The Book Scavenging Challenge: Do You Accept?

Attention all book lovers!
This book is really for book lovers!
Well, it seems like I haven't updated my blog for a while. Sorry about that, but my New Year's Resolution is to post as many book reviews as possible this year, though I know that it's a little late to make a New Year's Resolution. But I'm back with an explosive book and (as mentioned above) it is on of the books for book lovers!
Book Scavenger, written by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, is about a special website called Book Scavenger, where books are hidden all over the country and clues are updated on bookscavenger.com, left on a wild adventure.
Emily's parents are always taking the family from one place to another, working on their blog 50 Homes in 50 States. Emily, an ardent Book Scavenger, can't wait to move to San Francisco, where the founder of Book Scavenger, Garrison Griswald. And she's working on finding a new book!
Best of all, Mr. Griswald is creating a new game! Emily can't wait to find out what it is about.
But then disaster strikes. Mr. Griswald is attacked in a subway and no-one knows what his new game is. But maybe Mr. Griswald left a clue behind...
When Emily finds an odd book at the scene of the crime, she assumes that it's a Book Scavenger book. But following a secret code hidden in the book, Emily and her new friend James are thrown into a world of books, ciphers and greedy thugs.
Will Emily and James be able to crack the case of the strange book?
This book is filled with ciphers and codes which I am not at all sure that I would have been able to crack myself!
Jennifer Chambliss Bertman works as a proofreader and a copy-editor. This is her first book. The sequel to Book Scavenger will release this year (2016): The Unbreakable Code.
I recommend this book for ages 9 and above because some of the codes and ciphers will not be easily understood by younger kids.
I really look forward to reading future books by this author and I rate this book with 5/5 stars!
(By the way: Book Scavenger really does exist! If you're interested, the website is bookscavenger.com . A similar website is bookcrossing.com . If you're interested in treasure hunting, a good activity is Geocaching, which can be found on geocaching.com .)

I LOVE PURPLE!

Hey guys!
How much do you like purple? Is it your favorite color or your least favorite color? Or is it somewhere in between? For Annie in 'The Purple Hat' by Tracey Campbell Pearson, it is her favorite color!
Annie loves purple. She has purple clothes, a purple room and she loves ALL THINGS PURPLE. So when she sees an amazing purple hat in the catalogue, she knows it'll be perfect for her. And soon, lucky for her, she does get a purple hat. Annie loves her purple hat.
So one day when she takes it to school, it goes missing. The entire town is searching for it!
Where could her lovely purple hat go?
This book is sweet although it is a little strange that the entire town would be searching for Annie's purple hat. The illustrations are very cute too.
Tracey Campbell Pearson has also written and illustrated Elephant's Story, Myrtle, Bob, Where Does Joe Go?, The Howling Dog and many more.
I think this book will appeal more to ages 3-6.

Ever Wondered What It Would Be Like To Fly A Racing Dragon?

Hello everyone!
Today I'm reviewing the book Dragon Racer by Margaret Bateson-Hill. There are two versions of the book, the first called Dragon Racer and the second called Dragon Racer: The First Flight. This book is the first in the Dragon Racer trilogy.
Imagine a world just like our own. With one twist, that is: DRAGONS!
Joanna Morris longs to have something to do. Her brother is in a football team. What about her? That's when she sees a silver dragon on the clock-tower and knows her life is going to change forever. Soon she's doing what she always wanted to do: dragon racing!
But Excelsior is no normal dragon. And neither is his rival, Prometheus, an arrogant Jewel Dragon who will stop at nothing to win.
Thrown into the world of dragon-racing, Joanna and Excelsior, her over-excited, care-free Silver Spiked-back dragon must battle a corrupt businessman, injustice and most of all: Prometheus. For this Jewel Dragon is not what he really seems he is...
Can Joanna and Excelsior defeat Prometheus?
And what will they have to sacrifice for this?
This book is written so very well and I really look forward to reading the other books Dragon Racer: Legacy of Fire and Dragon Racer: The Silver Flame.
Other than the Dragon Racer books, Margaret Bateson-Hill has also written Leah's Christmas Story, Shota and the Star Quilt, This Little Piggy Went to the Market, Masha and the Firebird, Lao-Lao of Dragon Mountain, etc.
I really love this book and a recommend it to ages 9 and above!

The Other World...

Hey everybody!
Have you watched or heard about the movie Coraline? Well, that amazing movie is based on an amazing book written by Neil Gaiman, called 'Coraline.'
Coraline Jones is bored. She always is at her new house. There's nothing to do, her parents are always busy, and all the neighbors pronounce her name wrong. It's Coraline. Not Caroline. Coraline. The least she can do is explore. But she can't even do that when it starts to rain one day. So, when her father suggests she explore the flat, she finds a strange door. It doesn't open to anywhere and behind is a bunch of bricks. After further unearthing and digging up she finds out that it's closed because when the house was divided into flats, the door was blocked. At least that's the story... but maybe there's something more to the bricked-up wall.
When her parents aren't home, Coraline finds out that the door does open out to somewhere. Going through the dark musty corridor, she finds a world eerily similar to her own... but better. This world is way more interesting and fun.
But there's another mother there, and another father, who want Coraline to stay and be their little girl... but that can't happen... can it? When the history of this world starts to unravel and her parents disappear, Coraline finds out that she's in grave danger...
This is the first book I've read written by Neil Gaiman and I certainly look forward to reading more. This book is eery and never really frightening and I love it. It's truly one of my favorite books! I recommend this book to ages 8 and above.
I love this book and rate it 5 stars!

Bow Down to the New Generation of Princesses!

Hello guys!
 Today I'm reviewing the Tiara Club series which has more than thirty books in it. These books are rather simple and easy to read. They are written by Vivian French.
In a magical world with kingdoms and Fairy Godmothers, princesses are so common that the Princess Academy is set up. This academy is divided into numerous stages, such as the first Tiara Club, Silver Towers, Ruby Mansion, Pearl Palace and Emerald Castle. In the Princess Academy, lots of things happen.
There are magic potions, baby dolphins, horses, the sea and, of course, princesses. In each stage, there are a different set of princesses, which makes  it a little hard to remember all those princess names. At the beginning of each book, a note is written from the princess to the reader, saying that both of them are best friends, but it does not seem that way in the story itself.
If you are a reader older than 9 years old, you will probably not find the books satisfying to yourself, even for a short read. These books are mostly for younger girls who have just started to read chapter books and like princesses because the plots are very simple and won't appeal to older readers.

Favorite Blast #10: Don't Worry, It's Just a Clean Break...

Dear readers,
I haven't blogged for a long time, but here is the last Favorite Blast! I'm reviewing the book Clean Break by Jacqueline Wilson.
Usually, in stories, the step-parents are terrible and mean to the children. But in Em's case, this is wrong. She loves her step-dad way more than her real dad. Even if she has to put up with Vita and Max, her annoying half-siblings. So why does everything go wrong on Christmas day?
At first, Em is sure that this will be the best Christmas ever, especially when her step-dad gives her a real emerald ring! Cool! But after a mysterious call, Em is not sure whether this really will be the best Christmas ever.
When her step-dad runs away, life gets tougher with old Gran nagging, not enough money and a shocking discovery about Em's emerald ring.
And then Em starts to wonder... did her step-dad really love her? Everybody tries to convince that her step-dad is coming back, but Em knows better.
But maybe all it will take to get her step-dad back is an accident...
Will Em ever get her step-dad back?
Or will she have to accept this new way of life?
Jacqueline Wilson has written many other books, such as The Suitcase Kid, Sleepovers, The Lottie Project, etc. I have also reviewed some of her books which you can find in my blog.
This is a heart-touching story and will make you root for Em all the way. I recommend this book to ages 9 and above.
Well, this is the end of Favorite Blast! I hope you enjoyed it and maybe I'll do something like this in the future. Thanks a lot! (and I'm not being sarcastic.)

Favorite Blast #9: Sleepover Girlz...

Hey guys,
Today I'm going to review Sleepovers by Jacqueline Wilson.
All the girls in the Alphabet club (Amy, Bella, Chloe, Daisy and Emily) can't wait to have sleepover parties. That is, except for Daisy. Poor Daisy is new to the school and doesn't have a best friend. Then she meets the rest of the Alphabet club and finally starts to settle down. Everybody seems to like her, except for mean Chloe. Chloe torments Daisy and doesn't let her take part in activities. She's a cheater and the main problem is that she's Emily's best friend. Daisy wants to be Emily's friend and she can't bear Chloe.
Chloe gets meaner and meaner to the extent that Emily doesn't want to be her best friend anymore either. Then when the sleepovers start, it's a chance that Daisy can become Emily's best friend... But that's not Daisy's only problem. She's embarrassed and won't let anybody come to her house because of her sister.
Daisy's sister isn't well and Daisy's embarrassed about her... But maybe she can help Daisy in beating Chloe...
This story is a very heartwarming tale about friendship, standing up for friends and understanding that you shouldn't be embarrassed by someone you love..
I recommend this book to ages 7 and above.
Jacqueline Wilson is a British author who has also written The Suitcase Kid, The Lottie Project, Clean Break, The Diamond Girls, and many more.
Well, this review is almost over. The LAST Favorite Blast review, reviewing another Jacqueline Wilson book, Clean Break, is coming soon! Stay tuned to A Wonderland of Books!