The Hobbit

Title: The Hobbit

Author: J. R. R. Tolken

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Year of Publication: 1937

Reader's Rating: 3

In a Nutshell: Bilbo Baggins is a well-to-do hobbit who is respected by many and never dreamed of doing anything adventurous or unexpected. However, his perfect life is suddenly disrupted as Gandalf the wizard thrusts him into the wilderness with thirteen dwarves to find a vast treasure and slay the dragon guarding it. With a surprising amount of luck, Bilbo survives trolls, giant wolves, mysterious elves, and a strange ring, before finally arriving with his companions at the evil mountain wherein lies the treasure, and the dragon! The company awakens the dragon, who flies about the land, and soon elves, men and dwarves are all after the treasure! Will Bilbo's company be able to save the treasure from greedy hands, or be killed in the resulting Battle of Five Armies?

(SUMMARY NOT BY ME.)

The Fantastical Stuff: Bilbo always wants to do the right thing, even though it's hard. He helps out the dwarves a lot and even though they didn't like him at first, he gained their respect by his actions. The scene with Gollum is my favorite. It's quite funny. ;)

The Not-so-fantastical Stuff: There's not really a whole lot of bad stuff. I guess Gollum was a little too... ummm... let's say... overly obsessed with his ring. But what I didn't like so much is that this book did not keep my attention very well. It's a good story but how the story is told knocks it lower on my charts. Having both a good story and an amazing writer are two very important things. His ideas were definitely worth reading about but he should have worked a little more on his "exceedingly dry" way of telling a tale.

Wrap Up: This book definitely has a cool storyline. The ideas and imagination are intriguing. But, as I already mentioned, the writing is quite dull. It would have helped if Tolken added more things that "spiced up" the slightly boring edge to his composition.

Rating

I thought you might want some information on rating so here I go:

The rating is out of five so, for example, if I gave a book 5 stars, that's the highest rating it can achieve.

1 - Totally not worth reading

1.5 - Almost a complete waste of my life

2 - It was okay

2.5 - A little better than ok

3 - It was pretty good

3.5 - It was almost really good

4 - Amazing!

4.5 - I love it!

5 - OMG!!!! ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS EVERR!!!  

So there you go! Hope that helps you! Thanks for reading! \

-Anja

Shakespeare's Secret

Title: Shakespeare's Secret

Author: Elise Broach

Publisher: Henry Holt

Year of Publication: 2005

Reader's Rating: 4

Excerpt: Hero changed into a T-shirt, grabbed a book, and padded barefoot into her sister's room. The large windows overlooked the backyard. She could see the moonlight streaming over the trees and bushes, making long, crazy shadows across the grass. Was there a diamond hidden out there somewhere?

In a Nutshell: When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author; Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing: Suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin, or just much ado about nothing? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out.

(SUMMARY NOT BY ME.)

The Fantastical Stuff: Hero, for one, I think is such an awesome name. She has a very bold personality and the mystery is puzzling, leaving you turning every page; reading every chapter; until you're done. I loved that her relationship with Danny was sort of like a brother-sister bond. (In the best way possible.) It really made me smile. 

The Not-so-fantastical Stuff: Danny's mom left him and his dad for her dream in an acting career. This was not a good decision on her part to just pack up and leave her family like that. Also, Danny is at Hero's house when no one is home with her. Nothing happens but that is another very bad decision.    

Wrap Up: This was an amazing book that I could not put down! I loved the story line and the characters. Although it had some iffy things intertwined with good, it was over all an exceedingly good book. A little touching at times, too. I definitely recommend this. It's just sitting there on the shelf. Go ahead. Pick it up. And read. 

Hoot

 

Title: Hoot

Author: Carl Hiaasen 

Publisher: KNOPF

Year of Publication: 2002

Reader's Rating: 3.5

Excerpt: Roy Eberhardt was sitting on the bus looking out the window. The only reason he was looking out the window was because Dana Matherson was holding his head up against it. Dana was the main bully of the school. It was a good thing that he smashed Roy’s face up against the window, because Roy saw a boy, who was running with no shoes on.

In a Nutshell: Roy Eberhardt. You got it. The little "Cowgirl" as some people have took a fancy in calling him. He lived in Montana, but his dad's job moves his family around a lot. The recent move to Florida was not a dream come true. In fact, it was his worst nightmare. The new school he's been forced into is terrible. Dana is terrible. Life, I guess he could say, is terrible. As Dana strangled Roy on the bus one day on the way to school, Roy finally felt the last straw float away slowly and whip violently out the window. He punched Dana square in the face. After such delighted treachery, he is in a tight situation as he meets Beatrice, the tough soccer player, and Mullet Fingers, the mysterious kid with no shoes. Roy was pulled into a mission to save an endangered species of owls that the Pancake House, in the process of building their restaurant, was trying to hide. 

The Fantastical Stuff: Hiaasen draws you into the whole story. At first, I was cautious about it maybe being too "Save the whales! Hug a tree!" but it's actually really good! I enjoyed it very much. 

The Not-so-fantastical stuff: There are a few mild cuss words; just want to warn you. A bit of teen smoking and harsh bullying scenes are sprinkled across the pages but it is obviously put as wrong.

Wrap Up: Well, I'm going to have to say that... I am so dang excited for the next book in the series! I really liked this one so I'm expecting great things from the next one. Obviously, I'm pretty sure that they don't connect. The next one, I do believe, is "Flush." So, I am very excited to meet new characters and to get sucked into a whole new (but similar) world. I really do suggest this book. The owls are counting on you ;)