Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Review - Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry

Bless This Mouse
BY: Lois Lowry
ILLUSTRATOR: Eric Rohmann
PUBLISHED BY: Houghton Mifflin
PUBLISHED IN: March 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-3909-3
Pages: 151
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Hundreds of mice lived in the Saint Bartholemew. More litters were being born and the population was getting too high. Their leader Hildegarde was worried that this may bring upon the Great X - the exterminator. The Great X had happened before and many of their kind had died. Hildegarde was determined to protect her colony.

The mice tried their best to not be seen, but some of the church members saw them. The mice attempt to destroy the phone book fails, and Father Murphy calls the Great X. Hildegarde orders the colony to leave the church and take refuge in the cemetery. Will the mice be able to live n the church again?

I read Bless This Mouse in one sitting. It was a delight to read. The characters are funny and charming, even though they are mice. I can easily see this as a computer-animated movie. I recommend this book to every one of all ages.

*I would like to thank Houghton Mifflin and Netgalley for sending me a copy to review.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Book Review - Journey to Riverbend


Journey to RiverbendJourney to Riverbend
BY: Henry McLaughlin
PUBLISHED BY: Tyndale Fiction
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4143-3942-9
Pages: 415
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Just before being hanged, Ben Carstairs asked Michael Archer to carry out his dying wish - reconcile with his father, Sam Carstairs. Michael promises to carry out the wish and heads off to the town of Riverbend. He meets a beautiful woman, Rachel Stone, who is staying with a preacher and his wife. Rachel has a dark past and just wants to start fresh in Riverbend.

Sam Carstair is kidnapped, and Michael joins the sheriff and his men in a journey to save him.

Journey to Riverbend is action-packed western tale with a Christian edge to it. The author, Henry McLaughlin, uses wonderful dialogue and descriptions of the old west. I was instantly hooked into the story after reading the first page. The romance between Michael and Rachel felt a little cliché, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the book.

*I would like to thank Tyndale Fiction for sending me a book to review.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Friday Book Blogger Hop

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has created this meme.

If you'd like to participate, here's Jennifer's instructions:


Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following. In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blog Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!


So, if you'd like to participate, just repost this on your blog, sign MckLinky and check out other blogs in MckLinky! Let's connect and make new book bloggy friends!! So, if you consider yourself a book blogger, come join the fun!

Question of the week: "Tell us about one of your posts from this week and give us a link so we can read it (review or otherwise)!"
 

My Answer: This week I reviewed Monster High. It is the first book in a new series from Lisi Harrison. Read the review here.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Thursday Ramblings - February 10, 2011


The Iron King (Harlequin Teen)Yes, I survived the snowstorms, and my cold sore I had last weekend. Did anyone watch the Super Bowl? I am not a big football fan, but who doesn't watch the Super Bowl? I would have to say that I have been mostly disappointed over the last several years by the laziness of the half-time shows, the commercials, and the movie trailers. As a kid, I remember commercials being funny and original, not stupid and boring. Most of the movie trailers did not wow me. For the half-time-show, let us just say I was not impressed.
Writing Great Books for Young Adults: Everything You Need to Know, from Crafting the Idea to Landing a Publishing Deal

I spent the majority of the last few days updating/redesigning my homepage/website at http://www.billyburgess.webs.com/. It is still a work in process, but I would like to have some feedback on it.

Winter's BoneI bought The Iron King, and The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa last weekend. I will look for The Iron Queen next time I go shopping.

I bought the DVDs Winter's Bone, and Let Me In, but I haven't had time to watch them yet.

In the mail this week: Writing Great Young Adult Books by Regina L. Brooks, The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston, The Hunger Games by Suzanna Collins, Catching Fire by Suzanna Collins, Mocking Jay by Suzanna Collins, Insatiable by Meg Cabot, and Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson.

The Complete Guide to Growing Tomatoes: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide Including Heirloom Tomatoes (Back-To-Basics)I also received The Complete Guide to Companion Planting by Dale Mayer, and The Complete Guide to Growing Tomatoes by Cherie H. Everhart from Atlantic Publishing for me to review.

Review - Monster High by Lisa Harrison



In the town of Salem, Oregon, Frankie Stein is born with mint-green skin. Well, actually, her parents are mad-scientists, decedents of the real Dr. Frankenstein, and they created Frankie. At only fifteen days old, Frankie attends Merston High and wants to be a regular normie.

Melody Carver and family move to Salem from California. She wants to start a fresh start at Merston High with her new plastic-surgery nose. Now that she is the pretty one, she hopes to be popular. She likes a boy named Jackson, who is hiding a secret.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Review - Last Look

Last Look (A Puffin Novel)Last Look
BY: Clyde Robert Bulla
ILLUSTRATIONS BY: Emily Arnold McCully
PUBLISHED BY: Weekly Reader Books
PUBLISHED IN: 1979
ISBN: 0-690-03965-4
Pages: 81
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Every summer Monica and her friends, Fran and Audrey, attend Madame Vere’s School, a private summer school for girls 6-12. This was their last year of classes.

A new student named Rhoda arrives at the school. She is from New York and her mother is a famous actress on Broadway. No matter what Rhoda does, Monica, Fran and Audrey don’t like her.

One night Monica is, awaken by a rusting sound. She finds a piece of paper with newspaper-cutout-letters on it. It read, “Monica, tell no one. RHODA In DANGER. GO to HAUNTED House. Tuesday at Mid Night. go alone.

I stumbled upon this book at a thrift shop. I am glad that I picked it up, it is a fast, fun read. The illustrations are spooky helping the mystery plot thicken page by page. If you can find Last Look, read it.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Review - Spooksville: The Dangerous Quest

The Dangerous Quest (Spooksville)Spooksville: The Dangerous Quest
BY: Christopher Pike
PUBLISHED BY: Pocket Books
PUBLISHED IN: 1998
ISBN: 0-671-00268-6
Pages: 117
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Welcome to the strange town of Spooksville, where not everything is what it seems. Watch, weird nickname for a kid, is suddenly ill. Someone has put a wicked spell on him. His friends Adam, Bryce, Sally, Cindy are going to find the underlying cause of it. They kids have been through many terrifying adventures, and this one is no different.

They follow a strange man that had bumped into Watch shortly before he became ill. They watch him go into the cemetery and jump through the tombstone of Madeline Templeton. She was a famous witch and her tombstone was the portal to other dimensions and times.

The kids follow the man through the portal and in up in a mirror Spooksville with copies of themselves living there. Will they save Watch and return home?

I have read many Christopher Pike books over the years, but this is my first in the Spooksville series. Despite being book 20, I found it easy to follow the plot. I would have to say that the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine inspired the Spooksville series. Overall, I found The Dangerous Quest fun to read.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Friday Book Blogger Hop!

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has created this meme.

If you'd like to participate, here's Jennifer's instructions:


Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following. In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blog Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!


So, if you'd like to participate, just repost this on your blog, sign MckLinky and check out other blogs in MckLinky! Let's connect and make new book bloggy friends!! So, if you consider yourself a book blogger, come join the fun!

Question of the week: "What are you reading now and why are you reading it?"
 

Bless This Mouse
Monster HighMy Answer: Yesterday I started reading Monster High by Lisi Harrison that I bought last year. There is a second book coming out soon, so I thought I better get to reading the first one. I am also reading an ARC of Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry, it is an ebook.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Book Review - How to Stop E-mail Spam, Spyware, Malware, Computer Viruses, and Hackers From Ruining Your Computer or Network

How to Stop E-Mail Spam, Spyware, Malware, Computer Viruses, and Hackers from Ruining Your Computer or Network: The Complete Guide for Your Home and WorkHow to Stop E-mail Spam, Spyware, Malware, Computer Viruses, and Hackers From Ruining Your Computer or Network
BY: Bruce C. Brown
PUBLISHED BY: Atlantic Publishing Group
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-1601383037
Pages: 288
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

The title alone, was the reason why I wanted to review this book. Who hasn’t had some kind of e-mail spam in their inbox? In this book, you’ll learn how spammers think and what the goals of spyware and virus are.

In the news, you always hear about government and big business being cyber attacked, but you don’t hear much about small business or the average person who are attacked everyday. Hackers send out their virus to either test their virus or to try to steal personal and private information from your computer. In other words, hackers are thieves.

In the book, you’ll learn all there is to know about malware, spyware, adware, viruses, spam, spoofing, phishing worms, trojans, SQL injection, Hijack, Rootkits, Bots, and the impact of Malware. You’ll read about the 10 most Common E-mail Scams and How to Defend Against Them.

Honestly, I already knew quite a bit on the subject matter, and if you are also well informed, then this book might not be for you. Someone new to computers, or has little knowledge about protecting your computer, will find this book interesting. There are plenty of links listed for paying and free firewalls, virus scans, and other useful information to keep your computer safe from cyber attacks.

*I would like to thank the Atlantic Publishing Group for sending me a copy to review.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Review - Tyger Tyger: A Goblins War Book by Kresten Hamilton


Teagan Wyltson is living a typical average teenage life. She has a part-time job, great family and friends, and she does great in school. She even has a scholarship for college. Her life starts to change when her best friend, Abby, starts having strange dreams about Teagan being in danger, horrible creatures are after her.