Dawn

I have loved Bean's story from the start, and I was thrilled when Ender's Shadow started the Shadow series. I had felt left hanging for years at the end of Shadow of the Giant, when Bean and three of the kids took off for deep space. Petra and Peter got some wrap up but not Bean.

Here it is. Other reviewers have complained about the three kids comunication style. As a mother of three I felt that Mr. Card captured real sibling "stuff" that was authentic and believable. Of course it is anoying to listen to at times. That was part of the point.

With the shorter format Mr. Card used for this story there was not as much oportunity to be in Bean's head as he dealt with his briliant trio, but his love for them still came through loud and clear. It was absolutely clear the lengths he was willing to put himself through to stay alive long enough to know his kids would be okay. Yes, I was a sobbing mess at the end. I think that just demonstrates how well writen a story it was.

Dak and Darvi are fun. The spiritual growth they experience in dealing with eachother as they learn to live their lives in a more Christ-centered way in insightful and pure Wick. The characters surounding them also make the story's magic more real.

A fun inspiring read that will make you think about those around you and how you interact with them.

I really enjoy this series. The narator is a little suprising at first, because male narators seldom get romance gigs. I think Sala did just fine. Liberty is a suprising woman in a suprising role for the time and place of the story. How everyone in her life responds to her acting in that role is pivital to her grouth in the story, and part of Lori Wick's magic.
Enjoy, and read on in book 2 A Texas Sky.

This is a heartwarming story that starts in a London ballroom and ends in a cabin on a Montana Teritory homestead outside a middle-of-nowhere town. It has historical elements that really make this one unique, with constant quotes from Shakespere(sp), glamorization of Daniel Boon and Davey Crocket, "Mountain Men", and the eronious belief that if something has been published in a book it has to be true.

Another great element about this book is the low smut level. The main characters of the story are maried before they even meet on the pages, though they do not know eachother at all, and there is no actual sex until almost half way through the very large book. In an industry that seems to think that a good romance has to have sex by page 90, this is beyond refreshing.

This book has better developed suporting characters than many of Garwood's other books. All of them are well rounded, completely dynamic, and non-2dimentional.

The narator does a good job of getting the character tones right too.

I had this book almost as soon as it was available for download. I have now listened to it twice and it has not been out quite two days yet.

I love the group dynamics in this one. Usually there is only three people to keep track of. This time we get to experience the tension and drama of combining the two teams from the first two books. Jason and Percy are fun to watch too. Who is leading this group anyway?

And then the ending!!! And I have to wait another year? That is part of what makes Mr. Riordan such an amazing writer. He leaves my family with a desperate thirst for the next instalment in the adventure.

I love these characters for my kids because every one of them makes mistakes, has problems, has insecurities, and does the right thing anyway.

I have been a big fan of Heinlein's Juveniles for many years. I first read "Space Cadet," "Tunnel In The Sky," "Have Space Suite, Will Travel" and "Farmer in the Sky" in the 80's when I was JH and HS age. It was only five or so years ago that I learned that all these books were part of Heinlein's Jumeniles and that there were more of them. Well! I had to read them!

The Rolling Stones is now by far my favorite of these books, and yes I have read all the others. Who can not relate to twin boys who are far too smart for their own good and ready and able to cause mayhem at any turn? Or the outspoken, colorful and often controversial resident grandma? Or the passive-resistant true guiding force of the family in a mother that mostly just says "yes, dear?" Or the big, anoying sister? Or the pain in the neck, demanding little brother? And lets not forget the Man of the family.

It does not matter how many times I read this book, I smile and laugh all the way through.

You even get introduced to a martian creature called a "flat cat" that has an alarming similarity to the Star Trek universe "Tribble." Having been published in 1952, I think I can figure out who had THAT idea first....

Heinlein pokes fun at seriels, literary conventions and cheats, and invokes the classics enough to make an inquisitive reader want to research literary references. The character names even lead to some of that. So...

Full Cast Audio does the story up well, and cut them some slack about the music. It is corny and dated, but the story is corny (deliberately) and dated too. I always have to explain to the other readers I introduce to this just what a slide-rule is because one has not been needed in my lifetime. It does not detract from a very fun, witty, independance inspiring story.

Just think what Hazle's cough drop despencer would cause in our world today!

You'll just have to read it to know what I'm talking about.

I first read this book when I was in seventh grade. I remeber walking through the halls of my school with the book and being teased for being a "Space Cadet" for reading a book titled "Space Cadet." It did not matter. I still loved the story.

Now, I know lots more about life the universe and everything, and I still love this book! Heinlein's juveniles are anything but jubenile. Heinlein never talked down to his reader. His science is all wrong in some cases, and of course it is dated, but those are not the key to great science fiction writing. It is the Story.

This one presents a 'coming of age' story based in a peace-keeping force that has sucessfully prevented war for a century. It is based in an institution with traditions of sacrifice, service and constant self improvement. It ends with the message that doing your best should not be something special. It should be what you do all the time because that is who you are. Not a bad message for any generation.

Remember that this book was published in 1949, and it becomes even more trail-blazing. These books set the path for modern Science Fiction writers.

This second book in the Heros of Olympus series tells the witty, exciting and flamboyant continuing story of Percy Jackson, the primary character in the five book Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This book brings back some characters from that origional series and introduces new ones from Jason Grace's Roman world breifly introduced in The Lost Hero, book one of this series.

This is a great read. It is fast paced, exciting and funny enough to entertain my entire family, which is very hard for a book to do. If a three girls, 9, 11 and 13 can all agree that they want to read this book at the same time, it says a great deal to their mom about the skills of the author. Hey, I enjoy these books too.

They even learn about Greek and Roman mythology this way too. I see Rick Riordan's books as gateway books that spark my kids interest in other, more esoteric topics. The two older girls have checked out books at the library about the above mentioned mythology because of their budding interest.

Check it out. You will not be disapointed.

I love this series for the same reasons mentioned by many other reviewers. I have re-read them several times. Unfortunatly, the performance on this series is, in a word, pedantic. I am sure that there are people who love Mr. Bevine's reading, and I begrudge no-one a job. I just have a hard time listening to him. I am dyslexic, and I listen to audiobooks so I can get through them faster than reading them on my own, but this series I prefer to read.

To quote Bobby Pendragon, "I love that guy." That guy being Spader. I love his energy, I love his zest for life, and I love his flaws, because we all have them.

This second book in the Pendragon series sets the stage for events and technology found in just about every book that follows. The relationship between Bobby and Spader is key to the series, and the reason it is rocky is just as key. It is an action packed, fun underwater romp until Saint Dane manages to poison the planet's food suply, putting Cloral civilization in the ballance. All that stands between the forces of evil and the teritories salvation is Bobby, Spader, Uncle Press and the fabled city of Farr.

I think is says a great deal about Bobby that he adopted Spader's patented phrase,

It is that way it was meant to be.

"Hobey-ho."

Bobby's adventures continue with his first visit to a non-human society, where humans are called Gars and are considered a lower life form. While he is dealing with the ultimate culture shock and trying to stay alive, Mark and Courtney find that in order to do what they feel is the right thing they have to break some rules. They find out the hard way that you don't get to choose the consequences when you break rules, and sometimes others pay for your choices.

This series is amazing, and fun. I especially love this book because I am a parent, and my kids love this series. When they get to this book there are so many life lessons that can be learned from these words. How often do we set out to do something good, for all the best reasons, and along the way make choices the end up haveing unexpected and unintended consequences? I love how real the characters are, and how true to themselves they stay. Mr. MacHale has created each of them with unique motivations and drives, and even thought the series covers a significant age range for all of them, they are believable and embracable.

Mr. Dufris' performance in these books is magical. He brings the story to life. It is not just someone reading words from a page. It is a tallented voice actor making each individual unique, identifiable, and exciting. Some reviewers have complained about his performance. I thoroughly disagree. His reading is part of what makes it so fun to listen to these stories over and over again.

Thank you both for hours and hours of uplifting family entertainment.