Book Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Book Review of The Giver - Lois Lowry


Other Worlds' Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

This is the 1994 Newberry Award winner. It is about Jonas, who lives in the future, at a time when everyone and everything is the same. Children are given the same toys, people are assigned jobs based on their aptitudes, and the elderly are cared for until they reach a certain age, and then they are released. It is the perfect society.

....or so it seems. Jonas's twelfth birthday is coming up soon, and that is the birthday where children are assigned to and start training for the jobs they will do as an adult. At the Ceremony of Twelves, Jonas is assigned a special job in the community, which shatters the perception he's had of his community forever, as he discovers the secrets that lay behind it.

I really quite enjoyed this book. The best way I can think to describe it is to say that it's like a Fahrenheit 451 for younger readers. It addresses many of the same themes and thoughts. I felt like it was extremely well written, and I was sucked in as soon as I had gotten a few pages into it.

I would recommend this book to adults and children alike. I think that it raises interesting points that will make you think, and will also perhaps help you appreciate the world we live in know. A great read!

Book Review: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Book Review of The Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan
Other Worlds' Rating: 9 of 10 Stars
This book was immensely enjoyable. The way in which Rick Riordan manages to make his books so humorous, and yet so engaging, is amazing to me. This book was great from the first chapter, and kept me wanting to read and read and read. The plot was good - it moved at a good pace, there was lots of excitement, and it was interesting enough that it was hard to find a good stopping point in the book because I just wanted to keep reading. Just by itself, the plot was good enough that I would recommend this book.
However, the part that really makes this book so fun and enjoyable is that the awesome plot is interspersed with lots of humor, and it works. I've read many books that attempted to have both a serious, good plot, and be funny at the same time, but I've never found an author that pulls it off quite as well as Rick Riordan. 
Basically, if you haven't read this series, you need to start it immediately. You'll be pulled along by the plot, and you'll find yourself laughing at the same time.

Book Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson

Book Review of Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

Other Worlds' Rating: 9 of 10 stars

Mistborn is a unique new fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson. It is focused around the character Vin, a street rat who has special powers of influence she calls "luck". She is found by the Mistborn Kelsier and his crew, and her life will never be the same. This book is centered around an inventive type of magic system called Allomancy, in which users burn metals ingested inside of them to use their magical abilities. It sounded a little strange to me at first, but Sanderson pulls it off remarkably well.

This book is definitely a 9 of 10. The characterization is great, the plot is riveting, and the mysteries of Allomancy will keep you thinking. It is rare that I find a book that I am so absorbed in. I highly recommend this book as a must read to any lover of fantasy. Sanderson's amazing tale-telling ability kept me reading and wanting more.

Seriously, read this book. And buy the sequel while you're at it, because you'll only want more when you're done.

Book Review: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson

Book Review of Elantris - Brandon Sanderson


Other Worlds' Rating : 9 out of 10 stars

First off, I'll just start by saying this book is great. One of my all time favorites. After reading it, I went searching for anything and everything by Brandon, only to find that this was his only published work. Luckily for people discovering his work now, he's written many more books, including finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.


Elantris is a city where Gods live. These are people that heal quickly, are seemingly immortal, and have greater insight, speed, and strength than normal people. And they can use magic. In fact, the residents of Elantris make an easy living as people come to them to get magical healings, etc. And the best part is, that anyone can become one of these Gods. You just have to be taken by the Shaod, which selects people, seemingly at random. You are taken by the Shaod, and then you're a God for all eternity. Good deal, right?


Well, there's one problem - as the prologue of the book states, "Eternity ended ten years ago."


The book begins ten years after Elantris myteriously fell, leaving its once glorious inhabitants as horrific, darkened creatures, unable to perform the simplest of magics that had been available to them only ten years ago.


This book is great. Seriously. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. It is set in a fantasy setting, but is full of mystery, political intrigue, and great, three-dimensional characters. Brandon Sanderson will keep you on the edge of your seat (or your bed, or wherever else you read) with this one.


I mean - the first line of the book states that the main character has been "damned for all eternity". From page one, Elantris keeps you wanting more. Once again, I loved this book. Reading it is a refreshingly new fantasy experience, and you certainly won't regret it.