The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was my introduction to the Mysterious Benedict Society and I must say that I'm hooked. I shall definitely seek out more of these books.

Nicholas Benedict is an orphan with more problems than most. He suffers from narcolepsy and he's a genious. In the begining of the story he comes to Child's End from another orphanage, he's been in orphanages most of his life, and here he finds a mystery. Nicholas soon discovers that there is a treasure to be found that was hidden by the previous owners of the mansion, the Rothchilds, and he is determined to find it.

This was a wonderful story that was full of mystery and adventure, great characters, and lessons learned along the way. Nicholas finds freinds, defeats bullies, learns alot about himself as well as teaches the adults a bit about life. This was a story that I was completely engrossed in from the very begining. Its great for jr high age or any of us that are kids at heart.



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New In the Mailbox

Here are a couple of books that I have received this week and added to my ever growing to-read list:




Synopsis

Doctors tell Raj that his son Emret won't survive his illness. As Raj struggles to prepare himself and Emret for the inevitable, he's confronted by Moslin, his son's nurse, who’s been filling Emret’s head with fairytales about heroic quests and powerful disease curing miracles. Emret now thinks that all he has to do is find the mythical Red Tree from the nurse's stories, and he'll live.

In an attempt to protect his son from further emotional damage, Raj asks Moslin to stay away from Emret. He returns hours later to find them both missing.

Now, he has to dig into the loathed fairytales to figure out where they may have gone. He’d also like to know why he keeps blacking out and having visions of a temple on a mountain with a vat of glowing weapons, a vaporous black creature emerging from a lightning storm, himself in glowing armor leading an army, and the same mythical Red Tree hidden in a dense forest.



When a mysterious stranger interrupts Brianna’s mundane routine, her eyes are opened to the dark underbelly of reality… immortal rogues, ancient conspiracies, prophetic revelations, savage tribes, mammoth dragonflies…

She’s thrust into a race for her life when Kalen, a warrior from Ethos, discovers that she is harboring a secret… a secret that he’d give his life to protect.

There’s just one little problem… they are tempted by a forbidden romance, which threatens to compromise a divinely appointed mission. They are faced with a choice… love eternal, or the end of the world

New Blogger

While my eldest daughter is on summer breakk from college she is going to be guest blogging for The Cotton Patch. I'm sure her contributions to the Cotton Patch will be invaluable and all her efforts are greatly appreciated.

Ethos

Here's a new book that sound really great and is getting really good reviews. I hope to get the chance to read and review this soon. I would love to hear your thoughts if you have read this one.



Synopsis

When a mysterious stranger interrupts Brianna’s mundane routine, her eyes are opened to the dark underbelly of reality… immortal rogues, ancient conspiracies, prophetic revelations, savage tribes, mammoth dragonflies…

She’s thrust into a race for her life when Kalen, a warrior from Ethos, discovers that she is harboring a secret… a secret that he’d give his life to protect.

There’s just one little problem… they are tempted by a forbidden romance, which threatens to compromise a divinely appointed mission. They are faced with a choice… love eternal, or the end of the world…

R.I.P Maurice Sendak

I just saw on Yahoo news that the beloved children's author Maurice Sendak has passed away. I remember when I was little that Where the Wild Things Are was one of my favorite books and now I read it to my granddaughter who loves it as well. He certainly touched alot of young hearts and will be missed.

The New Death and Others

No longer free on Amazon



Synopsis

Death gets a roommate...

An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question...

A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain...

44 stories. 19 poems. No whiny vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it - but from which direction?


ebook, 102 pages
Published September 28th 2011 (first published September 27th 2011)

ISBN 9781465720


Altho no longer free on Amazon.com it is still well worth the 99 cent price tag! This is an awesome collection of short stories and poems. You can find my full review in my archives or posted on Goodreads.com

Children's Book Week

May 7-13 is designated as Children's Book Week and I thought I would take this opportunity to recommend a few books that are great for kids or those of us that are kids at heart.

Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was probably one of the most enjoyable, fun reads that I have read in quite some time. Nessy is a kobold (similar to a dog but with human intelligence) who's job is to tend the castle of the evil wizard Margle. Margle's castle is full of beings under strange curses that require full time attention. One day Margle meets an unusual fate and Nessy is left to take charge of things. This was a quick fun read that was full of silliness and humor and characters that touch the heart. Nessy is small but she shows that its not always size that makes the hero and that even the smallest of us can make a difference. I would recommend this to anyone that needs a good laugh, enjoys a fun read, or is generally a kid at heart. Loved it and shall keep this to read again sometime.



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The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was an intriguing little book that I quite enjoyed. Written for the younger end of the spectrum of young adult or even for those of us that are young at heart, most anyone will enjoy this one. There is much that even though set in the past is relevent to today. We see, as is true in life, that we all have done things that we aren't proud of. Everyone has things in their past that they don't want others to know about. And this doesn't make them bad people, only human. Even those people that are prominent citizens or little old ladies that own book shops are not perfect. This was a fun book full of all kinds of characters and their very own secrets that we learn along the way. Am hoping there is more to come from the Secret Pawnbrokers.



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The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received my copy thru Firstread and I appreciate getting the opportunity to review it.

This was such a fun read! Sacha is a Jewish boy living in a New York where magic is the norm and he has discovered that he can see magic. Recruited by the police department that works against magical crime he finds himself embroiled in a mystery that could result in his demise or worse. This book is full of interesting characters, fun history and unusual sci-fiction. It definitely draws you in from the begining and keeps you hanging on every word. The ending definitely leaves room for a sequel and I certainly hope that there is one.



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What are your favorite reads to share with the kids in your life or to enjoy when you are feeling like a kid at heart?

Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In a word: AWESOME!!! I enjoyed this one as much or more than the first one. It picks up right where Divergent leaves off. I actually wish that I had taken the time to re-read Divergent before begining this one but it didn't take long before I was able to put the pieces together. There is so much that I liked about this book. I loved that the pace picked up so quickly in the begining. There wasn't any remembering about the past it just simply went forward. The characters were so alive and flawed as people are. Tris is such a strong female character but at the same time we are reminded that she is 16 and acts like a teenager that often acts on her emotions and makes mistakes. Tobias is also a strong character and we see how the issues from his dysfunctional family have affected him. And like all of us, we want to be wanted by our parents. The pain of rejection from a parent is evident and you can feel that it is almost too much to bear at times.

On top of all this wonderful character development is this wonderful mystery of what is really going on. What is really at the root of this conspiracy theory. We see the pieces unfold as to what the government is keeping from the people and how that information is not only used to control the masses but who will kill for it or how it can be used to start a war. Nothing is black and white in this story. People make decisions because of how they think things should best be handled not necessarily out of malice but because they believe they are right and their way should be undertaken using whatever means. However, the ends do not always justify the means.

Without giving out any spoilers I will say that the ending is an awesome cliffhanger. I admit, that I partially saw it coming. The hints about the cause of all that ills this society were there but I can hardly wait for the final book to see how it all works out. I definitely loved this one and anyone who liked Divergent will find this one a must read.



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Recent Additions

Here are a couple books that I have received for review this week.



Synopsis

FOR THREE DAYS, IT WAS DARK.
News reporters scrambled. This was the biggest story to come along in weeks.
They called it a blackout.
The last one was in New York City in 2003, but this one was different, special, because the grids in six major cities across the country had been fried, kaput, see-you-next-Sunday. Everyone with some jurisdiction blamed each other, and when there was no one left to blame, terrorism rode in on its gallant steed.
It was the media’s fault. They were so busy stuffing fanatical Muslims with a penchant for Allah and decapitations down the American citizen’s throat, that they never saw it coming. I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on them.
They were partially right.
It was terror after all, but a whole new kind. And when the lights came back on, things had changed.

The dark had brought us visitors.

Synopsis WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE? One Planet. Two Worlds. Population: Human ... 7 billion. Others ... unknown. When 14-year-old Char­lie Blake wakes up sweat­ing and gasp­ing for air in the mid­dle of the night, he knows it is hap­pen­ing again. This time he wit­nesses a bru­tal mur­der. He's afraid to tell any­one. No one would believe him ... because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago - the day before his dad died. Char­lie doesn't know why this is hap­pen­ing. He would give any­thing to have an ordi­nary life. The prob­lem: he doesn't belong in the world he knows as home. He belongs with the others.

Happy Star Wars Day

May The Fourth Be With You!!!!

Honest will be I shall..... I've never read any of the Star Wars book, I'm only guilty of watching the movies. I would love to hear from any die hard fans that have read any or all of the books and find out if they are better than the movies (which is usally the case).

Get Caught Reading

This is National Get Caught Reading Month, I think we got this one covered :) Grab a good book today!