Book Reviews by Genre: Fantasy

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
Sanderson, Brandon
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians is a thrilling book about a teenage orphan called Alcatraz Smedry. He is passed along from home to home because he always breaks what is most important to his foster parents. However on his thirteenth birthday, an old man shows up claiming to be his grandfather. He kept saying that he was late. Because he had a talent, a talent for being late. And he tells Alcatraz that he has a talent, a talent for breaking things.

Alcatraz is sucked into a world of crystal knights, bad romance novel golems, and dark oculators. In each book he learns a little more about his family and his talent. Alcatraz learns about the hushlands and the free kingdoms and the evil librarians that want to take over the world. He finds out about the dark talent the talent that will break the world. And he finds out the magic of putting footnotes in a book.

This is one of my favorites because of the funny dialog and the narrator. it touches on some funny topics and includes evil monsters. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves magic and a good story. between evil librarians and reckless smedry's this is one of my favorate series. Alcatraz vs the Evil librarians is a steller book.

Reviewer's Name: Maddox A.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Part 3, Stardust Crusaders, 01
Araki, Hirohiko
4 stars = Really Good
Review:

The continuation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure brings back old characters with a fresh take and introduces us to new characters that make Jotaro's group feel rounded. It is definitely different, but 100% recommend it.

Reviewer's Name: William W.
The Glittering Court
Mead, Richelle
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

This is the best book if you like multiple things in books. If you like fashion, adventure, romance, mystery, and royalty, then you'll love this novel that embraces the true nature of finding ones own path and defying the odds of those who doubt you are capable of things that you can already achieve. No matter what this book has a pure essence of perfection.

Reviewer's Name: Skyla N.
The Outcasts
Flanagan, John
4 stars = Really Good
Review:

The Outcasts, is a book written by John Flanagan. I read it and enjoyed it very much. The Outcasts is the first book in the Brotherband Chronicles and begins in a place called Skandia. At the beginning of the book, Hal is not shown much respect. But as his leadership shows more and more, people learn to look up to him. When Hal turns 16, he and his friends go to Brotherband, a place to train to become a man of Skandia. The first two groups of ten are chosen, and Hal and the seven other outcasts are forced to join a group together. From then on, Hal starts to show his true colors to the reader and the other characters in the book.

I would rate this book four out of five because the book was a little slow in the beginning. On the other side, it was an awesome book with a great plot line. I would recommend this book to people who like Percy Jackson.

Reviewer's Name: Hayden S
The Iron Trial
Black, Holly
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

We all believe what we are conditioned to believe. For Callum Hunt that means believing magic is evil and corrupt. When his invitation to the Iron Trial arrives, he vows to please his dad and fail the trial. Instead his plan backfires royally and he is chosen by the best master in the whole magisterium. Against his dads best interests, Call attends the magisterium and discovers maybe magic is not as bad as he thought. That is until disaster strikes the Magesterium.

Any fan of fantasy or adventure will get lost in the world of the Magesterium. The book is full of friendship, trials, and fun twists. In The Iron trial you never know what awaits you around the next corner.

Reviewer's Name: Lauren G.
Genres:
Spin the Dawn Cover
Lim, Elizabeth
1 star = Yuck!
Review:

I picked up this book as it was being sold as “Project Runway meets Mulan” which sounded really intriguing, especially to this reader who loves both Project Runway and Mulan. And that description really does fit the first third of the book or so – our main character, Maia, poses as a boy to take her father’s place in a royal tailor competition. However, the potential of this part of the book is really under realized. There was a lot of room for plots within plots and court intrigue, but the whole thing is pretty quickly abandoned so that Maia could go on a quest for three objects with a cute boy who is very much off limits. If you are thinking to yourself, “isn’t that the plotline of like, half of all YA fantasies” then you, dear reader, are correct. With that said, though, I think many teens, especially those new to the genre, will really enjoy it. For me, an interesting and unique premise quickly gave way to a fairly pat YA fantasy. 1 star – I didn’t like it.


Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Knopf Books for Young Readers for the eARC which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. Spin the Dawn is available now.

Reviewer's Name: Britt
The Goose Girl
Hale, Shannon
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

This book was the essence of the life and struggles that can be overcome with the strength that women can hold when they believe in themselves. This book has given me a moral that treats the spirit in telling us that we can do anything if we strive for and work hard to achieve it. Great book, and great writing style. Loved every happy, and bittersweet moments that were inhabiting this story.

Reviewer's Name: Skyla N.
The Serpent's Secret
DasGupta, Sayantani
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

‘The Serpent’s Secret’ is the first book in the series ‘Kiranmala and the Kingdom beyond’. The plot line of the story was very interesting. One unique feature of this book was that it had a lot of riddles in it. This story is about a regular girl named Kiran. She lives in New Jersey. One day, Kiran finds that there is a rakkhosh demon in her house. Her parents have vanished. She has to leave her house to find her parents, accompanied by Neel and Lal.

Reviewer's Name: Shreeya R.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Rowling, J.K.
4 stars = Really Good
Review:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fun and entertaining book to read. Harry is at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a new defense against the arts teacher, Alastor Moody. Finding out that Hogwarts is hosting the triwizard tournament everyone is excited. Having to be a certain age to compete in the tournament Harry is not aloud to participate.Two other schools come to compete in the games. One person from each school will contend in the games. When the night when students names get chosen out of the goblet of fire it spits out three different names and then Harry Potter. Harry is shocked. After Dumbledore agreed that Harry could play, they begin the triwizard tournament. the first challenge is for each person to take a golden egg from a dragon. the second task was to figure out a way to breathe under water and save someone. The third and most difficult task was to go through a maze and reach the triwizard cup first. Harry and Cedric the other Gryffindor contestant decide to touch the triwizard cup at the same time. The cup was bewitched and brought Harry and Cedric to a graveyard. And Voldemort comes back.

Reviewer's Name: Grace B.
Genres:
The Traitor's Game
Nielsen, Jennifer A.
3 stars = Pretty Good
Review:

The Traitors Game" about a girl named Kestra and a guy named Simon. Throughout the story Kestra and Simon argue and disagree but eventually come together to help defeat Lord Endrick along with a group of rebels named the Coracks and a tribe called the Halderians. I liked how the author was able to put so much description into small moments in the book but at the same time I also felt that there wasn't enough description in parts which I didn't enjoy as much. I chose to read the book because my father suggested it and I really enjoyed the read. I think that anyone from around 12 to 18 years of age would enjoy this book.

Reviewer's Name: Drew I.
Genres:
Red Prophet
Card, Orson Scott
4 stars = Really Good
Review:

Continuing from the previous book in the Alvin Maker series, Red Prophet flashes back and shows certain events from a different point of view before driving forward into some fascinating alternate history. I continue to enjoy the fantastical elements brought into American history, even to the point of explaining how certain famous historical figures were the way they were. Although, if you know enough history, you’ll realize the fates of some of the characters presented in Red Prophet (William Henry Harrison, for instance) might not need the foreshadowing missing from this text.

While Seventh Son managed to set up this alternate history and establish some of its rules, Red Prophet delves into the action and excitement that comes from some of the more “kinetic” talents of these characters. Once the plot catches up with where Seventh Son left off, I was hooked. The interactions between Alvin and the Native Americans were quite interesting, and I found everything up until the climactic battle to be top-notch storytelling. Sure, it took a little while to get there, having to first set up the eponymous “Red Prophet” and his powers of observation, but it was worth it in the end.

My one qualm with this book lies in some of its more peculiar metaphor, allegory, and allusion. Near the end of the book, several scenes and sections feel entirely disjointed from the narrative. Perhaps they were to serve some “higher purpose” to lay out the moral of the story—or even the series as a whole. These scenes had characters who suddenly were ripped out of their normal behavior and put into a completely different context. And for what? To show that the history of the Native Americans is rich and varied while also infused with war and darkness? There had to be some other way to convey this than the way it was done here.

An action-packed follow-on to Seventh Son that gets a little too “heady” at times, I give Red Prophet 4.0 stars out of 5.

Reviewer's Name: Benjamin W.
Seventh Son
Card, Orson Scott
4 stars = Really Good
Review:

Having loved Orson Scott Card's Ender Saga, I decided to start into another of his series, Tales of Alvin Maker. I was used to his science fiction writing, so I thought it would be interesting to see how he handled semi-historical fiction. For the first book in a series, Seventh Son certainly has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s clear this book came on the heels of the Ender Saga, as there are a lot of parallels between characters and motifs that I just couldn’t ignore. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing by any means.

While the history of colonial America is the setting of Seventh Son, the fantasy elements added to it made for an interesting read. I did appreciate the distinctive “good vs. evil” conflict between the Makers and the Unmaker, even if it’s a little too tried and true. At the very least, while the religious characters had some amount of strawman characterization set against them, they were well rounded enough not to make the whole story seem too anti-Christian. They weren’t necessarily the enemies, but their ignorance factored into the enemy’s tactics.

Perhaps the little snippets of American history sprinkled throughout this book were what intrigued me the most. Sure, the superstition and “magic” involved in creating an alternate timeline of history made quite a bit of sense. However, without at least a cursory knowledge of these events and historical figures, then readers could potentially miss a lot of substance. As with the Ender Saga, Card uses his writing to dive into different theologies and philosophies that do more than merely entertain. The fact that books like this can be thought-provoking through solid characters is a testament to his talent as a writer.

An adequate start to a series with plenty of potential, I give Seventh Son 4.0 stars out of 5.

Reviewer's Name: Benjamin W.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Rowling, J. K.
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

It is the second book in J.K Rowling's fantastic book series Harry Potter. 12 year old Harry has just come back from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to spend a dreadful summer at Number 4 Privit Drive. Little does he know his summer is about to get worse. Uncle Vernon is expecting to get one of the best deals of his life during a visit from the Masons. Unfortunately it doesn't go as planned when a house elf shows up in Harrys bedroom with an ominous message. The elf proceeds to try to get Harry expelled from Hogwarts by dropping a pudding on Mrs. Masons head. Uncle Vernon puts bars on Harrys window to stop him form getting out. Harry is in despair when the Ron (his best friend), Fred, and George(Ron's twin brothers) Weasley save him from the clutches of his aunt an uncle and he spend the restof the summer with them.

Harry is back at Hogwarts after an eventful journey. He's ready to start a new peaceful year at Hogwarts. That doesn't go to plan when he starts hearing a mysterious voice in the school corridors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione partake on a amazing and thrilling journey to uncover who is petrifying the students.
This book is absolutely amazing and is worth reading. It has magic, mystery, and loads of adventure.

Reviewer's Name: Katie
Genres:
The Once and Future King
White, T.H.
4 stars = Really Good
Review:

The Once and Future King, by T. H. White, is a great fantasy classic that is a retelling of the saga of King Arthur. The novel is stuffed with a mix of wonderful emotions that blend together to make a very unique fantasy story. The characters are all developed very well, especially the protagonist, and the plot fits them very well. The book has some very sorrowful scenes, but does a fantastic job of spacing them out with its humor. The only downside to the book is that it is for high-level readers.

If the story was put into a bit simpler language, it would relate to more people and reduce the amount of strain placed on the readers' mind while trying to interpret it. Overall, The Once and Future King is a great fantasy novel, but its use of complicated language takes away from the world it creates.

Reviewer's Name: Steven L
Bleach, Vol 2
Kubo, Tite
4 stars = Really Good
Review:

In the second Bleach manga book Ichigo and Rukia search for Chad. They encounter a hollow that killed a boys parents and the boy was stuck in a parrots body and told that his mother could come back to life. Afterwards Rukia gives Ichigo a soul candy which allows him out of his body without Rukia having to be there. The soul candy goes rogue and steals Ichigo's body. They have to hunt down his body and they make friends with him and put him in a stuffed animal.

Reviewer's Name: Vincent D
Sidekicked
Anderson, John David
3 stars = Pretty Good
Review:

Andrew Bean is a normal kid on the outside but on the inside he is the Sensationalist, a sidekick with super senses. Andrew joins a superhero organization called H.E.R.O this affiliation trains people with superpowers so they can be sidekicks for superheros and someday supers themselves. His hero, The Titan used to be the best (and coolest) superhero but after an unfortunate accident while fighting a notorious criminal called The Dealer he disappeared. This left the sensationalist with no hero to help him when he needs it most especially when the Dealer returns seeking revenge on The Titan. In the middle of this all he still has to be careful not to blow his cover, even to his parents.

Reviewer's Name: Vincent D
The Outcasts
Flanagan, John
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

It was based off my favourite series, Rangers Apprentice. It was an inspiring book, and it kept my spirits high for the next book.

Reviewer's Name: Adam H.
Spelled
Schow, Betsy
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

Have you ever wondered what it's like being a princess? Well, if you ask Dorthea Gale Emerald, princess of Emerald, it's not easy. Especially when the only thing you can't have is fire.

This is an amazing read about a princess you accidentally curses all of Story and embarks on a mission with a servant, her fiancé she was forced to get married to, and a pair of beautiful ruby heels. It has a lot of plot twists, romance, bickering, and , of course, villains and heroes. This book is part of a three book series and a twisted version of Wizard of Oz. There are no bad parts to the book in my eyes. The major theme is don't judge a book by it's cover. All ages can enjoy this book, but there is slight cursing and blood. So if you have a book wish list, definitely add this book to it.

Reviewer's Name: Mia G.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
Rowling, J.K.
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

I found this book really good sure some people would have a hard time reading a sceen play but I found this easy and im reading the second book right now and I would recommend this book to all ages this book took place in the 1920 before harry potter and it gives you the chance to use your imagination to picture these fantastic creature.

Reviewer's Name: David
Genres:
The Young Elites
Lu, Marie
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review:

(Slight Spoiler Alert)
The Young Elites is a book of teens and young adults who are very powerful (literally). The main character Adelina heard about The Elites when she was a child but it wasn’t until a major event in her life when she figured she was apart of them. As a child Adelina’s mother died of the same disease that killed thousands of adults and gave children markings making them malfettos and very few elites. Since Adelina’s mother died when she was very young and Adelina became a malfetto it left her vulnerable of abuse from her father. Adelina developed a hatred for her father but always stayed loyal to her sister Violetta. Violetta and Adelina kept each other calm.

One day Adelnia decided to escape from her father’s madness. On her way Adelina does a crime discovering her abilities. Adelina gets in lots of trouble with the Inquisition but is able to escape. When Adelina escapes she joins the Dagger Society a group of young elites. The Dagger Society has a goal to wipe out the Inquisitors. Within the goal Adelina has some drama within the group. Adelina is relatable to teens experiencing intensified versions of how teens feel such as passion, anger, happiness, and much more.

Reviewer's Name: Alexia