The Golden Tree

By Kathryn Lasky


Soren and the Band are back. Coryn has retrieved the ember and it seems a golden age is dawning at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. But all that is gold is not necessarily good. Soern, Twilight, Gylfie, and Digger face their biggest challenge yet as the young king, haunted by the suspicion that haggish blood flows in his veins, hunts for the truth. His wanderings imperil himself and the good guardians who travel with him.
Meanwhile, back at the tree, the influence of the ember is strong—and strange. The tree changes, as do the guardians left to govern in the young king’s absence. Otulissa objects to the strange new ways, and her outspokenness puts her in grave danger. Someone must get word to Soren and the Band. But who?

 
I have been searching two separate libraries for about six months for this blasted book. That is the frustrating thing about reading elementary size books. I can read them in about 2 hours but have to remember that kids take forever! This is I think book 11 or 12 in the Ga'Hoole series. Can't keep track anymore...it needs numbers on the spine or something. Anywho, this book was fun. It continues with Coryn, the new King of the Great Tree and follows his fears of his bloodline and how he can measure up to be a good king. It's a fun story, and kids will really enjoy this series if they like animals and fantasy. They run about 150 pages.

To Be a King: book 11

By Kathryn Lasky

Nachtmagen rages through the N’yrthghar as hagsfiends and traitorous lords conspire to defeat the new king. With Grank and Theo at his side, Hoole must forge an army of free owls strong enough to defeat the forces of darkness massing on the horizon. The power of the one Ember fires the young king’s very gizzard and he grows great. But for young Hoole there is a danger much closer than treacherous lords and the poison of half-hags. For magic-even good magic-brings great peril to those who would wield it.
So Soren, Coryn, and the Band read the final legend and glimpse what the future may demand of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole.

The Coming of Hoole: Book 10

By Kathryn Lasky

A tale of chaos, betrayal, and nachtmagen unfolds in the second of three ancient legends. It is no idle history, for hidden in its pages are truths about the great promise-and great danger-that lie just ahead for the Guardians. And so Soren, Coryn, and the members of the Band read on:
A grizzled collier will tend a young prince in exile. An owl who would be a monk will done battle claws. A mother who is also a queen will raise an army. And under the shower of embers in the shadow of the Sacred Volcanoes, a king will be born-or die.

The First Collier: book 9

By Kathryn Lasky

An ancient malevolence that will threaten the very existence of the great tree has been loosed from the past. With his dying breath, Ezylryb tells Soren and Coryn to read the legends of Ga’Hoole hidden in his private library. There, they find a world of treachery and magic in which a young king and queen struggle to keep peace while Grank, their most loyal friend and supporter, studies embers and flames in a distant land. Then a desperate plea comes from the king, and Grank rushes to the aid of his noble friends.

The beginning of the story of Hoole: the great owl king for whom the great tree is named. His story lasts the next 2 books in the series.

The Outcast: Book 8

By Kathryn Lasky

Nyroc has exiled himself from the Pure Ones. He flies alone, feared and despised by those who know him as Kludd's son, hunted by those whose despotism he has rejected, and haunted by ghostly creatures conjured by Nyra to lure him back to the Pure Ones. He yearns for a place he only half believes in -- the great tree -- and an uncle -- the near-mythic Soren -- who might be a true father to him. Yet he cannot approach the tree while the rumor of evil clings to him. To prove his worth, Nyroc will fly to The Beyond the Beyond seeking the legendary Relic and bring it, a talisman of his own.

Again, this is where I think the story hits its stride. Excellent.

The Hatchling: Book 7

By Kathryn Lasky

Beneath a shadowed moon in a cloud-streaked sky, the sacred orb splits and a hatchling is born: It is Nyroc, son of Kludd, fallen leader of the Pure Ones, and his evil mate, Nyra. Born from evil, trained to evil, Nyroc is destined to fulfill his father’s terrible plan, the oppression of all owldom under the vicious talons of the Pure Ones.
But doubt grows in Nyroc’s heart, fed by strange forbidden legends of a great tree far away where noble owls live in peace. And a light dawns in Nyroc’s gizzard, nourished by friendship.
A day is nearing when Nyroc must choose to fulfill his destiny-or to defy it.
It will be a day of blood and terror.

This book is different from the other Guardian books. And in my oppinion, extremely good. This is when I thought the series became awesome. I loved the story of Nyroc.

The Burning: Book 6

By Kathryn Lasky

A great battle is on the horizon and drawing near. In preparation, Soren and his band must fly to the mysterious Northern Kingdoms to find allies and study the grim art of war. Meanwhile, St. Aggie’s has fallen to the Pure Ones. If they are not stopped, they will launch another, more deadly attack against the great tree. And without allies from the north, Ga’Hoole will surely fall. Soren’s mission must succeed. And the final battle must be won. The coming conflagration will demand wisdom, bravery, and sacrifice from all the owls of the great tree, and from Soren and the band, nothing less than heroism.

The Shattering: book 5

By Kathryn Lasky

Soren’s sister, Eglantine, is falling under the spell of a strange nightly dream. Then, just as Soren notices her trancelike state, Eglantine disappears, and the dreams become a deadly waking nightmare that puts the Great Tree of Ga’Hoole in terrible danger. Soren must lead the Chaw of Chaws to rescue his sister. Thus begins the next battle between the owls of Ga’Hoole and the evil Pure Ones, deep in the treacherous territory known as The Beaks, where a raging forest fire will prove the greatest danger to the rescuers-and their best hope for victory.

I'm just quickly going to put up the rest of the Guardian of Ga'Hoole books that I've read and comment here and there.

The Siege: Book 4

By Kathryn Lasky

Tensions erupt in the owl kingdom when the forces of evil wage war against the protectors of good. Enraged by his clash with Soren and driven by an all-consuming desire for power, Kludd and his group, the Pure Ones, launch an attack upon the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. The noble owls who live there must fight fiercely to protect their resources and defend their honor.
Meanwhile, Soren is called upon by the elders of the great tree to lead a mission back to the one place he thought he’d never see again – St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. He and his crew will have to enter St. Aggie’s as spies, then leave unnoticed once their work is done. Soren escaped the rocky confines of St. Aggie’s once. If peace is to be restored, he must do it again.

Okay, things are starting to get interesting in the series and the story plot thickens as Soren clashes with the owls of St. Aggies and also worries about his brother Kludd and his treachery against owlkind.

The Rescue: book 3

By Kathryn Lasky

Ever since Soren was kidnapped and taken to the St. Aegoliue School for Orphaned Owls, he has longed to see his sister, Eglantine, again. Now Eglantine is back in Soren’s life, but she’s been through an ordeal too terrible for words. And Ezylryb, Soren’s mentor, has disappeared. Deep within Soren’s gizzard, something more powerful than knowledge tells him there’s a connection between these mysterious events.
In order to rescue Ezylryb, Soren must embark upon a perilous quest. It will bring him face-to-face with a force more dangerous than anything the rulers of St. Aggie’s could have devised –

and a truth that threatens to destroy the owl kingdom.

While being fun reads for adults, this series would be much more suited to kids from 8-12. They are quite enjoyable however and worth a read to see how you like them. They were good enough for me to keep reading, and I'm glad I did. They are only about 180 pages on average, and I was glad I kept going because I felt like the story hit its stride at about book 6. So while this and the next few books are a bit on the -well not boring side- but slower, I'd keep going.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Journey (2)

By Kathryn Lasky

It began as a dream. A quest for the Great Ga’Hoole Tree, a mythic place where each night an order of owls rises to perform noble deeds. There Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, and Digger hope to find inspiration to fight the evil that dwells in the owl kingdom. The journey is long and harrowing. When Soren and his friends finally arrive at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree, they will be tested in ways they never dreamed and face challenges they never imagined. If they can learn from their leaders and from one another, they will soon become true Ga’Hoolian owls- honest and brave, wise and true.

The second book in the popular series about noble owls who fight for truth, justice, and...well you know. This story centers around the four friends as they learn from the different Chaws, or groups, in the Great Tree. Soren finds his niche in the Weather Chaw with the old and wise Ezylryb as his mentor. They are the owls that ride the gales and can fly through forestfires to gather hot coals for the tree. Gylfie is a natural for the Navagation Chaw, and studies the stars. Digger is a tracker, and Twilight is just Twilight. This is a fun book that shows how the young owls learn to become true Guardians.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture

By Kathryn Lasky

Soren is born in the forest of Tyto, a tranquil kingdom where the Barn Owls dwell. But evil lurks in the owl world, evil that threatens to shatter Tyto’s peace and change the course of Soren’s life forever. Soren is captured and taken to a dark and forbidding canyon. It’s called an orphanage, but Soren believes it’s something far worse. He and his friend Gylfie know that the only way out is up. To escape, they will need to do something they have never done before-fly.

This is the popular series that spawned the recent movie "Legends of the Guardians". I read this over a year ago, but decided it deserved a review. I've read the first 11 books in the series and have enjoyed it immensely. Soren is a loveable character who believes faithfully in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole- a arthurian like legend among owls. He dreams of becoming just like them. When his life takes a horrible turn and he is pushed out of the nest by his brother Kludd, he is taken to Sanit Aggies, a school for "abandoned" owlettes. The story of his escape and survival is an epic journey; one that anyone who enjoys stories of good and evil will appreciate and love. A great read for owl-lovers like myself as well. :)

P.S. I did see the movie and it was okay for a book adaptation. My favorite part was the computer graphics and the song by Owl City. :) Read the book first if you see the movie. It makes more sense and is more enjoyable.