Still, there are far worse ways to spend a day or two than being swept away to Alagaesia. And kudos to Paolini for thinking through the languages, the geography and the variety of species, an area where many writers fail to do their prep work and their stories fall short because of it.

I will admit that book 3 ended with such a downer that I wasn’t sure Paolini would be able to redeem himself (or Eragon), but he did. The final showdown between good and evil was rich and satisfying.

What came after that, the clean up, so to speak, is always difficult. Do you wrap up everything? Leave a few things hanging? Leave enough open that you can start a whole new series (as J.K. Rowling has done so many times)?

Well kudos to Paolini for deciding to end it on his own terms and to heck with what his audience might want. I wasn’t crazy about the ending, but I respect that it’s his book and he can end it however he wants. It was a downer, but life doesn’t always wrap up into neat packages. Still, if you only like to read happy books, this may not be the series for you. Stick to the The Underland Chronicles (the Gregor books) or if you just want a delightful, fantastical (and pun filled) romp – Piers Anthony’s Xanth novels.

And their children deliver.

Well, most of the time.

I love Chua’s honesty in sharing how it worked fantastically with one daughter and not as fantastically with the other (though it still worked out pretty well, both her daughters are obviously amazingly talented, great kids).

And I agree that many kids in the West are living up exactly to their parents LOW expectations of them (get “Do Hard Things” for a GREAT book FOR teens, by teens about overcoming the cultural laziness).

My one concern about Chua’s book is that she never seems to state WHY she pushes her daughters so hard. What is the goal? To make them appreciate beautiful music? So that she can look like an amazing mother? To get them into the best colleges? To assist her children in pursuing things that they’re passionate about but aren’t sure how to act on?

The sad thing is, I’m not sure that Chua herself knows. She was raised by a demanding set of Chinese parents and so she pushed her kids to constantly strive. There’s nothing wrong with challenging kids or expecting them to use the minds and talents that God gave them. But there’s nothing in the entire book about teaching her kids how to relax or to enjoy what they were doing. And that, I think, is the great failing of the “Chinese way”.

“Mockingjay” is the final chapter in the triology, and I was disappointed. First off, I must admit that I didn’t finish the entire book. I read 80% of it (including the beginning and ending), but I just wasn’t compelled to read every page. This is a stark contrast to “Hunger Games” which I devoured (pun intended) in a weekend and “Catching Fire” which I read in 4 or 5 days.

What happened? Well, Katniss, who is such an amazing young woman in books 1 and 2, gets bogged down in politics and gets weaker instead of growing in strength of character. Yes, she’s still tough, but she manipulated even more than ever before. Instead of being the main character, a woman of strength and conviction, she becomes a pawn between much larger forces.

It’s hard to see a character so diminished. I found it reminiscent of Frodo in the final Lord of the Rings book. You slowly realize that Sam, not Frodo, is the real hero, the one who has the stamina and the courage to keep going. It’s not that Frodo is worthless, but I found less and less to admire about him. It’s too bad that Katniss seems to go in the same direction.

Still if I was going to pick a book for my kid to read, I’d suggest “Eragon”, especially if you have a boy who finds most books boring. “Eragon” reads like more of a graphic novel with tons of descriptions of gore and glory that seems to appeal to guys.

Be forewarned, this is a four part series of books. Once you have “Eragon”, you can’t avoid “Eldest” and “Brisingr” and you’ll have a fan on the edge of their seat for the fourth book (which hasn’t been released yet). I think it is cruel of Paolin to make us wait to find out how it all turns out!

If you’re buying for a boy or girl who’s prone to nightmares, you might want to read it out loud together or pre-read it to make sure it will be safe for your child.

If you’re an adult who loves these books, you must read George RR Martin’s series that starts with “Game of Thrones” – possibly my favorite series of books ever (read my review). Though “Lord of the Rings” is clearly in contention for that title.

Even kids without a literary background can (and do) enjoy this book. It’s fast paced and there’s lots of action, battles, crosses and double crosses. It’s probably a book more geared towards boys than girls, but hey – girls can like dragons and sci-fi too!

The dragons don’t come in until the very end, so if your child/teen is a BIG dragon fan, stick to Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series (read my review) instead.

If you haven’t read “The Hunger Games” you should. Yes it’s likely labelled “for teens” and no it is NOT like “Twilight“. “The Hunger Games” is a fantastic book to get pre-teen/teen boys to read.

Read my review to find out the premise of the “Games”. “Catching Fire” picks up neatly where it leaves off, and the same characters are prominent: Katniss, Gale, Peeta and Haymitch.

“Fire” is much more political than “Games” and has more of a love story as well.

But is there more of the thrilling “games” that so caught and kept my attention in the first book? Are people still fighting to the death?

Yes.

And that’s about all I’m going to tell you about that.

Naturally, the book leaves off practically in the middle of a thought, guarenteeing that there’s another book in the works.

It won’t come soon enough for me!

There’s nothing terribly objectionable about this book (which is saying something anymore). Still, if I was looking to get a teen girl a book that she’s guarenteed to love, I’d go more towards “The Hunger Games” (my review). Or, for really young girls, the Bone graphic novels.

The basic premise – that there’s a reality TV show called “The Hunger Games” in which 24 teenagers must fight to the death to win food for themselves for life – immediately sounds disturbing. And make no mistake, this is a disturbing book. Unlike “The Twilight Saga“, “Games” takes a hard look at society, what we deem as entertainment and our underestimation of teens.

Parents should know that there is violence in this book, some of it is fairly gruesome (not on a level with Patricia Cornwell, but the kind that causes a shudder up the back). Teen characters die. The very real threat of starvation is discussed as an every day occurance.

All that violence keeps the book moving fast and nothing is dwelt on for very long. If I had to choose between “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games”, “The Hunger Games” would win every time. It’s definitely sure to be better received by most teenage boys (who find all the obsession with “Twilight” to be mildly disgusting).

And if you (or your child) enjoys “Games”, check out Suzanne Collins other books in the “Gregor The Overlander (Underland Chronicles)” series. Those are also good though more fantastical.

I will give Meyer kudos for writing a series of books for teens that is not full of obscenities and sex. And they are interesting, certainly the romantic aspect (and the fact that they’re being made into movies) is what is driving the popularity. While the vampire heroes in this book don’t drink the blood of humans, their friends and counterparts do. I think Meyer wants to believe that she’s created a group of “moral” vampires, but I would argue that she hasn’t achieved that.

If your teen is reading these books, talk to them about them. Consider reading them together. Personally, I think the “Golden Compass” series is better. “Harry Potter” is even better still. For the absolute best fantasy series, have them read “The Lord of the Rings” and then watch the movies together. Now THAT’s a series worth sinking your teeth into.

What I love most about this book is that Alex and Brett point out the inherent ridiculousness of our current culture. Just 70 or 80 years ago, teenagers were responsible enough to be wage earners, earning enough in some cases to support not only themselves, but to help feed their parents and siblings as well. Almost all teens in the early 1900′s raised their younger siblings, worked on the farm or at a job and shared their income with their parents. Many of them had families of their own by the time their teen years came to an end.

While I’m not suggesting that 15 year olds should be having children, the fact is that they used to do that and a whole lot more. We’ve gradually reduced expectations of teens to the point that just showing up to school occasionally gets them kudos. We don’t even expect them to do all that well in their classes! How did we go from one extreme (kids working in sweatshops 60 hours a week) to another (18 year olds who refuse to work 15 hours a week because it’s “too demanding”)?

This is a great book and would make a great gift for anyone over 11.