The Dead of Night

The Dead of Night by Peter Lerangis

The 39 Clues: Cahills Vs. Vespers
Book 1: The Medusa Plot
Book 2: A King's Ransom

And now… Book 3: This series most resembles a juggling act. One author leaves all of her clubs in the air and the next author steps in, catches them, finishes her trick and begins his own. Of course, he must pass off his trick to the next author in the lineup. Somehow the collective manages to keep the trick going, seamlessly, while adding balls of various sizes and weights, watermelons, knives, flaming torches and even some hamsters. Just watch…

Multiple plots are at work here. Amy and Dan are the driving characters of the primary story. Their main goal is to rescue the seven Cahill hostages* being held at an undisclosed location. To achieve this goal, they have**. Unfortunately, Amy and Dan are at the beck and call of Vesper 1*** and must focus on their secondary goal – keep the hostages alive until extraction. Most recently, they have been joined by Atticus, Dan’s online buddy, and Atticus’ older brother Jake****.

As the list of players gets longer and longer, so does the list of artifacts, codes, maps, cities and ingredients. The ingredients… Dan is secretly collecting to produce the Super Serum salvaged during the 39 Clue’s Hunt. The artifacts and maps… demanded to be discovered, uncovered, by Vesper 1 towards an unknown end. The cities… a list provided by Amy and Dan’s dead lawyer, but why is it so important that it is the last piece of communication they receive from him? They have enough on their plate so it is time to call in *****

*The seven hostages are trying to escape their prison even as the Cahills are trying to break in. Luckily, fast-thinking nannie Nellie manages to sneak a clue past their captors to aid the outside Cahills in locating their area of confinement.

**Sinead, Ian and Evan at the Grace Cahill Mansion Replica, aka Research Headquarters. These three are using the vast system of Cahill Operatives to discover the location of the hostages for immediate extraction. They are analyzing all clues available to narrow in on the hostages’ position. Unfortunately, the tensions between the former enemies and lately new friends are rising. Sinead is overly security conscious. Evan still doesn’t quite understand how dangerous being a Cahill is. And someone else is rebelling ******.

***The Vespers: There are at least 3 and maybe 4 Vesper subplots alone. Vesper 1, an unknown person, seems to be running the whole show. Twins, Casper and Cheyenne work for him when they are in good standing with him or against him when they have attracted his wrath. So either they are doing what they are told, or they are trying to off the Cahill siblings. A newly revealed Vesper has the job of keeping the Cahills out of trouble so that they can complete Vesper 1’s tasks.

****Atticus and Jake Rosenbloom are my favorite addition to the series. Atticus is the last known Guardian –still aren’t entirely sure what that is. As his mother lay dying, she passed on limited information to Atticus including that he should keep Dan as a friend. So while Atticus adores Dan, Jake is suspicious of the Cahill siblings. After all, they are felons wanted by Interpol. Jake also provides romantic tension for Amy and conflict for Amy’s high school boyfriend, the above Evan.

*****Jonah and Hamilton who travel to Pompeii under Amy’s orders to see if they can discover not only the importance of the list of cities, but also the importance of Pompeii to the Cahills. It is the site of the very first “test” that occurred in conjunction with the eruption of Vesuvius.

******Ian runs off to join his fiendish mother, Isabel Kabra. Who is he loyal to? Who is he protecting? Can he be trusted? Will he return? We all have to wait for the next pass off - I mean book.

There now. You are as thoroughly dizzy as I am.

The Cuckoo Tree

The Cuckoo Tree by Joan Aiken

Here is a journey you are going to have to take along with me because sometimes you have to be reminded… why?

Book 1: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Bonnie, Sylvia and Simon the Goose Boy)

Book 2: Black Hearts in Battersea (Simon and Dido)

Book 3: Nightbirds on Nantucket (Dido and Dutiful Penitence)

Book 4: The Whispering Mountain (Owen and Aramis)

Book 5: The Cuckoo Tree (Dido, Tobit and Cris with a pinch of Simon and Owen)

And if I am correct, this means that I am halfway done with the series! Hip hip! Hurray!

This series might be a touch difficult for young American readers because it is uniquely English. The dialect, the slang, the geography, the setting, the history can be a stumbling block if you don’t have bit of English background. Even if you do, this series is meant to be an alternate history and thus it is fantastical rather than historical. Add to that, most of what happens is technically impossible, but most kids would love for it to be true. Take for instance, an elephant named Rachel who will transport you to wherever you need to go without guidance. Or a conspiracy that puts St. Paul’s Cathedral’s foundations on rollers so that it can be pushed into the Thames. If you can get passed these obstacles… you are in for a wild and sometimes comedic romp. This is old-school, prince-and-pauper and everyone is more than they appear to be.

Despite its complexity, I will take its conspiracy over the 39 Clues mysteries any day. I am having a hard time putting into words the “why”. Both are fiction. And yet Wolves makes fun of its own fantastical nature while 39 Clues tries to set itself in reality. Wolves’ villains are bumbling idiots and the children are clever. 39’s villains are evil, well-funded, brilliant, double-agents, but the children are too. 39 doesn’t surprise me anymore. Wolves’ gets me every time. Aiken is putting her daydreams on paper. 39 is a “business machine”.

And you’re wondering why I’m comparing the two… two mystery series separated by 3 decades and an ocean. Fine, I’m reading them back to back. But this one is a joy and imaginative.

Dido has finally arrived back in England in the care of one Captain Owen Hughes. Captain Hughes is believed dead in the Chinese wars, but the reality is that he is hurrying home after a long absence to deliver an important dispatch to the Lord Admiral concerning a conspiracy to off the King. Unfortunately, the Captain suffers from a head injury and Dido has taken it upon herself to not only protect the Captain and his dispatch, but also deliver the two to London.

However, their carriage, by accident or intent, is rolled over along the way and Dido and the Captain must reside at Dogkennel cottages while the Captain recovers. While at Dogkennel, Dido meets two witches, a blind man, a young “sir” and his grandmother and a strange boy who lives her cottage attic. Not trusting the Captain’s safety in the vicinity of the witches, Dido must find someone trustworthy to deliver the dispatch before it is too late. But while we wait… Dido must uncover conspiracies at Dogkennel that may or may not be connected to the Hanoverian plot against the king.

I am most thrilled because Owen is finally reunited with his long lost father and thus book 4 is actually united to the series.

Still wondering who I can sell this series too. My daughter did not latch to it. But I have all summer!

Old Yeller

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

Rudy, Stormy, Poco, Dylan, Tucker, Skipper, Zephyr, Katie, Bob, Wednesday, Daisy, Casey, Ranger, Ajax, Whiskey. My life has been full of dogs. Of those no longer living, all but three of them died, comfortably, of old age. Well, I don’t know for sure about Skipper. He was stolen out of my grandmother’s backyard one Christmas not long after we got him.

So if that doesn’t tell you why I had never read Old Yeller before, you must be a cat person. You’re certainly not a dog person.

I have also never read Where the Red Fern Grows. I didn’t even know what the title was referring to until yesterday when I read a synopsis of the book. These are books that I knew I didn’t want to read. It is common knowledge that the dogs die. I had no intention whatsoever of reading them and certainly wouldn’t recommend them. Until it came to my attention that Old Yeller was a 1956 Newbery Honor book. And still, I put off the dirty deed for months.

But now I have read it and now I get it. It is a classic. It’s not that dogs are not heroes these days. Dogs continue to save the lives of people on a daily basis – both working dogs and family pets. However, it would be uncommon for a family pet to save the life of its master several times from wild animals within the modern-day contiguous states.

In Old Yeller, Old Yeller’s job is to work alongside his master, Travis. He helps to corral the hogs. He helps to protect the corn from varmints. In case of trouble, Old Yeller is to divert danger away from his master and family. In many cases, Old Yeller is the only protection available. Old Yeller is the front line between life and death. This book shows how willing the dog is to give his life to save master.

Not one of “my” dogs “worked” a day in his life. Even Stormy, the farm collie, lacked animals to herd. They were and are all companion animals… oversized lap dogs. I love them and want them. I do not depend upon them or need them. They are great for barking at every personage that graces my porch – friend or foe, but they do not get much opportunity to prove their worth against an intruder. These days, we are well-protected.

There is another point made by this book to the modern child. Not only do the majority of our companion animals not work, but most 14-year-old boys don’t work much either. We live a life of leisure. Television, music, video games, and who knows what else. A few of the boys I know hunt and fewer know how to farm… I’m sure they’re out there, but I’m pretty certain such American boys are in the minority these days.

I cannot begin to fathom the amount of manly responsibility that the boy, Travis, takes upon himself while his father is away. I cannot imagine many boys of this era being able to do the same – willingly as well as able. It is no wonder we are so easily bored. We are not tired.

I’m guessing I’m the last hold out for Old Yeller. Even my oldest has already read it and seen the movie at school. She said it was against her will. It wasn’t as bad as I expected. The “putting down” of the dog wasn’t sensationalized. It had to be done, (agreed,) and Travis behaved like an adult in charge and took care of it - quickly. Why, the whole book was rather matter-of-fact. And I appreciated it.

Searching for Dragons

Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (audio book)

Well, I am certain now. This is the series that my daughter will be reading this summer while participating in Reading is Sooooooooooo Delicious, Summer Reading Program 2012, iREAD Illinois. Not too long ago, I was delighted to devour Dealing With Dragons, the first in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I seriously savored Searching for Dragons, the second in the series. I can understand why it made the Caudill Nominee list. And I would say that the series is thematically appropriate because Princess Cimorene’s new position to Kazul, the King of Dragons, is Chief Cook and Librarian. Double whammy!

Okay, so I’ve never tried to make my daughters read according to the theme of the SRP. The series is just that lovely. The second book scores high marks in that I felt stirred to do the book talk at the dinner table. I think I had everyone’s ears.

Number one – the characters are so much fun. Their personalities are so severe as to be comical. For example, there is a Magician, NOT a wizard, named Telemain who always speaks in technical terms that no one else can understand. He needs a translator. The wizards who are always the bad guys tend to be bumbling idiots. They are so proud of their conspiracies that they are inclined to give up too much information – just enough for the good guys to foil their plots.

Number two – the author is not trying to create an epic of heroic proportions. The individual books are not tiny steps towards an overall goal. Both books have been satisfying on their own. There is a problem and they solve it. They meet fascinating characters along the way. Their new friends join them and help as they can. And the character list is not monumental. You don’t need a diagram.

Number three – the book is far from serious. It is more of a comedy. We could use a little light-heartedness in between the gloom and doom. I think it is brilliant that the wizards can be melted with soapy water with a splash of lemon juice. And it is only temporary. They always come back. In the meantime, their magic staffs can be hidden. I mean really, imagine a group of heroes sneaking up on the wizards, each with a bucket of soapy water in their hands. Try not to smile.

And now, why the second book is even better than the first! We don’t start with Princess Cimorene. No, we are introduced to an entirely new character – Mendanbar, King of the Enchanted Forest. He has served as King for three years and he is overworked and tired from trying to do everything by himself. His steward, an elf, has recommended that King Mendanbar find a bride, a local princess, to serve as Queen and aid him. Unfortunately, Mendanbar is frustrated by formal pomp and circumstance. He is even more annoyed by silly princesses.

To escape the castle and his steward’s encouragements, Mendanbar decides to take a stroll through his forest and runs into a potential problem. There is a circle of forest that has been burned and drained of all its magical power. He finds a handful of dragon scales. A war with dragons is something he wishes to avoid. An advice-giving squirrel suggests that Mendanbar search out Morwen the Witch for guidance. And Morwen proposes that he request an audience with the King of Dragons. Heaven forbid King Mendanbar would have to deal with the dragon’s princess. Silly princesses are a whole lot of trouble. But we know better don’t we…

I think girls with brain power and courage will appreciate a princess like Cimorene. I would definitely recommend this series for pleasurable summer reading.

The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (audio book)

The Scorch Trials pick up where The Maze Runner ended. Thomas, Teresa, Minho, Newt and about twenty other Gladers finally escape the Maze, but they came face to face with the people they call the Creators. They believe it is time for answers, except that almost immediately they are rescued by another group of people who transport them to another location and claim that the Gladers are now safe – the horrors experienced in the Maze are over. Unbeknownst to the Gladers, but written as Epilogue to the reader, the reader is informed that the Maze was only one trial brought to completion. It is time to begin the second trial. Oh, and the Gladers are Group A, there is also Group B.

The first night out of the Maze, the Gladers gluttonously devour pizza and get their first night’s well-deserved rest outside of the Glade. The boys have a dorm and Teresa has a separate dorm. In the morning, Thomas wakes up to a nightmare. The boys open their dorm room door and find that their rescuers are all hung from the ceiling of the common room, dead, bloated and rancid. Thomas makes his way across the common area to Teresa’s door. There is a plaque with her name on it and a descriptor – Betrayer – on her door. Teresa doesn’t answer his call. The boys break in to an empty room. But someone is in the bathroom.

It’s not Teresa. It is a boy named Aris who is equally surprised by the intrusion. The Gladers quickly discover a tattoo on the boy’s neck. It says, “Property of WICKED. Group B, Subject B1. The Partner.” But Aris isn’t the only one with a tattoo. And Thomas’s tattoo states, “Property of WICKED. Group A, Subject A2. To be killed by Group B.”

In The Maze Runner, Thomas wanted answers. It took most of the book for him to realize that the reason the Gladers wouldn’t give him answers was because they didn’t have the answers. Their own questions remained unanswered. The Scorch Trials appears to give some answers, but really it opens a whole new series of questions. This is equally true for the readers. There is some great secret involving WICKED, (World In Catastrophe—Killzone Experiment Department,) and the reader is not in on the secret except through the brief Epilogues to both books.

I can only hope that the SECRET is incredibly fabulous and jaw-dropping and track-stopping and worth all of the efforts to keep it secret. Think, “No, I am your father.” from Star Wars. Because, if it isn’t, it will be a monumental disappointment. I am already frustrated much as Thomas is frustrated. Nothing is as it seems. “All I will say is that sometimes what you see is not real, and sometimes what you do not see is real.”

“WICKED is good” is a statement one is expected to believe despite the horrors of the trials that the teenagers are forced to endure. We are supposed to accept that the terrors of the trials are worth the accomplishment of the intended outcome. I begin to wonder if this is in any way related to the theory that a good God would not allow suffering. Or that a good God would allow suffering to accomplish the greater good… So curious.

I can still readily recommend this series to junior high and high school kids. Only a very little, slightly more graphic… the hanging bodies were a tad colorful…

Flyte

Flyte by Angie Sage (audio book)

I am blowing the bangs out of my eyes in exasperation. I just reread my review for Magyk by Angie Sage. I long to be as excited about Flyte, its sequel.

But I am not and I am sad.

Flyte is many of the things that Magyk was. There are still plenty of tongue-in-cheek jokes. They give a sense of the author throughout. A bit of commentary from the “god” of her creation.

Foreshadowing is still in abundance. The reader is in on the joke such as it were. The author gives a flashback and primes the reader for the revelation. I would not like it since it gives away so much of the surprise except that the reactions of the characters are usually worth the tradeoff.

While this volume doesn’t cover near as much time as the first, there is still a lack of action compared to the popular novels of today – The Lightning Thief, The Hunger Games, even Harry Potter. I’m trying to put a finger on it… There is a little bit of … let’s say… battle, but it doesn’t actually take much time and it doesn’t really feel integral to the progression of the story.

So, the story. It is a year after Magyk ended. Septimus, the seventh son, has been training as the ExtraOrdinary Wizard’s apprentice. Jenna, the princess, has been trying to find her place as the Queen-in-Waiting. Septimus lives in the Wizard’s Tower and rarely sees his family. Jenna lives in the Castle and her foster parents, Septimus’ real parents, have moved in with her. Four of Heap brothers have moved to the forest. One of the brothers works down at the docks. And the oldest brother has been missing in action for the year.

But there is still Darknesse at large, especially in the Wizard’s Tower, left behind by the Darke Wizard, Dom Daniel. Marsha, the current ExtraOrdinary Wizard, is working tirelessly to rid the Tower and especially her own suites of the Darkenesse. Marsha has a larger problem and it is following her and even growing. It is a shadow – a Darke shadow. In an attempt to get rid of it, she has enlisted the help of a local wizard who is building her a Shadow Box in order to remove and imprison the shadow. But, piece by piece, Marsha is unknowingly bringing more evil into her apartments.

I hate to say it, but the eldest Heap brother returns, but it is not a happy family reunion he is seeking. Simon is out for revenge. He had aspired to be the next ExtraOrdinary Wizard’s Apprentice and he is jealous that Septimus took that spot. Simon won’t even recognize Septimus as his long lost brother. Simon intends to wrest that position away from Septimus with the help of the skull of Dom Daniel himself.

Normally, I would add the incentive of a baby dragon to capture the attention of possible readers, but I’d hate for someone to pick up the book solely because of the promise of a dragon. Hopefully, it will play a greater role in the future volumes, already published, but yet unread.

I’d recommend this book to 4^th-6^th grade girls with light, young hearts.