Review: Barnstormers Game 2, by Loren Long and Phil Bildner

Hi, guys. This is my first time reviewing on Bibliophobia. so bear with me. This book is book 2 in a series called Barnstormers. It is about baseball in 1880, and has all sorts of cool trivia and facts.

I think this book is a great follow-up to book one. More strange stuf is happening, and it's up to the Travelin' Nine to figure out just what. This story has more "meat" in it (it's also much longer) and you'll enjoy it more. The pictures on almost every page are very neat, and at the beginning of each chapter is something very cool (you'll have to get the book to figure out what...). All in all, a great book.

I can't figure out anything innapropriate about this book. Sorry.

100 views and new game

Hiya, evrybody!
Today is a day that will go down in history as the day we reached 100 views on Bibliophobia. Yes, I know. Very touching. In honor of that, I've decided to add the new game of the month a day EARLY (I know, astonishing) so here's PAC-MAN!
-Greg
(P.S. Coming up is a review of the new Maximum Ride book and Barnstormers, and I'm currently reading Whales on Stilts by M. T. Anderson. Cheers!

Review: Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley

Okay, first things first: I didn't finish this book. So if there is some amazingly unbelievably good ending to it, tell me and I'll change the review. But there's a reason I didn't finish.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. Right now, I'm considering that friend's sanity. Robin McKinley is a fairly well-known author, so you would think her books would be tolerable. Think again.

I'm sorry. I really am. I hate bashing books. But this one was very... boring. It's about a boy who works at (what else?) a haven for dragons in... some where. The thing is, by the second chapter (47 pages in), you have no idea what is going on. Characters are introduced, but you are very confused as to who they are related to or what they are. The author attempts to go back and summarize it as an afterthought, but it is very confusing.

The writing is slow and monotonous, as if when the writer finished she had 100 pages to fill and put mindless mush in it for the publishers. You'll not find your self connecting with the narrator, but with me, who is asking him to please stop whining. Do yourself a favor and don't even try it. This book also has WAY too many curse words than necessary. I suppose this is to make it more teen-ish? Who knows.

New Stuff on the site

Just wanted to make it aware that I have added some new features to my site - like a clock and Game Of The Month. The game of the month will change - you guessed it - every month! This month's is the Red Button Game. Enjoy!

Review : Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

I have long been a fan of the first book

in this series, Diary of Wimpy Kid (not in the least because the main character's name is Greg.) I think it is very funny and is written very convincingly in the mindset of a teenager.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an Advance Readers Copy, so this is an old review. This second book in the series puts Greg in a bad situation. His brother has been blackmailing him to do his every whim after he finds out one of Greg's most embarrassing secrets (yes, you find out what it is, and you'll be suprised). This book is probably the funniest book so far. The author really flexed his creative muscles on this one. I actually laughed out loud on this one, and I'm very hard to please. There are as many classic moments in here as the first one. If you liked the first one or are a sucker for the funnies in the paper, this one is definetly for you!

This book doesn't have any innapropriate words or subjects, but you can tell it was written for teens. It is suitable for all ages, but I think teens would "get it" more. Nonetheless, my nine-year-old neighbor loved it. Go figure.

Review: Tunnels, by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon

If you haven't heard about this book yet, you will!
This book is about a kid named Will Burrows who likes to dig - you guessed it - Tunnels! He and his dad use it as a sort of hobby. But there are strange clues around the town of Highfield and underground, clues that just don't add up. So when his dad dissapears he takes matters into his own hands and discovers - well, I won't spoil the suprise.
I absolutely ate this one up. You will too. The one thing this book doesn't have in at all is romance - some might like that, others might be put off by it. I didn't care. There are a bazillion suprises in this book - I was known to stop reading and gape at the wall of my room. "Wait a minute.... did that REALLY happen?" You'll like it. Another thing I might add is the publishing genius behind Harry Potter has put his faith in this book. It was first self-published with a print run of 200 and now they are on eBay for thousands of dollars (try it: search "Highfield Mole" on eBay. I dare you.) This is my pick for BEST WINTER BOOK and BEST BOOK OF 2008 SO FAR.
This book is okay for all ages, but there are things kids wouldn't understand till maybe 5th Grade.
Also remember that we have one day until the game is up... I've got 10 more entries since the last post! :o)

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Finally, my first review! Alright, this book was the first book I read after HP7, so I knew it couldn't beat that. But this is a great book. Some things that I like about it are...
1) the author created a fantasy masterpiece, but it is written as a biography-a nifty touch that adds to the splendor.
2) The characters all have cool names (I know, not much to go by, but...)
3)The action scenes are actiony - there are a lot of them, too!
This book centers around 15 yr old Conor Broekhart (see, I told you the names were cool!), a boy who was born IN a balloon. He lives in the Saltee islands, off Ireland, in the 1890s. He and his french tutor have always dreamed of creating a flying machine. But in a turn of events (you know, the oh-my-god-did-that-just-really-happen kind) he is left convicted of a terrible crime and sent to prison by the evil Hugo Bonvilain (another cool name.).

This book has a great beginning, ok middle and fantastic end, so I heartily recommend it. I would say this is without a doubt the best book of 2008 so far. The author, Eoin Colfer (say "Owen") is the author of, among others, one of my personal favorites, the Artemis Fowl series. But I enjoyed this book twice as much as I did any of those. So even if you're not a Fowl fan, grab this one!

Grade: A-

Age Group: I don't think you will enjoy this as much if you are not in middle school (there are some slow parts in the middle, and some violent parts), so confirm w/ your parents if 10 or younger.