A Toad

As a writer, every time I buy a book, I'm aware that I'm buying someone's baby, someone's lifework. If I get halfway through it and realize the book isn't my cup of tea, I still finish the book until the end, because someone's heart, blood, and soul went into making these words. I can appreciate it.

I don't feel bound to finish the series the book was in, but I always make sure I finish the book. With one exception.

Jennifer Murdley's Toad

I read--or rather attempted to read--Jennifer Murdley's Toad when I was in the second or third grade. I had read a few other Bruce Coville books and thought surely this one would be awesome, just like Goblins in the Castle, which I had absolutely loved. However, a few chapters into Jennifer Murdley's Toad, and I wanted to throw the book across the room. Now, years later, all I can remember was that it was about a talking toad, and that I hated it. So even though I had not finished the book, I put it away. I stored it in my shelf of books, never to be read or looked at if I could help it again. Even now, looking at the cover, I feel a strange revulsion. It's been nearly fifteen years since I read this book, and the cover makes me shiver.

It took me at least a year to read another Bruce Coville book, but my friends kept recommending Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher and the title was so catchy. I figured Mr. Coville wouldn't let me down twice in a row, and he didn't. I really enjoyed Jeremy's adventure raising a dragon.

Now, whenever I read a book that really makes me want to put it down, I think "this book is a toad."

So why am I talking about this when I should be posting reviews of the books I read this week? Well, I haven't completely read any books all week. I'm currently stuck in the middle of an MG book, and all I can think is "this book is a toad."

The book is actually well written. The characters are well developed. The plot seems to be moving along, introducing interesting elements at just the right intervals. Unfortunately the book is about two topics I hate: pirates and Nazis.

When I was in fourth grade I read Treasure Island and it went on my list of books that I've "read" but didn't retain. It basically means I read every single word but never really strung them into sentences. I just couldn't get into it. My list of books like this only contains three: Treasure Island, The Forbidden Door, and Heart of Darkness. Yeah, that's a pretty wide variety there. Those books pretty much have nothing in common. But anyway, reading Treasure Island basically biased me against boy adventure pirate books.

When I was in eighth grade, every book we read in English was about WWII. Now, don't get me wrong. Reading The Dairy of Anne Frank was enlightening, informative, and moving. But did we then have to proceed to read every book ever written for middle graders about the war? I understand studying our past so we don't repeat it, but by the end of the year, I swore off books about Nazis.

So why did I pick up this book (I won't give you the name -don't want you to be biased against it) if it was about two things I hated? Well, it's been a long time since I've read either a pirate book or a Nazi book, so I thought maybe I had grown out of my hatred. Apparently I was wrong. But the real reason why I bought the book was that it promised time travel. The back of the book mentioned time travel devices and the title even mentioned time travel. I LOVE time travel. Movie or novel, I don't care. Time travel is just cool.

Unfortunately, time travel didn't actually come into the novel until pg. 100, and even more unfortunately, the time travel is sort of what introduces the pirates. Ugh.

Even though I keep thinking this book is a toad, I'm still reading it. I won't let myself put it down, because this is some author's baby. I want to finish it, in respect for the author. So that's why you have no book reviews today. I'm stuck in a toad, and I won't let myself read anything else until I've finished it.

Oh, and for all I know Jennifer Murdley's Toad might be the greatest book ever. Please don't hate me, because you liked it and I didn't. It was a really long time ago. But I can't make myself reread it--even now--to discover if it has any merit. The cover just sort of gives me the creeps.

And yes, the picture on this post is the version of the cover of the book I read.

It's just creepy.

A Book Review: The City of Ember

Title: The City of Ember
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Genre: Dystopian (MG)
Length: 270

Quality Rating: 8
Content Rating: PG

The city of Ember is underground, and the resources left by the Builders are dwindling. Ember is dying. When Lina finds a half chewed document, she begins to think there might be something outside of the darkness around Ember, maybe another city. And her friend Doon helps her seek out the answers. This was a fantastic read that I could not put down. Our two heroes are far from perfect kids, in fact their desire for glory leads to many problems with their plan to save Ember. I was definitely able to relate to their desire for glory and credit, and all the problems it caused them. I also found Ember to be an intriguing setting, a fascinating idea. Ember is a perfect example of a book where the setting almost seems to be a character.

This book is PG. It explores the idea that authority figures can be corrupt and a cause of problems, which is something that parents of younger aged readers should be aware of. But other than that, violence was non-existent, except for some threat of being trampled, and there wasn't even a whiff of romance or bad language. So it's almost G.

A Book Review: The Siege of Macindaw (Ranger's Apprentice Book 6)

Title: Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw
Author: John Flanagan
Genre: Fantasy (MG)
Length: 293

Quality Rating: 7
Content Rating: PG

Aha! Will's girl is being held hostage and he will stop at nothing to save her! Excellent! This is a plot I love! I love the determined Will in this book. I love how he will stop at nothing to save her. And I love how Will has to use his wits to save her, because he doesn't have the brawn. Definitely an excellent read, and an excellent addition to Will's story as a Ranger.

This one also gets a PG rating.

A Book Review: Among the Hidden

Title: Among the Hidden
Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Genre: Dystopian (MG)
Length: 153

Quality Rating: 7
Content Rating: PG

If you know me, you know I love MG. I'm all about middle grade literature, so I was not at all hesitant to read this book. It's about a twelve-year-old boy who is a forbidden third child and must remain hidden all the time, lest the government find him. Once I got through the first few chapters, the book sucked me in, but those first few chapters were a little painful for me. Mainly because the MC, Luke, did not act or think like a 12 year old should. He felt very much younger to me and several times I had to flip back to double check, thinking maybe he was really eight. This is one of the books I would have had a hard time reading as a young reader. I would have felt a little patronized. However, the story line is certainly good, and as I said, once you get past those first few chapters and just realize that Luke acts a little young, it was a good read. And perhaps the reason Luke acts so young is because he hasn't had a real encounter with the outside world? Maybe. I can slightly convince myself of that.

This book is almost G for there is little violence, no sex, and no bad words. However, there is an event at the end (which I won't describe any further than "event" so as to not spoil the book), that pushes this up to a PG rating. But its certainly a book that younger readers, elementary readers will enjoy.