Percy Jackson & The Lightening Thief

Daughter: Now who was it that said that the Olympian gods weren't real?? OK now the gods are real now they are having half bloods. At least there aren't any children of the main three gods Hades, Poseidon or Zeus oops now that not true. nothing makes sense anymore. Well now I have to go kill Medusa not a fun job.

Dad: So here's Percy. Doesn't even know he's a demigod and suddenly he's accused of stealing Zeus's lightening bolt. The Lightening Thief is a fun, modern romp through Greek mythology. Half the time, I'm scratching my head wondering if I should know the story, the other half, I'm laughing out loud at the surprising twists.

Percy jumps from confusion to action, often quickly. Never a good student, he is often at a loss to recall what would help him most, but when it matters most, he's a half-blood of action.

And who knew Mount Olympus was on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building?

White Fang

Daughter: Your a sled driver just carrying a dead man back to his family. Easy right? Well no. Every night no matter how you tie up your dogs, one some how escapes and follows a young wolf, to their death. You are low on dogs and you still have a along way to go and you have only 3 shots left in your gun. Your partner goes out to try to scare away the large pack of wolves with only 3 shots. You here them go off and your partner never comes back. Just at the last minutes of life when most of the lights you put around your self die out and your really tired you get rescued. How about that. Starts off kinda cool but the story isn't about the sled driver but the young she-wolf. She goes off and finds a mate named One-Eye. She has a few pups and only one survives. He grows up. Some Indians find her and the pup. Your mother is a tamed wolf and One-Eye is a dog. Now your a half breed. He grows up in the Indian camp with a master that beats him and doesn't love him but he stays with this cruel man. Then he is soled to a white man that only uses him for dog fights! How totally horrible. After he becomes famous and is fighting his hardest opponent a small bull dog. I seens the be the end of White fang but a mining engineer comes and rescues him. And turns him into a sled dog. At the end he goes to California with all of these animals and a sheep dog. She absolutely hates him for being a wolf but some how in the end there are puppies.

Dad: So, the daughter wrote a book, what's left for me to say? I'll say this: White Fang is all about loyalty. Most of the people/dogs/wolves White Fang meets can't figure this out. Once he meets the mining engineer, everything changes. The man understands loyalty. White Fang understands the man. It's an awesome, insightful tale and a really fun read

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Daughter: When you go onto a ship would you ever in your right mind think about becoming part of the crew?? Would you betray the crew for the captain, then betray the captain for the crew?? What would you do if there was a mutiny whose side would you take the crews or the captains?? Would you stand by and watch as an old crew member was being flogged to death for what you did? At the end of the trip would you stand up to your father and tell him the truth and keep at it until he believed you?? What if you were accused of doing something that you didn't do but you don't know who did it would you take your undeserved punishment?

Dad: The great thing about this book is that it forces you to think about what is really important, especially when what you are experiencing doesn't match what you have learned up to this point in your short life. What if you, like 13 year old Charlotte, were taught that you were a proper young lady, you should not associate with people "beneath" you (especially uncouth crew members and black men) and you should respect your "betters," like the gentleman captain? But during your trip, you are amazed to discover that things aren't always what they seem and you were forced to make tough choices. I enjoyed this book, because I believe Charlotte rose to the occasion. The only frustrating bit for me was that her family was unable to perceive her growth and wished she would shrink back to a proper young lady.

Spiderwick 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath

Daughter: Suspenseful, action-filled, a great book for any family to read together. After escaping from dwarves wouldn't you just love to find your griffin chasing a hobgoblin on top of your roof? The hobgoblin happens to be Hogsqueal, someone you thought you could trust. Above all of this the goblins have stolen the field guide. When you happen to be in Mugarath's lair you find one of Jared's favorite people the only thing is you wonder in you can trust him...


Dad: Mmm, tasty. I won't give away the ending, but I will say it's lip-smackin' good. This book is full of conflict: Griffin vs. Dragon in an epic aerial battle; Ogre vs. Dwarves (flesh, blood & bone or rock & metal?); and the Grace children: bickering brats or caring siblings? Definitely worth the read ...

More conflict to come: Book or movie? Which did you like better?

The Spiderwick Chronicles 4: The Ironwood Tree

Daughter: I bet you would never figure out who is well dressed, holding a sword and in a glass box. It is someone you would never expect, it's Mallory! This Spiderwick book is very interesting, Mallory goes to her fencing tournament, Jared sees a girl looking through Mallory's gym bag. A girl tells him she saw Mallory crying in the girls bathroom. Jared was confused since Mallory won the fencing tournament. Simon And Jared get captured by dwarves. They realize every thing the dwarves make is made out of metal: gold and bronze. Mallory was captured by the dwarves before Simon and Jared.


Dad: I think the dwarves go a bit too far with this metal thing: They have dogs made of metal, who can follow a scent and fetch! (I like our Lucy better; puppies need fur.) Also appearing in this story: a really creepy shape shifter - Jared! Well, Not Jared actually. You can tell because he and Jared end up talking to each other. And it isn't his twin Simon either. Less trustworthy than the pookah: Beware the Not Jared. This book is fun and suspenseful. The Grace children need to be quick thinking and quick on their feet.

Coming Soon: Book 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath, a movie review and Daughter and Dad check out the classics. Don't miss a single exciting episode of the DD Book Review.

The Spiderwick Chronicles 3: Lucinda's Secret

Daughter: Lucinda, their great aunt, tells them some bits of her life, why she was put in a asylum. Lucinda doesn't eat in front of other people, weird right?

They were following a map so they could find the field guide, but instead they meet a phooka, a shape shifter. The phooka talks in riddles and rhymes. They do not pay much attention to what the phooka says. Then they go into the forest and meet 3 wood elves. Mallory meets a unicorn goes to pet it and sees its thoughts. Wouldn't everybody want to do that?


Dad: Aunt Lucy is in for a bum rap. You're not really insane if the faeries you see are real, are you? The whole Faerie world seems scary and out to get our heroes, but some fast thinking keeps them from their doom. Never trust a phooka.

The Spiderwick Chronicles 2: The Seeing Stone

Daughter: They find an eyepiece that lets them see the invisible creatures that can harm them. Simon gets captured by little goblins (who are born with out teeth, but use sharp pieces of glass and stone as substitutes). Jared and Mallory are desperately trying to find Simon and run into a troll. They find him in a big cage hanging from a tree, but he is surrounded by goblins. How will they get him out? What will happen? Will they survive? (Well, at least we know they won't die yet, there are three books to go ...)

Dad: Griffins are cool. Hobgoblin spit in your eye lets you see the invisible world. Jaden comments that the only supernatural twin power he shares with Simon is the ability to wear the same-sized pants. I'm thoroughly enjoying these books.

The Spiderwick Chronicles 1: The Field Guide

Daughter: Mallory (13) and Simon & Jared (9 y.o. twins) live in a creepy old mansion with their mom. They find a secret library without a door. They discover it through the dumbwaiter. Later, they learn they can get in through the linen closet. They find out there is a brownie living in the walls. When he gets mad, he starts wrecking the place. They discover a book and learn to be nice to the brownie, Thimbletack. The book tells them what to look out for in the forest. It makes you desire to read on.

Dad: This book is fun to read. Chapter titles are clever. I particularly like: "Chapter 2: In Which Two Walls Are Explored By Vastly Different Methods". Mallory likes fencing. What a cool sport.