Skip to main content

Raiders' Ransom

By

by Emily Diamand
New York: Scholastic, 2009. 334 pgs. Fiction.
In a futuristic and flooded England, Lilly is lucky beyond belief to have been chosen by a seacat, a feline navigator who helps his master sail safely around and among the drowned lands. But her luck runs low when Raiders attack her village, killing her grandmother and taking the Prime Minister's daughter hostage. When her neighbors and friends are rounded up and jailed or pressed as soldiers, she decides to go after Alexandra herself, hoping to set things right. Diamand, winner of the London Times' Children's Fiction Competition with this book, alternates chapters of Lilly's story with that of Zeph, a Raider boy who sees the world differently but who knows what's right in the end. A much-coveted talking "jewel," oddly valuable artifacts from the past (think: plastic milk jugs), and a bloody battle at sea make Raiders' Ransom a thrilling and unusual addition to the sci-fi/adventure genre.
Labels:

Comments

Ms. Yingling said…
This looks interesting. Did have some trouble reading your blog-- on my browser the text showed up as forest green on maroon, and I had to highlight the words to see them. Good titles, though!
January 25, 2010 at 4:55 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

By
If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.
Post a Comment
Read more

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

By loo
Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Factory

By
The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...
Post a Comment
Read more