Taggerung

Taggerung by Brian Jacques [YA Fiction]

By Sage, age 13

Taggerung is taken away by the Vermin Horde and is brought to a camp. On his paw is a pink flower birthmark that indicates that he is a taggerung or the chosenbeast warrior hero. Taggerung runs away and a group of Vermin chase him. He meets voles, mice, and Dillypins, and the Dillypins take him to Redwall Abbey where Taggerung meets his mom and older sister. Taggerung discovers that his real name is Deyna.

Salamandastron

Salamandastron, by Brian Jacques [YA Fiction]

by Sage, 6th grader

Salamandastron is awesome because there is a Badger Lord and lots of hares that live in a mountain near the seaside. And there is a war with weasels and rats.

Rakkety Tam

Rakkety Tam, by Brian Jacques [YA Fiction]
by Monica, entering 12th grade

Rakkety Tam is a squirrel warrior committed to fighting the army of Gulo the Savage, who eats the creatures he kills. As before, Brian Jacques creates several plot lines which divide and merge incredibly smoothly. The result is a book that is nearly impossible to put down.

Brian Jacques is one writer who knows how to paint with words. Admittedly, it is really strange to imagine a bunch of mice, squirrels, moles, otters, etc., running around talking, going on adventures, and warring against evil. But the reader can easily visualize and come to love the characters that Jacques creates. Everyone is entirely believable and appropriately complex. Every book is wonderful.

High Rhulain

High Rhulain, by Brian Jacques [YA Fiction]

by Monica, entering 12th grade

Another part of the Redwall series, this book features Tiria, an ottermaid destined to become High Rhulain (otter queen) of Green Isle. But three stories must intertwine before that destiny is fulfilled. Brian Jacques, as always, cleverly and deftly weaves together three plot lines — Tiria’s own adventures, the challenges of her friends at Redwall as they solve riddles to help her, and the struggles of the otters of Green Isle as they fight for freedom against villainous wildcats.

Once again, Brian Jacques spins a great “yarn,” as he calls it, full of laugh-out-loud humor, edge-of-your-seat action, scratch-your-head riddles, and I-can’t-think-of-a-hyphenated-phrase emotion. I’ve always loved Redwall books, and this was no exception.

Loamhedge

Loamhedge, by Brian Jacques (YA Fiction)
by Monica, 11th grader

A fairly recent installment of the Redwall series, though not the most recent (I’m still catching up), this book finds badgers, Redwallers, and “vermin” questing for revenge, secrets, and “magic swords,” respectively. As always, Brian Jacques tells a great story filled with humor, adventure, and emotion. He is one of those rare authors who can make me laugh out loud just from reading his words. It’s not very helpful if you want other people to think you’re sane — bursting into laughter for no apparent reason can seem strange to others — but it makes for a wonderful reading experience. Start here with Loamhedge, or back at the beginning of the series with Mossflower or Redwall. Each book tells its own story, and every book is a remarkable display of Brian Jacques’ talent.