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annapi

annapi

has 81 followers and is following 79 people

Books are my only vice and I will read anything, though I'm partial to mysteries, fantasy, sci-fi and young adult. My mom says I started reading at 2. I'm originally from the Philippines, married to an American (for 17 years and counting) and we have 2 young children, a 9-yr-old girl and an 8-yr-old boy. I collect books and hope to pass them... more »
  • Long Beach, Ca, USA
  • member since April 18, 2007

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 492 reviews
  • The Book of Three
    • Rated 4 stars

    “One of my all-time favorite series! Although this first book does not shine like Books 2, 4 and 5, it starts the reader on a fun adventure with Taran, the hapless assistant pig-keeper who longs to be a hero, who loses the white oracular pig that is his responsibility and sets out to find her before the evil Horned King does. My kids loved it when I finally read it to them, especially the comical creature Gurgi. Taran does some growing up by the end of the first volume but the wonderful tale of his coming of age really goes through the 5 books - and what a fantastic, marvelous adventure it is. Every kid should read this series.”

    annapi wrote this review Monday, October 17, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • Battle Royale
    • Rated 3 stars

    “I wanted to read this book because I had heard it was the basis for The Hunger Games, indeed some critics say it was plagiarized by Collins. In this alternate history (set in 1997 in the "Republic of Greater East Asia") every two years, a 3rd year high school class is chosen to fight each other to the death until only one victor emerges.

    I was looking forward to what I had thought was a classic, but I found it a little disappointing. The whole purpose of the book seemed to be the blood and gore and gratuitous violence. Still, there is something compelling about it, like the train wreck you cannot but keep watching, and I was surprised to finish it in a day. What I didn't like was the lack of plausibility for the whole setup. Even in the Hunger Games I thought it was a little weak, but I think Collins does a better job of it. I was also surprised to learn that the manga and movie came out before the book. Still, it was entertaining and though it started rather aimlessly it got better toward the end, and had an interesting resolution.”

    annapi wrote this review Saturday, September 3, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • Watership Down
    • Rated 5 stars

    “I fiinally finished reading this to my kids, and they love it almost as much as I do. I've read it over and over through the years and it still captivates me as much as in my pre-teens. This is the story of a group of real rabbits who leave their warren when the prescient Fiver foretells doom, and of the adventures they have on their way to their new home and beyond. Full of colorful, wonderful characters, it is a source of delight for both children and adults, as the author has absolutely succeeded in his ambition to write "a proper grown-up novel for children". Set in the very real downs of England, all the places in the book really exist, even though the anthropomorphic animals and the people are fictional, and that only adds to the charm and fascination of the story. Adams never talks down to his young audience, and indeed his descriptions might be a bit much for young minds, but that never bothered me as a child, and only enhance my enjoyment of the book as an adult. My pleasure in this re-read is doubled by the delight of my children in what they describe as the "best book!" Definitely in my top 10 all-time favorites.”

    annapi wrote this review Wednesday, August 24, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • Lioness Rampant
    • Rated 3 stars

    “In the conclusion to her series about Alanna the Maiden Knight, Alanna is off chasing a legend, looking to find the magically powerful Dominion Jewel in the Roof of the World, to present to King Jonathan. On the way she meets the Shang Dragon warrior, Liam Ironarm, who goes along for the adventure. And when she returns home she has to contend with another problem - her brother Thom has resurrected Duke Roger, and trouble is brewing in the kingdom again. Pierce brings the series to a rousing conclusion, even if it feels a bit rushed, with so many loose threads to tie off. A satisfying end to an entertaining series for tweens and teens.”

    annapi wrote this review Tuesday, August 23, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
    • Rated 3 stars

    “Having passed her Ordeal of Knighthood and vanquished her enemy Duke Roger, Alanna now sets out with her faithful friend Coram to find adventure. She finds herself captured by a tribe of fierce desert dwellers, and survives a duel to the death to become one of them. Then she must also fight against tribal customs to train two young girls in the arts of magic before they lose control of their powers. Alanna's story is simple (too simple most of the time) and straightforward, with no subtlety and a prose that tells rather than shows, but for its target audience of youngsters it's entertaining enough. ”

    annapi wrote this review Tuesday, August 23, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • In the Hand of the Goddess
    • Rated 3 stars

    “Alanna is now Prince Jonathan's squire, and as she approaches the Ordeal that will make her a knight, she has to deal with subtle, mysterious sorcerous attacks directed at her and possibly at the prince as well. She suspects Duke Roger, but has no proof and no one will believe her. And Duke Roger is beginning to be suspicious of her too. Book 2 continues in the same charming vein as the first - a simple fantasy story that young girls will enjoy. I wish I'd read this as a child because I've already outgrown it.”

    annapi wrote this review Monday, August 22, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • Dragon's Time
    • Rated 2 stars

    “The oft-repeated quote in the book, "We might not be able to break time but we can cheat it" is rather apt, for me - because this is all Todd McCaffrey does in this story - CHEAT. It's akin to a fantasy writer using magic as the cure-all for the conflicts and problems his protagonists face, only in this case it's time-travel. The cavalier way he treats time-travel in sharp contrast to the way his mother first introduced it to us quite spoils the Pern world in my opinion. And the monumentally slow pace of the book just made it boring for me - I spent over half of it skimming. I just couldn't feel any connection to any of the characters. I also found it overly dramatic, and once again bordering on corny, as I have found all his books. He has potential as a writer but I think he needs to stop playing in his mom's sandbox, or at least restrict himself to short stories that won't spoil the world for the fans.”

    annapi wrote this review Friday, August 19, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • Firebird
    • Rated 3 stars

    “Lackey brings the traditional Russian fairy tale of the Firebird to life in this exotic retelling. Ilya is the only sensible son of a boyar, a Russian prince, who is persecuted by his many brothers. The boyar's precious cherry trees are being robbed of their fruit and Ilya discovers it is the legendary magical creature the Firebird who is responsible. She gifts him with the ability to understand animals, and when he manages to escape his brothers' attempts to kill him, his adventures lead him to the palace of a magician who has captured the 12 most beautiful princesses in the world. Falling in love with one of them, he is determined to free them from the tyrant sorcerer. Lackey once again shows that her strength is in her characters as we follow Ilya's adventures. While the characters are pretty predictable and the action slows down occasionally, the pace is smart enough and the twists in the story interesting enough to hold the reader all the way through to the slightly unexpected but very satisfying happily ever after.”

    annapi wrote this review Sunday, August 14, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • Echo Burning
    • Rated 3 stars

    “My first disappointment from Lee Child. I was expecting more of a suspense and action-filled thriller, but this one kinda bored me up to two-thirds into the book. Once he got the action moving it was fine, but he spent entirely too much time setting it up. Also, I did not like the female protagonist. Reacher is hitchhiking and surprisingly gets a ride from a young woman. It turns out she is looking for a man of his type, and asks him to help her solve her problem of an abusive husband, who is soon to be released from prison. Reluctantly Reacher comes to believe her and decides to pretend to get a job on her in-laws' ranch to keep an eye on her and protect her if necessary. Of course it turns out to be much more complicated than that, and of course Reacher eventually becomes a target for a killer. The ending was wrapped up in a most satisfactory way, enough to make up for the slow start, but this is so far my least favorite of the series.”

    annapi wrote this review Thursday, June 2, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
  • Running Blind
    • Rated 4 stars

    “At first I wondered how Child would take Reacher through the next book, with the relationship with Jodie tying him down, but I needn't have worried - once again Child manages to take us on a rip-roaring thrill ride with an unexpected sucker punch at the end that I have to admit I didn't see coming. We start out with a classic serial killer investigation that our reluctant hero is dragged into, and though I did suspect what the killer was doing almost from the beginning, the identity of the murderer took me by surprise. I was a little skeptical about the gimmick used for the murders but in the end, the reader just has to go along for the ride, and an enjoyable one it is.”

    annapi wrote this review Monday, May 30, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
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Displaying 1-10 of 492 reviews

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