Aleksander Ferdinand is the son of the Arch-Duke of Austro-Hungary whose assassination was the spark that started the Great War (World War I). But, Alek's Great War is a battle between the Clankers, who build steam-driven war machines, and the Darwinists, who develop fighting and flying animals never seen before, by controlling their lifethreads. Alek must go into hiding in an abandoned castle so that the Germans will not find him and stop him from ending the war, as his pacifist father would have done. Soon after his arrival, he meets Deryn, an Irish commoner and a girl who is pretending to be a boy so that she can fly in the Leviathan. The Leviathan is a mix of the lifethreads of a whale and a hundred other species to produce the flying animal that inspired the Clankers to devise their zeppelins. These unlikely friends will combat the Clankers and their allies, in the hope of bringing a peaceful end to the war.

Similar books: Airman by Eoin Colfer

Awards nominated: Rebecca Caudill Award Nominee 2012

Reviewed by: vverscaj

Date read: 5/19/2011

ISBN-13: 9781416987062

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Following Rachel's father's disappearance during the war, her mother has been working as a live-in domestic for Ms. Moore, an orchid grower. As Rachel grows older, her mother starts to share stories about life before the National Border Defense System and how the people's rights were lost when the United States went to war with Korusal. Just a few days after the war started, the US created THE LINE, an invisible power source that separated the Unified States from what they now call Away. It is only when Rachel receives a mysterious message from beyond the border that she begins to learn about her country's true history and the parts her parents played during the War.

Reviewed by: bklyczek

Date read: 12/22/2010

ISBN-10: 0803734662

ISBN-13: 9780803734661

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Aliens can be walking among us every day, even now! In this book they are. Klatu, Lek and Ploo, three siblings from the planet Loogl, wander the desert toward Las Vegas from their wrecked spaceship. They were told to look for Jo Jo, who is the expert who can repair their ship. When they arrive in Las Vegas, they are surprised to find a pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, and the Empire State building, which they were certain belonged in other cities. To blend in, they have morphed into a boy, a girl and an old man, modeled from pictures in very old books. To stay at a hotel, they must convince the manager that they are big bettors. Soon, they run afoul of the casino boss, who is sure they have been cheating to win at roulette, when they only want to rid themselves of the money they won. Will they find Jo Jo and fix their ship before they are caught?

Similar authors: Daniel Pinkwater

Reviewed by: vverscaj

Date read: 11/5/2010

ISBN-10: 037593345X

ISBN-13: 9780375933455

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In this first installment of the Franny K. Stein series, Franny K. Stein is a mad scientist. She loves bats, tarantulas, snakes, and has a doll named Chompolina that she's modified with steel teeth to chomp the heads off other dolls. When she starts at a new school, the kids don't know what to make of her. They've never seen anyone jump rope with a snake before. They keep their distance, and Franny is lonely. When she decides to experiment to learn how to fit in with the other kids, it seems to be going pretty well until a monster emerges from the trash can. Can Franny save the day and keep her new friends? This funny read is a great story, full of pictures.

Similar books: Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

Awards won: Gryphon Honor Book, 2004

Reviewed by: emc

Date read: 4/16/2010

ISBN-10: 0689862911

ISBN-13: 9780689862915

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The year is 2011, and an asteroid is on a collision course with the Earth. Since there is no way to change the asteroid's path, NASA decides to take an old space shuttle, The Mayflower, out of mothballs, and try to refit, it to allow eighty humans to escape Earth. NASA's hope is to place each human into a hibernation module until the time the scientists deem Earth may be safe to recolonize. Once The Mayflower is outfitted, NASA has the hardest decision to make of all- who should they choose to save? Panic quickly changes all their best laid plans, when a story about the upcoming destruction of the Earth is leaked to CNN. Within a day of the story being leaked, a small chip of the asteroid hits San Francisco, destroying the city in its entirety. Follow Jobs, a 14-year-old techie, his rollers skating best friend, Mo'Steel 2-Face, a girl with half of her face disfigured by a fire, and the first black, female President's arrogant son, as they lead the 'Choosen Ones' into life after Earth. The Mayflower Project is the first in the Remnants series, depicting what life could be if the human race was forced off our home planet into the unknown.

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 3/27/2009

ISBN-10: 0590879979

ISBN-13: 9780590879972

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