Beowulf

Beowulf consists of three major battles.  You could call it a trilogy, I suppose. 
Beowulf and Grendel
Beowulf and his Mother Beowulf and Grendel's Mother
Beowulf and the Dragon

(Right.  This is not about Beowulf's mother, the daughter of Hrethel, but about Grendel's mother, evil monster mommy who is so uncivilized that she doesn't say a single word.  Pay no attention to the movie version.) 

BEOWULF AND GRENDEL
Hrothgar owns a mead hall called Heorot.  (And that's only the beginning of the alliteration.)  But then this monster named Grendel starts invading Heorot.  He carries men off to his lair.  Beowulf enters the story to kill Grendel and save Heorot.  When Grendel enters, Beowulf pretends to be drunk and asleep.  He rises and fights the monster.  He doesn't use a weapon, because that would be an unfair advantage.  It would have been a waste of time to use a sword anyway, because Grendel can't be hurt by human weapons.  So Superman Beowulf tears off Grendel's arm.  The monster goes to die in his swamp. 

BEOWULF AND GRENDEL'S MOTHER
But wait!  There's more!  Grendel's mother is mad about her son's death.  (Perhaps that's understandable, as it's her son.  Perhaps not, because he was so ugly.  Perhaps, because she's so much uglier that she thought he was beautiful.  Unfortunately, if this is so, she doesn't have a revelation like Ophelia does:  "I was the more deceived!")  Anyhow, it turns out that Beowulf has to go Grendel's-mother-fishing in the lake.  He fights her underwater.  His sword doesn't work on Grendel's mother (Beowulf, you really need to fire whoever makes your weapons), so he grabs a giant sword that Grendel's mother had in her armory.  (She'd probably eaten its owner.)  He chops off her head.  Then he finds dead Grendel and chops off his head.  He resurfaces after who knows how long (wow, he must have taken a page or two out of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn's book) with the proof that the monsters are dead. 

BEOWULF AND THE DRAGON
Beowulf is now King of the Geats.  (Yeats.  Yayats.  Whatever.)  A slave steals a cup from a dragon.  The dragon is (understandably) angry, and starts burning towns down and having a major temper tantrum.  (These dragons . . . they're so touchy.  Look at Smaug!  He - oh.  Ohhh.  I see the connection . . . Tolkien took inspiration from Beowulf and . . . ohhh.  Let me quote Grace - "That's so awesome!")  So Beowulf and his buddies go take an expedition to take out the dragon.  Beowulf goes down to fight it alone (at his request) and starts getting pwned.  Wiglaf (Weelaf.  Wee-loff.  Yeah, that.) is the only one who goes to help him.  Beowulf's neck gets chomped and Wiglaf stabs the dragon.  Beowulf takes that opportunity to stab the dragon, but then he dies from the wounds.  Wiglaf gets the dragon's treasure and succeeds Beowulf. 

Passage

Passage by Connie Willis is for adults, but only because of a heavy overarching theme of death. 

It's an amazing premise (expecially having read 90 Minutes in Heaven and part of Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back).  Joanna Lander and Richard Wright are scientists researching NDEs (Near Death Experiences) using a drug that imitates NDEs.  When only a few of their volunteers are able to produce useful data, Joanna has to be "sent under."  She sees the Titanic, and she wonders what the connection is between this ancient ship and the NDE.  When she realizes the significance, she goes to find Dr. Wright.  Instead, she meets tragedy.  Dr. Wright, Kit, and Vielle must find answers - and quickly.  They were too late to save Joanna, but there are others on the brink of death as well . . .

Stars:  8.5 for its suspense, premise, and such. 

Violence:  6; Greg tries to force Joanna to show him where the lifeboats are. 

Romance:  7.  Some of the nurses find Dr. Wright "cute" and Vielle tries to do some matchmaking, but not much. 

Language:  7 or 8.  S-words and such. 

Recommended for:  older teens and adults

Ender's Game

I'd heard some good things about this book, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. (I was pretty sure Zoe's story about Iggy and the Vampire Academy [or whatever it was called . . . it's been a while] was based off this book. And the premise was amazing. So I was looking forward to reading this.)

I enjoyed it immensely. It lived up to my expectations and even passed them. (I've got rather high expectations.) The twist ending was really amazing.

Stars:  9.5, because . . . I never really give anything a complete 10 stars.  I believe that books are amazing, but I can always find something that I disliked. 

Violence:  8.  Ender fights several people who attack him.  Two he kills because he goes too far. 

Romance:  2 for slight references to . . . parts.  Mainly in the cussing sense. 

Language:  8 for intense cussing.  B-words floated all over the place with Ender and his pals in null gravity. 

Appropriate for:  older kids

What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!

This was a draft post that I never finished.  It's not a total review (it's missing the numbers, for one thing) but I figure I might as well post it. 

What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! by Agatha Christie details the investigation that follows Mrs. McGillicuddy seeing a woman being strangled in a passing train.  Though the body is not found, Miss Marple is convinced that the murder actually happened and enlists Lucy Eyelesbarrow to serve at a certain house where the body may be found.  Lucy actually finds the body, and the case that follows baffles the police and everyone concerned - except Miss Marple.

Lucy Eyelesbarrow is an practical, efficient girl, though lacking in Miss Marple's particular mental abilities.  Her trust in Miss Marple's good judgement is magnified through the book, first when she finds the body and second when Miss Marple actually solves the mystery.  She could be considered eccentric when she turns down a steady position for this more exciting and definitely more dangerous position, given that someone has been killed, and the murderer could kill again.

Simon Bloom, Gravity Keeper

Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman details the life of Simon Bloom, who finds an amazing Teacher's Edition of Physics which allows him to control some parts of physics.  He has to protect the Teacher's Edition from falling into the wrong hands - but who are the wrong hands? 

This book breaks the fourth wall by having an actual character called the Narrator.  The characters visit the Narrator and watch their story play out in real time.  I found this fascinating.  Not many stories that I've read have pulled this off.  In fact . . . I think the only other story which has broken the fourth wall is the sequel to this book, Simon Bloom:  The Octopus Effect. 

Stars: 8

Violence:  8.  As the kids fight using physics formulae, there is quite a lot of slamming people with cars, melting asphalt, setting clothes on fire, and slightly nauseous flying.  It's not graphic (no gaping wounds or anything) but with a sufficiently active imagination, this book could be quite disturbing.  Alternatively, it could be full of cool fight scenes.  It isn't really . . . after a while the ordinary fights get monotonous, even with all the action. 

Romance: 0.  It's a kids' book. 

Language: I don't remember any serious breaches of propriety as to the language . . . I think it should be fine. 

Appropriate for:  older kids

The Once and Future King

The Once and Future King by T. H. White was an amazing epic, nearly on the scale of Lord of the Rings (but not quite).  It followed King Arthur from his boyhood as the Wart in King Ector's castle to his old age with an unfaithful wife and a semi-traitorous best friend. 

It explained the motivations in the several love triangles and quadrangles that came up involving Guenever, Lancelot, King Arthur, Elaine, and even (referred to extremely reverently) God. 

 

 

Stars: 7
 

Violence:  7.  They are knights, after all. 

Romance: 8, because of the love triangles and quadrangles (even though they probably should be called squares or rectangles or even quadrilaterals). 

Language: 6.  These insulting knights are called chivalrous despite their language. 

Appropriate for:  older teens

The Stones of Abraxas

The Stones of Abraxas by K. Osborn Sullivan is a book with a great premise.  It falls short in some places, though.  They're mostly grammar and spelling technicalities.  While these don't detract from the book very much, they undermine the reader's confidence in this author.  I certainly could identify with the English teachers mentioned who "corrected both spelling and grammar on the room service menu."  And I was particularly shocked when I saw the list of no less than eleven people with "exceptional grammatical skills" in the front of the book who had assisted in the writing process.  I mean no disrespect to the author and her team of dedicated family and friends (examine the last names and you'll see that there are a few Sullivans and Osborns in there) but it seems that "exceptional grammatical skills" are not as exceptional as expected.  For example, on page 239, "praying mantis" was corrupted into "preying mantis"; what makes this particularly embarrassing is that the author said "praying mantis" on the facing page.  Another issue is the fact that drinks, while they may steam, do not smoke (page 279).  If they do, you should probably not be drinking them (by extension, this means that they are not drinks).  (This is a technicality and not a spelling or grammar problem.) 

WARNING:  The next paragraph contains major spoilers.  [spoiler]

Another problem with this book is the transparency of the Dartmur-as-a-spy-and-traitor plot.  From the very moment that Dartmur, the butler, hinted to David about the dungeon, I knew there was something fishy.  A suggestion was somewhat out of character for him.  It did not go with the entire butler theme.  Butlers are supposed to be silent people who speak only when spoken to.  While this may not be true of all butlers, this butler's character followed the rule. 

[/spoiler]

However, the rest of the suspense was great.  Not much else was given away. 

The writing style was not particularly impressive.  Switching between points of view rather abruptly didn't work here.  (Perhaps I did this in my novel . . . I don't remember.)  Some of the description was good, but not the best that I've ever seen. 

The verdict?  The grammar and spelling detracted somewhat from the book.  The plot was too transparent at times, but not always.  And the writing wasn't superior.  I would recommend this book for its premise - but only if you know where the grammar and spelling are wrong.  :)

Stars: 4

Violence:  6.  [spoiler] Adrian gets hit by a truck and falls over a steep cliff.  He's injured badly.  It isn't graphically described, but if your imagination is vivid, the words "mangled" and the image of "very slight movement; a hand opening and closing" bring to mind a rather unpleasant image of a human in distress.  [/spoiler]

Romance: 6.  Frogs ask human girls for kisses, and Amanda is more-than-casually-interested in a knight named John. 

Language: 1

Appropriate for:  junior high and up

The Awakening

The Awakening by Kate Chopin discusses the less publicized side of married life (at least in 1899):  infidelity.  At a summer resort, Mrs. Edna Pontellier meets a certain Robert.  When Robert decides to leave for Mexico, Edna realizes that she loves Robert.  She loses her sense of loyalty to her real husband when she returns home.  She also gets involved with a man named Alcee Arobin.  This conflict between men drives her to desperate measures. 

The language is amazing, injecting romance where you least expect it, such as this description of the sea: 

"The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.

"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul.  The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace." 

[spoiler] This is particularly symbolic, as Edna later drowns in the sea.  So to speak, she listens to the voice of the sea when she enters extramarital relations.  The voice of the sea, while attractive at first, lures her into despair.  It's exactly like the Sirens in Greek mythology.  They sound and appear attractive, but in reality, they're flesh-eating monsters.  [/spoiler]


Doing the numbers: 

Stars: 9

Violence:  1, for although [spoiler] Edna drowns herself afterwards, it is not at all graphic.  [/spoiler]

Romance: 7, since that's the main concern of the book.  Nothing graphic was described. 

Language: 0

Appropriate for:  teenagers

Watership Down

Watership Down by Richard Adams is not about a maritime tragedy, despite its name.  It follows a band of buck rabbits leaving their home warren because one of them had a vision of destruction.  The title of the book comes from the down where they finally start a new warren.  They encounter rabbit groups in many conditions, including a warlike, overcrowded warren with a paranoid obsession with avoiding humans.  The warren, Efrafa, takes this obsession to the point of oppressing its rabbits.  The bucks plan a daring rescue which leads to a climactic war between the outnumbered Watership rabbits and the mighty Efrafan empire.

Adams' novel was reminiscent of some more recent works.  First, the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series by Kathryn Lasky (the first book is reviewed here) has a very close parallel between St. Aggie's and Efrafa.  Both have a restrictive society, heavy punishment for rule-breaking, infiltrators, and some disgruntled members of the rank-and-file.  In addition, those in both books are scarred, physically in Efrafa, mentally in both places.  No one leaves untouched, if able to leave at all.

Echoes of Watership Down's setting and plot were in the Warriors series by Erin Hunter.  A community of animals with a belief system involving reverence for ancestors is a common thread.  El-ahrairah, while not quite counting as an ancestor, is supposedly the first rabbit.  Premonitions set both stories in motion.  Fiver and Brambleclaw both receive visions of their home being destroyed.  Each sets off with some friends to find a new home.  Cats and rabbits also have many of the same enemies, so elil battles were mirrored in the Warriors series.

When the humans drive out the rabbits from the original Sandleford warren, it is like the humans driving out the rats in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.  In both books, a bird is rescued and becomes a valuable ally.  They also describe small animals forced to abandon their homes because of humans.

Watership Down is such a classic book that many subsequent writers have emulated its plot, characters, and premise.  I would highly recommend this novel to everyone over the age of 11.  It is a stimulating, thoughtful adventure into the world of the rabbit that enables us to see more clearly into our own.


The numbers:

Stars: 9

Violence: 8, the rabbits got in fights a lot and one named Blackavar got his ears torn into shreds.  

Romance: 5.  The Watership rabbits started their interactions with Efrafa by asking to take some does back to the Watership warren.  When Bigwig is discussing the rebellion with Hyzenthlay, he pretends to be mating with her so that no one will ask questions.  Nothing physical or graphic.  

Language: 6 for d--n.  Bigwig can be a foulmouthed rabbit at times.  

Appropriate for:  11 and up

No Talking

Title: No Talking

Author: Andrew Clements

Summary:  Dave, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, tries going one whole school day without talking.  At lunch, a girl named Lynsey jabbering away to her friends sparks Dave into launching a fifth-grade-wide contest of who can say the fewest words in the next two days.  Dave keeps score for the girls and Lynsey keeps score for the boys.  Three-word answers were permissible when asked a question by a teacher - anything over that got counted.  The teachers discover the plot.  Most say it's disruptive, but Mr. Burton thinks it's very interesting.  He helps the kids explore their interactions with each other, having them pass notes instead of talking during one class, to make them think about what they're writing and how different it is from talking.  However, the principal makes a speech to prohibit their contest.  Though they agree with her verbally, they only use three words - the contest is still on.  Finally the principal yells at the entire fifth grade.  She steps out of line, and Dave stands up to her, breaking his silence and saying many illegal words.  It could destroy the boys' chance of winning the contest, but everyone in the fifth grade applauds him.  Later, Dave is sent to the principal's office.  He forgives her and invites her to join the contest.  

From that point forward, the contest is for the whole school.  On Thursday, they tally up the illegal words on both sides.  The boys are losing because of Dave's speech to the principal, and everyone knows it.  Just before the clock gets to twelve, when the contest would end, Lynsey intentionally says exactly the right number of words to tie the boys and the girls.  Dave and Lynsey, formerly enemies, have forged the sentiment of a team not only between each other, but also between the boys and the girls of fifth grade.  

Stars: 8

Violence: 0.  This book explored words and interactions more than the physical.  

Romance: 2 for when a girl kissed a boy on the cheek just to get him to exclaim in disgust (giving the boys more words).  

Language: 0

Appropriate for:  6 and up

Other:  This book really explored friendship and communication.  The humanizing of the principal and the friendship of Lynsey and Dave were a few of the communication aspects.  

Usually a common enemy builds friendships.  The teachers and the principal weren't really enemies, but they tried to stop the fifth graders.  Lynsey and Dave stood together, and while arranging everything so that they could continue their contest, they formed a relationship, which was a bridge between the male and female sides of the fifth grade.  

Sphinx's Princess

Title: Sphinx's Princess

Author: Esther Friesner

Summary:   Nefertiti, niece of the Queen of Egypt, is brought to the palace at Thebes.  She is coerced into marrying the crown prince, Thutmose, in three years' time.  He turns out to be a cold, boring person.  Nefertiti prefers his sister, Sitamun, and his brother, Amenhophis.  But then Thutmose becomes jealous and forbids her from seeing Amenhophis.  Then he gets her accused of a crime she hadn't done - killing his beloved cat.  It's only a crime because cats are sacred to Bast, an Egyptian goddess.  She is imprisoned, and a viper comes in to kill her at night - an obvious murder attempt.  

Stars: 7.  This was pretty good, actually.  Great description and all.  

Violence: 6 for Nefertiti kicking Thutmose in the leg and a bruise on Amenhophis (because Thutmose hit him).  

Romance: 7, there's an entire romantic tangled rivalry between Amenhophis and Thutmose.  Though Thutmose is obviously the worse choice for most of the book (the 5% in which he's being nice is a total fake, as Nefertiti finds out later), he is the crown prince.  In addition, he was the one who was supposed to marry Nefertiti.  

Language: 4, if you count swearing by Egyptian gods as swearing.  If not, then 0.  

Appropriate for:  Younger teen

Other: Friesner really captures my attention with her writing.  I barely even notice the writing style, because the story is so absorbing.  It sucks you in.  Luckily, reading is a pretty healthy addiction.  Just get everything you need to get done first before picking up this book, okay?  

The Capture

Title: The Capture

Author: Kathryn Lasky

Summary: Soren is snatched by the owls of St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls.  The Academy, also known as St. Aggie's, "moon blinks" their owls, causing them to mindlessly obey what the Academy tells them.  Gylfie, another owl, helps Soren resist being moon blinked.  Together they discover a plot to control all owls.  Two owls who secretly oppose St. Aggie's help Soren and Gylfie to escape.  Their names are Hortense and Grimble, and both are discovered and killed.  Once outside, Soren and Gylfie meet Twilight and Digger.  Both owls have been affected by St. Aggie's egg and owlet snatchings.  Together, they set off for the island where it is said the legendary Ga'Hoole owls live.  

Stars: 8.  The characters and description were amazing.   

Violence: 6, for when Hortense and Grimble are killed.  An owl who discovers Hortense giving one of the eggs she sits on to an eagle pushes Hortense off a cliff.  Her death isn't visually described.  The only thing said was that Hortense's voice grew fainter.  
Grimble, who fought an owl to help Soren and Gylfie escape St. Aggie's, was killed in that fight.  Soren and Gylfie were flying (and it was told from their perspective) so not much was described.  The "torn owl, bleeding and mortally wounded" was said to have "torn wings [and a] head at a weird angle", but that was it.  
The vampire bats who came and sucked owls' blood as a part of the St. Aggie's regime were not described in bloody detail.  (In fact, not a speck of blood was described . . .)  The procedure was quite ghastly enough.  

Romance: 0.  Finally I review a book with no romance.  

Language: 0.  There were no swear words, but there was one invented bad word (like D'Arvit in Artemis Fowl).  It was "racdrops", short for raccoon droppings.  

Appropriate for:  8 and up.  

Other: The description was amazing.  The best scene was Grimble's death.  "The night was splattered with blood" completely captured the spirit of the moment without giving too many gruesome details.  It also calls the reader's attention away from the physical cruelty of the murder and hints at the disruption of a larger cosmic order.  
A movie based on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series came out recently.  It's apparently based on the first three books. Here's the review (written by my friend Gecko).  

Timothy of the Cay

Title: Timothy of the Cay

Author: Theodore Taylor

Summary: The stories of Timothy's childhood and Philip's life after he leaves the Cay are told in alternating chapters.  Timothy first goes to sea at age 14, becomes a captain of his own ship, and eventually serves on the ship where his life crosses with Philip's.  Philip undergoes a surgery to regain his vision.  When it works, he returns to his Cay to finally see everything that Timothy had described to him.

Stars: 6.  It was okay.  It could have been better.  Personally, I liked The Cay better than this book.

Violence: 4, Timothy was cuffed on the back of the head occasionally, and the fierce hurricane that killed Jennifer and her family was pretty violent.  However, nothing was too graphic.

Romance: 2-3.  Charlie told Timothy to settle down with a lady, but Timothy never really acted on it.

Language: 4 for d--n.

Appropriate for: 7-8, but only if you've read The Cay.

Other: The title of this book was extremely boring.  Even though it left out Philip's name, I thought that was particularly appropriate.  The Cay was told in the first person, from Philip's point of view, and his name was rarely ever mentioned.  However, there was nothing in the title that made me want to read the book, apart from The Cay being a good book.
I almost thought Timothy's story wasn't that essential, other than showing another angle of the discrimination against blacks.  I was more interested in Philip's story.  I almost wanted to just skip the Timothy chapters and read only the Philip chapters, but I resisted.

Taking Sides

Title: Taking Sides

Author: Gary Soto

Summary:   Lincoln is a star basketball player for Franklin Junior High, a tough school in a bad neighborhood.  Then he moves to a nicer school district and goes to Columbus Junior High.  When he has to play against his old school, he doesn't know if he should play hard and seem like a traitor to Franklin or be easy and seem like a traitor to Columbus.  In the end he realizes that he's not like the Columbus kids.  He's a Franklin through and through, wearing a Columbus uniform.  He plays for himself and for the love of the game, not worrying about who wins.  

Stars:  7.  Not one of my favorite genres, but Gary Soto's writing is really realistic.  

Violence:  6.  Fighting is discussed, but never described in detail.  Lincoln has a toe injury and a knee injury, and both are described (the injuries, not the acquiring of them).  

Romance:  6 for discussion of boyfriends (come on, I mean, they're in eighth grade, but still . . .) and minimal hand-holding.  

Language:  0

Appropriate for:  junior high/middle school

Other:  This was a good exercise of my Spanish.  For the words I didn't know, there was a glossary in the back (which I never found until I was finished . . .).  I liked the culture intertwined in this book (for example, the tortillas at all meals and speaking Spanish at home).  

The Secret Adversary

Title: The Secret Adversary

Author: Agatha Christie

Summary:   Tommy and Tuppence, two young people who had survived the war, get together and try to make some money.  A case comes up at once:  a man wants Tuppence to assume a false identity and live in France.  When he asks her name, she decides that she had better not tell him, so she takes one that Tommy had told her about the other day, Jane Finn.  The man starts up and begins getting scared.  This all leads into a quest for the real Jane Finn, who had been handed important papers by an agent at the sinking of the Lusitania.  These papers, if published, could begin the overthrow of the English Government.  Some people want these papers to publish them.  The secret society is headed up by a criminal genius who goes by "Mr. Brown."  With the aid of an acclaimed KC and an American millionaire (cousin of Jane Finn), they try to track down the leader.  The person who turns out to be the criminal is - as always with Christie's novels - extremely unexpected.  (Except . . . I expected that he/she was the criminal halfway through the book.  Either it wasn't that unexpected, or I'm very perceptive.  I'm tempted to believe the latter, but common sense tells me that Christie wasn't at her best in this novel.)  

Stars: 8.  Definitely not one of Christie's best novels.  The coincidences were a little too much for me.  

Violence: 5 for threatening people with firearms and whacking people on the head with heavy objects.  Oh, and old knocking people out with the stuff in a handkerchief (they inhale it, and they get knocked out).  

Romance: 5 for several proposals - at least three.  No graphic physicalities.  

Language: 6, for h--l and related expletives.  

Appropriate for:  Teen/adult

Other: 

Perelandra

Title: Perelandra  (Space Trilogy, #2)

Author: C.S. Lewis

Summary:  Dr. Ransom returns, and this time he's got to go to Venus and save that planet!  The Oyarsa of Malacandra (referred to as Malacandra from now on, since there's an Oyarsa of Venus [Perelandra] and a twisted Oyarsa of Earth [Thulucandra]) sends Ransom to Venus in a coffinlike structure that melts upon his landing.  Perelandra is a land of floating islands that move in relation to one another.  Ransom meets a green Lady, who is the equivalent of Eve.  Weston suddenly arrives on Perelandra, trying to convince the Lady to live on the fixed land (which Maleldil had strictly commanded her not to do).  It's only Weston's body, though.  It is someone else inside.  The sleepless creature, Un-man, persists in his flattery and persuasion.  Eventually Ransom, with the support of Maleldil, physically wrestles with the Un-man.  Though hurt, Ransom pursues the Un-man to the fixed land.  There, he vanquishes Un-man - or so he thinks.  He's gotten into this chimney kind of structure by swimming through a crack in the rock, but he can't do it again.  So he climbs up.  Eventually the Un-man finds him again, but Ransom pushes him into a fire pit.  Un-man dies (and doesn't come back this time).  He is met at the top by the Oyarsas (Oyarsae?) of Mars and Venus, Malacandra and Perelandra.  The Lady and her King are also there.  The Oyarsas send Ransom back home in another coffinlike structure.  

Stars:  9.  The description, if possible, was even better than in Out of the Silent Planet.  

Violence: 8.  The fighting of the Un-man and Ransom was violent.  It wasn't graphic.  It just stated the wounds, and that in and of itself was bad enough.  They were pretty bad wounds.    

Romance: 6; the Un-man suggested that there was something between Ransom and the Lady, since they were both naked in all their associations.  However, that kind of relationship was apparently foreign to Perelandra, and it wasn't really even a wish in Ransom.  

Language: 0-1

Appropriate for:  Older teen/adult

Other: Its allegory was great.  Loved it.  However, it was a bit deep and tangled.  I have the feeling that in a couple of years or so I'll understand it better.  

An Old Fashioned Girl

Title: An Old Fashioned Girl

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Summary:  Polly goes to town to stay with Fan and Tom.  While there, she contrasts her plain dresses with the rich girls' fancy ones.  She also notes a man who manages to be both fashionable and courteous.  His name is Sydney.  
She returns later to teach music in town.  Sydney falls in love with Polly, but she doesn't return his affection.  She nips the romance in the bud.  Then Fan and Tom's family hit hard times.  Tom gets a job out west, and from his letters Fan and Polly believe he loves another girl.  But Polly loves Tom.  Turns out, Tom loves Polly, too.  Sydney and Fan get engaged, and it's a general "happily-ever-after" ending.  

Stars: 5

Violence: 3; Tom tumbles off his velocipede and consequently gets injured.  His injuries are not graphic.  Alcott, no doubt writing for girls in her time period, probably thought girls would have no interest or business with a scene of that sort.  

Romance: 7.  Heh, romantic concerns must encompass over half this book.  Nothing inappropriate for 19th or 20th century girls, so certainly nothing shocking to 21st century readers, except for maybe the barefaced modesty and conservative view of romance.   

Language: 0, I'm pretty sure, but I might have missed one or two words.  

Appropriate for: Young adult/teen

Other: I've noticed a pattern in Alcott's books.  I've made a Google Docs spreadsheet for you all to check out, since it's easier to understand in that format.  The three books I used are An Old Fashioned Girl, Rose in Bloom, and Little Women.  Spreadsheet
Also, I think the picture of Tom at the end spoiled it for me.  He looked old, ugly, and weird.  To my mind, he looked like Bhaer (from Little Women).  It didn't fit Tom.  Here, I'll post a picture.  

Out of the Silent Planet

Title: Out of the Silent Planet  (Space Trilogy, #1)

Author: C.S. Lewis

Summary:  Dr. Ransom, a philologist, is kidnapped by two men who truly deserve the title of "evil scientist":  Weston and Devine.  They take him to Malacandra, which is called Mars on the earth.  Weston and Devine have a philosophy of imperialism on a large scale, and they plan to annihilate the inhabitants of Malacandra to make room for humans.  The Oyarsa of Malacandra, who is the leader of Mars under Maleldil (an allegory for God), sent for Weston and Devine.  Weston and Devine, misunderstanding Oyarsa's gesture of friendship as an intention to use them for human sacrifices, left Malacandra and returned with Ransom to use for a sacrifice.  Ransom escapes and meets the hrossa, which are like seals, the sorns, huge herdsmen slightly reminiscent of Cyclops (but with both eyes), and the pfifltriggi (sp?), creatures dwarflike in their love of working metals.  

Stars: 9.  It was a little hard to work through, but I loved the description and new words.  I promise myself I will reread it later.  In the daytime.  

Violence: 6.  This is more of a thoughtful book, but they killed a sea monster (I forgot what it was called, but Ransom helped kill it, disobeying the eldil who spoke to him.)  

Romance: 6, for when Ransom and his hross friend discussed hross love (not in too much detail or with too much abandon, for it didn't go into the physicalities of it).  

Language: 0-1

Appropriate for:  Older teen/adult

Other: This was a good step up from The Chronicles of Narnia (I still like the story of the Chronicles better, but this was great too).  It contained more challenging vocabulary, more tangled allegory, and great description.  I had to look up no less than 15 words in the dictionary.  

Runemarks

Title: Runemarks

Author: Joanne Harris

Summary: Maddy Smith is a Fiery.  She has a rune, which allows her to do magic.  When she meets a wandering Fiery named One-Eye, she never guesses the truth.  When he sends her below ground to find a treasure called The Whisperer, she discovers Loki, one of the old Norse gods, and he tells her that old One-Eye is actually Odin, the head honcho.  At least, he was the head honcho before the big war.  Now the rest of the gods aren't fully on his side. Maddy and Loki, with the guidance of the Whisperer, venture to the Underworld, where the showdown will occur between Odin and the Nameless.  The Nameless turns out to be the most unexpected character of all.  

Stars:  4-5  

Violence: 7, because when the Nameless speaks, everyone's nose bleeds.  Also, a lot of battling and casting runes happens - which usually involves violence.    

Romance: 4.  Hel, goddess of the Underworld, trades Loki for Balder.  Originally, she had asked Loki to kill Balder so that she and Balder could be together in the Underworld.  (Evidently Balder was god of sunshine or something, so he was handsome.  But really . . . a handsome god named Balder?)  

Language:  4; it contained d--n and b-----d.  

Appropriate for: Young adults

Other: It was like Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramid, what with all the glamours.  And I could draw a connection between runes and hieroglyphs.  

The world was almost confusingly complex.  One set of gods is confusing enough.  Two sets is just crazy.  Maybe the Norse gods were that numerous and befuddling originally.  Well, the author could have explained them better.  

This book seemed anti-Christian or something.  The titles of some of the antagonists were parsons and bishops (and this wasn't the kind of book where the "bad guy" is the protagonist, like Macbeth).  The Nameless, who was really, really, greedy and bad and terrible etc., was called the Ancient of Days.  The antagonist was the established church.  The church sometimes had communion, which was a black-magic connection of the entire church and the Nameless.  It's as if the author is saying that the church is bad.  And that makes me not so sure about this book.  

Beauty

Title: Beauty

Author: Robin McKinley

Summary: Beauty's father wanders into an enchanted castle, where he is shown hospitality.  As he leaves, he picks a rose for Beauty.  But the Beast, the owner of the castle, tells him that he must bring back his daughter to live with the Beast or else come back alone and die.  Beauty comes to live with the Beast and discovers that he is not what he seems.  When she agrees to marry him, he turns into a prince.  

Stars: 8.  I like books that retell familiar stories (fairy tales and Shakespeare, for example).  

Violence: 3 for when the Beast sends the horse off by smacking it on the flank with his claws.  He frightens the invisible servants with a roar so loud that it actually tumbles Beauty over.  

Romance: 6, since it is a princess story.  It isn't graphic, though.  The invisible servants try to make Beauty wear a dress that she considers . . . immodest . . . but it isn't described in that much graphic detail.  (That was one of my favorite scenes.)  

Language: 0

Appropriate for: 9+  

Other: I really liked the description of places, especially of the castle.  The invisible servants were - to say the least - amusing.  

El Dorado

Title: El Dorado (sequel to The Scarlet Pimpernel, or one of the sequels)

Author: Baroness Emmuska Orczy  (Her full name is Emma "Emmuska" Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orczi.  No wonder she shortened it!)  

Summary: In revolutionary France, Armand St. Just, a follower of the Scarlet Pimpernel (aka Percy Blakeney, his sister's husband) falls in love with an actress, Mlle. Jeanne Lange, while working for his leader in enemy country.  (Percy, an Englishman against the French Revolution, is famed for rescuing innocents from the blade of Madame Guillotine under the guise of the Scarlet Pimpernel.  However, some in France know his true identity.  Percy's mission at the beginning of the book is to rescue the young Dauphin from a cruel prison in France.)  Jeanne is not a supporter of murdering "aristos" and saves Armand's life by hiding him.  She is arrested, giving Percy a double mission:  rescue the Dauphin and Jeanne.  Armand doesn't trust his leader, supposedly in the madness of his love, and goes back to save Jeanne himself.  The long and short of it is, Percy goes back to save Armand and gets captured himself.  The French starve Percy, trying to make him tell them where he's put the Dauphin.  Finally, after about seventeen days, he seems to give.  He says that he will lead them to the place.  They take Percy's wife Marguerite (also Armand's sister) and Armand as insurance.  Eventually, Percy trades places with one of the Frenchmen in a powerful position in the hierarchy and rescues his wife and brother-in-law.  

Stars: 6

Violence: 7.  Percy was kept on bread and water for seventeen days.  During this time period, he was also not allowed to sleep.  Every time the author talked about him, she mentioned something about a deathly appearance and waxy hands and sunken eyes and . . . well, it was extremely creepy.  

Romance: 7.  This book could partially be classified under "romance."  I didn't read it for the romance, though . . . I liked the mystery of the first book in this series and decided to read the sequel.  Believe me, though, the mystery was better in the first book (The Scarlet Pimpernel).  

Language: 5.  Lots of "demm'd."  There might have been some others.  

Appropriate for: Young adult or adult.  (I read the first book when I was, what, 10?  Oh well.  I get more out of it now that I'm older.)

Other: On Goodreads (yes, I am on Goodreads) the author profile for the Baroness mentioned that she was most famous for The Scarlet Pimpernel.  It also mentioned that she tried to write sequels, but they were not so popular.  I can see why.  The trick Sir Percy used at the end of this book wasn't at all like the one in the previous book.  I was amazed at the end of The Scarlet Pimpernel.  I had this feeling of "Oh.  That's it?" at the end of El Dorado.  I'll admit that the exchange of letters was clever, but I really felt that the Baroness could have come up with something a bit more original for the ending.  

The Lost Hero

Title: The Lost Hero (part of the Heroes of Olympus series, sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Author: Rick Riordan

Summary: Jason wakes up on a bus with a bunch of strange kids.  He can't even remember who he is.  Piper and Leo, his friends, are duly unsettled, but they accompany the rest of the bus kids to the Grand Canyon.  In the Grand Canyon, storm spirits attack.  The teacher, Coach Hedge, is carried away.  Annabeth comes, steering a flying chariot, and brings the three demigods to Camp Half-Blood.  It is revealed that Percy is missing and the goddess Hera is being held prisoner.  Leo is claimed by Hephaestus, Jason by Zeus, and Piper by Aphrodite.  There's something odd about Jason, though.  He seems to prefer calling gods by their Roman names.  The three set out to rescue Hera.  Each is visited by strange phantoms:  Leo by "Dirt Woman" and his old babysitter; Jason by wolves; and Piper by a large giant.  They finally follow the trail through to the Wolf House and free Hera.  By the time they return, Jason has almost all of his memories back.  He recalls that Thalia is his sister, and that he came from a camp of Roman demigods.  Annabeth then understands that her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, is at the other camp.  Jason warns that they aren't as friendly over there . . .

Stars: 5

Violence: 5. Violence was in this book, granted, but it wasn't very graphic.  Piper cut off an Earthborn's six arms, but the monster didn't bleed or scream.  In fact, the scene was used for humor.  "The Earthborn looked down, very surprised. He mumbled, 'Arms go bye-bye.'"  When monsters died, they disintegrated into the ground.  No blood.  

Romance: 5. There were a few kisses discussed, including Percy/Annabeth and Jason/Piper.  

Language: 0

Appropriate for: See, I'm not really sure about this.  The writing style made me think 8-9 year olds, but the content made me think 14-15 year olds.  

Other: I wouldn't really call this good literature.  It's got a great plot line, but it needs a little bit of remodeling as regards the tone and vocabulary and all.