Shine on Daizy Star by Cathy Cassidy

"Shine on Daizy Star" came across my reading list because I won it in a blog contest from one of my dear bloggy friends, Jessica, of Nayu's Reading Corner. It's a cute book with a bright color and great illustrations. I love the stars all over the cover of the book!

Daizy Star is age 10 3/4's and the book opens with her giving a pictorial introduction to the people in her life. We also learn that her Dad, who's always been pretty cool, has recently lost his mind! Or at least that's how it seems to Daizy and the rest of the family. He's taking a sabbatical from work and has decided to construct a boat that the family will then sail all over the world in. Nobody in the family really likes the idea, and Daizy is so upset by it she refuses to tell any one what's going on.

Have you ever told one little lie that grew and grew until it consumed your life? That's what happens to poor Daizy as she first tries to cover up her Dad's new obsession, and then finds herself trying to keep more and more lies straight, including the lie that she's learned to swim.

The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind

Just a quick note for those of you following Aria's Quest... It's been a crazy week or two, which is why I never got it posted last week, but I do hope to get it up this week! I'm hoping to work on it more later today if things don't go crazy on me. I also have a surprise in the works for you guys that I think you'll really enjoy :)

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The Pillars of Creation (Sword of Truth, Book 7)

"The Pillars of Creation" by Terry Goodkind is book 7 in his series "The Sword of Truth." This book is written in a bit of a different focus from the rest of the series. It's still set in the Midlands, don't worry about that! But instead of having Richard and Kahlynn as the center of the story, we meet a girl named Jennson, who turns out to be Richard's half-sister!

I liked that we broke away from the main story in this book. He did that some in another one of the books, but no where near to this extent. In fact, we don't actually see Richard and Kahlynn until the very end of the book!

Jennson has been through a lot in her young life. Darkhan Rahl, her father, has been hunting her for her entire life simply because she was born of his seed, and born ungifted. Descendants of the house of Rahl who are born ungifted are like holes in the world. They can't be seen or touched by magical means. Jennson doesn't know all of this though at the beginning of the book, she simply knows that her father hunts her, and that her mother has always done whatever she could to protect her.

Unfortunately, Jennson's mother dies, and this sets Jennson off on a quest to learn more about her past and avenge her mother's death. I found her story very intriguing because she gets pulled to the dark side, but it happens so subtly that she believes that she's fighting for and doing what's right. I think it was a masterful portrayal of how easily people can be mislead with just some simple lies. I really enjoyed this story and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next!