I tend to prefer contemporary fiction or dystopia. As the story proceeded, it was easy to predict exactely what was going to happen, which of course also was because the book was a prequel. Altogether this book wasn't the best of Darren Shan's works, but it definitely wasn't the best of them!

Shan's writing style is very easy and uncomplicated. I can read it 100 pages/hour in English, which is very quick for me. And since I read this book in Dutch, I finished it in under 2 hours. (Dutch is easier to read for me). But I am not sure if I like books to be such quick reads. Fat books sometimes scare me, so I tend to read thinner books, but not this thin... Anyways, this is a novel that hovers in between middle grade and young adult, in my opinion. Just like the first 3 Harry Potter books. It didn't bother me though.

I would recommend this books to people who have already read the saga of Darren Shan, or to anyone who is doubting whether or not to start reading it. Also, I would recommend this book to children aged 8-12 who are looking for a quick read full of action. I give this book 3 stars!

Love,

Mar

The lightning thief by Rick Riordan

book: The lightning thief
written by: Rick Riordan
series: Percy Jackson #1
genre: Middle Grade, mythology
pages: 377
publication date: June 1st, 2005
publisher: Miramax Books

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.


Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

first thoughts:

I wish I had counted the massive number of people who have recommended this book to me, because it is immensely huge! And they all were right. I haven't seen the movie, mainly because people said it disappointed them after reading the book. Have you read it and have you seen the movie? Should I watch it? Put it in the comments, please :)


full review:
Oh my, why haven't I read this book earlier?! I absolutely love this book with all my heart, and never want to return it to the library. I need my own copy of this book!
Even though this book is oficially a middle grade book, and I usually don't like MG books, this book will be one of my forever-favourites! The humorous way Riordan writes made me smile all the time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from the first word till the end.
Riordan's way of mixing mythology and contemporary life is amazing. I love Greek mythology, and it was so amazing to first see normal-day situations and then recognise some myth in it, the characters, that were actually gods, and of course, the whole plot.
Percy's character is amazing, and he uses hilarious oneliners. He somehow reminded me of a stereotype best friends' little brother. He is full of anger, but can also be sweet. He makes friends as easy and quick as enemies. Then he figures out that he is a demi-god *which most readers of this book already know before opening it, the ones that look at the cover...* and that he is the most powerful demi-god of all. His normal life just continues. He doesn't get evil and he didn't brag about his powers, but still he kicks ass, like a boss :D
When Percy has to go on an amazing but super dangerous quest to save the world from WWIII, he encounters lots of monsters, gods and other mythical creatures, even some of my favourites *including Medusa* and it gets more epic by the page.
Riordans writing style seemed pretty easy to me, but I don't really care, since this book is classified as a Middle Grade book. It would actually bother me more if the book was super difficult to read... :S


A must read for everyone that can reads, no matter which age, gender, or preferences, you will love this!


rating:
5 stars <3


xo Mar

A greyhound of a girl by Roddy Doyle

book: A greyhound of a girl

written by: Roddy Doyle
series? nope

genre: death, middle grade

pages: 208

own / library / netgalley

publication date: may 1st, 2012

publisher: ABRAMS

note: thanks to Amulet books and Netgalley for giving me the oppotunity to read and review this book, it has been an awesome read!

the book: 

Mia's best friend moves out of town, and just when her normal life is changing, she meets a strange woman, who looks as if she comes from another time. Also, she says she knows her grandmother, who lies in the hospital.  Who is the woman and how on earth does she know her grandmother? When her mother finds out that she is talking to strange women, she wants to meet this women. And it's a total shock to find out who she is!

my review:

This book was not a book I'd have chosen to buy in my bookstore, mainly because it's a middle grade book. But I must admit that I love the cover!!
This book is great in some ways. It shows you the value of family and how you take after your family, even when you look completely different! The characters are good, not annoying to read from their POV's! The story was pretty predictable, which made it kind of boring at some parts in the book. Also, the changing point of view was difficult to read sometimes. And the book did not have a lot of pages, which made it a very very very quick read. I get that it's a children's book, but still I would have written a thicker book...
But everything else was OK! I think my little sister would love this book, too bad she can't read English books...


There was one major problem I had with this book. A quote below:
"she read a bit of her book, Twilight. And not even the story - it was the best story she'd ever read and she'd seen the movie seven times- could not keep her awake"
I think this quote represents the innocence of the girl, and shows us how this twelve-year-old girl behaves, infected with the Twilight-virus. Sorry if you like twilight *sigh* but I get that this story couldn't keep her awake :S *yes, I had the twilight virus at that age, I know the feeling...*


I would recommend this book to 8-12 year old readers who value family and friendship, and like funny ghost stories. :D


total:
I give this book 2.5/5 stars :D

The Fiend and the Forge by Henry H. Neff

book: The Fiend and the Forge
written by:  Henry H. Neff
genres: fantasy, adventure, young
pages: 560 (!)
own / library / borrowed
release date: November 23th, 2010
series?: The Tapestry, #3
publisher: Random House for young readers


note:  I read the first two books, and forgot all about the series. But then I walked into the library, and I saw this book. And I found myself curious about this book, so I thought; why not...? And I started reading. I had forgotten all the names, and the first 100 pages were a drama for me...


the book: The demon Astaroth has taken over the whole world. Humans are not important anymore, they are used as food, mostly. The only safe place is Rowan academy, the academy for young 'wizards'. Max McDaniels, the wolfhound of Rowan, wants to free the world of demons. Then his father gets killed, and he has to kill the demon which killed his father, as revenge. But it is an almost impossible task to fullfill. Also there is his roommate and best friend, David Menlo, who is acting strange. What on earth is he doing?


my review: 
As far as I remember I liked the first two parts. But I did not love them... There were lots of names that I did not remember, which made reading this book pretty hard in the beginning. But slowly my memory came back, and finally I remembered most of it. The characters still are pretty good. There is this boy, Max, who is the #1 fighter of the world or something, and he has special physical powes. And that makes him awesome. But when you start thinking of it he is just like Harry Potter, only a worse-developed version of him. Then there is David, the genius and mysterious one. I wished I knew him, because he seems this person I would love to have as my best friend. He is way more interesting than Max, and I think this book would have been a way better if it were (partly) written from David's point of view. You also have all the sorts of evil demons I would love to meet, but I never will, because they were all fantasy. This book was not realistic at all.
Still, the storyline was great, and there happened a lot. And that's why I did like it, I think. 
Also, I think that I was just a little bit too old for this book, but I did not really care C:


I would recommend this book to:
Boys aged 8-13, and other people that love action and fantasy. 


total:
I give this book 3 stars 


xo Mar

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

book: Artemis Fowl

written by: Eoin Colfer

genres: humor, young, fantasy, crime

pages: 398

own / library / borrowed

release date: April 26th, 2001

series?: yes, Artemis Fowl #1

publisher: Miramax

note: I think I would have loved this book... If I were a boy 9-11 years old... I did definitely feel too old and too girly for this book. So if you loved this you might not like this review. Sorry, but I have to stay honest

the book: 

Artemis Fowl is a genius. He is a 12-year-old boy who is smarter than most men. Then he decides that he wants to have the money of the fairies. He kidnaps one of the elfBI, captain Holly Short, and tries to get the fairy gold. But fairies do live long, so they are very smart. Artemis Fowl has never been tricked. Who is smarter and wins this battle? Are it the fairies or is it a 12-year-old genius?

my review:

This was not what I espected it to be! I love the idea of a genius kid who is one of the biggest criminals in the world. I just don't like this book, I guess. It's just not my thing. Here are some reasons for that:

1) the pieces about the fairies: I have always liked fairies, but in this book they seem very dull, and I just cannot make myself like them. They have all those rules they are not allowed to break and they have to charge their powers. Like they are batteries. How stupid is that. Fairies are the ones that should fly around while cheering and throwing fairy dust, not the ones fighting trolls!

2) the way this book was written: this was 400 pages full of nothing. Because after reading, what did happen?  Nothing!! In the first page they say the boy is selfish, and it ends with him being selfish. So that's how I come to point 3

3) the romance in the book: HELL, I just cannot review this because there is none O.o It had been so long since my last book without romance... Maybe that's why I think this book was not written for girls but boys. I guess I am right. Maybe that's why only boys recommanded this book to me...

4) the cover: Not inviting people to read it at all, because it is just ugly!!

of course there were good things about this book. I think the story in general was OK, but the author could have improved the book a lot by having more interesting characters and a little bit of romance (or at least friendship) so that readers can relate a little more to it.

total:

I give this book 2.3/5 stars

xo Mar