The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer

This book is subtitled "a Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century", and that's at the very least what it is. Can you call a 292 page book a handbook? There is A LOT of detail about the 1300s. Ian Mortimer covers such topics as: landscape, people, what to wear, where to stay, what to eat and drink, hygiene and what to do.

General rating: 3 of 4. Slow in parts, but brilliantly full of information.

1. Is it plausible? Absolutely. The most outstanding thing about this book is how well researched it is. I particularly like the illustrative quotations from books written during the 14th century. Of course, all history is part fiction (because no one knows what really happened in the past, right?), but Ian Mortimer's "best guesses" don't detract at all from this book's general plausibility.

2. Is it thought provoking? Yes. Of course, much of what I thought about was along these lines: "I am SO glad I am alive now, rather than 700 years ago!". But Mortimer shares his philosophy of history along with the many historical details he has researched. He also shares quotes from 14th century literature that are beautiful and thought provoking.

3. Is it engaging? Ah, here we have a bit of a problem. About half of this book is pretty interesting, but the other half just d-r-a-g-s! It took me over a month to finish because I kept putting it down and picking it up. I decided to just quit reading it and then I decided to keep on reading it. Finally I got to some chapters that I thought were really interesting and they carried me through the book, with a little stuttering through the chapter on "The Law", which was long and detailed. Actually, this whole book is extremely detailed, and not all details will interest every reader. I LOVED the section on 14th century literature especially (in the "what to do" chapter). I guess the best way to read the book is to read the sections that you find interesting and skip the ones you don't.

4. Is it uplifting? I found it moderately uplifting. For one thing, finishing with the "what to do" section leaves the reader with the happiest impressions of the 1300s. Chaucer, Langland, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight"--I love that stuff. I also have to mention my happiness just at being alive in the 21st century. That's an uplifting thought right? There are some bad things about life in the USA in 2010, but it sure beats living in England in 1330!!

Language: none
Sex: none

My recommendation: A very very interesting read. Feel free to skip parts you find uninteresting, but do hang on--there's a lot of good stuff here. And Ian Mortimer really knows Medieval England. He also shares his philosophy of history which is worth thinking about. A good book--well worth having on your shelves!

By Royal Command by Charlie Higson

This review is by Isaiah, age 12

This is one of a series about James Bond when he was young. In this book James has just come back from a terrifying trip to Mexico and he goes back to school. The school is taking a trip to the Austrian Alps to ski. Many terrifying things happen, but when James returns to school, he falls onto a mysterious and dangerous plot. Can he stop it in time? And if he does, what will happen?

General Rating: 2.5 out of 4, but I think it really deserves at least a 3.5 because I liked it so much.

1. Is it plausible? No. For one thing, James Bond doesn't really exist. And there can't be that many double and triple and quadruple agents, can there? And a lot of things were incredible coincidences.

2. Is it thought provoking? Yes. I thought, is it possible to do what he did on the mountain? Is it possible that someone could survive that bad of a fire? Hm...

3. Is it engaging? Quite. This is the best thing about the Young James Bond books--they are very nerve-racking and gripping.

4. Is it uplifting? Kind of, I guess. A good guy always dies in the end and that's not very uplifting.

Language: There is some mild swearing.
Sex: none

My recommendation: For ages 12 and up. It was a very good book. I liked it a lot. I liked the previous book, "Hurricane Gold"--that was a very good book too. I hope there's more coming in the series. I've read all 5 so far. They all have an even amount of good people dying and bad people dying AND plenty of action and suspense.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

This review is by Allegra, age 15

This book is a retelling of the fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers.

General rating: 3.5 out of 4--a really good book.

1. Is it plausible? It's plausible within the time period and the fantasy genre.

2. Is it thought provoking? Not extremely, but it does give some pause here and there. For example, it did make me wonder about the duties of a goose girl. What did she really do and what was the importance of it?

3. Is it engaging? Very engaging. It's very interesting; there are lots of twists and turns that keep you occupied.

4. Is it uplifting? Yes, very uplifting. It has a happy ending--the good ended happily and the bad ended unhappily.

Language: none that I can remember
Sex: There are romance parts, but that's it.

My recommendation: Best read by ages 12 and up. It looks like a long book, daunting at first, but once you start reading it, it is actually very good. Shannon Hale is a good author; she writes well and her books are good. The Goose Girl really lives up to the expectations I had.

Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis

This review is by Isaiah, age 12

This book is a sequel to "The Breadwinner". It is about Parvana as she makes her journey to find her mother. Her father has died and it is a hard journey. She finds some friends. Will she make it to her mother?

General rating: 2 out of 4. It was very engaging, but very depressing.

1. Is it plausible? Yes

2. Is it thought provoking? No, it doesn't make me think about anything other than the book. The book is kind of odd. There are a lot of strange things happening.

3. Is it engaging? It is very engaging. You want to know what happens next.

4. Is it uplifting? No. A lot of people die, so it isn't uplifting at all.

Language: none
Sex: none

My recommendation: Best for ages 9 and up. The book was okay. It had enjoyable characters, I guess. It had a very strange storyline. I liked the first one better. There is one book left in this series, though, and I will be reading it too. It's called "Mud City". As far as this book goes, I didn't really like it. Not only is it a very strange story, but a lot of the main characters die, which I just didn't like. Just stick with the first book.

Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey

This book, published in 1948, is the first of Josephine Tey's mysteries. It isn't a typical mystery, as the body only appears in the last fraction of the book. The ending is wonderfully ambiguous.

General rating: 3 of 4. It cannot be considered uplifting (can any mystery?), but it's a great book.

1. Is it plausible? Yes. Josephine Tey herself attended a girls school just such as the one she writes about in this book. And her characters in this book are very well developed, very real.

2. Is it thought provoking? Unlike most mysteries, this one is indeed thought provoking. The title, "Miss Pym Disposes" is based on the saying "Man proposes; God disposes" and the book discusses "playing God", among many other things. It is the kind of book, too, that stays in the mind for a long time after reading--one of my personal indicators of a gifted author, one who writes a memorable book.

3. Is it engaging? Yes, it is engaging. I couldn't describe it as "gripping" (except maybe towards the end), but it is very pleasantly engaging.

4. Is it uplifting? Well, it's not depressing, but it's definitely not uplifting. The ambiguous ending makes this book a bit unsettling at the end, in fact.

Language: none
Sex: none

My recommendation: I am a great fan of "vintage" mysteries (I like "vintage" romances too). I wax nostalgic of a time in fiction where the writer had to depend on actual good writing and witty dialogue, rather than sensational details and smutty histories, to seduce the reader. Josephine Tey (and Dorothy Sayers too, as a matter of fact), is this kind of writer--strong on clear characterization, conversation, subtleties, ideas, emotion and setting. I love being drawn into a book on the basis of thought rather than sensation. I value an author who, with a light hand, invites the reader into thought and emotion, and who doesn't rely on shoving salacious situations down the reader's throat in order to elicit emotion. This is one of those books that invites rather than abducts. It adds to my collection of thoughtful, interesting, re-readable books. I highly recommend it.

Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, Ph.D.

This book is subtitled "Why We Eat More Than We Think". It's an entertaining report of a variety of studies done by Dr. Wansink on how Americans eat. After every chapter, Dr Wansink has a series of ideas on how to apply each principle he illustrates with his studies. His final chapter is full of suggestions for painless weight loss.

General rating: 4 out of 4. I really liked this book. Interesting AND useful!

1. Is it plausible? YES

2. Is it thought provoking? YES

3. Is it engaging? Surprisingly, YES.

4. Is it uplifting? Yes, it promises a relatively easy approach to long-term weight loss. That's uplifting!

Language: none
Sex: none

My recommendation: This joins my growing collection of common-sense weight loss ideas. It's an easy book to read--very engaging, well organized, clearly written and not very long. The ideas are easily applied and make sense. I love the idea of a series of small changes making a big difference in the long run. This is a book worth reading.

Jane's Fame by Claire Harman

This book summarizes the rise of Jane Austen's and her works from obscurity to fame.

General rating: 1 out of 4--Well researched, but not engaging.

1. Is it plausible? Yes, mostly. I have problems with any attempt at a biography of Jane Austen; since so little is known about her, every biography must be part fiction, as of course this one is as well.

2. Is it thought provoking? No so's you'd notice.

3. Is it engaging? I was engaged for the first few chapters, then slogging through the following chapters until I finally allowed myself to quit reading a bit more than halfway through the book. NO, I did not find this book engaging.

4. Is it uplifting? Um, not really. For one thing, I find it depressing that Jane Austen 1: died young and 2: left very little record of herself behind.

Language: none
Sex: none

My recommendation: Unless you are truly a hard core Jane Austen groupie, you can safely skip this book. I really like everything Jane Austen's written and I like many of the Austen spin-offs (with a few very notable exceptions). I also like many of the Austen-based movies. So I consider myself a Jane Austen fan. However, the biography section of this book contained a lot of guesswork and supposition on the part of the author and, of course, could offer no information apart from that which I already know about Jane's life (because there is hardly any info out there and what IS out there can be summarized into about 10 pages or less!). And the chronicle of Jane Austen's fame is just not interesting enough for a book, really. At least that's my opinion.