31.) Fox by Margaret Wild

“Fly Dog, fly! I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings.”

Fox by Margaret Wild (Turtleback, 2006)

Genre: Picture book, Fable, 


Honors: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards for Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature (2001), Children's Book Council of Australia Awards for Picture Book of the Year (2001), Queensland Premier's Literary Awards for Children's Book Award - Mary Ryan's Award (2001)
[Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Dog saves Magpie's life, but Magpie is depressed because her wing is broken and she will never fly again. Dog doesn't understand she says. But Dog explains that he only has one eye so he will help her feel like she's flying if she will help her see Magpie finds happiness in riding on Dog's back But when Fox shows up giving Magpie temptation of going faster Magpie takes it, but when Fox leaves Magpie alone far away she knows what it is truly like to be alone. 

Opinion: A very interesting story, and I loved the artwork. It has a very strong message. 

Ideas:  I might recommend this book to someone who is interested in fables, especially fables that have been written in recent years.

30.) Runaways Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan

“How is it possible that our parents lied to us?"

"Lets see: Santa, the Tooth Fairy,the Easter bunny, um, God. You're the prettiest kid in school. This wont hurt a bit. Your face will freeze like that..."

 Runaways Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan (Marvel, 2006)
(Runaways, Vol. 1)

Genre: Graphic Novel, Teenage Superheros 


Honors: No honors found

Review: Nico, Karolina, Gertrude, Chase, and Molly are fourced to hang out every year while their parents have some sort of meeting. But this time the kids decide to spy on their parents to discover that their parents are some sort of super villians and kill a young girl! So they decide to find more proof and the secrets just keep getting unveiled. Now they must find a safe place to lie low and figure out what to do. The only problem is that their parents now know that they the children know their secrets.

Opinion: I have been meaning to read this for a while so I thought that this was a great chance (like many of the books I read for this assignment actually), I really enjoy Brian K. Vaughan but I am only familiar with his more serious writing and was wondering how he did with teenagers. I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to read more. 

Ideas: I would recommend to anyone who is trying to break into a super hero genre but doesn't know where to start. It's set in the Marvel universe so there is mention of other well known characters like, Captain America, etc.  I might also recommend to someone who isn't into super heroes but isn't against them either.

Individual comic cover

29.) Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale

“WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE: RAPUNZEL For horse thieving, kidnapping, jail breaking, and using her hair in a manner other than nature intended!”

Rapunzel Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
(Rapunzel Revenge, Book 1)

Genre: Western, Graphic Novel, Fairy Tale Retelling, Series


Honors: No honors mentioned which is too bad

Review: Rapunzel grew up surrounded by a huge wall. Each year she played in the garden she wondered what was beyond the wall and why her mother, Mother Gothel prevented her from viewing the world outside the walls. But finally one day Rapunzel decided to find out. What she discovered was that her Mother was not her real mother at all but a evil dictator who held slaves to do her dirty work such as mine for her. Rapunzel also found her real mother. Mother Gothel recaptured Rapunzel and took her away and trapped her in a tree that she grew to enormous heights using her growing magic. While living in the tree the growing magic effected Rapunzel's hair and it grew to amazing lengths. Using it to escape Rapunzel vowed to save her mother still held captive by Mother Gothel. With the help from an thief named Jack, Rapunzel attempts to free the land and people from the tyranny of Mother Gothel. 

Opinion: I love this book. It was a little younger then I thought it would be, but I don't think that it diminishes the enjoyment of it.  I like the western setting of the Rapunzel story, it was a very intersting and original way to play the fairy tale. The story sets up for more novels in the future.

Ideas: The book is on the shelf for teens in my library so I would recommend to any teen who likes graphic novels, especially girls. Just from it's unique story (set as a western) I would definitely use it for a graphic novel display. I know that my library has trouble keeping this book on their shelf.

One of the panels in the book, the titles crack me up!

28.) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

“It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” 

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW Trade, 2007)
(Kingkiller Chronicles, Book 1)

Genre: Fantasy, Adult Book With Teen Appeal

Honors: ALA Alex Award (2008), The Quill Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror (2007), Sakura Medal for High School Book (2009) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Told in two timelines Kvothe appears to be a simply inn keeper until demons are found coming closer and closer to his village. This, in conjunction with the appearance of a scribe whose goal is to record historical tales, brings about the truth that he is one of the most powerful magicians in the world. Kvothe decides to give the scribes his entire story taking him all the way back to his childhood, the death of his family, his life living as a beggar child on the street of a big city, and finally joining the University to learn magic in order to tack down and kill the demons that killed his family.

Opinion: The beginning of the story is rather clumsy and confusing. I didn't get into the story until he began telling it to the scribe and taking the reader back to Kvothe's childhood when it gets good.  This portion of the story is good, and perfect for young adults because the character goes from childhood all the way to a teenager. He faces crushes, school teachers, and bullies. The story of his young adult life in unfinished so you have to read the next few books to find out what happens to him to become a great magician and why he is now hiding as a simple inn keeper.

Ideas: Any teen who likes epic fantasy like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson fans would probably like this book. It's definitely appealing to teens because most of the book is about a teen. It's almost like Harry Potter when he goes to The University, so people who are ready to graduate from Harry Potter might like this book.

27.) The Eyre Affair by Jasper FForde

“Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.”

The Eyre Affair by Jasper FForde (Penguin Books, 2003)
(Thursday Next, Book 1)

Genre: Adult Fiction that Appeals to Teens, Fantasy, Modern Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction


Honors: Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2002), Dilys Award Nominee (2003), ALA Alex Award (2003), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2006), Locus Poll Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2002)
[Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: This book is very hard to describe, but in this alternate history Britain is very different and in a long drawn out war against the soviets (?). Thursday Next is a Literary detective in special operations. But when a master criminal threatens many lives Thursday is asked to help. When the Master Criminal then goes after her uncle's invention that can transport people into book for real and change them Thursday must call upon what appears to be some sort of special power she has that she can transport herself into a novel without the help of the machine. She must save Jane Eyre herself.  

Opinion: I honestly have no idea why this book got chosen for an Alex Award. From what I have noticed most Alex Award winners have a young adult or child in the story somewhere but Thursday Next is a middle-age woman who is single and pretty pathetic. I was pretty much completely confused the entire time. I listened to it on audio and the woman narrating it was absolutely horrible, which made it much worse. I was very very disappointed in the entire thing. One of the least enjoyable books I read for this assignment. I don't know why it was so highly rated, and regarded. I almost want to read it again, or read more of it to try and figure out what was so great about it. 

Ideas: The only good thing about the story is that it has many cross genres. It is science-ficiton, fantasy, mystery/detective, with elements of military. I guess is someone was really crazy over Jane Eyre then this would be a good book? Not sure, I don't think would recommend it to anyone honestly.

26.) Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman

"It will kill him, but it will take another eleven years, six months, and nineteen days to do so."

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman (Sandpiper, 2004)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science, Anatomy

Honors: Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2005) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: When Phineas was 19 he worked in a mine with explosives. In a freak accident the spear like tool that he used with packing the gun powder shot through his skull. He returned to work just weeks later, but was not the same person. Phineas lived for another 11 years. His case became a text book study for the study of the brain. This book goes into detail about how far science has come in brain research. 

Opinion: I was a little worried when I went to the juvenile section to check this book out, I was afraid that it would be too young for teens. In reality it's just the size of the book that makes it look too young. It's almost a picture book size, so I can't imagine a teen wanting to read it because it would look like they were reading a children's picture book. I think they should make a smaller version and release it for teens. 

Ideas: This book has great information about science, the history of science, and anatomy. This would be a good book for anyone interested in non-fiction because it's a very interesting story that is not bogged down with medical terms, and if there are medical terms they are explained. It's pretty gruesome, but pretty cool all the same. 

25.) Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

“Maybe this was how you stayed sane in wartime: a handful of noble deeds amid the chaos. ”

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2009)
(Leviathan, Book 1)

Genre: Science Fiction, Steam Punk, Modern Fantasy

Honors: Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book (2010), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Older Readers (2010), Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2010), Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee (2011), Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction (2009) Aurealis Award for Young Adult Novel (2009), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2013) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Deryn Sharp has dreamed of serving in the British Air Service on an animal flying ship. The only thing stopping her is that fact that she is a girl. So she disguises herself as a boy and finds herself serving on the Leviathan one of the largest ships in the service of the British Empire. Prince Aleksander's parents are assassinated setting off a series of events that will lead the world into WWI, the Prince though has the power to stop the war and bring peace if he can safely reclaim the throne. All he has to do is stay alive until then, something that his enemies are trying very hard to prevent. The two young adults stories converge on the slopes of the Swiss Alps where Aleksander and Deryn must help each other, Aleksander with his machines and Deryn with her animal hybrids and together they create a unique bond that can save the world from war, that is if they can survive long enough to do so.

Opinion: One of the best steam punk books I have read, although the underline story is a little cliche I really enjoyed the idea of the Darwinist. I listened to this on audio read by Alan Cummings, and was impressed with the narration, but was having trouble with some of the descriptions and I found out later that the book has illustrations accompanying the story, so this is one I wish I would have read rather then listen to. The story has two sequels already so I think I might read those rather then listen to the audio versions. 

Ideas: Other fans of Westerfeld's work (Uglies, Peeps, etc) might also like to venture into the steam punk world with this book. Also anyone interested in Steam Punk, I think that very few teen authors have done such an steam punk saturated world such as Leviathan. Science Fiction or fantasy fans would probably like this book.

Map on the inside flap.

One of the many illustrations that help you wrap your head around the vivid descriptions in this book. Something you might miss if you listen to the audiobook.