Culturesquadjunior

The Throne of Fire, Rick Riordan

Raphy T. — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:16:49 +0000

Carter and Sadie Kane are back, powerful as ever and currently training other descendents of the House of Life. After giving up the power of the gods, Carter and Sadie’s lives went back to about as normal as a magicians life could be. But they’ve just found out that Apophis is going to swallow the sun in exactly 5 days on the spring equinox. In exactly 5 days, Ra’s enemy will rise from his prison, swallow the Sun and all life on Earth will cease to exist. Unless Sadie and Carter stop the Lord of Chaos they will all die. So keep the plan simple: awake Ra.

Ra went into ‘retirement’ and took great trouble to sleep peacefully. Carter and Sadie must find the 5 parts of the book of Ra and then travel into the Duat and face Apophis. Bast decides to go back to her old enemy’s prison to find out how long the duo have leaving them another mentor, Bes, the god of dwarves. Not exactly a Bast, but he’ll have to do…

A great sequel to the Red Pyramid. Action packed with even more incredible characters. Rick Riordan certainly knows the perfect recipe for a mythological book.

The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordan

Raphy T. — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:50:55 +0000

Carter and Sadie Kane are descended from Narmer and Ramses the Great, 2 pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Their parents were magicians of the House of Life and up until the day their Father blew up the Rosetta Stone unleashing the Egyptian gods into the modern world, their lives where about as normal as you could get when you had magicians for parents. However, Julius Kane’s plan messed up and Set, the god of Chaos imprisoned him in a golden Sarcophagus. Sadie and Carter are forced to run to Brooklyn where Amos, their uncle (who, by the way, is also a magician) shelters them in the 21st nome of the House of Life. Desperate to save their Dad, they embark on a terrifying quest into modern Egypt. With the goddess Bast, as their guardian, they travel from Cairo to Paris to America only to find that they have become hosts to the gods Isis and Horus and the House of Life is hunting them down. Being a ‘godling’ is illegal in Egyptian law. On top of that, Set is planning to release Chaos on his birthday which just do happens to be in a couple of days… Will Sadie and Carter be able to stop Set and save their Dad?

A fun read for all ages. This book also contains a lot of ancient Egyptian myths and legends, much like Riordan Percy Jackson series.

People’s Republic, Robert Muchamore

Raphy T. — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:32:42 +0000

After the very successful Cherub series with James Adams, Robert Muchamore created a new generation of CHERUB agents. Ryan Sharma is 12 years old and about to go on his first mission with Amy Collins. The mission: become friends with Ethan Aramov, a spoilt, rich, California kid. Why: His mother, Gillian Kitsell, is related to the Aramov Clan, a group based in Kyrgyzstan who transport drugs, weapons, high-value counterfeits and illegal immigrants. Brief: Find out as much as possible.

Fu Ning is an adopted child with a boxers build and a tendency to hit people she dislikes. But when her stepfather, Chaoxiang, is arrested due to his large human trafficking empire, Ning and her mother are forced to run. From Daodong to Kyrgyzstan where they are captured by the Leonid Aramov and her mother is killed. From Kyrgyzstan to the Czech Republic and finally, from the Czech Republic to England. There, Ning stands the chance of being deported because she is unable to get a British citizenship even though her mother was English. Amy Collins however, has different ideas. Ning is perfect for Cherub but will they get to her in time?

Like the other CHERUB series, People’s Republic is witty, fast-paced and action packed. If you haven’t read it yet, go out right now and buy a copy. It’s brilliant for older readers but may contain some unsuitable language for younger kids.

Inheritance, Christopher Paolini

Raphy T. — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:21:41 +0000

This thrilling end to the Inheritance Cycle continues the story of Eragon, his dragon Saphira and their quest to overthrow the evil King Galbatorix. By now, Eragon is the Vardens most valuable weapon as they trudge across the plains of Alagaesia, capturing every city on the route to Uru’baen. But 2 things worry Eragon: Galbatorix has made no big effort to stop the Varden; does he want them to get to Uru’baen, the capital of Alagaesia? And Solembum, the werecats advice: Then, when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the Rock of Kuthian and speak your name to the open the Vault of Souls.”After Nasuada, the Leader of the Varden gets captured and Eragon is left as head of the Varden he turns to this piece of advice. This leads to the biggest discovery Eragon will make in the book. But what will happen to Eragon? Will his discovery aid the battle against the King? What is to become of Alagaesia if they do succeed? Join Eragon and Saphira as they climb the impossible mountain to conquer Galbatorix.

I am a huge fan of Christopher Paolini and have been on the edge of my seat during the entire Inheritance Cycle. Christopher Paolini built an amazing climax but I was the finish was slightly disappointing. However, the entire Inheritance Cycle is still an amazing read.

Young Samurai, The Way of the Warrior, Chris Bradford

Raphy T. — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:41:19 +0000

When the Alexandria finally arrives to The Japans after 2 years at sea, Jack Fletcher is overjoyed to finally see the fabled islands. But his opinion changes immediately when The Alexandria is attacked by Ninja’s in the middle of the night. Jack’s father is killed by the dangerous and famous ninja Dokugan Ryu, Dragon Eye, and Jack narrowly escapes with his life. When Jack wake up after the attack, he finds himself inside a Japanese house. Saved and adopted by Masamoto, a famous Samurai warrior in Japan, Jack is faced by the challenge of learning the Japanese customs and becoming a Samurai warrior at Masamoto’s school-Niten Ichi Ryu-One school of two heavens. But being the outsider he is, with light blond hair and azure blue eye’s he is singled out, called Gaijin-Barbarian, and bullied by Kazuki and his minions. He struggles to learn the Japanese language and longs for a proper English breakfast. At the same time, Jack has to protect his Fathers rutter, a guide that can lead to control over the sea. Constantly faced by sneers, taunts, insults not to mention all the Samurai training and the teachers who dislike Jack, he fights a hard battle that must be won.

I really enjoyed the Young Samurai series. I can’t wait for the 3rd book to come out. I was very fortunate to meet Chris Bradford at a workshop in my school. He read us an extract from this book doing all the actions with his real Samurai sword! The workshop was aimed towards secondary school, but the 5 of us from Primary got to talk face to face with the REAL Chris Bradford because we were leaving early. The workshop was about writing a book and a good tip:

1. Get straight into the action-When publishers publish books, they read the first page. If it’s good, they read the first chapter. If that’s good, you’re likely to get your book published.

I was really lucky to meet the author of one of the books I really enjoyed. My brother got Chris Bradford to sign our copy and dedicate it to himself. Maybe Chris will go to your school sometime.

Eragon, Christopher Paolini

Raphy T. — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:59:39 +0000

Eragon is a 15 year old boy who was brought up by his Uncle Garrow. His mother abandoned him when Eragon was just a baby and living no life different to one on the farm, Eragon is extremely surprised when he finds a perfectly round sapphire stone while hunting in the Spine. Having failed his hunting trip, Eragon hopes that he will be able to sell the stone for a good price when the traders come around. When a trader tells him his stone is hollow, Eragon is surprised. Even more when the stone turns out to be a Dragons egg! Naming his dragon Sapphira, after having visited Brom, the story teller for famous dragon names, Eragon keeps her a secret for as long as he can. When hooded men arrive in the village, nobody in Carvahall trusts these strangers. Some believe the strangers are here for Eragon’s stone and Eragon is urged to get rid of it. But when the strangers burn down the farm and kill Garrow with it, Eragon is forced to flee before the hooded men catch Sapphira. He runs away from Carvahall with Brom. Brom found out that Eragon was a dragon rider and teaches Eragon magic, sword fight, The Ancient Language and how to read. He explains to the young dragon rider all about the history of dragons, elves and dwarves. Hungry for revenge against the hooded figures, Ra’zac, Eragon and Brom follow them across the country where they encounter many dangers.

When I first read this book I couldn’t get past the first page as I partly didn’t understand a thing that was going on and I simply didn’t like the look of book itself so I made no efforts to read it. I tried again lately, because I’ve been into fantasy and dragons for a while now. My brother has read Eragon, Eldest and Brisngr. He enjoyed the first book but is getting a bit fed up with Christopher Paolini because he is taking so long to write the 4th book. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed Eragon and even though I’ve got tons of things to do, I always stop working to read Eragon even though I always get told off for it!

James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl

Raphy T. — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:39:02 +0000

Aunt Spiker and Sponge are possibly the meanest people in the world. And poor James has to live with them. While doing all the chores, James dreams of going down to the beach where his parents used to live before they were gobbled up by an angry rhinoceros. One day, James meets a strange old man at the bottom of the garden. He gives James some magic crystals which will make extraordinary things happen to him. In his excitement to use the crystals, James trips over the roots of an old peach tree spilling the crystals everywhere. The old man had warned James that if he spilled the crystals they would work their magic on the nearest thing, whether it was a plant an insect or a human. Sure enough, a peach begins to grow and grow until it’s as big as a house. Aunt Spiker and Sponge, greedy as they are, decide to make themselves millionaires as people dying to see the giant peach travel across the country paying large amounts to get a glimpse of the giant fruit. James who was locked up in his room for the whole day, is sent outside to clear up the trash the tourists have left behind when something very peculiar happens. He finds a little door on the side of the peach. Curious to find out where it leads to, James crawls into the peach to meet many GIANT insects. But his troubles have only just begun…

James and the Giant Peach is a well written book, I have to say, but it didn’t strike me as a spectacular read. Maybe it’s just my point of view or it’s for younger readers to enjoy.

Dealing with Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede

Raphy T. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:32:47 +0000

Cimorene is an inproper princess. When she’s 12, her father finds out that she’s been bullying the arms master into giving her fencing lessons. He explains to Cimorene that fencing isn’t a proper hobby for a princess. This equals, the end of Cimorenes fencing lessons. The same thing happens for magic lessons, latin lessons, cooking lessons, economics lessons and juggling lessons. When she is 16, the King brings her to Sathem by the Mountains to stay for 3 weeks. Cimorene finds out from one of her maids that the King is planning to marry her to the Prince of Sathem by the Mountains. Cimorene most definitely does not want to marry the Prince. So she decides to run away with the advice of a frog to go into the forest and know on a cave door. Cimorene follows the frogs advice and soon, she becomes a dragons princess. A dragon named Kazul. Cimorene enjoys working for Kazul a lot more than learning dancing and etiquette. The only thing that bothers Cimorene now is the fact that she receives several knights a day demanding to rescue her. To solve her problems, Morwen, a witch friend of Kazul’s offers to help Cimorene and with some tea, they decide to put up a sign on the road to discourage the knights from coming. On her way to put the sign up, Cimorene meets a wizard who makes to pieces of a cliff turn invisible so Cimorene thinks she is stuck and offers to help her.
When Cimorene returns to Kazuls cave, she tells the Dragon all about what happened. At dinner, Kazul invites a couple of dragon friends over and they discuss the oily wizards trick over Cimorene’s chocolate mousse. They decide not to act against the wizards yet but when Cimorene is picking herbs in a sacred dragons garden, she spots a wizard. By now the Dragons are sure something fishy is going on. But with no proof, the dragons can do nothing about it…
This Book was really amusing and the plot was interesting to read. It’s an easy, light read for anyone to look at, although the blurb describes Kazul as a dangerous and powerful dragon! She’s more of a BFG if you ask me!

Harry Potter and the Sorcer’s Stone, J.K.Rowling

Raphy T. — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:27:40 +0000

Harry Potter is a neglected boy who was left on the doorstep of his aunt and uncle when his parents died. His Aunt and Uncle say they died in a car crash but there’s more to it than Harry knows. Before his 11th birthday, he recieves a letter addressed to him for the first time. For some reason, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon seem worried when they read the letter, they don’t let Harry read it. More letters all addressed to Harry arrive the next day and Uncle Vernon burns and rips them all without even opening them. On Sunday, so many letters arrive that Uncle Vernon goes mad and decides to move to an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere. It’s Harry’s birthday that night. So, instead of getting more letter’s, a giant man by the name of Hagrid breaks down the front door and hands Harry the letter. Harry reads in amazement that he’s been accepted to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Dumbfound, Harry also finds out that his parents were killed by the darkest wizard of all time, Lord Voldemorte, AKA You-Know-Who. He follows Hagrid to London where the giant shows him Diagon Alley, the wizard shopping center. Harry finds out about Gringotts the wizarding bank, where his parents left him their fortune, and where Hagrid picks up a tiny parcel for ‘ Hogwarts buissness’. Then, he brings Harry to King’s Cross Station, leaving him to find platform 9 3/4. Harry meets Ronald Weasley and they become good friends. Then, one night at Hogwarts, they get chased by Filch the Care Taker, into a restricted corridor ending up in a room together with a giant. three headed dog. Hermoine Granger, a muggle (non-magic) born, tells Harry and Ron that the dog was standing on a trapdoor, protecting something. They suspect Snape. The potions master who hates Harry. But they’re making a grave mistake…

I loved this book. I read the whole series and have to say I was a little dissapointed with the Deathly Hallows. But I loved the three first ones. The plot is very smart and interesting. I would advise it to any one .

Skulduggery Pleasant, Playing with Fire, Derek Landy

Raphy T. — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:37:50 +0000

Skulduggery Pleasant is back again! This time, Baron Vengeous has escaped from a high security prison in Russia. Along with Nefarian Serpine and Lord Vile, Baron Vengeous was one of Mevolent, the evil dark wizard’s, three generals. And now, with Vengeous on the loose determined to bring back the Faceless Ones, the world is in a state of chaos. It’s a race between Valkyrie and Skulduggery against Baron Vengeous. Vengeous needs Lord Vile’s armour and a final ingredient to waken the Grotesquery, a beast put together by using different parts of other creatures. A creature who is capable of calling to the Faceless Ones and open a portal to bring them back to our planet to rule over the human population… And it’s Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant’s job to stop him! (What else do they do apart from saving the world!)

Skulduggery Pleasant has to be one of the most gripping series I have ever read! Skulduggery is the perfect character, witty, strong, magic and , of course, he’s a really cool skeleton! Always followed by Valkyrie Cain, his athletic, stubborn magical apprentice, they make the perfect team to save the world. The book itself is quite gruesome as it has vampires, people who turn into spiders, killing people as well as reflections and the half-god, the Grotesquery. Having magic just makes the action-packed story even more interesting. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who needs a book to read. It’s an easy read, perfect to have before going to bed. You’d probably laugh yourself to sleep!