Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

(Cover picture courtesy of Collider.com.)

In an evocative and fast-paced adventure on the high seas and on a faraway island, an orphan boy named Peter and his mysterious new friend, Molly, overcome bands of pirates and thieves in their quest to keep a fantastical secret safe and save the world from evil.  This impossible-to-put-down tale leads readers on an unforgettable journey—fraught with danger, yet filled with mystical and magical moments.

Peter Pan was never one of my favourite movies as a child, but I didn’t exactly hate it either, which is why I gave Peter and the Starcatchers a chance.  Hey, if they can retell traditional fairy tales, why not Peter Pan?  My only real worry was about the two collaborating authors.  Sometimes, when authors collaborate, no matter how close or how good they are, there are jarring style inconsistencies.  Thankfully this wasn’t the case.

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have created an amazing addition to the legend of Peter Pan.  Peter and the Starcatchers offers a much more in-depth background story for Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys.  You don’t need to be a big fan of Disney to be able to connect the dots between the two.  There are lots of “Oh, that makes sense” moments and “Hey, that explains a lot!”  My favourite part is the explanation for pixie dust, which of course doesn’t really come from pixies.  But since I’m not feeling overly cruel today, I won’t spoil things for you.

Peter and Molly are great characters and I really love how their relationship slowly develops and it takes them a while to trust each other.  But, through a series of heart-pounding, nail-biting adventures, they do develop a solid friendship.  It’s not a perfect one (it definitely isn’t at first), but tweens and teens alike will be able to sympathize with Peter and Molly.

[As a side note, it was announced that Gary Ross is waiting on the script for Peter and the Starcatches film adaptation and may even begin production as early as 2013.  See the ‘Collider’ link above.]

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

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Physik by Angie Sage

(Cover picture courtesy of HarperCollins Children’s Books.)

When Silas Heap unSeals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she’s still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna’s compliance, Septimus’s disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda’s plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve Nicko, Alther Mella, Marcia Overstrand, Beetle, Stanley, Sarah, Silas, Spit Fyre, Aunt Zelda, and all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made magyk and flyte so memorable.

(Summary courtesy of Amazon.)

With heart-stopping action and a dash of humor, Angie Sage continues the fantastical journey of Septimus Heap.

Physik is probably my favourite book in the entire Septimus Heap series so far and I’ve read the first five of them.  Why is it my favourite?  Well, the characters are much better developed, Angie Sage is a bit more descriptive so we get a better idea of what the world looks like and we get to see the Castle at the height of its glory.

Jenna has matured more in this book and is more of a princess than she was in Magyk or Flyte.  Septimus is also moving right along in his Apprenticeship when it gets rudely interrupted by Marcellus Pye and the horrible Queen Etheldredda.  I don’t want to give too much away, but Queen Etheldredda isn’t just any ordinary ghost, which causes even more trouble for Septimus and Jenna.  We also get introduced to a new character, Snorri, who is my personal favourite because of her backstory, her cat and her special Spirit Seeing abilities.

The world of Septimus Heap is also much more developed and we get to see a lot of origins of the traditions we find in the first two books.  Along the way, we learn about Physik, which is this world’s version of science.  In a weird reversal of our world, Magyk is looked upon as more reliable than Physik and Marcia even goes so far as to laugh at Septimus when he wants to learn more about it.  There isn’t much laugh-out-loud humour in Angie Sage’s books, but they’re not completely dark and serious either, which is what makes them great for ages 9-12.  The illustrations at the beginnings of every chapter also do so much to enhance the reading experience.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Heartland by Lauren Brooke

(Cover picture courtesy of Books, Mud and Compost.  And Horses.)

Oh no she didn’t…yeah I did.

I’m taking a great risk as a guest reviewer to introduce a series from the younger
side of YA, but the tweens have to start somewhere right? The Heartland novel
series, penned by British author, Lauren Brooke, was inspired by her childhood
experiences on a horse ranch in the hills of Virginia.

The 25 novels revolve around the main character, Amy Fleming, and her family,
who treat frightened and abused horses, using holistic and unconventional
methods. Conflicts are resolved when the Flemings reach out to both the horses
and their owners who carry their fair share of emotional baggage.

Although older YA readers might consider this book too juvenile in content and
style, younger readers ages 9-14 will enjoy the sweet simplicity of country life and the innocent, though blossoming, relationship depicted between Amy and her friend, Ty. This book also rings true for homeschool families who cherish books depicting conservative values in an agrarian setting.

Surprisingly, there must be something of a hunger for this genre since the
Heartland books have been made into a Canadian Television series. Heartland
the TV series, appeared on the CBC network in 2007 and is currently in its sixth
season, drawing over 1 million viewers each week. The show has recently been
syndicated for viewing in the United States.

So, as Rumpelstilskin would affirm, sometimes simple straw can indeed be spun
into gold.

Read for Fun,
Lynne Thompson
Author of the Wag the Mouth series
Wagthemouth.com

Guest Post Tomorrow

Yes, I know it’s sort of sudden, but I finally got around to organizing my life.  Tomorrow author Lynne Thompson is posting a guest review.  It’s not a series I would ever pick up, so it’s great that Lynne is reviewing the series.

Speaking of organizing my life, I finally updated the ‘My Reviews’ and ‘Guests’ page.  Now I know I have had 12 guest posts and 219 book reviews.  And if you haven’t already seen, I updated my commenting policy as well as my biography on my about page.  Yes, I finally thought of some interesting things I’ve done in my life.  It only took 9 months!

Important Life Lessons I Learned from Books

Many lessons can only be learned in life through trial and error.  But books can save us a lot of suffering if we learn the same lessons through them!  Guess what?  None of the books on this list are the literary classics that critics laud for being so deep and meaningful.  There’s nothing wrong with classics.  It’s just that I’ve learned far more from what literary snobs call ‘trash’ than I ever did from the books they praise.  What are these life lessons?  Well, here they are:

Lesson: You are not your family.  What they have done is not your fault.

Where I learned it: Run Like Jäger by Karen Bass.

This is a lesson that holds a lot of meaning for me because both of my parents had fathers that were…not so great.  As a kid, I was very sad that I never got to meet my grandfathers and held rather romantic visions of what they must have been like.  Then I actually asked what they were like and was horrified.  How did their past sins reflect on me and my family?  Well, Run Like Jäger, where the main character wrestles with what his grandfather did in Germany during WWII, hit pretty close to home.  I finally made peace with myself and learned that the sins of my ancestors have nothing to do with me. Continue reading →