- Adventures of Captain Underpants, The by Dav Pilkey (1997)
[6/10]
"A fun, comic-book style story that simultaneously entertains and spoofs the comic-book genre, public education, and the undergarment industry."
- Bad Beginning, The by Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler (1999)
[6/10]
"The Baudelaire children -- Violet, Klaus, and Sunny -- certainly do get off to a bad beginning. Their home burns down, killing their parents. Fortunately, the children's parents left them an enormous fortune. Unfortunately, their next of kin, Count Olaf, wants to do away with the children to get the money for himself."
- Black Cauldron, The by Lloyd Alexander (1965)
[4/10]
"In The Black Cauldron, Alexander tries to show that real men don't seek honor in war; rather, they demonstrate their honor through their character and actions."
- Candy Shop War, The by Brandon Mull (2007)
[6/10]
"Mull has created a fun, compelling story that in spite of some characterization problems provides an adventure that both kids and adults can enjoy."
- Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets by Dav Pilkey (1999)
[6/10]
"This second adventure provides more funny moments than the first in a more coherent story line."
- Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets by Dav Pilkey (2003)
[6/10]
"This sixth installment in the Captain Underpants series appeals to young and old. For the young, it has page after page of snot dripping from just about every surface. For the old, it has postmodern characters that break the fourth-wall and talk directly to the author."
- Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers by Dav Pilkey (2003)
[4/10]
"I hope Mr. Pilkey will stick to single volume-adventures when writing future installments of the Captain Underpants series. The repeated elements and the downplay of other trademark elements makes The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers one of the least interesting of the entire series."
- Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zomibe Nerds) by Dav Pilkey (1999)
[7/10]
"The funniest and most self-referential of the Captain Underpants series."
- Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants by Dav Pilkey (2000)
[4/10]
"This fourth installment in the series provides little more than recycled jokes from the previous books centered around one original theme: funny names."
- Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman by Dav Pilkey (2001)
[5/10]
"Wedgie Woman has several funny moments, but recycles too much of its humor from the first four books."
- Daniel and Nephi by Chris Heimerdinger (1993)
[6/10]
"In Daniel and Nephi, Chris Heimerdinger presents another story with a scriptural setting. This time, he chooses the main characters Daniel, the prophet from the bible, and Nephi, the author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon."
- Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull (2008)
[7/10]
"The slow-moving first half of the book disappointed me, but I still find the Fablehaven books one of the most interesting and well-written adventure series around."
- Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull (2007)
[8/10]
"Kendra and Seth expect to spend their next summer vacation helping out at Fablehaven, a mystical preserve for magical creatures tended by the kids' grandparents. But problems for Kendra and Seth start even before their summer vacation begins."
- Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (2006)
[6/10]
"Mull has written a fairly decent modern-day fantasy story that possibly could have had a fairly good chance at hitting the bestseller lists if Mull had worked with a national publishing house."
- Ghost of Dibble Hollow, The by May Nickerson Wallace (1965)
[7/10]
"A lighthearted story with enough suspense to keep you reading but written at a level appropriate for young readers."
- Great Brain Does It Again, The by John D. Fitzgerald (1975)
[5/10]
"If you have read the other six volumes in the series, you'll still find enough fun here to keep reading this seventh volume, but you probably won't make this the book that you reread."
- Great Brain Is Back, The by John D. Fitzgerald (1995)
[5/10]
"I can only recommend The Great Brain Is Back to absolute fans of the series or people who want to say they have read every book in the series. This eighth volume certainly doesn't stand on its own, but it does let you spend just a little bit longer with these loveable characters."
- Great Brain Reforms, The by John D. Fitzgerald (1973)
[6/10]
"Fitzgerald . . . captures the essence of growing up as a boy and the complex relationships with parents, peers, and siblings."
- Great Brain at the Academy, The by John D. Fitzgerald (1972)
[6/10]
"The Great Brain at the Academy makes a good contribution to the entire series and sets up the maturation Tom experiences in the later volumes."
- Great Brain, The by John D. Fitzgerald (1967)
[8/10]
"I loved The Great Brain as a kid, and I still love its charm and wit. Fitzgerald places interesting characters in a fascinating old-West setting and puts them through fun adventures."
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (2000)
[7/10]
"Goblet of Fire has a much more mature story, including direct confrontation of evil, on-stage death of students, and numerous injuries, that I wonder how Scholastic can continue to market these books to the 9-12 year old market."
- Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)
[7/10]
"Sachar says that it took him over a year to write Holes, and you can tell that he spent a lot of time getting all the story-line interconnections just right."
- Invasion, The by K. A. Applegate (1996)
[6/10]
"Applegate doesn't try to sugar-coat the dark reality of her story. The kids must face the reality of an alien invasion with their immature understanding of tactics, strategy, and consequences."
- Matilda by Roald Dahl (1998)
[7/10]
"Unlike many stories that show that anyone can have karmic success, Dahl makes Matilda inordinately smart, thus she succeeds as a result of her natural gifts, not just as a result of persistence or good deeds."
- Me and My Little Brain by John D. Fitzgerald (1971)
[8/10]
"I find this the most touching of all the Great Brain books. It tells a story of true brotherly love developing between John and Frankie, and the emotions John feels as he changes from hating Frankie to laying his life on the line to rescue the adopted brother he has come to adore."
- More Adventures of the Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald (1969)
[7/10]
"Fitzgerald continues to chronicle his adventures with his older brother Tom, the Great Brain. This volume gets a little repetitive with the opening and closing chapters both involving the boys sneaking out at night to places forbidden by their parents. In each case, Tom shames other boys into going out late at night to prove his point, either that monsters do exist or that ghosts don't."
- Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish (1982)
[5/10]
"I think kids and even younger teens will enjoy Prince Ombra, but any examination of the story beyond the surface leaves the reader to deal with a set of unsatisfactory philosophical conclusions necessary for the plot to function."
- Reptile Room, The by Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler (1999)
[6/10]
"A nice continuation of a series that could quickly spoil if the narrative style remains so fixedly consistent."
- Return of the Great Brain, The by John D. Fitzgerald (1974)
[6/10]
"Although Tom Fitzgerald has supposedly reformed, he continues to use his great brain to wheel and deal -- sometimes to solve a murder, other times to just fatten his pocketbook."
- Samuel, Moroni's Young Warrior by Clair M. Poulson (1993)
[3/10]
"The action is fast paced, and Poulson does build suspense well, but I was disappointed by the resolution of almost all the conflicts that I can't really recommend this book to your children, let alone adults."
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Patricia C. Wrede (1999)
[6/10]
"I expect movie novelizations to stand alone, but Wrede's novelization of George Lucas's screenplay assumes you already know the Star Wars universe before you begin the book."
- Tennis Shoes among the Nephites by Chris Heimerdinger (1989)
[6/10]
"Tennis Shoes among the Nephites tells the tale of two 13-year-old Mormon boys and an 11-year-old Mormon girl who go back in time to have adventures with Book of Mormon characters."
- Wide Window, The by Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler (2000)
[5/10]
"Lemmony Snicket has followed his formula from the previous books exactly, and has not introduced anything new or interesting."
Average score: 5.97
