Leah's First Bookshelf Tour!

If you see any books that you would like to be reviewed, please, let us know. :)

Skipping Christmas -- John Grisham

"Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents. That's just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won't be hosting thier annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Carribean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences-and isn't half as easy as they'd imagine.
A classic tale for modern times, Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition."

I could not put this book down because I was reliving one of my favorite childhood movies "Christmas with the Kranks" It was a tradition of ours to watch the movie near Christmas time. It's pages are filled with laughs and I love reading about the reactions of everybody when they find out they're skipping Christmas.

This book was--as most books are--better than the movie. I could really connect with the characters, and I found myself losing sleep just to turn the page. My favorite character would have to be Luther because his thoughts throughout the story kept me laughing. His stubborn attitude was hilarious, and I couldn't wait to see what he thought of next.

Caution: Spoilers.

My favorite parts would be when the Kranks wouldn't put Frosty on their roof and the street all gangs up on them and try to make them surrender Frosty. Another favorite part is at the end when they find out their daughter, Blair, is coming home for Christmas with her fiance (italics)and they start rushing to actually put Chrsitmas together in eight hours.

Overall the book brings a good laugh, and is a real page turner.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief -- Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking strait out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal, by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

This series is definitely geared towards those that love books for younger readers. I enjoyed reading this book, although some things were annoying and took some getting used to. I loved the idea of a summer camp for demigods, and Riordan does a fantastic job of painting a detailed picture of Camp Half Blood and showing the reader a general sense of how things work. I also loved the fact that some misconceptions about certain animals were shown, creating a light feel to some parts of the book. However, the plot of The Lightning Thief was pretty simple: Find Zeus's bolt and save the world. I would have liked to see more conflict between the main characters, maybe showing them argue over something simple, causing a slight riff in their friendship which could have been mended by the characters' need to save the world. Another thing that annoyed me was the face that whenever Percy needed something, he got it relatively quickly, usually with the help from a god or goddess. This pattern was shown throughout the book, and made the plot a little more dull. I am, however, willing to overlook those slight flaws, because this book was thoroughly enjoyable and I was sorry that it had sat on my bookshelf for about a year before I finally picked it up and gave it a read. I liked learning more about the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus and their lives are depicted in a way that is suitable for younger readers. I would recommend this book to anyone, starting from the age of 10, because the lives of the gods and goddesses may not be understandable to those of younger ages.

Read on!
--Leah