Book of the Month - July 2011

The Book of the Month award for July 2011 goes to...

...Ranger's Apprentice: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan!

July did slightly better than June with a whopping 3 books, but two of those were nonfiction stories that were not really "enjoyable" reads, so this month's choice was quite clear. However, don't think that this was just a granted since it is a fiction book, this book really deserves a Book of the Month, even if it goes to the whole series.

As I said in the review post, I love this series and always have. I started it years ago, and the first two books of the series were some of my first reviews of this blog, so this series has some sentimental value for me. Also, as I said, I love studying this time period, so all of the creative battle planning is right up my alley. The story had lots of clever plans that can only be expected by two rangers, and I love the characters that have been developed so well over the 10 book series. I look forward to rereading these in the future and reading John Flanagans new works in the future.

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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Ranger's Apprentice: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

Ranger's Apprentice
Book 10
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

John Flanagan

Synopsis:
Horace has been sent to the exotic land of Nihon-Ja to exchange pleasantries with the emperor and learn new fighting techniques. Just before leaving, one of the emperor's generals revolts and tries to take the throne for himself! Horace, who has seen the kindness in the emperor's heart decides to stay and help the emperor and his small band of loyal supporters. However, Horace knows he can't beat the rebels alone. Horace gets a message to Princess Cassandra asking for help, and she goes straight to Halt and Will for help. Right away they set off to help Horace and the emperor, also accompanied by Alyss and their newer friend Selethen from Arrida. Though help is on the way, Horace and the emperor still have an army nipping at their heels with nobody but local woodsman and a rumor of a fortress deep in the mountains for help. Will Halt, Will, and their friends arrive in time to help? Will just the 5 Araluens and Selethen be enough to defeat an army of vengeful Nihon-Jan? Find out in this fantastic conclusion to the Ranger's Apprentice series!

My Thoughts:
First of all, I must say, I am terribly sad that this series is over. Though it may be a little young for me now, I still love this series. I reread the entire series lately, and I was able to pick up on so many references to our world history through the different peoples in the books, which was a lot of fun. Plus I love the medieval/renaissance periods, so this time frame of book is right up my alley. As a book in the series, I think it was one of the best. It was certainly the largest to date (I believe...) and for good reason. Time had to be taken to set up the background of Horace's trip, for him and the emperor to flee to the mountain fortress (the name currently escapes me), for help to arrive, and for all of the battles to take place. The way the fighting occurred was very innovative, as Will's plans usually are, but the ending to the battle seemed a little too easy. I know it was hard getting to that point, but seeing as it was the "epic conclusion" to the series, I was hoping for a little more. Granted, I loved the actual ending to the story, though an epilogue maybe a year later would have been fun and made the closing more final. Still, a fantastic end to a fantastic series.

Questions for Thought:
1. Were you Horace, would you help the emperor knowing you might well be killed in a battle that isn't yours to fight, or would you go home as would be expected?

2. How would you have delayed the perusing army if you were the emperor?

3. How would you have encouraged the Kikori to fight their "upper class" of warriors? How would you train them?

4. What would your tactic be against Ashoka? Would you wait out a siege, attack them head on, or something else?

5. Would you be able to let Cassandra and Alyss venture into dangerous territory to enlist the help of potentially barbaric people?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Alive

Alive

Piers Paul Read

Synopsis:
On October 13, 1972, a Fairchild F-227 was en route to Chile from Uruguay, bringing the Uruguayan Old Christians rugby team, along with friends and family, to a tournament in Santiago. As the plane passed over the immense Andes Mountains, a blanket of clouds blocked the vision of the pilot. Shortly after this change in weather, the plane ventured off course and began its descent into Santiago while still deep in the heart of the Andes. When some turbulence caused the plane to drop several hundred feet, the forty-five people on board were alarmed to see mountains nearly ten feet away from the plane’s wing. Suddenly, the tail, followed shortly by both wings, snapped off the Fairchild and the plane crashed into the snowy mountain valley. When the debris settled, only thirty-three passengers remained alive to face their terrible circumstances. Only minimal food remained on the plane, most of the luggage was lost, and many of the passengers were injured. In his book Alive, Piers Paul Read chronicles their desperate attempts to survive high in the Andes and the miraculous rescue, after seventy-two days, of sixteen crash survivors, finally able to escape their nightmare.

My Thoughts:
This is the second book I had to read for AP English this summer. Unlike the other survival story, Alive was not narrated by a survivor. Read was never involved with the accident and didn't know those involved until he started writing the book. This meant that much of the story wasn't very personal, and many emotional moments that really happened were dulled down by the book. One nice thing about this book was the more detailed discretion of the parents' search for the missing Uruguayans. It made up for some of the lack of emotion by sharing the parents' emotions. Also, though the start in particular seemed to lack emotion, the later half of the book felt very adventurous with the expeditions starting. Still, I cannot credit this to Read, but to the situation itself. Once again, this was not a pleasant book to read, especially since canibalism was the main method of survival, but it was still a good story that is important to hear from the view of the survivors.


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Not Without Hope

Not Without Hope

Nick Schuyler

Synopsis:
On February 28, 2009, Will Bleakley, NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, plus their personal trainer Nick Schuyler set out from the Florida coast to deep-sea fish in the Gulf of Mexico. The trip started rather uneventfully, the only abnormality being Nick’s seasickness due to the choppy waves that morning. As the day wore on, the waves became increasingly violent, and the group decided to head back to shore. When the anchor got stuck on the ocean floor, the young men, all in the best physical shape of their lives, tried pulling it up, but it would not budge. In a second attempt to free the anchor by using the power of the boat, the craft flipped, launching the athletes into the freezing waters of the Gulf of Mexico. All food, water, clothing, and means of communication were trapped under the boat, nearly impossible to reach. Not Without Hope, narrated by Nick Schuyler, the only survivor, tells the story of the friends’ struggle to work together for survival in the frigid Gulf waters.

My Thoughts:
I think that this is a Book Talk first: a nonfiction book. I had to read two nonfiction survival stories for an AP English project this summer, and this is one of them. Usually I am not a fan of nonfiction, (though Into Thin Air, an Everest survival story, is an exception) so it was interesting to read about actual events for a change. This story, narrated by the survivor, is very personal and makes you feel like you are there on the boat with the four friends. Schuyler's account of the story is very emotional and greatly affects the reader. Though the story can get repetitive at times, it gives an accurate account of the events, or at least as accurate as Schuyler remembers. I will admit parts of the story were very captivating, but since I knew that the events actually happened to people, it was not a pleasant book to read. The stress that Schuyler experienced is transferred to the reader, leaving you unsettled after reading it for long periods of time. Still, I do think that it is good to read stories like this to get an accurate account of such events. In fact, Nick Schuyler wrote the story for the very purpose of distilling any rumors about the accident.


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