Pendragon: The Merchant of Death by D.J MacHale

MacHale, D.J(2002). Pendrahon: the merchant of death. New York: Alladin Publishing. 

Summary

The story takes place in the Denduron territory which, other than having three moons, is exactly like Earth. This book is the first in the series and has two different subplots, one is Bobby's adventures in Denduron and the other is on Second Earth where Bobby's friends, Mark and Courtney, live and they communicate with each other through Bobby's journals. 

The story begins when Bobby Pendragon is taken by his uncle Press to an abandoned subway station where he discovers that he, like his uncle, is a traveler with the ability to travel through space and time. At the station, Bobby is taken to a world called Denduron where evil Saint Dane is starting a war between the ruling Bedoowan and the enslaved Milago miners. As soon as they arrive, Bobby is captured and scheduled to be executed. 

Review

Soooooooo, great! This book is easy to read, very fast paced, and readers will fall in love with Bobby and the other strong characters introduced in this book. Fans of Harry Potter and Charlie Bone will love this series and will finish wanting more. 

Genre

Fantasy

Readers Age/Interest Level

10-13 years/Tween

Similar Books

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Coifer

Harry Potter series- J.K Rowling

Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo
Characters

Robert "Bobby" Pendragon - The main character of the story, a 14-year-old boy from Second Earth. He doesn't want to be part of his destiny as traveler but he has to accept it for all the territories. Especially Second Earth. Bobby always seems to mess things up but he is brave and has smart thinking. Bobby is very brave throughout the whole book.

Saint Dane - The villain of the story, an evil Traveler capable of shape-shifting. His goal is to bring chaos to Halla and re-build it for himself. Halla is everything that separates good from evil. It is very common of Saint Dane to make himself in a important position so he can create war and chaos on the inside feeding information and causing wars in all the territories.

Press Tilton - Bobby's uncle. A very experienced Traveler, who helps Bobby learn as he becomes one. He is one of the older generation of Travelers, so he is able to answer most of Bobby's questions. Later, he told Bobby that he was not his real, blood-related uncle. All the Milago look up to him and he will always fight for the good of things.

Mark Dimond - Bobby's best friend from Second Earth; described as a science nerd, long black hair that "always looks as if it should be washed", and extremely intelligent. He is the one Bobby sends all his records to while he is in other territories. He teams up with Courtney to help their friend.

Courtney Chetwynde - Another of Bobby's friends from Earth and his love life; described as doing pretty well academically with the exception of math, and is amazing at sports. She is Bobby's friend, girlfriend, and wife. She teams up with Mark Dimond.

Loor - The traveler from Zadaa. She is described as an extremely attractive warrior. Loor travels to Denduron with her adoptive mother to help stop Saint Dane. She shuns Bobby because of her mothers death, but later makes up with him. She is very mean to Bobby but when he does a heroic act at the end, Bobby is forgiven

Readers Annotation

Not a great family reunion.....

The Gift by James Patterson


Patterson, J. (2010). The Gift. New York: Little Brown and Company.
Summary
This book picks up where the book Witch and Wizard leaves off and Whit manages to save his captured sister before her execution. Now Whit and Wisty Allgood are running away from "The one who is the one" and using their recently discovered magical powers to find and join the rebel forces at the same time of running from the brutal government who are chasing them.
Review
I have always been a fan of Patterson and was pleased that he started writing for tweens and teens. Although this book gets readers off to a great start, there are weird holes in the storyline and characters that make absolutely no sense. Some of the instances in this book are a bit ugly and extreme and are better suited for his adult novels. I think I will still give this another shot, but it is definitely better for the older tweens and teens.
Genre
Fantasy
Reading Age/Interest Level
12-18/ Older Tween/Teen
Similar Books
Witch and Wizard series by James Patterson
Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
Daniel X: Demons and Druids by James Patterson
Readers Annotation
Whit and Wisty barley escaped with their lives from the forces of the totalitarian regime, New Order, and they must join forces to save those that share the same magical abilities and secrets. 

The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero- Rick Riordan

Riordan, R. (2010). The lost hero. California: Disney-Hyperion.
Summary
New demi-gods at Camp Half-Blood, Jason, Piper, and Leo are just coming to understand their knew powers and abilities. Just as in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, there is a great back story and present upheaval of the Gods. Realizing that their parents are in their Roman personae rather than Greek throws them for a loop as they must rescue Hera, Queen of the Gods, or Porphyrion, who is a giant king created to destroy Zeus, will rise and kill all those who stand in his way.
The three take their adventure throughout the United States as they battle monsters and evil Gods, and grow and deal with their own inner battles of tween angst. Oh yeah, Percy Jackson is also missing and it is up to the three to find the lost hero.
Review
This is a great twist on the popular Percy Jackson books. Fans will love the fact that they stay true to the original story and characters, and readers still get brief glimpses of familiar characters Percy, Annabeth and Grover. I love the twist of Roman vs. Greek gods since this is always a confusing thing for some kids to understand and that the adventures took place in familiar places. Readers are thrown head first into new battles, new relationships, and new challenges and Riordan has done it again with giving readers a new series to fall in love with.
Genre
Fantasy Fiction
Reading Level/Interest Level
9-12 years old/Tweens
Similar Books
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
The Cronus Chronicles by Anne Ursu
Characters
Jason Grace: Jason, age 15, is a son of Jupiter (the Roman form of Zeus). Jason is the younger brother of Thalia Grace, who is the daughter of Zeus (the Greek form of Jupiter).  He was raised in a different camp who believe in the Roman aspect of the gods. Jason arrives at camp with no memory of his past, his family or his friends. Jason finds out that Hera has erased his memory in order to exchange the best heroes of both camps (the other hero being Percy Jackson) and make them fight together against the Giant's invasion of Olympus.
Leo Valdez- Leo is age 15, and is a son of Hephaestus. Leo is able to conjur and withstand fire, a rare ability gifted by Hephaestus that his siblings suggest may herald catastrophe. He is tormented by the death of his mother and believes his fire conjuring power caused her death. He had a nanny called Tia Callida (who was actually Hera in disguise) who would place him in danger and retell him that his future would determine the outcome of Olympus.
Piper McLean- Age 15, A daughter of Aphrodite. She has the ability to "charmspeak", or talk anything, or anyone, into doing whatever she wants except for other Charmspeakers. Her father is a famous movie star and is kidnapped by the Giants (the monsters). She is in love with Jason Grace and is upset to find all her memories of him were fake.
Readers Annotation
Sometime silence is golden, but not this time.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1- the movie

Heyman, D. (Producer) and Yates, D. (Director). (2010). Harry potter and the deathly hallows [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers Pictures.
Summary
Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic and his power and hatred for Harry Potter is growing. Along with the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to finish Dumbledore's work and find the rest of the Horcruxes and destroy them in order to finally defeat the Dark Lord. Throughout this movie friendship, love, heroism, and trust play huge parts in the relationships from all of the characters and the  secret history of Dumbledore and Voldemort is revealed.
Review
Who waited in line for 8 hours to see this morning?!!? I did, I did! I would be lying to say that I am completely bias towards this series but honestly, this movie was a perfect representation of the first part of the book. The movie creators did little to stray from the true story and it was exciting to see everything come to life. Viewers will not be disappointed from this fast paced adventure and will be sad that it is almost over.
Genre
Motion Picture
Interest Level
Tween-Adult
Similar Movies
The Harry Potter movies
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Annotation
Voldemort's power and hatred for Harry Potter has grown and alliances are weakened. Will Harry Potter destroy himself in the process of destroying the most evil?

The Ring of Five by Eoin Mcnamee

McNamee, E. (2010). Ring of Five. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. 

Plot

Danny Caulfield thought his odd features such as elvish shaped ears, sharp chin, and triangular face were the result of a botched operation. Just when his life couldn't get any worse, his parents have decided to send him to Heston Oaks boarding school. Before he even has a chance to voice his concern, a black taxi pulls up to his house and the mysterious drive takes him on a journey that will forever change his perception on real life. Danny is thrown into a world of magic, devious arts, and spy kits and fellow students who have gold tipped wings and other amazing special powers. As he is trying to fit in, he is shocked to find out that he has the marks of everyones worst enemy, the Cherbs, and Danny is the final piece to their taking over of the Upper World. 

Review

I am a sucker for Harry Potter like books. Give me an orphan who turns his terrible life and becomes the absolute force for saving humanity, I am hooked! I was a little nervous as to whether this book would be a sad take on the Potter or Lightening Thief series but I was blown away by the mass differences and dark nature to Danny. He has been destined to be bad and he must now battle (literally) with himself in order to save mankind. This is a fantastic book to hook reluctant readers and I can see this being another bestselling series. 

Genre

Fantasy

Reading Level/Interest Level

5th-8th grade/Tweens

Similar Books

Harry Potter series- J.K Rowling

Percy Jackson series- Rick Riordan

Children on the Read King series- Jenny Nimmo

Readers Annotation

When Danny is given another chance at life, he would never have imagined that this would mean he would have to forgo everything good that he has ever believed in. As part of the Ring of Five he is destined to take over the Upper World and destroy everything in their way. Will Danny have the strength and be able to fight against his own destiny and save humanity and himself?

The Boneshaker by Kate Milford

Milford, K. (2010). The boneshaker. New York: Clarion Books.

Plot

 At the crossroads lies a ghost town that was abandoned years ago under mysterious circumstances. When the town of Arcane was founded, its founders decided to move it up the road to keep it from falling under the same fate. Growing up in such a place, Natalie is fascinated with anything mechanical and is mesmerized when Dr. Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show stops in her fathers bicycle repair shop and asks to fix a broken wagon wheel to their caravan. Knowing that Dr. Jake is more sinister than he leads on, she is the only one who can save the town after everyone has fallen for his miracle cures and snake oil remedies.

Review

A new twist on Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" Boneshaker is as creepy as it is good. Milford's writing is incredibly detailed and you can smell the gears as they start to turn and you can feel the tickle in your nose as the dust is lifted off the single road leading into town. There are going to be characters that seem to weave in and out of the story, some serve a lot and some are there solely to fill up pages. Whichever the case, this is a fantastic novel about the strength of family, community and bravery. 

Genre

Fantasy

Reading Level/Interest Level

10-12 years/Tween

Similar Books

A Tale Dark and Grimm- Adam Gidwitz

Revolver- Marcus Sedgwick

The Carnivorous Carnival- Lemony Snicket

Readers Annotation

13 year old Natalie loves anything with gears and wheels, until her small town, family and herself are thrust into a gear like story that will force Natalie to face down with the devil himself.

Scumble by Ingrid Law

Law, I. (2010). Scumble. New York: Dial Publishing. 

Summary

This story continues the tradition of savvy gifts to those of the Beaumont family who turn 13. Now, Ledger Kale's 13th birthday arrives and it seems his savvy gift  is a knack for destruction. He can dismantle and destroy stuff without touching them and he is having a hard time controlling it until he visits his Uncle Autry's ranch in Wyoming. While there, he learns to tame and control his gift in order to do good instead of bad. In Scumble, Ledger must struggle with budding reporter Sarah Jean Cabot as she looks to expose the family's secrets and her father who is trying to foreclose on the family's ranch. 

Review

Again, author Ingrid Law writes a fast paced fantasy story for tweens. This book is a great story about growing up, honesty, friendship. and doing good for those around us. Fans of other fantasy books will not be disappointed. The descriptions of the savvy gifts of family members are hilarious, especially Ledge's levitating cousins. 

Genre

Fantasy

Reading Age/Interest Level

9-12 years/Tween

Similar Books

Cosmic- Frank Cottrell Boyce

(PREQUEL) Savvy- Ingrid Law

Readers Annotation

You thought you had a strange family! The Beaumonts have the ability to levitate, travel in time, create weather from their emotions, but their hardest feat is trying to fit in the normal world that surrounds them. 

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Law, I. (2010). Savvy. New York: Puffin Publishing.

Summary

The Beaumonts are a unique family. When a family member turns 13 they inherit a special gift, a savvy gift. Great Aunt Jules can go back 20 minutes in time whenever she sneezes, 14 year old Fish can create storms from his emotions, and oldest child Rocket can create electricity and illuminate a dark room just by entering it. He can also shock his siblings, which is something he loves. Now Mibs (short for Mississippi) is about to turn 13 and everyone is excited to see what savvy she will inherit...but then, something bad happens, real bad. Her father was involved in a very bad car accident which turns everything upside down and forces the family to take matters and fate into their own hands in order to save the Beaumont family. 

Review

What a great book! Yet another reason to stop judging books by their genre labels! This is a great book for tweens because it talks about following your heart and to stop depending on others for all the answers. The ending of this book is believable, not at all sappy, and is great for both boys and girls. 

Genre

Fantasy

Reading Level/Interest Level

9-12 years/Tween

Similar Books

(SEQUEL) Scumble- Ingrid Law

Waiting for Normal- Leslie Connor

The Search for WondLa- Tony DiTerlizzi

Readers Annotation

Most kids who turn 13 want CD's or a new video game, but not the Beaumont family.