BOOK REVIEW
by Papa

Title: Peter and the Shadow Thieves

Authors: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Recommended Age: 8+

Pages: 556

Read-Aloud Time: 6 weeks

Rating: 8/10

Peter and the Shadow Thieves is the sequel to Peter and the Starcatchers. It picks up less than a year after the first book with Peter and the Lost Boys on Mollusk Island. Peter must leave the island to help his number one girl, Molly Aster, who lives in London. Molly and her family are in danger because a mysterious villain called Lord Ombra is after them. Peter, along with Tinkerbell, encounter several adventures just to find Molly and even more adventures after.

Like the other Neverland books, the book switches between points of view. You follow Peter for a chapter, then the pirates - led by Captain Hook, then the Others who are after Molly, and then Molly who is trying to stay safe. It uses these switches to build the suspense and pace the story out. It does a good job doing this, but there was a branch of the story that Kid A and I didn't much care for. The boys back on Mollusk Island find themselves in some trouble and the book occasionally switches to their story. It seemed too far removed from the action.

Favorite Thing: Tinkerbell was quite the character in this book. She would speak malevolently about Molly and Peter would have to mis-translate what she said so that Molly wouldn't get upset.

Least Favorite Thing: Because the book switches between so many different groups of characters, there are some really short chapters. Several chapters were only one page. I think I'd like it better if there was just a page gap between.

Questionable Material for Kids: There are some really mean people in this book - mainly in London. They do some nasty things. Also, Lord Ombra is a pretty scary villain.

BOOK REVIEW
by Papa

Title: Physik (Septimus Heap, Book Three)

Authors: Angie Sage

Recommended Age: 8+

Pages:

Read-Aloud Time: 4 weeks

Rating: 6/10

In this third installment to the Septimus Heap series, Septimus gets kidnapped into a time period 500 years earlier by a famous Physik master, Marcellus Pye. For much of the book, Jenna, Nicko, Spit Fyre and a new character named Snorri, try to find him. Meanwhile, an evil queen ghost causes all kinds of trouble in the present time.

Septimus isn't in a lot of the book once he disappears, which is fairly early on. The book mainly follows the present day group on their search. I wasn't as hooked on this book as the previous two. First of all, I wasn't really worried about what would happen to Septimus. I knew that he'd come back since he's the main character of the series. Second, the small part that took place in the 500 years ago era was pretty cool and I would have liked to spend more time there. And third, I think I read this book too closely to the first two. I didn't have to wait a long time to continue their story.

Favorite Thing: Snorri Snorrelson is a really good character. She's mysterious and simple at the same time and I wanted to find out more about her.

Least Favorite Thing: I don't think there was any one thing I could dislike in this book. It just sort of dragged on in the middle and it felt like more of a chore to get to the end compared to the first two.

Questionable Material for Kids: There are ghosts in all the Septimus Heap books, but they seemed to play a more prominent role in this one. Most of the ghosts aren't in the least bit scary, but there is one who might be.

BOOK REVIEW

by Papa

Title: The Cave of the Dark Wind (A Never Land Book)

Authors: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Recommended Age: 8-12

Pages: 166

Read-Aloud Time: 5 days

Rating: 7/10

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson wrote Peter and the Starcatchers and then the sequel, Peter and the Shadow Thieves. Then, they went back and wrote some episodes that happen on Mollusk Island while Peter is away. The Cave of the Dark Wind is, I think the first of these, but it's hard to tell what the order is that you should read them. Escape from the Carnivale is also just called "A Never Land Book" while Blood Tide is called "Never Land - Book 3". Anyway, maybe it doesn't matter so much. In Cave of the Dark Wind, the Lost Boys and a couple of girls from the Mollusk tribe set out to discover the secret of a mysterious cave. When they stumble upon some treasure, and Captain Hook finds out, the pirates jump on board to follow them.

The story flip-flops between the children and the pirates and does a good job with suspense, just like with Peter and the Starcatchers. It's quite a fast-read, so if you're looking for a short one after a long book, then this might be the book you're looking for.

Favorite Thing: I really liked the multiple stories interwoven with this book. They were well-told and they made you want to find out more.

Least Favorite Thing: It's not really that bad, but I got a little tired of the boys vs. girls thing going on with the children. The boys are always made out to be more reckless and the girls are always made out to be smarter.

Questionable Material for Kids: There are some scenes with human bones and goat blood, but it's not really gory at all.