Posted on by Wendy

Untrustworthy Doofus’s mind is blown by the crazy ride of “Full Tilt.”

FullTilt.jpg

Title: Full Tilt

Author: Neal Shusterman

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5 Stars

Neal Shusterman’s Full Tilt will stretch your mind with its psychedelic imagery. It’s a fantasy in an amusement park that turns out to be full of danger. Blake, a sixteen-year-old, visits his town’s regular amusement park, where he receives a strange invitation from a mysterious yet beautiful girl to go to a different, unknown amusement park. With two friends, he follows his younger brother to the new park: an unreal carnival. Once they enter, they learn that they have to complete seven impossible rides before dawn if they want to get out alive. One ride, for instance, features bumper cars that turn into real cars trying to ram each other in the dangerous alleyways of a city. Will they survive and make it out of the park?

I loved this book because it’s chock full of very immersive imagery. It has a completely unique plot that intensifies with each page. It pulled me in, and once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop.

Reviewer: Untrustworthy Doofus

Age: 14

Posted on by Wendy

Win19 finds thrills in Rowling’s “Chamber of Secrets!”

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Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Author: J. K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4 Stars

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling, is a thrilling book that keeps you engaged throughout. After a strange visit from a house elf named Dobby, Harry Potter leaves his terrible human/muggle family to go to his second year at Hogwarts, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dobby warns Harry that if he goes to the school, disaster will strike. And strike it does.

For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageous professor, Gillderoy Lockheart, a moaning girl haunting the bathrooms and the unwanted attention of lots of other students and teachers. But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone or something starts petrifying children. Who could it be?  

This is a great book if you are looking for something to read just for fun. It is an action packed book and if you like reading fantasy, this is an awesome book for you.

Reviewer: win19

Age: 14

Posted on by Wendy

Why stop with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone?” Mirilli urges readers to take on the series!

Harry Potter Book 1

Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Author: J. K. Rowling

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5 Stars

Personally, I think that Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone is a great start to an even better series. The characters have spunk and courage, and they are very diverse. For example, there are several strong female role models such as Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley, who are as different as can be but equally magnificent. The main character, Harry Potter, has an interesting backstory that’s not cliché .

The plot is full of action and adventure. A boy named Harry discovers that he’s a wizard and gets to leave his abusive aunt and uncle to go to the magical shcool of Hogwarts. The background world that the author created is wonderful, filled with whimsy and wonder. I would recommend this story to everyone, but in particular fans of Percy Jackson and Land of Stories. If you haven’t read this series already, you need to.

Reviewer: Mirilli

Age: 13

Posted on by Wendy

SunPanda has deep thoughts about “The Girl Who Drank the Moon.”

Girl Who Drank Moon

Title:  The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Author: Kelly Barnhill

Genre: Fantasy

Rating:  4 Stars.png

The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a deep story. It makes you think a lot, so I wouldn’t pick it if you want a mindless book. It’s about a girl named Luna who is “enmajicked” and lives with a witch named Xan, a tiny dragon named Fyrian, and a swamp Monster named Glerk. But it is also about a witch called the Sorrow Eater, a boy named Antain, an old man named Gherland, and a girl named Ethyne. All of them have jobs, such as one to kill the witch and one to kill who is planning to kill the witch. This story made me want to cry, laugh, and just throw it down in anger. It’s one of those books where you say, “I’ll read one more page,” and end up reading forty. I like this book because it makes me stop to think, but also is impossible to stop because you are always on your toes.

Reviewer:  SunPanda

Age:  10

 

Posted on by Wendy

Untrustworthy Doofus gives high praise to “Bruiser.” This review is an EXEMPLAR!

bruiser

Title:  Bruiser

Author:  Neal Shusterman

Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy

Rating:  5 Stars

I just read a fantasy book for young adults titled Bruiser, by Neal Shusterman, that made me feel tremendous sympathy and empathy for the characters. Bruiser is about a kid everyone calls The Bruiser, who wants to have friends, but shuts them out at the same time. When Tennyson’s twin sister, Brontë, becomes The Bruiser’s girlfriend, Tennyson is bothered by it and investigates. He discovers that the Bruiser steals pain from everyone he cares about. When someone breaks an arm, for example, The Bruiser’s arm breaks instead.

What I like most about this book is that Shusterman is a master at switching perspectives between multiple protagonists. Bruiser shows the power of emotions to their fullest extent when the twins’ parents are affected by his “gift” in a strange way. I would rate this book 5 stars!

Reviewer:  Untrustworthy Doofus

Age:  14