Book Nook
Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror
By: Aleeshba Basil
The dark tones and frightful elements that are carefully interwoven throughout Chris Priestley’s novel, Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror, are what truly makes the novel an immersive read. I believe my favorite aspect of the novel was the inclusion of multiple sub stories throughout the book. Uncle Montague’s dark and looming mansion sets the scene perfectly as Edward (Montague’s nephew) braves his way through his Uncle’s estate, returning (as he does regularly) to hear the one thing that makes his trip worthwhile: Uncle Montague’s scary stories. Uncle Montague tells Edward a series of stories, each one more horrific than the last, while Edward reassures himself that the stories are not real, that they can’t be real. The stories have one similar pattern: there are always children who meet terrible, horrible ends in each one. To add effect, Uncle Montague claims that he possesses an artifact from each of the stories he tells in his room. As the dark day progresses in the crumbling manor, Edward becomes more and more uneasy as strange thing begin to occur. When the horrifying truth is exposed about Uncle Montague, the reader is fully engrossed in the novel and finally links all of the subtle nuances of foreshadowing Priestley used when telling the stories. The novel is a part of a trilogy that includes Tales of Terror from the Black Ship and Tales of Terror from the Tunnel’s Mouth.
Life After Life Review
By Halee Lester
Life After Life follows the many stories of Ursula Todd’s life. The story provides an interesting point of view, because time is always changing in order to tell a different possibility of Ursula's life. For example, at one moment Ursula is a nurse helping soldiers in World War II, and the next she is attempting to prevent the war from ever happening. Meanwhile, the reader tries to discover the protagonist's dangerous secret that is still a mystery to herself. This style of writing can be confusing at times, but overall I think it provides an interesting twist to a unique story. I considered this book a good read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in adventure books.
Splintered Book Review
By: Jessica Baker
Splintered by A.G. Howard follows Alyssa Gardner, whose family, for generations, has been blessed with the ability to talk to flowers and bugs… or maybe cursed would be a better word, as every member of her family has been driven mad by the voices in their heads and the accompanying visions and hypersensitivity. Alyssa is desperate when she realizes that her mother’s mental health is deteriorating and looks to her family’s past to figure out the curse. Alyssa discovers that Alice Liddell, who was apparently a real-life girl that inspired Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice in Wonderland, was her great-grandmother and has made a complete mess of Wonderland. In order to stop her family’s curse and save her mother, Alyssa and her friend Jeb must travel through Wonderland with their dubiously trustful guide, Morpheus, to fix all of the problems Alice left behind. She must free the Mad Hatter (who has been frozen since Alice broke his watch), find the Cheshire cat’s missing smile, and somehow remove Alice’s ocean of tears. But along the way, Alyssa discovers that the characters in Wonderland aren’t as kid-friendly as Carroll described and that maybe her curse is really a blessing after all.
Fans of fantasy and gothic books would enjoy this novel, along with fans of Alice in Wonderland. Overall, I would give the book a 4 out of 5 star rating.
The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid
By: Aleeshba Basil
The Red Pyramid is the first book in the Kane Chronicles Series by Rick Riordan. The novel has a unique format, as Carter and Sadie, two siblings (14 and 12 years old respectively) tell their story in the form of an audio transcript, which entails the rise of the Egyptian gods in the modern world. Carter and Sadie have become near strangers to each other since their mother’s death. After a nasty court fight it was decided that Carter would live with his father, a travelling Egyptologist and Sadie would live with her mother’s parents in England. This separation was largely due to the fact that Carter and Sadie’s grandparents blamed their father for their mothers death and had held a grudge ever since. When Carter and his dad visit Sadie for her birthday, the twins lives are forever changed. The novel is a fast-paced read and is very interesting. The integration of Egyptian mythology throughout the novel makes it an exciting and complex read, and also helps to enhance the reader’s experience. Carter and Sadie’s character development make it a riveting novel as well as the original format. This novel is succeeded with the equally engrossing, The Throne of Fire and The Serpent’s Shadow.