Books for November

The Sister of the South by Emily Rodda

Review

In the Sister of the South, Emily Rodda has once again brewed a strange and creepy fantasy tale of Deltora. Deltora, even after the Shadow Lord had fled from it and back into the shadow lands, is not a very nice place. In the last book in this series, Lief and Barda, two of the main characters, were trapped on a ghost ship that drifted in and out of time, showing them glimpses of what happened in the past. The ship had a powerful curse on it, but they managed to break it and destroy the second to last of the Shadow Lord's horrible creations, the four sinister gems, called the four sisters, that are slowly poisoning the land. But now, they learn that the last sister is in the city of Del, head city of Deltora, the birthplace of all the main characters in the series. As they trudge home wearily, a mysterious plague has sprung up, the city has been quarantined, and a horrible monster roams the palace itself. Will they be able to destroy the last sister, put an end to the plague, and discover the madman behind the problems in Del? You'll have to read it to see!

Key Lardo by Bruce Hale

Review

Chet Gecko, part-time private eye, has problems. Not little problems, either. What looks like it's going to be simple missing person case turns sour when Chet's new competitor, a chubby penguin, enters the scene and solves the case. But Chet Gecko knows that something is afoot here, because that penguin is dumber the dumb. He must have had help! As Chet works to unravel the clues, the penguin mysteriously goes missing, and Chet and his partner are the lead suspects. Can they clear their names, rescue the penguin, and solve the case?

Wizard at Work by Vivian Vande Velde

Review

In Wizard at Work, the wizard, after a rather odd encounter with a witch and her spoiled children, goes home to relax over the summer holidays. But what with inflating princesses and princes turning into dogs, a princess who doesn't want to be rescued from the dragon, a snotty talking mirror, and a rather pompous duke with a ghostly nemesis, it doesn't turn out to be a very restful summer at all. What's more, the wizard also finds himself on a quest to steal the golden pickles from the dwarf king. Can he survive it all and get back to the wizard's school to teach another day?

The Possum Always Rings Twice by Bruce Hale

Review

When Chet Gecko entered politics, he never thought it would be this hard. Even running for student president seems to attract the attention of unruly mobs. And someone seems to be out to knock all of the non-mammals out of the race. When Chet is assaulted by two tough-talking rats, and they throw him into the school dumpster, he decides to go into politics himself. In his desperate race to win, he faces exploding toilets, bully unions, and a secret group of nasties known only as GOGG.

-- JackW - 20 Nov 2008