Top Books of the Semester

I've read 10 books over the course of the semester. I'm going to rank all of the ones that I've completed and reviewed and briefly explain why I'm ranking them in the order that I am.

1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (306 Pages)
This book has quickly become one of my favorite books of all time. I absolutely loved the story, the writing, the world, the adventure... really everything about it. Absolutely my top book that I read this semester.
2. Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (276 Pages)
Even though this was the second book in the series, it was better than the first in my opinion. I really love the idea of time travel and since they actually addressed it more in this book, I enjoyed it a lot. It had a lot of adventure and although it was darker, it was much more interesting in my opinion.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (340 Pages)
Although this book was rather slow at times, I love the world and the story so much that it has to be near the top of my list. It was very exciting and compelling and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
4. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (345 Pages)
This book stood out to me because of how different it was from most of the other books I read. It had fantasy, but was quite realistic and just really interesting. Much better than the movie from what I remember of it.
5. Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (292 Pages)
This was the first book in the series, but I definitely did not think it was as good as the second one. I really enjoyed it for sure, but it simply wasn't as exciting and did not have as much interest as it could have. Either way, it was a fantastic book.
6. Avatar: The Last Airbender- The Promise by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Gurihiru (240 Pages)
I was quite impressed with this one being that it was a continuation from the television series that I love so much. It was really quite good with the story and art style matching the show. It was actually a good story that kept me interested and I liked it a lot.
7. Haven: A Stranger Magic by D.C. Akers (144 Pages)
For being as short as it was, I really liked this book. It left me wanting more and although it was rather infuriating that the end was a cliff hanger and the next book is not out yet, I have to admit that it was quite good.
8. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (224 Pages)
It did bother me slightly how much I saw this book to be like Lord of the Rings, but it was still enjoyable to read. The story was different in some ways and it kept getting better as I went along, so I still think it was a good read.
9. Every Day by David Levithan (322 Pages)
A lot of things about this book bothered me. It was a bit unrealistic and creepy at some parts and I ended up not liking or connecting with the main character too much. It was not terrible, but it's not my top pick for a book to read.
10. Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass (322 Pages)
I did not end up liking this book too much because it was written more for a younger audience. As much as I think this is a good book for younger people, it was so predictable and I disliked the characters so much that I'd have to say that it's my least favorite book that I read this semester.

Those are all the books I've read this semester. I'm also currently reading Wool and it's fantastic so far!

The Book of Three Review

Title: The Book of Three
Author: Lloyd Alexander
Pages: 224
Version: Paperback
Publisher: Random House, Inc.

I've finished The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander! I liked it a lot. I decided to read it while waiting for Wool to come in at the library. I needed a book to read and it was laying in my brother's room so I thought, why not? It turned out to be the perfect length for me to read while waiting because I finished it right around when my book came in. It's a story about about an assistant pig-keeper who ends up on a long journey after the pig runs away. Taran (the assistant pig-keeper and main character) winds up running into people along the way and goes on many adventures with them. From getting captured by evil lady Achren to getting sucked into a lake by dwarves, Taran experiences many crazy things along the way. So I really enjoyed this book. It's not very long at all, probably took me around 4 days to read when I didn't even read it for long amounts of time. For the amount of things that happen in the book, I'd say it's quite short. The characters were all very good and the story is well written. This specific cover is the one that I have on my book and I think it's rather nice. This story was extremely similar to Lord of the Rings to me. I noticed it very quickly while I was reading it. The pig escapes, sending Taran on a journey much like the ring sends Frodo on a journey. Gwydion is sort of a mixture of Gandalf and Aragorn. There is an evil sort of king, Arawn, of the dark land of Annuvin much like Sauron and Mordor. There is a lesser evil that has her own castle, Achren which I compare to Sarumon. In addition, the horned king (shown on the cover) and his riders remind me much of the Nazgûl in Lord of the Rings. Also, Gurgi is quite reminiscent of Golem except not as sinister. I was just drawing parallels between the two books most of the time. That being said, it is a different story and I enjoyed it all the same. It's very fantastic and epic and the story is really nice. For me, the story got better as it went on. It started great and got much better by the end. I would recommend this book if you like books like Lord of the Rings type of epic fantasy books.

Haven: A Stranger Magic Review

Title: Haven: A Stranger Magic
Author: D.C. Akers
Pages: 144
Version: Kindle Ebook
Publisher: D.C. Akers

I've finished Haven: A Stranger Magic by D.C. Akers just yesterday. Let me just say right now that if you are thinking about reading this and you can read the books for Kindle somehow, you should just go download it now because it is currently free here. It was very short and very good which is probably why I finished it so quickly. I really enjoyed this book. It's about a sort of ordinary boy that sees a stranger outside his house one night. After that night, it seems like everything in his life starts to change. Like I said, the book isn't very long and seems to be just sort of setting up the story and also hinting at what will come next. That means that it ends with a pretty major cliffhanger which was fantastic, but also frustrating because the next book hasn't come out yet. I just want to know what happens next! The characters are all quite good. I like Sam a lot and his friend Travis seems to be really interesting although he isn't in the book that much. Sam's sister, Sarah is also interesting because after she was characterized as a mean, popular sister I thought she would just be that. But she's not. I don't know what's going to end up happening with her; perhaps she'll go on an adventure with her brother (at least that's what I'm expecting). I mainly just want to know what it going to happen with the whole other worlds/magic/Sam's parents' old life part of the story. I really love the whole idea of magic having to do with both the elements and the zodiac signs. I know that zodiac signs are associated with the elements so I'm guessing that it has something to do with that. I absolutely love the cover of the book as well. The colors are fantastic and the symbol for water on the front is really nice. It feels to me quite similar to the elements from Avatar: The Last Airbender except different in its own unique way. The symbol is close to the one for water from that too seen here. That is probably because that's the general symbol for water. I do actually really like the association that I make with Avatar: The Last Airbender because that is my favorite show and it's nice to have a book that somewhat relates that has a different plot. Anyway, I just really liked it a lot and can't wait for the next one. I highly recommend this book to people that like magic and things like that, but really if you're even slightly interested, I'd give it a go because it's free on Amazon right now.