The Awakening of Ren Crown by Anne Zoelle

From Goodreads:
Ren Crown is a high school senior searching for her identity when a devastating attack on her twin brother thrusts her into a hidden world of magic. Fighting forces that she is woefully unprepared for, Ren illegally enrolls in a prestigious secret university where magic is plentiful and danger is absolute.

Determined to set her family back to rights, she is blocked at every turn and faced with a new reality of boundless fascination and possibility. Animated creations, enchanted gadgets, and marvelous machines vie with the students themselves: mischievous engineers, diabolical tacticians, battle-hardened warriors, and terrifying roommates.

But even amidst an eclectic student body, there is something off about Ren's magic...and the wrong people have started to notice.

Caught in a tightening web, Ren's values stand trial, as does the fate of the world.

My Thoughts:

I loved how thought out the characters were. They became real on the pages. The love Ren feels for her twin brother goes above and beyond. It made me ask how far I would go for one of my siblings, and would I know when enough was enough? I really liked that the romance/crush wasn’t over done in this book. I hate mushy romances, always have. We didn’t find what is found in so many stories, instant love. Instead the author let feelings develop slowly and naturally. The creation of all of the magical creatures shows how well developed the author’s imagination is. That for me is a big plus.

The title was the best at describing what happened to Ren, her magic awakens.  Awesome characters, great world building, make this a series to be read.   Come back tomorrow for the second book in the series, The  Protection of Ren Crown and then Saturday for the final book in the series, The Rise of Ren Crown.

Five Very Cute Picture Books

Opposites by Kerry McQuaide
This is another Midge and Moo Adventure book. Walk through a day of opposites with Midge and her stuffed cow Moo as they explore words that are opposites. Watch them make loud music and read a quiet book. A wonderful beginning book to teach opposite words.





Me Too by Lea Kirshenberg
Puggy is a little dog who admires his neighbor dog, a big black dog they call King. He has become quite jealous of him. Then one day he has to stay with the neighbor while his owner fixes up their houses. After a couple of days he realizes he misses his things and that Kings things aren't really all that special. This is a wonderful book for teaching children to appreciate the things that they have.

Rowdy the Pirate Who Could Not Sleep by Darcy Pattison
Rowdy the pirate can't sleep she claims she would give a chest of gold just to be able to sleep. Her crew sets out to find a way to help their captain sleep and claim the prize. But, nothing seems to work. They steal items and try them on their captain; scary tales, and songs of war. Who will claim the prize and help the captain sleep?  Told in great rhyming pirate "speak". Another great book by this wonderful author.



Oliver and Jumpy 37-39 by Werner Stejskal

Rescue in the Picture - Oliver, Jumpy and Joey travel through his painting to a deserted island where they use their kowledge of superstitions to rescue a young native girl
Wet Cat - For Joey's birthday Oliver and Jumpy take him on a boat ride to hear his favorite group sing. On the way back Oliver is thrown overboard and no one notices. Who will rescue Oliver before he drowns or is eaten by a shark?
Down River - On an adventure to Ghost Castle, Oliver and his friends take a ride downa white water river. They have to prevent a crocodile and tiger from eathing them for lucnh. How will they survive and get back home

A Sunny Day by Eric Jay Cash
Four young paleolithic children learn new words. This is a very simple book for the youngest child in your house.

Escape From the Past: The Dukes Wrath by Annette Oppenlander

Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:

When fifteen-year-old nerd and gamer Max Anderson thinks he's sneaking a preview of an unpublished video game, he doesn't realize that 1) He's been chosen as a beta, an experimental test player. 2) He’s playing the ultimate history game, transporting him into the actual past: anywhere and anytime. And 3) Survival is optional: to return home he must decipher the game's rules and complete its missions—if he lives long enough. To fail means to stay in the past—forever.

Now Max is trapped in medieval Germany, unprepared and clueless. It is 1471 and he quickly learns that being an outcast may cost him his head. Especially after rescuing a beautiful peasant girl from a deadly infection and thus provoking sinister wannabe Duke Ott. Overnight he is dragged into a hornets' nest of feuding lords who will stop at nothing to bring down the conjuring stranger in their midst. 

My Thoughts:

I love time travel books. This one here was over the top. You have a kid transported to another time through a video game.  Every kid today will be able to identify with that. Imagine going from current time to medieval times. No matter what you have read in books, you would not have everything you need to fit in.

I loved that you were brought into the book and into the time period. This is what great Historical Fiction does. Students will be so enthralled with Max and his situation they won’t even realize they have been learning history until they start talking with each other. Through this book  readers will learn what life was like for everyone during this time from the lowly peasant all the way up to the life of a knight.

My problem with a lot of time travel stories is the manner in which the author chooses to  bring their character back to present time. I’m often left feeling cheated. I can tell you up front you won’t feel that way with this book.  You will love it.  This is a series I can say I will enjoy from beginning to end. I can’t wait for my first student to read it.