Favorite Blast #6: Girls Can Be Boyish!

Hey guys,
Favorite Blast #6 is going to review How I Survived Being a Girl, by Wendelin Van Draanen.

1. Keep your hair too short for ribbons.
2. Get a great dog.
3. Avoid girls with Mary-Janes.
4. Spy on the neighbors. 

These are Carolyn's tips for survival. She swears by them. By looking at these rules, you can probably guess what type of girl Carolyn is. If you're thinking about ribbons, long hair, dolls and kittens, sugar and spice and everything nice, well, you're WRONG! If you're thinking about a tomboy, dirty and messy, digging holes, action and spying, then you're CORRECT!
Carolyn is a tomboy. She wishes she was never a girl. Playing with dolls? Dress-up? Ugh! Football? Spying? Um, yeah! No wonder she doesn't have any friends who are girls.
Carolyn has all sorts of adventures. Digging foxholes, signing a petition against her music teacher, girly-girl girls, stealing books (it was by accident, okay?), and climbing roofs are just part of Carolyn's life.
But during the summer before sixth grade, everything seems to change... Before, Carolyn wouldn't have though much of stealing a book. Now she's frightened out of her wits. She isn't that friendly with her best friend Charlie anymore.
Read about Carolyn's hilarious adventures in the book!
This is Wendelin Van Draanen's first book, but I myself haven't read her other books.
I recommend this book for ages 9 and above.
The book has colorful language and portrays a clear picture in your mind. The problem is that the book seems a little outdated as some features of modern life are missing and sometimes you can't really connect to Carolyn. Other than that, it's a great book that you'll probably love!

Favorite Blast #5: The Seventh Son of the Seventh Son...

Hello everybody,
Favorite Blast #5 is... the Septimus Heap series! This series is written by Angie Sage, 'who's a bit older than her teeth but the same age as her nose...'
Welcome to the Castle. The Castle is a magical home and hub for hundreds of odd people. Let's go to the Ramblings, which is located in the Castle. The Ramblings is a housing society for most of the people who live in the Castle. In the Ramblings, there is a very odd household... meet the Heaps. The Heaps are a huge family with seven children. Well... not quite. The Heap household has six sons and a very mysterious girl, Jenna. Nobody knows where Jenna comes from. To find out more, let's go a little bit back, to the past...
Ten years ago, the seventh son of Sarah and Silas Heap was born. If he survived, then he would be one of the most powerful wizards of all time, since Silas was also a seventh son. But poor Septimus Heap didn't survive. On that cold evening when Septimus died, Silas found a strange baby with violet eyes in the biting, cruel snow. This child grew up as Jenna Heap. But poor Silas and Sarah couldn't get Septimus out of their mind.
What really happened to Septimus?
Ten years later, Marcia Overstrand, the Extraordinary Wizard, paid a visit to the Heaps, a visit which would change their lives, a visit nobody could ever forget... In the biting snow, Jenna is declared the heir to the throne and a young boy only known as Boy 412 is found under the snow. As the mysterious past of Jenna and Boy 412 are unfolded, a strange connection is found...
This is an epic story of loyalty, legends and power.
Books in this series are Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, Darke, Fyre and a series companion, The Magykal Papers. The Darke Toad is a short story that covers up the long gap between Magyk and Flyte.
I love this series and I recommend it for ages 8 and above. 

Favorite Blast #4: You Really Are a Wonder, August Pullman

Hey guys,
I recently read this amazing book called Wonder. It was so good that I just had to put it on my Favorite Blast list.
August Pullman (Auggie) isn't normal. Well, he's completely normal- except for his face. It's so terrible that kids scream and run away from him at the park. Auggie lives with his Mom, Dad, and his sister Via, who are probably the only people who see him as normal. He's been home-schooled his entire life. Until now.
Auggie can't wait to go to middle school, although he knows exactly what to expect- screaming, teasing kids, bullies and shocked teachers. Which is exactly what he gets. But Auggie gets one thing that he never ever bargained for: friends. At first, Auggie thinks that Jack and Summer could be his new best friends. But that's before he hears a terrible conversation between Jack and the bully, Julian. This is when August Pullman discovers that life is going to be way, way harder in middle school than he ever thought. To make it worse, he's getting a humongous hearing aid, five times larger than a normal one. 
With one best friend Summer, a feuding school, teasing bullies, and a miserable sister, Auggie is sure that he's never going to survive middle school. That is, until one night at a school outing, when everything changes...
The story is told in six different viewpoints, from Summer's, Jacks's, Via's, etc. This book has different quotes in it. The book is very inspiring and touching. It is written in such a way that you know exactly how the characters feel. You feel as though you are the character. If Auggie's embarrassed, you are too. If Jack's feeling confused, then you'll feel confused too. If Via's miserable, you suddenly feel miserable as well.

The book is written by R. J. Palacio, a wonderful author. She's also written 365 Days of Wonder, which is a quote book, and The Julian Chapter, which is a sequel to Wonder. It explains what happens to Julian later on and how Julian feels. Pluto, an all new sequel, will release in a few days, 10th Feb 2015. This book is about Christopher, Auggie's oldest friend.

I really love Wonder and I recommend it for ages 8 and above.

Wonder is 5 stars, everybody!

  

Favorite Blast #3: Gaia Rising...

Hello friends...
Welcome the the THIRD Favorite Blast. Only 7 more to go!On this review, I'll be talking about the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. This series is a continuation of the Percy Jackson series. I've already reviewed the Percy Jackson series in Favorite Blast #2: Athena, Artemis and the Rest of Greek Mythology. If you haven't already read that review, please do, because it will be easier to understand this review...
Long story short: Two demigods lose memory. End up in separate camps. Need to stop Gaia, evil earth goddess. Now what?
The longer, more useful story: Things are completely normal in the demigod world. Suddenly, something weird happens. A mysterious boy with blonde hair is found with a pretty girl and silly boy. On the other side of the country, a dark haired, strong boy with deep sea-green eyes is found by two kids. The strange thing is that these two boys have no idea who they are, but evidence on them says that they are from the opposing camp. The blonde boy, Jason, is a Roman lost in the Greek world and the dark haired boy, Percy, is a Greek found in a Roman camp.
But that's not the only strange thing going on. The evil Earth goddess Gaia is rising and Death has been stolen. A mysterious prophecy unites the two camps and soon, seven teenagers are chosen to go on a journey that will change the world... or destroy it.
Meet Percy, a strong-willed boy who can control water and can speak to horses, son of Poseidon. And Annabeth, one of Percy's closest friends since age 12, a clever, strategic demigod, daughter of Athena. Piper is Aphrodite's daughter who can charm-speak and Leo is the seventh wheel of the group, with magical fingers, son of Hephaestus.
Then there are the Romans: Jason, a strong Roman boy, son of Jupiter. Hazel, a tough magical Roman girl, daughter of Pluto, with a deep secret, and Frank, her best friend, son of Mars.
These seven demigods have a destiny nobody can imagine. Can they defeat Gaia and her evil forces?
This series is very good and I love it. The only catch is that it is easier to understand only if you read the previous series. The books in the series are The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades and The Blood of Olympus.
I recommend this series to ages 9 and above.
I really, super-duper love this series and I really want more even though the series has already ended!

Favorite Blast #2: Athena, Artemis and the Rest of Greek Mythology

Hey everybody...
So, here's my next Favorite Blast review: Athena, Artemis and the Rest of Greek Mythology. This review is on the...(drum-roll...) PERCY JACKSON series! This is one of my ultimate favorites, seriously. The series is by Rick Riordan, who's also written the Kane Chronicles series and the Heroes of Olympus series, which is also one of my favorites.
Percy Jackson lives in New York with his Mom, Sally Jackson. Everything's normal. Until one fateful day in which he visits the museum and his life is changed the moment he is handed a magic sword and he finds out that he's half-god, half-human! Percy is taken to a mysterious camp, Camp Half-Blood, where demigods, nature spirits, satyrs and centaurs all live in peace... Well, not quite.
Suddenly, Percy's thrown into a world (and heaven) of Greek gods, monsters, prophecies and heroes. Where lies can be truth, and good can be bad, who can be trusted? Percy soon learns that his greatest enemy is Kronos, the Titan of Time, who is bent on revenge and has sworn to rule the world again.
Faced with Titans, monsters, terrible prophecies and magical items, will Percy be able to defeat Kronos? Can anybody defeat Kronos? The worst part is what will Percy lose during this quest? His friends, his Mom, his life or even the world?
I love this series and it is amazing. I love the way the story is structured and the way the plot is unraveled. The language is easy to understand and there are situations we can all relate to. The story is so well narrated that you can actually feel as though you are actually in the book.
The books in this series are The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian. The story is continued in a separate series The Heroes of Olympus.
I like this series and recommend it for ages 9 and above.
Well, this is the end of this post. Remember, watch out for the next Favorite Blast review, which will review the Heroes of Olympus!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hello friends,
I reviewed the Harry Potter series and on the same day I got a review from the view of a 9-year-old on what she thinks of the fourth book in the series. Here it is:
Harry Potter is a very good series of books and I like it a lot.  I am going to review the 4th book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In this book, Harry Potter is in his fourth year in Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. There is a competition between three schools but only students the age of 17 and above can participate. The Goblet of Fire, by accident, chooses Harry to participate even though he is only 14. There are 3 tasks which are very mysterious. While Harry is busy with the competition, the evil Lord Voldemort is trying to defeat Harry by infiltrating the castle...
Read the Goblet of Fire to know what tricks Voldemort tries to play on Harry and whether Harry will ever escape!
~Meesha, age 9, Hyderabad, Telengana, India
I really liked this review. What do you think? Why don't you post your own review in the 'Reviewed by Friends' section?

Favorite Blast #1: Expelliarmus!

Hey guys,
One thing about the Harry Potter series: I LOVE IT! Why? Well, for one thing, who wouldn't like a book that has a school of wizardry, flying broomsticks, mysterious prophecies, flaming phoenixes, curses and spells and a bunch of other cool, awesome stuff? It's a pretty simple question. Well, today, as the first review of Favorite Blast, I'm reviewing the Harry Potter series.
Harry Potter is a normal boy who lives with his parents and has fun with his lovely cousin, Dudley. Well, not quite. Okay, okay. That's not the story at all. But this is the story: Harry Potter is a strange, thin boy who's parents, apparently, died dies in a car crash. He lives with his terrible Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia and is bullied and beaten by his horrid cousin Dudley. Harry's not normal at all. He gets strange dreams and can jump onto his school's roof from the ground.
But, his life is turned around when he meets a giant called Hagrid, who changes everything. Harry is taken to a school of magic and meets his friends. There his mysterious past seems to unfold and he realizes that his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, the most feared, vicious wizard of all time. But the strange thing is that Harry is the only person to have ever survived the wrath of Lord Voldemort...
Harry's destiny is far beyond anything he can ever imagine. With the help of his friends and the past, will Harry ever be able to fulfill the destiny he was meant for?
Harry's tale is narrated in a series of seven books and it is a classic tale of Good VS Evil. The story is like a corridor with twists, turns and surprises lurking around every corner. I really love the series and I love it.
The series is written by J. K. Rowling, who I feel is one of the best storytellers the world has ever known. The books in the series are Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone (depends on which version you read), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
This is a timeless classic that I think everyone should read. I recommend it for ages 8 and above.
By the way, get ready for my NEXT Favorite Blast review: The Percy Jackson series!