Fablehaven #4 Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

Fablehaven #4 Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull

(Summary taken from the back of the book) "Two hidden artifacts have been found. More preserves face destruction as the Society of the Evening Star relentlessly pursues new talismans. Desperate to stop them, Kendra discovers the location of the key to a vault housing one of the artifacts in Patton's Journal of Secrets. In order to retrieve the key, the Knights of the Dawn must enter a death trap--a dragon sanctuary called Wyrmroost. Will anyone who enters the sanctuary make it out alive? Or have Kendra and Seth finally gotten in too deep?"

Brandon Mull keeps getting better. His writing is advancing and so are his twists and turns. I am hooked. This book has been my favorite (did I say that about the last one?) so far. Seth drives me crazy. Seriously. I am way too much like Kendra...a rule follower....I go crazy every time Seth moves or speaks. Ahhhhh. But I digress. I really liked this book. It actually surprised me a couple of times. I did not predict the twist at the end. There is action and romance and suspense. There are dragons and giants and all sorts of other magical creatures. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you have read the previous three and enjoyed them. Now my only problem is finding a copy of #5 to read!

Rating: PG-PG 13 (Dark, some gruesome and gory parts, and there is a death of a main character)

Recommendation: I will still allow my third grader to read this book, but it is a little more gory and dark than the previous books. There are some scary parts and some gruesome parts as well. One of the main characters dies, which I didn't like. I guess there was a death in the previous book as well, but it wasn't a character you felt as close to. I'll definitely talk to my son about what happened and hopefully debrief him a bit. 8-9 and up, depending on the child and his maturity.

Plain Truth

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

(Summary taken from inside the book jacket) "The discovery of a dead infant shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: Circumstantial evidence suggests that 18-year-old Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the mother, took the newborn's life. When Ellie Hathaway, a big-city attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania, to defend Katie, two cultures collide--and for the first time in her career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live "plain," Ellie must find a way to reach Katie. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within--to confront  her own fears and desires when a man from her past reenters her life."

I found this book very interesting. It is different from what I thought it would be, and it pulls at many different emotions. On the one hand, I believed what Katie said had happened, and on the other I didn't. Haha. I just couldn't decide. I liked the characters in the book, except for Katie's father. I think Ms. Picoult did a good job of creating the characters and making you feel like you know them. I thought she did a good job developing the story and it did have a few twists that I didn't expect. I did, in the end, figure out the mystery, but (I'm not going to give anything away here so this may be kind of vague) I couldn't decide how I wanted to take it. I don't think I can believe this person capable of murder, so I want to believe that what Ellie's case showed was truly the case, but that this person was......ohhhh I guess I can't say this without giving it away. Bummer. If you want to know, email me.... Anyway, I liked this book. It was a fairly easy read and it was entertaining and thoughtful. There was a little too much language in it for me, I think she used the "f" word at least once, maybe twice. She also took the Lord's name in vain a couple of times. If that's not okay with you then I would say don't read it. I could have also done without some of the "physical intimacy" scenes. The whole plot revolves around premarital and unprotected relations, but there are only one or two times where it is described.

Rating: R (Remember, the R rating does not follow a movie's R rating, it just means it is not appropriate for anyone younger than college). Language and physical intimacy.

Recommendation: College and up (The language mostly, but also the physical intimacy scenes, make this inappropriate for anyone younger than college. It's sad because it could be used to show teenagers the consequences of their actions, but I think it is just too much.)