The Last of The Really Great Whangdoodles

Title: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

Author: Julie Andrews

Publisher: HarperCollins

Year of Publication: 1974

Readers Rating: 3.5

Excerpt: Until Professor Savant told them about the Whangdoodles--the wise and magical creatures who disappeared to live apart from and forgotten by people--the Potter children led ordinary lives.

In a Nutshell:  The Whangdoodle was once the wisest, the kindest, and the most extraordinary creature in the world. Then he disappeared and created a wonderful land for himself and all the other remarkable animals... It was an almost perfect place where the last of the really great Whangdoodles could rule his kingdom with "peace, love and a sense of fun"-- apart from and forgotten by people. But not completely forgotten. Professor Savant believed in the Whangdoodle. And when he told the three Potter children of his search for the spectacular creature, Lindy, Tom, and Ben were eager to reach Whangdoodleland.

(SUMMARY NOT BY ME.)*

The Fantastical Stuff: The magical land of Whangdoodle was truly a magical place. This book is so full of imagination and creativity that I simply couldn't NOT love it! I enjoyed immensely reading of the strange creatures and glorious places spoken of and could picture them quite clearly. The children are quite endearing and I was immediately struck by the adorableness of Lindy, the youngest and only girl.

The Not-so-fantastical Stuff: This book is definitely for a younger age group so as I read it, I caught onto that fact. Over time, it grew a little tiresome but I know that if I was a child, I would absolutely adore this book. The creativity is striking.

Wrap Up: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles is truly a magnificent masterpiece. Although I would recommend this for a younger age group (around 3rd grade), that does not mean that the imagination is stopped at a certain age. I believe older people should experience some magic once in a while; to reminisce and to grow up slower than we do today. Experiencing this book, I have found that Julie Andrews was not only a fabulous actress but also a magnificent author. This book is a delightful story.

*SUMMARY FROM HERE: 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10336.The_Last_of_the_Really_Great_Whangdoodles

The Tempest

Title: The Tempest

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: Bantam Books

Year of Publication: 1988

Readers Rating: 2.5

In a Nutshell: This joyous play, the last comedy of Shakespeare's career, sums up his stagecraft with a display of seemingly effortless skill. Prospero, exiled Duke of Milan, living on an enchanted island, has the opportunity to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore as well as to forestall a rebellion, to arrange the meeting of his daughter, Miranda, with an eminently suitable young prince, and, more important, to relinquish his magic powers in recognition of his advancing age. Richly filled with music and magic, romance and comedy, the play's theme of love and reconciliation offers a splendid feast for the senses and the heart.

(SUMMARY NOT BY ME.)*

The Fantastical Stuff: I would like to start off the review saying, yet again, Shakespeare stuns me with his beautiful work. Although it is hard to understand at times (even with my version that has notes telling you what certain things mean... ha!), it is a very fun and enjoyable story. {A little hint for reading Shakespeare: get a book that has either been modernized or has notes beside the more confusing sentences. Also, I read a review in The Bathroom Book about The Tempest and that helped immensely on the road to appreciating the story.} Anyway, the beauty and the whole flow of the story is magnificent; so poetic. I enjoy the love between Prospero and his daughter. It is so very sweet. To top that off, the humor is much more enjoyable and able to follow in this Shakespearean play than in Midsummer Night's Dream.

The Not-so-fantastical Stuff: There is quite a bit of alcoholic drinking and at one point, a couple men are so drunk, they can't figure the difference between what's real and what's fake. Also, some sexual comments (although, extremely vague) are thrown about, bad leadership is chosen which leads to bad decisions, and a rather large amount of references and conversations about killing are talked over. A few other things pop out such as one beast, who is a servant to Prospero, hates him and wants him dead because Prospero killed the monster's former owner. (The beast's old master was a witch or evil person of some sorts.) Another thing is the story seems long and boring at various points, but I'm sure that if I would have lived back in Shakespeare's time, I would have understood The Tempest and absolutely loved it! :) 

Wrap Up: Interestingly, I have grown quite fond of Shakespeare's writing. I always thought that I would not enjoy any of his stories, but they continue to amaze me. Although The Tempest is quite slow at times (and there are a few questionable things in it), I would definitely recommend it to any reader who's curiosity leads them to the Shakespearean shelf at the library but drags them away from his tragedies. It is, by far, my favorite Shakespearean comedy (that I've read) and I will be delighted to continue reading his beautiful tales when the time comes yet again.  

   

*SUMMARY FROM HERE: http://cbpl.sirsi.net/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=eBbMCuGExB/WESTCOBB/274360017/9

Phantom Tollbooth

Title: Phantom Tollbooth

Author: Norton Juster

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Year of Publication: 1961

Reader's Rating: 3

     Excerpt: There was once a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself — not just sometimes, but always.When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going. Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he’d bothered. Nothing really interested him — least of all the things that should have.

     In a Nutshell: Milo, a very bored little boy, receives an unusual package one day: a make- believe tollbooth. When he drives through it in his electric toy car, he is suddenly transported to the Lands Beyond, a fantastic world of imagination. On his way to Dictionopolis, one of the country's two capitals, he meets Tock, the watchdog who joins him on his journey. In Dictionopolis, Milo meets King Azaz who presides over the world of letters and words. Azaz sends Milo on a mission to rescue two princesses, Rhyme and Reason, who are imprisoned in the Castle in the Air, which floats hundreds of feet off the ground.

(SUMMARY NOT BY ME.)*

   The Fantastical Stuff: Phanton Tollbooth is filled with an enormous amount of creativity and some good humor. I enjoyed reading about all the people and animals Milo, Tock and their friends met up with on the way to Digitopolis and the pictures were marvelous. (I love books without pictures but, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a sucker for ones with them. haha!) Anyway, this book was imaginitive and fun and I took great pleasure in reading it. 

The Not-so-fantastical Stuff: Although Phantom Tollbooth was highly creative, I felt it was somehow a knock-off to Alice in Wonderland. Now, Alice in Wonderland is an amazing book but authors should be able to come up with more of their own ideas. Actually, though, this book was pretty different from Carrol's writing, but I could tell there was something similar and I didn't exactly like it. Also, with a lot of crazy things happening in Phantom, they start to become repetitive and drone on and on. After a while, I kind of got bored of the same book and was some what relieved when I flipped to the last page. 

Wrap Up: Norton Juster had the mind of a child and it shows through the pages of his stories. Phantom Tollbooth is an interesting and enjoyable tale filled with a magical essence that you are sure to love. Even though it is not on the top of my list of favorites, I recommend it to you entirely. As you're snuggling up to your little ducklings in bed or hugging your child to keep warm, read this book to fill your hearts with imagination, love, and happy thoughts galore.

*SUMMARY FROM HERE: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tollbooth/summary.html

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Author: William Shakespeare  

Publisher: Bantam Books

Year of Publication: 2005

Reader's Rating: 2.5 

In a Nutshell: Magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood provide the materials for one of Shakespeare's most delightful comedies. When four young lovers, fleeing the Athenian law and their own mismatched rivalries, take to the forest of Athens, their lives become entangled with a feud between the King and Queen of the Fairies. Some Athenian tradesmen, rehearsing a play for the forthcoming wedding of Duke Theseus and his bride, Hippolyta, unintentionally add to the hilarity. The result is a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, merriment and farce, all touched by Shakespeare's inimitable vision of the intriguing relationship between art and life, dreams and the waking world. 

(SUMMERY NOT BY ME.)

The Fantastical Stuff: It surprisingly had some pretty funny parts for a book of this age. The characters were expressed very well. It was also very original. Which is not surprising since it was written so long ago by the famous Shakespeare. 

The Not-so-fantastical Stuff: This contained some sexual references and other iffy substances. It was also written in a way that was not understandable. I do realize it was written a long time ago so I am thankful for the modern translation. haha

Wrap Up: Overall, this book was quite interesting. The story was a little hard to follow but I was surprised how it was quite good compared to what I was expecting. I plan on reading more Shakespeare in the future.  

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Title: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Author: Avi

Publisher: Orchard Books

Year of Publication: 2003

Reader's Rating: 3.5

In a Nutshell: A thirteen year old girl is caught between a tyrannical sea captain and his mutinous crew as she travels from England to America. Set in 1832, the ship is sailing from England to America and Charlotte is the only passenger. Told in first person, Charlotte describes her experiences and thoughts as she struggles to know what to do. Eventually, she joins the crew and then becomes the captain when the original captain is killed. When the ship lands in America, she goes back to her family, but she does not fit in anymore. She runs away and goes back to the ship to be a sailor.

(SUMMARY NOT BY ME.)

The Fantastical Stuff: It was an exciting adventure reading this book. I literally barely could put it down. The story was simply too enthralling not to love. Avi was very talented at pulling his readers into this story.  

The Not-so-fantastical Stuff: Where should I start? Nobody trusted anyone on this boat. The captain was a sly and disgusting snake full of lies. He treated his crew like dogs.There were so many people dying, I was very surprised. The captain was brutal towards his men and it was painful to read such things. The parents at the end were very cold towards Charlotte as well. Don't get me wrong! The book was very well written and I enjoyed it but it was so well written that Avi had you in tears at some points.

Wrap Up: I truly enjoyed this book. It was masterfully written. The story crafted as a city girl turns into a sailor who has matured early from the things she's seen. This novel brings you into a whole new world that makes you understand the horrors Charlotte went through. It is a tale worth reading for you voyagers. This sea of pages contains depth beyond you wildest imaginations. 

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 ;)