Elantris

I read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson on the recommendation of Nathan and Jelaire. It was Jelaire's first fantasy novel and she really liked it. I completely agree with her. It's a very well-written story with a couple of great storylines interwoven. It's basically the story of a fallen city called Elantris that was populated by people who had, at random, been taken by the shaod. This would just happen to people of all sorts and then they would move to Elantris where they would learn to manipulate different symbols in mid-air to accomplish different acts of magic. About 10 years before the story takes place, Elantris is completely transformed overnight and now enemy kingdoms are seeking to fill the void left by the lack of protection that Elantris used to guarantee. Great book and I was able to read it in a few days.

The Fablehaven Series

I found this to be a fun series overall. It's the story of Seth and Kendra Sorensen, siblings who find out that their grandparents are actually caretakers of a reserve for magical creatures. Through the course of the series they deal with an escalating conspiracy to unravel the treaties that keep the magical world in order. They are faced with tough decisions, consequences for bad choices, the aftermath of betrayals, the loss of loved ones and other compelling plot twists. I liked the series. Kelly got kind of tired of Seth's bravado and so she stopped reading around book 3. These would make great read-aloud books. The books in order are:
Fablehaven
Rise of the Evening Star
Grip of the Shadow Plague
Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
Keys to the Demon Prison

The Candy Shop War

I read The Candy Shop War after reading the first book of Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series. Brandon is LDS and the stories are clean and good choices for the kids. This story follows 4 young kids and their new friendship with a candy shop owner who keeps a different class of candy in the back of the store. The owner gives the kids some candy that will endow them with different abilities in exchange for helping her with some tasks. They learn lessons about discernment, withstanding pressure from your friends and the consequences of bad decisions. The story and the characters are great fun!

One thing I like about Brandon Mull is that he puts a study guide at the back of his books and asks questions that make the family think about what they've learned from the story they read. This is a good book to read aloud together as a family.

The Golden Compass

When it was first announced that a movie was being made based on The Golden Compass I saw a trailer that intrigued me and I thought that it would be something that I could watch with the kids. So, being a reader, I decided to check out the book. This was long before the controversy erupted about it being an anti-christian book. I can't honestly speak to that controversy because I was so distracted by the mediocrity of the writing and the complete lack of sympathetic or interesting characters that I couldn't even finish it. I found it boring and think that the author was so overly impressed with the world he had created that he forgot to create characters that had any depth beyond being declared a good guy or a bad guy. I know there are plenty of people out there who disagree with my assessment but I think there are plenty of books in the genre that are going to give you characters and stories that you will grow to love that there's no point in messing with this trilogy.

The Graveyard Book

Talk about a ghost story! I was a little concerned about the beginning. It starts off pretty creepy and intense. I put 8+, but I would preview it if your child is younger than 10.

This has a similar general plot to "The Jungle Book", about boy growing up in a Graveyard. A humorous cast of characters from different historical periods are Bod's (short for Nobody, his name) adopted family. I pretty much gobbled this book up in one sitting (shush, Mommy's reading). I don't want to give too much away, but I highly recommend this growing-up story!

Princess Ben

This book was a chance library grab. In general, I liked it. The plot was formulaic and predictable, but there are a couple things that made it different from other princess stories that makes it worth the read.
First, the main character, Princess Benevolence, is very real. She doesn't think she's a particular beauty, she's rather stout (chubby?), and she doesn't get along with the adult who's responsible for her. Pretty normal behavior.
Second, the adult that Princess Ben doesn't get along with doesn't have to be killed off, or put into jail. Instead, you find that the Princess Ben's perception of her has changed. The princess goes through a little journey of self-discovery and personal growth.

I thought the romantic part of the story was a little rushed at the end and not well done, but it was entirely appropriate for young adults and pre-teens. Nothing untoward here. In short, a simple, fairly enjoyable story for a young girl!

Graceling

I liked this book, but it had some scenes that I would not want my child reading. Gracelings are people born with particular talents, whether it be cooking, holding your breath, fighting or any number of other superhuman skills. Katsa is a feared and respected Graceling for her talent to kill. She meets another Graceling who begins to change her perception of herself and they are put up against a ruler who may be able to kill them both.

There is a scene of extramarital sex that is ...more I liked Graceling, but it had some scenes that I would not want my child reading. Gracelings are people born with particular talents, whether it be cooking, holding your breath, fighting or any number of other superhuman skills. Katsa is a feared and respected Graceling for her talent to kill. She meets another Graceling who begins to challenge her perception of herself and they are put up against a ruler who may be able to kill them both.

There is a scene of premarital consensual sex that is neither explicit nor titillating but also not difficult to discern what happened. The main character, Katsa, also has no interest in marriage and that comes up frequently in the book. Also, the bad guy is a sociopath and his behavior is disturbing. Definitely not for children.