Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

In this book, the third one in the series, many things happen that help build up the story for the finale in the next book. In this book Eragon first helps Roran learn to defend his mind and tries to teach Roran how to do Stenr Risa with a pebble. Then they get ready to kill the rest of the Ra’zac and rescue Katrina. He then makes sure Katrina’s father is sent to the elven homeland, so he can’t interfere with Katrina again. Meanwhile, Nasuada goes through the trial of long knives so she could gain some allies for the war. He gets targeted during his time with Orik in the time he was typing to oversee the election. Orik’s clan goes and investigates everything in less than 14 hours and gets the proof he needs to banish a leader of the clan who plotted the entire scheme. He later learns once Orik gets crowned the king of dwarves that Brom was his father and about the heart of hearts that belong to dragons known as the eldunari , which was being used by Galbotrox so he could get a lot of power. He then goes back to the elven homeland with  a limited time before he must go back. He creates Brisingr his sword there with help from the best elven blacksmith. Then three different battles were fought, one with Varden and Eragon to rescue Arya and capture the city. This is where Arya becomes a Shade slayer when she slays a Shade named Varaug in the battle. Roran does a siege where the odds are stacked against him and miraculously prevails. While the elves march into battle against Galbotrox’s main army. The elves lose both the queen and Oromis and Glaedr in the battle.

This is a great book because what happens next and the creativity is very surprising to whoever reads the entire book and it is also good at making people understand how someone can go from nothing to alot and has plenty of morals and things you can find by looking around in the book. I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy or the idea of a Star Wars movie like theme but with fantasy like dragons and more interaction between species and in book form. It would be a good book for someone who read the other books in this series and liked them. I would recommend it to these people because then they like something about them or something about the plot and how the book works. It would be something that those people will like because they have a great impact on how the story goes.

– Abhinav Alluri, Brambleton Library

The Road To Paris By: Nikki Grimes

The Road To Paris follows a biracial girl named Paris who always had a tough time fitting in.  She never felt like she belonged anywhere and that the only person that made moving from foster home to foster home tolerable is her brother, Malcom.  When she gets ripped apart from him and is taken to another foster home, she fears for the worst.  She is surprised by the love and compassion given to her from the Lincolns, but she still misses her brother.  Feeling like an outsider in a predominately white town tests her in what she believes love and a home is and she will be further tested when she has to make a decision that will dictate her future.  She has to decide on whether or not to stay with the Lincoln’s, who she learned to trust and love, or will she go back to her brother and her mother, who is trying to make a better life for them. 

This book was a fantastic short read and flawlessly showed the challenges that Paris had to face with herself and what she finds to be a home, and her experiences of racism.  Realistic fiction is usually a genre I don’t really dabble with, but this book was an exception.   Overall I would give it a 10 out 10.  

Rust Library  Book Reviewer: Maisha Tasmi

The War That Saved My Life By: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Taking place in England during WWll, we are introduced to a young girl named Ada and her brother Jamie, and how the war did in fact save their lives.  Ada faces many challenges including having a twisted foot and an abusive mother who barely lets her see the light of day, but that won’t stop Ada.  Through her determination and courage, she decides to escape out of London to the countryside with Jamie, where they are taken in by a stern woman named Susan Smith.  As Ada explores the type of person she is and goes through her ups and downs, an outer force can cause her livelihood to turn upside down.

For me, this is a book I love to read time and time again.  Ever since reading this book, I absolutely fell in love with Ada, and felt that her growth throughout the book was beautiful.  I am also a huge fan of historical fiction novels, so this was an amazing balance of historical fiction and a feel-good book.  I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a historical fiction with a character that goes on a self journey.  Overall, a solid 10 out of 10

Rust Library  Book Reviewer: Maisha Tasmi

The Da Vinci code

by Dan Brown

Book Review by Tarun Santhanam Prabhu

Library: Gum Spring Library

The Da Vinci code is a amazing mystery, thriller book for those who love lots of suspense and twists in the plot course of the story. It has lots of historical references since the mystery is mainly something from a perspective of historians. thereby, its a great book for people that are passionate about history because it contains lot of facts of history that many people still don’t know. It starts off by a dead body laying in the ground in the louvre museum of Paris and Robert Langdon, our main character, gets arrested even though he doesn’t have any connections to the man. After that, Robert Langdon and Sophie, the grand daughter of the dead man, go through so many adventures to solve the mystery of the secret society the dead man was connected to and the killer of the man. Overall this story is very entertaining and intriguing especially for those who like to sit a long time and read a very interesting mystery stories.

Book Review by Tarun Santhanam Prabhu

Library: Gum Spring Library

Keeper of the Lost Cities By: Shannon Messenger

Sophie Foster was different and she knew it. With her photographic memory and her secret telepathy, she hardly fit in with her average family. What she didn’t know was that she wasn’t the only one. After wondering for years if there’s someone out there like her, she meets Fitz Vacker, fellow telepath. He reveals that another world exists. One in which people have powers just like Sophie. As the hope of finally belonging sparks within her, she learns alarming news. She was not a human but an elf. An elf dangerous people were after because of the secrets her past holds. Secrets not even Sophie herself was aware of. In order to get to the safety of the world Fitz mentioned, Sophie was going to have to leave everything behind. This world was nothing like Sophie’s with different rules, customs, and people. Keep reading to find out how Sophie navigates through her new surroundings and the dangers that await her. I thought this book was a great read because of the details and emotions the author expresses through her writing. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure or fantasy because it is packed with it!

Harini Prabhu Gum Spring Library

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine, is a standalone fantasy novel. The book begins with the birth of Ella of Frell, who was granted a gift of obedience by her a fairy named Lucinda. Therefore, she must do everything that people order her to. Throughout childhood, Mandy, the family cook, and her mother Eleanor protect her so that no one exploits her gift. However, when Ella is fourteen years old, she falls ill with her mother, and Eleanor eventually dies. Eleanor was close to her mother, so she was devastated by her loss. At the funeral, she meets Prince Char, the prince of Kyrria. Later, her father Sir Peter decides to marry again, so he marries Dame Olga, who also has two daughters, Hattie and Olive. Hattie and Olive are mean to Ella, but when Hattie finds out about Ella’s “gift”, she begins ordering her to do what she says. Sir Peter sends her to finishing school with the sisters, where she makes friends with a girl named Areida from the nearby kingdom Ayortha. When Hattie finds out, she orders Ella to end her friendship with Areida. Ella takes this as the last straw and runs away. When she finds out that there will be a big wedding that Lucinda will attend, she ventures off to find her to convince her to take her gift back.

I think this book is a light read for young children. The book is based off of Cinderella, so I think that demographic would like it very much. I liked how the book was pretty simple but still had good qualities to it. The author was descriptive, which lets the reader’s imagery become more advanced, and she also didn’t jump to conclusions or different implausible events for the sake of shortening the book. However, in some moments, this book can drag a little and end up being not memorable. One thing I liked about the book is that the author put many twists on the original Cinderella. Instead of having a fairy godmother that was beneficial, Ella had a fairy godmother that gave her a gift that eventually took a turn. Ella and Char also meet very early in the story, which makes their romance believable. Although the dynamic between Dame Olga and her daughters is the same, Ella ends up going to a finishing school with them instead of being forced to stay at home as a servant. However, one thing I didn’t like was how Ella got rid of the curse, because it seemed too easy compared to the struggles she faced with the curse in the beginning and middle of the book.  If you like fantasy books based on fairytales and want a twist/don’t want to read a long book, I would recommend this book to you. I would rate this book a 7.5/10.

Janani Sathish Gum Spring Library

The End by Lemony Snicket

The End, by Lemony Snicket, is the thirteenth and final book in the Series of Unfortunate Events series. The book begins with the Baudelaire orphans and Count Olaf stuck on a boat they took while escaping from the burning hotel in the Penultimate Peril. They are expecting to sail into an island in the sea, where all things eventually wash up. Olaf laughs and explains how he technically “won” and will now get his hands on the Baudlaire fortune. He renames the boat after himself and then demands that the Baudelaire’s sail to a luxury car dealership, which the siblings find ridiculous. Once on the island, they are welcomed by Friday Caliban and Ishmael, who is the island facilitator. The islanders are friendly towards the orphan as they know about their peril, and consequently shun Olaf. He is eventually caged after taking a disguise to get off the island. However, his disguise fails as he accidentally poisons everyone with Medusoid Mycelium, and the orphans must find the cure before everyone on the island, including themselves, dies.

Honestly, I found that the Penultimate Peril was actually more eventful than The End, but this is because in The End, they are stuck on an island the entire time. That being said, this is one of the best books in the series, mainly because it answers the questions that the reader and Baudelaire orphans had since the Bad Beginning. The ending is also very good, but it is a bit sad. It is also very open, so it is up to the reader to decide what happens to the Baudelaire orphans and Beatrice. However, with a little research, you can find out what happened to them by reading the other books closely. What I liked about this book is that it was fairly simple for the ending, but it was satisfying. The islanders eventually give the children the Series of Unfortunate Events book that the islanders published, which explains everything about their parents and what they did for the island, along with how Ishmael overthrew them. I also like what happened to Olaf in the end, because it was very fitting for the character. However, I thought it was strange that he actually became very nice at the end, which was very out of character, but it didn’t feel out of place with the final scene. If you read and enjoyed the Series of Unfortunate Events, I would recommend this book to you. I would rate this book a 9/10.

Janani Sathish Gum Spring Library

The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket

The Penultimate Peril, by Lemony Snicket, is the twelfth book in the Series of Unfortunate Events series. The book begins with the Baudelaire siblings in the taxi with Kit Snicket, who is driving them to Hotel Denouement. Kit gives them concierge outfits so that they can go undercover and find out whether the mysterious J.S. they found in the Grim Grotto is a friend or foe of VFD. She tells them that they should be wary of the hotel managers, twins with one of them being a villain, and lets them in. They walk in and see various sights, people scrambling to find their rooms, pets running around, bellboys and bellgirls escorting their guests, and more. They meet Frank or Earnest, one of the twin managers. Unfortunately, they can’t tell who it is because no one ever calls them by their names. Frank or Earnest tells them that they are shorthanded and must work at the hotel, then leaves with a bellboy to sort out a situation. Frank or Earnest then emerges from an office and tells them that Hotel Denouement is organized like a library with the rooms being in Dewey Decimals. The siblings then go undercover, and begin escorting and aiding familiar faces, such as Carmelita Spats, Principal Nero, Hal from the Hostile Hospital, and more people they didn’t know were associates of Olaf. When Violet overhears Carmelita and Esme speaking of a party being thrown, she is intrigued and figures out the master plan on how Olaf’s team will finally retrieve the Sugar Bowl.

I think if you skipped some of the books in the series, this book will be extremely hard to follow because it relies heavily on past characters and events. That being said, I think this book is very exciting because the Baudelaire’s are finally beginning to uncover the secrets of VFD, JS, and what Olaf plans to do. This book is the same length as the other books in the series, but it feels longer because there is so much going, which can seem somewhat overwhelming. However, I did like how the events took place, especially the ending, because it is very open. Usually, in the other books in the series, the author would leave a photo at the end that indicates some foreshadowing, but that is unclear in the Penultimate Peril, which leaves the reader off on a cliffhanger. Another thing I liked about this book is that the action kind of ended quickly, and picked up later, instead of their being only one climatic event in the book. After what happens to Dewey Denouement , the Baudelaire siblings are taken to court along with Olaf and the rest of the team. The rest of the book picks up after what Olaf does to the hotel. I also like that after what the Baudelaire’s did, they begin to question who they really are. Throughout the series, they knew that they were innocent and deserved better, but in this book they really question their character, which I think is an interesting take. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who read the rest of the series because this is one of the best books in the series. I would rate this book a 8.5/10.

Janani Sathish Gum Spring Library

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket

The Grim Grotto, by Lemony Snicket, is the eleventh book in the Series of Unfortunate Events series. The book begins immediately after the Slippery Slope. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are still going downstream on their wooden raft, and are separated from Quigley Quagmire. The fires that Olaf set in the Carnivorous Carnival are spreading through the mountains, and the siblings are stuck as the fires are catching up to them. Luckily, they eventually hit a submarine, and after a series of questions, the captain lets them in. There, they find Captain Widdershins, Fiona (his stepdaughter), and Phil, who also worked at the Lucky Lumbermills in Paltryville. The captain says that they learned of the siblings’ difficulties through telegram, but then it suddenly broke. Violet goes to fix it, but then realizes that Olaf must be blocking communication between VFD members. The Captain states that they were on their way to find the mysterious Sugar Bowl, but doesn’t state its use. He says that it must be brought to Hotel Denouement before the next VFD meeting. Fiona states that it is probably stuck in a cave filled with Medusoid Mycelium, mushrooms that are extremely poisonous. Since the cave is very small, the children suit up and are tasked with retrieving the sugar bowl before anyone else gets to it.  

This book is very exciting. There are many plot twists, climatic events, suspicious figures, and more. I liked that the Baudelaire children are finally starting to understand that they can’t trust anyone. In the previous books, especially when they had a guardian, they would try to tell them everything in order to be saved from Olaf, but they either ended up being useless or on Olaf’s team. If you skipped some of the books in the series, this might be a little difficult to read because there are some characters that make a reappearance, but it doesn’t take up the majority of the story. I also liked that in this story, there are many other conflicts other than stopping Olaf. For example, the siblings are tasked with finding the sugar bowl without knowing what it’s used for, saving Sunny after she gets a mushroom spore in her helmet, saving VFD from Olaf, finding out what VFD actually is, and more. This makes the book more dimensional and interesting for the reader whereas in the past books, the conflict became predictable. However, the author executes this in a way that doesn’t make it overwhelming for the reader, which is great. If you liked reading the past 10 books in the Series of Unfortunate Events series, I would definitely recommend that you read this novel. I would rate this book a 9/10.

Janani Sathish Gum Spring Library

The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket

The Slippery Slope, by Lemony Snicket, is the tenth book in the Series of Unfortunate Events series. The book picks up right after the Carnivorous Carnival. Klaus and Violet are stuck in a caravan that’s tumbling down the mountainside, while Sunny has gotten kidnapped by Count Olaf and is forced to do whatever he says. Violet makes a plan to make a parachute out of using hammocks, and they successfully escape. Right after, the caravan falls off the mountain. The siblings begin traveling up the mountain and are attacked by snow gnats. They run into a cave while being chased by the snow gnats, and find a large group of children. They call themselves the Snow Scouts, and to the Baudelaire’s shock, Carmelia Spats, the bully from the Austere Academy, is there with her uncle. They find a boy wearing a sweater who seems to know about VFD, so he gives them hints about what it is. He then takes the siblings up the Vertical Flame Diversion, which leads into the back of VFD headquarters. Meanwhile, Sunny is forced to work for Olaf by cooking, cleaning, and more. He forces her to sleep outside in the cold, until one day, Esme comes back with a Verdant Flammable Device, which Sunny thinks she can use to signal where she is on the mountain. When Violet and Klaus find an unexpected friend at the VFD headquarters, they team up to find a way to save Sunny before Olaf kills her.

This book is just as exciting as the last one. The siblings are mostly left on their own, with the addition of a new team member, which they use to their advantage. I think the most fun parts of the book are when they devise a plan to get out of a situation, because although the plans are a bit unbelievable, it is still interesting to see how resourceful the Baudelaire’s are. What surprised me is that Olaf did not immediately kill Sunny, and instead kept her alive. Throughout the books, his main goal is to try to kill the siblings in order to gain the fortune, so I was shocked that Olaf didn’t harm her, although he did leave her out in the cold many times. This book is more action packed than the last one, and this aspect only increases as we get towards the end of the series. There are many plot twists in this book, and one of them is actually pretty early on and kind of unpredictable, which is a nice touch. One thing I didn’t like however was the ending. It does end in a cliffhanger, but it annoyed me that the siblings once again became alone and had no one to help them. I get that the point of the series is to emphasize how unlucky they are, but this just seemed unfair. Overall, I liked this book, and would recommend it to anyone who has read the rest of the series. In the end, I would rate this book an 8/10.

Janani Sathish Gum Spring Library