The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby
386 pages

    Giuseppe is a street musician who works for a cruel employer. If he doesn't bring in enough money, he will not get food or could possibly get thrown into the rat cellar. Giuseppe begins to think his life is hopeless, until one day, he finds a green violin floating in the river.
    Frederick is a clockmaker who wants to start his own business instead of being an apprentice. Secretly, his works on making a clockwork man, but he cannot do it alone.
    Hannah is a hotel maid, working to keep her family's apartment. Her father is deathly ill and she is their only hope. When she hears of a hidden treasure at the hotel, she knows she must find it to help her family.
    All three children are brought together and they realize that they need each other. But can they solve the mysteries before Giuseppe's master finds him, Hannah's father gets worse, or Frederick is caught?

Today-The Release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3-D!!

I'm so excited! The first time I saw Star Wars was. . . are you ready? . . .  November 2011!
*Gasp!*
I know you are thinking How could you live so long without even seeing one Star Wars movie?
Answer: I have no idea, but I am so grateful for my friends who organized the Star Wars Marathon. And got me hooked. But the original thanks goes to my dad, who told me the stories for bedtime when I was little almost every night. I guess it stole a piece of my mind and my heart, I just didn't realize it until now.
Now, I am obssessed with it. Even though I haven't seen #6 yet. And now, with Episode 1 in 3-D? Well, I hope I can see it! I won't be able to see it opening night (today), but there is still hope for another day, right?
   Here is the preview:

Comment with your thoughts here. Speak up now if you love Star Wars!(or if you don't. Either way, I'd like to hear your opinion)

Beyond the Reflection's Edge by Bryan Davis

Beyond the Reflection's Edge by Bryan Davis
373 pages

    Nathan Shepherd's mother is a famous violinist and his father an investigator. He is fine with his life of traveling, but then, suddenly, his parents are both murdered. Nathan is sent to live with his father's friend and his daughter, Kelly. Together, Kelly and Nathan use three objects that might help them find out why the Shepherd's were murdered-a violin that plays with voices, a mirror that shows things that are not really there and a camera that take pictures of unseen images. But the killer is looking for Nathan. Can the two teens solve the mystery or is this something more complicated than either of them can imagine?

**Book 1 in Echoes from the Edge**
Next book: Eternity's Edge

Slayers by C. J. Hill

Slayers by C. J. Hill
373 pages
    Tori, the daughter of a U.S. senator is obsessed with dragons. She doesn't know why, but she reads all she can about them and one summer she signs up for dragon camp. When she gets, there, it is nothing like she thought it would be: a clean camp like the ones she had been to before. Her older sister tells her that she won't be able to stay. Determined to prove her wrong, Tori stays.
    She soon finds herself in the advanced part of the camp with a group of teens who call them selves slayers, saying they are descendants from the original dragon slayers. They tell Tori that she is a slayer, too. Not sure if they are right, Tori is caught up in a quest to find and destroy the last dragon eggs before they destroy the country. Will they be brave enough?

Halt's Peril by John Flanagan

Halt's Peril by John Flanagan
386 pages
    While chasing the leader of the Outsiders cult, Halt is ambushed and shot by a poison arrow.  Not realizing that Halt has been poisoned, he, Will and Horace continued their chase. But soon, the effect of the poison is evident and Will sees that Halt is slowly dying. The only person that can help Halt is the sorcerer, Malkallam. Will quickly sets out to find him, but will they be fast enough to save Halt from death?

    Will stepped clear of the tree, pivoting so that he emerged on the opposite side. And his mouth went dry as he saw the assassin aiming a crossbow toward Halt, heard the dull smack of the cord. Halt had warned him that they might have more than one bow apiece and he'd been right.
    Then Will's heart froze at the most chilling sound he had heard in his young life: Halt's brief cry of pain, followed by the sound of his bow dropping.


**Book 9 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Kings of Clonmel
Next book: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan

The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan
358 pages

    A cult has sprung up in the neighbouring country of Clonmel. The leaders of this cult call them selves The Outsiders and promise the protection of their false god in exchange for gold to "build alters." The people agree redily after some planned attacks by bandits. The people may be fool, but the Ranger's aren't.
    Will and Halt travel to Clonmel to uproot the troublemakers, but they can't do it without proof. Halt has proof, but a family member complicates things. Can the Rangers get rid of the Outsiders?


**Book 8 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: Erak's Ransom
Next book: Halt's Peril

Eragon Cake

Isn't this awesome! I mean, who ever thought of making a book out of cake? I love it! If I had this cake, I probably wouldn't eat it, though. That's the problem with making food pretty, you can't eat it because you like it so much.


**I did not make this. I wish I did, but if I tried, it would probably fall apart. I saw it on the Facebook tab on the side of Ranger's Apprentice Australia website.

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan
373 pages

    Erak, the Skandian Oberjarl, has been captured by a desert tribe. Will, Halt, Horace, and Evanlyn set out to rescue him, but the desert is much different than anywhere they have been before. The maps they have do little good, since no one goes to the desert and there are many tribes with many strange laws. While kidnapping is normal for some of the tribes, Will and Halt soon realize that there is someone else behind this. Someone who has something against Erak and his alliance with King Duncan.

Wolf Storm by Dee Garretson

Wolf Storm by Dee Garretson
275 pages

    Stefan is starring in his first movie, called "Wolf Storm". He is very excited, but not as excited as he could be because his co-star, Raine, is a bit stuck-up. And when they begin to shoot the film, Stefan keeps messing up, and then the director yells at him. But he still thinks it is cool to be the star of a movie, especially one with trained wolves.
    Soon, things begin to go wrong, really wrong. Stefan, Raine, and Jeremy-the other co-star-hear strange noises in the attic and howling at night. There is a big blizzard ande they are the only ones in the lodge except for Cecil, the elderly actor playing their grandfather. When the go out to rescue the trained wolfs, an avalanch hits the lodge, almost killing all of them. They find Cecil, but he is sick and needs help. Can they survive?

Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix
324 pages

    Second has caused a dangerous ripple in time, trapping Andrea and JB in 1600 and Jonah and Katherine in 1611. Jonah must pretend to be John Hudson because the real John is missing. Being John is very difficult for Jonah, especially since it is not his real identity. The crew on the Discovery-including his father- treat him harshly and somethings are not what they seem, but Jonah and Katherine know that they must persevere no matter what in order to save their friends-and all of time.

**Book 4 in The Missing**
Previous book: Sabotaged
Next book: Caught