Liberator by Bryan Davis

Genre- Juvenile Fiction/Religious/Christian/Fantasy

Liberator by Bryan Davis

Series- Dragons of Starlight

Published by- Zondervan

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 432

Age Group- Young Adult (13-17)

Description of book- softcover, list price $9.99, ISBN: 978-0-310-71839-0

In the last book of the series the human army is coming to save the slaves.  Jason, Koren and Elyssa are working to save the slaves and army from a deadly disease.  The new dragon king Taushin is trying to pit the dragons against each other.  He is also trying to get one of the Starlighters, Koren or Cassabrie, under his control.  Koren and Cassabrie have their own plans on how to save everyone.  Will the disease kill all the humans?  Will the dragons kill all the humans?  Or will the dragons and humans form alliances and find a remedy to the deadly disease?

About the author- Bryan Davis lives in western Tennessee where he lives with his wife and seven children. He has written the series, Dragons in Our Midst, Oracles of Fire, and Echoes from the Edge.

My thoughts- This book needs an introduction that discusses what has happened in the other three books.  I didn’t remember what had happened in the last book, so I had to struggle to remember as I was reading the first couple of chapters.  Another thing that would have been helpful would have been a list of the characters and their roles.  I kept getting confused between human and dragon and bad and good.

This was the best book in the series because the action happens and the reader learns more about the Creator and how the Starlighters are crucial to saving the human slaves.  The dragons are interesting in their alliances between themselves and with the humans (some their former slaves).  I was interested in the relationship between Jason and Elyssa.  I didn’t know they even had a relationship.  I always thought the relationship would be between Jason and Koren.

I would recommend this book to all teens and especially those who have already read the other books in the series.  They really need the closure that takes place in the last book.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Liberator by Bryan Davis for free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.

The Orphan King by Sigmund Brouwer

Genre- Fiction/Young Adult

Series- Merlin’s Immortals (Book 1)

Published by- WaterBrook Multnomah

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 220

Age Group- Young Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $9.99, ISBN 978-1-4000-7154-8

It was started in Magnus and Wings of Dawn and now the story of Thomas is being explored in greater detail.

Thomas was raised in a monastery and now must leave to save a knight from being hung and to gain two more traveling companions and go to Magnus.  He carries himself well even though he is in unfamiliar territory.

Will his companions help him obtain his goals or will they stop his progress along the way?

About the author- Sigmund Brouwer has over three million books in print and has done a Rock and Roll Literacy presentation all over North America for the past 20 years.  He lives with his wife and two daughters in Canada and Tennessee.

My thoughts- Sometimes I have to search high and low for books that are suitable for teen boys.  This book I would recommend, because there are no vampires, werewolves,  and little romance.

One thing I didn’t like about The Orphan King is that the synopsis on the back doesn’t have much to do with what happens in this book.  It seems that it discusses what the series is about and not much more.

I did like how the characters were developed and the details in the scenery.  I was surprised at how much mental strength Thomas had.  He was an orphan and raised in an monastery, to things that I thought would really decrease his chances of success.  It would seem that others could learn from Thomas- that persevering through the rough spots will make you strong.

I am looking forward to the other books in this series and I recommend this book to teen boys.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received The Orphan King by Sigmund Brouwer for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah “Blogging For Books” program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Grant- The Generals Series by Mitchell Yockelson

Genre- History/Military/General

Published by- Thomas Nelson

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 194

Age Group- Adult and younger

Description of Book- hardback, list price $19.99, ISBN 978-1-5955-5452-9

Ulysses Grant has been called many things and one of them is a great general of the Union Army.  He probably never thought he would be general in chief when he was younger, because he reluctantly went to West Point and resigned from the army at 32.

Grant decided during the beginning of the Civil War to help the troops in Illinois and he was reinstated into the army and used his knowledge to help win the war for the Union. 

He is portrayed as a defender of the U.S. with common sense and determination.

Author- Mitchell Yockelson is an instructor of history at the United State Navel Academy and Norwich University and an Investigative Archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration.  He has a doctorate from the Royal Military College of Science, Cranfield University.  He has written another book MacArthur: America’s General, which is part of the General’s Series.

My Thoughts- The books in this series have been interesting and simple enough that they could be read as “living books” in a history class and so does this one.  This book would work for most grades either reading aloud or silent reading.  I have begun to read this book to my first and third grade children and they want me to read more.

I enjoyed learning information I didn’t know about my distant cousin, like how he really didn’t have a drinking problem and how his name changed to Ulysses S. Grant.  I know this series is about generals, but I would have enjoyed learning more about his presidency. 

I highly recommend this book as recreational reading or to be read in school.  I just wish there was a list of other books in the series listed in this one.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Grant: Savior of the Union by Mitchell Yockelson for free from the publisher through the BookSneeze Review Bloggers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame by L. L. Samson

Genre- Juvenile Fiction/General

Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame by L. L. Samson

Series- The Enchanted Attic

Published by- Zondervan

Copyrighted- 2012

Number of pages- 141

Age Group- Tweens

Description of book- softcover, list price $7.99, ISBN: 978-0-310-72795-8

A secret attic is discovered by twins, Ophelia and Linus.  As an avid bookworm, twelve-year-old Ophelia falls asleep reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the attic when she wakes up and discovers Quasimodo.  The twins have the help of friends to keep Quasimodo safe and to help him get back to the time and place where he belongs before he is destroyed. 

Will they make it in time?

About the author- L. L. Samson has been a co-author with her husband and has written over 25 books herself.

 

My thoughts- I was captivated by this book from the beginning.  I thought it was clever to have two different titles to most of the chapters and I was reminded of the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis with the word usage.

 

I have been trying to think of something that I didn’t like about this book and I can’t think of anything.  The plot and characters were well developed and I couldn’t stop reading it once I started. 

 

Other than the excellent storyline, I thought it was great that this book was written for both boys and girls.  It is difficult to find good books for boys and it is great when the book works well for boys or girls.

 

I would highly recommend this book to all juveniles.  This book made me want to check The Hunchback of Notre Dame out of the library so I could learn even more about Quasimodo.  I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame by L. L. Samson for free from Zondervan. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.