Three Tasty Tales
By
Hollie Parry and Cheryl Caldwell
How
many times have you heard a movie described as “a great
movie except for just one scene?” Does the fact that the
movie has an interesting plot, amazing graphics, or great
characters, justify the one harmful part? How about in the
books we read? We found the answer in doggie doo.
We
heard a story once about a family home evening where the
father was making milkshakes for his children. They had
all the best ingredients and everyone was excited to taste
the delicious treat. Wanting to use the milkshakes as a
teaching moment, the father told the children that he needed
just one more ingredient before he could pour the drink
into glasses for the family to taste. He went to the backyard
and retrieved a small doggie doo left earlier by the family
pet. The father plopped the doggie doo into the blender
and pushed the on-button.
Of
course, the children were instantly grossed-out by what
had just happened to their family home evening treat and
protested loudly to their father. The father offered glasses
of milkshake to his children, but obviously, there were
no takers.
The
lesson learned that night was that even if something has
a lot of good parts and is overall wonderful, one small
doggie doo can ruin the whole thing and make it terrible.
We
had a great, interesting story to recommend to our readers
this month. The bookstore employees raved about how popular
it was and the reviews stated that it was “better than Harry
Potter”. When we started to read it, we were intrigued by
the story. It was full of action, adventure, mystery, and
humor. The main characters were teens whose lives matched
up pretty close to many teens that we know. We thought we
had found a perfect recommendation.
Then,
the doggie doo showed up in the form of just a few words
of mild profanity scattered throughout the story. We thought
we might recommend the story anyway because it was such
a great find. Then we remembered the milkshake story and
decided that great story or not, even a little doggie doo
is still doggie doo, even when it comes in the form of words
we hear every day.
Here
are three tasty tales that we thought would make a delicious
reader’s milkshake, minus the doggie doo.
Artemis
Fowl:The Arctic Incident
By Eoin Colfer
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to buy
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Artemis
Fowl is a criminal mastermind at the age of 13. His father
has been missing for two years, and although the man is
presumed dead, Artemis believes that his father is still
alive. He gets an email message claiming that his father
is being held for ransom of five million dollars. On the
way home from boarding school, Artemis and his bodyguard,
Butler, are intercepted by Captain Holly Smart an officer
in the underground magical creature squad called LEPrechaun.
Smart
suspects Artemis as the “Mud Mad” (human) who is selling
batteries to the goblins. These batteries are used to power
illegal weapons that are being used against the underground
world. Although Artemis isn’t the human behind the evil
plot, it will take all of the combined forces of Artemis,
Butler, and Captain Smart to unmask the real mastermind.
Bound by a common need, the once enemies fight the forces
of evil to save the fairy-world and Artemis’s father.
While
we have not yet read the first book in the Artemis series,
we found this second book to be an entertaining and quick-witted
read. Combined with bits of science fiction, this fantasy
book is a top pick.
Arthur
and the Minimoys
By Luc Besson
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to buy
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Arthur’s
grandfather had been mysteriously missing for four years.
Both Arthur and his grandmother still hope that one day
he will return with a great explanation as to why he disappeared.
Grandpa’s return was never needed so much as when a nasty
enemy forecloses on their home and demands that either they
pay up or lose their home within 72 hours. Arthur looks
in desperation for a clue from his grandfather and ends
up stumbling on the biggest mystery of all, the land of
the Minimoys.
Determined
to find his grandfather and the famed missing family jewels,
Arthur journeys to the Minimoys and meets his two companion
travelers, Princess Selenia, and her brother, Beta. Together,
they journey towards the city of Necropolis in hopes of
defeating the archenemy of the Minimoys, find Arthur’s grandfather,
and retrieve the family jewels.
This
book is full of adventure and keeps the reader’s attention.
Some of the plot resembles other familiar stories, but takes
a path of its own towards the end. If you like fantasy and
adventure, mixed in with a little real life, you should
check out Arthur and the Minimoys.
A
Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
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to buy
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Meg
and her brother Charles Wallace are unusual children. They
both possess amazing abilities that not only set them off
apart from other children, but at times earn them unwarranted
teasing and trouble from their peers. If their school life
isn’t hard enough, their father has also been missing for
2 years, with no clues as to why he has disappeared.
Meg
meets three strange friends of her brother’s, who appear
to be witches, but turn out to be warriors against a great
evil mind that is holding her father captive. Side by side
with Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin, Meg is “wrinkled”
into another world where the ultimate quest is to save her
father and defeat the powerful evil being. It is only with
great love that Meg even stands a chance in fulfilling her
quest.
This
book is a great depiction of what life may be like if the
gift of Agency was taken away. A Wrinkle in Time
is a book, which may appeal to both readers of fantasy
and readers of science fiction.
