The Alchemyst series by Michael Scott

Forgive the picture, it was the only one I could find that contained all 6, that's right, 6 books. You can understand why I didn't want to upload 6 individual photos, especially since the covers are all essentially the same. In fact, the similarity of the book covers could reflect the uniformity of the story as well, and not in a good way.

The Alchemyst, by Michael Scott, is about the legendary Nicholas Flamel who became immortal through is discovery of how to produce the elixir of life, found in a book called the Codex. Flamel has been the keeper of the Codex for centuries and protects it from many who desire it, especially a man named Dr. John Dee. Contained in the Codex, along with many powerful spells and enchantments, is a prophecy about powerful twins who will save and destroy the world. Flamel spent his life searching for these twins of legend and finally finds them: Josh and Sophie Newman, two ordinary teens living in San Francisco. Dee attacks Flamel in San Francisco and captures his wife Perenelle, while Flamel escapes with the twins and takes them around the world to be trained in the various magics. Josh and Sophie have to discover for themselves which is the twin that will save the world, and which is the twin who will destroy it.

My primary criticism with this series is that, while I enjoyed it, the whole story could have easily fit into 3-4 books, not 6. I found the premise of the story fascinating; it's filled with legends and magic and I love that stuff. But the story draaaagged and I found myself skimming chapters just so I could get to the good parts. Poor John Dee spends 5 (or was it all 6?? I can't remember...) books chasing Flamel and the twins and never really gets what he wants. Granted, his motives are all kinds of mixed up, but you can't help but feel bad for him. I think the series would have been a lot stronger if it were condensed, but they were probably trying to stretch it to make more money. I'm just glad I didn't spend a penny reading these, otherwise I'd be thoroughly annoyed. What I would do without a public library I can't even guess.

I would recommend these on the condition that the reader understands that they will be reading a lot of unnecessary information that sort of makes you feel like your life is draining away... Overall, mostly entertaining, interesting storyline, just TOO LONG.

The first and last book get 4 out of 5 stars -- the last book is especially good, full of action and the reader is rewarded for putting in the hours reading the previous 5 books.

The middle four get 3 out of 5 stars

Though I think one of those middle ones deserves a 2, but I can't seem to remember which one; they all start to blur together... Odd.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

The second installment of the exciting Mysterious Benedict Society novels, I found the Perilous Journey to be delightful. I started listening to it on cd during a long drive through Wyoming, though my husband hadn't read the first and had a hard time following along, so we didn't finish. I then had to wait a week or so for my library to get the book transferred from another location. When I finally had the book in my hands, I had a hard time putting it down. I read on another book blog that it was a typical #2 in a series, not living up to it's predecessor. I have to say that I disagree. I found the characters even more charming; their gifts are developed, particularly Constance's, and I loved to see how the children grew both individually and closer together. The plot was fun, suspenseful, and entertaining. Definitely a good read!

The story picks up about 6 months after the last book ends. (For more info on book one, see my previous review here.) Mr. Benedict has planned a reunion for the children on the year anniversary of their first meeting. He plans for them to follow clues that will lead them on an adventure around the world. However, their long-awaited reunion is ruined when Mr. Benedict and his assistant are kidnapped by his evil twin (who is also the bad guy in book 1). The children decide to leave the adults behind and follow the clues left by Mr. Benedict in hopes of finding him and and rescuing him from his captor.

As mentioned above, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next one! It's next on my list of books to read. Hopefully I can get it transferred soon from the library.

4 out of 5

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

Ella Minnow Pea: a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable

This was one of the most cleverly written books I've ever read. Unfortunately, I've become delinquent in my blog updates and thus it has been several books since I read this delightful tale, but I will do my best to recall my literary experience.

Ella Minnow Pea is a girl who lives in the island nation of Nollop, just off the coast of South Carolina. The book is a series of letters sent amongst fellow Nollopians during a crisis in which certain letters of the alphabet become banned from use. The country is named after Nevin Nollop, the creator of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." He is forever revered for creating a sentence that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet with as few repetitions as possible, and the sentence is preserved on a memorial statue. One day, a letter falls off the statue and the government officials must gather to decide it's meaning. It is decided that the fallen letter is a sign from the Great Nollop from beyond the grave that it should no longer be used. The first letter to fall is "z". Punishments for using the banned letter are a 3-strike system: first offense is a public reprimand, choice of lashing or stocks on second offense, and banishment from the island as the third and final offense. As letters continue to fall and subsequently banned from use, the letters written in the story become more and more creative in their word choices as citizens try and figure out a way to prove that Nollop was not omniscient. This can only be done by creating a sentence that uses all 26 letters but with fewer repetitions than Nollop's pangram.

I very much enjoyed this book. By the end of the story the last 5 letters remaining are L, M, N, O, and P. Ella Minnow Pea. The language becomes extremely flexible, kind of how today we communicate through text messages, using numbers and odd spelling. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the English language, or simply takes pleasure in words. Fun fun read!

4 out of 5 stars

The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi

I just finished this short little book and it was an interesting read. My friend recommended I read "The Alchemist" because it was "amazing." So I go to the library and look it up and find it on the shelf and am surprised by how small it is. I figure any great book has got to be longer than 95 pages, but I check it out anyway. Only now when I looked up an image for this blog do I realize that I'm pretty sure she was recommending I read "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho. How was I to know the difference? Shoot, they have the same title and are even both written by Paolo's. What are the odds?

Regardless, this was an interesting little story. Quite short, so difficult to get a whole lot of character or story development, but worthwhile. It's about a man, an alchemist (go figure), who is searching for a way to fight back a dangerous plant, bramble, that is taking over his city. Bramble grows in response to magic, so whenever anyone performs any small or large bit of magic, it grows and takes over crops and homes. Oh, and it's poisonous and can easily kill you if it touches skin. So he creates a machine that can fight the bramble and takes it to the mayor and head magic guy, hoping to get a nice payout for saving the city. Problem is, the mayor and magic guy are evil and use his invention to hunt down anyone who uses magic and kills them. They lock him up for 2 years and make him create more cool inventions for them under the threat of killing his daughter and lady-friend.

I think this could be a really excellent story if it were developed more. The magic world our hero lives in is intriguing; I wish it had more background. The characters were good but I feel like I hardly got to know them. Also the ending felt rushed, I wish there was more detail.

Overall, interesting book but probably not "The Alchemist" everyone is raving about.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale, Illustrated by Nathan Hale

 I've never read any graphic novels before and I've always been a little skeptical of them. When I think of graphic novels I think of nerdy, comic book obsessed, acne ridden teen boys, hiding out in their dark and dusty bedrooms. I'll admit I was mildly embarrassed to be browsing the graphic novel section of the library (after I was able to find it). But I must say, these were two of the most fun books I have ever read. I picked these up, of course, because they are written by Shannon Hale, whose books I have reviewed on this blog many times. I love her stories and was certainly not disappointed with these gems. Co-written by her husband with detailed and beautiful illustrations by Nathan Hale (not related), these short stories were captivating and full of action, humor, and a touch of romance.

Rapunzel's Revenge is the story of Rapunzel (obviously) and really gets going once her "mother" (at least, the one who calls herself her mother) puts Rapunzel in a tower for being disobedient. Mother Gothel has powerful magic and can make things grow but uses her magic to enslave the people. Her tower is actually a very, very tall tree. Food grows magically and somehow Rapunzel's hair is affected by the magic and grows super long. She escapes by using her hair as a lasso and soon runs into Jack. Together, Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk) and Rapunzel go on an adventure to stop Mother Gothel's reign of terror, with the help of her trusty hair, and help people along the way, becoming heroes of the west. 

Calamity Jack picks up where Rapunzel's Revenge leaves off and is told from Jack's perspective. The pair heads east to Jack's hometown, where Jack is hoping to reunite with his mother and rebuild her house, since the first was destroyed by a giant beanstalk. When they arrive, they find themselves in a war zone and the city under attack by huge ant people and protected by giants. Jack and Rapunzel discover the giants are behind the ant people threat and fight to expose them to the city. In addition to the adventure, Jack goes through a personal journey of proving to his mother, Rapunzel and himself that he is a "good guy," despite having a shady background of scheming to get what he wanted.

Adjusting to reading a book that depends on the pictures to tell most of the story took a little time, but once I figured it out, the pictures were actually really fun to interpret and added so much to the story. I wish each book was about 3 times as long and I hope they write more sequels, though I haven't heard any reports for more books. I loved these books; they were so funny and easy to read. The pictures were so beautiful and detailed and expressive. Character development was also surprisingly good. Fun, fun stories I would absolutely recommend to everyone! Even those opposed to graphic novels, like I used to be. 

5 out of 5 stars

The Declaration; The Resistance; The Legacy by Gemma Malley

Well this was certainly an interesting trilogy to read! My sister recommended I read these books and they were definitely entertaining.

The Declaration is set in England in the future, around 2140 or so, and mankind has discovered a pill called Longevity that will enable the human body to live forever. Since nobody dies, the world becomes over-populated and they create the "Declaration," a document every citizen must sign, in which they promise not to produce children in exchange for eternal life. If you don't sign you are an Opt-Out, you may have a child but you may not take Longevity. There are very few Opt-Outs. Some people choose not to follow the rules though and have kids anyway. All these unauthorized children are called Surpluses and are taken from their parents to grow up in delegated Surplus Houses that educate them to become the most useful slaves they can be.

In one of these houses we meet our heroine, Anna Covey, known as Surplus Anna. She has an innate desire to please authority and has learned very well that she does not deserve to live because she is a drain on Mother Earth's resources. She strives to be a good Surplus and performs her work meticulously to try and please the house matron, a cruel woman who looks on the children she governs with disdain. Anna's world is turned upside down when a new boy named Peter (one of our heroes) comes to the House and challenges her ideas of right and wrong. He tries to convince her that not everyone believes children are criminals just for being born and tries to persuade her to escape with him.

 In "The Resistance" the story continues with Peter and Anna, after escaping the Surplus House, joining the Resistance group that fights Longevity and the man in charge of the company that produces it, Richard Pincent of Pincent Pharma. The Resistance believes that children are the future and that no one should live forever. We are introduced to the resistance leader Pip (featured on the cover) and Peter's half brother Jude.

 The fight against Longevity continues in "The Legacy." People are dying across the world from a virus that has mutated and Longevity cannot fight. Richard Pincent is desperate to find a cure and avoids blame for the deaths by pointing the finger at the underground rebels. Our characters must pull together to bring down Richard Pincent and expose the truth.

So I liked a lot of things about these books, particularly the idea of immortality and its practical effects. What would happen to the world if there was no death? Humankind is on the constant search for ways to decrease sickness and suffering and extend life. But do we really want to live forever? I like that the author focused on the ramifications of eternal life, the most severe of which (in my opinion) is the inability to have children. There is nothing I love more in this world than my daughter. I cannot imagine what I would do without her. I plan to have more children and cannot imagine the government telling me I could not have them, or taking them away from me if I did and being branded a criminal.

I did not like some of the political implications I felt the author was making throughout the books. Particularly branding the conservatives as the bad guys who choose eternal life and make kids slaves and making the liberals the heroes who save the world. I guess I only take offense to that because I'm conservative. This isn't a political blog so I won't comment further.

Overall I liked the idea of the story. Sometimes the books (especially #2) were a bit tedious to read, but overall I would recommend them to others.

3 out of 5 stars

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

I think this is my least favorite Shannon Hale novel to date, though I still liked it well enough.

The story is about a Mormon housewife, Becky Jack, who sells a screenplay to a major movie company in Hollywood. During her meeting she happens upon her lifelong celebrity crush Felix Callahan. They have great chemistry together and quickly become best friends, nothing more, since they are both already happily married. The plot centers around the complications of having a best friend of the opposite gender.

I had a hard time getting into the story, and not because there were some blurred lines of morality (in my opinion). I actually think the idea of what exactly is appropriate when it comes to having friends of the opposite sex very interesting. I had a hard time because I couldn't see where the story was going. I'm not sure how to articulate myself very well here, but the plot wasn't very...followable. I like to know somewhat where the story is going when I'm reading it.

Overall, it was an interesting and entertaining enough read, but I won't read it again.

3 out of 5 stars