The Iron Sceptre

Title: The Iron Sceptre
Author: John White
Rating: Three and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
When Mary joins her cousins in Winnipeg due to trouble at home, she didn't expect a trip to another world! Mary meets Gaal, and then heads to Anthropos! Shortly afterward, her cousins Wesley, Kurt, and Lisa head to this magical land themselves.
A witch named Mirmah is trying to take over Anthropos, and she needs King Kardia's scepre to do it. Kardia's fighting hard, but it is the four children who have to go and stop her...
But with Mary under the witch's rule, will Anthropos really be saved?

Rockin' Review:
Eh... not bad, but not terrific either. It was well-written, but the story was one of those iffy cases. They also forgot to really explain an important item (SPOILER): why did King Kardia's sceptre try to get away from him in the Enchanted Circles? I presume they thought they had explained it, but it made no sense to me.
And the ending wasn't terrific as well. It seemed a little... stretched. The problem was, the book was well-written, so it didn't really seemed stretched either. That's just confusing, and confusing a reader isn't a splendid idea.
And it was more of an relaxing read. You didn't get gripped all the time. On the positive side, the ending tried to nab you, and the action scenes did the same. But it could have been done better.
So this wasn't a bad book, but, so far, it's not the best of this series either.

The Wishsong of Shannara

Title: The Wishsong of Shannara
Author: Terry Brooks
Rating: Two and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
This time, it's Wil's children who gets hunted down by Allanon! The stakes are as high as ever... but this time, the target is much larger! With the magic of the wishsong, Wil's daughter Brin has to destroy the source of dark magic itself! When the evil Mord Wraiths come about for Allanon afterward, Brin's brother Jair is set off on an adventure of his own...
But there's much more to this adventure. With terrible prophecies, will Brin and Jair make it out at all alive... or as themselves?

Sizzilin' Summary:
I'll go as far to say that this book is worse than Elfstones! The story was well-written, which is why it got the half-guitar, but the story just wasn't enjoyable. Except for a few parts, it didn't catch you and keep you in. Even the ending wasn't great... only a few parts of the ending kept you in. Bad news is, the wishsong is supposed to stay during the most of the Shannara books, so you'll have to read this to keep reading Shannara.
I suggest looking up the wishsong on the Internet, or getting a friend to tell you if you're keeping with the Shannara series, because this is one book that I wouldn't suggest for reading!

Of Blood and Honor

Title: Of Blood and Honor
Author: Chris Metzen
Rating: Four and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
The paladin Tirion Fordring had believed that the Orcs were mindless, cruel savages. But an act of honor and compassion from an old orc changes all that. A series of events then happens that will change Tirion's life forever... will his scared honor survive?

Rockin' Review:
One good book to another! This book was wonderfully written. As I said before, good authors make their audiences feel things. This is what happened to me. But I believe I felt all the right feelings. I felt fear and horror when Tirion's world fell apart. I felt relief when he held his honor and did the right thing. This book kept me stuck, and when life forced me to put the book down, I didn't want to.
Some of you might ask, "Then why isn't this a five-guitar?" The answer, put simply, is that the ending could have been done a lot better. We never truly found out if Tirion had a happy ending. There was a slight hint, but that answer was never truly answered. That ending was what cost this book a half-guitar.
Despite that, this was an extremely good book. True, it was short, but who cares? This book was rockin', even with that ending problem. Get this book, especially when you want that extremely good little book!

Alanna: The First Adventure

Title: Alanna: The First Adventure
Author: Tamora Pierce
Rating: Five Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Twins Thom and Alanna of Trebond want to be different things: Thom, a magician, and Alanna, a knight. But their father has different plans. Second "But": Alanna has a plan! Alanna disguises herself as a boy, Alan, and the two twins switch places!
Alanna heads for the palace, but she's to learn that its not easy to become a knight. And she learns also that she must learn to use her magical Gift. And it isn't very easy to hide your gender either!
Very soon, a test is going to come along... will Alanna have what it takes to win and save her friend Prince Jonathan?

Rockin' Review:
This was a very rockin' book! It was well-written, and the story was enjoyable, even if it wasn't action-packed every minute. Get this book if you find it: it's totally rockin'!