Search Results for: blog the jimmy fincher series james dashner

Author Interview – James Dashner

Today we are joined by James Dasher, author of “The Jimmy Fincher Series.” He’s here to talk with us about the latest developments in his career, his other books, and his really awesome news. James, I had the pleasure of interviewing you in November of 2006. Some really outstanding things have happened in your life since then. Can you tell us a little bit about “The 13th Reality” series? It’s a fantasy/sci-fi series involving everything from alternate realities to creatures called fangen to weird futuristic gadgets like barrier wands and gnat rats. Lots of riddles, humor, and action, too. The … Continue reading →

The Journal of Curious Letters – James Dashner

Atticus Higginbottom is a fairly average boy, despite his unusual and unfortunate name. His nickname, “Tick,” is only slightly better. He doesn’t consider himself special in any way until the day the first letter arrives, a letter telling him that he’s about to receive a series of clues that will tell him of a secret mission he must perform, one that will affect the entire world. He’s warned that it won’t be easy, and that he’ll want to withdraw many times before he’s through. If he doesn’t want to learn more, he should just burn the letter, and no more … Continue reading →

Author Interview — James Dashner

I recently reviewed “The Jimmy Fincher Series” by James Dashner, and am delighted to say that I was able to contact the author for an interview exclusively for Families.com. James, thank you for joining us today. We’re all very curious – how did you get the idea for “The Jimmy Fincher Series?” The first idea, for “A Door in the Woods,” came from a childhood memory. I actually saw a door that some goofball had dumped in the woods, and imagined that it had something cool underneath. From there, it can all be attributed to my psychotic brain. I get … Continue reading →

The Questory of Root Karbunkulus — Kamilla Reid

“The Questory of Root Karbunkulus” is a new young adult fantasy novel that features quirky characters, an unusual quest, and a beguiling main character, a young lady named Root. Raised in a strange house by two aunts who show her no love or affection, Root is startled when a telephone begins to ring in her house—a telephone she can’t find. She looks in cupboards, closets, every nook and cranny, and finally follows the sound to a secret trap door in the living room. Opening it and going down the stairs, she locates the telephone and discovers that she’s been chosen … Continue reading →

A Wizard Named Nell – Jackie French Koller

“A Wizard Named Nell” is the first book in a series entitled “The Keepers,” which is fantasy geared toward the intermediate reading level. My daughter took one look at it and clamored to be next to read it, and I’ll have no problem at all letting her. It’s a fun adventure with just enough peril, but not too much. Many hundreds of years ago, two wizard brothers fought for control of the land. The good wizard, desperate for his evil brother to be conquered, put himself and all his magic in a scepter that shone more brightly than the sun. … Continue reading →

Uglies – Scott Westerfeld

I have seen this young adult science fiction novel reviewed in countless places, and decided I’d better give it a try. It sounded interesting, but I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Tally Youngblood lives in Uglyville. Across the river, she can see New Pretty Town, where she will go to live in just a few short months. When she reaches her sixteenth birthday, she will undergo plastic surgery and all of her faults will be erased. She will be made absolutely lovely, and then she can go live in New Pretty Town, because she will … Continue reading →

What I Call Life – Jill Wolfson

“What I Call Life” is a young adult fiction novel set around the Pumpkin House, an orange building filled to the brim with foster children who operate under the care of the Knitting Lady. When Cal Lavender’s mother has another one of her “episodes,” this time in a public library, eleven-year-old Cal isn’t fazed. This is normal behavior for her mother. Soon she’ll snap out of it and everything will be fine, until the next time. But the authorities are called and Betty is taken off for treatment, while Cal is taken to the Pumpkin House. She doesn’t know what … Continue reading →

Serpent Tide – K. L. Fogg

”Serpent Tide,” a young adult adventure novel by author K. L. Fogg, is an exciting read. Wesley Vandergriff is a rich twelve-year-old who is coddled and protected to within an inch of his life by his mother, Imogene. His father isn’t in the picture, but Imogene makes up for that lack with toys, games, lavish birthday parties, tuition at an exclusive private school – in fact, the only thing Wesley doesn’t have is a life. His mother keeps him so safe and so protected, he never gets to go anywhere or have any fun. One day he finally gets the … Continue reading →

Mira, Mirror – Mette Ivie Harrison

We all know the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. But we don’t know a lot about the wicked queen, and we know even less about her magic mirror. “Mira, Mirror” by Mette Ivie Harrison takes us on a journey through a different perspective of the fairy tale, into the past of the wicked queen and that mirror. The book is told through the point of view of Mira, a young girl who doesn’t possess any real beauty of her own. She is sold to the neighborhood witch for a cord of firewood, and becomes an apprentice to … Continue reading →

The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald – Clifford B. Hicks

One of the books I remember the best from my growing up years is “The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald.” Alvin is a boy with a brain so magnificent, it sometimes surprises even him. The inventions he comes up with are truly out of this world, such as the alarm clock which wakes up soundlessly by pulling a string on his toe. (He delivers the newspaper, and he gets up early enough that he doesn’t want to wake up the rest of his family with a loud clock.) He invented a Sure Shot Paper Slinger to help him get those … Continue reading →