The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Fantasy

Many chefs describe cooking as and emotional outlet.  But where do the emotions go?  Does it go into their cooking?  One fateful day while Rose Edelstein is consuming a slice of her mother’s chocolate lemon cake she comes across a revelation.  Her mother’s homemade dessert tastes of hunger and loneliness. Soon, eating becomes unbearable for Rose, every meal a struggle as she tries to ignore the growing suffering of her mother. As Rose realizes the increasing pain in her family she uncovers secrets that would otherwise be kept hidden under layers of sadness.

Aimee Bender tells the story so subtly, very much how her characters deal with their own struggles.

Without Tess

Without Tess By Marcella Pixley

 ***** 5/5 stars Fiction

Some girls like to play pretend when they are little. Tess and Lizzie Cohen did as well. As time went on Lizzie let go of the fantasies and moved on while Tess still pretended at age twelve. Tess became more and more involved with her fantasies and eventually went insane. Lizzie began to realize that Tess’s belief in her pretend games was a serious matter when Tess starved herself, but fed chocolates to statues. Tess’s fantasies led to madness and madness led to her death. Fifteen years later, Lizzie is still not getting over her sister’s death. With the help of her sister’s Pegasus Journal and the school counselor, Lizzie learns to move on and accept Tess’s death.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos  By R.L. La Fevers

***** 5/5 stars  Fantasy

Being the only one to sense the curses on some objects can cause you to be very busy. That is the situation Theodosia is in. Surrounded by cursed antiquities from her dad's museum, Theo has the privilege of de-cursing all the objects. When Theodosia's mom returns from Egypt with an amulet, the Heart of Egypt, Theodosia realizes that the amulet is under a curse so horrible that it will cause chaos to erupt onto the streets of London. To prevent mayhem, Theo will have to return the Heart of Egypt to its tomb in Egypt.  

13 Gifts

13 Gifts   By Wendy Mass

***** 5/5 stars

When Tara Brennan breaks into school to steal a goat she is caught and punished (obviously). After a lot of discussion between Tara’s parents, they agree on a punishment--spend the summer in the small town of Willow Falls while Tara’s parents spend it in Madagascar studying lemurs. In Willow Falls, Tara quickly realizes strange things--it would be impossible not to. There are two friends who use blackboards to communicate, a girl who loses her phone at least every two months, and a strange woman with a duck-shaped birthmark on her cheek. That woman is the strangest of all. Tara needs to collect thirteen items for her before July 13, Tara’s birthday. If she doesn’t, the woman claims that Tara will lose her immortal soul and Tara does not want that.

13 Gifts is very well written. You won’t be able to put it down.

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring  By J.R.R. Tolkien

*****5/5 stars  Fantasy

This may sound like a really boring book about people who talk in stilted accents and have odd names. I am going to tell the truth and the truth is that it is an interesting book, about oddly named people talking in stilted accents. Once you get used to the language the characters speak, it's easy to understand.

          

              The Fellowship of the Ring is about a hobbit (a very small person who loves food) named Frodo. Frodo was adopted by another hobbit named Bilbo. Bilbo owns a ring which turns him invisible when he puts it on. Eventually Bilbo leaves and Frodo becomes in charge of the ring. Frodo eventually discovers that the ring is dangerous and must be destroyed. The only way to do that is to go to Mordor, where evil creatures rule, and cast the ring into a fiery pit by Mt. Doom. So Frodo sets off, determined to bring the ring to Mordor and to end all evil.

            This book reminds me of Norse mythology and Harry Potter. The names sound Nordic and some characters in The Lord of the Rings are similar to the characters in Norse mythology. Lord of the Rings reminds me of Harry Potter because a lot of the events and characters are almost the same in both stories. (Yes, I know that Lord of the Rings was written first).

Summer Reading List

Summer Reading List

·        The Cabinet of Wonders  By Marie Rutkoski

Petra's  dad worked for the prince for a couple of years. When her dad came back, his eyes were gone. They were stolen by the prince. Determined to get her dad's eyes back, Petra embarks on a dangerous journey.

·        Heck, Where the Bad Kids Go  By Dale E. Baye

Heck is about two siblings named Marlo and Milton Fauster. After they were killed in a marshmallow explosion, they are sent to Heck. Heck is an underworld for bad kids. Willing to risk their lives (or spirits), the siblings will stop at nothing to get out.

·        Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer  By John Grisham

Theo Boone dreams of being a lawyer.His dream comes true when someone commits a crime. A perfect crime, leaving no evidence. Theo wants to prove that the accused is guilty, but the only witness is too scared to speak up.

·        Heart of a Samurai  By Margi Preus

This book is about a boy named Manjiro. Manjiro was raised in Japan where he was taught that outside of Japan, there are barbarians and monsters. One day Manjiro is stranded on a desert island with some friends. They are rescued by Americans, "barbarians". The farther Manjiro strays from his home, the more he discovers new places. No matter how fascinating the other places are, Manjiro still wishes to return home but Japan won't let foreigners in. Even if Manjiro makes it back, will he be greeted, or despised for associating with the "barbarians"?

Here are other books I think are good summer reads, but I already have reviewed them.

·        The Hunger Games  By Suzanne Collins (reviewed in February)

·        Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder  By Jo Nesbo (reviewed in January)

·        Gilda Joyce Psychic Investigator  By Jennifer Allison(reviewed in January)

·        School of Fear  By Gitty Daneshvari (reviewed in January)

Skellig

Skellig  By David Almond

**** 4/5 stars Fantasy

When Michael moves into a new house, formerly owned by Ernie Myers, he is pretty miserable. His parents are continuously worried about his horribly sick baby sister and their garage is such a wreck his parents won't let him go in it. Michael goes into the garage anyway.  There, he finds bugs, broken furniture, mice, and a man. The man says he is nobody, nothing, he just wants to die.  

I really liked how the writer, David Almond, hooked everything together. The things that were happening in Michael's life are all connected, from the man he finds in his garage, to what he is learning in school, to what the next door neighbor's interests are.  What I didn't like was how some questions weren't answered.

The Girl Who Could Fly

The Girl Who Could Fly   By Victoria Forester

***** 5/5 stars Fantasy

I like creative books. The Girl Who Could Fly  is very creative. Piper McCloud can fly. She doesn't fit in with her town so when a mysterious beautiful woman arrives at her house offering her a place at her school where there are other children like her, she says yes. There, her friends can create their own weather, they can move things without touching them, and are incredibly smart. It seems like a dream come true to Piper but this fantasy land is much more dangerous then it seems.

The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero  By Rick Riordan

**** 4/5 stars Fantasy

I gave this book four stars because I didn't like how it was written. The plot was good and it was funny but it would have been better if Rick Riordan wrote it better.  The writing seemed forced to make the story interesting and funny. It is about 3 kids, Piper, Leo, and Jason. They  are half-bloods. Half- bloods are half-Greek god and half-human. Piper, Leo, and Jason are sent on a quest together to free the goddess, Hera. With hardly any experience, it seems unlikely that they will survive.

11 Birthdays

11 Birthdays  By Wendy Mass

**** 5/5 stars Fantasy

I really like Wendy Mass. I think she is a very good story teller. A year ago on her birthday Amanda over heard Leo say something behind her back. Now it is her birthday again and Amanda and Leo aren't having their birthday together for the first time. Leo is supposed to have a band, a giant lizard, and a hypnotist and Amanda is going to have an itchy costume. Amanda is very happy for her birthday to be over but the next day it is her birthday again, and again, and again. Amanda is really starting to get sick of this and she realizes that she must stop her birthday from repeating. Wendy Mass tells this book very well.

Septimus Heap

 Septimus Heap: Magyk  By Angie Sage

***** 5/5 stars  Fantasy

This book reminds me of Harry Potter, though they aren't the same. There are wizards and good against bad but that is about it. Silas Heap's baby disappears and that same night he finds a different baby, a girl. He takes her home and names her Jenna. Later Silas and his wife are told that Jenna is a princess. Filled with twists and turns this book is a delight.

Rangers Apprentice:The Ruins of Gorlan

Rangers Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan  By John Flanagan

*****5/5 stars  Fantasy

I really, really liked this book. It was exciting and I also like archery which this book is chocked full of. Will (the main character in this book) is chosen as an apprentice to a Ranger. Will doesn't know much about Rangers and he doesn't want to be one at first. It is exciting to be a Ranger though strange things are happening.

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic   By Jennifer Trafton

***** 5/5 stars   Fantasy

 In this book, a girl called Persimmony discovers that Mount Majestic is a giant's stomach. The giant is sleeping but it won't stay asleep forever. "Leafeaters" (creatures that eat leaves) are digging towards the feet without knowing it and the giant might awake when the shovels hit his feet. Nobody believes Persimmony when she says that there is a giant. She is running out of time. This book is very interesting and imaginative.

Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Bubble in the Bathtub

Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder: Bubble in the Bathtub  By Jo Nesbo (There is supposed to be a sideways slash through the last O but that letter is not on my keyboard)

***** 5/5 stars  Fantasy

This is the 2nd book in a series. The first one is Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder and is also really good.  In this book, Doctor Proctor invents a time-traveling bathtub and goes back in time. He wants to marry a woman named Juliette. Juliette's dad wouldn't let her marry Doctor Proctor in the past and he wants to prevent that from happening.  Unfortunately, he can't get back to the present, so Lisa and Nilly travel around time to find him. This book is very funny. I couldn't put it down.  

Gregor the Overlander

Gregor the Overlander (The Underland Chronicles Book 1)    By Suzanne Collins

***** 5/5 stars  Fantasy

This book is very good. I like it a lot. Gregor falls down a metal grate in his kitchen -with his two year old sister Boots- into a world underground called the Underland. The people there think he is a warrior in a prophecy that is supposed to save the citizens of the Underland.  The plot is very fast-pace and exciting because you can never guess what will happen.