The Saint - The Brighter Buccaneer by Leslie Charteris is a 1933 collection of 15 stories about one of my favorite rogues. I first became a fan of The Saint on tv back in the 1960's and eventually I found the books in the library. The stories in TBB are too short for much to be happening. The Saint comes along some criminal and/or rich person who needs to be robbed as punishment for their wrong doing. It's done quickly and some money or jewels get added to The Saint's retirement fund. Occasionally some wronged person gets helped out and The Saint moves on. The stories were mostly ok but I find I prefer the longer novella or novel length stories. I have a newer paperback not that nice British edition. I have a few other books with that cover style. I just don't find them all that often or cheap.
The Wizard Test by Hilari Bell was a kid's book that I got on clearance. The story is about a kid who wants to be a soldier but has magical powers. He's given into the charge of an unruly drunken wizard who takes him on a spying mission. The kid does some growing up and he's got to make some hard choices. It was a quick read, it's somewhat short, and it was enjoyable. It's not a keeper.
Walt Disney's Toby Tyler by Dorothea S Snow is one of those Whitman books aimed at the younger crowd. It's actually adapted from the original novel which you can read in the link above. I picked up a few Walt Disney movie adaptations and have started reading those. It's got lots of illustrations so the thing reads quickly. Toby runs away from his broke ass farmer uncle and aunt to join the circus. He thinks they don't need him and he's being a burden. At the circus he makes friends with a monkey and a gruff old man. He learns to ride a horse and becomes a star in the circus. Then at the end he's reunited with his aunt and uncle.
Pure Dead Brilliant by Debi Gliori is the third novel in Pure Dead trilogy. I keep finding her books in the clearance section of Half Price Books for a dollar or two. The family Mansion is filled with guests this summer as Mrs Strega-Borgia has her fellow classmates from magic school in for a visit. The older two kids are fighting and the baby starts doing magic. There's an evil bitch in the class who's in league with the devil. The housekeeper helps out and things get back to normal. It's a fun read with some goofy things going on.
The Raven League - Sherlock Holmes Is Missing by Alex Simmons and Bill McCay is set in Holmes era London and the Raven League is like the Baker Street Irregulars. Holmes is missing and the kids have to put aside their internal differences and band together to find him. It's ok but not something that I'd bother re-reading. I sure don't like that cover drawing very much.
The Orge Of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson is from 2010 which is sadly the year that she passed away. There are a couple of books out since then but I haven't picked them up yet. TOOO is a story of an orphan boy who becomes the familiar of a Hag. They travel to rescue a princess from an orge and wind up helping a whole lot of people. It's a delightful book which made me happy to read it. It's a keeper as all of her books have been. I have 4 of her earlier young adult novels to read yet and most of her other books to re-read. She's well worth reading and while she never wrote that many books all the ones I have read have been really good.
I missed logging this book into my list in February and only remembered it later. The Moor Desolaat By Oliver Ducaat by Tim Uhl is a fantasy novel for the young and old. It's a nicely illustrated story about a young man's travel to various places in his world. He lives on an island. He has an entertaining adventure and gets the thing he needed the most. Tim is a guy I used to see at Dreamhaven when I worked at the Dinkytown store. He left me a copy of the book at Dreamhaven and I read it then. You can pick up a copy online at Amazon.
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