Arbee Aquino Aquino itibaren Berestyanki, Ryazanskaya oblast', Rusya, 391455
Awesome! The story takes some unexpected twists and turns and gets better and better. My niggling doubt... we gave this trilogy to a 3rd-grader who is a very advanced reader, sure it would engage her. But there are a couple of passages (not even that... sentence fragments) which are clearly 3rd-grade inappropriate (sexual), and better introduced (in my mind) in the 7-9th grade range. They pass fast, aren't critical to the plot, but I'd have a hard time having a conversation about them with one so young. Take out those 20 +/- words, and this continues to be a gem of a series, on par with Lord of the Rings for a younger set. This volume is the shortest of the 3, and introduces key characters and clarifies the plot -- now we know a lot more about what the heck is going on... but treachery and confusion abound!
Number nine in the Gossip Girl series. Summer has begun and Serena is the new star in a film "Breakfast at Fred's". Blair breaks up with her royal boyfriend, Lord Marcus, and Nate is at the Hamptons working for his coach, falling for a local girl. Another insane plot, where none of this stuff could actually happen, but a fun quick read.