Hey World (again)! Thanks for entering the domain of A’s Book Reviews. These reviews are top-notch, spoiler-free, and can help you decide what books you want to read, and which books you will want to shy away from. Alright, just some background. I am an avid reader with excellent taste in books.

Kingdom Keepers (Disney After Dark)- By Ridley Pearson- *** (3 stars): ‘Attention-capturing and excitingis how I would describe this book. I have loved Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida since I was a little kid. RidleyPearson wrote well on this book withexcellent background information of the real place, withsome unrealistic characters. My only problem withthe book is that the ending was so unrealistic I had problems comprehending the end. Withareal place in mind, we need some realistic characters. Magic spells and witches are, on a normal day-to-day base, cool with me, but somehow the real idea of the place and the unreal idea of the characters clashing together didn’t work for me. I would still recomend this book, especially to people who don’t go to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida that often.’

Surviving Antartica (Reality TV 2083)- By Andrea White- ****1/2 (4 1/2 stars or 4 and a half stars): ‘This compelling story of five young teens whounknowingly become contestants on a Reality TV show that is a big hit soon realize that this isn’t just fun and games! Full of adventure, excitment, and humor, this book is one that you can read and re-read again and again and again. The thrilling page-turner is set in the future where not everything is as awesome as you would think. I loved this book. I loved the book. I loved this book. It was amazingly well-written, and deserves 3 thumbs up, but I only have 2 thumbs so we will have to settle for a 2 thumbs up review. My only problem? I didn’t like the beginning. I didn’t like how she made the future surrounded around TV. Yes I do think that some day we might have a problem like that, but I still didn’t like how it was portrayed. All in all it is worthy of my note and I would recommend it in a heart beat.’

When Santa Fell to Earth- By Cornelia Funke- ** (2 stars): I’m going to start off this review by saying that I have been a HUGE fan of Cornelia Funke since day 1. I have loved Inkheart, Inkspell (and I am awaiting eagerly on Inkdeath), and also Dragon Rider and The Thief Lord. She is an excellent write and deserves the highest amount of praise possible for a writer. Sadly her Christmas book, When Santa Fell to Earth, was a bit of a dissapointment to me. It was slow and somethings just didn’t make sense. It was a creative and risky spin off of the classic christmas story, that didn’t quite work for me. It was all very strange for me, although I would recomend this book to all of Cornelia Funke’s fans. I just thought it was to slow and harder then normal to get into.

Once Upon a Marigold- Jean Ferris- ***** (5 stars): I’m not a big fan of that romantic stuff, but I have to make an exception in this case. This romantic comedy is well-written, heart-warming, and has become a classic in my book. I have read this book so many times, and it hasn’t got old, and it will never get old. I would recommend this book to anyone that craves a sweet tale that is satisfying and funny along with romantic. Once Upon a Marigold is by far one of the best books I have ever read! I have recommended this book to a bunch of people, and I will recommend it to anyone asking for a great book. Easy to get into, you won’t want to stop reading.

Ida B- By Katherine Hannigan- * (1 star): I didn’t like this book. I found it boring and repetitive. It was a disappointment to me. I realize a lot of people actually ‘liked’ the book, but I wasn’t one of those people. Go ahead and try it if you want, after all we are different people, but if you feel as unsatisfied as I did, then don’t say I didn’t tell you so, because I did. Ida B was a sad book, you know, for her mom has cancer and everything seems to be going the wrong way for her. I’m not going to say that the book was dumb, because it wasn’t, and it did have a point, so it wasn’t pointless, but I didn’t favor it. Would I recommend this book? Well that is a tough question, but if I found the right person who would be grateful for the book, then I might.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series- By Rick Riodan- ********************** (a lot of stars): I LOVED THIS SERIES! It was excellent! Jam-packed with action, adventure, and humour. A great read for anyone. Containing The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and the 5th book whose name has not yet been declared, this series ROCKS! I loved it from cover to cover, and every second of the day while reading that series my eyes where glued to the page. Sucking in every word on every page in every tiny sentence, I love it! I would say that I am without words, or speechless, but sadly I have to type in a book review to give my thoughts. I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone. Trust me, this series you WILL want to read! I loved it, I loved it, and I loved it! Definitely one of my favorite series!

Listening for Lions- By Gloria Whelan **** (4 stars): Sceptical at first, I reluctantly read the book. Now I only have a few words for it that are turning into a paragraph. The magic and heart-felt feelings of this book is hard to explain. This story is spun around a girl who makes decisions thinking of others first in all that she does. My only complaint is that her parents died to early, before I got to actually feel for the characters, so it wasn’t as sad as I think she meant it to be. The influenza strikes early in the book, but that is understandable, after all the influenza was only a problem, not the plot. In real life when the influenza actually stroke, there was no warning or time to be prepared. It just came. Winner of the National Book Award, Gloria Whelan really scored with an excellent book and a great idea. I would happily recommend this book to anyone looking for a great story with amazing emotions.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp- By Rick Yancey- **** (4 stars): Car chases, sword fights, a legend that turns real, and an adventure that is so amazing, exciting, and well-written that it actually feels like you are a part of the book. I loved this book! It was spectacular! My only complaint was that some things seemed irrelevant to the situation at hand. But overall there was a great plot, humour, adventure, and action. “The action is fast, furious, and nonstop- and so is the fun.” -James Patterson about the Alfred Kropp series. And James Patterson is completely right in every way.

Lord of the Flies- by William Golding- *** (3 stars): Shocking. This book shocked me beyond all measures. I have to say that some of the shocks were excellent and mind-empowering, but some of the other ones were dull and… un-needed. It was a good book, no doubt, but it was a tad strange. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something different and exciting.

Twilight- by Stephanie Meyer- ***** (5 stars): This book was amazing. Kinda’ve odd, and weird, and romancy, but overall an excellent read. It was excellently written (reminded me of the Harry Potter series in a way with all the mythology). Stephanie Meyer, who I hadn’t heard of until she had come on the news. Well, I had heard of the series, never actually knowing what it was about, and then as reading it I realized it was about Vampires, and odd love. I weird combination but still a satisfying read. It is hard to describe something so strange in a good way (because after reading it I rushed over to Books-A-Million to pick up the sequel). It was so excellent and mind-blowing, that I am amazed something this great can be written. Sometimes I forgot I was reading, but it was if I was actually in the pages, seeing the characters acting and talking and laughing and crying, as if I was there. And it would happen all the time. Every second of their life, it was like I could see it, and it was absolutely amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone not grossed out by blood or the thought of blood.

Hurt Go Happy- By Ginny Rorby- ***** (5 stars): It is truly remarkable how being deaf can truly change your life. This book had it all, the tears, the heart, and the happiness in every page. Rorby really captures your heart in a beautifully written story about a girl who is deaf and living her life with her mother unwilling to help her learn sign-language. And then this man and his monkey come around, and light up her life for the first time. It is just such a heart-warming book about the difficulties some people face and how lucky we truly are. I am so glad I read it, and I would happily recommend it to anyone looking for something spectacular.

Eggs- by Jerry Spinelli- *** (3 stars): I have to say that this book was okay. I didn’t like a lot of the things that they had the boy doing, and I also didn’t like the girl’s relationship with her mother. It was all weird and odd, and some what depressing. I didn’t think it had a conclusion, or a point besides that the boy was totally ruining his life and going behind the back of his grandmother. I guess I didn’t like that. I don’t know if I would recommend this book, because it was amazingly well written (Spinelli is talented beyond all doubts) but I didn’t like what it was about. I give it 3 stars because of the way it was written, it captivated me from page 1, so I suppose I would recommend it to everyone and anyone.

The Time Qaurtet- By Madeline L’Engle- ***** (5 stars): The Time Qaurtet consists of A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. L’Engle has easily become my favorite author with these books! Each of them follows the lives of the Murry family and Calvin O’Keefe. Each is different and packed with surprise. I was captivated on page 1 of each book! I absolutly loved every tiny aspect of it, and I would be shocked to hear someone not enjoying it! My favorite of them all would have to be A Swiftly Tilting Planet! I would recommend them all a thousand times! I have re-read and re-read and re-read this series again and again and again because it never got repetitive, and it was always great! So an easily earned 5 stars!

The Secret Garden- by Francis Hodgson Burnet- ****1/2 stars (4 and a half or 4 1/2 stars): I was looking forward to reading this book. The beginning was unexpected and slightly something I didn’t actually like in the main character. The beginning is what lost that half of a star. But once you got past Chapter 1, it was brilliantly written, captivating, and outright amazing! I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone willing for a great read that is different in an exciting manner!

The Tale of Despereux-by Kate DiCamillo- ***** (5 stars): Amazing in detailed descriptions and emotions, The Tale of Despereux captures the heart and clings on. I loved this book, and although it had pictures which sort of gets on my nerves, I still think it was a great read and totally worth my time. I would recommend this to everyone and anyone, especially to those who want a fast-paced book over the summer to say they have actually read something^^

The Land Remembered: Part I- by Patrick D. Smith- ***** (5 stars): My first thought? Oh great, a boring book about… what? What was it going to be like? Florida`s past? Cattle ranchers? I just knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it, but how wrong I was. How very wrong I was.

Twilight- by Stephenie Meyer- ************************xgoogol (googol amount of stars): Amazing! Best book the world has EVER seen!!!!! I am truly delighted to have read this over the summer. Sparkly vampires and a lovely narrator cast this spellbinding tale of how ‘the lion fell in love with the lamb.’ Truthfully, I would recommend this to the WORLD!!! And, if you’ve seen the movie and hated the movie, don’t feel that way about the book if you haven’t read the book yet. Hollywood tends to mess everything up. That’s just a well known fact. Hollywood doesn’t understand how to capture the audience as well as the book’s magic. You can not say you hate Twilight without reading the book. Otherwise, your words are meaningless. After all, we are talking about books here, and not movies.

New Moon- by Stephenie Meyer: ***** (5 stars): Okay, so I wasn’t as crazy about the sequal to Twilight as I was about Twilight just because of the depression state it put me in. I wanted to cry for Bella, cry and mourn the loss of- Oh wait, I’m getting ahead of myself here. But I can’t diminish the amount of stars I am giving this book because of a depression state. Why? Because only a good book can make you really feel for the characters enough to make you actually cry. Understand why it still deserves 5 stars? If you don’t, feel free to ask on the comment box. I’ll happily answer any questions about this book, or anything about the saga for that matter.

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