review of Lou Anders' Thrones and Bones:Frostborn

This is coming of age in a fantastical land.  A boy who doesn’t want what he is being bred for and a girl who doesn’t feel like she belongs.  Karn doesn’t want to run a farm, but he loves his board game, Thrones and Bones.  He is clever and admirable in his wanting only to do the right thing.  His downfall is his naivety.   Thianna is half-giant living amongst giants.  Even though her father is the tallest of them all at 18 feet, she is only 7 feet.  She is half the size of those around her, but she is incredibly quick and she thinks just as quickly.  The only great fault for her can be found in how easy it is to insult her and her then take offence.  Even though it is set in a fantasy world, they read as children who are simply trying to find their way.  This book is full of humor, heart, and action.  Highly recommendable to those who are familiar with Dungeons and Dragons or new to high fantasy.

review of Swain's Hungry

Our lead character is upper class and doesn't understand what is really going on around her (with the laws).  She rebels against her family once she starts to realize the things that they are associated with.  She goes from the upper class to being wanted and on the run as a revolutionist.  There is a revolution and the end will not be easy to come by for anyone.

review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

J. K. Rowling shows what it is to grow up and to have your own personal power and control.  She emphasizes morality and questioning the way things are around you.  She makes the reader think and feel what it is to be a part of humanity.

Harry likes Dobby for many reasons.  The main reason being that he can understand how Dobby is so loyal and wishes to be unlike the rest of his kind.  He wants to challenge the way things are as Harry does every time he accomplishes something that he should not be capable of doing.  He challenges not as Hermione does (with a faction, S.P.E.W.), but with his actions.

Firebolt-transportation which provides freedom of movement, shows natural skill and talent.  The Firebolt is a way for Harry to escape his everyday worries and focus on something that is all about his own personal abilities and control.

Portkey-transportation which is represented by the physically mundane, it is in a set place, it is wrenching, and provides freedom of movement.  It is a way to travel that is used for something good, at first, but then its quiet nature seems to bite back at Harry in the end.

Goblet- valued, coveted because of the tournament, and serves as a source of judgment.  Everyone is trying to trick the goblet because it is truly biased.  It, unlike the Sorting Hat, can be hoodwinked.

Egg- mystery, guide, provides clue.  It is something simply to fetch for a task and then it becomes a clue for the following task.  This type of evolution of purpose brings into focus how even small things can represent so much more.

Scar- connection, tie, warning.  It stands as a sort of beacon on Harry’s forehead and becomes something else by the end of the series.  It starts to hurt in the book and bring the first dream/visions.

Dragons- dangerous, angry, protective.  They are simply misunderstood creatures much like the Giants.  Why Hagrid identifies with them so easily.

Mermaid- angry, dark, territorial creatures.

Maze- mystery, full of surprise, invokes fear.

Cauldron-brewing, chaotic if unchecked, weapon, savior.  Snape said it best in the first book what a potion can do and the cauldron has been of great use for their Polyjuice Potion.  In the wrongs hands, as in this book, the Polyjuice Potion is a force for the bad.  It is the people that corrupt and not the object.

Dark Mark-death, fear, suspicion.

Unforgivable Curses- killing, torture, control, sources of power over others.

review of Brenna Yovanoff's Fiendish

Fiendish is a story of a girl who is lost and then found in the most unlikely of places.  She is a character of unquestionable morals and true strength of character.  She is stubborn and an unstoppable force when she wishes to be, but she is a good force that only wants to help others.  The mysteries surrounding Hoax County and the people within it keeps the reader engaged.  The plot is not completely predictable and the characters do not act like spoiled children.  They read incredibly real until the very end.

review of Darren Shan's Zom-b: Angels

B’s taken into another facility.  This one is run with far more morality to it and it is the one being run by a man who is a revitalized zombie.  Explanations are finally given out and a purpose is given to the revitalized/zom heads. The answers do inspire more questions to pop up though.  Origins of characters and the zom heads are explained with a clarity that is simply beautiful.  The question presented again is about religion.  Is this the work of God as the painter and now Dr. Oystein believe?  Is it actually science?  Is this what humanity has wrought upon itself only die out from it or can salvation be found?  There is one thing that any and every reader would agree on; Dr. Oystein proves that meaning can be found in death as well as in life.

review of darren shan's Zom-b: City

B’s escaped the facility she was in only to find herself in the open.  She goes back to her old streets and stays for a few days.  She realizes that nothing can really be done there.  She thinks that her mother’s dead and her father still out there somewhere.  She gets a change of clothes and prowls the streets heading from the East End to London.  She meets a group of soldiers and then a painter on her way.  He is convinced that God has saved him, so that he may leave behind his paintings of the devastation going on at the time.  A relic for humanity to focus on.  She meets a woman and party from a new religious group who are determined to prove that they are the correct religion by making it through the day of the London streets with only their prayers.  Then she comes across Mr. Dowling, the clown.  He is there to attack when the government sends in helicopters to pick up civilians who are not infected.  He creates chaos and it ends with her name being called out. 

review of darren shan's Zom-b:Underground

B’s become a zombie and is now in a strange facility with a guy throwing a bunch of flames at the other mindless zombies surrounding her.  She lashes out at him and is pulled from the group when they realize that she has her mind back and is not like the others.  The people throwing flames at her were like herself.  They were zombies with their minds and memories still.  They call themselves zom heads.  She becomes a part of the group and finds out about the strange stuff that they are being fed (duh, brains).  She refused to eat them even though she knows she will become a mindless zombie from the decision.  Her cell is wrenched open one day to reveal a clown that she never wanted to meet in the first place.  She tries to escape with the other zom heads who start to go mindless themselves.  One of the soldiers let her out and only her while throwing flames at the other zom heads.

review of Darren Shan's Zom-B

The opening starts with a sense of mystery, horror, and adventure.  The story then turns to the story of another character’s, B, home and school life.  All B wants to do is please her racist father.  This fact starts to slowly change her into a racist herself.  She says it the best herself when she calls her father the monster at the end and not the zombies.  The zombies don’t understand what they’re doing and can’t control themselves, but her father can.  He chooses to manipulate and persecute others based off of who they are and not what they do.  He is the very personification of prejudice.  He represents the true menace of the first book.  Humanity is the real monster when it goes unchecked.