The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Cat!

This book follows the story of Arthur Dent, a rather boring Englishman, who finds out his best friend is an alien and that the earth is about to be destroyed all in the same day. The friend is named Ford Prefect, and is a researcher for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an encyclopedia, of sorts. The guide instructs hitchhikers about the best ways to travel the galaxy, using firsthand knowledge and a very British sense of humor.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my personal favorites. Sometimes are so ridiculous, all you can do is laugh.

--Cat

P.S. If you like this, don't miss the sequels!

Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, the Universe, and Everything
So Long and Thanks For All the Fish
Mostly Harmless
Salmon of Doubt

And Eoin Colfer, the author of the Artemis Fowl books, has added a sixth book to the series.

And Another Thing

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Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman? by Eleanor Updale

Montmorency is the story of a thief who falls through a glass roof and hovers on the brink of death. A brilliant young doctor convinces the prison warden in charge to let him saves the thief’s life. The doctor takes the thief to lectures to display the miraculous recovery of Prisoner 493. After completing his term in prison, and with an exclusive knowledge of Victorian London’s new sewer system gained by listening to the various lectures he attended with the doctor, 493 becomes the most successful and elusive thief in London—a man he calls Scarper. In order to keep his identity a secret, he has also become a man named Montmorency, who is a respectable, wealthy gentleman. By maintaining the dual identities, he has a successful career as a thief, but Montmorency starts to prefer the honest life. And one tiny mistake could betray his whole existence! Will he decide to quit being Scarper the thief, or will he continue to live as two different people? And can he keep it a secret?

Don’t miss the exciting sequels:
Montmorency on the Rocks
Montmorency and the Assassins
Montmorency’s Revenge

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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkin

A guest review by Teen Room Staff Jeremy!

The Hobbit takes place in Middle Earth, a realm full of humans and elves, dwarves and orcs. The prelude to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series centers on Bilbo Baggins, the uncle of Frodo Baggins. In this novel the great Gandalf the Grey, a famous and incredible wizard, sends a group of dwarves to Bilbo’s house, telling them that Bilbo would make a great thief. Once the dwarves are settled in Gandalf arrives and explains as little as possible, a trait he shows many times throughout the series. Bilbo and the dwarves eventually figure out that they’re going to try to steal from a great dragon. Little do they know that during their journey many incredible wheels of fate will be set into motion, with Bilbo finding a certain ring, and the dragon leaving its cave, the book remains full of action and suspense throughout.

While I normally say I’d recommend this book to anyone, in this case I won’t. It does have some graphic scenes, and it gets a bit wordy, so I would recommend it to more advanced readers.

--Jeremy

P.S. Check out the graphic novel version too!

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An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Cat!

Colin Singleton is a child prodigy, and he only dates Katherines. He always ends up getting dumped by Katherines, too. After Katherine number nineteen, he and his Judge Judy loving friend, Hassan, take a road trip. This lands them in Gutshot, Tennessee, the location of the grave of Archduke Ferdinand. There Colin works on his Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability.

An Abundance of Katherines is one of my favorite books. The characters are rich and hilarious. Colin and Hassan’s use of foreign languages add to the characters. Colin’s attempt to solve the problem of his relationships using math is a fascinating concept, which interested me a lot. This is another great book from John Green.

--Cat

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