The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I began this series due to a recommendation from a friend. I dutifully read it but, admittedly, I didn't find it super-wonderful.



This story is about a young teen named Gen who is locked in a prison cell when the reader is introduced to him; he had been arrested in a wine shop after gloating about something he stole. He is approached by someone who works for the king who is interested in using Gen to help capture a very elusive item. Having nothing better to do, Gen agrees to help the man get the item for the king.



Gen accompanies not only the man who approached him, but also two other boys around his age who are apprentices--more or less--to the man, and also a royal guard.



This book is mostly about the group's travels to get to the location of the elusive item. It reminded me of book one of _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy--walking and walking and sleeping and eating and walking and walking. I didn't particularly love all of the traveling in the LOTR series, and I didn't particularly enjoy it here, either.



The reader grows to dislike Gen due to his snotty, smart-mouthed personality. I began to feel a bit of sympathy for him when he is in the place where the item is because it is so scary in there, but on their trek back, my sympathy would ebb and flow for him.



Once they reach their destination after the adventure, we learn that there is much more to Gen than we originally thought, setting us up for book two of the series, _The Queen of Attolia_.





View all my reviews

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Soon after starting at a new school, Wanda becomes the focus of a daily taunting by the other girls.  Wanda wears the same—albeit clean and pressed—blue dress to school every day and, on top of that, the kids think that she has a strange last name: “Petronski.”  On the way to school one day, Wanda feels less shy than normal and whispers to Peggy, the prettiest and most popular girl in class, that she has one hundred dresses at home in her closet.  Clearly, she’s not telling the truth, but Peggy doesn’t let the subject drop; instead, she asks Wanda every single day thereafter how many dresses she has…and Wanda always answers the same way.  Following her answer, the girls laugh and then  ignore her.

Peggy’s best friend Maddie doesn’t like how the girls follow Peggy’s lead and make fun of Wanda.  Maddie knows that she should say something to Peggy about stopping the teasing, but Maddie is afraid that Peggy will start making fun of her instead!

When Wanda and her family suddenly move away, Maddie feels awful that she never had a chance to apologize to her and must deal with her feelings of guilt and shame over her behavior.

This is a quick read that will leave the reader thinking long after the story ends.  It takes place in the 1940s, although there is no mention of the war.  For readers seeking a sweet story about friendship and acceptance, recommend this.

View all my reviews >>