The Serpent's Shadow

In continuation of the Kane Chronicles, Rick Riordan once again weaves an intricate story of Ancient Egypt with a touch of modernization. The Kanes are back- with their usual apocalypse situation. With the world coming to an end in three days, Sadie and Carter are probably around the only godly children that are thinking: 'not again'. In a battle between Chaos and Ma'at, the odds are as slim as ever for the two children with destiny in their hands. And it doesn't help that they seem to be juggling people more dangerous than chainsaws in their hands. As Carter and Sadie go along with their own personal lives, make disputes, and try to save the world, they end up to be closer than ever, and guarding each others backs. Because that is the only way that they can survive. With help from friends, gods, their uncle, and of course, each other. However, when they find that they have to go separate ways in order to accomplish the restoration of Ma'at within the deadline, things get a little more tricky. And like magic, they need a few miracles. It seems that some people get all the bad luck. After all, it was less than a year ago since Carter and Sadie entered the Brooklyn House without any knowledge of their capabilities- and now they are leading it, with their magical abilities (which indeed have improved a lot). I guess they work well together with magic under stress like, perhaps, the world ending and Chaos eating away Ma'at by the day. But as dire and depressing and that may sound, it really isn't. Okay. That may have been a little stretch of the truth, but they have friends that are there to back them up. Friends that will be there for them even if the world is being torn apart. Especially if the world is being torn apart. And then they have their gods and goddesses. Whom are offering their help. Not all, but some. Yet it's going to take more than brute force to win this war. And brute force is all that Apophisis has. It's up to them, again, to defeat Apophisis, again, and restore peace to the world. Again. The question is, will their brave no-plan follow through? Or will they just become Apophisis' appetizers?

Rick Riordan is an amazing writer and he humours us once again through the mishaps of Sadie and Carter Kane as they travel through the Duat, Hell, and the Land of Demons. Really. It just gets better and better. The two siblings are in a tough situation as ever, and they always ponder about right and wrong choices. They certainly have a lot more on their minds than a regular twelve-year-old. And with all this magic going on, it seems like they have no time to be normal kids- to experience a day when they are not saving the world, or seeking scrolls that have a 99.99999% chance of sending them to their deaths. How lovely.

If you are a great fan of Rick Riordan books, I completely advise you to read this book. Alas. May the Gods look down your path and find good fortune, and may the stars light your path. Let the adventure commence!

**** I give this book a 9.8888889 out of 10. Amazing!*****

Garfield Lard of the Jungle

Well well. If it isn't America's favourite cat. Trust me. If I made my own dictionary, I would have a definition of Garfield in it and it would go somewhat along the lines of this. Garfield. Noun. The fattest, laziest, funniest cat in the world with the appetite of an elephant. Possibly one of the descriptions of the seven sins. Sloth. He suits the definition perfectly. In Jim Davis's 52nd book, Garfield is as crazy, fat, and lazy as ever. Personally, I am a huge Garfield fan because he is hilarious and manages to keep the jokes appropriate at the same time. With Garfield, Odie, Jon, Arlene, Liz, and the World's Cutest Kitten (Nermal), the comic only gets better. Unfortunately, I have to say that the cover corresponds with nothing in the book. He never even steps outside to anywhere grassy. ONCE! When Jon decides to go miniature golfing with Liz and Garfield, Garfield comes up to be the most sympathetic cat in the whole universe. He is so kind and caring that he lifts up Jon's spirits every single time something bad happens to the ball, which is every time. Now if you believed a word of that, I pray that you go on dictionary.com and make sure you search the word 'sarcasm' up. I am positive it will give you an answer. And when Garfield's birthday comes along....... Well, it's a 'honking big number' (as Jon says) and Garfield doesn't seem to appreciate the honking big number his age is. And with Odie, Jon, the Mouse, and the Spider getting in all their laughs in, the only thing that keep Garfield's spirits up is the presents. And the cake. Really. What are taking those time machines so long to develop?!

Garfield is a great book for laughs and can really get your spirits up..... In a page!

For more fun, comics, games, and other hilarious things, go to garfield.com for a little laugh or two!

***I give this comic book a 9.889 out of 10. Funny.***

The Time Travelers ~The Gideon Trilogy~

Is traveling back in time really what it is hyped up to be? If you fell in a hole and found yourself in 1763 without your parents, would it really be that exciting? Sure- it would be nice to see history and to be like: 'I know what your future is going to be! I know what you're going to do and what country will take over what!' or to go around experiencing things that you would never have done in your present life. But some things have changed for the better. Wouldn't you miss that? 

With no way to turn back and no understanding of how they got there, The Time Travelers are plopped into 1763 through the sky. Literally. Gideon, who was running from a sinister, evil man called the Tar Man, insists that he saw the sky being peeled back and the two being levered onto Earth like puppets on strings. Added to that, it has magically turned into near Christmas when it had been summer only a few moments ago. Dazed, bruised and demanding answers, The Time Travelers were an unsightly mess as Gideon found them.

Who are the Time Travelers? The Time Travelers are the main characters of the story- Kate Dyer and Peter Schock. Kate Dyer is a strong, brave girl of a strong mind, but one that you can find in tears easily. Peter is more of an independent boy that likes to be on his own and is used to being on his own. He, unlike Kate, is a 'townie' as Kate calls him. Unfamiliar with country life, he find himself wishing to be somewhere else. But be careful what you wish for- it may not turn out exactly as expected.

Between family relationships and their differences, Peter and Kate don't find themselves at ease with one another at the beginning, but turn out to develop a strong friendship at the end. However, will they arrive back home safely?

*** I give this book a 8 out of 10. It had an interesting plot, but I think it could have used a bit more action......***

Once he said se wished that I had been his father. Then it was my turn to be angry. "What madness is this?" I cried. "What crime has your father committed that you would trade him for a cutpurse?"

"He has committed no crime," Peter replied, "Unless a father can be punished for not loving his son."

~ The Life and Times of Gideon Seymour,

Cutpurse and Gentleman , 1792

Death Note

Hi! I'm going to start off with a few questions. First off. Is anyone familiar with Death Note? The manga? Also- for people who do know Death Note, what do you think you would do if you had a Death Note as well? For one- would you have the nerve to kill someone if you were going to kill them? For two, if you had a death note, how would you use it? Would you go all out as Light did to hide the Death Note and to throw people off trail if they came to find it? Now. Enough questions. I know all my answers!

If I had the ability to caption anything, I would caption this Death Note Manga 'A Genius Kind of Manga'. Really- the author really made Light and 'L' two genii! But before I decide to get you into this complicated world of genii, death, and gods, let me give you a slight intro to the actual characters and book.
First off, I thought I would mention the fact that I bought the black edition. It has two Death Note volumes in one, and it is black. Literally. Other than the occasional white, when I got this book, the first thing that crossed my mind was: 'wow. They sure must have used a lot of black ink.' Also, this manga is T+, meaning it is meant for older teens. The actual death note is a diary. A diary of a shinigami, meaning death god. A death note is basically a notebook, and it comes with a set of rules. Basically, it is a killing diary. When you write a person's full name into the note, it will kill the person. And there is a bunch of other rules involved but really- it's better if you read it.

Now a little about the actual characters.....

Light Yagami is seventeen years old, incredibly smart, and a very studious teenager. His father is the head of the NPA police, and he lives with his father, his mother, and his sister. The manga starts with Light being very bored in school when a note book drops out of the sky. That's right. It is the Death Note. Light Yagami is the main character in this story and one that I admire very much for his brains.

'L' (he never gives his full name in the two volumes), otherwise known as Ryuzaki (although I am sure that that is not his real name, either), is another genius. Really. This book is loaded with genii. A rather thorough and amazingly exact detective, he is spectacular and again, I admire his loads for his brain. However, not that much is shown about Ryuzaki, as he always keeps to himself for the prospect of 'Kira' (killer, otherwise 'un'known as Light) having a part in the task office. Ryuzaki is very very cautious and I admire him for that as well as Light who is equally cautious not to let any clues slip!

Those are about the two main characters in the story....... Perhaps the shinigami? Well, known as Ryuk, he isn't quite so smart and tends to ask a lot of questions to his human, Light. He is definitely an interesting character, and........ I think that's all........ Oh yeah. Death gods love apples.

Death Note is a mind squalling book/manga, and I hope you read it because it is really a brain-teaser!

***** I give this book a 9.9999999 out of 10. It's really spectacular!!!!!******

Artemis Fowl- a word or two

Okay. I LOVE ARTEMIS FOWL (yes, I love the character too, but I meant the series in this particular sentence). Let me get that clear. Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian, the last book in the AF series, just came out. Available in Costco, Chapters, and bookstores worldwide, it is an amazing ending book to an amazing series. I JUST LOVE ARTEMIS FOWL SERIES- I CAN'T EXPRESS IT ENOUGH!!!!!!! It is a must-read and I just have to say, it's awesomeness is right up there with the Harry Potter series! Undoubtedly, Artemis Fowl is one of the best sci-fi series ever written so far for children, and has the right amount of humour, romance (yes- even that- and I'm not a very lovy-dovey person, but in this, the romance was..... different), and other things. I just cannot express how awesome it is, and I just have to say...... READ IT PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!! If you wish to find out more about this awesome, epic, legit series (I usually don't use this kind of vocabulary, but pardon me- the situation calls for it), go on

http://www.artemisfowl.com/
or

http://www.artemisfowl.co.uk/site/Home.php

to read more about this series that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!!! I will love this series for forever and a day, and I am sad to see that it is done, finished, capishe, but it had a stunning ending, so that's okay!

************** I rate this book a million and one out of ten and I hope you read it because I LOVE IT!

The House At Pooh Corner

Winnie the Pooh was one was one of my very dear and favourite classic children's book character when I was young, and it still is! I absolutely love Pooh and I think that the world of Christopher Robin is absolutely magical. From Owl's (or Wol, as he calls himself) Wisdom, to Rabbit's Organization, and Eeyore's (or Eor, as he calls himself) grumpiness to Tigger's bounciness, it is a lovable tale from the finish to the end. And you can't forget little Piglet, grand Christopher Robin, and sweet-as-honey Pooh (which makes sense from the amount of honey he eats)! 

The House at Pooh Corner is not all that is in the Winnie the Pooh collection- there are many books that are also there. Many more books to enjoy and enthrall in reading. Pooh may seem to be a little 'young' for some people, but I am not that Young, and I find that I take great love in reading these anyway. It is a grand book, with grand characters, and a grand couple of chapters. I cannot say much because most, if not all, people know about Winnie the Pooh, and I just have to say that Winnie the Pooh is just that sort of book that a youngster wants to read to them at night. A cozy little story to top off a day.

What characters are in this book? Well, there is Pooh, Piglet, Christopher Robin, Rabbit, Tigger, Small, Owl, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and the all too many friends and relations of Rabbit! As it is an ideal bedtime story, Goodnight!

*** I give this book a 9.6 out of 10- it love Winnie the Pooh!!!!!!!!!***