Books Reviewed by Silverstream
Magyk by Angie Sage (reviewed Mar 30, 2005)
5 Once upon a magykal world...
It is a day of great rejoice for the village, for the seventh son of the seventh son is born!
The snow wrapped Silas Heap, the father of the newborn baby, Septimus Heap, who was out to collect herbs from Galen for the baby. The baby is said to have magykal powers. Then... HE HEARD A HELPLESS CRY! A baby with beautiful dark hair and violet eyes was wrapped in rags and left alone, under a bush - in the middle of the woods in the coldest day of winter. Poor thing must be freezing, he thought. Sarah Heap won't mind another baby. He was bringing her back.
MEANWHILE...
Sarah Heap is rejoicing. Oh, the seventh son is born! A midwife bursts in from the darkness of the night, and wrapped the newborn head to toe in bandages, and runs away, cloaked by the darkness as she called behind her shoulder, DEAD. Sarah fainted. The midwife had proclaimed Septimus dead. Silas then runs into Marcia Overstand, the new ExtraOrdinaryWizard. He bumps into her and even though they are enemies, Marcia doesn't care. Tell NO ONE you FOUND her. She was BORN to you. And then, he leaves the 'mad-woman' and rushes home, finding Septimus gone. Sarah takes care of Baby Jenna as her own...
But Jenna's secret identity is getting them into oodles of matters of life and death - for the whole kingdom. They bowl into adventures and recover long lost secrets on the way to demolish the evil that lurks the shadows of the kingdom.
What happened to beloved Septimus, and WHO IS JENNA? Find out in the first book, Septimus Heap of the Magyk Series!
I loved this book especially because it showed you all the spells, and how to do them. Before one exciting mysterious event was over, another began, making it utterly impossible to put this book down. You just try. Nice, actionpacked and always something better coming forth from the shadows, secrets and more secrets from something that happened before, tracing the kingdom to its old past.
I think people who enjoyed Harry Potter, the Warriors series and anything fantasy or with magic and a bit of fantasy will enjoy this book as much as I did. (You don't need to - I turned my back on Harry Potter twice, I'm not trying again, either, I know what I'm gonna do!) Overall, this is a five out of five (I MEAN IT) gold stars put on with a large grin and two thumbs up! It is IMMENSELY (I mean this too, that's why I mentioned it twice) actionpacked, adventure and especially fantasy!
May the magyk be with you on your new quest through the pages!
A Dangerous Path (Warriors #5) by Erin Hunter (reviewed Dec 27, 2004)
5 The 5th book of the "Warriors series, the one which makes you burn with fury and wrath. Fireheart is deputy...but Tigerstar is leader. He knows Tigerstar will try and have revenge, but something greater than Starclan (their great ancestors) can stop is haunting the forest, too. The hunters are being hunted by this evil who doesn't sleep which will bring death, which pushes them from the top of the food chain to the little prey, running for their holy life. The mysterious creatures who continue to invade places every cat in peril. Plus, what will happen when their leader stops listening to Starclan, claiming that they have abandoned Thunderclan and commanding war between and still convinced that everyone but Fireheart is a traitor? Fireheart is sure they aren't, and Starclan hasn't but he can't help wondering... HAVE THE ANCESTORS ABANDONED THEM...OR NOT? <(*_*)>
Ereth's Birthday by Avi (reviewed Nov 29, 2004)
5 The fourth and last book to Tales from Dimwood Forest. It is Ereth the porcupine's birthday. No one is there, not even his best friend, Poppy. He wants salt. Salt, salt, salt. He sets out on an adventure to find himself some. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that there isn't any, the bad is that hunters are setting traps. It's worse when he meets a mother fox who is dying from one of the traps. She asks him to take care of her kits, and he agrees. Three kits, three bundles of trouble. He eats vegetables not meat, it's his fault if they get stuck in a trap, and he is nothing of a mother. OH MY GOD! What in the WORLD will he do? Funfilled and jammed with gooseberry jam! and other hilarious (and random) words - Great book!
Ragweed by Avi (reviewed Nov 25, 2004)
5 This book is funny. Hilarious. Great. In the first book of "Tales from Dimwood Forest," Ragweed, the golden country mouse, sets out to see the amazing world. He sets on a train to Amperville, a city where he meets more mice, and... fearful cats. He turns to pals of the Cheez Squeez Club (or maybe something else, read the book to find out!) as he meets 4 mice, and an escaped mouse (a mouse that used to be a pet). But two cats make a club called F.E.A.R. which stands for Felines Enraged About Rodents. They are just desperate to clear the once-clean city of mice once and for all. How will they make it? Will they? What will it take for mice to overpower the cats??? Bravery, Courage and Wits. DON'T JUST SIT THERE, READ "RAGWEED" THE BOOK!
Forest of Secrets (Warriors #3) by Erin Hunter (reviewed Nov 6, 2004)
5 The third book of the best series in the world, Warriors. This one is the secret-revealing book. Fireheart and Graystipe stumble into mysterious secrets, as well as their old beloved deputy Redtail's mysterious death, and a well hidden deep dark secret about their own leader, Bluestar, that some believe better be left hidden. <(!_!)>
The Charm Bracelet (Fairy Realm #1) by Emily Rodda (reviewed Dec 27, 2004)
4 It is the first book of the Fairy Realm series. It's a good book, magical series, and it's reeallyy well plotted. It includes loads of suspense. It's a girl called Jessie, who one night hears her name being called. "Jessica! Jessica!" So she grabs the nearest jacket, her grandmother's leather one. She races outside, and finds that it's coming from the edge of the garden, the one she calls, "The Secret Garden." She enters, with caution, and meets three friends in another world, the Fairy Realm. What she doesn't know, is Jessie's grandmother is otherworldy, the true queen of the fairy folk. Somehow, they must stop Valda, the true queen's cousin, from faking her and taking the throne. The problem is, the true queen no longer remembers her true identity because she has lost her bracelet, and it has fallen into the wrong hands of Valda. To make matters worse, the wall that separates the beautiful world from the trolls and monsters who will make them slaves the second they set foot on their land is thinning, and by the end of the day, it shall vanish. Only the magic words taught to the queen and the queen alone will restore it, and it happens once in a blue moon. READ FOR YOURSELF! Note: even if it's "Fairy" Realm my brother read it too. You should try it out!
Poppy and Rye by Avi (reviewed Nov 25, 2004)
5 The third book in the series, Tales from Dimwood Forest. Poppy and her grumpy friend Ereth travel from Dimwood forest, to tell her beloved Ragweed's family about his sad death. But, it's pretty chaotic there, and he finds her new love, Rye. Their house is going to be drowned by a family of beavers overflowing the "brook" and plans to make it a huge dam - the biggest in the world. Poppy admits she REALLY loved Ragweed in front of the family including Rye, who is now the oldest, now that Ragweed is gone. But she really DID love Ragweed, but now she loves Rye. After those words, Rye sets out to stop the beavers, and prove himself worthy of Poppy. To show he has courage and bravery.
The Power of Five - W.I.T.C.H. #1 by Elizabeth Lenhard (reviewed Nov 21, 2004)
5 This is a great book. I recommend it for uh... mostly GIRLS. It's about 5 girls, who are W for Will, I for Irma, T for Taranee, C for Cornelia and H for Hay Lin. That makes WITCH. They have to have nature as their friend, the earth as their mother, and the elements as their allies. The first book was about how they became to be the guardians, to protect the veil that seperates earth from...let's not talk about it. It has cool comic stuff at the back and front. It's a grabbing story. I read it before I went to bed, so I stayed up to 11:20. Then in the morning, I took the book out first thing, and finished it.
My Pants are Haunted (Dear Dumb Diary #2) by Jim Benton (reviewed Nov 17, 2004)
4 Get a look at Jaimie Kelly's HILARIOUS diary!!! It is like the exact diary anyone else has!!!! Pictures and funniness, weirdness and total stupidity, and like any good book, it has an ending which leaves you saying, so that's why this that this!!! You could only have one choice - to end the book, when you just wish it would be longer...but it is!!! Read the 3rd book-Am I the Princess or the Frog???
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo (reviewed Nov 17, 2004)
5 This book is about a strangely unusual mouse. His family lives in a castle. He's small, has big ears, and reads the papers instead of eating them, interested in glass windows, and falls in love with a princess. But, another is just desperate to kill her to be a princess herself. Then he gets abandoned from his family. Can something get worse? This story proves don't judge a small mouse by his size, he still can have courage, like Despereaux. (Plus, soup can actually save your life!)
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (reviewed Oct 13, 2004)
4 It's humorous and sort of funny. Claudia, the oldest sibling, thinks it's unfair. All the other siblings don't have to take out the trash, and get away with EVERYTHING. So, she makes a plan. She'll run away with her rich brother to teach her mom and dad a lesson. They go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and see an angel statue. Claudia is just captured by the beauty. They find out a mystery to solve about it, and Claudia absolutly WILL NOT leave before they find out. READ FOR YOURSELF!!!!!
The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler (reviewed Oct 13, 2004)
5 The Tail of Emily Windsnap is about Emily Windsnap, a girl with a big secret. When she goes into the water, she turns into a mermaid. When she's out, she's human again. One night, she sneaks out to swim in the ocean. She meets a friend, a trustworthy mermaid, and they set out on an adventure.
Midnight Magic by Avi (reviewed Dec 1, 2004)
5 Mangus, the magician and his apprentice Fabrizio is called to the castle to see if the princess is really haunted by a ghost. Mangus doesn't believe in ghosts, but Fabrizio sees it himself. He won't tell the king something he will not believe anyway. They need to find out in three days, or pay with certain death. Fabrizio and the princess...A revenge, a cliffhanger, a haunting story that will keep you up at night. A neverexpected ending.
5 Shirley Temple Wong just came to America. She is in fifth grade. She likes baseball because she can play baseball, which is also stickball, in her school. She is a HUGE fan. Her school is going to have a very special guest, and...her friend...and she... READ IT YOURSELF!
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (reviewed Oct 7, 2004)
5 It's one of the BEST books ever. It's "enchanting" I might say. It carries loads of suspense. It's about a girl, Ella, who is born and a fairy Lucinda gives her a "gift." (It's more like a curse if you ask me.) Her only comfort, her mom, dies, and she will then go through many more adventures. Read this good book yourself to find out the rest.
Dawn (Warriors, the New Prophecy #3) by Erin Hunter (reviewed Dec 28, 2005)
5 Dawn is heartbreaking, and it will be to whoever has ever loved someone, and had to leave it behind, whoever has had to see a friend held so dear leave forever, and whoever has ever pitied a little kitty born with "wild" in their blood. And since you're reading this review, I'm assuming you do. Now that Brambleclaw, Stormfur, Squirrelpaw, Crowpaw and Tawnypelt have passed the Tribe, they may freely get back to the Clans. They are stumped when they see every cat in the forest, their fur drooping from their frames, ribs bulking and hungry, and they learn the forest is no longer safe for all Clans alike. They try hard to convince them to leave, yet some will still not believe them and their story, and if they do, they will leave some cats who have also gone missing behind - forever, including Squirrelpaw's sister, Leafpaw, and the RiverClan deputy, Mistyfoot, and maybe even Starclan! They must summon enough courage to go without the promised 'dying warrior' of when or where, with not even a hint that StarClan is still with them, and everyone is starving to death as the Twolegs (that's us) destroy more and more of their homeland. Their losses will be great, and rewards, little, but they must dissolve the boundaries that keep them apart, and journey as one Clan together to their new home, far away into a land no cat has ever gone before.
Rising Storm (Warriors #4) by Erin Hunter (reviewed Dec 28, 2005)
5 This is the fourth book in the Warriors series. It's the heartbreaking one (although the end is funny). ONLY FIRE CAN SAVE THE CLAN! It's the hot, hot, green-leaf (also known as summer), and Fireheart is deputy, with only one more friend left and Bluestar needs him more than ever. Her heart is terribly broken; she'll barely eat and talk, bundled up in her den, and only time can cure that. Everyone else is bracing for the promised storm, which will recover the withered up, dry forest. <($_$)>
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Caroline Funke (reviewed Sep 16, 2005)
5 It's a great book, full of suspense, and at the end, you'll be stuck saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" and for a reason. The amazingly plotted book by Cornelia Funke, the author of 'Inkheart' and 'The Thief Lord'. Firedrake (a silver dragon), Ben (an orphaned boy), and Sorrel (a brownie, or Dubidai) are in search for a magical land called the Rim of Heaven where dragons can live in peace, when driven out of their own home by humans. They will meet an evil villain, Nettlebrand, or The Golden One, an artificial dragon created by an alchemist, which he ate out of boredom after all the dragons dissapeared. He longs for the day he may freely hunt dragons again like the old days... and live 'the life.' When Firedrake, Ben and Sorrel accidentally stumble across Nettlebrands home, he sends his armor cleaner, Twigleg, a humunculus (small human-like creature)to spy on them, for he finds out they're looking for the Rim of Heaven, where his prey escaped his grasps. If he could lead him to them, then couldn't he hunt again on the dragons he had once devoured? The bad part is... that Twig-leg the spy has gained Firedrake and Ben's trust and is now considered part of their group. He reports to him evening after evening. Firedrake and gang journeys on, and meet many 'fabulous creatures' like brownies, sand sprites, thousand eyed djynns, a basilisk, and much more really cool creatures. Will they journey on and lead Nettlebrand to the Rim of Heaven and get eaten along with all the other dragons, or return and get his friends and family and himself caged by humans or eaten by Nettlebrand, or get hopefully lost to get eaten by Nettlebrand, or will he die and get eaten by Nettlebrand? OR, will they find out his secret and defeat him and free all the dragons who have been hiding for so long? They will find courage deep within they never knew they had, and a hidden destiny that changes their lives and proves the true meaning of 'home'. If this book was a poisonous mushroom, any brownie would die for it.
Poppy's Return by Avi (reviewed Sep 5, 2005)
4 Poppy Returns is the latest book (right now) in "The Tales of Dimwood Forest." Poppy is living life nice and peacefully with her children. Only one problem. One of the mice, Ragweed Jr. has become a 'teenager' and has dyed himself black and white to look like his punk pal, Mephitus, the skunk. Lily, the eldest of Poppy's sisters, comes one day telling her that her old home is in trouble. It is going to get crushed, and her father Lungwort isn't doing well, and he wants her to come and stop a bulldozer from crushing down the whole house. Poppy thinks this could be a lesson for Ragweed Jr. So she plans to bring him along. But he insists his skunk friend has to go too. So he does. And now they need to figure out how in the world to stop it. It's suspenseful, and they always have different unexpected turns that you could NEVER expect! It's a great book!
Moonrise (Warriors, the New Prophecy #2) by Erin Hunter (reviewed Sep 5, 2005)
5 Moonrise is one of the best books in the Warriors: The New Prophecy series. I loved it because it was kind of mysterious, hard decisions, trust, belonging, and about true home. I loved this book because it was really kind of sad and hard to decide which side you're on. This book is about Stormfur. It's been a while since six cats journeyed together on a quest to save the forest. They were sent out in the first book to the sun-drown place (the ocean) and they have found midnight, and they are sent back in a hurry, for they have heard that their beloved home since they have lived in forever, is being torn down by two-legs (humans)!!! And so they journey back through the snow, and find another tribe of cats, "The Tribe of Running Water" and they have their own sets of ancestors and also a prophecy to fulfill. They believe that Stormfur is the one in their prophecy, and that he will slay a mountain lion. They will not let him go until he does. And even though he isn't one of the chosen ones, the others will not bear to leave without him, either, and so he must find a way to slay it. He does everything in their tribe with ease, like he had done it all his life and he wonders, if he is really the cat from their prophecy and if he was sent by Starclan to come, to fulfill theirs and live with them - forever. He must find out where he truly belongs - with his sister and the forest that he was born into, and raised him, or this mysterious tribe with a prophecy?
Midnight (Warriors, the New Prophecy #1) by Erin Hunter (reviewed May 16, 2005)
5 Darkness air and water will come together...---------DO NOT LOOK FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE ORIGINAL WARRIORS SERIES---------
Okay, I really don't think you are a person who finished the original Warriors Series, but I'll write the review anyways. I LOVED the first book of the new prophecy, it's a sequel to the original series. A whole new generation! The prolouge is when Starclan chooses one cat from each clan, and will hold their clan's destiny in their paws. Brambleclaw of Thunderclan, Feathertail of Riverclan, Crowpaw of Windclanand Tawnypelt of Shadowclan. Then comes a riddle to those chosen ones (Starclan's words are always in riddles) that 'A new prophecy must be fulfilled if the Clans are to survive. You have been chosen to meet with three other cats at the new moon, and you must listen to what midnight tells you.' SO... they meet at the new moon... but where is midnight? No midnight. Then, Brambleclaw dreams that he was drowning in a salty piece of water - stretching out further than any cat could see. Then... he's in a cave with teeth on the outsides. He is destined to go there with the rest of them and find midnight.... to listen to him... and save the forest. They set off on a journey against their senses - betraying the clan, the warrior code, to go on this ridiculous journey to a place the sun drowns in salty water where no one has been and no one knows where or how far or if it's even real! They have to believe in Starclan, or the generations of forest cats will come to an end - once and for all.
and shake the forest to its roots.
