Category: Fantasy - Blazer Tales

Blazer Tales

Welcome to BlazerTales... where it's all about the book reviews.

There are 4 ways to use this blog:

1) Scroll through to see a variety of books;

2) Click on the 3 lines at the top left to get a drop down menu of books broken down by grade levels;

3) Go to the search box and for title, genre, or subject; and

4) Go to Categories and search by subject matter.

***These reading levels are just a guide to help if needed. Please, please, please do not let any of these numbers deter you from reading whatever you want!!!***

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

4/26/2020

Interest Level: 3-6

What would you do If you were born in a prison and you dreamed of the day you turned thirteen so that you can get out, but one day the chance comes about for you to escape? Would you take the opportunity to run or wait the four more years before you are released? This is the situation that Pong faces. He was born in Namwon Prison. He and his best friend, Somkit, dream of the day when they can go live in the city under the bright lights. They have grown up hearing the stories of the great fire and the governor who blesses everyone with the lights. One day Pong has a chance to escape and he takes it, but he finds out that life outside the prison isn't much better for a runaway. His arm has a tattoo that lets everyone know that he is on the run so he has no peace. He also finds out that only the wealthy have the bright lights. The poor have little to no lights at all. Many years later, Pong crosses path with the warden of the prison and his family. Nok, the warden's perfect daughter, recognizes him and vows to take him down in order to restore her family's name. As Pong goes on the run with Nok chasing after him, they both discover things about themselves and their past that shake them to their core. Will Nok capture Pong and turn him into the governor for Pong to go back to prison for the rest of his life? Will Pong be able to help the poor people who take him in and help them get the light that they deserve? Will Pong and Nok get the happy ending that they both deserve? Read this incredible book to find out these answers and so much more!

I absolutely love this story! The friendships, old and new, are extremely loyal and unselfish. Courage to stand up for what is right, even when you are standing up to a giant, is the theme throughout this story, despite the outcome. These friendships light up the world!

Serafina & the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty

1/21/2020

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.6

What would you do if you went head to head with your enemy and won, only to find out there is an even greater enemy to face? Only a few weeks before Serafina and Braeden defeated the man in the black cloak. Serafina has been working so hard with her mother to join the catamount family, only to learn that it is too late. Serafina can freely walk the halls of Biltmore now but she is still not comfortable with this new found freedom. She is struggling... she is too human for the forest and too wild for the house. One night while she is in the forest, she faces a creature that is more powerful and more horrible that she has ever seen. And while she is battling his creatures in the forest he has sent on an accomplice into Biltmore. All of the animals in the Blue Ridge Mountains are in mortal danger, even Serafina's mom and siblings. All of the people that are in Biltmore are in mortal danger, including Braeden and her Pa and the Vanderbilts. Will Serafina and Braeden be able to sniff out the intruder that has worked their way into the magnificent home? Or will this unknown intruder cause a gulf so wide between Braeden and Serafina that it can never be crossed? Will Serafina choose to run and hide in the mountains forever, or will she fight for her home? Read Robert Beatty's exciting new thriller, the second in the Serafina series, set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and the Biltmore Estates.

The Serafina series is one of my favorite books series EVER! I read these books to my sixth grade book club and each year the kids are begging for more. There is just the right amount of thrilling cliffhangers, scary conjurers, and friendship that can never be broken. Do not miss this second book in the Serafina series!!

Also, don't miss out on the Serafina and the Twisted Staff PowerPoint that you can purchase through my TpT store. This PowerPoint has 176 slides and asks students comprehensive and thought questions chapter by chapter. It also has pictures of the different rooms described in the book. The students will learn so much about the Biltmore Estates. Click here to go directly to my TpT store or scroll down to access it. If you read this book as a read aloud, this PowerPoint is a must!!

Serafina & the Splintered Heart by Robert Beatty

1/20/2020

Interested Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.2

Imagine that you wake up and you have been buried alive? You have no memories of what happened to get you there or how long you have been there. Serafina has battled and defeated the Man in the Black Cloak and she has battled and defeated the Twisted Staff. Now she has to find a way to battle to get out of the ground. After she gets out and heads home to Biltmore Estates, she encounters a storm-creech creature and a sorcerer in a hooded cloak. She has to get home to warn her friends and family, but when she gets there she finds that things are not the same. Braeden is very sad and looks like he has been in a battle himself and almost lost. The other shocker to Serafina is that Braeden is in possession of the black cloak and he decides to put it on. Serafina has to try and figure out what has happened to her world. She is the guardian of Biltmore and she is also the guardian of the Blue Mountains but how can she help defend any part of her world when she feels so lost? With time running out for Serafina, she must find a way to rally her friends and find a way to fight a new, unknown enemy. In this third installment in the Serafina books, this is one that can not be missed!

The Serafina series is one of my favorite books series EVER! I read these books to my sixth grade book club and each year the kids are begging for more. There is just the right amount of thrilling cliffhangers, scary conjurers, and friendship that can never be broken. Do not miss this third book in the Serafina series!!

Also, don't miss out on the Serafina and the Splintered Heart PowerPoint that you can purchase through my TpT store. This PowerPoint has 175 slides and asks students comprehensive and thought questions chapter by chapter. It also has pictures of the different rooms described in the book. The students will learn so much about the Biltmore Estates. Click here to go directly to my TpT store or scroll down to access it. If you read this book as a read aloud, this PowerPoint is a must!!

Heartsong's Missing Foal by Whitney Sanderson

12/12/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 3.8

Would you like to be a Unicorn Guardian? This Is exactly what Ruby and Iris are... Unicorn Guardians. There was a time when unicorns and humans lived together, but the humans started hunting the unicorns. Two girls used unicorn magic to create an Enchanted Realm where only the girls' keys could open the Magic Gate. When the girls grew up they gave their magic keys to their daughters, Ruby and Iris! One day when the girls went to check on the unicorns they realized that Heartsong was missing. They checked in the Book of Unicorns and found that unicorns will go into the forest to have their babies. After a few days the girls begin to worry because there is strange magic in the forest. They decide they have to go into the forest and find Heartsong. Will the girls find Heartsong? Has something bad happened to Heartsong or her new baby? Read this precious story for beginning chapter book readers and beyond!

I loved, loved, loved this story! This is a small chapter book with pictures all through it. This book will grab the reader and want them wishing for more! So it's great that there are more books in this series. Don't miss this endearing story!

Outlaws by Jen Calonita

9/28/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.7

What would you do if you were kicked out of school, banished to the middle of the forbidden forest, and brought shame to your family? This is what has happened to the Royal Academy Rebels - Devin, Sasha, Logan, Heath, and Raina - all because they disagreed with how the fairy godmother was running the academy. When this group of friends suspected that Olivina was in cahoots with certain villains, Olivina did the only thing she knows how to do when she is being opposed... banish them. This is not the first time she has banished someone from RA, but it is the first time she has done it as a group, and it is the first time she has done it to siblings of the royal court. When these five find themselves in the middle of the forest, they face many challenges. Devin thinks if they find Red Riding Hood then she can help them find a way to get back with their families and not bring shame to them. Not only do they find Red, they also find a group of others who have been banished from RA. Their first challenge is to get Sasha's article printed in the Happily Ever After Scrolls. This is a problem because the HEAS are published by ogres, not humans, and Olivina has her hand in everything that goes on there. Can they sneak in and get Sasha's article out to everyone and expose the wicked Olivina? Their second challenge is to sneak back into Royal Academy for the Masquerade Ball, one of the biggest balls of the year. Will these five misfit kids find a way to redeem their family name? Can they find a way to finally expose the evil Olivina? Or will Olivina win and the kids will be exiled from the school and their families forever? Read this incredibly exciting second installment to the Royal Academy Rebels series!!

There are not many books that grab me and won't let go, but this is one of them! If you have read my blogs before then you know that I am not a super fast reader. So when I say I read this book in just a few hours because I couldn't put it down, you know it's a great one! Jen Calonita weaves such an amazing story that includes Disney princes and princesses and fairy tale characters. The Royal Academy Rebels can not be missed!!! (and a quick note to Jen Calonita - please make a book three!! I am not ready for these characters to end! I want to see and hear more about them as they grow and develop in their talents!!)

Misfits by Jen Calonita

9/28/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.4

If you were born to live one way but you but you grew up wanting to live another way, would you do what you thought was right, or would you follow your heart? For Princess Devin Nile, she would be happy living her life in the forest taking care of all the animals. Devin has a very unusual talent - she can talk to and understand animals. However, Devin is a princess and she is expected to go to RA, Royal Academy, where all of the prince and princesses go to learn the proper ways of royalty. From the moment Devin steps out of her pumpkin carriage and onto the Royal Academy campus, she does not fit in. She did not read and memorize the princess manual like all of the other girls so she seems to be breaking the rules left and right. For example, her first class is with Snow White and it is Creature Care. Devin is so excited because this is right up her alley, but when a dragon gets loose, according to the manual, Devin is supposed to sit back and wait for a prince save the day. So when Devin helps to get the dragon under control, she is given her first strike for not following the rules. Next, when all of the princesses are kidnapped and placed in a tall tower, being attacked by a dragon, and the tower is on fire, Devin tries to wait for a prince to come but once again, she jumps in to save the day. Strike two. If Devin gets strike three she will be kicked out of RA and her family will be humiliated, they will lose their place in society, and never be able to show their face again. Devin can not let that happen so she promises to be the perfect princess. Olivina, the fairy godmother, has made it very clear to Devin if she doesn't get in line she will be banished. Olivina has also threatened her roommates and friends - Heath and Raina White, Snow White's siblings; Sasha Briarwood, Princess Rose's sister; and Logan Nederlander. So when everyone is gathered in the ballroom and trouble comes once again, is Devin going to sit back and be the perfect princess she is supposed to be or is her instincts going to kick in? Will Devin get her third strike, get kicked out of RA, and bring shame to her family? Or will she sit back and let the princes take care of the situation? And what about Olivina, the fairy godmother? Is she on the good side or is something more sinister going on? Check out this amazing fantasy novel to find out the answers to these questions and so much more!!

This is one of my favorite books that I have read in a while! I love anything to do with Disney princesses and fairy tale characters. Jen Calonita brings a winner with her newest series, Royal Academy Rebels. I was listening to this book on my drive to and from work. I was in the middle of chapter 19 of 20 when I pulled up at work and I did not want to go in. I needed to finish this action-packed, edge-of-your-seat book. This book is incredible and when you get to the end you will have to read book 2, Outlaws! Do not miss the Royal Academy Rebels series!!!

The Cryptid Keeper by Lija Fisher

9/20/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.8

When you are thirteen years old you should be thinking about homework and friends, right? Well not Clivo Wren! Clivo has taken over his deceased father's job of searching for the immortal cryptid. It is summer and the Myth Blasters, a group of kids who know everything there is to know about cryptids, have moved into Clivo's basement. The Myth Blasters do all of the leg work to research where the immortal might be, and Clivo sets off to find it. But something strange is going on. It seems that every cryptid Clivo finds ends up missing. Is someone following every one of Clivo's moves? Clivo, his best friend Jerry, and the Myth Blasters are trying to solve the mystery of where the cryptids are disappearing to and what they find may put all of their lives at risk. In their search Clivo also uncovers the secrets of his father's death. Will Clivo and his friends be able to find the immortal cryptid and protect it from the evil forces? Can they figure out what has been happening to all of the other cryptids? And will they all make it out alive? Don't miss the conclusion to The Cryptid Catcher!!

If you loved the beginning to this story, you will absolutely become obsessed with the end! If you thought the first one was full of action and suspense, then you better put your seat belt on for this one! It is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and even a few of those "are you kidding me?" moments. You just can't help but fall in love with Clivo and his friends. Do not miss this one!!!

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

9/20/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 4.2

Wouldn't it be exciting if your dad won a trip to a ski lodge for the winter break? Ollie sure thinks so! When her dad wins a trip for five to Mount Hemlock Lodge, Ollie and her best friends, Coco and Brian, her dad, and Coco's mom head out for the trip of a lifetime... but first they have to make it there. They are driving in a blinding snowstorm at night and things are going okay until Coco screams for them to stop because someone was standing in the middle of the road. As they skid to a stop, they get out and no one is there. Who did she see? When they finally make it to the lodge, crazy things start to happen, Ollie and Coco both have scary nightmares, a stranger shows up out of the blue, the power goes out, and the generator quits working. As the sun goes down, the ghosts come out and things go from bad to worse. Ollie gets trapped on the opposite side of the mirror from her friends, Brian gets lost from Coco, and if they don't figure out a way to get Ollie back before dawn, they will all go to sleep and never wake up. Ollie, Coco, and Brian have been in a similar situation just a few months before when they had to battle The Smiling Man and his scarecrows. Can they work together again to get out of this horrific situation, even after being separated? Who is doing this to them? And can the ghost be trusted or should they not listen to the dead voices? Read this super scary, edge-of-your-seat book to find out if they survive or if they become one of the dead voices!!

Katherine Arden knows how to write a spine-tingling book that you will love to read in the dark! Dead Voices is the second book to Small Spaces and it is just as exciting and scary as the first one. Ollie, Coco, and Brian are three friends that will always look out for each other and stick together no matter what. In book one, these three seem like the most unlikely people to ever be friends, and now they are inseparable. I am so hoping that this is not the end of this trio's adventures!! Do not miss Small Spaces and Dead Voices!!!

The Bone Garden by Heather Kassner

9/10/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 5.6

We all have bones inside of our bodies, right? Of course! But what if you were made from bone dust? Irréelle lives with her cruel creator, Miss Vesper. Irréelle lives a simple life - she lives to serve Miss Vesper. Everyday Irréelle has to go to the basement to collect the bone dust for Miss Vesper's experiments. But lately Irréelle seems to be making mistakes and an irritated Miss Vesper threatens to turn her back to dust and create a new creature. When Irréelle seems to make the ultimate mistake, she destroyed one of Miss Vesper's creations, she runs away to the bone garden, the area beneath the cemetery. This is where she meets Guy, a former servant to Miss Vesper who went missing months ago. Together, Irréelle and Guy go on a mission in the graveyard to find what Miss Vesper is always searching for. When they stumble upon Lass, Miss Vesper's newest creation, they all have to try to uncover the mystery that Miss Vesper is hiding before she turns them all to dust.

This is such a sweet story of friendship, standing up for one another, and standing up for yourself. The story does have a creepy undertone but not a super scary book. Irréelle will capture your heart and before the book is over you will want to wrap your arms around her! I loved this book!

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

9/10/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 4.1

Do the things you read in books sometimes come true? Does history ever repeat itself? Eleven-year-old Ollie loves books so when she sees a woman trying to throw a book into the river, she knows she has to save it. However, when she starts to read it she gets more than she bargained for. The book contains friendship, love, loss... and someone called The Smiling Man. As creepy as it sounds, Ollie knows that it is just a book, that is until her class goes on a field trip to the local farm, Smoke Hollow. That is when Ollie finds out that the woman from the river is the same as the owner of the farm. Ollie knows something is just not right but she can't figure out what it is. As the bus is going back to school it breaks down and there is no cell service. When the teacher has to leave the kids to go walk back to the farm, things go all wrong. Ollie starts putting the pieces from the book to what is happening and she realizes she needs to leave the bus. Ollie bribes the creepy bus driver with some of her dad's amazing food and he gives her some very valuable advice - run away and stick to the small spaces. Ollie doesn't really have any friends so when a small girl named Cocoa and a popular, hockey star boy named Brian follower her into the woods, she acts annoyed but really she is thankful for the company. As soon as the sun goes down they heard the screams from the bus and the scarecrows come to life. Ollie can not believe it when comes face to face with the characters in her story, but in ghost form. The next day as the sun comes up they find their friends are scarecrows and that The Smiling Man is real. Can Ollie and her friends find a way to get out of this bizarre, alter-universe world that they are in and save their friends, or will they fall into the hands of a madman and become a scarecrow forever? Read this incredibly fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat, scary story that will have you wishing for daylight!!

Small Spaces is a frightening, hair-raising story that will have you turning the pages long into the night to see how it ends. This book, much like the book Ollie finds, is full of love, loss, unexpected friendships, and difficult decision that could be life or death. Don't miss this one!!