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Over Sea, Under Stone - by Susan Cooper (1965)

2/22/2017

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By Piranha T.

When Simon, Jane and Barney Drew embark on a train to Cornwall, England, none of them suspect what they will find there. Staying with their parents and their mysterious Great-Uncle Merry in a cottage by the cliffs, they discover an ancient manuscript in the house’s attic. It tells of the hiding place of an old grail, which is a key part to defeating the rising forces of evil, the Dark. With the help of their Great-Uncle Merry, who knows more about the Dark than anyone expected, they begin to follow a trail of clues that were left over nine centuries ago. But when it comes to the final moments of the quest, can they save the grail and stop the Dark?

Over Sea, Under Stone is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the first book in The Dark is Rising Sequence, a five-book series which I loved every word of. I enjoyed Over Sea, Under Stone because it was a good fantasy with some magic, and I liked how it was about ordinary children having adventures, although, as I may have pointed out, their adventures were not at all ordinary. I would highly recommend Over Sea, Under Stone to readers ages eight and up.

The audiobook version was also great - my whole family enjoyed the entire series!

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The Dark Hills Divide -- by Patrick Carman (2005)

2/6/2017

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By Piranha T.
 
The Dark Hills Divide tells of twelve-year-old Alexa Daley, spending another ordinary summer in the walled town of Bridewell. Every year she stays in an old building containing a mysterious library which holds the entrance to a maze of passages. Though the town itself is wonderful, she has always been curious of what lays outside Bridewell's walls--all she knows is that beyond them lay the Dark Hills, which the townspeople fear and avoid.
 
But Alexa's summer this year is far from ordinary. Soon she finds a way outside Bridewell's walls, and then discovers strange clues and a mysterious power. Can Alexa save Bridewell from a coming evil?
 
I liked The Dark Hills Divide because there was magic and adventure and some very good characters. There was also a bit of mystery within the excellent storyline. It is the first book in The Land of Elyon series, all of which I enjoyed, and I highly recommend them all.

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The Search for Delicious - by Natalie Babbitt (1969)

2/1/2017

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By Piranha T.

The Prime Minister DeCree is writing a dictionary, but when he gets to the definition of ‘Delicious,’ there is an argument. The Prime Minister says it should be fried fish, but the Queen thinks the real definition of delicious is Christmas pudding, and the King has decided on apples. Finally, the Prime Minister sends his young assistant, Gaylen, to go to all the towns in the kingdom and record each person’s choice for the most delicious thing they can think of. But the Queen’s troublesome brother, Hemlock, is riding ahead of Gaylen to turn everyone against the king, and soon it looks as though the dictionary may cause more trouble than it’s worth.

I liked this book because there were some amusing parts and it was a great story with adventure, but also a nice happy ending. I would highly recommend The Search for Delicious to readers ages 7 and up.
 

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Keeper of the Lost Cities - by Shannon Messenger (2012)

2/1/2017

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- By Super Kitty

Sophie Foster knew she was different. After all, how many 12-year-olds are not only high school seniors, but can hear people’s thoughts? But she had no idea how different she was until she meets Fitz, a telepath like herself, who tells her the truth: she is an elf, and she must leave her human family—her world—as soon as possible. Now Sophie must learn the ways of the Lost Cities, making friends, enemies, and discoveries. But even among her own people, Sophie is special... And as she battles the rising sinister forces of the elven world, she begins to discover that her past—and her future—are intertwined with more secrets then she ever could have imagined.

I really enjoyed this book—an adventure story (or in this case, series) that I can lose myself in is always welcome. There are seven* books in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, getting progressively longer, but only six have come out. Sophie ages fairly quickly (in Lodestar, book five, she is fourteen), so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone under the age of eight, especially since some of the evil characters can be quite intimidating. Also, although the first two have good endings, starting with book three the cliffhanger endings get progressively more suspenseful, and in book five it was so much so that the author started the afterward with “Yay! You’re still talking to me!” and went on to apologize about the ending and extreme cliffhanger. It works, though—Piranha T. and I are desperate to know what happens next! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys exciting, fast paced books filled with friendship, adventure, and magic.                            

​*There are now going to be nine books in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Book seven came out in November 2018. 
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    Book Reviews By & For Kids

    Everyone knows that Rapunzel spent her early years locked up in a tower. We’d like to think she read plenty of books to while away the time, and that she’d appreciate our own favorites.

    Founded in 2014, our reviews focus on great books for middle grade (MG) readers. Beginning in 2018, we began adding selected Young Adult (YA) books as well, but only if we really love them and think Rapunzel Reads followers will too. Favorite picture books have their own page.


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    We're now featuring reviews for YA (ages 12+) books alongside our middle-grade reviews on our main page! (If you're not sure if a book is young adult, check the age range--if it's 12, 13, or 14+, it's YA.)

    ​Looking for more YA recommendations? Until 2022, we had a separate For Older Readers page, where we highlighted over two dozen awesome YA books. Check it out here! 


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