If history fascinates you, read Itchingtowrite's review of the second book from the Alex Rutherford series here.
And here is what she wrote about Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's One Amazing Thing.
If you have reviewed any books on your blog and wish to share the link with us, do write in to us at bookwelove@gmail.com
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Pearls of Wisdom
Pearls of Wisdom
A Hilarious Hauntings Adventure
By Sonja Chandrachud
Puffin
Reviewed by Shivani Singh
‘Chalo Chowpatty for some solid Bombay bhel.’
These are the kind of wacky lines you’ll find in this book. So if you want to go on a ride that can beat the spice of Bombay bhel, this is the book for you.
Pearls of Wisdom is a hilarious account of the adventure that breaks loose in the Water World and the Sorcery World created by the author Sonja Chandrachud. The book’s plot and style has the essence of Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson series blended to create a captivating and humorous desi fantasy.
In this sequel to the book ‘Potion of Eternity’, the possessor of the Pearls of Wisdom gets the power to rule the capital of the sea world – Poseidon, and all its residing creatures. And that’s what the villains; the dark creatures called ‘The Black Magi’ are intent on stealing to get ultimate power over the Sorcery World. But the Black Magi aren’t the only ones with their eyes set on these powerful pearls. The Serpent King Va Suki, who has a thousand heads, believes that the pearls rightfully belong to the Nagas, and hence he too is another enemy vying for the pearls.
The book centres around the Von D’eth family. When the Pearls of Wisdom are stolen from Drunkula Von D’eth - a vampire who was given the duty to protect them, all hell breaks loose. He is accused of treason, and is set to be executed on the nearest Full Moon. In the meanwhile, the Black Magi have taken the pearls to Va Suki in return for his treasures in the Sea of Secrets. The Sea of Secrets is the most dangerous part of the sea filled with marine creatures intent on biting your head off. When the question arises as to who should be the one to go and retrieve the pearls from the terrifying place where not many make it out alive, it is revealed that Koral (a 13 year old bright and brave water wizard) is destined to go down there, but at a terrible price.
But as if Koral hasn’t got her platter full with the Black Magi in the possession of the pearls and Va Suki on their trail, there enters another potential contender who wants to be crowned with the glory of the coveted pearls. And this is not just any other dark creature or enemy – it’s someone who has betrayed the Von D’eths. Someone who is nearly invincible.
Sonja Chandrachud is exceptionally creative in spinning fantasy, something that is seen in the ranks of J.K. Rowling. Her way with words gives you a delightfully vivid image of what she’s describing, and her language flows freely. I would recommend it to children of the age 10 +, and anyone in search of a thrilling plot.
The climax with which the book ends will leave you wanting more. It’s not a typical happy ending, and it leaves you pondering about where the story can go next. Because Koral had to pay a terrible price, something that will never leave her whole again. And that’s up to you readers to find out!
(Shivani Singh, a student of St Mary's Pune, is an avid reader and a writer in the making.)
A Hilarious Hauntings Adventure
By Sonja Chandrachud
Puffin
Reviewed by Shivani Singh
‘Chalo Chowpatty for some solid Bombay bhel.’
These are the kind of wacky lines you’ll find in this book. So if you want to go on a ride that can beat the spice of Bombay bhel, this is the book for you.
Pearls of Wisdom is a hilarious account of the adventure that breaks loose in the Water World and the Sorcery World created by the author Sonja Chandrachud. The book’s plot and style has the essence of Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson series blended to create a captivating and humorous desi fantasy.
In this sequel to the book ‘Potion of Eternity’, the possessor of the Pearls of Wisdom gets the power to rule the capital of the sea world – Poseidon, and all its residing creatures. And that’s what the villains; the dark creatures called ‘The Black Magi’ are intent on stealing to get ultimate power over the Sorcery World. But the Black Magi aren’t the only ones with their eyes set on these powerful pearls. The Serpent King Va Suki, who has a thousand heads, believes that the pearls rightfully belong to the Nagas, and hence he too is another enemy vying for the pearls.
The book centres around the Von D’eth family. When the Pearls of Wisdom are stolen from Drunkula Von D’eth - a vampire who was given the duty to protect them, all hell breaks loose. He is accused of treason, and is set to be executed on the nearest Full Moon. In the meanwhile, the Black Magi have taken the pearls to Va Suki in return for his treasures in the Sea of Secrets. The Sea of Secrets is the most dangerous part of the sea filled with marine creatures intent on biting your head off. When the question arises as to who should be the one to go and retrieve the pearls from the terrifying place where not many make it out alive, it is revealed that Koral (a 13 year old bright and brave water wizard) is destined to go down there, but at a terrible price.
But as if Koral hasn’t got her platter full with the Black Magi in the possession of the pearls and Va Suki on their trail, there enters another potential contender who wants to be crowned with the glory of the coveted pearls. And this is not just any other dark creature or enemy – it’s someone who has betrayed the Von D’eths. Someone who is nearly invincible.
Sonja Chandrachud is exceptionally creative in spinning fantasy, something that is seen in the ranks of J.K. Rowling. Her way with words gives you a delightfully vivid image of what she’s describing, and her language flows freely. I would recommend it to children of the age 10 +, and anyone in search of a thrilling plot.
The climax with which the book ends will leave you wanting more. It’s not a typical happy ending, and it leaves you pondering about where the story can go next. Because Koral had to pay a terrible price, something that will never leave her whole again. And that’s up to you readers to find out!
(Shivani Singh, a student of St Mary's Pune, is an avid reader and a writer in the making.)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Review : The Chosen One
The first thing you notice about Sam Bourne's new book is the statement by Mirror which states he is 'The biggest challenger to Dan Brown's crown'.Sam Bourne, is a pseudonym of Jonathan Freedland,an award winning journalist and broadcaster.He is popularly hailed as Britain's Dan Brown after his first book 'The Righteous Men'.Well is he the answer to Dan Brown?...Well I'll leave that ,to you dear reader, to decide!
The protagonist of the book is Maggie Costello who we first met in Bourne's book 'The Last Testament' as a peace negotiator in the Middle East who is helped in her mission by Uri, her Israeli boyfriend.After failing to bring peace to the region (only if it were that easy to achieve!) and feeling disillusioned ,she is now back in America as a political advisor to President Stephen Baker.She sees him,like the rest of America, as the man to lead the world to a safer and better future.
But soon things start going awry for President Baker as an enemy Vic Forbes surfaces and starts revealing unknown secrets of the President starting with one secret and shortly followed by another.Vic threatens a third revelation which will destroy Baker entirely.But before the third secret is revealed Vic Forbes is found dead.Maggie is called on by the President to help bail him out.What follows is Maggie's (almost) single handed journey to get to the truth.Will the truth end up revealing the real Stephen Baker.Will the new President be able to complete his term in the White House?
The book is, at times, a bit far fetched especially Maggie's almost heroic portrayal,a school friendship gone sour that leads to a revenge so epic and the most far fetched is the group of worldwide bankers who identify potential world leaders (while they are still in school!!) and then go all out to support and help them in becoming one!Of course all this achieved without the person's knowledge!So Baker ends up being one such 'identified' talent.
What is the truth,who is Vic Forbes, why was he murdered and what was the secret that he was about to reveal before he got killed makes this book an exciting page turner.
Inspite of the drawbacks the book manages to keep you hooked till the very last page.If thrillers,political conspiracies interest you then do go ahead and pick up this book!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Review: How to Salsa in a Sari
It's interesting to see how the Indian publishers are finally waking up to this vastly untapped Young Adult genre in India.Mint Lounge had an interesting article on this recently which mentioned various publishers who are coming out with YA books .The link to the article is here.So now the YA genre has some more interesting options to read besides the hugely popular Twilight series!
Yet one more YA book that I have read is Dona Sarkar's 'How to Salsa in a Sari' .Unusual title and a fun book. I would recommend it to all adolescents out there to go buy a copy!
'Salsa in a Sari' is the story of Issa Mazumdar.Issa is a nerdy half-African and half-Indian teenage girl living in America with her Indian mother ever since her father walked out on them.Issa is horrified when she hears that her mother is planning to remarry what is worse is that her mother plans to marry her arch enemy in school,Cat Morena's dad.Cat is the uber cool , popular,super rich girl in school who absolutely loathes Issa and has also stolen Issa's boyfriend Adam just to spite her....almost Veronica and Betty but with a twist!
So when Issa hears that she and her mother would be moving into Cat's huge mansion she becomes absolutely determined to make it miserable for Cat by paying her back in the same way.Issa is also hoping that her mother ends the relationship and gets back with her dad Roy.To achieve her mission she pulls out all stops by getting a makeover, flirting and befriending the hunk Cat has her eyes on,lying to her would-be step dad Diego about Cat and winning the most coveted Snow Queen crown! What she ends up doing is alienating herself from her best friends and her mother while at the same time also ends up losing out on her school grades.By the end, though things have gone exactly as planned with Cat, she is not too happy as she feels that she has ended up losing more than what she has gained!
The book is sassy,bitchy and naughty!It manages to capture the turmoil that Issa goes through from her transformation as a nerdy to a naughty teenager.It shows Issa going through love,heartbreak,hatred,jealousy, indecisiveness ...all so familiar emotions!It's a simple and honest story which all of us can relate with to our own growing up years.
So does Issa manage to break off her mum's relationship with Diego,do Issa and Cat end up becoming friends and why this unusual title?Read the book to find out!
Interesting and fun read.
Review : Body Talk
'Real Girls Ask Real Questions about Love,Life and everything in between' this pretty much sums up the book 'Body Talk' by Anjali Wason.The book, is the coming of age of Indian Young Adult Literature and works like a girl’s handy book. Whatever questions you may have from sex,bodies,relationships this book attempts to cover it all.
Extensively researched for three years this book features over 400 questions thats girls across India have asked and wanted answers to.In her note to the reader Anjali Wason says 'Over 400 women between the ages of 17 and 25 from across Delhi,Kolkata and Mumbai wanted to participate and talk about their hopes,dreams and anxieties.Together,they painted an enlightening picture of what it means to be a young middle-class woman in today's urban India-A world of gargantuan change'.
The book starts off with very basic questions like Acne (a pain for every teenage girl!) and eating disorders and moves on to periods,orgasm,masturbation,relationships,sex,sexual orientation,STDs,protection,sexual harassment...Yes this book is one comprehensive guide for every girl out there with questions in mind but finds it difficult to ask.The book also has some stories,quizzes and advice from doctors.The most important ,helpful and useful chapter I felt was the resource guide.
This book would probably be the first one of its kind and honest attempt to try and answer all questions that a growing up girl would want answered .A useful self help book many mothers would be grateful for.
The book works excellently as a guide and a friend to all the girls out there from 14 to 30 years!A must have book for every girl.
Friday, July 2, 2010
A flash fiction contest
This mail from Aniket Thakkar:
My dear friend and mentor in many ways - Sarah Hina, has now turned a published author.
My author friends and I are doing everything (Interviews, reviews, contests, etc) to create a buzz about her book - Plum Blossoms In Paris.
As my contribution for the same, I have organised a Flash Fiction writing contest at my site: http://flashfiction.in
Sarah will be picking two winners who would each get a copy of her book - Plum Blossoms In Paris.
Contest deadline is 20th of July.
Thanks,
Aniket
My dear friend and mentor in many ways - Sarah Hina, has now turned a published author.
My author friends and I are doing everything (Interviews, reviews, contests, etc) to create a buzz about her book - Plum Blossoms In Paris.
As my contribution for the same, I have organised a Flash Fiction writing contest at my site: http://flashfiction.in
Sarah will be picking two winners who would each get a copy of her book - Plum Blossoms In Paris.
Contest deadline is 20th of July.
Thanks,
Aniket
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)