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Mistmantle Chronicles, M. I. McAllister

Many movies have animals as their main characters (Disney’s Zootopia and Robin Hood, as well as Dreamwork’s Kung Fu Panda trilogy) and Mistmantle combines the animal protagonists with a fantasy setting. Urchin of the Riding Stars is a white squirrel found on the beach of an island called Mistmantle under a meteor shower as a baby. As Urchin pursues his dream of becoming a page to one of the Captains that serve the king of Mistmantle he gets caught up in a web of lies and betrayals and murder surrounding the king and his court. A fantastic world that echoes that of Brian Jacques Redwall series, I would recommend the first book of the Mistmantle Chronicles to anyone who is looking for a great mystery and wonderful characters.

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Larklight, Starcross, Mothstorm, Phillip Reeve

I am including this short trilogy as one entry since they are a relatively easy read for younger kids. However the books themselves are interesting enough to warrant a read for older audiences. Set in a Victorian era Steampunk Solar System where humans have been exploring for about a hundred years, the Larklight books are about young Art and his sister Myrtle as they adventure through the solar system. Early in the first book they are aided by a young human pirate Jack Havok and his rag-tag team of aliens as they fight off a race of white spiders. In the second book they visit an asteroid spa that has a sinister secret hiding in its hatboxes. In the third they fight off an army of lizard-like people who ride moths (through space!). The world these books create is fun and fantastical, interlaced with Victorian era technology and values. Please give these books a try, they’re an amazingly entertaining ride!

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The Ring of Five, Eoin McNamee

Young Danny Caulfield is spirited away to a school that trains spies in the deadly arts of espionage and murder. No one at the school seems to like Danny, not even the ravens that roost in the eaves of the school. To make matters worse Danny has an uncanny resemblance to things called Cherubs, the enemies of the school. If you like novels with a compelling mystery and many twists and turns, The Ring of Five may be for you!

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Lizard Radio, Pat Schmatz

Set in a similar dystopian world to The Hunger Games and Divergent, Lizard Radio is about Kivali, a teenager sent to a special training camp that will groom them for a specific role in society. Along the way Kivali starts to question their gender, sexuality, and even the rules of relatiy itself. Lizard Radio plays with just how much you can get away with in terms of not filling in the audience, but it does serve to make the story feel more real. Give Lizard Radio a try if you like dystopian fiction.

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Introduction

Welcome to my blog! I am going to be giving short summaries of books that are just as interesting as some of the shows and movies running currently. I won’t be getting into spoilers though, of course! These books are for any reading level, and I will indicate which on a case by case basis. I personally have read most of these books, and the ones I have not are on good word from my close friends. Enjoy your stay and get ready to curl up with a good book!