I Am Number Four

by Pittacus Lore (James Frey and Jobie Hughes)

This is a review for a book I read during the 48-Hour Book Challenge.

I Am Number Four is centered around John Smith, an alien from the planet Lorien. When the Mogadorians, another alien race, came and destroyed the Lorien race, only nine Lorien children managed to survive, along with nine guardian "Cêpan" to protect them. They were sent to Earth to one day come back and revive the deserted planet of Lorien. However, the Mogadorians continue trying to eliminate the Lorien race by killing the remaining eighteen Loriens on Earth. Luckily, when the Loriens left, a charm was placed upon the nine children which made it so that they could only be killed in order of their given numbers. In I Am Number Four, One, Two, and Three have all been killed. John Smith is Number Four and is being tracked by the Mogadorians.

This book was highly entertaining and its plot was very captivating. One complaint I had was that the authors tried to squeeze too much action and description into one battle scene which ended up overwhelming and confusing me. I also thought that the characters' personalities seemed typical and unoriginal. However, this was overall a very good book and I would definitely recommend it to any young adult who likes romance, science-fiction, and action.

The second book in the series is The Power of Six and the third book The Rise of Nine will be coming out in August 2012.

48-Hour Book Challenge -- Update #3

My update:
Hours of reading: 6.5
Hours of listening to an audiobook: 1.5
Books finished: 3
Books in progress: 1

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 9
Books finished: 2
Books in progress: 1

Kate has had to turn her attention to a homework project so her reading has slowed down, but she is past the halfway point on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I managed a little more reading this morning and finished Storm Thief by Chris Wooding. This young-adult sci-fi/fantasy novel had intriguing characters, a richly described world and thought-provoking ideas such as the probability storms. Yet, somehow this book did not quite live up to its potential for me. It felt as if the author was simply relating one event after another in quick succession. It was a shame, as the setting and the characters seemed to offer so much more. Perhaps Wooding will expand on these ideas in other books, though as far as I know, he has not written a sequel to Storm Thief.

Kate will be playing in another recital this afternoon, so we will have just a couple of hours of reading time left. I'll be reading from Lake Como Girls, the first book in a new YA mystery series by Yvonne Chypchar and also continuing to listen to Holes by Louis Sachar on audiobook.

48-Hour Book Challenge -- Update #2

My update:
Hours of reading: 5
Hours of listening to an audiobook: 1.5
Books finished: 2
Books in progress: 1

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 8
Books finished: 2
Books in progress: 1

We've had a busy day, as Kate had several musical activities (a concert, a volunteer performance and a lesson) and I was, as usual, the chauffeur.  However, as it was my birthday today, my wonderful husband prepared an exceptional dinner while I got to relax on the couch and read.

Despite all the activities, Kate managed to finish The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore and has now started on the classic Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I finished I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder and am halfway through Storm Thief by Chris Wooding.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me is a novel written entirely in verse. For that reason, it is a very short book and quick to read, but the author packs a lot in her carefully chosen words. The verses convey the thoughts of a 15-year-old girl whose boyfriend has recently died, partly as a result of a foolish dare that she had proposed. The boyfriend's ghost then returns to haunt her, as she tries to cope with her grief and feelings of guilt. The novel is quite touching and is worth reading if only for its interesting format.

48-Hour Book Challenge -- Update #1

My update:
Hours of reading: 2
Hours of listening to an audiobook: 1
Books finished: 1
Books in progress: 1

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 4
Books finished: 1
Books in progress: 1

Kate had said she would not have much time for the reading challenge this weekend, but I knew better. Once she started I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, she read mostly non-stop for 3.5 hours and has now started the sequel, The Power of Six. I forced her to take a break for supper, as the library would not have wanted its book back with spaghetti sauce splattered on the pages. As you can guess, she enjoyed the book very much and promises to write more about it herself later on.

I did pretty well myself, having finished Puppet by Eva Wiseman. This is a young-adult historical novel about a teenage girl Julie living in Hungary in 1882. When a number of Jews in her village are falsely accused of murdering her friend Esther, she realizes that she cannot turn a blind eye to the injustices perpetrated by those around her. This was a well-paced, gripping read but one that was quite bleak and disturbing.

I also spent an hour listening to Holes by Louis Sachar on audiobook while doing the unavoidable household chores. All in all, it was a good evening of reading. I am also thrilled that my sister-in-law Jill and my nephews will be reading along with us!

48-Hour Book Challenge -- Starting Line

Kate and I have our books chosen and we are ready to go ahead with the 48-hour book challenge! It's not too late to join here. She is starting with I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore and I'm starting with Puppet by Eva Wiseman.

48-Hour Book Challenge

Once again, Kate and I have decided to participate in MotherReader's 48-Hour Book Challenge, which takes place this coming weekend June 8-10. The goal is to read as much as possible over a 48-hour period. Related activities include writing reviews on one's blog and visiting other participants' blogs to read their reviews.

Last year, Kate and I each read for 15 hours. There's no way we'll be able to repeat that this year, as we already have a number of commitments this weekend, but we'll try to put in at least a couple of hours each day. Because this particular challenge attracts a good number of book bloggers specializing in the young-adult genre, I'll use it as a opportunity to get through a number of YA books I've got in the queue.

This year, MotherReader has urged all participants to contribute to the literacy program Reading is Fundamental, so I will pledge $2 for each hour that Kate and I read. If you want a good excuse for ignoring all your weekend chores and you'd rather spend the time with a great book in your hands, then please join us!

Eric Walters- Part 2

Fly Boy

Fly Boy is one of Eric Walters' more suspenseful books. It is set mostly in England during World War II. I think the description on the back of the book is more accurate than I could ever do, so here it is:

It's 1943, and World War Two is raging across Europe and around the globe. Seventeen-year-old Robbie McWilliams can't wait to follow in his father's footsteps and enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force-he wants to become a Spitfire pilot and fight for his country. The only problem is that he's still too young to join. So with a little help from his best friend, Chip, Robbie devises a plan that will allow him to enlist early and keep it a secret from his mother, from his schoolmaster, and most important, from the authorities at the RCAF.

Using the birth documents issued to his older brother who died in infancy, Robbie joins the air force and begins his training in Brandon, Manitoba. He aces all his classes and shows the makings of a great Spitfire pilot, but is dealt a huge blow when he's assigned to train as navigator on a Lancaster. Soon he's on his way to England, where he completes his training on treacherous missions bombing German targets in enemy territory, all the while wishing he were training to be a pilot. One of his bombing missions goes awry, though, and Robbie is about to learn that you should be careful what you wish for...

This book is exactly what anyone would look for in an adventurous historical fiction book. Its suspense-filled pages keep you on your toes and it's accuracy makes it educational as well as interesting. I would recommend it to anyone.

Rating:*****

Reviewed by Kate

48-Hour Book Challenge: Final Update

My final totals:
Hours of reading: 15
Hours of listening to audiobooks: 3.5
Hours blogging/networking: 2
Books finished: 2
Pages read: 1175

Kate's final totals:
Hours of reading: 15
Books finished: 4
Pages read: 1404

We're at the end of the 48-hour challenge, after 15 hours of reading for each of us! (We actually stopped at 5pm, but after reading all day long, I had to catch up on chores before writing this post.) I didn't surpass my totals for last year, but Kate beat hers by 50%. I suspect that she likes this reading challenge event even more than I do, and the only reason I can keep up with her is that, for now, I can survive on less sleep.

Kate finished Hunger and will post more reviews soon. I finished all 779 pages of Tigana and I'm almost done with The Tiger on audiobook. I also took some time to visit other participants' blogs and have augmented my wishlist greatly after seeing their recommendations.

We've donated $2 to UNICEF (to go toward education) for every hour that we participated, including reading, audiobook listening and blogging/networking time, so that makes $75 in all. We had a great time participating in this event again this year and thank MotherReader for organizing it all. We're both looking forward to participating again next year and hope that we'll convince more of our family and friends to join in the fun. I'll sign off with some brief comments about Tigana, which consumed most of my reading hours this weekend.

Tigana is by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay. I've read two of Kay's other works and I enjoy his writing because of the complex plots, the well-developed characters and the detailed settings which are often based on real historical periods. Twenty years ago, a friend insisted I read Tigana after I told him that I didn't like high fantasy. I ended up liking the novel then and I enjoyed it even more this second time around. In the other Kay novels I'd read, the fantastical elements are very light, but in Tigana, sorcery does play a large part. Despite its length, I had a hard time putting this novel down, which made it perfect reading for the 48-hour challenge.

48-Hour Book Challenge: Update #3

My update:
Hours of reading: 13
Hours of listening to audiobooks: 3
Books finished: 1
Books in progress: 2

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 12
Books finished: 3
Books in progress: 1

I added another 4.5 hours of reading and an hour with my audiobook since the last update, and Kate has added another 5 hours of reading. We both took an extended break yesterday evening to attend a parent-child book club meeting, where we discussed and watched the movie version of Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

I'm still working on Tigana and The Tiger, and I hope to finish them before the end of the challenge at 5pm EDT. Kate finished Gone early this morning and immediately started its sequel, Hunger.

I'm also very pleased I convinced my sister-in-law Jill to join the challenge, if only unofficially. Maybe next year, I'll be able to get even more members of the family to join.

48-Hour Book Challenge: Update #2

My update:
Hours of reading: 8.5
Hours of listening to audiobooks: 2
Books finished: 1
Books in progress: 2

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 7
Books finished: 2
Books in progress: 1

We're at the 24-hour mark, and I've managed to add another 4.5 hours of reading to my total. I also listened to my audiobook for 1.5 hours today, while exercising, cooking and driving.

Kate has had a very productive day so far, finishing Flyboy and writing a review for Alexandria of Africa and Beverly Hills Maasai. She is now working on Gone by Michael Grant and so absorbed in it that I can barely make contact with her.

The book I finished earlier today is Bone China by Roma Tearne. This novel follows three generations of a once-wealthy Tamil family, with matriarch Grace as the central figure. As the family suffers a decline in their fortunes and personal tragedies caused by the political upheaval surrounding them, the members leave Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) one by one and settle in England.

I didn't find the story as engaging as other immigrant stories I've read. However, this novel is worth reading if you want a sense of the cultural and political history of Sri Lanka in the second half of the 20th century. Tearne describes movingly the ordeals faced by those who escape the ethnic violence by relocating to a foreign land as well as those who choose to stay behind in the aftermath.

Eric Walters- Part I

Alexandria of Africa and Beverly Hills Maasai

Alexandria of Africa and Beverly Hills Maasai focus on Alexandria Hyatt, a spoiled and rich fifteen-year-old girl. When she is caught shoplifting, she is faced with the decision of going to a juvenile detention center or joining a diversion program in Africa. When in Africa, Alexandria befriends Ruth, the daughter of a Maasai warrior. Throughout her entire life-changing trip, she learns about the difficult conditions people in third world countries live in and becomes a different person.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Eric Walters' writing, but find some of his books scary. This book is "lighter" than his others and doesn't have the same tension and suspense. I would also recommendd this book to people who like inspiring books, that make you see a new perspective to events or situations. Overall, this book was a good read, even though I prefer some of his other books.

Rating: ****

*When we met Eric Walters at the Silver Birch Awards, we mentioned that we had read We All Fall Down for our Mother/Daughter book club. He suggested that Alexandria of Africa would also be a good choice.

Reviewed by Kate

48-Hour Book Challenge: Update #1

My update:
Hours of reading: 4
Hours of listening to audiobooks: 0.5
Books finished: 0
Books in progress: 3

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 3
Books finished: 1
Books in progress: 1

Kate and I had a full evening of reading. I'm alternating between Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and Bone China by Roma Tearne. I'm also listening to an audiobook version of The Tiger by John Vaillant.

Kate might be doing an all-Eric Walters weekend. She zoomed through Beverly Hills Maasai tonight, the sequel to Alexandria of Africa which she'd read earlier in the week. She is now working on another Walters book, Flyboy. She promises to post reviews later this weekend.

48-Hour Challenge: The Starting Line

It's 5pm EDT and we're about to start MotherReader's 48-Hour Book Challenge. Kate and I have a pile of books at our side and Todd graciously offered to make supper, so we're ready to go!

48-Hour Book Challenge

It's time again for MotherReader's 48-Hour Book Challenge! This event will take place June 3-5, and the goal is to read as much as possible over a 48-hour period. Related activities include writing reviews on one's blog and visiting other participants' blogs to read their reviews.

Last year, I read for 17 hours and finished 4 books, and Kate read for 10 hours and finished 2 books. This year, although we have a few commitments on the weekend, we're going to try our best to match those numbers.

We plan to donate a dollar for each hour we read to UNICEF Canada. Please join us for this fun event if you can. It's the perfect excuse to neglect housework for the entire weekend and curl up with a few good books instead. If the weather's good, I'll be on my patio with a glass of wine (Orangina for Kate)!

48-Hour Book Challenge: The Finish Line

My final numbers:
Hours spent on the challenge: 22 (17 reading, 3 audiobook, 2 blogging)
Books finished: 4
Pages read: 1226
Donation: $44 to the Literacy Group of Waterloo Region

Kate's final numbers:
Hours spent on the challenge: 11 (10 reading, 1 blogging)
Books finished: 2
Pages read: 748
Donation: $27.50 to the Central Asia Institute

Paulina's list of finished books:
- Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant
- Say What? The Weird and Mysterious Journey of the English Language by Gena K. Gorrell
- Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
- Everything Asian by Sung J. Woo

Kate's list of finished books:
- The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
- No Small Thing by Natale Ghent

The 48-hour-challenge is over, and it was even more fun this year, with Kate joining me. She quit a couple of hours ago to join her friends for band practice, but I read up to the very end, finishing Everything Asian (to be reviewed later) in the last minutes before my 5pm deadline. I'd originally planned to donate $1 for every hour that Kate or I have read but will increase this to $2 per hour. Kate offered 50 cents from her allowance money for each hour she has read.

Many thanks to MotherReader for hosting this terrific annual challenge!

48-Hour Book Challenge: Update #4

My update:
Hours of reading: 11.5
Hours of listening to audiobooks: 2.5
Books finished: 3
Books in progress: 2

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 9
Books finished: 1
Books in progress: 1

Paulina's list of finished books:
- Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant
- Say What? The Weird and Mysterious Journey of the English Language by Gena K. Gorrell
- Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Kate's list of finished books:
- The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Eyes are starting to get a bit sore now, but I'm still persevering. Kate went to bed an hour ago, but managed another hour-and-a-half of reading. She is near the end of Natale Ghent's No Small Thing now. Needing some instant gratification after Come, Thou Tortoise, I've turned to young-adult books and include below a couple of short reviews.

Fantasy set in the world of Faeries is not really my thing, but I decided to try Lesley Livingston's Wondrous Strange for several reasons. She is a Canadian author that had been recommended to me, the Shakespeare element seemed appealing and the book cover really is gorgeous. (Shallow, I know, but it does have an effect.) The novel is about how 17-year-old Kelley Winslow, understudy for the part of Titania in Midsummer Night's Dream, gets caught in the intrigues and battles of the Otherworld. The story, which is sprinkled with characters, lines from and references to Shakespeare's works, has some predictable moments and limited character development, but it will probably appeal to fantasy fans.

Say What? The Weird and Mysterious Journey of the English Language by Gena K. Gorrell is a non-fiction book that traces the history of English. It presents fun and fascinating facts about the origins of the language and shows many examples of how it has borrowed and adapted from other languages. In addition to describing the history, the book also describes a number of common errors in usage that people make today, and it includes several entertaining quizzes testing your understanding of a word's origins. I would recommend this book for ages 12 and up.

48-Hour Book Challenge: Update #2

My update:
Hours of reading: 7
Hours of listening to audiobooks: 2
Books finished: 1
Books in progress: 1

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 6
Books finished: 0
Books in progress: 1

I've finished my first book, Jessica Grant's Come, Thou Tortoise. I had to take care of a few chores this morning, including the Saturday morning run to our local bagel bakery. I did mange to get in another 3.5 hours so far today, and I continued listening to Wolf Hall on audiobook while going for a run.

Kate took a break to practice with her string trio, but got another 3 hours of reading done. She is nearing the end of The Red Pyramid.

Here is a brief review of Come, Thou Tortoise.
This is an offbeat, witty novel about a young woman who is dealing with the loss of her father. Through her recollections, we learn about her relationships with her father, uncle, ex-boyfriend and pet tortoise (who herself provides part of the narrative). This was a fun read but seemed to drag in places, and I occasionally lamented the total absence of question marks (reminiscent of Booker winner, The True History of the Kelly Gang, which had no commas). This novel, set partly in St. John's, Newfoundland, has done well in Canada and is on the Ontario Library Association's 2010 Evergreen list.

48-Hour Book Challenge: Update #1

My update:
Hours of reading: 3.5
Hours of listening to audiobooks: 1
Books finished: 0
Books in progress: 2

Kate's update:
Hours of reading: 3
Books finished: 0
Books in progress: 1

It's been a good evening. Kate got through half of The Red Pyramid. I am more than halfway through Come, Thou Tortoise, and I also took a break from it to read a bit from Lesley Livingston's Wondrous Strange. I listened to Wolf Hall on audiobook while doing the evening chores.

48-Hour Book Challenge: The Starting Line

It's 5pm EDT, and our 48-hour book challenge is underway! Kate is starting with Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid, and I have Jessica Grant's Come, Thou Tortoise in my hands. We intend to ignore homework, housework, computer and telephone for the next few hours.

Kate and I will be participating in MotherReader's 48-Hour Book Challenge on June 4-6. The goal is to read as much as possible over a 48-hour period. Related activities include writing reviews on one's blog and visiting other participants' blogs to read their reviews.

I had so much fun doing this last year that I'll be joining again. Last time, I read for 16 hours and finished 4 books, and I hope to increase those numbers this year. Kate will be an "unofficial" participant, so her hours won't count for prizes, etc., but she still hopes to finish a good number of books!

For every hour I read/review/blog, I'm going to donate a dollar to The Literacy Group of Waterloo Region, an organization that provides adult literacy training. For every hour Kate reads, I will donate a dollar to her pick, The Central Asia Institute, which she describes in her review of Three Cups of Tea: The Young Reader's Edition.

Please consider joining us for this fun event or donating to these two very worthwhile charities!