Book Review- John Marsden- Burning for Revenge

John Marsden- Burning for Revenge (Scholastics 2006) 3 Stars

This ragged group of kids has been thrown into a war they never wanted. Ellie and her friends get into the back of a truck as the only means of hiding, little do they realise just where it is headed. Now they must fight to get out and survive. It gives them the opportunity to strike a target so juicy everyone else who has tried has failed.

This book started off really slow and I almost didn’t finish it. It did eventually pick up the pace and got to be pretty good. It was neat to see a war from a child’s perspective and to see just how it affects the children when they are all suddenly without parents. The plot wasn’t really a plot so much as them wandering around aimlessly, so I would have liked to have seen more in that area. The characters were really well done and had a lot of depth and feelings. The setting is interesting as they are all about New Zealand and Australia. Overall it was a good book and I will read the next two books that I have in the series, but would not buy more.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Paul Levine- Solomon vs Lord

Paul Levine- Solomon vs Lord (Bantam Books 2005) 3.5 Stars

Steve Solomon is a wily lawyer whose tricks are well known in the courtroom. Victoria Lord is a rookie lawyer with something to prove and a stickler for the rules. After getting her fired, he will partner with her for a high profile murder trial. It will be a balance of sticking to the law and playing with the law, which could either work out great, or land them both in a cell.

The beginning of this book was an interesting way to start and prepared me for a very amusing read. It did take a while to get to the point and lacked focus. It was an okay plot though and made for a good read. It was not the most realistic of books, but made up for with great characters and a lot of laugh out loud scenes. I do not know if I have laughed so much with a book in quite a while. One thing I did not like was all the sexual parts, but some of these were kind of funny as well. Overall this book was a good one time read and I would be interested in reading more by this author.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Jaye Murray- Bottled Up

Jaye Murray- Bottled Up (Speak 2004) 4.25 Stars

Pip lives in an abusive alcoholic family and takes care of his little brother. He lives to skip class, drink, and get high, but now his principal has had enough. He must attend all his classes, stop doing drugs, and see a counsellor or his dad will get a phone call, which will lead to more trouble than Pip wishes to see.

I enjoyed the first two sentences, they made me chuckle. The book took a bit to get into, but it really was a touching book. It tugged on the strings of my youth care worker heart. I felt bad for the main character and enjoyed seeing the toughness of the principal as he tries to help Pip. The characters were very well done and helped the books rating. I also thought that storyline and progression of the book was quite good. This author knows her stuff and I would read more by her. Overall I really liked this book and would highly recommend it.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Catherine Clark- Lost In Space

Catherine Clark- Lost In Space (Scholastic Books 1998) 1 Stars

Young Will Robinson and his family are flying into space, headed to a new planet to start up a settlement, as Earth is being destroyed. Sabotaged early on they now find themselves lost in space and fighting to survive. How will they find their way in this wide open space?

It starts off fairly boring and it only picks up in a couple of places. The overall plot was not all that complex, nor interesting. The situations that the family finds themselves in are kind of lame and hard to believe. The characters are decent, but don’t have a lot of depth. It might interest those who like the movie, or like sci-fi, but not very many other people. Overall, I could probably describe this book in one word, cheesy.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Brad Meltzer- The Zero Game

Brad Meltzer- The Zero Game (Coronet Books 2004) 3.75 Stars

Matthew and Harris are both senior staffers on the capital. They have both just started in on the secret Zero Game, where they place secret wagers on the capital. Now they have discovered that it is becoming deadly and may just cost them their lives. Now they must redeem themselves and get to the bottom of this while running for their lives.

It took me awhile to get into this one; it could have had a better introduction. It did slowly pick up and become faster-paced. I enjoyed the plot and the many twists and turns that it took along the way. The characters were well done and as always were a strong point in his books. It was a little weird how it started out as first person as one person, but the switched to a different person after a little bit. It had a great ending that was action-filled and wrapped things up nicely. Overall, I did enjoy reading this book; I just wished that it had started off better.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Andy McDermott- The Secret Vault

Andy McDermott- The Secret Vault (Bantam Books 2011) 3.5 Stars

When precious art begins to go missing from around the world, security is beefed up around the newly discovered Talonor Codex. Nina Wilde had discovered this journal when she found Atlantis. A gutsy robbery attempt begins Nina and Eddie’s race against the clock as they try to find the clues in the Codex that will lead to the mythical Vault of Shiva, before the villain does. As an ancient faith is twisted to suit someone’s needs, Nina must work with true followers to find the truth before it is too late.

These books always start off great, with an introduction that grabs your attention. That being said, it is also always followed by a boring section that could have been trimmed down. The whole wedding scene could have been cut, as it was just fluff. This one picked up quicker than many of the other books by him though, which I was happy with. It was very fast-paced and action-packed, something McDermott is really good at. The overall plot was pretty good as well, with several good twists, although it was not unpredictable. The final twist is setting up for the next book, that one was a bit of a surprise. The ending was really good, a great way to wrap things up. The realism was definitely a weak point once again, but it was counteracted by getting to see all kinds of cool places. The characters were also a strong point, although they can be a little cheesy at times. Overall this was a better book by this author.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Brad Meltzer- The Book of Fate

Brad Meltzer- The Book of Fate (Hachette Book Group 2007) 3.5 Stars

As a presidential aide, Wes Holloway thought his life couldn’t get better, but it sure could get a lot worse in a heck of hurry. When an assassin shoots Boyle, the president’s best friend and adviser, as well as Wes Holloway things are never the same again. Left with half a functioning face and shattered confidence, Wes must try to cope with the after effects. Now Boyle has suddenly turned up again and Wes finds himself in danger from all sides. Can he find out what is going on before he winds up dead?

It started off pretty interesting, with all the foreshadowing comments from the main character. Then with the botched presidential assassination it was really good. Sadly it took a nose dive and was pretty slow for quite some time. Eventually it did slowly build up to a great explosive ending. It should have ended about twenty pages before it did though, as the ending was kind of pointless. I loved the characters in this book, they were very well done. I especially loved Rogo, Wes’ best friend, he helped the story along greatly and provided comic relief. The overall plot was really good; it had the potential to be a lot more fast-paced than it was. Overall the book was pretty good and I would recommend reading it.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com.

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/