Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson

I just spent a week with my family in Disney World. I decided to bring along Kingdom Keepers, a book about a group of Orlando middle school students who have been chosen as DHIs, interactive hologram hosts. Finn turns out to be the leader of this group when many strange, unexplainable events start to take place. When they all start having strange dreams and start visiting Disney at night in their holographic forms, they realize there is something very strange going on. The kids meet Wayne, an original Imagineer, who tells them about a fable that may help them stop the evil forces scheming something awful. This book will appeal to Disney fans. While it didn't knock my socks off, it was fun to read about this adventures taking place in all the rides and attractions I just visited.

Works Cited
"Kingdom Keepers Cover." Online image. LibraryThing. 20 June 2009 http://www.librarything.com/work/543826

Quest by Kathleen Benner Duble

Quest is a historical fiction book about the time when the crew of the Discovery try to discover a passage to the east. Different parts of the book are told by one of four people; John Hudson, the son of Henry Hudson Henry who is the captain of the Discovery, Richard Hudson, who was the brother of John, Seth Syms, a boy who was trying to escape from someone and replaced his cousin Nicholas on the Discovery, and Isabella Digges, who has fallen in love with John. I like how this book is told from four different points of view, and it’s not the kind of book that uses sailor terms.
I would give this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

Review by cecx2

Works Cited
"Quest Cover." Online image. LibraryThing. 13 Jan. 2009 http://www.librarything.com/work/5046595/40437245

Simon Bloom: The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman

The Gravity Keeper brings new ideas to the sci-fi genre in an interesting and colorful way. Sixth grader Simon Bloom stumbles onto the well kept secrets of the Union, a secret society known to everyone but the Outsiders (everyday people). As he learns the fantastic abilities of a mysterious book that literally fell out of the sky, Simon is thrown into a dangerous adventure of saving the world from a tyrant who wants the power of the Union. On the way, he meets Owen, a peculiar boy who is afraid of shredded lettuce, and Alysha, a curious girl who is getting tired of being popular. Together they float, electrify, and ground skate their way through dangerous, and sometimes funny, perils.

Overall this book is a good read that is full of fun adventures and wacky characters, but on the downside, there is not a very strong plot. The book can leave readers with a sense of wanting more story rather than adventure. I give it 3 stars out of 5.

Review by CR

Citation
"Gravity Keeper Cover." Online image. LibraryThing. 15 Oct. 2008 http://www.librarything.com/work/2990767

The Recruit

I got my copy of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer this afternoon. I'll write more about that after I finish the book. I did stop in to a release party on Thursday night, but I was there too early to get a copy. I did, however, answer one of the trivia questions while I was in the book store and won some cool Twilight series stickers.

I'm on vacation this week and turned in the big paper I have been working on this summer before I left, so I have been reading for fun by the pool! I read a couple books in the last few days. The first was The Recruit by Robert Muchamore. It is the first book in the CHERUB series. Lots of eighth grade guys at Highland were reading the series last year, so I just had to check it out. I really enjoyed it, it was action packed! The first book in the series follows James as he goes from a troubled kid whose mom dies to his experience as a recruit for a secret organization called CHERUB, a division of MI5 for under 18 spies. In order to go on a mission, recruits have to get through a gruelling 100 day training. James' first mission puts him undercover investigating a possible terrorism threat. It was surprising at times how much these kids could do and experienced when they were so young - like 10 or 12 years old! This series has a lot in common with the Alex Rider series. Although, it is a little grittier with more emphasis on action and spying and less on the gadgets.

If you've read any of the CHERUB books or Breaking Dawn, feel free to leave a comment!

Citation
"The Recruit Cover." Online image. LibraryThing. 3 Aug. 2008 http://www.librarything.com/work/3102579/book/34115678