Thieves of Greatness

 

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

Storyline - Elizabeth is the second daughter of King Henry the VII and unlikely to ever receive the crown or be remembered. Shunned by her family, she feels alone and wishes to be great. Yet, when she starts seeing a flying sailing ship, she begins to worry that she is going insane like her father is rumored to be. When the ship lands atop the palace and the man called Captain invites her aboard, she begins an adventure where animals talk, travels through time, and meets the other children invited on board like King Tut, the boy king of Egypt, Neal Armstrong, an adventurous boy who jumps into everything, and Coaxoch, a shy Aztec princess. But, their adventures are interrupted by someone taking children out of their time and abandoning them. As they race to stop whoever is doing this, the hunters become the hunted and they will have to find a way to send the world's and time's children back to where they belong and find in themselves all they can be.

Author - Emily C. Burger

Publisher - Howling Wolf

Age Group - 12 and up
 
Content - *May Contain Spoilers* Elizabeth decides to go with a man on a sailing ship that flies who she just met. Coaxoch struggles with right and wrong. Each child has to face their fear and doubt to overcome the evil they are facing and use their talents.

Personal Opinion - I've been jumping between rating this book at 3.5 or 4 stars because, while it is good and interesting and the characters are great, there were some questions and concerns I had. The story was really good and engaging, having a Doctor Who feel with the Captain and the Explorer and the strange items aboard the ship as well as picking up people who are fantastic (the biggest difference here is in Doctor Who, the companions are just normal people while each kid in this book is a recognizable figure from history but the sentiment is the same for the people who come along). That is one cool thing, that the every kid is an important person from history, which really shows that, "Every child has the ability to make history," as Captain says, and there are hints of how these children do so while reading this book. Speaking of history, while it was fun seeing  different people from various cultures and historical time periods, I did question the historical accurateness at times. The reader gets to see Elizabeth in her home for several chapters before she meets the Captain yet there were times I thought, "Is that right? I thought it was different." It makes me want to do research. That being said, the issue of accurateness also comes into play with point of view. It seemed it was mostly from Elizabeth's POV yet sometimes the author would seem to speak to the reader director, and then, again in the description, an item would be described by being compared to something else, something Elizabeth would not know anything about because of the time period difference. It made me wonder who was telling this story. There were also several POV changes without a scene break or chapter change that went from one character to another with only the change of a sentence. For the antagonist, I am still not clear is what his motivation and goal was. Lastly, and this is more personal, I would have liked to have seen Elizabeth at home longer at the end of the story, had seen how she changed, especially after how long the beginning was before even before a hint of the flying ship. But, this story was good. It wasn't a, "I have to get back to this right now!" story for me but, when I was reading, I was interested and engaged, enjoyed the various characters, human and animal, and seeing how these historical people before they were famous were brought into the story. I think there is a lot of room for it to become a series and continue on but it also works well for a stand alone. This is a good book, maybe one I would not say, "You have to go buy this," but, if someone was interested in it, I would say good things and support them picking it up. The author, Emily C. Burger, has a great future in writing if she wants to continue and work on it some more. I would keep an eye out for her next book.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

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Chew on a good book today!

Back to the Future Day!

Great Scott! Marty McFly, Doc Brown, and Jennifer fly into the future, October 21, 2015, today at precisely 4:29 PM. I have been enjoying the day by sharing stuff on my Facebook account and even found this video of Doc Brown sending out a little message for everyone today.

Isn't that cool. It also sums up the great story that is Back to the Future. Speaking of stories, one you can get today, was just released, is the comic book on how Doc and Marty met and some other great stuff. It is published by IDW publishers and written by Bob Gale, the original writer and creator of the trilogy.

(Picture copied for publishers website)

 

Awesome right? While I'm still waiting on flying cars, self sizing clothes, and trials that take two hours to complete, I don't have to wait for this. If, you are looking for more of a... book... type of read, maybe We Don't Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy is what you are looking for. A behind the scenes look at the making of the movies. This is heavy.

 

(Picture copied from Amazon)

 

So I suggest making like a tree and getting out'a to your local book, or comic book, store. Or newsstand apparently. Still looking for this one myself.

 

(Picture copied from Entertainment Weekly) 

 

While this does not cover all that is available on the Back to the Future trilogy, it is some good stuff.

Is there something else that has to do with this trilogy? Please share in the comments below. Me and everyone else would love to hear about it.







Imagination Station: Peril in the Palace

"Danger Reaches New Heights!"

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

 

Storyline - Cousins Beth and Patrick are off on another adventure to help Mr. Whittaker save a family member in the middle ages. This time they must obtain a golden tablet from Kublai Kahn, emperor of China. As they face Mongols, a Chinese Emperor, Shamans, and meet Marco Polo, the must not be afraid to tell of their God and use their wit and knowledge to achieve their goal and get out of there. Before they are stuck for good.

Authors - Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker

Publisher - Tyndale Publishers

Age Group - 8 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* The cousins are met with challenges of their faith and mission but they don't let it daunt them or keep them from what they need to do. They do not shy away from their faith but speak honestly.

Personal Opinion - Since this book isn't meant for my age group (which I was aware of before starting it), I was able to read it within 45 minutes - 1 hour, but it was a good hour. Well developed in all aspects, this book is great for elementary kids who want to have a little history, adventure, and Jesus in their books. My only complaint is that a couple of parts could have been developed a little more but considering the age range appropriate for this book it might have only confused or lost the reader. Still, I'm completely happy with this book and would love to share it with someone in the correct age group for the book.

Since this book isn't meant for my age group (which I was aware of before starting it), I was able to read it within 45 minutes - 1 hour, but it was a good hour. Well develped in all aspects, this book is great for elementary kids who want to have a little history, adventure, and Jesus in there books. My only complaint is that a couple of parts could have been developed a little more but considering the age range appropriate for this book it might have only confused or lost the re

Buy -Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher, Focus on the Family,
Links - Learn more about the books and authors here. There are also so extra stuff on the site such as a devotional.

Special Notes - This is Book 3 in The Imagination Station books.

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TJ and the Time Stublers: OOPS!

"Any Second TJ Finkelstein Hopes Her Life Will Return to Normal. And it could, Except For... "

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

Storyline - Book 3 - TJ is swamped with two future boys, Tuna and Herby, hanging around that no one else can see, surviving school, and not embarrassing herself (but the future boys make that difficult for her). But as a gadget goes wrong and the famous TV star at her school comes after her, it will take everything she's got to think kindly of others.

Author - Bill Myers

Publisher - Tyndale Publishers

Age Group - 10 and up

Content - TJ thinks badly of others but learns to think about them as God does. Lots of bullies being... Well... Bullies.

Personal Opinion - This book was very funny and kept me laughing at the antics and the silliness throughout. Using LARGE letting at times to show the emotions and the funny jokes such as when you could hear peoples' thoughts for the geeks or jocks, you would think that those would be the thoughts of those characters but at the same time they were funny and made you laugh. Just the craziness happening to the main character was enough to make me giggle. The story was simple but this book is meant for a younger age group than I am used to reading so I have to keep that in mind. It was clean, fun, and had good message of God, about not only not saying mean things about others but even not thinking them. This book would be even better with a discussion guide to go deeper into the lesson that was emphasized in it and going a tad deeper into the characters. Enjoyable book and I am interested in reading the others.

Video -

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from Tyndale Blogger Network.

Links - Learn more about the series and author at: http://www.billmyers.com/BillMyersKids/index.html

Special Notes - This is the third book in the series but I have not read books 1 and 2 so I do not have a review for them.

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River of Time: Torrent

Bookworm's Ranking - 3.5 Worms

Storyline - Book 3 - Returning to medieval times once again, they find it has been longer than they wished since they departed their men but they are happy to see each other again and quickly celebrate. But that happiness soon ends when an opportunity comes to save Fortino, Marcello's brother, who was captured by Firenze. Unfortunately, that cost for Fortino is Gabi and Lia. They devise a plan to rescue him, the Bettarini women as bait. When things go wrong, Gabriella finds herself potentially being forced into marriage with someone she does not love. Can she escape and return to Marcello? And will she be able to convince her family to stay with everything life threatening that has happened and the plague only a few years away?

Author - Lisa Bergren

Publisher - David C. Cook

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - All of the character defend each other and try to save others even at the cost of themselves. Gabriella and Lia are willing to put themselves at risk to save Marcello's brother and Gabi is willing to be with the one she loves and to protect others from harm. A priest had some good advice in the book. There was some sexual stuff from the bad guys and Gabriella hinted at being together before marriage.

Personal Opinion - It was good but I was disappointed about the representation of the priest in the story. He was excommunicated and performing duties that he could no longer do and which would not be recognized by the church, such as marriage.  Considering that Marcello is suppose to be the guy who really follows his faith and loves God, this was strange that he was okay with it and would be going along with it. As a family member pointed out, though, in the situation where the priest was administrating at the wedding, it could be argued that it was an extreme circumstance and it was going to be made valid later but I still see holes from what I read about excommunication.When you add this to the one time Marcello complained about the Pope and one man said that his father was a priest, I wasn't very happy, feeling every example was in some way negative to the Catholic Church. I will not deny that there was abuses within the church but that is still not an accurate picture of the Catholic faith. There were good along with bad. Another thing that I wish had been different in the book was Gabi's faith walk. I thought she would grow more in her faith since she not use to going to church except on Christmas and Easter and didn't really pray. All that happened was she prayed a bit more. It didn't seem that she grew that much in her faith or came to any big connection with God. This was all unfortunate because it was an exciting book with some fun time travel. But I will hesitate in recommending this series from here on out because of the excommunicated priest. If the view of Catholicism had been balanced and the priest had been faithful to his superiors, no matter their decision, it would have been better to me.

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the author.

Links - Learn more about the books and author here.

Books 1 and 2, Waterfall and Cascade, Review.

Special Notes - Book releases September 1, 2011.

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Updated - May 13, 2012

River of Time Series

"What do You do When Your Knight in Shining Armor Lives, Literally, in a Different World?" - Waterfall

"What if You not Only Fell Back Through Time... But Fell in Love, Too?" - Cascade

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

Storyline -  Book 1 - Waterfall - Gabi, her sister Lia, and their mom are going to be spending the summer in Italy. Unfortunately, it will be on a dig site and majorly laking in cute guys. But when Gabi accidentally gets transferred to the 14th century, she will have to figure out the customs of the time and find her sister who seems to have not been transferred with her. As battles are fought and politics flare, she will have to find a way to stay alive and get home. And not fall for the handsome, unavailable, prince, Marcello.
Book 2 - Cascade - The girls are back, with their mother in tow, but it hasn't gotten any easier in Italy. There are still land struggles and widows trying to make it on their own. When the Plague potentially hits, things spiral out of control and it will take everything the girls, and guys, got to fight off the Firenze. Will they make it through this again? Will the idea of trying to save their father from death make the girls leave the 14th century one more time?

Author - Lisa T. Bergren

Age Group - 15 and up

Content - Marcello wants to protect and honor his family. The men (at least the good ones) are very respectful of women and have many other admirable qualities such as defending those under their protection, assisting those who need a helping hand, and ready to sacrifice themselves for others. The girls also display good morals such as supporting and defending others and resisting the bad guys. Gabi wants Marcello to do the right thing by his betrothed but, for a while, kept wanting him to notice her. Eventually, he was ready to break his promises to his betrothed because he loved Gabi. There were also some intense scenes with the bad guys leering at the girls.

Personal Opinion - It was good. I liked the story and adventure . It was really exciting and I thought it was well put together but there were a couple of things that got to me while reading. I felt like Gabi changed her mind too much, going back and forth between wanting Marcello to see her and wanting him to do the right thing by his betrothed, and the constant use of the word "hot" to describe him got annoying. By the second book, I was thinking there were too many fight scenes. Actions scenes are good but reading the books back to back made it a bit much for me. Perhaps, if I had more of a brake between the two, it might have been okay but I still think it was a lot. It is always nice to have God and someones relationship with him brought into a book. Gabi and her family are not really strong Christians but she starts to turn to God as she spends time in the 14th century. Her journey to God isn't complete yet but she is praying more and asking for guidance which is a wonderful example for today's generation where religion and God are mostly not taught as the number one thing in our life. I don't know how much the average teen prays but it is great when you have a good role model who shows faith and guides readers down that path. I look forward to seeing more development in the girls' faith in God and the continuing adventure with their "knights in shinning armor". The books were well written and had good character development with different personalities among them and many good laughs from the character, Luca. I can't wait to read the last book, Torrent, and see how it all goes together. Definitely a series I will be recommending when someone asks about a good teen novel.

Video - Waterfall -

Video 2 - Cascade -

Links - Lean more about the books and the author here. I wrote a review for one of this author's children's books, which you can read here.

Special Notes - Book 3, Torrent, Review

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Updated - May 13, 2012