The Wide-Awake Princess

Hola, The Wide-Awake Princess is by E. D. Baker. With so many magically enhanced people around, Princess Annabelle's gift seems more like a curse; no magic can ever touch her. And there is more to her "gift"—if she goes near enchanted people, then their gifts start to fade. But when a real curse comes into play, Annie counts herself lucky. She sets off on a journey to save her family from, of course, one hundred years sleep. With the help of her handsome guard Liam, how can Annie not save the day? I really like Baker's books. They are happy princess stories that are always punctuated by just enough magic. Very light and entertaining! Three and a half stars.

A Tale of Two Castles

Hola. The weather has not improved. A Tale of Two Castles is by Gail Carson Levine, a favorite author of mine (and also the author of Ella Enchanted, also reiewed on my blog). Elodie is but a poor farmers daughter with grand ambitions, to be a mansioner (Which I think is an actress). She travels to Two Castles, a town over shadowed by, you guessed it,...two castles. One is run by the greedy king and his strange daughter, the other by a feared and hated ogre. When her dreams are crushed by the mansioning leader, Elodie is taken on as an assistant to the brilliant dragon Meenore. It expects a great deal from Elodie, and she must perform (no pun intended) if she is to discover the secrets of Two Castles, from the cats to the people. This was a good book, nothing exceptional, but good. I think that Meenore added a lot to the story but that Jonty Um could have played a larger role. Renn is just weird and I think that half of the ending was obvious and the other half was highly unlikely. Those didn't detract much from the story, however, and I give it two and a half stars.

Peter and the Starcatchers

Hola, it is not supposed to rain during the summer! Peter and the Starcatchers is by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. As a matter of fact, I met Ridley Pearson, and that was recorded on my firs ever post! (He was really cool,). Okay, here goes; Peter is the leader of a small band of orphaned boys, all of whom have had the misfortune of being put aboard the Neverland, a very old ship bound for Rundoon. But while the Neverland sails, even more ancient powers are at work. With the help of Molly, an extraordinary girl that Peter meets on his voyage, he must solve the mystery of a strange trunk that seems very important. And then they must survive the astonishing adventure that ensues. This is a rather old book, it came out around seven years ago but is still really popular. I really enjoyed this book. It is a different twist on the historic tale of Peter Pan, while making the explanation to his adventures much more logical than the other versions that I have read. The plot is exciting and the characters are lively and unpredictable. I especially like it when authors write how the characters speak, spelling the words out phonetically (Did you understand that because I was having a hard time explaining,). Awesome book, four stars! (Just a heads-up, the rest of the books in the series are kinda creepy, but still good.)

Heist Society

Hola, and now I realize that I haven't blogged Heist Society yet, the book that came before Uncommon Criminals (also written by Ally Carter!). There is a family, not brought together by hardship or the holidays like most of us, rather, connected by one occupation: being a thief. But Katarina Bishop was not happy with this risky existence, so she walked away. Escaping her fate isn't so easy though, and soon her old friend Hale turns up to drag her back in. He came with good reason— Kat's father is caught between a very dangerous man and his very valuable paintings. Kat and her crew are her dad's only hope, but will they be enough to help him? YAY! Loved it! This book was really spectacular. The writing is conversational but witty, as if looking into a very smart person's mind. The plot is original with just enough spice to make it interesting without violence or language (I would compare it to a teenage girl's Oceans Eleven). Totally awesome book! Four and a half stars!

Airman

Hola. By Eoin Colfer (I wonder how you pronounce his first name...), Airman. Conor Broekhart calls the Saltee Islands home. He lives a privileged life, good friends with the king, a close relationship with his daughter (Isabella), and taught by a master of flight, Conor's own love. However, when he unearths a plot against the royal family, Conor gets a little too deep. He is soon branded a traitor and thrown into Little Saltee, an infamous prison. He has to escape the jail's torturous lifestyle and help Isabella uncover the truth. But first, he must fly. Sorry, not a fan. The beginning was good, descriptive with some action, but when he gets thrown in jail, it's horrible. It turns tedious and weird. I really don't understand the Battering Rams thing. And the blatant evilness of the bad-guy is lame (No names, spoilers!). He thinks about what he is doing and consciously agrees with the author that he is a terrible person. Okay, I'll admit, I didn't finish it, which is why it gets half a star.

Uncommon Criminals

Hola! It's summer and new books are coming out! Uncommon Criminals is the sequel to Ally Carter's Heist Society. Katarina Bishop is back and single-handedly righting the wrongs of the world, one stolen painting at a time. So that when a plea for the Cleopatra Emerald is voiced, how can she resist? With the help of her crew, Kat has to steal the enormous—and reportedly cursed—stone. But with so many cons and some very inconvenient accidents... cough, cough... will Kat be able to hold her family together? (That includes people not strictly related to her.) I thought this was a really good book. It is nice to now that Kat has flaws other than walking away from stealing, if that is a flaw. The characters develop well, although Nick didn't play as much of a role as I had hoped. My only problem was that, looking back on it, it was a really painful book to read, bad stuff happens that isn't in a good, plot-twisting way, it's just uncomfortable. Well, the other thing is that I always have kind of a hard time working out how they pulled the job. Carter doesn't explain enough. Other than that, I did really like it. Three and a half stars!

Wild Magic

Hola, schools out! I am very sorry, I accidentally lied in my second-to-last post, I haven't blogged Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce yet, so here goes! Daine is a thirteen-year-old girl with a plan and a knack for animals: get a job, go to Tortall. This works very well for her, soon she is hired by Onua to take care of her ponies as they go to the capital of Tortall. As she learns about this new land, she also discovers that her "knack" is really magic, wild magic. Daine loves her new home, from the new sights and peculiar nobles to Numair, her magic teacher. However, trouble is brewing for Tortall as blood-thirsty mythical creatures (Immortals,) attack. And Daine has a secret that could jeopardize her whole new world. I really liked this book. Daine's character really develops over the entire series (There are three more books,) and the plot is unexpected. The other characters also add a lot to the story and I like how this ties into Pierce's other books. Overall I think that this book is an exciting read for many ages. Three and a half stars!