Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pride and Prejudice (And Zombies)

A New York Times bestseller, this book is based off of Jane Austens classic, but with a new twist. Elizabeth Bennet is still the girl the literature world knows and loves, but now she's fighting the undead as they rise from their graves, thanks to a mysterious plague. She's the best swords-woman there is in the quiet English village of Meryton, and is determined to erase the zombie menace from her home. Her sisters fight alongside her, and nothing can waver her concentration from annihilating the living dead - until the arrogant better-fighter-than-thou Mr. Darcy arrives. Following his arrival, plenty of civilized, mannerly sparring between the two, and even more violent sparring against the zombies on the field of battle. Pride and Prejudice (And Zombies) turns a masterpiece of world literature into a book you'd actually want to read.   

Monday, April 25, 2011

LeBron's Dream Team

Written by LeBron James, this is a story of his high school basketball days, when he was playing with his best friends Romeo, Willie, Sian and Little Dru. They came to be known as the Fab Five later on, as their skill and aggression became famed throughout Ohio and the United States. At 17, LeBron was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, rocketing the team into the spotlight. This is the story of how 5 kids from bad neighborhoods and messed up families for some, overcame the misgivings and criticism of almost all of Ohio. How would you feel if you were raised in neighborhoods where people thought you were a traitor if you were a great athlete and played in a private school? Or when you're 16, 17 and the whole world's watching you, waiting for you to mess up? This book is about five friends conquering the bitter world of fame. This is the story of basketball in its rawest and most wonderful form.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Eldest

Eldest is the second book in the Eragon series. It continues the story from where Eragon finally met with his cousin, whom he was forced to leave behind after his uncles untimely death spurred his dragon and him on to hunt down the murderers. Roran, his cousin, and the rest of the village have dealt with constants attacks by the Ra'zac, nightmarish creatures that serve the evil King Galbatorix. Finally, after Roran's love, Katrina, is kidnapped by the Ra'zac, Roran leads the village to a city nearby, fighting and sneaking stealthily through the mountains, trying to find the boy who abandoned them (or so they think) to such terrible attacks. The Ra'zac are hunting Roran and Eragon. When they finally reach Eragon, they discover he's a Dragon Rider, the only one in hundreds of years, since Galbatorix destroyed the Riders and wiped out the dragons. Roran and Eragon reunite and Eragon swears an oath to Roran to help him find Katrina. While Roran has been fighting off the Ra'zac, Eragon has been honing his skills as a Rider among the elves, deep in their hidden forest. His mentor is a crippled elf Rider and his three legged dragon. It's very good, I highly recommend it. Read the first book first though, because it won't make sense if you don't.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Eragon

Eragon is a good book, but not meant for younger children or people who dislike reading. It's difficult and complicated, and there's a lot of words that are very confusing, like the names of people and places. They are all in a different language and are made up. It's also 500 pages long. I would recommend it to people who like Lord of the Rings and other fantasy novels similar to it. It's a wonderful story, full of excitement and action. There's lots of bloodshed and violence too. Basically, it's this fifteen year old guy named Eragon (e.g the title) that finds a beautiful blue stone while hunting deer up in the Spine (a creepy and supposedly magical place in the mountains where no one else dares to go) for his poor family. He tries to sell it, but it turns out it's a dragon egg! Yeah! A dragon egg! One with a very temperamental and snooty dragon hatchling inside! But bad people are looking for the egg, not knowing it's hatched. After his uncle's farm torn to pieces by something, Eragon and his dragon take flight to avenge his families death by killing the evil king that rules Alagaesia. With an old storyteller/ knight/ ninja for company and an ancient yet creepy elf sword that shines red, he's off to kill everybody evil!
Of course, it's much more serious then that if you actually read the book, but that's my interpretation.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Subject Seven

What would you do if you suddenly found out you were adopted? Well, what would you do if you found out you were adopted from a strange boy you'd never seen before who gathered you and four other teenagers your age to one room somewhere in a city? Would you freak out? More importantly, would you believe him when he told you that you weren't even real?
The government's made a terrible mistake. Deep in the earth, it has been creating children born with another side, a dangerous, deadly supreme killing machine side. Like Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde, deep within these children is a sleeper assassin, brought forth with a key phrase and completely under control.
*Snicker, snicker*
Considered failures because their sleepers failed to activate via code phrase when they were babies, these children have been sent out into the world to be adopted by various families all over the States. But when Subject Seven, the only "success" in the batch escapes from where he's been held and experimented on deep in an underground lab, he's out to find his only family and awaken them. Being the leader, or the "Alpha" only he can find and rise his slumbering brothers and sisters deep within their Others, or other selves.
The teenagers the world knows, the cheerleader, the mafia princess, the geek, the football captain and the snarky know-it-all are only the covers for a team of warp speed fast, Superman strong and Einstein intelligent assassins. Except they've decided they don't want to be the good little government army at all.
They're out for revenge.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Beka Cooper : Terrier

It's a long time ago in what is referred to as H. E - the Human Era - when a girl named Beka decides to become a Provost Dog - an elite member of the city Guard. As a trainee she is called a Puppy, but after a year of learning from her two Dogs (her mentor), who are the best of the best, she'll earn her status as a full member of this Pack. But Beka will learn faster than she bargained for when she unearths a bloody scheme of slaves, murders, theft and greed headed by the elusive Shadow Snake - a child's nightmare come to life. Now, she and her friends, an odd mix of young criminals on the rise to fortune and fellow Puppies, must hunt this monster down... like a pack of terriers.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Dracula

Full of vivid (and slightly disturbing) drawings, and with lots of interesting facts, this is good book despite it's creepy cover. It's the story of Dracula - but not the beloved version so well known to us. Instead of fancy words and fainting women, this is the rough-and-rumble version full of blood and dirt and Van Helsing. Dracula, instead of the black haired middle aged creeper that is so well known, is now a blond, 25 to 30 year old who is not creepy any more.
He's down right terrifying.
Seriously, this story is the strangest, scariest version of Dracula you will ever read. I highly recommend it.