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

Books for Christmas

Christmas is a great time for getting books. Although not many of the presents under the tree were books this year, I did get lots of gift cards, and the books that I did get were good ones.

Books under the tree:

Collision Course by Gordon Korman
S.O.S. by Gordon Korman
Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix


Books I bought with gift cards:

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
Slayers by C. J. Hill
I also got some movies:

A Christmas Carol The Musical
The Princess Bride

What books did you get for Christmas?

The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan

The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan
293 pages

    Will and the warrior, Horace, hold the fate of the kingdom in their hands. Sir Keren has captured Castle Macindaw after poisoning its rightful leaders. He plans on letting the Scotti in to Araluen, where they plan to take over the who country. Will and Horace quickly round up a small army of Skandians and outcasts who live in the forest.With so much at stake, they cannot afford to make any mistakes. But the kingodm is not the only thing is terrible danger. Will's friend, Alyss, is being held captive by Keren and who knows what he plans to do with his prisoner.

**Book 6 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Sorcerer of the North
Next book: Erak's Ransom

The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan

The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan
295 pages

    Will is finally a real ranger-his apprenticeship is done-so he has his own fief to look after. Nothing is happening in his fief and Will is quite bored. But suddenly, he gets reassigned to a castle in the north, where the lord has been struck with a mysterious illness. Local residents say that the illness is the result of sorcery. In disguise, Will travels to uncover the mystery.
    When he first arrives, the solution seems simple: the lord's son is teaming up with the evil sorcerer, Malkallam, who lives in the woods. But after further investigation, Will realizes that superstition has a lot to do with the hasty conclusions everyone has been making. And no one in the castle is as they seem.

**Book 5 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Battle for Skandia
Next book: The Siege of Macindaw

The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix
197 pages

    When Gideon Thrall gets chosen to receive a medal of courage, Tessa is overjoyed. Their small town now has something to celebrate about! But Gideon runs off the stage, saying her is not a hero and he doesn't deserve the medal. Tessa is very confused, so she follows him to see why he reacted in such a way.
    Soon, the two teens are caught up in a mystery that is dangerous and frightening: why are they fighting this war? And why are the computers giving them contradicting information about the battle sights and enemy territories? Can they be brave enough to face the truth when no one else is?

    Tessa's body reacted as quickly as her mind. Before she was even concious of moving, she was already on her feet and running toward Gideon. Her legs tangled in the blanket, but she kept going, diving for Gideon. She knocked him sideways onto the floor of the plane, so if any of the enemy were already trying to shoot him, the bullets would just whiz harmlessly past. But this wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to tackle him, to hold him down, the mud form her ragged clothes rubbing off on his spotless white uniforn. Guns could ne reloaded, re-aimed, fired again and again and again.
    Tessa rose up and slammed her hand against the control on the wall.

The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan

The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan
294 pages

    Will and Evanlyn are close to escaping the northern lands when Evanlyn is kidnapped. Halt and Horace rescue them just in time, but they suspect something big behind the kidnapping. With further investigation, they see that the Temujai's are planning on attacking Skandia, and then Araluen.
    Only an alliance with the Skandians will save both countries, but will it work? What about the Oberjarl's vow to kill Evanlyn?

Captured!

 As she pushed her way through the snow-laden bushes, becoming wetter and wetter in the process, she felt a surge of pleasure. The first snare in the line held the body of a small ground-foraging bird. Evanlyn smiled grimly as she thought how once she might have objected to the cruelty of the bird's death. Now, all she felt was a sense of satisfaction as she realized that they would eat well today.
    Amazing how an emty belly could change your perspective, she thought, removing the noose from the bird's neck and stuffing the small carcass in her makeshift game bag. She reset the snare, sprinkling a few seeds of corn on the ground beyond it, then rose to her feet, frowning in annoyance as she realized that the melting snow had left two wet patches on her knees as she'd crouched.
    Evanlyn sensed, rather than heard, the movement in the trees behind her and began to turn.
    Before she could move, she felt an iron grip around her throat, and as she gasped in fright, a fur-gloved hand, smelling vilely of smoke, clapped over her mouth and nose, cutting off her cry for help.

**Book four in Ranger's Apprentice**

Previous book: The Icebound Land

Next book: The Sorcerer of the North

 Australian Cover