The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis

Genre: Fantasy
Grades 4-8

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third book I have read from the classic series The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. In my opinion it was the most exciting, adventure-filled and interesting of the three I have read (the other two are The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian).

This book starts out with Lucy and Edmund spending their summer at their aunt and uncle’s house (Peter and Susan are off doing their own things). So far it has not been a pleasant experience, particularly because their cousin Eustace is a dweeb. He is the type of kid who knows a little about a lot of things because he has read a lot, but really does not know anything about the real world and life because he has never experienced anything. In addition he is kind of a jerk without realizing he is, and his parents think he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Needless to say, Lucy and Edmund kind of stuck to themselves and tried to avoid Eustace whenever possible.

One day Lucy and Edmund were in Lucy’s room looking at a painting of a sailing ship. Lucy and Edmund were commenting on how it looked like a ship they would have seen while in Narnia (Narnia is the land that they had visited in earlier books in this series). Eustace, who had never been to Narnia and certainly did not believe in it, overheard the conversation and began to antagonize his cousins. Suddenly, much to Eustace’s horror, all three of the children were transported into the painting. As they splashed in the sea, ropes from the ship were sent down and all three children were eventually pulled aboard. Once aboard, Lucy and Edmund realized that they were indeed back in Narnia and aboard the ship were their old friends Caspian and Reepicheep.

Caspian had assembled a crew and set sail upon the Dawn Treader to search for the seven lords who had been sent away by Miraz years before (this story is detailed in Prince Caspian). The Voyage of the Dawn Treader details this journey. As I mentioned before, this is a very adventure-filled book. It is hard to discuss any of the adventures without giving away the story, but let’s just say that by the end the crew of the Dawn Treader have sailed all the way to the end of the world and have accounted for all seven of the lords while dealing with Eustace’s miserable disposition, pirates, slave traders, dragons, invisible creatures and an often ferocious sea.

This is a great book. While The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a great read even if you had not read other books in the series, there are references that the reader may not understand if they had not read any of the preceding books. That brings me to an interesting point. There are two schools of thought when it comes to what order these books should be read in. The first is that the books should be read in the order they were published (this is the route I have chosen). Using this method The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third book in the series. The second is that the books should be read in chronological order. This mode has been reinforced by HarperCollins who have ordered the reprint of the series in this manner. Using this method The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the fifth book in the series. Good arguments are made for both orders, but I won’t spend anymore time discussing those here. If you are interested, check out the wikipedia article discussing the ordering of the series. I have chosen to read them in the order they were originally published and I have been extremely satisfied so far. If you are looking for a good fantasy book I do not think you can go wrong with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader or any of the books from The Chronicles of Narnia.

Last Shot: a Final Four Mystery - John Feinstein

Genre: Mystery
Grades 5 & up

John Feinstein is an experienced sports reporter who has written for The Washington Post and Sports Illustrated. His experience really shows in Last Shot: a Final Four mystery. As the title implies, this book is a mystery story set at the 2005 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four.

The set up for this story is not much of a stretch for Feinstein. Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are eighth graders that won a student sports writing competition. The prize for winning the competition was an all expenses paid trip to cover the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans. Stevie couldn't be more different than Susan Carol. He’s a short UConn fan from Philly who absolutely hates Duke; she’s a tall Duke fan from North Carolina, the daughter of a preacher. While they don’t get along at first they are soon put in a position where they are forced to rely on each other and work as a team.

Of the four teams at the Final Four, Minnesota State has got to have the best story. They are the Big 10 champs, their star player, Chip Graber, is the coach’s son and the possible number one pick in the upcoming NBA draft and they have momentum going into the Final Four. To most people it seems that Chip has got it made. Stevie and Susan Carol soon realize this is not true when they accidentally overhear a backroom conversation between Chip and an unknown character. Someone is blackmailing Chip – he must lose the final game against Duke or else his dad will lose his job and his team will be stripped of all of their wins. Thus begins Stevie and Susan Carol’s quest to figure out who is blackmailing Chip, why and how the blackmailer is doing it, and what two eighth graders can do to stop it. Little do they know that in trying to answer these questions they will put their lives at risk.

This is a very well written book. Feinstein does a great job of showing what the Final Four is like behind the scenes – the press, the crowds, and how money affects the game. If this book has a downside it would be that in his attempt to make the book an authentic account of the Final Four, Feinstein may confuse non-sports fans. He uses lots of names that would be familiar to the sports fan but not to the average person. This also may have an affect on the staying power of this book. The names he uses will ring a bell with today’s sports fan but possibly not tomorrow’s.

This book is appropriate for younger teens. The sports angle will certainly hook some kids, particularly boys, but at its heart this is a mystery book. I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a dramatic mystery wrapped in a sports shell.

The Ruby in the Smoke - Phillip Pullman

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Grades 7 & up

I’m not sure how many mystery books I have read, but it is not many. That is why I was kind of excited when I began reading The Ruby in the Smoke by Phillip Pullman, the first book in the Sally Lockhart trilogy. This book was a great introduction to the mystery genre and definitely left me wanting to read the rest of the trilogy and other mystery books.

Sally Lockhart is a sixteen year old girl living in London during the 1870’s. Her father, Matthew Lockhart, was a successful shipping agent. I say was because Sally’s father died a couple of months before the start of the book when his ship sank while sailing the seas around south China. Because her mother died when Sally was just a baby, Sally must live with Mrs. Rees, her spiteful “aunt.”

Sally was still coming to grips with her father’s death but at least accepted that it was an accident until she received a cryptic note her father had penned before his death. The note mentions someone named “Marchbanks” and warns her of the “Seven Blessings.” Sally goes to her dad’s office to ask one of his co-workers about the message, and the man has a heart attack when he hears the words “Seven Blessings.” This is all Sally needs to know that something much more sinister led to her father’s death. With the help of some new found friends, Sally is able to piece together the puzzle, battle her new found enemies and figure out what really happened to her dad.

I thought this was a great book. The plot is exciting, not at all predictable and the story is well written. Phillip Pullman does a great job of helping you visualize what London was like during the 1870’s (it seems like a pretty dirty place!!). I would definitely recommend this book to older teens looking for a tension filled mystery.