Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneBy J.K. Rowling         Think it’s easy being the most famous wizard in the nation? Not if you ask Harry Potter, who goes from being an unknown "muggle" to a first-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where his very name is the stuff of legends. Hogwarts is beyond Harry’s wildest dreams, and is a welcomed change from his delinquent relatives’ care, but adventure and danger have ways of finding Harry and his friends in this amazing first volume encompassing his first year at the school. Harry Potter is an endearing book that will appeal to the reader of any and every age! Reviewed: Freshman Year. Read: 9th Grade.
	The Golden Compass By Philip Pullman         Set in Oxford, inside Jordan College, in a parallel universe, The Golden Compass is the tale of Lyra Silvertongue, a young girl who lives among the Scholars. One evening, Lyra stumbles upon a lecturer who speaks of a mysterious substance -- Dust, he calls it. Little does Lyra know how much this will change her life. She is given the opportunity to go to the North with Mrs. Coulter, a beautiful stranger. She accepts, and before she leaves, the head of Jordan College gives her a gift -- a compass-like machine which detects the truth. Armed with the Golden Compass and her daemon (her soul in animal form) Pantalaimon, Lyra begins a perilous journey, with Gyptians, armored bears, witches, and much, much more. Reviewed/Read: 8th Grade
	The Subtle Knife By Philip Pullman         The amazing sequel to The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife is the continuing story of Lyra Silvertongue. Lyra stumbles into the world of Cittagazze, where she meets Will Parry, a boy in search of his missing father. Together they journey through many interconnected universes, meeting one peril after another, but getting ever closer to Will's missing father and the secret surrounding his disappearance. Once you pick this book up, you won't be able to put it down until you reach the cliffhanger ending of the second volume of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Reviewed/Read: 8th Grade
	The Giver By Lois Lowry Jonas lives in the perfect world. There is no sickness or death, and no change. Weather and color have ceased to exist, and jobs, spouses, and children are assigned. There is no chance for mistakes to be made. Suddenly, Jonas' world is turned upside-down when he is chosen to be the next Receiver of Memory. For the first time, he experiences emotion and color, as well as heat and cold. And Jonas wants everyone in his Community to experience this sensation as he does. Can Jonas choose freedom over his family, friends, and all he has ever known? Reviewed: 7th Grade. Read: 4th Grade
	Princess Nevermore By Dian Curtis Regan Princess Quinnella has always dreamed of going to the world above the wishing well, but when the irresponsible magician's apprentice whisks her out above her world, through the waters of the wishing well, she begins to worry. She is all alone in this strange land above ground, when she meets Adam and his sister Sarah, who are both around Quinn's age. They invite her to stay with them, and she tells them about her secret world. Quinn knows she does not belong in the world above ground, and yet she finds herself falling in love with Adam. Can Quinn choose between her people and the one she loves? Read Princess Nevermore to find out! Reviewed/Read: 8th Grade
	Zel by Donna Jo Napoli Zel and Mother lead a content life, isolated from the rest of the world, with one exception: market days. On such days, Zel is allowed into the town, giving her a glimpse of a different world. One market day, Mother goes off to complete more errands and leaves Zel to her own devices for an afternoon. It is Zel's first taste of independence, and quickly becomes her first taste of something else: love. A secret romance buds in Zel's heart, but when Mother learns of this she does the unthinkable, locking her own daughter in a tower to keep her from abandoning her. This is a haunting retelling of a famous fairytale, told from all three characters' points of view, and it will keep readers hungry for more. Reviewed/Read: 8th Grade
	High Wizardry by Diane Duane Dariane has always excelled over her older sister Nita in everything she does. But suddenly, Dariane notices changes in her older sister, and realizes that Nita posesses a special power -- Nita is a wizard! Dariane, an avid Star Wars fan who always dreampt of posessing such magic, is thrilled that magic, just like the Force, really exists. She searches through her sister’s wizard manual until she finds the Wizard’s Oath, which she recites aloud to become a wizard. She goes out on her Ordeal, or first test of her wizardry, and leaves Nita and her best friend Kit, also a wizard, to chase after her.This is an incredible story of the fate of the universe resting in the hands of three young wizards. Reviewed/Read: 7th Grade
	The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer The year is 2194, and after sneeking out of the house on a forbidden adventure, General Matsika’s three children are kidnapped. The General, one of the most powerful men in all of Zimbabwe, calls upon a most unusual team of detectives -- the Ear, the Eye and the Arm, who each posess a strange power. The three odd detectives set off at once, and are always one step behind in the pursuit of the children’s kidnappers. Through this futuristic adventure, the characters are faced with problems of today as well as unique ones, making The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm a book to remember. Reviewed/Read: 7th Grade
	Night of the Eye by Mary Kirchoff Guerrand DiThon is the second son of Rejik DiThon, who died when he was eight. With his father's demise came also the death of his ambitions to become a Mage, for his elder brother, Cormac, became the lord of castle DiThon and despised magic. When a powerful Mage comes to Thonvil and seeks Guerrand out, he reawakens Guerrand's desire to become a Mage and escape his arranged marriage set up by Cormac. He sets off to become an apprentice to a Mage, and the trials he must overcome to become a Mage himself appear. In the middle of his apprenticeship, he learns of an attack planned against his family. How can Guerrand choose between his family and his lifelong dream? This book is volume I in the Defenders of Magic Trilogy. Reviewed/Read: 8th Grade
	The Medusa Plague by Mary Kirchoff The second volume in the Defenders of Magic trilogy following Night of the Eye, The Medusa Plague is the continuing story of Guerrand DiThon, who is now a Mage of the Red Robes. He has been appointed the High Defender of Bastion, the last stronghold before the Lost Citadel, the source of all magical knowledge. He is isolated from the rest of the world (except for the other two mages, one of the White Robes and one of the Black Robes), for Bastion is not even in the Universe! One day, the unexpected happens: a visitor, sent by the Council of Three, arrives in Bastion. This is none other than Bram DiThon, Guerrand's own nephew, who brings news of a terrible plague in Guerrand's village. But in his coming to Bastion, Bram has unwittingly given Guerrand's greatest enemy, a fellow mage once his friend, the key to destroy all Bastion was created for. Reviewed/Read: 8th Grade
	A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle It was a dark and stormy night. So begins this story of Meg and Charles Wallace Murray, sister and brother sent to save their father, who is imprisoned on an alien world. Together with Calvin O'Keefe, a distant acquaintance of Meg's, the trio sets off on their perilous journey, with the help of Mrs. Whatzit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, three witches. The three witches whisk the children off (by tessering) to Camazotz, a planet in a different galaxy, that has given up the fight and succumbed to darkness and evil. They find Mr. Murray a prisoner of IT, a disembodied brain who mentally imprisons Charles Wallace. Calvin, Meg, and Mr. Murray narrowly escape mental imprisonment themselves by tessering, or wrinkling time. The age-old conflict of good vs. evil and light vs. dark is an ever-present issue throughout Reviewed:8th Grade. Read: 6th GradeA Wrinkle in Time.
	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Begining on the worst Thursday in the history of Earth, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the humorous tale of Arthur Dent. With the help of his friend, Ford Prefect, who is really an alien from Betelgeuse posing as an out of work actor, Arthur manages to escape from Earth seconds before it is destroyed to make room for an interspacial bypass. Ford and Arthur are then picked up by Zaphod Beeblebrox, the "totally out to lunch" President of the galaxy and his girlfriend, Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan) who have just stolen the Heart of Gold,-- a ship powered by improbability. Toghther they embark on a journey to Magrathea, a hidden planet which designs and produces custom planets, and Arthur makes many surprising discoveries about his former home planet. Filled with mindless adventure and lots of laughs, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a must read for all science fiction fans! Reviewed/Read: 9th Grade

Float back to Katie's Korner!

Discuss these books!