Number the Stars

Hello everybody!
Today I'm reviewing the historical fiction book, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry.
Number the Stars is set during World War 2 in Copenhagen. Annemarie Johansen is ten years old and lives with her family. Her best friend and neighbor is a Jew, Ellen Rosen. She has a younger sister, Kirsti, but she had an older sister, Lise, who died shortly before her wedding.
There are Nazis on every street corner, and soon, it is found out that the Nazis want to relocate Jews elsewhere. Ellen and her family are Jews, and Ellen's parents flee with Peter, Lise's fiance. Ellen must stay with Annemarie's family.
The story is about Ellen and her family fleeing the Germans, and while I really like the book, I would have liked to know what happened later to the Rosens and Annemarie's family, but that as left to the imagination.
The book was interesting and easy to read in one sitting. It is absorbing and meaningful, the language is clear and easy to read. I loved the historical aspect of the book, and it was this book that got me very interested in the events of World War 2.
All the characters in the book, especially Annemarie's family is very brave and I thought that they were very strong and stood up for what they believed in and helped people get away with their lives.
Number the Stars has won the Newbery Medal.
Lois Lowry is an American author who has written over thirty books, including the Giver quartet, which I have reviewed already, Anastasia Krupnik, and many more.
I recommend Number the Stars for anyone who loves history, and for ages 9 and above.

The Giver

Hey guys!
Recently, I've finished The Giver quartet by Lois Lowry.
The first book, The Giver, is about Jonas, a young boy in a seemingly utopian society, where everyone is assigned a role at age 12. Jonas is assigned the role of being the future Receiver of Memory, training from an old man called the Giver. Jonas experiences things he has never experienced before- snow, sleds, even colour.
But when Jonas finds out the truth about his society, he must save an infant named Gabriel, from death. He must leave the community- and go into the unknown.
The other books in the series, Gathering Blue, Messenger and Son are about similar dystopian societies. Although the ending to the first book is unclear, it is all tied up in the third book, Messenger.
The series is interesting, and I really liked the dystopian societies Lois Lowry created- it is interesting reading about them.
The writing of the book is good, and the main characters of all the books are compelling and easy to root for. I enjoyed the series as a whole, though I would like to see more about the 'special gifts' some characters have and where they came from, as well as the Trademaster.
Lois Lowry is an American author who has written over thirty books, including Number the Stars.
I recommend the books for ages 9 and above.

Long Story Short

Hello fellow readers!
I'm not much of a storyteller- that is, the speaking, talking type of storyteller. So when I found 'Long Story Short' by Margot Leitman, I hoped that it would help me with my storytelling skills- and help it did!
Long Story Short by Margot Leitman is a good guide to storytelling for a beginner. It talks about how to be more expressive, choosing what stories to narrate, what to do and what not to do and how to make your own life story-worthy.
I enjoyed it- Margot recommends to the reader some good short stories to read and listen to. She talks about how to get the audience to root for you- the trick, it turns out, is to make yourself flawed instead of perfect. She also uses some of her own stories to help us understand what she means. I'm definitely going to use some of her tips next time.
I also liked the way she wrote- it was casual and not boring. I swept through the book pretty easily, which can be hard for me, personally, because I'm not that into non-fiction books, but Margot Leitman's book held my attention.
Margot Leitman is a storyteller, comedian and writer from New Jersey. She's also written Gawky: Tales of an Extra Long Awkward Phase. She is five-time Moth StorySLAM winner.
I recommend this book for ages 12+.

Twilight- a 'Love' Story

Hey everybody!
Today I'll be reviewing a pretty popular book- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
Twilight is the love story of Isabella 'Bella' Swan and Edward Cullen. When Bella moves to Forks, Washington, which she calls 'the rainiest place on the planet', she expects to find boredom, misery and homesickness. But when she goes to school, she is fascinated by the mysterious Edward Cullen and his family, but at first sight Edward seems to hate her.
Gradually, though, they start to bond and Bella figures out the Cullens' secret- they're vampires. The Cullens accept her, though, but soon Bella is put in danger when a hunter wants to track her down and drink her blood...
I personally didn't find the love story to have much love. The 'love' didn't feel like actual 'love.' Edward and Bella have known each other (not very well either) for barely two months before professing their 'love' for each other, and having barely any proper conversations. Also, I would like to know more about the Cullens' (and Bella's) daily lives, including their hobbies- not just their special gifts. It would be more realistic if this was shown.
I would also prefer it if Bella had more of of a personality instead of just being a blank slate that dumps her friends the moment Edward takes an interest in her. In fact, from the moment she has her first conversation with Edward, we hardly know what happens to her at school or at home- everything is now about Edward.
Also, the plot felt pretty rushed, as did the love story. I feel like this could have been much better if the love story was slower and daily life was explained better- not just at school but at home as well. I wanted to know more about the vampires too- why did they only move to Forks, 'the rainiest place on the planet' now? How come nobody other than Bella figured the whole vampire thing out? She can't be the only girl to research about vampires, can she?
The book is supposed to be based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but personally I feel that Pride and Prejudice is far better- if you want a good love story I would recommend it instead.
There are four books in the series, and I have only read the first book; I'm not sure whether I'm going to read the next three.
Stephenie Meyer is best known for the Twilight series, and she has also written The Host.
I don't really recommend Twilight to anyone- but the age group would be around 12+.

The Origin and the Destination

Hello!
Like I said before, I've been reading many books by Dan Brown. In this post I'll be reviewing his most recent book Origin. This is the fifth book in the Robert Langdon series.
When Harvard professor Robert Langdon is invited to one of his former student's presentations, he does not expect the night to go totally haywire. Edmond Kirsch, who claims he has had a breakthrough in finding the origin of the universe and the future of the human race is killed in the middle of his presentation...before his discovery is revealed.
With his life in danger, Langdon and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao's director Ambra Vidal are on the run to solve the puzzle Kirsch has placed before them, with the help of Kirsch's incredible artificial intelligence, Winston. Meanwhile, the future king of Spain, Prince Julian, and close friend of the king, Bishop Valdespino, have gone missing...
Could this have something to do with the mysterious visit Kirsch paid to three prominent religious figures recently, and the murders of Rabbi Yehuda Koves and allamah Syed al-Fadl?
And what is the discovery that Edmond Kirsch has made?
Set in Spain, Origin has a good pace and while the 'destination' part of Kirsch's discovery was a bit predictable, even without the book, I did appreciate the idea of the 'origin' and 'purpose' behind the whole universe.
Dan Brown has written the Robert Langdon books, including The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, Inferno and The Lost Symbol and well as the standalone novels Deception Point and Digital Fortress.
As with The Da Vinci Code, I recommend this book for ages 12 and above.

Breaking the Da Vinci Code

Hey guys!
Recently I've been reading Dan Brown. I read the Da Vinci Code, and I really liked it! Loved it, I could say. I'll be reviewing it in this post.
When Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon awakes in the middle of the night to a police investigation, everything is turned upside down. The elderly curator of the Louvre who Robert was supposed to meet earlier that evening has been found dead... and he left a message pointing to Langdon. On the run from the police and with the key Jacques Sauniere has left them, Robert and Sauniere's granddaughter Sophie Neveu are on a mission to find out who killed Sauniere and why. Sauniere has also left them a puzzle to solve and the truth about Sophie's ancestors.
The mystery leads to another mystery- the search for the Holy Grail- which may not be a literal grail after all...
I really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code. I loved the historical part of the book and the puzzle-solving. The suspense, I felt, was well-done and I really wanted to know what would happen next. I also liked the characters, especially Langdon, Silas and Teabing. I especially found Teabing an interesting character.
The Da Vinci Code is one of the most widely-read books of all time.
Dan Brown has also written Origin, Digital Fortress, Angels and Demons, Inferno, The Lost Symbol and Deception Point, all of which I found thrilling and interesting. Brain-food, if you will.
I recommend this book for ages 12 and above, though for most readers it may be better for ages 13-14 and above.

What If?

Hello everybody!
I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a really long time... but now I have an AWESOME book to review, called What If? by Randall Munroe.
The book answers all sorts of ridiculous questions in a scientific- but fun- way. Some examples of these questions include:
What if everyone actually had only one soul mate, a random person somewhere in the world?
If every person on Earth aimed a laser pointer at the moon at the same time, would it change color?
Is it possible to cry so much you dehydrate yourself?
There are many other questions like these.. and believe it or not, most actually have pretty logical answers! I really like this book because it's pretty funny and to be honest, it's fun, if a little depressing sometimes, to read about the thousands of ways Earth could be destroyed. The author even turned the question 'What would happen if everyone on Earth stood as close to each other as they could and jumped, everyone landing on the ground at the same instant?' into the near-extinction of the human species.
I found it to be an easily understandable and and enjoyable book. It's great to read over and over again, especially some of the funnier, stranger answers.
Randall Munroe is an American cartoonist, author, engineer and scientific theorist. He is the creator of the webcomic xkcd.
I recommend this book to ages 9 and above.