Hush, Hush

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick Not sure what I was expecting with this book, but it was hilarious. Patch was really well written, I loved his sarcasm and his harassment of Nora was very well written. Nora is a very uptight high schooler with a slightly insane best friend who has been forced to sit next to Patch in biology. He drives her nuts because she can't get him to tell her anything about him. She starts seeing things and gets the feeling that someone is trying to kill her. She has great interactions with the police (as in the police think she's completely nuts). I thoroughly recommend this book, especially for those who like darker books but are sick of vampires.

Dragonsong

This book is also set in Pern, running about the same time as the Dragonrider series. This book focuses on the Harper part of Pern. Instead of sending kids to school everyday to learn to read, do math, etc., they get sent to the Hold Harper who teaches them the teaching songs which teach them about the history of Pern and their duties to the Weyr and their Lord Holder.
Menolly is the youngest daughter of many. Her father is the Lord Holder at Half-Circle Sea Hold and is a very strict man with no sense of humor and very little tolerance for change. Menolly is probably the most talented musician in Pern, but because she's a girl she is considered a disgrace. After getting beaten for playing part of a song that she had written herself and cutting her hand open and handicaping herself, she runs away from the safety of the Hold and lives in the wilderness for a couple of months. While she's out there she Impresses nine fire lizards, which are basically small lizards. Kind of like the difference between a tiger and a house cat. She is eventually found by a dragonrider and sent to the Weyr and finally gets to meet the Masterharper of Pern. He convinces her to go to the Harper Hall and we are left wondering what next? I love these books and I need to go find the second of the series, Dragonsinger.

Howl's Moving Castle

Holy crap I love this book! As much as I love Hayao Miyazaki's films, this book is so much better. It just cracks me up. Sophie gets turned into a 90 year old woman by the Witch of the Waste (bad guy) so instead of freaking out she packs a bag and wanders out into the wild and runs into Howl's moving castle. She bullies her way in, declares herself the cleaning lady and chaos ensues. It's a very entertaining book and a relatively quick read.

Lost Years of Merlin

This is the first in T.A. Barron's Merlin series. It's about Merlin's childhood. He washes up on the shore of Wales when he's about 8 (I think) with a lady who claims to be his mother, magical powers, and no memory of his childhood. After recovering from a horrible accident he goes to find his home and his memories. Eventually he recovers his memories, loses a great friend and destroys a spinning castle. I'm excited to read the other books. Barron does a good job with fantasy and seems to have a fascination with Merlin. He also wrote the Merlin Effect and the Great Tree of Avalon.

Brisingr

These books make a wonderful series. Christopher Paolini does a great job weaving the three books together. Read them in order if possible, otherwise you will end up really confused. There isn't nearly as much self-pity in this one, which is a definite plus. The Varden (human rebels) and the elves are finally going to war, and the underlying politics behind everything isn't overwhelming but it is interesting to watch unfold. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys fantasy books.

Eragon

The movie made me forget what a good book this was. I think the movie would have been great if it weren't for John Malcovich's acting in it. It was very disappointing. I love the way this book is written. It has so many parts to it that I didn't remember. I think that Brom is my favorite character. This book is about a boy that finds a stone that turns out to be one of the 3 last dragon eggs in the world. It hatches into a dragon called Saphira. It's Eragon's job to raise the dragon and keep it safe from the empire. I really like this book and am excited to read Eldest and Brisingr.

Melting Stones

This book is about Evvy and Rosethorn from the Circle of Magic series. After Briar, Daja, Tris and Sandry go to visit Sandry's relatives, Rosethorn and Evvy go to the Battle Islands (which used to be infested with pirates!) to investigate the dying trees. Turns out the island they are on is a valcano and it's going to explode and kill them all. Go figure. I really like this book, it's much better than I though it would be. The characters are realistic and entertaining. It would help if you read the other books in the series first. This is the tenth in the series.

Tamora Pierce

In order to explain Melting Stones, the book I just read, I have to explain the Tamora Pierce books. There's two different universes, the Tortall universe, and the Magic Circle universe. The magic circle universe is about 4 kids that have ambient magic. Tris is a weather mage, Briar is a plant mage, Daja is a metal mage and Sandry is a weaving mage. they can't control their magic, so they're sent to the Winding Circle Temple where they live with Lark and Rosethorn. After they become fully trained mages (as teenagers) they each go on seperate journeys with their main teacher, except for Sandry who gets stuck at home. Briar goes with Rosethorn to Yanjing where they discover Evvy, who is a stone mage. They take her with them and start training her to be a mage.