Language+Arts

=__//**MY 25 SUMMARIES**//__= //**1). Stephen King's: The Shining by Stephen King**// //This book was about a recovering alcoholic whose problem rendered him to keep his second job and almost loose his marriage, twice. He was failing in his primary job as a writer and so decided to take up a job as a caretaker for a hotel in the mountains of Sidewinder. He believed that the distance from the city and stresses of life would disapear and help him write better to complete his five year play. But, what the family doesn"t know is that this hotel has more history that can come to life when no one is watching. Soon after they move in, they start seeing and hearing strange things that effect them all in way. The hotel has come to life in its awe because of their son, Danny. Danny has a special gift called, The Shining. It allows him to see things from the past, the future, and read people's minds. While his dad's mind is locked up tight, his mother's is an overflowing pool. Eventually, the two parents get into too many fights because the hotel sways the husband's judgement through bribary. The bribary is accepted and the hotel takes over his mind causing him to go insane and try to kill his family. He almost suceeds in doing so but, fails because the hotel's boiler explodes. The son and mother escape and move away with broken bones, brain damage and, mental and emotional scarring.//

//This book is about Ji-li Jiang, a chinese girl who had experienced the Chinese Revolution. At the time, China was ruled by Mao Ze-dong or Chairman Mao. He had used the Cultural Revolution Act in order to change China from it's old ways. It involved using children as The Red Guards who worked for the act in order to become better. The book shows how she had to overcome these obstacles in order to survive in China. She had come from a black family who had a landlord for a grandfather.Ji-li had to face discrimination, harassment, humilation, punishment, and fear. Her house had been searched twice and she eventually had to work in a field like a slave. Her father was detained, her mother had been deathly ill, and her grandmother had to sweep the streets forever. The Ji-li family had overcome the Act because the people finally realized how corrupt it was. They eventually moved to the United States of America where they now live as of today.//
 * //2). Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang//**

//Eragon, a poor farm boy, stumbles acroos a blue polished stone in the forest. He thinks that it is a valuable that will bring his family great wealth and put food on the table. But soon after, the stone reveals to be an egg and hatches a baby dragon. Eragon knows now that he has found a legacy older than the Kingdom in which he lives. His life is then changed as he discovers magic and power, only with help from an ancient sword and an old storyteller. He and the dragon must then take down the king to their own empire in order to save it.//
 * //3). Eragon by Christopher Paolini//**

//For generations, four wildcat clans have lived with eachother through the laws of their ancestors. Now ThunderClan is in a struggle while their main rival, ShadowClan, that grows stronger. Eventually, a house cat, named Rusty, stumbles upon the life as a wild cat where he is shunned for not having "warrior blood". He ends up becoming an apprentice by the name of, Firepaw. He befriends, Graypaw, who becomes and helps him become a warrior. He has to make a hunting trip and finds an outcast medicine cat, Yellowfang, from ShadowClan who he befriends. Then there is an attack on the camp in which Yellowfang and two kittens go missing. Everyone thinks that Yellowfang stole them but she actually saved them and killed one of her former clan mates in the process, she then gains respect. Firepaw becomes a warrior by the name of, Fireheart.//
 * //4). Warriors: Into The Wild (Book One) by Erin Hunter//**

//Now warriors, Fireheart and Graystripe must take on their first assignment, to find WindClan. Brokenstar, the leader of ShadowClan, drove WindClan out of their land and took it over. ThunderClan wanted to help WindClan while they were weak to create allies. They both provide aid to the clan and deliver them back to their homeland after ThunderClan drives out ShadowClan. On the way to WindClan's homeland they engage in conflict with a patrol from RiverClan and this results in a RiverClan warrior, Wniteclaw, to die. On a hunting trip, Graystripe starts drowning and Silverstream, a RiverClan cat, saves him. Graystripe and her forge a forbidden love and Fireheart has to cover for him even though he doesn't like the idea. Graystripe and Fireheart both recieve their own apprentices. Fireheart's apprentice, Cinderpaw, becomes crippled and cannot continue to train. Fireheart's sister gives him one of her kits and they name him, Cloudkit. Brokenstar becomes rogue and leads an attack on ThunderClan, he is quickly dispatched of by being blinded. Sandpaw and Dustpaw then become warriors.//
 * //5). Warriors: Fire and Ice (Book Two) by Erin Hunter//**

//Fireheart's friendship with Graystripe is rekindled, but they both don't trust Tigerclaw, ThunderClan's deputy. Fireheart goes on an investigation to find out the truth about him. He asks Ravenpaw, Tigerclaw's apprentice, who had really killed Redtail, the former deputy. Ravenpaw tells him that Tigerclaw had done it, even though everyone believes that Oakheart did. Fireheart then tells RiverClan that Oakheart was killed by accident contradicting Tigerclaw's story. He has to continue covering for Graystripe, train Graystripe's apprentice, and put up with his disobediant nephew, Cloudkit. Clan allegiances shift through the knowledge that Brokenstar is being sheltered by ThunderClan. Silverstream eventually becomes pregnant and while delivering, she dies. The kits are then taken into ThunderClan which reveals the forbidden love, RiverClan then demands the kits. Cloudkit is then given to Fireheart as an apprentice under the name of, Cloudpaw. The two go hunting and then notice Tigerclaw with a band of rogue cats who attack ThunderClan. Fireheart saves his leader, Bluestar, and Tigerclaw is captured while his rogue group is eliminated. Bluestar, with the help of Fireheart, explain to the clan Tigerclaw's betrayal and who really killed Redtail. Tigerclaw is exiled and Fireheart is proclaimed as the new deputy. In the end, Graystripe takes his kits and moves into RiverClan.//
 * //6). Warriors: Forest of Secrets (Book Three) by Erin Hunter//**

//Bluestar is still shocked about the betrayal and so doesn't carry on with her duties. This leaves Fireheart to command the clan and supervise all of its jobs. ShadowClan becomes infected with a sickness and seeks help from ThunderClan, who rejects it. Cinderpelt on the other hand decides to help two of ShadowClan's members. Fireheart also has to deal with his newphew who has no respect for the Warrior Code and is accepting food from humans, a rule that if broken can be punishable by exile. One day, Cloudpaw is captured by the humans. Ravenpaw sees him locked up in a new home and so Fireheart and Sandstorm go to rescue him. Cloudpaw pleas to be accepted back into the clan, and he is granted. Sandstorm and Fireheart grow closer and closer. Runningwind is found dead with one of the ShadowClan members looming over him. Fireheart suspects that he had been killed by this cat and so chases him until he is hit by a car. It turns out that Runningwind had actually been killed by Tigerclaw and a band of Brokenstar's former rogues, in an attack on a ThunderClan patrol. The weather gets hotter and drier until there is a forestfire that wipes out ThunderClan's camp and kills Yellowfang, Shorttail, and Snowkit. Yellowfang admitts that she is Brokentail's mother and that she had killed him. Bluestar refuses to go to the Clan Meeting and so Fireheart must take the clan without her. They discover that Nightstar, the ShadowClan leader, and Cinderfur, the ShadowClan deputy, both die from the sickness and Tigerclaw becomes the new leader of ShadowClan.//
 * //7). Warriors: Rising Storm (Book Four) by Erin Hunter//**

//Fireheart awakens after a dream about dogs killing everyone in ThunderClan and quickly dismisses it. He tells the clan about Tigerclaw becoming the leader of ShadowClan and is now known as Tigerstar. The clan is still rebuilding after the fire and is worried about an attack from ShadowClan. Cinderpelt, the newly mastered medicine cat, sees visions of dogs attacking the clan but keeps it to herself. Later in the days there are scents of dog around the entire forest and the clans have come to a conclusion that it is living at Snakerocks. Crookedstar dies and Leopardstar must take over RiverClan as the new leader. RiverClan tries to take back territory that ThunderClan has taken but they fail in doing so. Graystripe is exiled from RiverClan for helping Fireheart, but is accepted back into ThunderClan. Cloudpaw is made into a warrior by the name of, Cloudtail, but the other apprentices aren't chosen. Swiftpaw and Brightpaw decide to go to find and kill the dog, but they fail and Swiftpaw dies. Brightpaw looses an eye and is renamed, Lostface. Tigerstar's kits are still in ThunderClan and he wishes to have them brought to him. Longtail spots more than just one dog living at Snakerocks and Fireheart comes up with a plan that will kill the dogs. Just as the dogs are chasing Fireheart, Tigerstar pins him down waiting for the dogs to come and kill him. Bluestar sacrifices her life in order to save Fireheart by tackling Tigerstar into the river with the dogs. Bluestar's children from RiverClan save her and she then promotes Fireheart as the new leader of ThunderClan before dying. Tigerstar survives but backs off until he is well enough. Fireheart becomes Firestar.//
 * //8). Warriors: A Dangerous Path (Book Five) by Erin Hunter//**

//In the Prologue, Tigerstar goes to the city and finds BloodClan; a group of monsterously tough alley cats who have never been defeated. He makes a deal with them in order to rule the forest. Firestar starts suspecting that Darkstripe, a former ally of Tigerstar in ThunderClan, is betraying ThunderClan. Later he finds Sorrelkit poisoned by a pile of Deathberries and gets Cinderpelt to revive her. Sorrelkit then tells Firestar that Darkstripe had given them to her as a treat so that she wouldn't tell about the meeting that he had with Blackfoot, ShadowClan's deputy. Darkstripe is then exiled from ThunderClan. At the next Clan Meeting, Tigerstar proposes that the clans should unite to create, TigerClan. RiverClan agrees but ThunderClan and WindClan do not. Graystripe wants to check on his kits from RiverClan and so Firestar and Ravenpaw go with him. They arrive to find that RiverClan and ShadowClan have united with Tigerstar as their leader. They also find Stonefur, Mistyfoot, Featherpaw, and Stormpaw taken as prisoners for being Half-bloods. The three from ThunderClan save the four prisoners and almost escape but are caught by a TigerClan patrol. To their luck a ThunderClan patrol helps them suceed. The next day, TigerClan attacks WindClan, killing Gorsepaw, a WindClan apprentice. The time runs out for Tigerstar's offer to join and so WindClan and ThunderClan both join eachother. Tigerstar orders BloodClan to attack the two rivaling clans but BloodClan's leader, Scourge, tells Tigerstar that he is the leader and he will lead his clan. Firestar tells Tigerstar's entire past to all of the clans, including BloodClan. Scourge decides to leave and Tigerstar becomes outraged and attacks him. Scourge kills Tigerstar in one blow and then announces to every clan that they have three days to leave the forest or die. All the clans must join eachother to survive as LionClan with Fireheart as the leader. LionClan fights with BloodClan and Whitestorm, the ThunderClan deputy dies, so he appoints Graystripe as the new deputy. Scourge takes one of Firestar's lives but then is killed into Firestar's second. The clans disband and all is back to normal again.//
 * //9). Warriors: The Darkest Hour (Book Six) by Erin Hunter//**

//**10). Warriors; The New Prophecy: Midnight (Book One) by Erin Hunter**// //Firestar has had two kits with Sandstorm; Squirrelpaw and Leafpaw, who are apprentices now. StarClan, an ancestor clan of spirits, sends out a message to four cats from the four different clans that there is a great danger coming. Brambleclaw represents ThunderClan; Feathertail represents RiverClan; Crowpelt represents WindClan; Tawnypelt represents ShadowClan. They each recieve the message about hearing what "Midnight" has to say. They all discover that they had the same dream except that Brambleclaw had a longer one. He dreamt of drowning in salty water. Ravenpaw tells him that the place he dreamt about is real, he calls it, "the sun-drown-place". Leafpaw takes on the role of a medicine cat apprentice. Cinderpelt, her mentor, has a vision of a tiger leaping out of fire and concludes that it is a sign that Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw will bring great danger to the forest. Firestar keeps them separted, but fails as they set out on the journey to "the sun-drown-place" together. Only Leafpaw, Squirrelpaw's sister, knows about where all of the cats have gone but won't tell anyone. Eventually, after over a week, the cats find a cavern that is inhabited by Midnight, a highly intelligent badger. She tells them about the humans building a new "Thunderpath"; the forest name for a highway. She tells them that they must lead the clans to a new home.//

//The six cats have to head home in order to deliver the message to their clans. They decide to take the mountains instead of crossing back into the human territory. They encounter The Tribe of Rushing Water, which is new to the clan cats because they've never heard of a "tribe". The Tribe is very nice to them and Stonefur falls for Brook Where Small Fish Swim, a young tribe prey-hunter. The Tribe tells of the prophecy of a silver cat coming to slay Sharptooth, a mountain lion that endangers them, from their ancestors, The Tribe of Endless Hunting. They believe that Stormfur is that cat and want him to kill Sharptooth. The six cats set up a trap for Sharptooth but end up not finishing it as he approaches. Feathertail, Stormfur's sister, decides to jump onto a stalagtite which falls onto Sharptooth, killing him and herself. The Tribe concludes that she was the cat of the prophecy and celebrates the death of Sharptooth. The Tribe's leader takes Feathertail and buries her at the base of The Cave of Rushing Water, which is one of the highest honors. The five cats that remain must push onwards to home. Back at home, Leafpaw sees the start of the destruction of the forest and she starts seeing StarClan members.//
 * //11). Warriors; The New Prophecy: Midnight (Book Two) by Erin Hunter//**

//Leafpaw has been captured by the humans, as well as many other cats of all kind. Firestar takes ThunderClan away from their home to Sunningrocks.The five cats return to their home to deliver the message. They tell that they must either move or die. All the leaders meet together to witness a sign from StarClan heeding Midnight's warning, but it never comes. Graystripe is then captured by the humans. He then frees every cat from the clans and even loners and rogues, but doesn't make it back himself. Several cats start to die off because of starvation and the clans learns that Hawkfrost and Mothwing are the children of Tigerstar. The humans then attack the ShadowClan camp and Firestar looses a life from being crushed by a tree, he only has seven more. This convinces the leaders to leave the forest in search of a new home. They set out following the sign of a dead warrior, as a star, guiding them to their new home. They meet The Tribe of Rushing Water and shelter there until they have recovered. Stormfur decides to join the Tribe and stay with Brook. Crowpaw recieves his warrior name by choice to Crowfeather, in memory of Feathertail. Squirrelpaw confesses her love to Brambleclaw who admits it as well. The clans find their new home over the mountains with a shimmering lake in the "midnight".//
 * //12). Warriors; The New Prophecy: Dawn (Book Three) by Erin Hunter//**

//The clans set up their camps and Squirrelpaw is promoted to become a warrior by the name of, Squirrelflight. The leaders decide that the four prophetic cats and Mistyfoot should explore the land in order to set territories. Barkface, the WindClan medicine cat, comes to Firestar in a plea of help. Tallstar, the WindClan leader, had fallen deathly ill. Tallstar tells Firestar that he doesn't want his deputy, Mudclaw, to lead and so wants Onewhisker to become the new deputy. Tallstar dies and Onewhisker becomes the new leader. Onewhisker appoints Ashfoot as his new deputy. The clans try to create a new gathering spot but cannot decide where and Mothwing confesses to Leafpaw that she doesn't believe in StarClan and that she might not want to be a medicine cat. Tigerstar visits his sons, Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw, in dreams telling them of plans. WindClan is breaking into two sides because of the quarrel between Mudclaw and Onewhisker deciding who the real leader is. Spottedleaf visits Leafpaw in a dream and leads her to the Moonpool where the new place to communicate with StarClan will be. She tells the other medicine cats and then is promoted and given the name Leafpool. Fighting breaks out in the WindClan territory between the opposing WindClan sides and ThunderClan helps. Two ShadowClan warriors invade ThunderClan and nearly kill Leafpool, but Crowfeather saves her and they fall in love. Brambleclaw pursuits Hawkfrost and Mudclaw, then attacks Mudclaw. Mudclaw tells him about the plan Hawkfrost and he had come up with. Hawkfrost denies everything and then lightning strikes a tree making a bridge to the island and killing Mudclaw. Onewhisker then goes to become leader by the name of Onestar. Squirrelflight then ends her friendship with Brambleclaw because he continues to talk with Hawkfrost.//
 * //13). Warriors; The New Prophecy: Starlight (Book Four) by Erin Hunter//**

//Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw are both fighting about her dislike for his half-brother, Hawkfrost. Squirrelflight believes that she shouldn't be his friend anymore. She become closer to Ashfur. The clans are exploring their new territories coming across foxes, badgers, and house cats. Each of the clans finds secrets and dangers in their territories. Squirrelflight and Ashfur get attacked by a fox and Brambleclaw has to save them. ShadowClan is experiencing major problems with house cats and so ThunderClan trys to come up with a plan to get rid them. Firestar lets a loner by the name of, Daisy, to join them with her three kits. Leafpool helps Mothwing with her medicine cat duties and especially when RiverClan becomes poisoned with an unknown human substance. She also must deal with her forbidden love with Crowfeather, they eventually run away together but return when ThunderClan is attacked by badgers. During the badger attack many cats are injured and Cinderpelt dies while protecting Sorreltail who was giving birth at the time. WindClan comes to save ThunderClan because Midnight comes to them to tell them about the attack and that she wanted to help. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw both settle their arguements and Stormfur and Brook both appear without telling why they came.//
 * //14). Warriors; The New Prophecy: Twilight (Book Five) by Erin Hunter//**

//**15). Warriors; The New Prophecy: Sunset (Book Six) by Erin Hunter**// //Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight both are in love again, but Brambleclaw must choose between the ultimate power that Tigerstar promises or being a loyal warrior. Tigerstar keeps visting him and Hawkfrost and now even Tawnypelt. Tawnypelt firmly rejects the offer. Stormfur and Brook go back to RiverClan but are then thrown out because of a planned betray that Hawkfrost creates. Hawkfrost pushed Stormfur to the edge until he snapped and attacked him, Leopardstar then exiled him. Stormfur and Brook were then let in by Firestar into ThunderClan. The clan thinks that Graystripe won't ever return and so want Firestar to appoint a new deputy. Firestar appoints Brambleclaw and that he will be given an apprentice later. Leafpool is told by StarClan that Cinderpelt has been reborn as Cinderkit, one of Sorreltail's kits. The clans discover that there are fox traps around and there have already been two victims, Berrykit and Firestar. Berrykit looses half of his tail. Hawkfrost told Brambleclaw to kill Firestar while he was trapped in order to fufill Tigerstar's plan for them. Brambleclaw rejected it and freed Firestar, Hawkfrost was outraged and attacked Brambleclaw so Brambleclaw pushed Hawkfrost onto the foxtrap needle. Leafpool realizes that the prophecy has been complete after seeing Brambleclaw and Firestar return.//

//The Shadow Lord tyrannically rules Deltora. A person identified as Jarred's son and apprentice, Lief, has been born during this time. He has been raised to reject the Shadow Lord, but never to show any obvious opposition. On his birthday, Lief's father sends his son, accompanied by a soldier named Barda, to find the lost gems from the Belt and restore them to it.// //The nearest gem, the golden topaz, is to be found in Mid Wood, which is one of three perilous Forests of Silence. While travelling to the forest, Wenns capture them and take them into First Wood as an offering to the predator known as Wennbar. Before being eaten, a forest-dwelling girl of Lief's own age, called Jasmine appears. Jasmine, after a brief reluctance, rescues Lief and Barda, later to leads them to the Dark in the heart of Mid Wood. There, they discover a wall made of steadfastly cultivated vines enclosing a clearing in the very center of the forest. In that center grow three flowers called the Lilies of Life, whose nectar possesses healing properties. The wall of vines was guarded by a Jalis Knight called Gorl, who sought to drink of the Nectar of Life and become immortal. Over the years, Gorl's body has rotted away, leaving nothing behind but his memories and his intentions. He captures Lief and Barda. Under their questions, Gorl narrates all, while Barda strives to break the psychokinetic control held by the knight over the questers' bodies. Barda breaks the grip, but is given a mortal wound by Gorl's sword. As he is about to kill Lief, Jasmine persuades a tree to drop a limb onto Gorl, thus destroying him and breaching his wall. Sunlight enters the Dark, and the Lilies of Life bloom at last. Jasmine and Lief use their nectar to heal the dying Barda. As the Lilies fade, Jasmine takes the last of the nectar into a jar, so that she might use it on future injuries. Lief takes the topaz from its position as the pommel of Gorl's sword and fits it into the Belt of Deltora. The three relax and recuperate, while animals from all over Mid Wood enter the breach in Gorl's wall and devour the vines. Later, Barda and Lief re-embark, with Jasmine and her companions Kree & Filli in company.//
 * //16). Deltora Quest: The Forests of Silence (Book One) by Emily Rodda//**

//**17). Deltora Quest: The Lake of Tears (Book Two) by Emily Rodda**// //The topaz has been retrieved by Lief, Barda, and Jasmine. They continue on their way to the Lake of Tears, to retrieve the ruby. They learn that the land surrounding the Lake of Tears is controlled by the evil sorceress Thaegan, who has 13 monster children. As the companions travel through the countryside they rescue a man named Manus from the Shadow Lord's servants, Grey Guards. Manus is from the city of Raladin. 100 years ago, Thaegan put a spell on Raladin that caused them and all of their offspring to never be able to speak. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine also learn that Thaegan put a spell on the city of D'Or and turned it into the Lake of Tears. The companions, with Manus, escape from the Grey Guards only to be captured by Jin and Jod, two of Thaegan's children. They eventually defeat Jin and Jod and journey to the city of Raladin, where Manus hopes to find his people. Upon arrival, they find the city empty. Only when the Ralad people hear the companions, they come out of hiding. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine tell the Ralads that they must journey to the Lake of Tears, despite the Ralads pleas, but they do not tell them they are going in quest of one of the gems of the Belt of Deltora. Manus agrees to be their guide.// When they get to the Lake of Tears, the monster Soldeen attacks them. Soldeen is a giant fish-like creature who is very deadly and has the ability to speak. Using the power of the topaz, Lief persuades Soldeen to give them the ruby. As Soldeen agrees, Thaegan appears and threatens to kill them all. The ruby flies out of Lief's hand and into the depths of the Lake as Thaegan uses her magic to harm them. Just as Thaegan is about to kill them all, Jasmine's bird Kree comes and kills Thaegan by drawing blood. All of Thaegan's spells are broken: the Ralads can now speak and the Lake of Tears turns back into the city of D'Or. Soldeen is a man named Nanion and gives the three companions the gem and wishes them well on their quest. The Belt now holds the topaz and ruby and now they journey towards the City of the Rats.

//**18). Deltora Quest: City of the Rats (Book Three) by Emily Rodda**// //Lief, Barda, and Jasmine leave the Lake of Tears, after they have retrieved the Ruby. They are now searching for the opal, which is located in Hira, or the City of the Rats. While travelling, they find signs which all have the word "Tom" written on it. They then find themselves in a trap that Thaegan's remaining eleven children had prepared. With the help of Filli, the three managed to kill all the children except for one, Ichabod, and continue on their quest. They find and enter Tom's shop and buy useful provisions such as Fire Beads, Water Eaters, Glowing Bubbles, and Instant Bread. They// //also bought three animals called Muddlets. Muddlets had three legs and can be ridden much like a horse. Despite Tom's directions, Lief didn't listen to him and went the wrong way. The three lost control of the Muddlets as they ran on their own. Lief, Barda and Jasmine followed the Muddlets home, the city of Noradz and become trapped. Noradz has customs that keeps the city vigorously clean. When Filli comes out of hiding from Jasmine's shirt, a Ra-Kacharz mistakes it for a rat and gives the trio two choices, to live or to die. Lief was commanded to pick a card labeled either "Life" or "Death" out of a cup. Realizing that both cards say "Death", the trio is thrown into prison. A girl named Tira managed to free them and shows them the secret way out. They survive the dangers of the tube and finally reached the Broad River. Using the Water Eaters, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine crossed the river, only to find that there were rats waiting for them. They managed to escape the deadly rats using the explosive Fire Beads and entered the city's center. The Glowing Bubbles come into use and lights their way as they move through the dark. There, Lief starts to hear voices, which was revealed to be of Reeah's, a huge snake called the King of Rats. The crown atop of Reeah's head housed the opal. Lief realizes that Reeah had set a trap for them. After a fight, Lief and Jasmine defeats the snake. Lief touches the opal to take it, and gets a vision of him sinking into the Shifting Sands. Lief remembers that the opal's vision of the future is not always true, they continue their quest to seek their fourth gem at the Shifting Sands.//

//The three go on their way towards the Shifting Sands from the City of the Rats when they spot an Ak-Baba in the sky. In order to hide from it, they dive under the River Broad and hide under their cloak. Surprisingly, they are aided by the fish of the river as well. Later, once the threat had passed, they pass by an apple farm owned by an eccentric old woman known as Queen Bee. Hungry and tired, they decided to steal and eat from the apple orchard. Queen Bee revealed that she was not actually a fragile old woman, but a dangerous threat because of the bees that she hides under her shawl. The trio are promptly chased off by her deadly bees for stealing.// //After some time on the road, they reach the town of Rithmere and started hearing about a competition called the Rithmere Games. Thinking they could win some money from it, they attempted to enter. But there was an entrance fee of one silver coin, and they had no money whatsoever. Lief, Jasmine, and Barda decided to let the operator of a game called Beat the Bird borrow Kree to spin the wheel thirty times, for a coin. After thirty turns were up, Kree sensed something was amiss and pulled the table sheet, which revealed that the operator was controlling the wheel through the use of a pedal. The cheating operator then fled, leaving the coins that had fallen off the table sheet to the crowd. Leif, Barda, and Jasmine attempted to take some of the coins, but all that was left was a wooden bird. The three decided to enter the Rithmere Games when they meet a scar-faced man named Doom, who they last saw at Tom's shop. They enter the games, and discover that the "games" are in fact fighting matches. Despite this fact, they entered anyway. Lief, Jasmine, and Barda were locked in their room in the night, but Mother Brightly, the host arrived and saved them. After the fights, Jasmine managed to win the one thousand gold prize for first place. Mother Brightly told the trio about the secret passageway that they could use to leave. However, upon trying to use it, the trio was ambushed by Grey Guards. It was revealed that there was a scandal that the prize money would be returned to Mother Brightly for the next competition while benefitting from the audience. Lief, Jasmine, and Barda attempted to make off with the coins when Doom came to them and helped them escape.// //On foot, they finally reached the walls of the Shifting Sands. Lief starts to hear voices. The three hid from the Grey Guards, who were then eaten by a terrible, insectile monster called a Sand Beast. Lief sees the Guards' belongings sinking into the sand and travelling to the center, in a place called the Hive. They arrived at the Hive, and Lief enters the hole full of treasures after smoking it. He replaces the lapis lazulli with the wooden bird to keep the structure of the piling treasures stable and climbs out of the Hive just before they were eaten by it. Lief fits the gem into the Belt of Deltora and their quest continues to the Dread Mountain.//
 * //19). Deltora Quest: The Shifting Sands (Book Four) by Emily Rodda//**

//The trio is journeying to Dread Mountain when they come across a spring. Although initially distrustful of its contents, they drink the water out of thirst noting a nearby sign saying: "Drink, gentle stranger, and welcome. All of evil will beware." and several oddly shaped rocks encircling the spring. They decided to take a rest there and Lief awakens to find one of the "rocks" unfurling. It reveals itself to be a mammalian flying creature called the Kin, which most Deltorans believe to be extinct. The three head to Dread Mountain with the help of the Kin, landing there only to find the mountain thickly overgrown, deserted of its inhabitants, the Dread gnomes, and overrun by beasts. However, the companions find the entrance into the Mountain, and after avoiding the numerous traps the gnomes have set up. It was discovered that there is a monstrous toad named Gellick that was controlling the gnomes. The trio makes a bargain with the head of the gnomes to rid Gellick for them in return for freedom and the emerald that was studded onto Gellick's head. The fight ends with Lief tossing water from the Dreaming Spring into Gellick's mouth, as it also has a deadly, paralyzing effect on "those with evil intent". The gnomes thank Lief by making peace with their longtime prey, the Kin, and agreeing to hamper the progess of their common enemy, the Shadow Lord in finding the trio. The companions then continue their journey to The Maze of the Beast.//
 * //20). Deltora Quest: Dread Mountain (Book Five) by Emily Rodda//**

//Lief, Barda, and Jasmine had retrieved the emerald from Dread Mountain. They travel along the River Tor to get to the Maze of the Beast, where they will get the amethyst. During their travel, they encounter a pair of children nearly drowning in a stream. They save the children, but they reveal themselves to be Ols, creatures created by the Shadow Lord that can transform themselves to become another living creature. Just before Barda is about to die, a boy Dain attacks the Ols and saves them. In the process, Dain injures his arm and several ribs. This causes Lief to sympathize for the boy, and take him to the Resistance, a group of people who rebel against the Shadow Lord. Arriving at the entrance to the Resistance's hideout, Dain faints from the pressure and forces the three to guess the password before they are marked as Ols and killed. Lief finds a note and realizes that the password is the first letter of every word on the note. They enter the Resistance and Doom, a man they have encountered before, tests them by putting them in a prison for three days. The test is supposed to find out if they are Ols because Ols can only hold their shape for three days. As three days pass, Doom does not let up and keeps them imprisoned. Dain frees them from the cave in exchange for them to take him to Tora. When Lief, Barda, and Jasmine reveal that they were not going to Tora, they split apart to make them less recognizable. Lief, Dain, and Barda take a boat that takes them down the river to the Maze of the Beast. They realize that Jasmine was also on the boat. The boat is raided by pirates, and Dain is taken prisoner. After reaching the Maze, Barda was revealed to be an Ol by the real Barda. Unfortunately, they are captured by pirates and are dumped into the Maze. After finding the location of the gem, Barda and Jasmine separate from Lief to lead the Beast away from him. They regroup when Lief was done, and escape the cave through a blowhole. The three then start off their journey to the Valley of the Lost.//
 * //21). Deltora Quest: The Maze of the Beast (Book Six) by Emily Rodda//**


 * //22). Deltora Quest: The Valley of the Lost (Book Seven) by Emily Rodda//**