Century #1: Ring of Fire

"Awesome" in the words of my 12-year old daughter. As I do with juvenile books from the Vine program I hand them off to my two voracious readers...my 12 year old daughter and 11 year old son. After all, they're the target audience...what good would a review by an adult be when trying to decide on a book for a teen or pre-teen? (Ok, there is content and suitability but for these books I'm not concerned there will be inappropriate things in it) That would be like giving my wife (who does not like to cook) kitchen products to review. The "kids save the day" theme was popular when I was a kid (anyone remember The Three Detectives series - The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot (The Three Investigators No. 2)) and it's still just as popular today. "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" and the Harry Potter series are popular with my kids, and my son is on his second reading of Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1). This book is right up their alley. They both really liked the book. I'm sure it's not great literature but they don't complain about the writing. They found the story to be very enganging and both liked the twists at the end. They gave the book 5 stars and recommend it to their friends (my daughter has seen it in the library at her school). And as further proof they really liked the book...they're both looking forward to the next book in the series, Century #2: Star of Stone.

The week of New Year's Eve in Rome is crazy, but this year, it's even crazier. Elettra's father accidentally overbooks a hotel room - three times over. On December 29th, three families show up expecting a room. Now, Elettra and her family are struggling to find space for their guests. Three teens end up all bunking together with Elettra, where they discover they have something in common. Their birthdays all fall on the same day - a day that rarely appears on the calendar, February 29th. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. When the lights go out all over the city one night, the four decide to take a walk. They end up on a bridge with a man who's frightened for his life. He gives them a briefcase and begs them to hold on to it for him. He doesn't show up to reclaim it the next day, and they soon read about his death in the newspaper. The teens decide to look inside the briefcase and discover some very strange objects. Elettra's curiosity gets the better of her, and she follows the first clue to an old café in Rome. At the café, they find another clue pointing them to a research library. At the library, they encounter some friction, and they must make a choice: Should they continue their search and attempt to uncover the secrets behind the Ring of Fire? They're not sure who to trust, but they know that somewhere, someone wants the briefcase they hold - and maybe them, as well. Readers will be drawn in to watch the main characters solve multiple puzzles from which they hope to uncover an ancient and powerful object. A great read! Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

This is an entertaining book about four children from around the world who find themselves in Rome on New Year's Eve and who share a hidden destiny, i.e., to save the world. The children, Harvey from New York, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai find themselves in a Rome hotel with the owner's daughter, Elettra. Elettra is the most fully drawn character and she resembles Hermoine from the Harry Potter series in some ways. She's an intelligent and independent girl and extremely knowledgeable about Rome. The sections on Roman history are fascinating. I also particularly liked Elettra's family, they rounded out the story and give the children the grounded adult characters that they need if they are to succeed in their mission. The next book takes place in New York, I believe. I look forward to reading it.

How funny to read the negative reviews here as I found this book to be one of THE BEST books I've read all year, and I read quite a few kid books. I guess it just proves that all books are not for all people. I thought this was an exceedingly good book... In fact, I'll go farther and say that I predict "Ring of Fire" will be one of "My Top 5 Youth Reads for 2009". I say that confidently, although it is only September (and although I read and review quite a few children's books), because it so well written and so well plotted. I thought it was a marvelous cross between Fantasy and Mystery. Sort of like if John LeCarre wrote a fantasy-based mystery suitable for young folk (as well as adults). Ring of Fire is the beginning of a series that revolves around 4 individuals; two boys and two girls. They come from different parts of the world, but oddly they share one thing... and that is the same birthday. This coincidence isn't by chance. In fact, very little is at first, for they, along with their parents, are being manipulated by unseen forces in the personages of people/creatures (we know not which) who have brought them together in order to defeat some force/or contrarily do some service (again it's not clear and remains a mystery). Part of the story is told from the perspective of these powerful persons. The rest of the time we get to kibitz and watch the youngsters as they are drawn into a web of deceit and magic. Talking Points ::: o To describe this book as merely a fantasy is to do a disservice to it. This first book of the series is really a mystery. o The suspense is built and the plot never sags. The characters are each individual and separate and wonderfully fleshed out. o I can't recommend this book highly enough. I found it to be excellent. o Age 10 - 16 (some adults will like it too.) Pam T~ mom and reviewer for BooksForKids-reviews

I am chagrined to say that I didn't really enjoy the first half of this book, yet I will give it 4 stars anyway. Read on to see why. For those of you who would appreciate an executive summary, here it is. Ring of Fire is a classic "clue hunt" book in the style of the Dan Brown's "da Vinci code". If you are a fan of great storytelling and seeing clues masterfully woven together into a surprising and compelling resolution... you won't find it here. That criticism being levelled, the book is "amusing" and "fun to read". There are much worse books out there. If you are on the fence about gifting this book to a teen, go ahead and do it. Its good enough. Now the long version... This story is juvenile fiction, and I am an adult. So reading it and writing the review require some care, because its easy to hold the author accountable to higher standards than necessary. Juvenile fiction can be great, but, by definition this sort of "clue hunt juvenile fiction" is part of a training ground for young adults who are still building their skills at story inference and deduction, with the story and its subplots geared on that level. As a father of 4, I read a fair amount of juvenile fiction and enjoy watching the storyteller spin their tale, much as I might enjoy watching someone else artfully wrap a thoughtful gift for their child, and thinking to myself "oh, they're going to love that part". Unfortunately, Ring of Fire didn't quite deliver that feeling to me. Overall, I found this book to be amusing. The basic theme of the book is that the kids have to unearth an ancient secret and "do some good". The story is constructed as four teenagers, each with their own "gift". The first book is mostly about Elettra, and she has some "power" gift. I suppose that the other books may focus more on the other characters. The gifts of the other characters are hinted at, but too vaguely for my liking. There is some mild drama but more suspense, which is good because it is juvenile fiction and so it should be lighter reading. I appreciated the overarching ideas that "history matters" and "we all are a part of some greater good". Pros: 1) the author does a fair job of plot development. I feel that a lot of work went into researching the locale and the locale was then presented in a compelling and interesting way. 2) the clue hunt is well done in my opinion, although it does sometimes require a bit of faith on the part of the reader. I don't like it when books require you to make excuses for why things happen the way they do. And I sometimes found myself making excuses for the book. While other readers may feel that these are huge flaws, I do not. Its Juvenile Fiction. 3) i found the full color insert pages to be "neat" and a real plus for juveniles, who might enjoy having something more tangible to view. I think this is particularly true since many juveniles may have a difficult time picturing exactly what Rome looks like. 4) the overarching v