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TEENS - Great Reads

 

 

YALSA: American Library Association Young Adult Library Services Association - Lists for Quick Picks, Best Books, Award Winners, Best Audiobooks & Videos. (http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/
booklistsbook.htm)

 

NoveList - You've read everything by Robert Jordan, who else writes like him? Find the answer here. (http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/homeacc.htm)

 

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists - Life after Judy Blume and Brian Jacques. (http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/index.html)

 

TeenReads.com - Reviews, interviews with authors, cool new books. (http://www.teenreads.com/)

Special Feature: Teen Book Review by Teen Advisory Board Member Lauren Springett

Ptolemy’s Gate, by Jonathon Stroud, is the final book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy.  Bartimaeus has been working for the magician John Mandrake for two years and he has grown very weak.  His work is suffering, and he has no more patience with the magicians.  Meanwhile, Mandrake has his own problems.  He has been appointed Information Minister, and London is having political trouble.  The war in America is going badly, and commoners are beginning to discover their resilience to the magicians’ magical attacks.  There have been unpleasant uprisings.  To make matters worse, foreign powers are taking advantage of the confusion to attack London.  Luckily, Mandrake has recently gotten a lead on the elusive scholar Mr. Hopkins, and Mandrake and Bartimaeus are trying to find him.  While this is going on in the government, a commoner and ex-Resistance fighter Kitty Jones is researching djinn, Bartimaeus particularly.  She hopes that with a greater understanding of djinn, commoners and demons can unite and overthrow the magicians.  When the paths of Mandrake, Kitty, and Bartimaeus cross, they must try to find a way to save London from destruction.  To do this, they must ignore their upbringing and trust each other.
            Ptolemy’s Gate is a fascinating book, and an incredible end to this trilogy.  Bartimaeus steals the show, as always, and Kitty emerges as she didn’t in The Golem’s Eye.  In this book, readers learn more about Bartimaeus’ background and his relationship with the magician Ptolemy, which adds more depth to the story.  It is not a particularly traditional book, but it is really enjoyable.  The plot is engaging and fast-paced, and all of the characters are very witty.  Although it is long, it is a quick read, and it is probably the best book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy.