Review - H.I.V.E

Yesterday I finished H.I.V.E. : Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden. The premise of the book was that H.I.V.E. was supposed to be an elite school where tomorrows super-villains are trained. Even though this is a obvious ripoff of Harry Potter and Evil Genius, I still enjoyed it.

Otto Malpense has managed to run the orphanage he is in, even bringing the Prime Minister to his knees, but suddenly Otto is kidnapped and whisked away to H.I.V.E. Along the way he meets Wing Fanchu, a martial arts expert and they quickly become friends. He soon decides he wants off the island and begins planning an escape that looks next to impossible. With the help of Laura Brand, a computer genius, and Shelby Trinity, a diamond thief, they concoct a plan to escape the island and it's leader Dr. Nero. I won't tell you what happens, but will say there is a sequel.

We cataloged this as young adult, but there is nothing offensive enough in it to prevent a younger child from reading it. But the characters are young adult age, hence our decision. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Now I'm reading Medusa by Clive Cussler.

Yard Work

After the new sidewalk was laid we finally removed all the weeds and grass growing along the house. Today we tilled the ground, placed a weed barrier and bark around the bush in the corner. We also tilled the rest of the ground, placed 3 bags of manure and planted a variety of flowers in the area. Since it's too late in the season for planting vegetables, we thought we'd just plant some ornamental flowers plus getting some nutrients into the ground so it would be ready for next year.

Even though we also added manure today, the tomatoes have done extremely well, through a combination of lots of rain the the help of the cats fertilizing the area. Lexie was very interested in the new smells in the back yard!

Camping

Our 6th camping site to stay at since we bought Harvey, we camped at Jordanelle State Park, just southeast of Park City Friday night. As a child, I remember well of the numerous trips to Heber City where the road led us through the valley, now underwater. We had a very nice view of the water.

One of the best things was the nice rain pelting down on the aluminum roof, lulling us to sleep. But it did force us to use the heater to warm the air in the morning.

It was a great trip. One the way home we explored one of our next camping sites we would like to stay at, Wasatch Mountain State Park. Set up against the northern hills opposite of Deer Valley ski resort, it's a very pretty area surrounded by lots of timber.

Harvey has lots of friends

Harvey feels right at home (and looks like it too)

They let anyone in state parks!

View from the bedroom window

Fixing yummy fried breakfast potatoes

Our weekend concluded with a viewing of Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang with Charlie and Abby followed by dinner at Buca de Peppo.

Review - Fablehaven

This past weeked I completed reading Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. I really liked the book and would quickly and easily recommend it. It may not be the book for non-fantasy readers, but it certainly has lots of compelling moments and a great plot. Now I want to read the next book in the series!

The plot was that Seth and his sister Kendra were dropped off at their grandparents and discovered that they were actually living on a preserve for magical creatures, some good, some not. In the course of living there they discover various creatures and what their magical qualities were. They also discover how they need each other in order to survive.

Now it's on the H.I.V.E. : Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden.

Again?