Book Review: The Long Patrol (Redwall, Book 10)

The Long Patrol was yet another fantastic installment of the Redwall series. While it wasn't my favorite in the series, the book held my attention and kept me reading, and I greatly enjoyed it. In The Long Patrol, the plot centers around the adventures of a young hare named Tammo, who aspires to be a part of the famous Long Patrol of Salamantron. The events accumulate into a devastating battle against Damug, the leader of the vermin band known as the Rapscallions.

This tale is full of colorful and memorable characters. I love the different dialects among the species of animals, ranging from hare to mole, to squirrel and mouse. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone, as well as the rest of the Redwall series. I bought this book, and therefore was not asked nor required to write a review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Redwall (Redwall, #1)

Title: Redwall
Author: Brian Jacques
Labels: Fiction | Fantasy
Publisher: Puffin/Philomel Books
Publication Date: September 20, 2002
Recommended To: Children, YA, Adult
Contains: The best story ever.

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Redwall Abbey, tranquil home to a community of peace-loving mice is threatened by Cluny the Scourge - the evil-one-eyed rat warlord - and his battle-hardened horde of predators. Cluny is certain that Redwall will fall easily to his fearsome army but he hasn't bargained for the courage and strength of the combined forces of the Redwall mice and their loyal woodland friends.
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Redwall has been one of my favorite books and series since I was a kid. No matter how old I get, it never gets old. I love that regardless of your age, Redwall is a book that is enjoyable for everyone. I have friends who read it as kids and are still periodically reading them as adults. I am fully convinced that Redwall is and will continue to be a classic.

Redwall, the first book in the series, revolves around the adventures of a young mouse named Matthias. Matthias lives at Redwall Abbey, a peaceful sort of place dedicated to helping woodland creatures in need and living in peace in Mossflower. All this is shattered when the notorious rat Cluny the Scourge shows up on the scene, dead set on conquering the abbey and enslaving its inhabitants. It's up to Matthias to step up and lead his fellow creatures to victory over the rat and his horde, with the help of relics left behind by the deceased Martin, the Warrior of Redwall.

I'm very glad I stumbled upon this old favorite and got the chance to read Redwall again! Highly recommended to all ages! I borrowed this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

7 Steps to Knowing, Doing, and Experiencing the Will of God

Title: 7 Steps to Knowing, Doing, and Experiencing the Will of God
Author: Tom, Mike, and Daniel Blackaby
Labels: Juvenile Nonfiction | Religion | Christianity | Christian Life
Publisher: B&H Books
Publication Date: May 1, 2013
Recommended To: Teens, Young Adults
Contains: N/A

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: "Seven Steps to Knowing, Doing, and Experiencing the Will of God for Teens" goes deeper than just knowing about God, it guides you to partner with God in what He is doing all around you to make an eternal difference in this world.
          Based on the world-renowned Experiencing God teachings, Tom, Mike, and Daniel Blackaby (Henry Blackaby’s son and grandsons) utilize cartoon illustrations, true-life stories, and fresh graphics as they take an earnest, yet humorous, look at what it means for teenagers to have a vibrate personal relationship with God in their often random and challenging settings.
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7 Steps is by no means a perfect, seven step wonder that will bring you closer to God no matter what. In the conclusion, Blackaby makes it clear that there are no exact, easy, one-size-fits-all set of steps in which to enhance your relationship with God. However, this books is a great tool for pointing teens and young adults in the right direction as they seek to draw nearer to God.

This book was an easy, understandable read aimed at a teenaged audience. Teens won't get lost in all the technical terms and high theology, but these three authors keep the readers attention as they draw them further into this quest to experience God. Throughout the book are personal stories and examples, as well as short clips about well known Christians who went through the same sort of things that particular chapter is talking about.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent book and resource for anyone working with teens. I'll be honest, I got a lot out of it myself even as a college student. As I look into youth ministry, this is a book I'll be keeping close by to reference and loan out to both teens and those working with them. Definitely a keeper!

I received a free copy of this book from a publicity agent (Shelton Interactive) for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Bandit's Moon

Title: Bandit's Moon
Author: Sid Fleischman
Labels: Fiction
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: April 29, 2008 (reissue edition)
Recommended To: Everyone, particularly younger children and young teens.
Contains: Clean

Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: After a narrow escape from the nasty O. O. Mary's clutches, Annyrose ventures forth to find her long-lost brother Lank in gold-digging territory. But the journey is rough, bandits and fiends waiting for the traveler at every bend. Soon Annyrose runs into Joaquin Marieta, legendary bandit of the Gold Rush.
          This complete disaster, however, soon appears to be no less than a blessing for both! They can help each other out: Annyrose can teach Joaquin how to read so he will know where danger lies, and in turn he can make sure she's safe and fed. But in a time when corruption and greed are running wild, will their friendship be more than fool's gold?
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If this isn't a classic already, then it definitely should be. Bandit's Moon is by far my favorite childhood book, and still remains one of my favorites even today. Although aimed at middle school aged children, it is a fantastic tale of a young girl who ends up on a crazy adventure with Mexican bandits. Though less detailed than a novel aimed at an older audience would be, I still feel like Bandit's Moon captures the culture of the time period.

Based off a true--though little known--person, there is plenty of leeway for wild adventures without going far from what truly happened to the real Joaquin. The dialogue between characters is written to show the accents of the Mexican bandits, as well as the many other characters. Each character has his own story to tell, with each melding together to push the plot along.

Bandit's Moon is a fantastic tale of adventure that will take young readers right along with the Mexican Bandits and their young tag-along. Full of action, fun dialogue, and colorful characters, it's a book worth reading by any age group.

I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Blue Flame (Perfect Fire Trilogy, #1)

Title: Blue Flame
Author: K.M. Grant
Labels: Historical | Romance | Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Walker & Company
Publication Date: August 4, 2009
Contains: Clean as a whistle.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (Alright, considering the age range)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Many years have passed since the Occitanian knights killed Richard the Lionheart in a courageous battle to keep the Blue Flame--sparked at the moment of Christ’s death--from falling into the wrong hands. Now it is in danger once again, as enemies from the north draw near. In the midst of this looming battle, lifelong friends Raimon, son of a Cathar weaver, and Yolanda, daughter of a Catholic Count, are falling in love. But a new religious crusade is about to begin, setting boy against girl, family against family, neighbor against neighbor, south against north. Though many seek to possess the Blue Flame, only one person is destined to wield its power to save the people and the sovereignty of the Occitan.
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         So basically, I didn't realize that this fell into the juvenile fiction genre until after it was sitting on my shelf to be read. *fail* Needless to say, due to this fact, it didn't particularly thrill or engage me in anyway. Which is alright, because I'm not in the juvenile age range, so that's kinda to be expected. Anyway. The plot of Blue Flame centers around two young teens--14ish year olds--in medieval Occitan, which is located in some part of the world I couldn't quite gather and I don't think was specifically told. South of France, I think?

          These two teens, Raimon and Yolanda, like each other...or, love each other as they said at times...but their "small town" life is totally interrupted by the arrival of the Blue Flame, whose significance I still don't really get. I got the part where it was supposedly lit at Christ's death--and that I got from the back cover--and therefore it is understandable that the religious people went bonkers over trying to claim it. What I didn't get was the real, true blue point of it was. Raimon seemed to get it wasn't what the religious nuts thought it was, but I had a hard time figuring out what it did mean then.

          Short review made shorter: it was alright considering the age range it is aimed at. While I personally didn't have a whole lot of interest in it I think young teens/tweens might like it, if they're into historical or slightly mythical stories. I bought this book, and therefore was not required nor asked to write a review, nor a positive one at that. I was not compensated for this review.

Alienation (C.H.A.O.S. Series) [Review]

Title: Alienation
Author: Jon S. Lewis
Labels: Juvenile Fiction | Science Fiction | Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Contains: Clean as a whistle.
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository | The Publisher

My Rating: ★★★★☆ (It was good)
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Blurb From Goodreads: Along with his best friends Oz and Danielle, Colt McAllister is now training at the secret Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural Academy. But strange accidents seem to follow him...even with the security of the school grounds. What first seems random soon turns deadly. But who is targeting Colt?
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          Here I am again jumping the middle of a series :P. Will I ever learn? Anyway, I didn't have a hard time following along with what was going on. Now, I'm not well read in science fiction, so I can't say that this book sets the example for all the other books in this genre, but I thought the surrounding details of the plot were a bit...complicated. Maybe it had something to do with my jumping into the middle of it, but I that was it, because I understood everything completely. To the contrary, I thought everything was explained very well. The problem, in my opinion at least, was that there was simply too much that needed explaining. Every time a new chapter started I felt like there was quite a bit of explaining going on before anything actually happened.

          As for the actual plot, I thought it was great. The main character, Colt, is a newly recruited cadet of the CHAOS academy, and suddenly finds himself on a hit list of the directed of the academy, who inconveniently is also the father of Colt's best friend. It sooner becomes evident that even those closest to him have held things back, and not everyone can be trusted. Colt struggles with deciding who is on the wrong side, and more importantly, who he can trust.

          Alianation falls at about 250 pages, and is a quick, easy read. Colt is said to be sixteen, but from his character voice it felt like he was a bit younger. This would make a great read for young boys. I received this book for free from goodreads. I was not required to write a review nor a positive one; I was not compensated for this review.