Books Reviewed by Hammurabi
Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech (reviewed Apr 12, 2004)
5 This is another great book by Sharon Creech. Well, Salamanca Tree Hiddle's best friend in Bybanks is Zinnia Taylor who has 3 brothers and 3 sisters (in age order from youngest: Sam, Ben, Will, Bonnie, Zinnia(Zinny), May, and Gretchen). Zinny discovers a trail in the back of her house. And her aunt, Jessie, or Redbird, dies. Aunt Jessie and Uncle Nate are like her second parents so she was rather sad. Also a skinny doodlebug (well that was what he used be) named Jake Boone came back, very handsome. And May likes him, but gives Zinny stuff. This great book full of good writing deserves an award.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (reviewed Mar 8, 2004)
5 Crispin is a REALLY good book taking you back to 13th century England. It begins in a tiny village called Stromford with a serf community, a manor, and a church. A boy called "Asta's son" (considering his mother was named Asta) mother just died, and is forced to flee after he is falsely accused of stealing money from the manor. He would have fled because he would have to do what him AND his mother did. So he flees into the forest constantly being hunted by the manor's unscrupulous servant: John Aycliffe. The actual person ruling the manor is Lord Furnival, fighting in France (this was the 100 year war and England still had possesions in France). So Crispin ends up in an abandoned village and goes into a not-as-broken church to pray with his mother's Cross of Lead. A big, red-haired, fat, relatively, bald man named Orson Hrofthgor takes him. He is called Bear. Crispin is forced to be his apprentice, but it is his only choice practically. Bear changes Crispin's appearance and teaches him how to play the recorder so Bear can dance and juggle to the music. Soon they go to Lodgecot where they hear something suprising... But they are off to Grand Wexly where they go to the Green Man Tavern and meet Widow Daverty. But he is still hunted by John Aycliffe...
Taggerung: A Tale from Redwall by Brian Jacques (reviewed Feb 9, 2004)
5 Taggerung is probably the best book in the marvelously magnificent series of Redwall. It begins with Sawney Rath, who wants to conquer Redwall Abbey. Then in Redwall (soon to be ruled by Cregga, who is a really nice Badgermum), Deyna was born. Deyna's a baby otter with a father, Rillfag, a mother, Filorn, and a sister, Mhera. Apparently it is an otter tradition to have a baby otter feel running stream water, so Rillfag takes Deyna to the nearby stream. Unfortunatly, something really bad happens and Deyna is adopted into the Juskarath society. The Juskarath rather distopian society is ruled by Sawney Rath. He is named Taggerung Juskarath Zann. Predicted by a Juska vixen named Grissoul, you think that Sawney Rath will march valiantly up to the gates of Redwall. But then Antriga kills him and says her stoaty son is the "Taggerung". Later, Taggerung escapes the Juskarath and meets with a harvest mouse named Nimbalo "the Slayer". You can guess where they go. Then the Juskarath is defected into the Juskabor society. I like the Juskabors. Then a lot of stuff happens in the end. This, like I said, is one of the better Redwall books. But all of them are good.
Triss: A Tale from Redwall by Brian Jacques (reviewed Jan 26, 2004)
5 Triss is great. In the series of Redwall, it is one of the best. Well, see, Triss (she has a real name that you will find out later and Triss is just her nickname) is a squirrel slave at an evil king of a fjord and his svedish-soonding dawter nyamed Kurda. Triss escapes (thankfully) with some friends: Shogg the otter and Welfo the hedgehog. Welfo gets dropped off at Peace Island because she falls in love. I love Peace Island's ecosystem. Meanwhile Sagax(us) the badger of Salmandastrom (I love that name), [Be]Scarum the bunny, and my all-time favorite: Kroova the otter, everyone eventually meets up in Redwall Abbey. But, something happens. Evil Kurda and her rouges follow Triss and her escapees/guerrillas have to fend off them, with the loyal Redwallers and Sagax and his troops. And a bunch of serpents. Fortunately, the serpents are also fighting Kurda for Sargeno, an old, brave king of the fjord. But there is a big sacrifice and it's sad at the end.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (reviewed Nov 16, 2003)
4 This is a good book, not able to be rated 5, because, simply, it was quite complicated and confusing. It is about sixteen people who have moved into the lavish Sunset Apartments in Milwaukee on the coast of the Lake Michigan next to the multi-millionaire house of the late monoply owner of a HUMUNGO paper company, Samuel Westing. So then on one day, those sixteen people gather in the game room of his house for the reading of the will. To their surprise, the gathering ends up as a contest, challenging the heirs to find out who among those sixteen heirs is the murderer of the rich old Samuel Westing. Then through many things, from bombings to burglaries to blizzards (all start with "B"!) the sixteen heirs eventually find out who the vicious murderer of Samuel Westing is. This book was SOOOO complicated, in fact, I never actually found out who the murderer was or the bookie, only the thief, who was who you probably would not expect to. It's quite short, a quickie, so good for a book when you just want to read in one day, not a five-hundred page book where it takes you ten weeks to finish it.
Mattimeo by Brian Jacques (reviewed Nov 15, 2003)
5 Mattimeo is the "triumphant" sequel to one of my all-time favorite books. It really is. This time around, however, Matthias has a headstrong and naive son named Mattimeo (Matthias Menthusleh Montimer is his full name) who is taken away by an evil fox named Slagar, who is actually Chickenhound (GASP!), with a couple of other abbeybabes like Tim and Tess and Cynthia Bankvole and some other Mossflowerians like Auma the badger and Jube the hedgehog. In a long and dreadful journey they are taken across the land to the extremely evil land of Malakriss where they become slaves under some rodent (you will find out what later in the book) named Malakriss who has named his awful kingdom after himself. In desperation, Matthias, Orlando (Auma's father), Jabez (Jube's father), and a young, orphaned otter named Cheek set out to find their children (and his friend's children for Cheek). his is obviously the "triumphant" sequel to the best-selling and excellent Redwall.
AK by Peter Dickinson (reviewed Nov 1, 2003)
5 AK is one of my favorite books. It uses magnificent word choice. It takes place in the war-torn imaginary country of Nagala, based on the war-torn itself nation of Equatorial Guinea. The orphaned Paul Kagomi is adopted by his uncle, Michael Kagomi, and made part of the rebel force against the goverment and inherits a trustworthy AK-14. The rebel group is one of the many fighting for the rule of Nagala. A man of the Gogu tribe named Basso-Iskani steps up and takes over the government despite the rebellious emotions from the people living in Nagala. Nagala is a small, relatively undeveloped country with many tribes: the Naga (where Naga received its name), the Baroaba, the Fulu, and the Gogu are the main tribes. Though Basso-Iskani is later hated by the Nagas, Fulus, Baroaba, and even his own Gogu, at first he is recognized as the president of Nagala. So Paul and his friend Francis are sent to school in Fulu country and make friends with a girl name Jilli (who is Fulu). However, the Nagalese turn against their leader, who has given them inadequate food and water supplies and guarding the Dangoum (capital of Nagala, built in the middle of nowhere because of zinc in the surrounding salt flats) market. So civil war breaks out. Jilli and Paul must take up his trusty AK and fight for liberty in Dangoum. Overall this is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards (reviewed Oct 11, 2003)
3 This book is okay. I have read several times since my first grade teacher did. It is about three siblings - Tom, Ben, and Lindy Potter - who become excellent friends in a very, very unlikely meeting and experience with Professer Savant, apparently a Nobel Prize Winner with a multi-colored bunny named Sneezewort. Then Professor Savant, Tom, Ben, and Lindy venture off to a quite unusual and mysterious place-Whangdoodleland. Whangdoodleland has funny colors for everyday things. Trees are green-yellow and plum-purple. The rivers and streams are golden. The grass is a light sky blueish color. Then to make things more unusual and weird, both the sky and the mountains are a lightish reddish scarlety color. And then there's a great, big castle, like a fairy tale, looming above a golden river-stream. Then there's baneful, evil, greasy, Prock who wants to drive Professor Savant and his "little friends" away from Whangdoodleland because the last of the really great whangdoodles is endangered. Then he goes all out of his little mind and brain to get them away from the last of the really great whangdoodles. Then somehow they end up meeting the last of the really great whangdoodles, but Professor Savant doesn't have a good enough imagination the first time, but Lindy gets him back and makes another whangoodle so the last of the really great whangdoodles is not the last. Quite happy ending I have to say, and then the siblings get back and yay: happy ending. Overall this is okay, worth reading if you want to or have nothing else. Therefore I don't really recommend but read it if you want to, like I said previously. It doesn't have good words but I like the characters. Actually one part where there is good words is when they first get to Whangdoodlelang and now that's good. Overall okay I will have to say.
The Austere Academy - Series of Unfortunate Events 5 by Lemony Snicket (reviewed Oct 11, 2003)
5 This is the Book of the Fifth and this is the best Series of Unfortunate Events with the stars: Sunny, Violet, and, Klaus Bauldelaire. It is by far my favorite. This time around Sunny, Violet, and Klaus are enrolled in a horrendous boarding school. Evil Count Olaf this time is a gym teacher with a turban and a jewel in the center of the turban. Not only is there Count Olaf and his "gym teacher" disguise, but also the strict-bad-violin-playing-bald-and-big-and-quite-stupid headmaster who plays the violin like a cat getting squished and run over, you know, all squeaky and screechy (except you would run to the sound of a poor cat being squished or getting run over, for this you would not). This is (my opinion) favorite Series of Unfortunate Events after I read it and many laughs and goosebumps, I have now admitted it. Overall read this as quickly as possible right after the first (or read thiis one quite quickly if you have already read the first one (The Bad Beginning) or just read them all.
Half Magic by Edward Eager (reviewed Oct 10, 2003)
2 This is an okay book. It's about three children who have a magic token and transport themselves to another time and another place. The children are Kathrine, Martha, Jane, and Mark. Reading Magic by the Lake instead is recommended. In fact I didn't even finish it due to a finding of a much better book. There are several good parts and one superific part including a scene from the middle of a desolate desert and meeting a wandering desert nomad and the my obvious favorite part, the jousting-on-horses tournament. Overall it's pretty bad except those parts. Its use of words is marvelous but its plot is quite severely boring and I have never been fond of the characters I have to say.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (reviewed Oct 10, 2003)
4 This book was really really really really really WEEEEEIRD. This girl named Salamanca Willow or something like that leaves her farm with her father to move to "the city". "The city" is probably Indianapolis or Cincinnati or Pittsburgh or Cleveland or somewhere somewhat near Kentucky. Apparently she lives in Bie Banks, Kentucky and apparently that's a real placey-towney-thingamabobber. Salamanca's mother goes out west and like stops sending letters to Salamanca and Salamanca gets suspicious and so her father goes to "the city" and that's where it got exciting. She meets a girl named Phoebe and becomes friends with her. Phoebe lives upstairs from a dry-cracked-leaves-hair-looking-like and supsious woman that I forget her name. She somehow (actually Phoebe) wonders that everyone is getting killed by her and some of Phoebe's family runs away or something like that. Salamanca (Sal as in the story) also, weirdly enough, has a boyfriend named Ben. It all ends up that Ms. Dry-cracked-leaves-hair-looking-like is the sister of Salamanca and Phoebe's teacher. Then also Salamanca's mother was on a train next to Ms. Dry-cracked-leaves-hair-looking-like and eventually converses and they become friends. However the train crashed and Ms. Dry-cracked-leaves-hair-looking-like is the only survivor. Salamanca's actually traveling west (and seeing Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills) with her grandparents and she tells the story from there. It's really sad at the end. It's good except it's really weird.
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzenberger (reviewed Oct 10, 2003)
2 This book was really WEEEEEIRD. It's about a kid named Robert who hates his pretzel-eating teacher: Mr.Bockel. In addition, he also has the weirdest, most horryfing dreams. And one night he doesn't have a dream about falling down a slide into a massive chipmunk (or squirrel, something like that) or falling into immense blackness from, weirdly enough, his roof. Instead he has one about him being in a massive garden with caterpillers and ants as big as him and most unusual of all, a little red man, who is the number devil. (His real named is Texopopol or Teplotaxl.) He goes on all these random adventures with the number devil. It gives you some math stuff and information and your math teacher would like that. It goes by quickly and you can finish it quite easily in one rainy and stormy day. If it's not raining and storming don't really bother reading it. Unsuprisingly, it has a dictionary for math terms.
Perloo the Bold by Avi (reviewed Oct 10, 2003)
5 Perloo the Bold is my FAVORITE book ever!! It is about a rabbit-like montimer named Perloo who lives as a simple book-reader. However when Granter (the term of ruler for montimers) Joliane dies, Perloo is called to be the next granter instead of Joliane's vain but cowardly son, Berwig the Big. After much hustle and bustle, Perloo ends up teaming up with the montimer's enemies: the wolven felbarts and ends up against the best montimer warrior-Senyous the Sly. Senyous ends up pleading for his life because Perloo threw a well-aimed snowball at him. The felbarts and the montimers become allies and Perloo becomes granter. He actually abdicated the settop (throne) and calls for democracy.
Redwall by Brian Jacques (reviewed Oct 10, 2003)
5 Redwall was EXCELLENT, here and there sad parts. It is about a young mouse named Matthias in Redwall Abbey and it takes place in an immaginary land called Mossflower. An evil one-eyed rat named Cluny the Scrouge is trying to take over Mossflower and first tries to take over Redwall Abbey. Matthias has always wanted to be like Martin, a legendary defender of Redwall Abbey, so he eventually takes his sword and kills Cluny and his horde with a lot of sparrows and shrews. I really like it.
