Flight # 5

Man, this Flight series is awesome. The comic stories are funny and cool. Short and simple. My favorite cartoon is the "Rex saga," the one that usually comes up first and keeps continuing? It's been in the Flight series since #2 and it's about this little brown fox character who looks so sweet and has all these strange adventures on this alien planet. There's no dialogue, so the faces say it all. Very cute.

The only too bad thing was that before I finally got the book, I cheated and got a preview of each cartoon in the book from online. The Flight website. Yeah. So I already knew about half of every story. Still, it was nice to see how they ended. But that's a good lesson for me. No cheating if you want full enoyment from a story.

You guys have got to check out this series. Especially if you're comic lovers. They've got all different types of styles of art. I think there's going to be a sixth one sometime soon in the future. I promise not to get a preview of that, so I'll be completely surprised.

Jonathan's Journey to Mount Miapu, by Ellen Wolfson Valladares

This was an interesting book recommended by one of my mom's friends. In the beginning I thought the writing was iffy, that the language was simplified and stuff, but I pressed on and came to enjoy the story. What I liked best was that the main character lived in Florida, and that the author apparently lives right in Weston, my city! I've never heard of her, but that's pretty awesome.

It's about this young boy, Jonathan, who at 10 years old is still freaked out scared of the dark. So one day he's playing baseball with his friends and the ball rolls into this large drain pipe, so he has to go get it, but these two bullies block up the pipe with a boulder or something, so he's trapped in darkness. At first it's horrible, but then he sees a light coming from the other end, so he goes there and comes out into this magical, perfect wild paradise called Mount Miapu.

I know, I know. The way it just happened was really weird and highly unlikely, so it kind of unsettled me. Anyway, Jonathan tries his best to find his way home, but his journey evolves into this spiritual adventure where he learns lots of personal lessons, such as trusting others and believing in himself and conquering his fears and all that muck. (I dislike blatantly obvious morals.) Oh, and how convenient that time moved much slower on Mount Miapu than on Earth, so when he finally arrives back in his town in Florida, his parents didn't even really miss him.

I thought it strange that not a lot of horrible stuff happened to Jonathan. I mean, every meal he ate was perfect and delicious (everyone only ate fruits and vegetable dishes, because they love the animals, which are very friendly towards the people), he rarely got hurt, and everyone he meets is so nice to him and help him tremendously. Except for this talking tiger, Seebolt, who represents the evil darkness that is taking over Miapu, which Jonathan must eventually save.

Though a large part of this novel was too idyllic for my taste, I did my best to enjoy the book. I think it gave me good ideas for how my Imazia story can go. I believe this will be a series somehow, because it hinted that Jonathan is a kid who can go to different dimensions/ realities/ worlds besides Mount Miapu that might need saving. (Reminds me of 13th Reality, though there's absolutely no contest between the two. Dashner rocks!) One of the characters, Cornelius, an old, wizened teacher who assists Jonathan the most, was way remeniscent of Proffesor Dumbledore.

I'm not sure if people who share my taste in books would be as patient as I was with this story, though I'd like to say that, despite all my quibbles and critiques, I wasn't sorry I read it. At least, I don't think I am. Meh. ~,~

Holes, by Louis Sachar

It didn't take me long at all to read this book. My brother is actually reading this, but I felt bored, so I picked it up. The chapters are so breezy and short, just a page or two on average. Louis Sachar is a good author. I remember loving his Wayside School Stories when I was in elementary school. I've read Holes before, but it's still good the second time around.

I believe the first time I read it was a little before I saw the movie. I can hardly believe that was several years ago already. Shia LaBeouf was really good in that. The movie was very faithful to the book. All the characters and interconnected stories... just awesome. The only thing I totally forgot was that in the book, the main character, Stanley Yelnats (or Caveman as his friends later call him) is described as a bit overweight, but Shia LaBeouf was obviously not fat. I don't know why that little detail was important. I suppose in the book he was fat because then it would make it that much easier to dig his holes. Putting weight on the shovel...

Other than that though, I loved how close the film and the novel were. Of course, the movie was produced by Walden Media, which, in my opinion, does the best job ever when it comes to adapting awesome books to the silver screen as faithfully as possible.

It's kind of funny... I read this while I was at the beach today and for a while I was reading out in the hot sun. So I'm reading how Stanley and the other boys have to dig these holes all day in the desert, with little water, and I'm reading and feeling really hot, so I could relate to them even closer. (Even though my situation was totally different. They were hot, but physically had to work really hard. I was hot, but I was lazing around and reading about it. Still... ^,^) Don't worry, I didn't get burned.

I liked it when I found out that Sachar wrote a sequel to Holes. It's called Small Steps. Instead of concentrating on Caveman or Zero though, the story follows the life of Armpit. Pretty good story. Since this book was made into a movie, I'll follow my tradition and attach a trailer of the film Holes to this review, though I'm betting a lot of you have already heard of it.

Persepolis 2

This book was the sequel to the first Persepolis, which I've already expressed enjoyment reading. I think I liked reading this book better, because it picks up from when the Iranian girl is 14 and goes through her adolescence in Austria. She travels a lot and gets real world experience and grows into a sensible adult. She also gets into a couple heavy romances and after one particularly bad breakup she goes back to her family in Iran and later meets another guy and gets married, only she finds that she dislikes married life and they divorce.

I wouldn't recommend this book to a lot of people, but I personally enjoyed this serious, yet quite witty, coming of age story. Graphic novels are really fun to read. I liked how in this story, the main character, Marjane, grows up and develops a beauty mark on her nose, so you always know which girl is her in each panel, even though she might be wearing a veil or be in a large crowd. That's a pretty important thing to remember in a good picture story.

Happily I've been writing a lot in my story, like I promised myself, but I hope I can review a lot more books soon. When is Flight #5 or Wings or something going to come in from the library?!

May Books

It appears that this month I read even less than usual. But then again, that's not a bad thing. At least I enjoyed all the books I read, as opposed to reading a few sub-par books I did not enjoy.

I don't think I'll ever forget how much I liked Jane Eyre. It sure opened me up to the possibility that not all classics are dully written. For sure, Persepolis was a fascinating story, because I learned a little bit about how it was like to live in Iran as a kid in the '80s. At least, it was interesting in graphic novel form. On reflection, I suppose Stephen Colbert's book, I am America, was in fact pretty funny. Perhaps that's because sometime after, we took out a DVD of "the best of the Colbert Report" from the library, and seeing the best of what Stephen had to offer convinced me that he's a funny guy. You all know, of course, which book makes it to my number 1 spot this month. PENDRAGON #10! What a work of fiction! D. J. MacHale is the male equivalent of J. K. Rowling, I swear! Don't believe me? Check out the link that leads to my review. Or better yet, just read the darn thing. Unless you've only started the series (^,~), in which case, please read all the books in the correct order and get to number 10 quickly. This book will not make you sorry you did. Moving on. I very much enjoyed Fablehaven and promise to get into the rest of the series very soon, as well as the Imaginarium Geographica Chronicles. I'm glad I found a couple new series that are worth following.

I don't know what I'll read in the month to come, but I'm willing to bet that I'll probably read as much as I did this month, if at all. Still, that's okay. I've acquired a lot of fantastic stories this year that now all dwell in my head. I believe over 55. I don't know. I think I'm losing count. But 11 books a month on average isn't bad, is it?

J. N., if you don't review any books this month, I promise I'll have your membership to my book blog revoked. I know you've probably got lots of other stuff on your mind, but if you're not going to share what novels you've been reading this year, then what's the point of being a member?

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica: Here, There be Dragons, by James A. Owen

I remember passing this book several times in the store, completely uninterested by the cover. I used to be pretty picky then, and totally judged books by their covers. I mean, look. Doesn't that look like a bit of a creepy story? But time and time again, I find that my first impressions are often entirely wrong. Thanks to Graham's recommendation, I had a reason to give this series a try.

The book starts off in 20th century England (a period and place I love reading about almost as much as modern America). The main characters are three Oxford men who are brought together because a professor of theirs dies. You don't get a clue throughout the story, but these three men actually go on to become world famous authors. Following Graham's example, however, I will refrain from revealing the characters' names so that you can read the book yourself. Anyway, these heroes have to guard this precious book, an atlas full of maps from the realm of fictional lands, the Imaginarium Geographica.

So these three English dudes are hurled into this high seas adventure of the imagination, where elements from various fantasy novels come into play around every corner. Talking animals, elves, trolls, magic rings, an army full of a unique brand of undead, and, of course, dragons. Well, you'd expect there to be some dragons in it, wouldn't you?

The book was really nice. The characters were well thought out and had lots of life in them. Each revelation uncovered in the course of the story was a genuine surprise, which was a good plus. I dislike stories where you can predict the outcome a mile away. I think the villain was okay. Though I'm a bit confused by Graham's review of the series. How does the Winter King keep reappearing? In the end of the first book, he literally gets sent off the edge of the world, so isn't he supposed to be falling down a dark, eternal abyss?

I know, I know. I have to read it for myself. And I probably will, eventually. But I'm going to take it easy with my fiction intake this month. I need to be focused enough to write more in my own novel. I haven't worked on it in ages. (Although as soon as Graham finished Pendragon 1, Merchant of Death, I'll see what I can do about getting the second Fablehaven.)

Fabelhaven, by Brandon Mull

Okay, so I guess Pendragon # 10 was not the last thing I'd review this month. And neither is this book. I'm still reading another recommendation of Graham's, Here, There be Dragons, but I promise that that will be the final review. Reading is fun, but I definitely need to get back to my own book writing.

I discovered that after awhile, for some reason, I grew tired of reading Elantris. I decided that Brandon Sanderson wasn't necessarily for me, so I returned that and Mistborn to the library. I also returned Epic, but I kept Fablehaven and Here, There be Dragons. I think it's partly because I want to get through my reading load quickly, but mostly I believe I've got a special taste in what I'm willing to try reading. I think I didn't want to read Brandon Sanderson's works or Epic because the stories are about completely imaginary worlds that have all kinds of rules that the author invented, and I'm not quite that willing to learn a whole new set of rules for the sake of enjoying the story set in front of me. Fablehaven and Here, There be Dragons, however, are novels that start off in a familiar way. The main characters are humans who live in a normal world and have regular, mortal concerns in life. They just happen to be thrown into unusual circumstances by the time the story starts for them. I like that, because then we all start on the same level. The reader, as well as the confused protagonist, has to have time to learn the ropes in order to save the day. At least, that's my theory about it, anyway. That's how I'm writing my book.

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled review. Fablehaven seems to be quite an interesting start to a series. It reminded me a bit of The Spiderwick Chronicles, only this was better, I believe (I really didn't like the Spiderwick movie made by Nickelodeon, despite the fact that Freddy Highmore was in it. It very much soured up my opinions for the book series). Two young kids, a cautious girl and a mischievous boy, get dropped off at their grandparents' house while their parents go away on a cruise. The kids later find out that the grandparents are caretakers of a large, magical preserve for mythical creatures. Sounds like fun, huh? Well, as the children discover, fantasy isn't always so fluffy and suger-coated.

I think the book was really good. The characters were memorable and well thought out, and Mull's magic rules seem valid enough too. It's mostly based on the common sense that if you don't bother the magic creatures, they won't bother you. But if you cause any mischief, whether on purpose or on accident, they can punish you really bad.

As much as I enjoyed reading Fablehaven, though, I don't think I'll get into the series. It'll just be another distraction for me. Besides, it's a great standalone novel. But I still happily recommend the series to kids who like stories about magic, like my brother Adam.
Coming up: Here, There be Dragons, from the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica.