The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Book Jacket

Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort.  But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves.  Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse, unknown dangers.  Finally, it was Bilbo--alone and unaided--who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside...

Review

YAY!  I just...really love Tolkien.  Rereading The Hobbit is like taking a warm bath.  I just want to snuggle into the story.  Yet despite its comfort factor, I am amazed that each time I read it, I draw more from the story, and love the characters in new ways.

Let's take Bilbo, hobbit hero and predecessor to future hobbit hero Frodo.  Bilbo likes eating and watching nature do its nature thing in Hobbiton.  When he is thrust into an adventure, he spends a good chunk of time bemoaning his state and wishing he were home.  But when push comes to shove, he realizes he can do far more than he ever imagined (or needed to be, home under The Hill).  The best part about Bilbo is that he takes his experiences and learns from them!  He does one thing awesome, so the next time something scary comes along, he is more confident.

Of course, it must help to have a ring that turns you invisible.

DUN DUN DUN.

Gandalf is brilliant.  Thorin Oakenshield is nicely pompous, and prideful to a fault.  I adore Fili and Kili, and Dori is a friendly curmudgeon.  But Smaug!  I want a snarky dragon!  I mean, not really, because he would be snarky up until he ate me.  But.  His scenes are delicious (har har).

I cannot wait until The Hobbit becomes a movie next year.  I will be there at midnight with bells on (or maybe a cloak.  Or a ring.  Or a dragon!). 

Five out of five men of Dale.

Release Date: January 1966
Reading Level: Grade 5+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: YPL TOL

Otis by Loren Long

Book Jacket

Otis is a special tractor.  He loves his farm and farmer.  He particularly loves the little calf in the next stall, whom he purrs to sleep with his soft motor.  The two become great friends, romping in the fields, leaping bales of hay and playing ring-around-the-rosy by Mud Pond.

But when the big yellow tractor comes to the farm and replaces Otis, he is cast away to rust beind the barn--until the little calf gets stuck in Mud Pond.  Then there is only one tractor (and it's not big or yellow) who saves the day.  It's little Otis!

Artist Loren Long has crafted an unforgettable story--and a truly unforgettable character.

Review

I have never in my life thought of a tractor as cute, but Long has changed all that.  Otis is adorable.  If I had to give a big blue ribbon to either him or the little calf, I...wouldn't know which to choose.  The artwork is amazing.

However, I just really dislike stories about inanimate objects being real, when the object is to make me feel bad about replacing them.  Sometimes tractors get old.  Sometimes playing with toys isn't fun anymore (I'm looking at you, Toy Story), and I don't want to be emotionally manipulated into thinking they have feelings.  So.  I can't love Otis, because he emotionally manipulated me.

However, I like stories about odd friendships, and I appreciated that Otis saved the little calf by helping her save herself.

Three out of five haybales.

Release Date: September 2009
Reading Level: Grade PreK+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: MONARCH

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Book Jacket

Twelve-year-old Catherine just wants a normal life.  Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability.  She's spent years trying to teach David the rules from "a peach is not a funny-looking apple" to "keep your pants on in public"--in order to head off David's embarrassing behaviors.

But the summer Catherine meets Jason, a surprising, new sort-of friend, and Kristi, the potential next door friend she's always wished for, it's her own shocking behavior that turns everything upside down and forces her to ask: What is normal?

Filled with humor and warmth, Cynthia Lord's debut novel takes a candid and sensitive look at feeling different and finding acceptance--beyond the rules.

Review

This book made me feel all the feelings.  Not in a gooey way.  Lord has a fantastic ability to write an "issue" book--relationships with handicapable people--with real honesty, humor, and poignancy.

I loved Catherine because she is equal parts loyal and defensive.  She felt like a real 12-year-old.  I loved the honesty of her relationship with every single character.  She loves her little brother, but is always looking for the next way he will embarrass her.  She loves her mom and dad, but resents that they pay more attention to David than to her, while simultaneously realizing they have to.  She desperately wants to be friends with Kris, but isn't willing to open up about the things she really cares about.  And she genuinely likes Jason, the boy in the wheelchair who uses picture words to talk, but she is uncomfortable with how other people see her when she is with him.

It's all very heartbreaking and uncomfortable--because I share those same incongruous emotions when it comes to handicapable people.  That's why books like Rules are so important, to remind the privileged and the healthy that everyone deserves respect, attention, and friendship.

Five out of five grape sodas.

Release Date: April 2006
Reading Level: Grade 4+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: BLUESTEM

Physik by Angie Sage

Septimus goes back in time with Jenna, Nicko, Snorri, and Beetle to the time to save them.  Septimus is apprenticed to Marcellus Pye who is Princess Esmerelda's brother.  (Jenna is recognized as Esmerelda.)

Recommend to:  Everyone

Jiyoon (grade 3)

Drink Slay Love by Sarah Beth Durst

Book Jacket

Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire, fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil...until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn.  Oops.

Her Family think she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist) and they're shocked she survived.  They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun.  But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent.  The vampire king of New England has chosen Pearl's Family to host his feast.  If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the king's feast--as the entrees.

The only problem?  Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience.  How can she serve up her new friends--especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache--to be slaughtered?  Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her Family.  What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

Review

With a title that mocks Eat Pray Love and is about a vampire being horned by a unicorn, I was really looking forward to a cracktastic fun read.  Unfortunately, the book was not as funny as I wanted it to be, but neither did it manage to be dramatic or the least bit suspenseful.

There were two things I liked:  Durst's description of Pearl being in the sunlight for the first time (she was born a vampire, not made, so it was the very first time for her).  It was beautiful and felt very real.  I also loved the idea of were-unicorns.

Unforutnately, I really want someone else to write a story about were-unicorns.  And that's never a good sign.

The characters never felt realistic.  Nearly all the high schooler's dialogue was so outrageously "witty" that I couldn't take them seriously.  Many plot threads had the potentail for drama but mostly fell through.  There were hints that vampires have consciences even without being staked by a unicorn, and that would have been fascinating to explore!  But less than twenty pages after explicitly mentioning this, the door to examining it was closed. 

I wanted a lot more out of this book than I got.

Two out of five bad proms.

Release Date: September 2011
Reading Level: Grade 9+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: YPL DUR

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian

Book Jacket

Prepare to laugh out loud while reading this tell-all tale from a goldfish.  With his bowl to himself and his simple routine, Goldfish loves his life...until one day...When assorted intruders including a hyperactive bubbler, a grime-eating snail, a pair of amorous guppies, and a really crabby crab invade his personal space and bowl, Goldfish is put out, to say the least.  But time away from his new companions gives him a chance to rethink the pros and cons of a solitary life.  And discover what he's been missing.

Review

Sometimes it's not that we don't like people...it's just that we need space.  At least, that's what I took away from this book about the travails of a housepet.  Me and Goldfish, we understand each other.  Thankfully, though miffed that people keep taking over his home, Goldfish comes to appreciate them, disgusting though they might be.

The real fun of this book comes to those who have been fish owners.  The silly plants and bubble divers.  The gross but fascinating snails that clean the tank scum.  Guppies who seemingly multiply overnight.  And crabs, scuttling around unseen until they pinch you.  Fun stuff.

But not fun enough to make me want to own fish again.  Or to make me vote this as Monarch winner.

Three out of five fish faces.

Release Date: April 2010
Reading Level: Grade K+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: MONARCH

Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

Book Jacket

Percy Jackson isn't expecting freshman orientation to be any fun.  But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.

In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near.  Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos's army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders.  To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth--a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.  Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this latest story promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.

Review

I love mazes and labyrinths.  I loved it in King's Quest, Final Fantasy 8, and Harry Potter 4.  I love fall corn mazes.  They fill me with dread and excitement.  There's something so quintessentially adventurous about willingly getting lost in order to find something. 

So Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson delving into an epic Labyrinth that spans the entire United States, filled with tricks and missteps and monsters--I'm in love!  It is no surprise that this is my favorite of the Percy Jackson series. 

This time around Nico has a larger, and darker, role.  He quickly became one of my favorite characters.  Rachel I'm not so in love with, though that is probably because of the way Percy's romance with Annabeth is complicated by her (and by Luke, and by Calypso....lots of love trials in this book).  I loved the appearances by some of the gods and goddesses.  When they are good, they break my heart.  When they are bad, I am gleefully entertained.

Five out of five blue hairbrushes.

Release Date: May 2008
Reading Level: Grade 5+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: YPL RIO