Star of Stone: Century Quartet Book II
by P. D. Baccalario
Century Series
A Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0-375-85896-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-375-85896-3
Publication Date: September, 2010
List Price: $16.99
Review: Amazing. Inspiring. Gripping. P.D. Baccalario's newest book- Star of Stone yet again demonstrates adventure just seeping through every page. Being book two in the Century Quartet , its four main characters become as clear as they are more mysterious. For those who have read The Ring of Fire - book one of the series, hoards of questions now bat at the brain. Who really was Alfred Van Der Berger? Why has he left so many mysteries only to be answered by even more mysteries and so forth? Why do so few people understand the true power of the artifacts and tops? All of these questions are solved more or less as their answers turn into even more of a mystery.
New York, the big city. Busy streets of wonderment as well as treachery. A place such as this could only be what Baccalario describes as the city of earth. When a new artifact called Star of Stone is discovered here, the four heroes, Harvey, Elettra, Minstral, and Sheng set off on another adventure together. Their quest leads them into finding more than they bargain for, for better or worse, and they soon envelope themselves in another mystery of the now deceased Alfred Van Der Berger. Love begins to transpire between two particular people as well as aggressive arguments between others. All of this begins as the group tears through New York, from musty pawn shops, to the old city hall, to even a boxing gym. But they are not alone. Even as they search, their enemies are closing in, searching for the artifact. They are not what you would call the giving up type. These guys make Jacob Mahler appear to be as scary as a blowing leaf. With this in mind, it becomes a race against time. Will the children be able to stop the villains and claim the new artifact, or will power shift into the wrong hands for good?
Suspenseful as well as mysterious, the Star of Stone is in my opinion yet another successful piece on the part of Mr. P.D. Baccalario. Like The Ring of Fire, I enjoyed the creative idea of putting in special middle pages in the book. This allowed the reader to go along with the book as more and more clues were discovered and truly organized everything perfectly. This book really focused on deep characterization, especially in Harvey, and also plunged into the mystery of Alfred Van Der Berger which began at the very beginning of the first book. I rate this book a top score of five stars because of its imagination, mystery, and characterization. The Star of Stone ties to the ages of eight to fourteen. I would highly recommend reading Ring of Fire and then continuing with Star of Stone . As I have mentioned, this is only the second book in the Century Quartet series, and two more books are yet to come. I am confident that P.D. Baccalario is on the right track to writing a bestseller with phenomenal results. In truth, I already believe he has done so twice.
Review written by Brandon (7th grade student).
We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Star of Stone: Century Quartet Book II for this review.
Have you read Star of Stone: Century Quartet Book II? How would you rate it?
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