Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Ten: Beka Cooper
The Snake kidnaps young children of the Lower City and holds them ransom for unique trinkets and family heirlooms. If the ransom is not paid, the children are either returned dead or are simply never seen again. Beka is outraged that the Shadow Snake has been preying on the city’s poor and unnoticed. And there’s something else. Among the spirits Beka hears are those of adults killed by poison and buried in the basements where they fell. Even though the old neighborhood has always been troublesome, this increase in crime is intolerable to Beka, and she aims to protect it against all odds. As she and her Dogs keep getting stymied in their pursuit of the killers, it is Beka who refuses to give up, pursuing even the smallest clue with the tenacity of a terrier, from which she gets her nickname.
Beka Cooper by Tamora Pierce
Book 1: Terrier
Book 2: Bloodhound
Book 3: Mastiff (due to be published sometime this year)
Ms. Heather's Note: Though Beka Cooper is my favorite, I really enjoyed all of Tamora Pierce's books. Her heroines are strong and courageous and all of her characters are very real. Though the different series' relate to each other, they don't have to be read in order...but it is more fun that way! For a list of all of the books in all of the series, check out her website: http://www.tamora-pierce.com/books.html
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Nine: Alcatraz Smedry
Like Percy Jackson, Alcatraz is just finding out who he really is and his place in the world. These titles have a lot more humor, though, and lots of sarcasm!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Eight: Artemis Fowl
Having obtained the Book, a volume containing all of the fairies' secrets, he cracks the coded text and acquaints himself with fairy magic and technology. With the knowledge of the true existence of fairies and their magic, Artemis hatches a wicked scheme to steal their gold. Using the knowledge from the Book, he locates and kidnaps an elf, Capt. Holly Short, intending to hold her ransom. Capt. Short, however, is not the old-fashioned kind of fairy, but a member of the Lower Elements Police (or LEP). As a result, Artemis finds himself up against the thoroughly modern LEPrecon, an armed and dangerous branch of the LEP. This wisecracking team of satyrs, trolls, dwarfs and fellow fairies, led by Commander Root, will do anything to ensure Capt. Short's safe return. This story has lots of action, interesting gadgets and nefarious plots. More than a fantasy, it is the story that might result if James Bond were mixed with legends and the folklore of fairies, trolls, and goblins.
The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Book 1: Artemis Fowl
Book 2: The Arctic Incident
Book 3: The Eternity Code
Book 4: The Opal Deception
Book 5: The Lost Colony
Book 6: The Time Paradox
Book 7: The Atlantis Complex (not out yet – due to be published July 2010)
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Seven: The Gods of Manhattan
Look.
Now, look again.
What do you see?
Layered over our modern day
13-year-old Rory and his 9-year-old sister Bridget live in present-day
The Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus
Book 1: The Gods of Manhattan
Book 2: Spirits in the Park
The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Six: The Looking Glass Wars
You know the myth...
A little girl named Alice tumbled down a rabbit hole and proceeded to have a charming adventure in the delightful, made-up world of Wonderland...
Now discover the truth!
Alyss Heart is heir to the throne of Wonderland, just beginning her training under her albino tutor Bibwit Harte when her evil aunt Redd, long ago banished to the Chessboard Desert, leads a violent coup that kills King Nolan, Alyss's father. Alyss narrowly escapes through the Pool of Tears and ends up in London. After weeks begging and stealing with a band of street urchins, Alyss is sent to an orphanage and subsequently adopted by the Liddells. Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the bizarre, violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusted Lewis Carroll to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere would find her and bring her home. But she is devastated when she discovers that Carroll’s book, Alice's Adventures Underground, is full of make-believe, and not her story or even her real name. She sadly resigns herself to a life in exile in her new world. Years later, as she is preparing to marry Prince Leopold, Alyss’s dedicated bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, finally finds her. Dragged back to the home she feared she had only imagined, it is now up to Alyss to rally her troops, drive out her evil aunt Redd and claim her throne. Can she survive assassination attempts by the vicious Cat with nine lives, a spy amongst her faithful followers, brutal battles involving card soldiers who transform into warriors, chessmen, blades that whirl and slash, vicious Jabberwocks, and even carnivorous roses?
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Book 1: The Looking Glass Wars
Book 2: Seeing Redd
Book 3: Archenemy
The Percy Jackson Countdown: Day Five: The Ranger's Apprentice
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Percy Jackson Countdown Day Four: The 39 Clues
"What would happen if you discovered that your family was one of the most powerful in human history? What if you were told that the source of the family's power was hidden around the world, in the form of 39 Clues? What if you were given a choice — take a million dollars and walk away...or get the first Clue? If you're Amy and Dan Cahill, you take the Clue — and begin a very dangerous race." (from publisher's description)
The 39 Clues series
Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
Book 2: One False Note by Gordon Korman
Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis
Book 4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson
Book 5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman
Book 6: In Too Deep by Jude Watson
Book 7: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis
Book 8: TBA (by Gordon Korman & due out April 2010)
Book 9: TBA (by Linda Sue Park & due out May 2010)
Book 10: TBA (by Margaret Peterson Haddix & due out August 2010 - also the last book in the series)
The Percy Jackson Countdown Day Three (slightly less belated): The Stoneheart Trilogy
A city has many lives and layers. London has more than most. Not all the layers are underground, and not all the lives belong to the living. George Chapman is about to find this out the hard way. On a school trip he's punished for something he didn't do. In a tiny act of rebellion, he lashes out at a small carving on the wall--unexpectedly breaking it off. And then something horrible does happen: a stone Pterodactyl unpeels from the wall and starts chasing him. George is already running before his mind starts trying to tell him this is impossible.Chased through the streets of London, George only survives because the statue of a soldier, Gunner, comes to life and assists him. It seems that the soulless statues of London are angry at George for his act of rebellion, and he will not be able to escape them until he finds something called the Stone Heart and repairs what he has broken. But Walker, a man cursed to walk the Earth forever, wants George and his new friends Gunner and Edie to find the Stone Heart for more sinister reason...
The Stone Heart Trilogy by Charlie Fletcher
Book 1: Stoneheart
Book 2: Ironhand
Book 3: Silvertongue
The Percy Jackson Countdown Day Two (belated): The Last Apprentice
The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney
Book 1: Revenge of the Witch
Book 2: Curse of the Bane
Book 3: Night of the Soul Stealer
Book 4: Attack of the Fiend
Book 5: Wrath of the Bloodeye
Book 6: Clash of the Demons
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Percy Jackson Countdown Day One: Septimus Heap
Many of you have already read (& reread) the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, or are reading it now, or will be clamoring for the titles once you've seen the movie (or the trailer). So instead of talking about that series, I'm going to take the next ten days to tell you about other series that you might enjoy, if you enjoy(ed) Percy Jackson.
Today we start with Septimus Heap:
"The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a new born girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, & raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, & what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?" This series is about a young man with the wrong name, a lost princess who is not as lost as people assume, magic & adventure. There are villains to fight and wrongs to right, epic quests and grand adventures. For more info, check out http://www.septimusheap.com/
The Septimus Heap series, by Angie Sage
Book 1: Magyk
Book 2: Flyte
Book 3: Physik
Book 4: Queste
Book 5: Syren