The Thief (Megan Whalen Turner)

Summary:
Gen is a thief. He's landed himself in prison after stealing the king's seal, and then bragging about it in public. He's young, and talented as a thief, but not so talented at holding his tongue. He gets roped into a journey to find Hamaithes's Gift, which would aid the king of Sounis in his bid to marry the queen of Eddis.

Thoughts:
The book is, in essence, Lord of the Rings Lite. Or, at the very least, that's how it felt to me. It's set in a world that's very similar to Ancient Greece, with a little Roman and Mesopotamian influence for good measure. Of course, it throws sword fighting and gunplay together within about ten pages, but that's obviously neither here nor there to Ms. Turner. The book opens with us meeting Gen while he rots in prison. When he's finally brought out of the prison by the king's magus, who is basically the king's scholar type, he's forced to go on a quest. He's not told why, or where they're headed. He's just forced to be the tool to get whatever it is the magus is after. Two thirds of the book is traveling. Literally, they climbed up, they climbed down, this is what the world looked like. Holy God, I thought I was going to kill myself. The book is only 219 pages long, but I felt like it was Lord of the Rings long. Finally, when the characters start discussing the "old religion" of their ancestors, the book at least becomes a little more interesting. But the story itself doesn't pick up until the last fifty or sixty pages. At that point, not only have you finally found out where they're going, and what they're after, but they've finally reached the damn place. The whole thing reads very tediously. I understand that it's a Newberry Honor book, and that's great for Ms. Turner, but holy hell, I wouldn't want to be a kid having to read this in school. I was much more pleased reading the Indian and the Cupboard. I might've shot someone if this was a mandatory read from my school, and I loved reading as a kid. I had high hopes going into this book, because I'd read the cover at a book store, and thought it sounded awesome, and if you've read this blog before, you know how I like getting into a new series (there's three more books and two short stories in this set). However, I was not pleasantly surprised. At all. Boo. Literally, the only parts that I really enjoyed was the myths about their religion, and that accounts for about 20 pages' worth of text, and that's being generous. I doubt I'll ever get back to the rest of the series. I'm too afraid that it'll be another tedious journey. I'm proud of myself for even making it through this book. No more, please.

Book 7 of 50

Pages: 219
Genre: Fantasy, children's/teen lit
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: Eh. IF you're into fantasy, and IF you like mythology of any kind, and IF(!!) you really liked the Lord of the Rings series and don't mind a hundred pages of tree descriptions, go for it. Otherwise, skip it.

The Name of This Book is Secret (Pseudonymous Bosch)

Summary:
I really can't tell you what it's about, because I'm not supposed to, but if I were to tell you, this is what I would say... It's about a couple of kids that learn of the disappearance of a magician, and get drawn into a whole secret world that no one should know about. But I didn't tell you that!

Thoughts:
It's fabulous. What a fun story. Sure, it's a kid's book. Then again, so was Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins, and the Wizard of Oz. This one makes you think, and try to discover who's who, and what's what, and how they're going to get where they're going next. There are codes to decipher, and riddles to solve, and smells to hear. I got turned onto the book by the Today Show, and I'm glad I hunted it down. Definitely a fun romp, and great for kids. Enjoy this one, everyone. I know you will!

Book 30 of 50

Pages: 351, 360 if you include the Appendix, and more if you write more in your ending!
Genre: Children's, mystery
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. You're crazy if you don't go hunting for this book! Such fun!

Mr. Popper's Penguins (Richard & Florence Atwater)

Summary:
Mr. Popper is a house painter who loves reading. He reads everything he can about all kinds of travel, most especially about the Arctic and Antarctic. He wrote a letter to Admiral Drake at the South Pole, and when Admiral Drake starts his radio broadcast from the South Pole, he mentions that he's sent a gift to Mr. Popper. A few days later, the gift of a penguin arrives on Mr. Popper's doorstep. The story follows the Popper family as their family expands to four people and twelve penguins, and they try to decide just what to do with all those penguins.

Thoughts:
So much fun. I finished it in a few hours, as it's a children's book with big type and short pages. But it was a lovely little story that did teach a little about the poles, and about penguins. (Not much, just a little.) Mr. Popper is a wee bit bonkers, but who could resist the adorable Captain Cook, Greta, and all the rest? It's silly, light, and just exactly what I needed to take a break from Catch-22. It does suffer a little bit from being written so long ago, (It was published in 1938.) but it's still a happy little story about a guy who's got a thing for the arctic worlds. The end's a little funny (as in weird, not ha-ha) and I don't think I'd have ended it quite like that myself. It works, though, and shows off just a little more of Mr. Popper's crazy.

Is it childish? Yes. Would adults enjoy it anyway? If they're into a little bit of whimsy, absolutely. Now to see what Jim Carrey and company did to the story....

Book 19 of 30

Pages: 120ish?
Genre: Children's Lit
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: For kids, mostly, but grown-ups with a Peter Pan complex like myself would probably enjoy it for what it is.