Carmer and Grit: Wingsnatchers book one Sarah Jean Horwitz

Greetings fellow bibliophiles,
Today you shall hear about the book Carmer and Grit. This is the tale of a human boy and a faerie. The characters are:

• Felix Carmer III- Great name right. He is one of our protagonists. Being an inventor is his calling and dream but he is a magicians apprentice.  He goes by Carmer and befriends...
• Princess Grettifrida (Grit) Lonewing of the Selie court- What's all this gibberjabber about courts and lonewings do you ask? Well Grit (because it could be dangerous to call her Grettifrida) is the Princess of the better off Faeries. She was born with only one wing which means several things 1) She can't fly 2) she can *only* do limited magic because she can't create faerie dust and 3) she isn't supposed to be out of the kingdom (this also has something to do with the fact she is the only heir to the throne)
• Titus Archer- DUH DUH he would be our co-villain in the story. He belongs to Carmer's world not Grit's but he tries to change one using the other. He runs Titan Industries the leading producer of new technology.
• The Mechanist- DUH DUH DUH the other co-villain of the story. He begins as just a magician facing Carmer in the "biggest magic competition" but then some of his "magic tricks" start attacking Faeries. 
• Gideon Sharpe- He is the henchman. Think Crabbe and Goyle (Harry Potter), or LaFou (Beauty and the Beast), or Anastasia and Drizella (Cinderella), or Horace and Jasper (101 Dalmatians),or (and this is the last one) the goblins and imps (Sleeping Beauty). That fellow bibliophiles is what Gideon is. I cannot, will not say any more and risk spoiling this character for all of you.

Okay so a quick run down of the story. You could call this a synopsis but that's so like a teacher. Carmer is a magician's apprentice. He's happier inventing or tinkering in his part of the "Moto-Manse" which is basically a RV. The magic show is almost out of money so they enter in a magic competition in Skemantis, the big city also home of Titan Industries, which works out well for Carmer who wants to see Titan Industries in person. Once he gets there by a twist of fate he meets Grit. In the beginning all Grit wants is to get home after being abandoned by the Free Folk or street fae after telling them that one fae's wing would have to be cut off and accidentally getting them lock out of the Sealie kingdom. After they are brought together, Grit and Carmer realize they are facing the same thing, The Mechanist. 

So I found this a refreshing change from having to save the entire world. It was also very interesting and fun to read. You will laugh, scream, maybe cry and throw the book. It was simply PRODIGIOUS. My recommendation is grades five to ten or reading levels there of. My rating is ten of ten paw prints. 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾.🐾

TTFN my bibliophiles,

Merlin:)

The Star Thief Lindsey Becker

Reach for the stars my dear bibliophiles! In the famous, but true, words of High School Musical "there is not a star in heaven above we can't reach". Why, do you ask, is your loyal blog author giving life advice? That my dear friends is easy, it fits with the books. The book of the day is The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker. So let's start with the characters. They are:

• Honorine- so to be honest the first thought I had about this book (I read the back summary first) was what an interesting name. Any way, Honorine is our main character. She starts out as a maid in Lord and Lady Vidalia's manor home. Then one thing leads to another and she gets sucked into an adventure to save the Mordant, the name for constellations come to life. Any hoo, she is crazy smart and loves to invent new things more than anything, other than maybe her best friend Francis. At least until her adventure happens.
• Francis- so he's not main character important, but he is a little important. He's part of the reason Honorine gets pulled into the adventure. Like Honorine he too is an inventor, although inferior to our girl Honorine. 
• The Mapmaker- He is a Mordant himself and leads the supposedly "good" group rescuing other Mordant. 
• Natalius- he's the supossed villain. I'm not really sure anymore the lines are kind of blurred. Anyway he is capturing Mordant, and yes I know that screams villain but he's doing it for the good of man kind. Again the lines are blurred. 

Now for a run down of the story. Honorine is the lonely maid at Vidalia Manor. The only other child is her best friend Francis Vidalia who is off at school. One day when she is cleaning both Mordant and Mordant capturing teams show up. She is "rescued" from Natalius by a Mordant on The Mapmaker's side only to try to leave with Francis who works for Natalius. She gets sucked into an adventure to save the Mordant.

My thoughts on this book are that it was a fun book to read and I enjoyed it. The characters were loads of fun and the strong female lead was a nice change. I also enjoyed not having to save the entire world. Every book seems to be like that. I give it ten of ten paw prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾 My reccommedation for this book is fifth grade to ninth grade or a reading level of around that level. 

Reach for the stars and follow your dreams my dear bibliophiles,

Merlin:)