Carol (Iowa)--Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn. Have you ever dreamed of travelling back to the Middle Ages? In this book, you'll live a life of royalty in Castle Auburn during the summer months. Yet in the winter, you'll live amongst the villagers and be an apprentice to performing magic with healing herbs. The ending will offer readers a pleasant surprise!

Sarah J. (Iowa)--Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could turn into an animal? If you have, here is a book that can show you the finer points of the changes. You will fly through this book!

Sarah J. (Iowa)--Snakecharm by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Sequel to Hawksong Want to know what it is like to be the king of the snakes? If you have, you should read this book to get all the info. The book is a charm.

Sarah J. (Iowa)--Falcondance by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Sequel to Snakecharm Have you ever wanted to be as free as a bird? If you have, step into this book for a magical adventure through hidden lands. Spread your wings, and fly.

Sarah J. (Iowa)--Wolfcry by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Sequel to Falcondance Have you ever wanted to howl to the moon like a wolf? If you do, you should read this book to know when the perfect time to do it is. The hunt for a good book is over.

Sarah B. (Iowa)--Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. It's wonderfully addictive book. It's about a rich english girl in India who's mother is murdered and she gets shipped to a girls school in england. she soon finds nothing is quite what it seems, including her mother. Dun! Dun! Dun! P.S. the sequel is equally good called "Rebel Angels".

Kimberly M. (Iowa)--Stolen by Kelley Armstrong. This is a fanastic book for those who like Vampire, Werewolf, Demon, Zombie...ect Novels. Its about a women werewolf Elena Micheals.  She is trying to help her pack and group of so called "other races" find a freak billionaire, Tyrone Winsloe; who is funding this group of scientists who are trying to caprture these other races to obtain there powers to use them for humans. In doing so she herself gets captured. The question is can she make it out or will she be used like all the rest?

Kimberly M. (Iowa)--Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. This is the first book of the "women of the other world" series. Stolen is the second. This book is about Elena's experience of being bitten by her lover Clayton Danvers. It's also about how Elena goes back to her pack to help them find out what Mutts are wrecking havoc on their territory. She is also deciding whether or not she wants to rejoin her pack.

Katie R. (Iowa)--Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. This is a great book about a girl who can see faeries, and the faerie king's courtship of her. It's a must read if you like drama and suspense, while still being cute.

Graveyard Book

Review

Craig Brown

The final book I read for this semester was the Graveyard Book; it was written by Neil Gaiman and also has Dave Mckean’s stunning artwork. The Graveyard Book is about a child seeking the truth about what happen to his family. This book is in the genre of children fantasy. The reason the author wrote this book is to prove that were ever you are people do care about you and want you to be safe.

This story is told be a third person point of view. And each chapter is a little story of what happens in the grave yard. Setting is in a graveyard and in different points the story goes to a town setting. The tone changes in about every chapter from the suspense in the beginning to the dramatic ending. The main character Bod or Nobody Owens as a relationship with the spirits that drift in the graveyard are very close to Bod they are teachers, friends, Parents and Guardians to Bod. The main problem in the book is that some wants to kill Bod.

I thought this book was a really good; it kept my attention through it all. I was a little disappointed how the book ended the way it did, but overall I thought it was a pretty good book. Also the reason I read this book was because of my popular fiction class.

The characterization of the book was really good a few of the dead characters told their stories about how they died. This book is unrealistic I don’t think that this could happen in real life, also the art by Dave Mckean was different than the reader would usually see in a book.

If I was given an opportunity to change any thing in this book I would not change any thing I think the book is fine just the way it is.

The books theme brings up homes and family, places of safety. There are people out there that will try to do harm to someone and without friends and family to help they may succeed.

This book is more likely to be appropriate for children in junior high and older because of the images show in the authors writing. I give this book a five star rating because it held my attention and the art was different from what I usually would see in a book.