And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie - Review

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie

(Amazon, Kindle)

From the title you can kind of guess what this book’s going to be about. I mean ‘And then there were none’ makes it sound like there were some at the start and then something happened to them and then it became none. When I say it like this, it doesn’t sound remarkable or memorable, but Agatha Christie takes this simple phrase and spins it into an unforgettable story.

Ten people are invited to the out of the way Soldier Island situated in Devon. All of them invited by a certain Mr. and Mrs. Owen. None of them have any idea that the others are coming. An odd collection they are. A judge, a governess, a doctor, two caretakers, a retired army general… well you get the idea. Upon reaching they are escorted to their rooms and are informed their mysterious host and hostess aren’t there. Unsure about what’s happening they decide to dine but what they don’t realize is that after that dinner nothing would be the same.

The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides

Amazon, Kindle

A silent patient and a determined psychotherapist who will try his best to make her speak.

This was what I thought the book would be about when I first read the blurb. It sounded like a book about lengthy psychological talks and a lot of hospital scenes and technical terms. All in all not a very good first impression. It didn’t sound like the first book you’d pick up or something that would catch your attention. Yet when I read the blurb something about it caught my attention. It could have been the quote at the top or the fact that I wanted to know what the patient was hiding. Whatever the reason was, I decided to give the book a shot.

TimeRiders Book 1

TimeRiders (Book 1), by Alex Scarrow

Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook

Let me jump in and explain a few things before I really get started because the book is quite confusing at the start.

Liam was a steward on the sinking Titanic in 1912 and was about to drown; Maddy was on a plane with a ticking bomb in 2010 and was destined to die; Sal was about to get crushed to death in a fire in 2026. However, all three of them were rescued by an old man just before they died.

To cut a long story short, they wake up and find the old man who saved them. The man introduces himself as Foster and tells them he works for an agency called TimeRiders, the same agency that the three of them were recruited for. They would work with the agency and their goal would be to prevent time travellers from altering the past. When they went for a walk Maddy notices that they are in New York. However, the Twin Towers were still part of the skyline. Foster explained that they were in 2001 on 10th September, the day before the 9/11 attack. The three of them would be the New York group of the agency. The room where they woke up would be their field office where they would be living and working. The field office was in a time bubble of 48 hours and would reset on the night of 11th September. Therefore, the three of them would be reliving the 10th and 11th of September over and over.Each one of them had a particular role. Sal would be the observer as she was very observant and would immediately notice if anything had changed or if time travellers had changed anything. Maddy would be the analyst and would discover where and when the change occurred. Liam would be the field agent and would be sent back in time to fix and correct the timeline.

Magisterium - #2 The Copper Gauntlet - Review

The Magisterium Book 2: The Copper Gauntlet – by Holly Black, Cassandra Clare

Amazon

I had recently reviewed the first book in this series. Now I’m reviewing the second book that is called “The Copper Gauntlet”. (Minor spoilers)

Call will soon be heading off to his second year at the Magisterium. He feels unexpectedly relieved, at the thought of going back and escaping the strained silence that had invaded his home ever since he had gotten back. Alastair was angry at the fact that Call had attended the Magisterium and was going back. This had led to an awkwardness and had put a strain on their relationship that hadn’t been there before. With only one or two weeks left, he is longing for the holidays to end.

One day, Havoc, his pet wolf goes missing. Call is horrified to find him tied up in his basement. Adding to his horror are the pair of shackles that seem to be for a teenage boy. Call confronts his dad and it ends in a huge fight that leads Call to leaving his house. Call goes to Tamara’s house and goes to the Magisterium directly from there. His joy at being at the Magisterium is diminished when he realizes that someone had tried to steal the Alkahest, that was a dangerous object used to destroy Makars. He is even more shocked when he notices the uncanny resemblance between the Alkahest and a drawing he had seen in his dad’s notebook. Call is gripped with fear and uncertainty because he thinks Alastair tried to steal the Alkahest. He tells Aaron and Tamara who in turn tell the Masters at the Magisterium. Now, there is a manhunt for Alastair Hunt, involving all the mages in the world. Call decides to set out and find his father before the mages so that he could at least try to prove Alastair’s innocence. He knows he has to try because the alternative would mean certain death for his father. Aaron and Tamara insist on coming. The only hitch in the plan was having to kidnap Jasper, a fellow student to ensure that he didn’t snitch on them.

Now, Call and his friends are in a race against time to find Alastair before its too late. And on the journey Call must prevent his friends from discovering his secret, knowing that they would hate him if they knew.

The second book was as good as the first. Maybe it was even better. Holly Black and Cassandra Clare know how to spin a very good tale. They haven’t copied any of the age old clichés but instead have created such fresh and new ideas you are surprised at every turn. My favourite character has to be Jasper. He adds the spice and sarcasm to the book. My favourite parts are when Call and Jasper start arguing. Then, you just can’t stop laughing. Their sarcastic and snide comments are hilarious. While the book has its humour, the series never loses the darkness that was so evident in the first book. In every chapter you can sense the darkness in Call and his frustration and fear that his friends would discover his secret. The air of mystery still remains and you are still amazed by the ideas and the plot.


© 2019, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Magisterium: The Iron Trial, by Cassandra Clare

Magisterium: The Iron Trial (The Magisterium), by Cassandra Clare

(Amazon IN, Kindle IN, Audible IN)

(Minor spoilers)
This is a slightly unusual series in some ways. It is a mix of new and old. The old part comes from the fact that it is a fantasy tale and talks about magic, mages, unusual creatures, etc. The new part is the fact that the story has an unwilling protagonist. A 12 year old boy who hates magic and is unwilling to go to the Magisterium.

Callum Hunt, the protagonist of our story has a sad past, his mother is dead and his left leg was shattered when he was baby. Another thing that makes him unusual is his hatred for magic, but it is quite understandable as his mother was killed in the Third Mage War. Despite all of this he has a relatively normal life, far away from the world of magic. His life starts to unravel on the day he is taken to the Iron Trial. The Iron Trial is a mandatory test that any child who shows signs of magic has to take. At the end of the test, each Master could choose up to 5 apprentices to teach.

The Vedas and Upanishads for Children, by Roopa Pai

The Vedas and Upanishads for Children, by Roopa Pai

The title of this book is the Vedas and the Upanishads. To give you a little information, I’ll give a short summary. The Vedas are one of the most sacred texts of the Hindus. There are 4 Vedas, which in order of composition are, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda. They basically describe the rituals, sacrifices, who were the Hindu gods, etc. Another important thing is that the Vedas were not written for a long time but were instead composed and kept in the head. The Vedas are also made up of four layers and this is where the Upanishads come in. The Upanishads are the last layer of the four layers that make up a Veda. They contain stories and myths that explain the different possible meanings of the first three layers. It is also kind of similar to the third layer of the Vedas. I know this is all very confusing and you also must be wondering why I am reviewing this.

Wonder, by R J Palacio

Wonde, by R J Palacio

Amazon IN,  Amazon US, Kindle IN, Audible IN

Wonder is about a ten-year-old boy named Auggie (August) Pullman. Auggie was an unlucky child as he had been born with a deformed face. Even after twenty seven surgeries Auggie’s face looked so bad that people were shocked when they saw him. Auggie had never been to school before and had been homeschooled. Now, his parents wanted him to attend a real school as it would be fifth grade and the start of middle school for everyone. Auggie starts at Beecher Prep. Everyone find him scary-looking and most of them are mean to him The book then talks about how Auggie feels everyday at school and how he makes a few friends and how he starts enjoying school.

The book was one of my favourite books ever because everything was written so well and it was simply amazing. My favourite part was that the book had many different parts. Most of them were from Auggie’s point of view but a few were from the different people in his life like his sister or his best friend. This gave you a chance to see what everyone feels about Auggie and from their point of view. It was a great book to read and I loved the sequel of this book too.





© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Middle School: My Brother Is a Big Fat Liar, by James Patterson

Middle School: My Brother Is a Big Fat Liar, by James Patterson (Author), Lisa Papademetriou (Author), Neil Swaab (Illustrator)

Amazon IN, Amazon US, Audible

This book is the only book in the Middle School series that it written from Georgia’s point of view. Georgia is Rafe’s younger sister and now that she is in middle school she too is going to HVMS (Hills Village Middle School).The book talks about how Georgia Khatchadorian goes to HVMS. The teachers get to know that Georgia is the sister of the infamous Rafe and give her no chance to prove herself. They think that Georgia is just like Rafe and only wants to fool about. Adding to this are the Princess Patrol, Missy, Bethany and Brittany. They are a group of girls that are popular and cool and treat everyone else as dirt. They have now singled out Georgia as the new person to bully. Then Rafe signs up Georgia’s band to play at the dance. Knowing that their band was horrible Georgia is afraid about what will happen at the dance. Will she be able to survive till the end of the year? This was only a short glimpse of what the book is about.

The book is so funny. It is also a change to be reading from Georgia ‘s point of view. You get to know a lot more about her and what she feels. It is also hilarious when Georgia thinks of the different ways to outsmart the Princessesses. The tricks that she and Rafe play on each other. It all comes together very nicely and the result is one amazing book. The plot and everything else is just awesome. This was another one of my favourite Middle School books because it was from Georgia’s point of view.




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© 2018 Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

The Curious Case of the Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop, by Nandini Nayar

 The Curious Case of the Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop, by Nandini Nayar

Amazon IN, Kindle IN

The Mithaiwallas are one of the best sweet-making families. The secret to their success is a book that contains the recipes of every delicious and new sweet created by them. Vishnu Mithaiwalla is the current generation in the Mithaiwalla family. One day a boy named Laddoo shows up and claims that he is his nephew, the son of Vishnu’s estranged sister, Revati. The next day however, a girl named Anu shows up claiming that she is his niece and the daughter of Revati. Both say that they have come to live with him. Now, Vishnu is in a fix and has no way of knowing who is the real relative. On top of this, someone sets out to steal the ancient recipe book! Will Vishnu catch the culprit before it is too late? Will he find the real Mithaiwalla descendant? That was the summary.

This book was recommended by our librarian, Pratap Uncle. The minute I read the blurb I fell in love with the book. The plot was simple yet very entertaining. This book is one of those books that you won’t mind reading over and over just because of its simplicity. I liked the way all the recipes are described and the way the food is made. The book makes your mouth water when you think of the food. This is a book that any kid would like reading.


© 2018, Anika Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Artemis Fowl, Book 1, by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl-1 (Book 1), by Eoin Colfer

Amazon US, Amazon IN, Kindle IN

This is the first book in the Artemis Fowl series. Before I do anything I would like to give you a short summary of the book so that you’ll understand what I’ll talk about later.

The main character is a twelve year old boy named Artemis who is a criminal mastermind and a genius. In the course of one of his schemes, he manages to find the People or the fairy folk. The People have been living underground for a long time hidden from the Mud Men or humans. They have survived this long thanks to Foaly, the centaur also a technological genius. Artemis manages to decipher the Book (the rulebook of the fairies) which is written in Gnommish. This is a first. He learns that fairies need to complete a Ritual so that they can restore and replenish their magic. The Ritual involves plucking an acorn from an ancient tree and while the acorn is still fresh, planting it on a full moon night. Artemis goes to all the ancient oak trees onn full moon nights in the hope of catching a fairy. After many long waits he is rewarded. He captures Captain Holly Short of the LEP (fairy police force) He holds her captive and asks for a ransom from the LEP. The LEP has no other choice but to put a time field on Artemis’s house. A time field stops time in that particular place for at least 8 hours. If Artemis did not give up Holly by the end of the eight hours the LEP would have too release a bio-bomb that kills all living creatures and leaves everything else untouched. Is Artemis as clever as he seems? Will he be able to win without getting killed?