Do You Believe in Magic?

Two down and one to go.... books which involve magic that is. This one is titled "The Grimm Legacy" by Polly Shulman. Grimm refers to The Brothers Grimm, authors of a multitude of fairy tales which always have an element of magic; dancing slippers or seven league boots, artifacts which help or sometimes hinder the hero of a story.

In this book magical artifacts are a part of a very special lending Library in New York. Yes, you can actually take out and use something magical. At the beginning we meet Elizabeth, a teenage girl living with her father and stepmother and has two stepsisters. She has always loved fairy tales as they connect her to her mother. After doing a school assignment on The Brothers Grimm, Elizabeth is asked by her teacher if she would like a job at this special Library. Not fitting in at school she is anxious for the opportunity and, after a very unusual interview, she gets the job. There it is her responsibility to find old and unusual objects that people would like to borrow, like a 19th century doublet, and send them down to the main circulating area through a system of pneums.

There are 3 other pages (a term to describe the students who work there) who show her the ropes and fill her in on the mystery of some disappearing magical objects from the Grimm Collection, a very special collection that only a few people are able to access and use. They also tell her of the mysterious disappearance of two young workers. Weird things happen, magic is used and Elizabeth is torn in who to believe.

I quite liked this book with its interesting characters, of things that are not as they seem, of the very real danger of using things that could have disastrous results. Many parts kept me on the edge of my seat and I think you will like the adventure as well as the romance.

Lots of Reading..

"The Girl Who Could Fly" by Victoria Forester... loved it because of a wonderful imaginative plot and a battle of good and evil...



"The Thirteen Treasures" by Michelle Harrison... good because of the evil fairies who play havoc with Tanya.
"Neil Flambe and the Aztec Abduction" by Kevin Sylvester. Not as good as the "Marco Polo Murders" as it jumps around quite a bit and you have to concentrate a bit more but still
very entertaining character. Neil is competing in a cooking contest in Mexico when his friend is kidnapped and he tries to find her before it is too late.

"We the Children" by Andrew Clement whom I love.. but this book feels very unfinished... like they wanted to do a series so just stopped in the middle but not even at a critical point.

Benjamin 's school is going to be demolished but on this particular morning the janitor presses an old coin into Benjamin's hand along with the instruction to save the school. And then the janitor dies. More of a mystery occurs as the assistant janitor is not whom he seems and is watching Benjamin and his friend Jill as they try to figure out how to stop the wrecking ball..

The Scorch Trials

I have learned that I best write when I have just finished reading as the impact of the book is still fresh in my mind. My other recent reads over the holidays have faded and I will have to revisit them to regain their full effect.

So here it is New Years Day and I have just finished "The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner. This is the sequel to "The Maze Runner" and I will let you know now that this is not the end.

This book is for the very mature reader, ones who like "The Hunger Games" I think will like this one. But this is even darker and more evil in its theme. The characters are watched and manipulated however not for the entertainment of a country but for the survival of the world and nothing is sacred, certainly not life.

At the beginning of this book Thomas and his Gladers think they are finally safe from Wicked, the organization responsible for the Maze. Quickly they find out this is not so. There is another trial they are forced into where these few remaining boys are given the seemingly impossible task of making it across one hundred miles of vast wasteland to a safe haven while hindered by Cranks, deteriorating humans infected with a disease, and science fuelled monsters as well as horrific weather conditions; unbearable heat and severe lightning strikes.

Thrown into this equation is the fact that Thomas's friend Teresa has been taken, replaced by a boy who describes the exact same experience Thomas and his friends have gone through with one exception, the players were girls with him being the only boy.

Memories surface that describe patterns and variables being used in this trial and Thomas knows the stakes to survive have been raised.

This is such a thriller but certainly not for the faint of heart.

What are you reading today?