Book Review: Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

Been a while since I've done a book review. I've been meaning to review several books, actually, but it slipped my mind and my to-do list. I also might (MIGHT--key word) review 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', which I'm greatly enjoying.

'Castaways of the Flying Dutchman'
by Brian Jacques

'The Flying Dutchman! The legend of the wind-tattered ghost ship and its mad sea captain, cursed to sail the seas forever, has been passed down throughout the centuries. But what of the boy and his dog who were trapped aboard that ship? What was to become of them?

Send off on an eternal journey of their own by an avenging angel, the boy and dog roam the earth throughout the centuries in search of those in need. Braving wind and waves and countless perils, their travels lead them to Chapelvale, a sleepy 19th-century village whose very existence is at stake. Only by discovering the buried secrets and solving the dust-laden riddles of the ancient village can it be saved. This will take the will and wile of all the people - and a very special boy and dog!'

(Book description taken off of BRIAN JACQUES' WEBSITE)

Well, I'm kind of have a mixed opinion about the book.

The good things about it: Captain Vanderdecken is severely punished for blaspheming God. Ben and Ned (also known as Neb and Den) are saved for their 'pure and innocent hearts', to paraphrase the book. There is not a spot of romance, thankfully, and friendship, loyalty, bravery, and purity of heart are strong points in the story. It was for the most part (some parts were a little cheesy, cliche, just plain first draft-sounding) well written, and I found myself very attached to Ben and Ned. They help and care for others, which is also very good. Oh, and the Bible and God are treated very respectfully, with the exception of Captain Vanderdecken.

The bad things about it: (SPOILER) I'm not sure that it's exactly Biblical for an angel to curse/bless people with immortality. (END OF SPOILER) For some odd reason, I felt like Jacques was treating God more akin to a Greek legend or something like that--something to be respected, but outside of a story, not to be taken seriously. It may have just been me, though. Oh, and a lot of book descriptions for 'CotFD' make it sound like Ben and Ned are ghosts. The book has them more like guardian angels. That was why I was a little hesitant to read it.

Overall opinion: It was good. Catchy plot, strong characters, bitter-sweet endings (which I usually hate, but this one was pretty good). I'm looking forward to reading the next one, 'The Angel's Command'. I'll rate it 3 out of 5 stars. Would have gotten a 4.999999999999 if I hadn't gotten the impression that I had in the previous paragraph.

Oh, and I've met Brian Jacques a few years ago! He also wrote the Redwall books, and he's absolutely HILARIOUS!!! Had a complete blast at the book signing. And it was really cool, because we were last in line and there weren't much other people, we got to talk to him and took a picture with him. It was so inspiring!

Izori

Book Review: Inkdeath

Book description taken from the book.

'Inkdeath', by Cornelia Funke
Third book of the Inkworld Trilogy

**POSSIBLE SPOILER FOR 'INKSPELL' IN THE BOOK DESCRIPTION. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ 'INKSPELL' YET AND DO NOT WANT ME TO SPOIL A RATHER IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE PLOT, DO NOT READ THE BOOK DESCRIPTION**




'The fire-eater Dustfinger is dead, having sacrificed his life for his apprentice Farid's, and now, under the rule of the evil Adderhead, the fairy-tale land is in bloody chaos, it's characters far beyond the control of Fenoglio, their author. Even Elinor, left behind in the real world, believes her family to be lost--lost between the covers of a book.

Facing the threat of eternal winter, Mo inks a dangerous deal with Death itself. There yet remains a faint hope of changing the cursed story--if only he can fill its pages fast enough.'



**END OF SPOILER**

This so far has been my least favorite of the series. It is exciting, and (even though you certainly can't tell at the beginning) it has some family values. For example: Mo...oh, yeah, that's a spoiler, and I already told you that the spoiler ended. So let's just leave it at it has its values. (That's the hard thing about reviewing series', if you aren't careful, you might give plots away in the earlier books.

Oh, yes, and the bad-guys were very well written...most of them.

The negatives, unfortunately, are a lot. First of all, the ending was a little...disappointing. It just left me going "What? Why..." And there is a large amount of romance. A lot is between Resa and Mo, who are married (that is good, actually) and then there's some between Meggie and, not one, but two young men (and that is not good). There's some swearing (a lot by Aunt Elinor, but you may have already guessed that :) and Funke did some things with her characters plot-wise that I wouldn't have done.

What really bugged me was that this book was mainly about out-smarting death until it was inevitable. It seemed sort of...hopeless, y'know? It has a happy ending, but there are some parts of the book that are a bit dark.

Overall...

I'm glad I read it. But I would advise, for you younger readers, that you have a parent look at the book before you do, just to make sure that's it's good for you to read.

Here is the Amazon link if anyone is interested in buying it...

Book Review: Fly By Night

Book description is taken from the book.

Fly By Night
by Frances Hardinge

'Twelve year old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.

Enter Eponymous Clent, a smooth-talking con man who seems to love words nearly as much as Mosca herself. Soon Mosca and Clent are living a life of deceit and danger--discovering secret societies, following shady characters onto floating coffeehouses, and entangling themselves with crazed dukes and double-crossing racketeers. It would be exactly the kind of tale Mosca has always longed to take part in, until she learns that her one true love--words--may be the death of her.'

Well, I guess I'll start with the positive stuff first: it was a very well written book, with a complicated plot full of espionage and battles that keeps you on your toes. Saracen, the goose, was a great idea on the author's part. And I found myself very attached to the main character.

Bad parts: first off, there's gods and charms in the book. Second, even though Mosca and Clent are the good guys that are supposed to be defeating the bad guys, I couldn't really see a lot of difference between them and the villains. They lie cheat, and Mosca even burns down her uncle's mill--she hadn't meant to, but she has completely no repentance over it.

Overall, I would suggest you read it, but I would also suggest proceeding with caution.

Here is the amazon link for anyone who wants to buy it:





P.S. Once again, a scheduled post (my, life is full of surprises!). It was really written on September 15, 2009

Book Review: The Book of the King

Description taken from the back of the book.

The Book of the King, by Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry
Book 1 of the Wormling

'Nothing special is the best way to describe Owen Reeder--at least that's what he's been told all his life. When a stranger visits his father's bookstore, Owen's ordinary life spirals out of control and right into a world he didn't even know existed.

Owen believes the only gift he possesses is his ability to devour books, but he is about to be forced into a battle that will affect two worlds: his and the unknown world of the Lowlands.'

It was a very good book. It was sort of told in a storyteller fashion, and I liked it a lot. It was an allegory.

Definitely recommend it, and here's the Amazon ad if you want to buy it:



Izori

Book Review: 'The Final Storm'

Yes, I know I'm reviewing this out of order. I've read all the books in the Trilogy, but I think I returned the second one to the library already, and the first is up in my room (basically, I'm too lazy to walk out of the school-room, step over Tristan pushing Mathilda's pink doll stroller around, hoist myself over the gate that's up to keep Tristan from going up the stairs, run all the way up the staircase, walk down the hall, go into my room, and get the book off my over-flowing book shelf. Isn't my life horrible?), and the third was on the computer desk. How handy!

By the way, the following is off the back of the book.

'The Final Storm' by Wayne Thomas Batson
#3 of the Door Within Trilogy

'Paragor, the betrayer of King Eliam, unites with the Wyrm Lord and the Seven Sleepers to launch a full-scale assault on the kingdom of Alleble. While Alleble and it's allies prepare to face the coming onslaught, they cling to an ancient legend about three witnesses who have the power to bring victory. But is the legend true? And if it is, where are they? Time is running out as darkness spreads over the realm, and paragor unleashes the final storm.

IT WAS AWESOME!

There. Now to be more specific...all the characters were very well introduced. I really liked Sir Mallick and Sir Nock. I actually liked all of the characters! It was a really, really good allegory. Way better than mine. The romance in it is pure, and all around it was really good. Nothing negative.

Definately read it!

Izori

P.S. I think I'm going to stop calling Wallace, Mathilda, and Tristan by those names, and instead call them by their Elven names, which are (in the same order as above): Eristor, Luthien, and Galdor.

Book Review: Copper

Book description is taken from the book.

'Copper'
by Rebecca Lisle

On Copper's tenth birthday, her whole world changes. Aunt Ruby, who has raised her since she was a little girl, sends her off to the Marble Mountains, saying she'll be safe there. Safe? Safe from what?

And why do the Marble Mountains feel so familiar? How could living in an enormous spindle tree--with chairs that put her to sleep, spoons that shift to fit the form of her hand, and birds who are alarm clocks and fire lookouts--feel so comfortable?

Copper has never felt that she belonged as much as she does at Spindle House. The people she meets knew her mother and father, and they know who is after her and why. Copper is determined to learn all she can about her family--and maybe solve a mystery at the same time.

Awesome book! Copper is very innocent and loves the family that she has, and I thought that her talking teddy-dog was so cute! Definitely read it!

Izori

Book Review: Cinderellis and the Glass HIll

I got a ton of books out of the library yesterday--right in time for Saturday! You will probably be seeing a lot of book reviews. And don't worry, I'm going to try and write another chapter of my book soon.

Cinderellis and the Glass Hill
by Gail Carson Levine

'Cinderellis, a young boy in the kingdom of Biddle, is lonely. His two oldest brothers are best friends with each other, and they ignore him. But when three mysterious horses--one copper, one silver, and one gold--arrive on their farm, Ellis finds friends in them.

In the meanwhile, young Princess Marigold is also lonely. Her father, the king, is always off on quests, and her only companion is a kitten named Apricot.

Then the time comes for Princess Marigold to find a husband. So the king arranges a contest--whoever can climb a slick glass hill and retrieve three golden apples from the princess will marry her and be the next king of Biddle. Marigold desperately hopes that one certain young man makes it--namely, Ellis--but can he?'

It was a retelling of Cinderella with a surprising twist. I really liked it. Ellis is a really nice young gentleman, and treats his horses kindly. Marigold loves her father, even if he's always on quests, and is a wonderful young lady.

I don't think there were any bad parts!

Izori

Book Review: Painting Aalesund

Seeing as Tod Steward is my baseball coach, I got to read the pfd version of it. Aren't I lucky?

'Painting Aalesund'
by Tod Steward

'Growing up in Aalesund, Norway, Trond has always wondered why the city has no painted buildings. When he asks his grandfather, he tells him the tale of a king who re-built Aalesund after it had caught fire. He was planning to paint it beautifully, but he never got around to it.

After hearing the story, Trond decides to finish the job that the king started, and sets out to paint Aalesund. But he has a problem. Several problems, actually. Where is he going to get the money to paint the whole city? Who will help him?'

Before I go any further...

I loved the story!!

With that being said, let's make it a little more official.

Trond is very helpful, cheerful, and respectful to his grandfather and other people. The whole story was very innocent. Quite a welcome change from stuff like The Inheritance Series, or Clovermead. I really recommend reading it.

Drop by and visit Tod Steward's website.

Izori

P.S. I don't think it's quite available for buying yet, so I don't have the Amazon add on the sidebar. Will get it up once Painting Aalesund comes out.

Book Review: Inkspell

Couldn't come up with a description of my own, so I just copied the back of the book.

'Inkspell' by Cornelia Funke
Book 2 of the Inkworld Trilogy

A year has passed, but not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of 'Inkheart' the book whose characters came to life. For the fire-eater Dustfinger, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller to read him back, he abandons his apprentice Farid and plunges into the pages. Before long, Farid and Meggie are caught inside the book, too. But the story is much changed--and threatening to end tragically.

The book was exciting and engaging, but unfortunetely it did have some faults. Dustfinger's family is...not doing that great, and there's a few mushy scenes. And of course, Aunt Elinor (and a few others) swear and take the Lord's name in vain. However, Dustfinger is willing to sacrifice his life to save Farid, and Mo, Resa, and Meggie are a very close family.

Overall, it was a really good book. Very good to read if you're working on a story of your own, as Funke's writing style is very good. Also, once I read it I immediately added a few weaknesses to my bad guys in Sarea, just in case I ever have to fight them =)

Izori

Book Review: Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear

I copied from the back of the book. Very convenient :)

Clovermead: In the Shadow of the Bear
by David Randall

Twelve-year-old Clovermead Wickward's head is filled with stories of adventure. She dreams about the thrill of a sword fight and the excitement of heroic quests. The last thing Clovermead expects is for those dreams to come true. BUt it seems her father, Waxmelt, is not who she has believed him to be. As she becomes aware of strange new powers within her, Clovermead realizes that her father is harboring secrets that threaten to tear their small family apart.

At the same time, the good nuns of Lady Moon are waging war against the evil bear-priests of Lord Ursus. Suddenly Clovermead and Waxmelt find themselves thrust into the middle of an epic battle.

Clovermead comes to understand that the clash between good and evil is raging not only on the battlefield but alos within herself. Will she succumb to the temptation of evil, in the shadow of the bear, or will she fight for the salvation of good?

The book was good. Very engaging and exciting, and I think it's supposed to be an allegory. However, I wouldn't suggest it for younger readers. I consider myself a very mature 13 year old and I could have waited a year or two to read it. It's not like the romance was over the top; it was more like thematic elements. Clovermead finds this bear tooth that, when it gets dipped in fresh blood, it can summon bears. And then the tooth starts controlling her. And I didn't really like the 'surprising turn of events' at the end.

Overall, because it was so dark, I would suggest waiting to read it until you're maybe 14 or 15. But I'm still glad I read it. You can buy it from Amazon from a link on my sidebar.

Izori

Book Review: Princess Academy

People have suggested this book to me for a long time, and I just got it out of the library yesterday. (that is a wonderful emoticon!) Unfortunetely, Amazon changed something around and I can't figure out how to link to the book like the way I usually do (see my sidebar for book ads), so visit here if you would like to buy the book.

By the way, I'm sort of lazy today (like all Saturdays) so I'll just copy the review from the book.

"Princess Academy", by Shannon Hale

High on the slopes of Mount Eskel, Miri's family has lived forever, pounding a meager living from the stone of the mountain itself. Miri dreams of working alongside the others in the quarry, but she has never been allowed to work there--perhaps, she thinks, because she is so small.

Then word comes from the lowlands: the king's priests have divined that the prince's bride-to-be--the next princess--will come from Mount Eskel. The prince himself will travel to the village to choose his bride, but first all eligible girls must attend a makeshift academy to prepare for royal lowlander life.

At the school, Miri finds herself confronting both bitter competition among the girls and her own conflicted desires to be chosen. Yet when danger comes to the academy, it is Miri, named for a tiny mountain flower, who must find a way to save her classmates--and the chance for the future that each of them is eager to secure as her own.

I really liked the book. Shannon Hale is probably the author who's writing style is most like mine, and the romance in the book was also very good. Miri views all lowlanders as scum, but later she finds out that there are good lowlanders, too. The bad things: some kind of god is mentioned at the beginning, but he isn't mentioned very much except for there. Also, Miri and the other girls at the academy are very rebellious toward their teacher, Olana (they do, however have a reason. Olana is very cruel toward them, but I still mentioned it because I found that to be a problem)

Overall, it was a great book.

Izori

Book Review: Stoneheart

Like the first one of this series that I reviewed, I wasn't going to review it at first. But then I (obviously) changed my mind.

"Stoneheart" by Charlie Fletcher
Book 1 of the Stoneheart Trilogy

George is a fairly ordinary, twelve-year-old boy, living in London, until he breaks the head off a stone dragon outside the Natural History Museum accidentially on purpose. When he does that he awakes a formerly dormant power that has been out of effect for centuries--and the results are terrifying. A stone pterodactyl comes to life, peels off from the wall, and starts chasing George. Worse, no one can see what's going on, except for Edie, who is also trapped in this strange world because of her own strange powers.

George has disturbed the fragile truce between the warring statues of London, and he is forced into a race for survival where nothing is what it seems, and it's never clear who to trust. And this is just the beginning, as the statues of London awake...

The book was okay. Very exciting and it catches your attention. George, Edie, and the Gunner all make sacrifices in order to help each other out. However, the fact that Edie is a glint (a woman or girl who can see the past) is a little...un-Christian, and there are some English swear-words. Overall, it was fine.

Izori

Book Review: The Princess Test

Mom lifted the bann of fantasy! And right away, I got down to reading. Although I really don't feel like writing my own review, so I'll just base it on the back of the book (largely).

"The Princess Test" by Gail Carson Levine

Lost and hungry, wet and sneezing, Lorelei, the sensitive daughter of a blacksmith, stumbles upon the castle of the Queen and King of the kingdom of Biddle. She is admitted, and finds herself in the middle of the Princess Test. King Humphrey and Queen Hermione have devised this test to find a real princess for their son, Prince Nicholas. But the prince doesn't care about whether or not his princess has a tiny waist, or can detect a pea under twenty matresses, he just wants to marry the maiden he loves. He has already met Lorelei and is determined that she is the one. But she has some serious competition. Can she pass the test?

I really liked it. It lays importance on kindness and true love, and not on looks. And despite all her weaknesses and issues, Lorelei is loved a lot by her mom and dad. The only negative: it was so short! Only 90 pages long!

Izori

Book Review: The Dark Lord's Demise

I bought it at the HEAV convention, and I'm so glad I did!

"The Dark Lord's Demise" by John White
#6 of the Archives of Anthropos

Things are going badly for Wesley, Lisa, and Kurt Friesen. Their parents are on the other side of the world as diplomats, their aunt and uncle (who they live with) are heading for a divorce, and worse, they haven't been to the magical land of Anthropos for a year, one month, and four days. Then, all of a sudden, they are called to the land mentioned above, and accidentally bring their obnoxious neighbor, Betty, with them. And there, things don't go too well, either. Betty's presence causes unexpected problems, and the king of Anthropos has a baffling illness. Seeking a cure, the Friesens set out to the Island of Geburah to retrive healing honey on the orders of the outwardly benevolent queen--and discover things aren't as they seem. And the time is coming when they will have to confront Lord Lunacy for the last time.

It was soooooo good! You have to read it! It concludes the series, and usually I don't like those books because you have to say goodbye to the characters, but this was awesome. Very helpful to me, seeing as I'm writing an allegory, too!

Izori

Book Review: Dragon Rider

I'm back! I finished this while we were out of town. It was 523 pages, not including the bonus material at the back of the book.

"Dragon Rider" by Cornelia Funke

Firedrake, a young dragon living in a valley with the others of his kind, is shocked when he is informed that humans are preparing to come to Dragon Valley. The dragons must find a place to move to quickly--and the only safe place they know of is the Rim of Heaven, a dragon paradise. Some say that it's just a myth, but Firedrake believes that it's real and sets out with his brownie friend, Sorrel, to find it. At the beginning of their adventure they find an orphan boy named Ben, who joins them. The three continue their search with the help of a map made by a rat, but the dangers of their route isn't the only problem. Nettlebrand, a vicious creation of an alchemist who wants to destroy all dragons, is on their trail, also trying to find the Rim of Heaven. Unfortunetely for Ben, Firedrake, and Sorrel, he is closer to finding it then they thinkn.

Even though they have their differences, the three main characters help each other out and would care if one of the others got killed. One of my favorite characters is Lola Graytail, a daring aviator rat. The negative is there's a bit of Hinduism in part of it (the idea that when a person dies, he or she comes back in another form). Overall, it was a very good book.

Izori

Book Review: Ironhand

I wasn't quite sure how to review this book (I missed a lot of the explaining since I haven't read Book 1 yet) so I'll just resort to the much easier method of copying the description off the book. How convenient :D.

"Ironhand" by Charlie Fletcher
Book 2 of The Stoneheart Trilogy

Now that George Chapman has upset the fragile truce between the warring statues of London, he has been drawn into a war that will test his mettle. He and Edie, a glint who can see the past, may have succeeded in their quest to find the Stoneheart, but their journey is far from over.

Edie and the Gunner, a statue of a World War I soldier, have been captured by the walker, and it's up to George to save them. But first he must deal with the stree strange veins made of marble, bronze, and stone that have begun to grow out of his hand and curl around his wrist. Legend has it that unless he successfully completes three challenges, the veins will continue up his forearm and eventually pierce through his heart.

As George struggles to find the strength within to face the choice he has made, to take the Hard Way, he is determined to use his power for good--even as others wish to harness it for its great potential for evil.

The book was fine. The Gunner and George do a fairly decent job of protecting Edie (a girl) from all the stuff that's going on, and the friends help each other out and get along well. The negatives are that "Ironhand" has glints in it (women or girls who can see the past. They aren't exactly like fortune-tellers but they're close to it), and that sometimes the characters use English swear-words. Because of one sentence in it I actually stopped reading the book for a little bit, but if you read a little past that it explains the sentance, and I'm really glad I did start again. Some of the ending parts were really good and really surprising. Very suspensful. It's a little confusing at some parts. Overall, it's a pretty good book.

Izori

Book Review: The Thief Lord

I stayed up at 11 pm reading it, although that is partly due because we got home from a wedding shower at 10:30 and I couldn't read in the car because it was dark. So, on to it.

"The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke

Prosper and Bo, two Italian boys, have just been adopted by their aunt Esther after their parents died. Well, Bo has, but since Prosper's twelve and isn't cute and golden haired, he's sent off to boarding school and only allowed to see his younger brother once a month. Not very happy with that, Prosper runs away, taking Bo with him. In the streets of Venice, they are taken in by a group of children, whose leader is called Scipio, or the Thief Lord. The children make a living off of stealing, and then trading it off to a red-bearded man named Barbarossa. But when the gang (or Scipio, to be more precise) is given an assignment by a mysterious Conte to find an ordinary, wooden, wing by breaking into someone's house, the children learn that there's more to Scipio than they thought. And he's hidden several important facts from them.

It wasn't the best book I read, and it wasn't the best book the author has written, but it was okay. The children, Mosca, Riccio, Hornet (a girl), Prosper, and Bo are very loyal to each other, and Prosper and Hornet protect Bo from most of the stealing. They are also horrified when Scipio tells them that he got an old Nanny in trouble when he stole some jewels, and they encourage him to write to his parents and tell them what's going on when he turns up missing. The bad things are that even though some of the children don't like to steal and feel that it's sort of wrong, they do it anyway. Scipio is willing to abandon his parents (this may be excusable because his parents really are not very good, but still...), and the ending wasn't particularly good. Also there's a slight case of taking the Lord's name in vain. Overall, it was...okay. I liked "Inkheart" better.

Izori

Book Review: "Inkheart"

I wasn't even looking for this book when I saw it in the library, but I am soooo glad I did. And it's long, too! 534 pages!

"Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

When Meggie, a twelve year old girl who lives alone with her father, sees a stranger standing in the yard one rainy night, she doesn't know that it will change her life forever. The stranger, Dustfinger, is here to warn her dad, who she calls Mo, that a mysterious person named Capricorn is after him. And then Meggie finds out that there are a whole lot of things she doesn't know the reason of, like why does Mo never read aloud to her? And what does Capricorn want from Mo, anyway?

It was a really, really, good book. It was exciting and long (which is good for an exciting book; I read it until 11:09 PM and still wasn't finished). And very well written. The only negative is that Aunt Elinor has a habit of swearing. I highly suggest it.

Izori

Book Review: 'The Return of the King"

I actually began reading this a little while ago, but we're so busy with things (like schoolwork) that I sort of got stuck. Anyway, on to the main point of my post.

"The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Frodo and Sam are continuing their journey to the land of Mordor so Frodo can complete his mission: destroy the Ring in the fiery Mount Doom. But Gollum wants the Ring back, and he is willing to fight Frodo on the brink of a volcano for it.

Very good (all J.R.R Tolkien books are good). Eowyn and Faramir do kiss, but I didn't mind that so much as I do in other books. I really liked the sword-fights.

Izori

Book Review: The Field Guide

I actually read this book a while ago, but I wasn't going to do a review on it. Apparently, I changed my mind.

"The Field Guide" by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Book 1 of the Spiderwick Chronicles

When Jared, Mallory, and Simon Grace move into an old mansion belonging to Great-Aunt Lucinda, strange things start happening. Mallory is tied to her bed by her hair, Simon's pet mice go missing, and Jared is blamed for all of it. When he finds a secret room, a strange riddle, and a book on how to deal with faeries, Jared starts to suspect that their mansion is infested by an angry boggart. And he needs to appease it, otherswise bad things will continue to happen.

It was exiting, and has some neat illustrations (at least, the version that I read did). The Grace kids do show some love to each other, though they argue a lot. Unfortunetely, their arguments can get sort of bad, and they don't show a lot of respect toward their mom. Overall, the book was okay, so I'll put the link on the sidebar.

Izori