Category Archives: Magical Realism

Jun
09
2017

Shadowmagic by Joshua Khan

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The book I read is called Shadowmagic by Joshua Khan. The book is about a boy named Thorn and the leader of Gehenna, (grand city) Lilith (Lily) Shadow. There is a person trying to kill Lily Shadow and Thorn arrives and they find out who the killer is. In the book it takes place in Gehenna. To be more specific it takes place in Port Cutlas before moving to Castle Gloom and ends in the City of Silence. I have a zero percent clue of when it takes place.

Thorn is a smart, fearless, and a strong boy. Thorn is smart because he figured out who was trying to murder Lily. Thorn is fearless because he defeated a few of Gehenna’s and Lumina’s (also a grand city) soldiers while trying to get into Castle Gloom. Thorn is strong because he fell off a roof and did not break any bones or injure himself.

THE REST DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Three important parts that happened were when Thorn found his father, when Lily used magic and when a guard said to Thorn, “Your father murdered Lady Shadows family.” It was important when Thorn found his father because he said he did not kill Lily Shadows family. It was someone else! It was also important when Lily used magic because boys are only allowed to use magic. This was important because if a girl uses magic they would be sentenced to die but she summoned a ghost puppy named Custard and nobody knew!!! Lastly it was important when a guard said to Thorn, “Your father murdered Lady Shadows family.” Even though this is not true it was important because it made Thorn look like a bad person even though he is a great hunter and was trained and raised in the woods and he knew his father wouldn’t do that.

I enjoyed Shadowmagic because it always left you hanging so it really didn’t matter where you ended. For example when you finish chapter 47 which is the end of being in Castle Gloom and move into the City of Silence, Thorn realizes that Lily’s uncle (Pan) is using the Mask of Azeroth or the mask of the ,undead, to kill Lily and Thorn jumps on a  bat that is dying named Hades to save Lily. I would recommend Shadowmagic because it always gives enough detail to make you feel like you are there. For example on page 293 it says “The spectators surrounded them on all sides. She tried to back away but it was too late. They caressed her with icy fingers.” This made me feel like I was actually there that is why I recommend this book. This book reminds me of Heroes of Olympus: the House of Hades because it mostly takes place in the underworld and that is where it probably takes place (look at the map in the front if you read it). I would give it an infinity star rating but I can only give five so five!

Jun
07
2017

The Land of Stories, The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

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Will Alex and Conner ever return back home? I read The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer only over two days in late May. It is part of The Land of Stories series, which has five books (so far), all very long. The sixth and final book is coming out in July. The Wishing Spell is the first book in the series.

Alex and Conner Bailey are twins. Their dad died right before they turned eleven. They don’t see their mother much because she has to work to support their family. On their twelfth birthday, their Grandma comes and presents them with her big book of fairytales, The Land of Stories. Alex loves fairytales, and she wishes that all of it was real, in a world where they could visit all the characters. The first night they have the book, after Alex rests it on her bedside table, ready to drift off to sleep, she notices that the book is glowing and humming. A week later, she’s at school and the book starts glowing and she has to explain to Conner what’s happening. After school that day, she has an idea. As well as the glowing and humming, anything that she drops onto the pages sinks in and disappears. She wonders what it would feel like to sink into the book. She starts with her arm, gently swirling it into the pages. Suddenly, she falls face first into the book. She lands in The Land of Stories (Conner comes too) where one of her greatest wishes is true: fairytales are real.

Now, the reason this book is named the Wishing Spell is because if you succeed in the spell, you will granted a wish. No matter how large, if you succeed, the spell will grant you one wish. They don’t know how to get back home, so that is what they are wishing for. In order to complete the spell, they must collect eight items all over the fairytale world. They are following a journal written by a man who was also on a quest for the spell. They have experiences with Goldilocks (the fugitive on the run), Red Riding Hood (the self-obsessed queen), Sleeping Beauty (the wise, trusting queen and my favorite of the queens), and many other famous and not so famous fairytale characters. It is set mostly in The Land of Stories, which is located in… a book. It’s very interesting, and a real page turner!

I am going to describe Conner’s personality. Most people would describe Alex, as her personality is pretty easy and she shows a lot of it, but Conner’s personality is more complicated. He is popular in school, unlike his sister, and keeps falling asleep in class. As you can tell, he’s not a very good student. Maybe the total opposite of his sister, who is attentive, intelligent, and a bit of a know-it-all. Conner is a bad student, but a good brother, as he saves Alex in many sticky situations. He has good ideas. For example, he has a trick to keep himself from falling asleep in class. He wears a rubber band around his wrist, and any time he feels himself getting sleepy, he snaps the rubber band. He presents this idea to the Sleeping Kingdom (Sleeping Beauty’s kingdom), as their citizens are sleeping 24/7, and no work is getting done. The kingdom adopts this idea and it works. Conner can be very logical and smart at times. You just can’t force him to be smart and logical. For example, when they first arrive in The Land of Stories he is the smart and logical thinking about all the things that could go wrong in their world while they’re gone. There might be a huge time change! Something big politically might happen! Literally anything could could go wrong, or they could miss something super huge. Alex loves sightseeing, and while the logical voices in her head were repeating what Conner was saying, but her curiosity got the better of her. So Conner is a logical intelligent person, you just need to catch him at the right moments.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

One of the most interesting and important parts of this book is when Alex and Conner go the Sleeping Kingdom for the first time. They need to collect the original needle that Sleeping Beauty first pricked her finger on for the Wishing Spell. Sleeping Beauty is my favorite of the queens. Conner is presenting the rubber band idea and suddenly one of Cinderella’s glass slippers falls out of their bag. The slippers are one of the most prized possessions in all the land. It makes them look like thieves. They didn’t actually steal the slipper. They tell this story to Sleeping Beauty and her guards (the guards are attacking) and Sleeping Beauty has faith, trust, and wisdom, for she believes them and calls off the guards. She is very wise, and she gives them the needle gladly, with the promise that they will return it as soon as they are done with it. It is important because it teaches Alex and Conner that some people in the fairytale world are also reasonable and wise, even people that you might least expect to be. That’s also just a general lesson in all life.

I enjoyed this book SO MUCH! I honestly loved it so strongly and this series in general that it’s the best thing since Harry Potter. It is so rich and full of information and twists around every corner that you just don’t want to stop reading it. All the other books are that same. I am one of those people that like to find out the true hidden meanings of famous stories, and that is basically exactly what this book gives. If you love that kind of stuff too, you need this series in your life. There are many other books that uncover hidden secrets from famous tales and you can look at multiple perspectives. These books might not be for everyone, but I highly suggest you give them a try because I’m 99.99999999999% sure that you will love them.

My rating of this book is (drumroll please): 5 STARS! This is maybe one of the greatest books I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a lot of books) and as soon as I finish the rest of the books I will definitely be rereading!

 

May
04
2017

A Wrinkle In Time

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A Wrinkle To My Book Review:

A Wrinkle In Time By Madeleine L’Engle

 

By Avery Rosen

 

Will Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace save save Meg and Charles’ father and live to tell the tale to the planet Earth? Find out by reading this book review about A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle. The book A Wrinkle In Time is part of a series, A Wind In The Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. All consist of amazing fast paced stories that are sure to make you stay on your toes. A Wrinkle In Time will take you around the world. . . No wait, around the Universe! The main characters in the book are Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace, all of whom I will introduce more in the next paragraph.

 

Meg is a girl who doesn’t fit in at all and always feels like she looks atrocious and loathes some of the other kids who are normal. She has the impression that her little brother is being bullied by older kids. Even though they just hear rumors about Charles Wallace. She gets beat up a few times because of this reason. Meg will soon realize though, how special her little brother Charles Wallace really is. After their big adventure Meg is almost never oppressed by other kids. Three words that would describe Meg are, one, afraid. Afraid of her little brother being taken away, and that she will never see her father again. Two, she knows when to do the right things in certain breathtaking situations. She’s confident and insightful. Three, she is shy and doesn’t like to shine, even though she is a good student, and is very helpful.

 

Calvin, a big boy who is about three years older than Meg is strong, and I do not only mean his physical strength. Calvin is abused by his mother who will physically hurt her children. Calvin has saved many of his friends with his gift to persuade his friends and enemies, some may be both. Calvin in tall, strong, vigorous, caring and red-headed. Charles Wallace is a boy who is very, very smart. Unfortunately he hasn’t gone to school which makes him seem strange. His reputation is one that is very quiet. Many people bully Charles Wallace but he really doesn’t mind. He likes not being noticed and keeping his brilliance to himself and his family. It turns out, though, that Charles has many, many gifts and talents. I would describe Charles Wallace as intellectual, determined, and he is very brave. He is the kind of guy who would “Take one for the team.”(His vocabulary is also quite impressive.) Together they make a great team.

 

There are many plots in the book. One of the many is saving their father. At first they are living a normal life, until their father disappears for many years and Meg starts to get worried. Her father had vanished before Charles Wallace was born, so naturally Charles Wallace doesn’t know his father. One day though, in the very first few chapters of the book a woman named Mrs. Whatsit comes into their lives. She has a very bizarre, perplexing and demanding behavior. It turns out that Charles Wallace knows this Mrs. Whatsit and her very bizarre, perplexing and demanding friends. Mrs. Whatsit and her friends take Calvin, Meg and Charles to different universes to save their father and more. “I don’t want Charles Wallace to grow up to be dumb like me,” said Meg. “Oh my darling you’re not dumb,” her father answered. “How do you know I’m not dumb? Isn’t it just because you love me?” This is an example of how Meg is always too hard on herself, as I said before she is quite smart, but she doesn’t always get respect for it. This is on page 10 & 11.

 

I enjoyed this book a lot. The only thing was that there was a little too much fantasy. I loved it for all of the description during the suspense. Madeleine L’Engle slowed the big suspense down with description. Like it was at a part where Meg, father, Calvin and Charles Wallace were stuck on a mysterious island and to slow the pace, it explained the feelings of the characters. I would recommend this book if you are into fantasy worlds, and magical creatures that live on them. The creatures in this book remind me of greek mythology and Lord Of The Rings. I would rate this four stars.

 

May
04
2017

Darkmouth: the Legend Begins by Shane Hegarty

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The book I read was called Darkmouth: The Legend Begins by Shane Hegarty This book is in the series Darkmouth. The main characters are Finn and Emmie. Finn hunts monsters called legends and he is really bad at it. To make it worse his father might move away and he will have to protect his home town, Darkmouth. His best friend Emmie knows everything about his family after Finn tells her.

Finn is smart, brave, and scared. Finn is smart because he figures out that his mother is in trouble and someone is at his house trying to free the leader of the Legends, Gantrua, while he is fighting manticores. A manticore is a beast with the body of a lion a scorpion tail and the head of a lion. Finn is brave because he doesn’t stop for a second while being chased by a minotaur( a minotaur is part bull part human)  and figuring out how to stop it without his desiccator (which is a gun). Finn is scared because he will probably fail keeping Darkmouth safe without his father’s help.

An important part that happened was when a legend called a hogboon helped Finn and Emmie defeat a minotaur. This was important because legends and humans won’t stop fighting and this showed that they don’t need to fight. Another important thing that happened was when Finn’s father Hugo was looking at pictures and talked about how Finn tried and that is when Finn said “Mom admitted it.” “Admitted what?” said Finn’s dad“That I was special.” said Finn This was important because it gave Finn hope that he could protect Darkmouth.

I liked Darkmouth: The Legend Begins because it always keeps you hanging and making you want to read more. Another reason that I liked Darkmouth: The Legend Begins is that it was very intense when Finn was being chased by a minotaur and was running through Darkmouth. The entire book from there was intense.

I recommend Darkmouth: The Legend Begins because it always is pulling you into the story and if you close the book it takes your mind back into reality again. It is like a whole new world. For example when you are finished with chapter 20( which is about 3 quarters through the book) and  you close the book it is like you were just a cloud that had a plane go through it. while this is happening you are watching a portal open with a man next to it holding a desiccator like it is a dog looking at something strange. This book reminded me of Percy Jackson because there was a lot of monster slaying. It reminded me of Ghostbusters because they have these guns that capture monsters. It reminded me of medieval times because at one point they use swords and maces. I would give it a 5 star rating!

May
04
2017

The Castle In The Mist by Amy Ephron

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I read The Castle In The Mist by Amy Ephron. The book is about a girl named Tess who finds a hidden castle. She discovers that there is a family that lives there and she makes friends with the kid. She hangs out with them and plays with them. At the end something happens and she has the find a way to fix it. This book takes place in a little town. I think it takes place around now because it mentions not having wifi and not being able to use their phones.


Tess is brave, persistent, and adventurous. Tess is brave because when she saw that her brother and her friend were in trouble she went ahead and saved them. She did not think a lot about it  she just thought of a plan and went for it. Tess is persistent because when her brother and her friend were in trouble she did not give up and made a plan to save them. Tess is adventurous because when she found the castle she was walking around the forest adventuring and she went pretty far.

In this book I think that it is important that William’s house is hidden and no one can see it. I think that this is important because it tells you about his dad. It tells you that his dad does not like when things are open to everyone and that he needs his privacy. I also think that it is important that Tess’s parents are both away. I think this because when she starts thinking about things she thinks about them and what they said about what she should do. Something important that she thought of was when there was a storm she thought of her dad saying to her, “Don’t go there, don’t try to imagine me over there. Just think of me as right here on your shoulder. Always.” I think this is important because she is thinking about her dad in a storm when he is not there. She is remembering when he was there. It shows that she misses him and probably would want him there right then. This is important because it changes the way she acts and it changes her mood. It would change her mood probably from happy to feeling like you’re missing something.
I enjoyed this book a lot. One reason is because I wanted to know more about William so I would just keep reading. The second reason is that I wanted to know if her mom was going to be okay or know if the dad would be okay reporting the war. I would recommend this book. I think this because I liked how mysterious William was and how I wanted to know more about the castle. I think that this book is unique because I haven’t seen a movie or book about a girl who is living in a little town with her aunt and brother before the girl goes off and finds a castle. I would give this book a four star rating because I liked it a lot I probably wouldn’t want to read it again.

Mar
17
2017

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan

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I read a book called the Red Pyramid. The book is by Rick Riordan and it’s part of a series called the Kane Chronicles. The book is about two siblings named Carter and Sadie Kane. They only see each other two times a year because they got separated. Somehow, their dad unleashed mysterious gods and everything goes wrong. One of the gods is evil and tries to destroy the world (starting with North America). Carter and Sadie have to try to stop the god from destroying the world. The book takes place in America, Egypt and London in the 21st century.

 

The first character you meet is Carter. Carter is a scaredy cat. In all of his battles he thinks things are scary. At the same time though, he’s brave. He can fight off a really-powerful-obsessed-with-killing-and-blood god. Also he’s an ally. Carter is an ally because his friend was saying his uncle was a bad person. His uncle was actually not and Carter knew that, so he stood up for his uncle to prove that his uncle was not a bad guy.

 

One of the most interesting parts of the book was that some curses that you do can’t be done again within a certain amount of time. It’s sort of unfair because it’s an all powerful curse. I mean if you have a lot of troubles in one year and you’ve used a curse you can only use once a year and you need to do it in the same year, what would you do? I mean they use those curses for a good reason, not for a bad reason. Another interesting part of the book is that the book is sort of like a story with queens and kings. Rulers be selfish like Desjardins. Desjardins is the chief lector which means he sort of is the king of magicians. It’s illegal in magician law to host a god (which means share your body with a god). Carter and Sadie both host gods (not on purpose). Desjardins figures this out and try to stop them from completing a quest. With the strength of the gods, do Carter and Sadie complete their quest with the most powerful magician trying to kill them?

 

I liked the book. I liked it because the book is action packed and has funny dialogue. The book is action packed because there is a lot of fighting outraged monsters and evil gods. The book is funny because the author (Rick Riordan) pretends pretends that Carter and Sadie are speaking into a mic so when somebody “says” something not so embarrassing like if Carter said “I grew feathers and I saw myself sleeping. Then I flew to this place where evil gods were planning a scheme” (which means your ba left you. Your soul left you. You could die in your ba form). Then you would read Carter say: [Sadie just called me a human chicken]. Then he would go on with what he was saying. I recommend this book. Like I said, the book is action packed (which is my favorite genre!). The book is really unique because it’s an all-about-the-action type of book with a little bit of lovey dovey stuff that is really hard to realize it’s there. I rate this book four out of five stars.

Feb
16
2017

Switch, by Ingrid Law

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Switch is a companion to the Newbery Honor Winner SAVVY. The book is about a girl named Gypsy and her magical family. The morning of Gypsy’s 13th birthday Gypsy wakes up with blurry vision and keeps seeing visions of the future and past. Before Gypsy figures out her powers her parents announce that her Grandma Pat is going to move in with them. A little later into the book there was a blizzard. Gypsy has to save her family from a vision she had and learn how to control her powers before it’s too late.

Gypsy Beaumont is caring, different, and child like. She is caring in a interesting way because she tries to stop them from doing the stuff in her visions but it just makes them worse. She is different because she has magical powers and because and everyone is different in their own way. She is childlike because she loves glitter and kiddish stuff and because she acts like a little kid.

One of the most interesting parts in the book is when Gypsy wakes up to blurry vision and seeing flashes of the future and past because that is not something that’s going to happen everyday. Another interesting part in the book is when Gypsy’s grandma Pat moves in with them because once she moves in a blizzard comes and they can’t leave the house.

I did enjoy this book. I like this book because it’s a magical book and I like magic. I would recommend this book if you like Winter and magical books about their family. I would also recommend this book because Gypsy is a great character and I really enjoy reading about her and her family. This book is unique because I have not heard of a movie or a book where there’s a girl who has to save their family from a vision she has while there’s a blizzard going on. I rate this book three and a half stars because I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate it.

Feb
16
2017

A Grimm Warning, By Chris Colfer

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Do you like fairy tales? If so, have you ever wondered what happened to your favorite characters after their story finished? Well, if you keep reading, you’ll find out. This book is the third in the series called, “The Land Of Stories,” by Chris Colfer. Chris Colfer acted in the TV series called Glee.

In this story, the two main characters are Alex and Conner, the Bailey twins. Their father died on their 11th birthday. Freak car accident can happen. Alex and Conner are the grandchildren of the great and powerful Fairy Godmother, the ruler of the fairy-tale world. They have more power than any other magic fairytale character to ever live.

They have many problems to face, with their first being Alex living in the fairy tale world and Conner living in the Otherworld (Earth). Their Grandmother closed the portal between the fairy-tale world and the Otherworld for good, along with the help of the Fairy Council (basically the United Nations except made up of ten people and they are all fairies).

Apparently, the French Grande Armeé is here from the 1800’s, and they didn’t die. They were led into a portal along with all their artillery, and were stuck in there for 200 years. When they finally got to the Land Of Stories, they raised a dragon, which has not been seen for centuries in the fairy-tale world, and the Fairy Godmother is the only one who knows how to slay them. But, due to some unfortunate events, she is veeery sick, and old, and frail, and in a sort of a coma.

When the Grand Armee attacks the Fairy Palace, (The HQ for the Fairy-Tale world) they capture all the monarchs from all the kingdoms. They capture Queen Snow White and King Chandler Charming from the Northern Kingdom, Queen Cinderella, King Chance Charming and Princess Hope from the Charming Kingdom, Queen Sleeping Beauty, King Chase Charming and Princess Ash from the Eastern Kingdom, Red Riding Hood from the Red Riding Hood Kingdom, and Little Bo Peep, who got elected Queen during this same time period, and re-named the kingdom, the Bo Peep Republic, and Prince Charlie Charming from the Charming Kingdom (he’s one of the 4 charming brothers, and dating Red. He turned into a man sized frog, but still acts and talks like a human).

The Grand Armeé threatens to kill all the monarchs if the Fairy Council does not surrender. The Fairy Council does not surrender, but they get all the monarchs to safety by cutting the ropes around them and letting the monarchs fight (the monarchs trained while they were on the secret path, with Jack and Goldilocks as their trainers. Jack and Goldilocks are both outcasts, but they are friends of Alex and Conner’s, which is why the monarchs let Jack and Goldilocks stay). Alex performs some pretty awesome magic, but gets betrayed by the boy she was dating, who told the Armeé about the secret path.

But a few minutes later, the dragon comes, and is controlled by the Masked Man. The Masked Man is a master criminal, but is very evil, which is why General Jacques Marquis took him into the army. At first the General thinks that the dragon is his, but is wrong when he gets a scorching demise caused by the Masked Man. The Masked man takes control of the Armee and orders them to attack. But all of a sudden, with her last energy, the Fairy Godmother comes out of her chamber and kills the dragon. The Masked Man orders his forces to retreat. The battle is over, and the Fairy-Tale world is at peace once again. Alex becomes the new Fairy Godmother, and Conner stays there to become her assistant.

None of them know what the Masked Man is plotting next…      

Jan
27
2017

Boy Ends Up in Prison Camp for Being Mistaken by Police

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An important event in the book I’m reading(Holes) is probably when Stanley Yelnats tells the people/ people at his camp that the “crime” that he committed was by “stealing” a shoe. Stanley said that he was just walking down the street and a shoe just flew into his hand and apparently the shoe belonged to a very famous baseball player that was being given to a homeless shelter. The reason he ended up in the prison camp is because if you were in court it would be a pretty unbelievable if you said that the shoe flew into your hand. So he was considered guilty and went to the prison camp. It is a very good book, I would really recommend it.