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This week was all about the fantasy books. Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke and The Wizard of Rondo by Emily Rodda each offer a great assortment of fantastical creatures–everything from dragons, brownies and humunculus’s to dots, talking pigs and terlamaines.

Dragon Rider is a fantastic adventure novel by one of today’s most popular young adult authors–Cornelia Funke, author of the Inkheart Trilogy. Dragon Rider follows a dragon named Firedrake, a brownie named Sorrell and a human boy named Ben on their quest to find a legendary Himalayan mountain range known as the Rim of Heaven. But trouble is hot on their trail. An evil, manmade dragon named Nettlebrand wants nothing more than to locate the Rim of Heaven and eat all the dragons who reside there. Somehow Firedrake must find the legendary mountain range without leading Nettlebrand to the world’s only dragon sancturary.

The Wizard of Rondo is the sequel to The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda. The first novel in the series was a little easier to follow and had a more magical feel. The Wizard of Rondo is more like a murder mystery. When cousins Leo and Mimi return to the world of Rondo, they find their friends have deemed themselves a Quest Team. They recieve a letter from a distraught resident in the Hobnob and set out on their first investigation. Wizard Bing has disappeared, and his apprentice, who has been transformed into a giant mushroom, is now in custody of Officer Begood. Someone his behind these mysterious events and it’s up to the Quest Team, along with Leo and Mimi, to uncover the culprit.

There’s nothing better than a good series. And this week I reviewed installments in two different wonderful series’: The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda and Catching Fire (book two of The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins.

The Key to Rondo has that perfect blend of magic and reality. It was exciting and fast-paced with a wide variety of magical and relatable characters. The story follows Leo Langlander and his impulsive cousin Mimi as they discover the secret about a family heirloom–a music box depicting magic land. They soon discover that there’s a whole lot more to the music box than just nice paintings and a pretty tune. It’s actually a gateway into the world of Rondo. After an evil blue queen steals Mimi’s dog, Leo and Mimi follow her into the music box and discover the life and strife inside of Rondo.

What can I say about Catching Fire? Amazing. Intense. Gripping. I didn’t think Suzanne Collins could outdo her first novel, The Hunger Games, but she certainly did. After surviving the Hunger Games–a brutal televised fight-to-the-death–Katniss is just trying to live a normal life. But the stunt she pulled in the arena that kept both her and her District 12 partner Peeta alive is coming back to haunt her. Her survival instinct may have unintentionally sparked a rebellion against the Capital, and President Snow is furious. He’ll do anything to prove that he is in control, even if it means threatening the lives of Katniss and all her family and friends.

Both of these books are fantastic reads. The Key to Rondo appeals to a younger audience (9-12 year olds) and Catching Fire will suit a teenage audience. Happy reading!