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  • The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

    The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

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    Let me be honest here.  The reason why I picked up this book in the first place is that the book is about Nicholas Flamel, and Nicholas Flamel is mentioned in the first Harry Potter book.  Does anyone else pick out books like that?  Silly reasons aside, I enjoyed this book!

    The story is about Sophie and Josh Newman.  They are normal twins, working normal summer jobs, but unknowingly working for some really old people.  And by really old, I mean a couple of centuries-old– the Flamels, who are famous for concocting the sorcerer’s stone, which makes them immortal.  Then some golems (not to be confused with Gollum) and peculiar men in business attire, Dr. John Dee and his lackeys, show up at the twins’ place(s) of work.  A magical battle and a kidnapping ensue, and now Sophie and Josh’s life is thrown into a whirlwind– they just might be the twins an old prophecy describes, and if that is so, then they are destined to save the world from the evil Dr. John Dee and some really angry Elders.  In their quest to hopefully save the world, Nicholas Flamel and the twins receive aid from several people we know as myths and legends like  Scathatch the Warrior Maiden and the Witch of Endor while trying to outwit the likes of Bastet and Morrigan.

    The book is filled to the brim with old myths and legends.  Some of them I learned about in school, while others were unfamiliar to me.  It was those that were unfamiliar to me that encouraged me to do some outside research.  I spent so long browsing Wikipedia pages so I could learn more about Scathatch and the Witch of Endor.  The Alchemyst opened up a whole new world that I wanted to know more about; I think it’s awesome when books have that kind of effect.  It would have been easy for Michael Scott to just simply incorporate the legends and their backstories into the novel; however, he wove them into the story giving each one its own distinct and thorough personality.

    I wasn’t so impressed with Sophie and Josh in this story though.  The characters were a little bland compared to the individuals they have met so far.  But, based on how well the legends were created, I don’t doubt Sophie and Josh will grow into more memorable characters as each book progresses.

    Now, I made the mistake of bringing this book to work with me.  I read it during my breaks and my lunches.  I also sneaked off the floor in between breaks and lunch to read a couple of pages here and there.  But, don’t tell my boss.  In my defense, I couldn’t help it!  This book was so action-packed!  There were car chases and magical battles of epic proportions.  Every few chapters revealed the fate of what the world would be if Sophie and Josh’s powers weren’t awakened.  And every chapter left off on a cliffhanger.  Cliffhangers get me every time.  I just needed to know what happened next; I’m sure you understand, right?

    Overall, the Alchemyst by Michael Scott was downright fascinating.  Normally I don’t read more than one book from a series a year, but I’m thinking The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel might be an exception.  I went out just last week to buy the second book from the series, The Magician.  And, even though it’s been only a month since I finished The Alchemyst, I’m thinking of starting the new book very soon.  I have no intention to bring it to work with me though.  If it’s anything like the last book, I’m sure I will find several excuses to leave the sales floor, which isn’t good considering I work off of commission.

    The Alchemyst (the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott

    Released: May 2007
    Genre: Fantasy
    Age Group: Young Adult

    The tomb of Nicholas Flamel is empty. The greatest alchemist of his day supposedly died in 1418, but rumors continue to swirl that he continues to walk among us. Could it be true that this magician/chemist has access to the secret of eternal life? Could the Book of Abraham, which he purportedly owns, hold the key to this elixir? If it does, the theft of this single ancient volume could destroy the world as we know it.

  • The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

    The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

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    I started reading The Fairytale Detectives on a particularly rainy day while sipping on a mug of hot Earl Grey tea. By the first few pages and the first crack of thunder from outside, I was sucked into the book.  I only wish I could mean that literally.

    Ferryport Landing may seem like just a quaint New York town to the unobserving eye, but it is home to the Everafters (fairytale characters). Michael Buckley recreated a big cast of memorable fairytale characters; each one had its unique quirks and personality. Sabrina and her younger sister, Daphne, learn their Granny Relda and her faithful companion, Mr. Canis, are responsible for keeping magical shenanigans from getting too far out of hand. And, since the young girls have been reunited with family, that responsibility is now theirs too.

    The youngest of the girls, Daphne, is downright adorable. She has such a bright and positive outlook on life despite all the negative experiences she’s had. I wish I could say the same for Sabrina, who seems a little too cynical for such a young girl. At times, her cynicism tried my patience, but as the story progressed, she slowly came to terms with her new life. I look forward to reading about Sabrina in the rest of the series because I don’t think she’ll be as negative. She did a lot of growing in book one.

    Aside from being filled to the brim with magical characters, The Fairytale Detectives is also action-packed! As soon as Granny Relda and company discover evidence of a dangerous giant poking around in town, the book does not slow down. There are wild police chases, jailbreaks, mortal peril, and covert operations (just to name a few)!

    My only concern with The Sisters Grimm series is the idea of a Grimm Fairytale is rather broad. Based on the title, readers will expect nothing but characters collected by the Grimm brothers to be in the book, but that is not the case. Buckley also includes magical characters from Rudyard Kipling, William Shakespeare, Lewis Carrol, and Hans Christian Anderson. Initially, this did bother me because Puck and Alice are not from Grimm fairy tales. It’s misleading! And, I wondered how many youngsters were going to be familiar with Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I did find, by the end of the book I didn’t mind. Grimm fairy tales or not, they were integrated well into the story, and many of them were likable.

    Overall, I adored this book! Setting the book down with only 80 pages to go just so I wasn’t late for work was difficult to do. I cannot wait to get back to the library to check out the rest of this series. Especially since The Fairytale Detectives ended on a cliffhanger! While the girls are busy solving mysteries in Ferrypoint Landing with Granny Relda, their mysterious past is slowly revealed. Now, I’m dying to know about the significance of the red handprint!

    The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley

    The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (the Sisters Grimm #1)

    Released: August 2007
    Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
    Age Group: Middle Grade

    [goodreads | indiebound]

    For Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, life has not been a fairy tale. After the mysterious disappearance of their parents, the sisters are sent to live with their grandmother–a woman they believed was dead! Granny Relda reveals that the girls have two famous ancestors, the Brothers Grimm, whose classic book of fairy tales is actually a collection of case files of magical mischief. Now the girls must take on the family responsibility of being fairy tale detectives.

  • Lure by Deborah Kerbel

    Lure by Deborah Kerbel

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    After reading the synopsis for Lure by Deborah Kerbel, I was eager to read this book.   I used to read ghost stories often when I was younger, but I haven’t read too many in recent years.  Instead, I’ve been hooked on shows like Ghost Hunters or Ghost Adventurers.  So, it seemed this book would be right up my alley.

    It wasn’t.

    The story is written from two points of view; Max, from the modern-day, and John, a boy from the past, take turns telling their story.  It was interesting to see how much their stories relied on each other for the storyline to advance.  But, I didn’t think the quality of Max’s story was as fine as John’s story.  John’s chapters were so eloquently written and much more interesting; I was sucked right in.  After finishing each of John’s chapters, I had a better sense of who he was.  He’s a sickly and weak boy who loves books even though his father wishes he were strong so he could work in the family blacksmith business.  Each chapter showed his struggle with coming to terms that he’d never be good enough in his father’s eyes, and it was kind of heartbreaking.

    After reading Max’s story, I only had a vague impression of who he was.  And from that vague impression, I decided that I couldn’t stand Max.  He sits there and simmers about how he is invisible to all of his peers, yet he skips school all the time.  It’s like, maybe if he made an effort to go to school with these people, he wouldn’t be invisible to them.  Plus, the only time the reader gets to know Max is when he is at the library or when he is around Caroline, a girl he was kind of infatuated with. 

    Also, and I don’t mean to get nit-picky, but Max kept talking about how he loved breathing in Caroline’s “awesome” scent.  But, every time I read that or a variation of that, I just really wanted to know what “awesome” smells like.  This lack of concrete descriptions also lent itself to the vagueness I felt after finishing each of Max’s chapters.

    As for the ending…I’m kind of baffled.  It all came as a surprise to me, which was cool, but things didn’t seem to add up.  I’d spoil the ending if I voiced my concerns though.

    Overall, this book wasn’t for me.  It left me wanting more, but not in a good way.  While I very much enjoyed reading about John, I wanted to understand Max better.  It almost seemed like Max was a pawn in this story.  It almost seemed like his only purpose was to figure out the mystery, so character development wasn’t really necessary.

    I also went into the story thinking it was going to be spooky.  It wasn’t, and I didn’t so much mind that.  But, I was kind of bummed out that it was lacking in paranormal activity.  Most of it was hearsay, and Max and the reader only experienced two or three things firsthand.  The things that did happen were kind of clever; I just wanted more.

    Lure by Deborah Kerbel

    Lure by Deborah Kerbel

    Released: January 2010
    Genre: Mystery
    Age Group: Young Adult

    [goodreads | indiebound]

    Absolutely nothing is going right for Max Green. His parents have just uprooted their family from Vancouver to the bleak suburbs of Toronto, he has no friends, and everybody at his new high school is ignoring him. To make matters worse, he’s in love with an older girl who’s completely out of his league. When Max discovers a local library rumored to be haunted by ghosts, he’s immediately drawn to it. With the help of some cryptic messages, he begins to piece together the identity of the teenage ghost and the mysterious chain of events that have connected its spirit to the building for over a century. But just who was John, anyway? Why has he chosen to contact Max? And what does an old fishing lure have to do with solving the mystery?

  • Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

    Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

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    Paranormal romance books are still flooding the market thanks to the Twilight series.  It’s not my genre of choice mostly because of clichĂ©s and overdone love triangles with the main character always falling for the total creep.  But, these are not the things that describe Yvonne Woon’s Dead Beautiful.  Of all the paranormal romance books I’ve read, I have declared Dead Beautiful to be my favorite (thus far, at least).

    Initially, I thought this book was yet another vampire love story, but I was wrong.  So very wrong.  Dead wrong (har har!).  The Latin-rooted philosophy and “mythology” that were woven into the story made Dead Beautiful unique amongst other paranormal romance books.  I say “mythology” because I believe Woon created it for her story, but she did so in a way that made it all seem like the myth had been around for centuries.  And, as you can guess from the title, death is a major subject throughout this book.  This might be an unappealing subject for some, but I loved the spooky and foreboding atmosphere this created.

    I did appreciate the romance in Dead Beautiful.  I think the relationship between the main character, Renee, and her love interest, Dante, progressed pretty quickly.  And it’s clear Renee is smitten with Dante, but it’s not overkilling.  It’s also apparent to the reader that Renee thinks about her friends and the world around her as much as she does about Dante.  I would say it’s a breath of fresh air from many of the newly published young adult books regardless of genre.  I would also have to say that for once I found the love interest to be swoon-worthy!

    Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

    Dead Beautiful is equal parts romance and mystery, so the story had me guessing all the way through.  Several twists and turns that had me formulating ideas of what could be next, but more often than not I was wrong!  I found the mystery to be compelling, and I think this is what made the book such a page-turner for me.

    I did think the pacing of the story was a little off.  There were times in the story that moved slowly, but that didn’t bother me.  I did think the ending was rushed though, which left me feeling like something was missing.  The first 470 pages were written so beautifully.  I truly loved Woon’s writing style, and I have to admit, I am quite envious of it.  Everything was written so vividly, and getting lost in the world Woon created was easy.  However, the last 10 pages went by too quickly.  I would say I was even left quite confused to the point where I had to re-read the ending to make sure I understood what had happened.  Now, that being said, after I fully understood what happened, I thought the ending was perfect– not the way I thought it would end (thank goodness!)

    Overall, I loved this book. (Notice how I bold-faced and italicized “love”?  Yea, that’s how much I loved it).  I think it would be a great addition to the bookshelves of lovers of the paranormal romance genre.  It would be perfect for the shelves of those who aren’t so keen on the genre, like me, too!

    Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

    Released: September 2010
    Genre: Romance, Fantasy
    Age Group: Young Adult

    [add to goodreads ]

    On the morning of her sixteenth birthday, RenĂ©e Winters was still an ordinary girl. She spent her summers at the beach, had the perfect best friend, and had just started dating the cutest guy at school. No one she’d ever known had died. But all that changes when she finds her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, in what appears to be a strange double murder.

    After the funeral, Renée’s wealthy grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious boarding school in Maine, where she finds herself studying subjects like Philosophy, Latin, and the “Crude Sciences.” It’s only when she discovers a dark tragedy in Gottfried’s past that she begins to wonder if the Academy is everything it seems.

  • Spring has sprung!

    Spring has sprung!

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    The mornings are crisp, the afternoons are warm and smell like freshly cut grass, and the evenings feel soggy like a rain shower is on its way.  Pink and white flowers bud on the branches of bushes and trees, and when the wind picks up, small petals blow off the trees and dance in the streets.  From the side of the road, Sandhill Cranes watch me as I pull into the driveway after I’ve worked all day.  At night they call each other in the marshes in the backyard along with the bullfrogs and the green frogs.  There is something so prehistoric about the sound they make.

    With each change of the season, I am reminded of why I love Michigan so much.  This is one of the most beautiful and splendid states I’ve ever had the fortune to live in.

    As I made my way to the car yesterday morning, I was thinking it would be a nice day to sit on the back porch reading books when a red-winged blackbird interrupted by thoughts.  “O-ka-leeeeeeee” is what the bird said to me.

About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.