The Saga of Adam Radinsky by Jackie Radinsky Review

THE SAGA OF ADAM RADINSKY

By Jackie Radinsky

★★★★★

      

      Quite honestly, this is one of the greatest books I've ever read. It is wonderfully written, filled with interesting, random life stories and funny little habits and full of humor. One thing people need to know before buying this book is that The SOAR is very smartly written, meaning that in some cases, young people wouldn't fully understand the complex dinner conversations, with topics ranging from barefoot running to gold to- well, a LOT of different things, you get it.

      SOAR doesn't need to try and be cool it just is, without really doing anything out of the regular routine. At times, this book will make you laugh. At times, this book will make you cry. At times, this book will even make you laugh-cry. It rips the reader of the ground, turns his or her life upside-down, and doesn't let go until the last page. I hope every single person loves and enjoys this "book" as much as I do, for it is truly a timeless classic.

       If this makes sense, this book is always looking out for me; always caring, no matter what the circumstance is. I now turn to thank this book for everything it's shown me and my family, in providing never ending support and constant laughter. I love you "book".

Rated:

For 0+

Profanity: Only during sporting games on T.V., normally if it's involving LeBron James.

Violence: None.

Sexual Content: *

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict... by Trenton Lee Stewart Review

THE EXTRAORDINARY EDUCATION OF NICHOLAS BENEDICT

By Trenton Lee Stewart

     ★★★☆☆ 

      For years I have been an avid fan of the Mysterious Benedict Society series, and to see this new installment released, I was very excited. One thing that people need to know before reading this book is that it is not a continuation of any previous stories, but a brand new one, giving insight on the founder of the Benedict Society, Nicholas Benedict himself.

      The story begins with 9 year-old Nicholas being dropped off at his new orphanage (we learn that he too was an orphan.) Nicholas has a hard time fitting in and liking the orphanage, what with the mean group of bullies (the spiders), the weird director of the orphanage, Mr. Collum, and the the kids who are actually scared of Nicholas because of his strange, brilliant ways. But then adventure finds Nick (as it always does.) As the town's rumor has it, the original owners of the Rothschild Estate had "purchased" a treasure a long ago that was very grand in itself, yet nobody but them knew exactly knew what it was.  

      So great that even now, the owner of the orphanage and townspeople alike still search for it. Just when the orphanage's wired, power saving-obsessed director, Mr. Collum, begins losing hope, about finally discovering the treasure, in comes Nicholas Benedict, who has more than one idea about the treasure due to his highly advanced knowledge and reasoning. Yet Nicholas needs to be careful about his already known clues, or else Mr. Collum might catch up in the race to find the treasure, and all Nick's dreams would be lost. The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict is a fun-filled adventure about a mysterious orphanage, a even more mysterious treasure, and a brilliant young lad whose mind is quite advanced for his years.

     
      I enjoyed this book, yet not as much as the other installments in this series. Let me just tell you straightforward that I find Mr. Stewart an excellent writer, and I adore his work, yet this title did not grip me and hold me down like his other books. Personally I thought that the peril level was a very low, meaning that I could barely feel Nicholas's need to find the treasure, or to do anything in general, because nothing was actually at stake (except the occasional threat of extra chores.) 

      As interesting as it was to see young Nicholas as a 9 year-old, I would have preferred to have seen him as a teen or young adult, explaining how the mysterious Benedict society came to be, and how he started it. Also, the 20-page part in the story about the Harinton dude seemed utterly useless, providing zero plot advancement. It almost seems as if Mr. Stewart had some development in the story planned involving Harinton, but then decided against it, and went back to "plan A," involving Nicholas returning to the estate. That part really distracted me and took away from the story in my opinion.

      One thing I did like about this book (and all of Stewart's others) was the way Nicholas's mind worked. It was very interesting [from the readers perspective] to see the way the genius himself thinks, and to observe the multitude of cogs turning in his wondrous brain. The way the story ties itself up is more than satisfactory. The writing in this book is superb, like all the works by this author, and one could easily picture the locations described without much thought. One aspect I applaud Stewart on is how he made Nicholas's mind sharper than most adults, yet at the same time, keeping his maturity level that of a 9 year-old. This helped his character a lot, because, as I've noticed in many TV shows, the young kids are supposed to seem smart, so the writers make them retort "clever" lines that they would never say in a million years, that further muddles the story, and makes the person seem all the less believable. So thank you Mr. Stewart, for keeping the young Nicholas real.

  Rated:

For 10+

Profanity: None.

Violence: The spiders beat up Nick once, and shove a little boy in a trashcan, though not very intense. Not scary or intense for the age range. Might frighten young children.

Sexual Content: Non-existent.

      

Legend by Marie Lu Review

LEGEND

 by Marie Lu

     ★★★★☆      

      For a long time I have wished to read Legend, mainly because of the reviews and hype surrounding it, but also because of the fact that it's set in a dystopian California landscape, stars a kick-ass heroine, and because there are plenty of fights and explosions throughout (boys love violence!).

      Sounds like a book you've ever heard of? It certainly mimics plenty of elements from Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games, and it certainly will be compared with it, but I didn't really mind some of the same elements being used, because that's what attracted everyone to the Hunger Games initially. I simply think of it as a Hunger Games 2.0, designed by a video game director and set in a post-apocalyptic version of Los Angeles. (Think Romeo and Juliet meets Hunger Games.)

  

      The two main characters in Legend are complete opposites. The first is a teenage-criminal named Day, who has his mom thinking he is dead, and is the most wanted criminal in the Republic. Day grew up in the slum Lake sector (in the future, the poor live in various sectors scattered throughout California, and have jobs like cleaning out turbines.) The crimes Day has committed range from setting fire to multiple air crafts before they went off to war, scaling a 5-foot building in under 8 seconds, and the most recent; breaking into a hospital complex to steal the supposed cure to the plague that had infected his younger brother. Yet out of all these crimes, he has never harmed a single person, until his last "expedition." The next hero of this book is June, who grew up in the richer side of town, in fact, the richest. Every year, the capitol holds a test for every 10 year-old to measure his or her abilities in academics, physicality, and logic. June was the only one in history to have a perfect score of 1500, and for that got assigned to serve under a general. June had always admired Day for his skills in defying the capitol, even though it was looked down upon by everyone around her.Then one day, Day supposedly kills June's brother, Metias, flipping June's world upside-down. The chase that follows is a fun one, and filled with plenty of surprises and interesting twists.

     In Legend, the story is told through the perspective of Day and June. At times, the narration can become extremely tedious, because both of them sound very similar, in both their thoughts and the way that they talk. We get that the two of them are both insanely talented prodigies, but one would think that Day's upbringing in the slum Lake Sector would change his dialect slightly from that of the rich, well brought-up June. (The only apparent attempt was Day's constant usage of the words "Cousin" and "Goddy", which, frankly, started to get really annoying.)

                        

      But despite all that, I really enjoyed this book. I read it in less than 24 hours, and enjoyed every minute of it, minus my only criticism (see above).  The way the story gets tied together is perfect, with June's and Day's narrations intertwining. The characters seemed believable enough, and I thought the setting was described very well, for sometimes the future setting of other novels becomes muddled and confusing, yet Legend avoided that, and stuck to a near future that was believable and not at all over the top.

 Rated:

For 14+

Profanity: (☆) Minor words like damn and hell, yet nothing a 14-year-old can't handle.

Violence: (☆☆☆☆) There is lots of violence, including Day's torture, where he gets beaten up pretty badly, and it is described thoroughly, with graphic images of wounds. There are riot scenes, hospital break-ins, prison break-outs, and more. 

Sexual Content: (☆) Day and June kiss, but nothing more than that.