No Castles Here
by A.C.E. Bauer
NO CASTLES HERE by A.C.E. Bauer
Category:  Contemporary
Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
Release Date:  10/23/07
Publisher:  Random House
Reviewed by:  
Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
Rating:  4 Stars


Not like many others around him, Augie is pretty different, mostly because of the way he looks. He isn’t too fond of
school and his teachers, and now that his only friend has moved away, there is no one left to stand up for him.

There are plenty of things Augie never thought he would do. Walking into a bookstore was one of them. But seeing a
display with a donkey and a princess in the window, for some reason, captivated him. He plops himself down on a
random couch that happens to have a book. Not just any book, though -- this book just so happens to have the same
characters that Augie saw in the window.

And just like how Augie was swept into the store, he sweeps himself out of the world he wanted to forget, and into a
world full of fantasy and adventure.

Yet, Augie doesn’t know that by reading this book, his entire life just changed. From wanting to help his school to
actually standing up for himself and others against those who were never nice, to having a sort of fairy godmother,
Augie’s life will just never be the same again… for the better.

Alternating through Augie’s life and the adventure novel he reads, NO CASTLES HERE is that one book which makes
us feel glad that we picked it up. Augie isn’t just any normal character; he is one that we can all look up to and learn that
the only way we are able to accomplish something is if we are willing to take that first step.