The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman is a great fantasy novel about a boy raised by ghosts named Nobody"Bod"Owens. One night, when he was a baby, a man(referred to as "The man Jack") stabbed his elder sister and parents, but Bod crawled out of the house and up the hill to explore. He was found by two ghosts (The Owenses) who were allowed to be his foster parents by the other ghosts. Bod's real guardian, Silas(the caretaker of the church near the graveyard) persuaded The man Jack to search for the baby somewhere else.

Bod is raised like a ghost and is given many abilities including the ability to move through solid objects. The book follows Bod in his adventures in and out of his graveyard. As a young boy, he becomes friends with a girl named Scarlett, but her mother convinces her that Bod is imaginary. Her family eventually moves. He learns many things from the ghost like haunting, dream-walking, and fading. Bod is eventually allowed to go to school, where he does well. He finds it difficult to make friends though. Later, Scarlett and her mother return to the town, but so does the man Jack, who wants to finish the task he failed at many years ago. 

The book is written in a very interesting way. For instance, Neil Gaiman never directly tells you what

Silas is (though he hints that Silas is a vampire), or what Bod's tutor, Miss Lepescu is either. At times, you can see a pattern similar to Rudyard Kipling's novel The Jungle Book. Altogether, it is a great read that I encourage you to try. 

I rate this book 7 out of 10.

Ender's Game

Ender's Game is about a classic sci-fi novel by Orson Scott Card about a 6 year old boy named Ender Wiggins. The books takes place in the future (about a hundred years). The IF(International Fleet), an organization created to protect the world against the alien buggers, is recruiting young kids to be trained in battle school. The best will go to command school, and the best there will be seen as choices to lead the army. They do this by installing monitors in children's necks at young ages to see if they are good enough.

Ender is a 6 year old boy who's siblings were both by the IF but were not good enough. They didn't pick his 10 year old brother, Peter, because Peter looks to destroy everything and is too violent. They didn't pick Ender's sister, Valentine, because she is too kind and considerate to lead an army. Ender's family was allowed to have a third child(a very rare thing) because they wanted to see if he would be a mix of his siblings. Peter, however, is envious of Ender and constantly bullies him.

Later he is chosen to go to battle school. Colonel Graff, of the International Fleet, immediately starts making things tough for Ender in every possible way. This is because he believes that Ender will eventually be able to lead the international fleet in war. Ender is isolated, and at times, the rules are changed specifically to impede his success. Ender however gets around all these obstacles and finds success.

This is a very interesting book, and some of the futuristic technology adds to the excitement. There is also a lot of zero gravity action, since most of the book takes place in space.

I rate this 8 out of 10

The Cay

The Cay is a book about an American boy living in Willemstad, Curaçao named Philip, who's mother believes that it is unsafe to stay there because of the many German submarines in the area during World War II. Philip's mother convinces him to come back to Virginia with her, but on the way, their ship gets torpedoed. Philip gets a nasty blow on the head fro debris, and wakes up on a raft with Timothy, an old, large black man who worked on the ship, and a Cat.

While on the raft, Philip becomes blind from looking directly at the sun. In a few days, they reach a small cay in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, and they must survive there for many months. Timothy also tries to teach Philip the necessary skills to live by himself on the island, in case Timothy dies. Philip eventually knows the island as though he could see it because of Timothy's training.

Also, Philip's mom brought him up to dislike blacks and other non-white sailors who came to Willemstad. Throughout the book, his opinion changes. This is a great read that anyone can enjoy.

I rate this book  7+ out of 10

The City of Orphans

The City of Orphans is a great historical fiction book by Avi. It is about Maks Geless, a 13 year old son of Danish immigrants who lives in the tenements of New York in the 1893. Maks works as a newboy (newsie), but like all the other newsies who sell The World, he has to watch out for Bruno, and his Plug Ugly gang. One day, the gang corners him, and he is forced to run into a small alley where he gets cornered by the gang. When they beat him up, he calls for help. In the middle of the alley, a homeless person gets up and beats the Plug Uglies with a stick. 

She is Willa, a homeless girl. Her mother died, and her father disappeared, so she now lives alone on the streets of New York. Maks takes her home telling her that she can get food there, and that his mom is very nice. Upon arrival, however, they learn that Maks' oldest sister Emma, who works as a maid at the Waldorf Hotel, has been jailed for stealing a watch from there! Maks knows that she would never steal. Maks and Willa learn some detective skills and try to find out who really stole the watch, all the while having to evade the Plug Uglies.

This is a very good book, and is also a great way to learn about New York in the late 19th century.

I rate this 7+ out of 10.

Case of the Stuttering Bishop

Case of the Stuttering Bishop by Earl Stanley Gardner is a great mystery novel. The main character is Perry Mason, a lawyer who does lots of detective work too (which sometimes helps his clients). The books starts with Bishop William Mallory, a bishop who 

stutters, asking Mason for help. Then  Bishop Mallory is attacked in his hotel. 

Later, Julia Branner who knew Bishop Mallory a long time ago, asks for help to prove that the "granddaughter" living with Renwold Brownley, a rich man in LA, is an impostor. Renwold Brownley's real granddaughter is Julia Branner's daughter. The story goes into a whole bunch of complications, including the murder of Renwold Brownley(where Julia Branner is one of the police's suspects),  when finally, Perry Mason figures out who the murderer was, and who the impostor was. 

This was a great novel, and it was interesting to see a lawyer do lots of detective work too. I would have to say that Sherlock Holmes and Poirot are better though ;-)! This is a book which you should certainly try reading. 

I rate this 7 out of 10.

Watership Down

Watership Down by Richard Adams is a great fiction book about a group of rabbits who live in Hampshire County, England. The rabbits are anthropomorphized, possessing their own culture, language(Lapine), poetry, and mythology. The story starts in the Sandleford warren with Fiver, a runt rabbit (who is a seer) recieving a vision of the warren's destruction. He and elder brother Hazel try to talk their chief rabbit into evacuating the warren, but the chief rabbit disagrees. Hazel and Fiver manage to convince a small band of rabbits to come with them, including 2 Owsla(the 'police') Bigwig, and Silver to come with them.

Finally, after a long journey (by rabbit standards:  less than 5 miles), the group, reaches Watership Down, a hill in Hampshire County. They establish a warren, however,  they are uncertain about the future, as they have no does to continue the warren.The rest of the book is spent trying to get more does, and they go through many difficulties, including a fight against a large warren, called Efrafa. For this they get the help of a large bird named Kehaar.

Throughout the book, only real place names are used also, though the animals have a language, mythology, and can understand some ideas (e.g. wood floats, which came in use to them when crossing a river, and later when escaping from the Efrafans), that most animals can't, these rabbits can physically do only what real rabbits can.  This was a great and interesting book which I recommend you read.

I rate this book 7 out of 10.