The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan

Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe -- a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

Stichley's Rating:
Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series is extremely popular, but he has another series, the Kane Chronicles.  Personally I loved this series because I LOVE Egyptian mythology and know it better than I know Greek mythology--or did.  This book was also fun because of the two main characters of Carter and Sadie. I thought that they were a lot of fun. The book was filled with a lot of fun, action, and mystery.  I think any young teen up to adults would love this series.

Instances of Swearing:

• Well the only swearing was the word God, but since it is dealing with Egyptian Gods it was not used in the swear word context.

The Night Angel Trilogy, Book One: The Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist. 

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

Stitchley's Raiting: 

This story was a really interesting story that was full of darkness that is found in much of human nature, and the with an interesting way of showing how we can be forced to change our very nature one step at a time.  In many ways this is a story of survival where Kylar is forced to slowly give up much of himself while he struggles to hang on to a small part of what is his humanity and his soul.  The story is very intriguing and complex.  When the book ends you can't help but want to read the next one in the Trilogy, but it is filled very much with the slums that he grows up in and the evils that he wishes to overcome and rise above.

Experiment 429's Rating: THUMBS UP

Instances of Swearing:

• Hell: 54
• Ass: 8
• Bitch: 4
• FU: 8
• Shit: 20
• Damn:64
• Suggestive Scenes

Pillage by Obert Skye

When fifteen-year-old Beck Phillips travels by train to the secluded village of Kingsplot to live with his wealthy but estranged uncle, Beck discovers some dark family secrets. A buried basement, a forbidden wall, an old book of family history with odd references to... dragons? Beck's life is about to be changed forever in this suspenseful tale about the destructive nature of greed and the courage to make things right. Pillage is filled with Mr. Skye's signature humor as well as some very intense moments. including a surprising ending, that will keep readers young and old engrossed and entertained.

 Stichley's Rating:

This book was completely different from what I was expecting.  It was different from every other dragon book I have ever read.  I enjoyed it, but it was not the intelligent dragon that I was thinking there would be.  I don't want to say much.  Obert Skye's book is not that long and as an adult you can read it in just a couple of sittings, but it is one that is fun to read to younger kids.  I really don't remember there being any swearing or anything inappropriate.  The only thing that would make it hard for real little kids is the concepts of the greed and courage, and some destruction that occurs in the book.

I Am the Messenger by Mark Zusak

protect the diamonds

survive the clubs

dig deep through the spades

feel the hearts


Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.


That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.


That's when Ed becomes the messenger.


Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

A 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book and recipient of five starred reviews, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love by the author of the extraordinary international bestseller The Book Thief.

Stitchley's Rating:

With all the hype of Mark Zusak book "The Book Thief" being released as a popular movie I thought I would review this book which I have actually read.  I really loved this book.  It is filled with intrigue, mystery, and a great deal of life and love.  Some parts of this book are hard to read and other parts when read bring a sense of peace and joy that is often found with the generous giving we often experience at Christmas.  I would recommend this book to almost anyone, but I do not believe it is a book for everyone.  Mark Zusak does not skirt from showing the pain and suffering in life that Ed (his main character) is endeavoring to ease while on his mission.  While this is necessary to the story it can be difficult for some to read this sort of material.  I suggest only that if you are uncertain of if you can handle this sort of material that you consider carefully before you read this book.  I Am the Messenger is a book that shows suffering and life at it's bleakest, but also how simple joy and love can come into it and ease that pain.

Instances of Swearing:

• Hell: 34
• Ass: 15
• Shit: 32
• Bitch: 3
• Lord's Name: 54
• Bastard: 31

Do to the nature of this book and the environment of some of the victims there is a few situations that are sexual/violent in nature.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Book One: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

He holds the secret that can end the world.

The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Sometimes legends are true.

And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

Stichley's Rating: 

I love history and having historical people mixed in with a magical story made this a very enjoyable story.  I actually had to go and look up characters that were mentioned in the story because I didn't know of them.  Obvious Nicholas Flamel I had heard of but the others I did not know of.  I spent time on the internet doing research trying to figure out who the characters were and learning their actual history so I could try and figure out the story before I finished it.  In the end it ended with just enough intrigue to convince me to buy the next book but not too much as to drive me wonky.

I don't recall any instances of swearing.

Erec Rex, Book One: The Dragon's Eye by Kaza Kingsley

Life is not easy for twelve-year-old Erec Rex. His single mother can barely support her six adopted kids. And they've moved into an apartment so tiny that Erec sleeps with the washing machine. Worse, there is a strange force within Erec that is making him do odd things. His urge to obey these thoughts grows -- until it becomes impossible to resist them. 

Then one morning, Erec's mother is missing. The force inside Erec commands him to find her, leading him on an adventure that will change him forever. When he arrives in Alypium, a hidden world where old knowledge of magic is kept, Erec learns that his mother and the entire kingdom are in peril. And he might be the only one who can save them.

Stitchley's Rating: 

This books falls in what I would call candy novels.  It is easy to read, short, entertaining, but nothing very deep.  It is perfect for early teens in my opinion.  While it has the classic good vs evil it doesn't really have anything in it that a true evil would have.  It is fun.  It is one of the many books that have come out of the Harry Potter craze, but I enjoyed it all the same.  It has action scenes and the words are a little to hard for little kids so probably a PG type of book for only that reason.

I do not recall any suggest situations or instances of swearing.

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, Book One: Here, There Be Dragons by James A.Owen

The Imaginarium Geographica

"What is it?" John asked.

The little man blinked and arched an eyebrow.

"It is the world, my boy," he said. "All the world, in ink and blood, vellum and parchment, leather and hide. It is the world, and it is yours to save or lose."

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica -- an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.

An extraordinary journey of myth, magic, and mystery, Here, There Be Dragons introduces James A. Owen as a formidable new talent.

Stitchley's Rating: 
This was a pretty enjoyable book.  It pulls different legends from history and intertwines them together.  It was a little lacking at some points but overall pretty good.  I haven't bought the next in the series yet mostly because while it started strong I found that it just didn't have an ending that did it for me.  By the end I just was feeling a little drawn out.  I will probably get it eventually but right now I have so many other books I'd rather read that it just isn't making my list.

Instances of Swearing:

• Hell: 5

Tales of the Otori, Book One: Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

In his black-walled fortress at Inuyama, the warlord Iida Sadamu surveys his famous nightingale floor. Constructed with exquisite skill, it sings at the tread of each human foot. No assassin can cross it unheard.

The youth Takeo has been brought up in a remote mountain village among the Hidden, a reclusive and spiritual people who have taught him only the ways of peace. But unbeknownst to him, his father was a celebrated assassin and a member of the Tribe, an ancient network of families with extraordinary, preternatural skills. When Takeo's village is pillaged, he is rescued and adopted by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru. Under the tutelage of Shigeru, he learns that he too possesses the skills of the Tribe. And, with this knowledge, he embarks on a journey that will lead him across the famed nightingale floor—and to his own unimaginable destiny...

An international bestseller, Across the Nightingale Floor is the first book in the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn.

Stitchley's Rating:
I really enjoyed this book.  I thought there was just enough ambiguity in how the skills of Takeo and others of the Tribe were described that it was believable as existing in this world and not being a story from some supernatural universe. The story, while a little predictable in the end, made enough turns along the way that it was enjoyable and a few points along the way I wasn't even sure that it was going to have the ending that I was certain had to be coming.  Even when it came I was very upset with the way the book ended and immediately started reading the next in the series.

Experiment 429's Rating: THUMBS UP

Instances of Swearing:

• Shit: 1
• Bastard: 1

There is little swearing but there are a couple scenes in the book that are suggestive.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry’s The Giver is the quintessential dystopian novel, followed by its remarkable companions, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Stitchley's Rating:

I really debated on how to review this book.  There is something about this book that every-time I read it I feel sucked in.  There is nothing overtly sinister in this book that gives it a PG-13 rating, but I thing in order to understand the real story being told in this book a child would not understand it.  I don't personally feel that the book is itself something that should be avoided unlike some people do, but instead think it is a book that instead points out problems that could arise in our society if we aren't careful in a manner that all of us can understand.

While there is no swearing that I can remember there are a few areas in the book that a little suggestive.

The BFG, by Roald Dahl

Captured by a giant!

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

Stitchley's Rating:

The only reason I give this a PG is because there is some talking of eating if children by the other giants.  It is a fun book that most children should have absolutely no problem with.  I read it and had it read to me as a kid.  I still listen to it on Audible since I find it to extremely enjoyable to listen to as an Adult even.  If you have any problem with an occasional stinker joke then you might not get all the humor of the BFG, but if you haven't lost that sense of humor yet you'll get it.

Don't recall any language.

Aubrey-Maturin epic, Book One: Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against a thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of a life aboard a man-of-war are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the roar of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.

Stitchley's Rating:

While the movie may have gotten a PG-13 rating I found this book to be boring... much as I found the movie to be.  There were several points in the book where I really thought that there might actually be some real potential in the story only to have it die away in monotony.  I've read plenty of stories about the sea, and this could have been good, but it needed the boring stuff edited out in my opinion.

Instances of Swearing: 

• Hell: 4
• Ass: 2
• Bitch: 9
• Shit: 1
• Genital Related: 1
• Damn: 12