ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell 144 pp. Penguin Group. £8.99. (Ages 13 and up) ISBN 9780141182704 Rating: ? Stars This book is set in a future when animals are much cleverer than now. And because of their cleverness, the pigs started a revolution against the humans. Pigs could speak fluently in English unlike the other animals, and that gave them the power to be leaders. But, the story that follows only happened a few years after that... Their first leader, Old Major, was kind and fair who knew animals should be equal. But when Napoleon became the leader it was very unpleasant. He made a rule that allowed the pigs to have better food and that forced all of the other animals to work crazily hard every day and night. That wasn’t enough, Napoleon wanted more power. He decided to kill his brother, Snowball, so that he would be the only leader. Snowball was admired because he came up with a clever idea to build windmill. Sn...
In Viking times, Norse myths predicted the end of the world, an event called Ragnarök, that only the gods can stop. When this apocalypse happens, the gods must battle the monsters--wolves the size of the sun, serpents that span the seabeds, all bent on destroying the world.The gods died a long time ago.
Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history--because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, South Dakota, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke.
However, knowing the legends and completely believing them are two different things. When the rune readers reveal that Ragnarok is coming and kids--led by Matt--will stand in for the gods in the final battle, he can hardly believe it. Matt, Laurie, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team to prevent the end of the world.
When I heard that Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr were co-writing a novel, I didn't even care what the novel was about. They've long been my favorite authors, so I knew whatever they came up with would be brilliant. And... I was right! Loki's Wolves is the first book in their middle grade series, The Blackwell Pages. It follows Matt (a descendant of Thor) and Fen and Laurie (descendants of Loki) as they try to save the world.
Matt finds out early on that Ragnarök is upon them. The end of the world. And it's up to Matt, a middle schooler, to save everyone. If he can't stop Ragnarök, most everyone on Earth will die and an ice age will be upon them. When he finds out that his family might not want to stop the end of the world, he takes off to find the other descendants of the Norse gods to help him.
I really enjoyed this book. One of the best things about reading a book by Melissa Marr based in folklore or mythology is that I know it was done right. Melissa knows her stuff when it comes to lore, and I appreciate that. I love folklore and mythology, and nothing bugs me more than when it's screwed up.
Both Melissa and Kelley are amazing storytellers, and together they've created a fun, fast-paced book. It might be shelved in Middle Grade, but it can definitely be enjoyed by all ages. Pick this one up. You won't regret it.
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