The Guardians of Ga'Hoole

We have a rule in our house - no seeing the movie before you read the book. The book is always better, and you miss so much by cheating and just watching the movie! This could not be more true of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole - books 1 - 3 The Capture, The Journey, and The Rescue. Recently a movie just came out called the Legend of the Guardians based LOOSELY upon these books.

We saw the movie. It was a good movie, but having read the book, such a disappointment. The story was capable of so much more.

The books tell the story of Soren, a young barn owl. He falls from his nest as a hatchling and is captured by evil owls from St. Aegolius's Academy for Orphaned Owls. The problem? Soren isn't an orphan, he's been stolen from his family.

Even worse, the owls at St. Aggie's try to program, or "moon blink" the young owls into believing what they are told. With the help of a persistent young elf owl named Gylfie and some unexpected friends, Soren and Gylfie plan their escape from St. Aggie's.

These books are about so much more than what they seem. They are about love, friendship and what makes a family. They are about truth, belief, and what makes the essence of ourselves.

My whole family is reading this series, even my husband. We have had many discussions about it around the dinner table. I wish more families would read together. I can't recommend these books highly enough. Also by Kathryn Lasky - the Wolves of Beyond, another wonderful story!

We are now on book 7 of 15 and I just can't wait to hear about what happens to Soren and his friends as their adventures continue!

When You Reach Me

This book was a Newberry Award winner in 2009, and deservedly so. This is a very unique story about a sixth grade girl named Miranda and her friend Sal. Then one day Sal gets punched by another boy on their way home from school and everything starts to unravel. Notes start to appear with clues about the future. Will Miranda be able to save her friendship? What about the mysterious note that says Tesser Well? Does it reference Miranda's favorite story. Check it out to see.

If you loved A Wrinkle in Time, this book is for you.

Reading Update

This is the story of Elizabeth the first and her life long love, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. It's a tragic love story, a reminder to everyone that love has the be cherished and nurtured. Elizabeth and Robert loved one another from childhood, but because of her past and her place in the world, they just couldn't seem to get it right. They had an intriguing history together that ranges from the halls of Henry the 8th's Tudor court, to the Tower of London and finally to the dazzling court of Elizabeth herself. Dudley was one of Elizabeth's most trusted companions and advisors. Throughout her life she referred to him as Eyes because he saw and understood everything. If you enjoy history, this book is well worth the reading.
There is much obscure history in it, like Elizabeth's relationship with her Boleyn cousins, Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh make their appearances, and many other fascinating characters. I enjoyed this book tremendously and it gave me an even greater reverence for a truly great Queen.








This book is, of course, about the famous Bronte sisters. Charlotte, who wrote Jane Eyre and Emily, who wrote Wuthering Heights. This book goes deep into their background and their time growing up as children. The hardships that they faced were daunting and yet they stayed together as a family. I was amazed to see characters and places that I recognized as their story unfolded. So much of their great literary contributions were inspired by their real story.
I do believe that writers often write what they know, and that truly great stories come from within. As an aspiring writer it is both inspiring and intimidating to be reminded of this as I search for my own story.

Up net - currently working on the Secret Speech by Tim Robbins Smith - a follow up to the amazing Child 44. I am also reading The Dumbest Generation, a scary yet true evaluation of children growing up in the digital age. More later.

Worth the Wait!

The final installment of the Hunger Games was definitely worth the wait. I love having a Nook, this was downloaded at midnight and I started reading it immediately. I couldn't put it down. There were many twists and turns as the author follows Katniss, Prim, Gale and Peta through their story. Most of the twists, you never see coming. I am limited to what I can say here because I don't want to give any spoilers away, but I will say that the finale, though I didn't predict it, was so satisfying.
If you enjoy science fiction/ fantasy books - this series is a MUST

Two for the record

We read this one for book club and it was very different. Although it was a book that I wouldn't have picked for myself, I really enjoyed it. It starts off a little slow, but you quickly develop a real rapport for the characters, especially Hennie. I love the relationships that build between the women in the story. I think that stories that truly show the richness of female friendship are a beautiful thing, and this is definitely one of those stories. I don't want to give too much away but the setting of a mining town in post Civil war Colorado was also very interesting. I'm sure that it must have been a difficult but rewarding life for the women who helped settle the west, as Hennie's story certainly suggests. I highly recommend this one.



I have been waiting for the follow up to the White Queen for a while. I LOVED IT!!! I wanted to see if Phillipa Gregory would get it right and I must say, I think she nailed it. Even though I am very familiar with the war of the roses and the story of Margaret Beaufort, I thought that Gregory put a new and unique spin on things. It was well worth waiting for, I can't wait to see what she has to offer next!!!

And the big news..... MOCKINGJAY comes out next week!!!!! :)

Catching Fire

This book is the follow up to Hunger Games that I reviewed just a few books ago. OMG, it's amazing. I couldn't put it down. It's been a long time since I have been so actively involved in a book and so invested in the characters.
I don't want to give too much away and ruin the book, but if you like sci-fi and fantasy, these books are a MUST. I am counting the days until the final book of the series, entitled Mockingjay is released - August 24th. I can't wait. This book has so much political commentary mixed in, it's just an incredible story. Read it.

The Lion

I love Nelson DeMille. The Gold Coast and Charm School are favorites of mine and the Generals' Daughter is another great book. I had been hearing a lot of buzz on the radio and such about the follow up to this book called The Lion. Since I had never read this one, I wanted to give it a go before reading the sequel.

It is a very intruiging story about a terrorist and the FBI agents working to stop him. Unlike John Updikes' The Terrorist, I find it almost impossible to relate in any way to the Lion. DeMille goes off on this tangent to explain what "made" the Lion choose to be a terrorist and he talks about the 1986 bombing of Libya. Of course, the Lion's family was among those that were killed in the attacks on Gaddafi.
I remember 1986. I remember what inspired that air raid - the West German bombing of a disco killing 2 American service men and wounding two hundred others. Then of course there was the Gulf of Sidra incident and the now infamous "line of death" comments by Gaddafi and let's not forget how Gaddafi supporting the killing of hundreds of US Marines stationed as Peace keepers in Lebannon just a few years before.

No question about it, DeMille is a master story teller but this American has no interst in sympathizing in any way with a terrorist like the Lion. I won't be reading the sequel. What a disappointment really.