Mundie Moms

Friday, April 30, 2010

Our Children's Book Review Blog

If you're looking for some great grade school/middle school aged books, be sure to visit our Children's Book Review Blog, http://keepreadingtoyourchild.blogspot.com/. We've got some great reviews coming up. Be sure to read our latest reviews for:

Freebie Friday!!


Who loves a giveaway!?!?! I know we love to give things away. With two of our giveaways ending today, we thought it would be fun to host another giveaway. Today we'll pick 2 winners. One from blog and one from Twitter.

Thank you to Saundra Mitchell and Maggie Stiefvater, we have two awesome signed bookmarks to giveaway. Every bookworm needs some really cool bookmarks.

How do you win these? All you need to do is leave a comment with your valid email address and on Twitter, you'll need to RT our giveaway. That's it!! The Winners will be announced tomorrow morning on Twitter (for the Twitter winner) and on the blog (for the blog winner).

If you don't win, don't worry. We have more of both bookmarks we'll be giving away next month. Good luck to everyone and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

*You MUST be a blog follower and/or forum member to enter the blog giveaway and a follower on Twitter to enter*

Book Review - Guardian of the Dead

Published by: Little Brown Books for Young Readers on April 1, 2010
Source: Bought
4 stars- I enjoyed it and recommend picking it up

Synopsis: In less than a day I had been harassed, enchanted, shouted at, cried on, and clawed. I’d been cold, scared, dirty, exhausted, hungry, and miserable. And up until now, I’d been mildly impressed with my ability to cope.

At her boarding school in New Zealand, Ellie Spencer is like any ordinary teen: she hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; obsesses over her crush on a mysterious boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline. Then everything changes: In the foggy woods near the school, something ancient and deadly is waiting.


The characters in Guardian of the Dead are ultimately what made me turn the pages. Ellie Spencer is just an ordinary girl forced to live in a boarding school due to her Mother's "Cancer Year" and resulting remission which has sent her parents on an once-in-a-lifetime around the world excursion. With the parents out of the way, we follow Ellie through a very predictable theme, a new girl in a school filled with the usual characters you would expect in an urban fantasy novel -- the male best friend who is always there for her, various female characters who are sometimes annoying and sometimes helpful and yes, the mysterious boy, Mark, who is somehow always there.

Karen Healey manages to weave in such genuine voices for all of the characters, especially Ellie, that you find yourself easily sympathizing with her as she discovers the magic all around her. This magic is part of the folklore of New Zealand, based on Maori mythology and cosmology,and it's like nothing I've ever read before. But it is as visceral as Greek and Roman mythology and it is steeped in the surrounding landscape.

As the magic unfolds, Ellie and her friends find themselves facing a real war based on one of the Maori myths. With their own lives at stake as well as the lives of an entire region of New Zealand, they prepare and face a battle which will utilize all of their skills. The climax of the story is well paced and heart thumping as you read and wonder who will survive and who won't make it. Most of all, you find yourself wondering if the love between Ellie and Mark will last through this ultimate test.

If you like exploring new mythologies that are as dark and twisted as the very best of Greek or Roman myths and a heroine who remains true to herself while faced with a shifting reality, you will enjoy Guardian of the Dead. A side note to Karen Healey for writing one of the best comments a mysterious boy can utter to a girl on why he would not be a good boyfriend. Of course, I won't quote it here. You've got to read it for yourself.

Amazing Book Trailers!

I've been meaning to post Claire De Lune's book trailer with my review in couple weeks, but I couldn't wait anymore. The trailer is great and I definitely recommend getting this book! It's such a great read.


Claire De Lune will be released May 18th, by Simon & Schuster. You can learn about Christine Johnson and Claire De Lune by visiting her site here:

Vania has done it again, with another amazing book trailer for Shadow Hills! This is going to be a hugely popular book this summer! I have just started this book and WOW, it's good.


Shadow Hills will be released July 13th, by Egmont. We definitely recommending picking this book up!!
To learn more about Anastasia Hopcus and Shadow Hills, please visit her site here:

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