Boys Rule Boys Read!: August 2017

Thursday, August 31, 2017

The Third Really Good Book of the Summer--and What a Terrific Book It Is!

Sometimes, after a great movie or a hard-fought sports game or a truly delicious meal, all you can do is sit back and just say, "Wow. Wow." over and over again. That's exactly how I felt after finishing Realm Breaker, the third and final book in Laurie McKay's terrific trilogy, The Last Dragon Charmer. Wow. Oh. Wow. What a terrific read!

If you've read my review of Quest Maker, the first book, and the review of Villain Keeper, the second book, then you already know what's happening. If you haven't, here's a brief synopsis:

Prince Caden, eight-born son of King Axel of Razzon in the Greater Realms, gets pulled into our world, along with a sorceress named Brynne, and they end up in Asheville, North Carolina. They get taken into a foster home and sent to a school that turns out to be a place of banishment for villains from the Greater Realms. Rath Dunn, the worst of all the villains, has been secretly preparing a spell that would break the barriers between the two realms. But to do so would also destroy Asheville and Razzon. In this book, Rath Dunn puts the four-part spell into motion and Caden and his friends must stop him. Right--a few kids with rudimentary powers must confront the most powerful and cunning villain in the history of the Greater Realms. Could they even hope to win? You won't know unless you read this book! But what a great, fun and amazing ride you'll have. The villains are slick, evil, creepy and unstoppable. The action scenes are thrilling, the characters are people you really care about and the magic scenes are--well, pretty awesome. Not to mention that little-old-lady Miss Primrose turns out to be one of the most awesome and memorable characters I've ever encountered in any fantasy story. And there are flashes of humor too--just wait until you see what happens to Caden in the end! As I've said, this was a great read and I couldn't tear myself away from. I bet you won't either!

This book was so good that I'm going to do something I haven't done for a while and give it the--

Iron Guy Seal of Approval as One Terrific Book!

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The Second Really Good Book of the Summer (Which Is Also a Second Book!)

Hey, guys, summer is still going on and we have been really busy this year! The Iron Guy has been as busy as a bumblebee after an explosion in a honey factory, so I'm going to give you a quick post today. It's about Quest Maker, the second book in Laurie McKay's terrific The Last Dragon Charmer trilogy. I really enjoyed this!

Prince Caden, eighth-born son of King Axel of Razzon in the Greater Realms, is still stuck in Asheville, North Carolina after being pulled into our world by a mysterious spell. So is Rath Dunn, the most dangerous villain in the Greater Realms, who's been banished here along with a group of other villains who are ruled over (at least for now!) by a powerful Elderdragon. It would take too long to summarize the story, so let me say briefly that the book opes with a bang--literally! A bolt of red lightning appears and from it appears the last person Caden would ever suspect. After this, Caden is given a quest by the Elderdragon. If he fails he'll be eaten! On top of this, the science room at his school blows up in a cloud of green (and stinky!) gas. There's an attack by an enormous swarm of bees. Who's behind all this? Could Caden complete his quest on time? And what is Rath Dunn up to in all this? The answer turns out to be worse for the Greater Realms and Asheville than anyone imagined!

Man, this book really was terrific! There's a lot of mysterious things going on, a lot of creepy villains, a lot of tension among the main characters and a lot of exciting action in the end when everything breaks loose! As you can see, there are a lot of reasons to like this book, so go and check it out! Actually, go and check the first one out (see my review here) and this one and the third one. Maybe, if you're not as busy as I am, you could spend an afternoon or a day or a couple of days reading them back to back to back. I couldn't think of a better way to spend some time this summer!

Here's How Our Blog Works

If you don't know how to post comments or reviews to our blog or if you want to read what we and other boys have written, here's what you do:

1. Every post has a place underneath it that says "Comments". Click on it and it will take you to a place in which you can write something. When you're done, click on a way to identify yourself. You don't have to create a Blogger/Google account (unless you already have one); you can click on "Name/URL" or even "Anonymous." Then click "Publish Your Comment." We try to get your comments and reviews posted right away, but sometimes we get busy with other duties. So, if you don't see your comment right away, don't panic. We'll post it soon.

Don't forget--any boy can get a free book the first time he writes a review. If you live too far away to come to the Myers Park library, go ahead and write to us anyway. We'll try to find a way to get a book to you. Besides, all the other boys out there would love to hear from you.

When you tell us about a book, please give the title, author, what the book is about, and why you did or didn't like it.

2. Blogs go "front to back"; that is, the newest post comes up first and the older ones are put further back. You click on the "Blog Archive" to read older articles. The posts for this month have the titles listed. You can click on other months to catch our other posts. (Our introduction is in June of 2007; if you're new to this blog, you might look it up.)

3. Underneath each post you'll see a line that says "Labels" and several other words such as "graphic novels" or "Andrew Clements." These extra words are links to a subject; for instance, if you clicked on "graphic novels," it would pull up all the posts about graphic novels. There's also a section below on some of our best posts on the most popular subjects

4. Did you notice that the posts from last year don't show up month by month as they did before this year? If you click on the triangle next to the previous years, the months will drop down and you can go back and see what we and your fellow readers have written.

The Iron Guy's Review Policy

1. Since the Iron Guy works for the terrific Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, I review only books that the library already has or will get soon.
2. If you are an author or publisher or agent and think you have a book that boys will go crazy over, please leave me a comment (with your email address so I can contact you) under any post. I will look and see if we have the book. If not, and if the book looks good, I will contact Those Who Order Books and see if CML would be interested. (Please note--CML does not usually order self-published books) PLEASE do not just send me a book! I appreciate the offer but but first I want to see if CML has it or will get it soon.