Today’s guest post is written by my ever-enthusiastic 13-year-old daughter, Dora (who was born and named approximately six months before Dora the UsurperExplorer made her irritating debut).
Standard disclaimer: I have read some, but not all of these books, neglectful mother, ideas have consequences, corrupting the youth, blah blah blah. I have read Shooting Kabul and it was fine, and I loved The Star of Kazan — thought it was really sweet and imaginative, and just altogether much more pleasant, well-written and entertaining than 99% of literature for this age group. I have a bit of a prejudice against books that come out as an instant series, and haven’t read the other ones.
*****
#1-3:
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Individual books: The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye, Ptolemy’s Gate
This has three really funny, really awesome books. The series follows the story of a demonic daemon (djinn) named Bartimaeus. He is constantly being summoned by a snotty brat of a magician, Nathaniel. In the second one, I was laughing over a buffalo. When I first saw the books, I only checked the first two out, and was very angry at myself for weeks before I finally got back to the library, and got the last book. I recommend this to anyone over ten who is a good reader and has a sense of humor.
#4:
Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai
This is an amazingly good book. I got it from my schools “free book day,” or something. It’s about a family that’s trying to escape from Afghanistan to the United States right before 9/11. On the way, the youngest child gets left behind, and throughout the whole book, her older brother, Fadi, is trying to find her. It is unsure, though, if there is a happy ending. [I think she means the reader is not sure whether it will end happily. Spoiler for my more nervous readers, since this is a pretty good book, and worth reading: The little girl does get found! — Admin] Emotional people,beware, this book will probably make you cry.
#5:
The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
A super-dee-duper awesome book about an orphaned girl living in a wonderful home in Vienna. One day a woman shows up at her doorstep, claiming to be her mother. This great story is filled with twists, and when I read it, sometimes it gets so good I want to throw it down and stalk away. [I read this sentence several times, uncertain of its meaning, and finally concluded that my daughter is a weirdo. –Admin] Everything is tied up at the end, and one of my favorite parts is the epilogue. All in all an awesome book.
#6-10:
The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
This is the start of a captivating, but maddening, series. It is called the Secret Series. There are five books in all, and you need a lot of patience to read them all. It follows the story of someone who might be named Cass, as she tries to find out the Secret of Life. It gets a little wearisome after a while, what with all the “Oh, I guess I’ll tell you the Secret. Oh, wait! Never mind!” from the narrator, but once you get past that, it is pretty good.
