This is a Guest Review by Mrs. Sneakyreader

Subtitle: The First in an Unfoogettable Series

Author: Obert Skye

Genre: Young Reader Fantasy (9+)

Rating: **** (4 Stars)

Summary:

Leven Thumps is a fourteen year old orphan living in a trailer home with his aunt and uncle, who don’t really want him around but feel obligated.  Unknown to Leven, he lives near a gateway to a magical world called Foo. Foo is threatened by the malevolent Sabine, who, if victorious, will destroy not only Foo, but our world as well.

By Fate, Leven meets three messengers from Foo, who tell Leven about Food, and explain that Leven alone has power to save it from the forces of Sabine.

This is the first of a series of books describing Leven’s efforts to save Foo.

Mrs. Sneakyreader’s Opinion:

Leven Thumps is very well written.  The characters are complex and convincing.  The story is complex but understandable.  A joy to read.

Potentially Offensive Content:

None- this book is family friendly and intended for ages 9 and up.

Have you read this book?  Share your opinion by commenting.

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This is a guest review by Mrs. Sneakyreader

Author: Brandon Mull

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Rating: ****(4 Stars – as rated by Mrs. Sneakyreader)

Summary:

Seth and Kendra are spending time at their grandparents farm, Fablehaven.  While there, they are given a set of strict rules.  Seth becomes curious, and ventures into the nearby forest without permission, where he begins to learn about the magical creatures that inhabit the forest.

The children find out that their grandfather is the caretaker of the magical forest and is tasked with maintaining the balance of good and evil among the creatures who live there.

As Kendra and Seth explore, they accidentally break a protective spell, and their grandfather is abducted by mysterious creatures.  Seth and Kendra must rescue him and restore the balance of power at Fablehaven.

Mrs. Sneakyreader’s Opinion:

I loved Fablehaven.  It is imaginative, humorous, and filled with unexpected plot twists.  I thought the children were unnecessarily rude to each other at times, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story.

Potentially Offensive Content:

None.

Have you read this book?  Share your opinion by commenting.

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This is a Guest Review by Mrs. Sneakyreader.

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Rating: *** (3 Stars)

Summary:

Isabella (“Bella”) Swan is a high school student who moves Arizona to Washington State to live with her father, Charlie.  On her first day at her new school, Bella catches a fellow student, Edward Cullen, staring at her.  He is in one of her classes, but gives her the cold shoulder and tries unsuccessfully to transfer out of the class, causing Bella to think she has offended him somehow.

Later, Edward pulls Bella out of the path of a speeding car, then saves her from a group of men who are harassing her.  They become aware of their mutual attraction and begin spending lots of time together.

Eventually, Bella realizes that Edward is a vampire, and is torn between his love for Bella and his constant desire to drink her blood.  Twilight is the story of the conflict between Edward and Bella’s love for each other and the danger posed by their being together.

Mrs. Sneakyreader’s Opinion:

The story, though simplistic, is pretty good.  The vampire characters have special abilities which make the book interesting.  I thought the pace was a bit slow, and some things could have been said with fewer words.

I expected that Twilight, being a vampire novel, would have more action and adventure, in addition to the romance.  There is very little action until the last quarter of the book.  The rest is largely about Bella’s feelings.

Bella is a whiney teenage drama queen, who constantly complains about her circumstances.  Once she and Edward get acquainted, nearly every page mentions how gorgeous Edward is, and how Bella would give up anything in order to be with him.  I found this a bit annoying, though it didn’t stop me from enjoying the book.

Potentially Offensive Content:

Mild violence, lots of kissing, descriptions of vampires “doing their thing.”

Have you read this book?  Share your opinion by commenting.

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You leave a book you no longer want on at a park bench or coffee shop for another reader to find.  You can then visit BookCrossing.com to find out where your book has been.  To do this, you register your book with BookCrossing, and receive a unique serial number to identify it.  You then label the book with the serial number and “release it into the wild” at a location of your choice.

The person who finds a BookCrossing book can visit the site to find out where it has been, and add their own journal entry if they choose.  You don’t have to be a member to leave a journal entry.  The site is anonymous, and no one will try to sell you anything.  Memberships are free.  You may, if you choose, purchase books and labels through the BookCrossing store- this is now the site is supported.

BookCrossing has been around since 2001, and now boasts over 680,000 member around the world.  Members can list books on their “virtual bookshelves” and trade them directly to other members instead of “releasing into the wild.”

My releases

Just a couple of hours ago I left a copy of The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman at a Starbucks in Downey, California.  You can track it at www.BookCrossing.com/086-6851142

Buying every book I read would be prohibitively expensive, so I mostly use the library.  Every now and then I’ll buy a book, especially if I’m traveling.  Whenever I release a book, I’ll announce it on this blog and provide a link to its journal.

Author: John Demos

Genre: Nonfiction, History

Rating: **** (4 Stars)

Summary:

John Demos is a professor and scholar of history.  The Enemy Within is “the end product of an almost half-century engagement with witchcraft study” dating back to a term paper he wrote as a grad student in 1960.  Demos observes that “witch hunt” is a widely used metaphor in today’s world, and sets out to compare and contrast modern metaphorical witch hunts with the literal witch hunts of the past.  He begins with the Roman persecution of Christians in the 2nd century A.D., continuing up to the Salem witch trials in 17th century Massachusetts. Demos notes consistent patterns in events leading to accusations, people who were accused, and how witch-hunts sometimes spiral out of control as the accused name others in attempts to save their own lives.

After Salem, Demos focuses on several more modern incidents, including attacks on Freemasons, Mormons and Catholics; various “Red scares”; the McCarthy hearings of the 1950’s; and the child sex abuse/satanism accusations of the 1980’s, showing similarities and differences in the ways each progressed.  One common thread is the suspension of rights normally accorded to the accused, leading to the conviction of people who later turn out to be innocent or at least harmless.

My Thoughts:

The best historians make their subject relevant to modern society.  John Demos accomplishes that admirably.  As I read about the persecutions of past centuries, and the spurious evidences that often led to conviction, I wondered how people could be so gullible.  Then I read about the nationwide flurry of accusations alleging satanic sex rings operating out of child-care centers, the spurious evidences and unconscionable violations of due process and normal legal procedures that led to convictions of innocent people, and I began to understand.

People in every age have something they are afraid of, whether it be witches, communists, child molesters, or terrorists.  When enough people feel enough fear, it is terrifyingly easy to start a witch hunt, whether by intentional manipulation, or by hysterical overreaction.

Witch hunts are ultimately about people becoming hysterical and attacking a perceived threat.  The more insight we have into the factors that lead to witch-hunts, the better we will recognize when we are contributing to the problem, and hopefully avoid the needless destruction of human lives.  I think that is the real value of this book.

Potentially Offensive Content:

The Enemy Within is an intense book due to the nature of its subject matter.  It discusses some of the ugliest aspects of human nature.  That said, I don’t think anything in it is offensive when taken in context.

Have you read this book?  Share your opinion by commenting.

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