Pillage (Pillage, #1)

Pillage (Pillage #1)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83  ·  rating details  ·  3,405 ratings  ·  442 reviews
Upon his mother's death, fifteen-year-old Beck Phillips is sent to live with an eccentric uncle he had never met in a remote manor house, where he learns that his family suffers from a curse that allows him to make plants grow on command and dragon eggs hatch.
Hardcover, 312 pages
Published July 1st 2008 by Shadow Mountain
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(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Jennifer Wardrip
Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com

Fifteen-year-old Beck Phillips' favorite activity is causing trouble - and his latest scheme is setting off an angry hive of bees through the air ducts in his current school. Maybe this inclination for trouble comes from moving around a lot, a non-existent father, or the fact that his mother is very ill.

When his mom dies, Beck is uprooted from his life once again and is sent to live with his wealthy but estranged uncle out in the mountainous country. On the...more
Alex
Aug 09, 2008 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young adults and 11 or 12 year olds
This was a great book. I like the twists and turns in it. At some points a tiny bit confusing but pretty much all of it was understandable. It is a short-read so if you are looking for a book to read to kill some time it would be a great book to pick out. I got it because I liked this Author's other books so i decided to give it a try.
Anna
I'm not going to offer a synopsis of the book because it’s easily found elsewhere :)
Although the book is neatly written, and all loose ends are tied up, I only give the book 3 stars. The book is SO exciting in the beginning, I devoured the first chapters but the pace quickly slowed down by the middle of the book and didn't pick up again until the last few chapters....so annoying.
Much of the book takes place in the tunnels of a basement which has been filled in with soil, but the description is...more
Allison
Skye, Obert Pillage, Shadow Mountain; Language~G, Sexual Content~G; Violence~G
Life for Beck Phillips has just gone from not so good to miserable. For the past several years he has been the primary caregiver for his mentally ill mother who has just passed away. Not minutes after her funeral he is put on a train and told that his uncle, who he didn’t know existed, has agreed to take him in. The train takes him to a remote town called Kingsplot. Beck’s uncle lives in a mansion high on a hill away f...more
02RebeccaV
Mar 18, 2013 02RebeccaV added it
Shelves: bookreports
Have you ever wonder what it would bee like to ride a dragon or even see one? WEll in the modern setting of pillage a young Mr. Beck Phillips trys to save the little town of Kingsplot from the trefiying grasp of dragons and a strange magicain. Although i find the book Pillage by Obert Skye to be good at characterization it wasn't the best at clarifing things. So here are some of the positives and some of the negatives about this book Pillage.

'I felt a ribbon of cold wrap around my heart as i sa...more
03michellek
Pillage is a book about a boy named Beck Phillips. Beck lived with his mother Elizabeth, not knowing any other relatives. When his mother died he moved to a little island known as Kings plott where he became friends with Katie and Milo. He moved to Kingsplott to live with his uncle Arron, who has supposedly gon mad. During his stay here he learns he thies special powers with plants which eventually leads to him investigating and then he ends up growing theis dragons which is a family curse of hi...more
Michelle
I love books with dragons, so the cover of Pillage just reached out and grabbed me. The dragons weren't as prominent as the cover lead me to believe, but it was a fun read anyway. When Beck Phillip's mother dies he is sent to live with an uncle he has never met. When he arrives he discovers a crumbling mansion, grumpy caretakers, and an uncle that never comes down from the attic. He is strongly warned to stay out of the back yard, supposedly because it's so overgrown that it's dangerous. Beck ha...more
Donna
Jan 09, 2010 Donna added it
To be fair, I haven't had this sitting around for a year. This was another chapter sampler I grabbed at BEA. They must have been leftovers from the publisher or something. And being the hoarder that I am, I snagged.

Meh. I wasn't all that impressed. I think it had mostly to do with the language and the way the story was told. I mean, this is a first person narrative of a 15-year-old boy and he was saying things like, "The fearful faces of the crowd of onlookers told me quite clearly that rampagin...more
06rebeccav
Have you ever wonder what it would bee like to ride a dragon or even see one? WEll in the modern setting of pillage a young Mr. Beck Phillips trys to save the little town of Kingsplot from the trefiying grasp of dragons and a strange magicain. Although i find the book Pillage by Obert Skye to be good at characterization it wasn't the best at clarifing things. So here are some of the positives and some of the negatives about this book Pillage.

'I felt a ribbon of cold wrap around my heart as i sa...more
Emily
What do mysteriously filled basements, super heavy stones, and creepy climbing plants have in common? If you really want to know, you’ll have to read the book, but I’ll give you a hint: There are dragons involved! This book belongs on your book shelf next to the Fablehaven, Artemis Fowl, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. If you liked those, you’ll love ‘Pillage’! Full of action, adventure and witty humor, this book would be enjoyed by anyone and everyone who loves fantasy that takes pl...more
♥rAcHeL♥
Jul 31, 2008 ♥rAcHeL♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Fantasy or Dragon People
Recommended to ♥rAcHeL♥ by: A lady at desert book lol
Shelves: read-and-luv-it
I was at desert book buying the New Era, which had david archuleta in it, and the sales person recommended Pillage to us. So my mom bought it and i read it even though i had not read any other books from this author. I really liked the book. It definently had a nice suprising little twist, which is a good quality in a book. It also had a few suprises that really punched you in the face. In all this was a very quick, but also enjoyable read.
Melia
Mar 09, 2013 Melia rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: small children
I read this book for a book club and didn't enjoy it at all. I may have been in a bad mood when I read it, but nothing clicked for me. The beginning of this book is very slow, the first two thirds could really be hurried up a bit more and the first chapter cut out entirely. For me, the characters were very inconsistent. Their reactions to things do not make sense with the characters. Beck (the maine character) is not emotional at all, which makes hime horribly hard to relate to. The only charact...more
Dena (Books for Kids)
Books for Kids

Dragons, treasure, old mysterious books with a strange family history recorded, hidden basements, and a splash of adventure! Obert Sky's Pillage was a home run for me.

Because Beck is fifteen years old, I wasn't sure whether this book was considered Young Adult or Juvenile. But considering the mildness of the story (no language, no sex, and very mild action involving the dragons), I would definitely consider this a Juvenile or Middle Grade novel. I also discovered it in the Juvenile...more
Krysta
I am a sucker for pretty cover art and this book has been making puppy-dog eyes at me for a while now. I finally got around to reading it and like Obert Skye's Leven Thumps series (which also have pretty covers) I found it a little slow to get into. It seemed to me that the last 1/4 of the book had everything I expected it to have while the first 3/4 was just kind of slow and didn't provide enough new plot information or twists to drive the story the way it could have been. It was obviously good...more
Ryan
The story started out lame, and then began to intrigue me. In the end I couldn't get past Skye's writing style. Most of the dialogue was cheesy and cliche' (like a teenager would ever say, "I'm sorry for the way I acted...for my actions.") And when a dragon is chasing him, "his presence made me move faster." His presence made me move faster?! Are you serious? It sounds like a five year old is writing this.
However, there were a few great twists at the end which I found satisfying.
I think Skye's...more
Georgia
I know that this book is probably deserving of more than one star. Looking at all of the other reviews, it obviously holds something that entertains, and seems to be popular with those who read it. However, I must admit that this book did not keep my interest whatsoever. It took me ten days to read only a measly three hundred pages (with relatively large text and double spacing), and I was never excited about picking it up.
One of the main problems that I had was with the characters. I found Bec...more
Mallory
I hadn't even heard of this book before I went to the book store and saw it there. I liked the Leven Thumps books so I desided to give it a try. It was pretty good. A really easy read, and it's pretty short. It's about a 15 year old boy whose had a hard life growing up and then has to move in with his crazy uncle.
Julianne
Obert Skye describes things in the book very well. He created detailed pictures in my head. The setting is a big mansion that the main character describes as "somewhere between a mall and a castle. There were more chimneys and windows than any chimney or window store could possibly stock. I counted at least seven floors." The main character is a boy named Beck Phillips who goes to live with his uncle because his mother dies. The story makes me feel kind of cold because of all of the mist and fog...more
05gmiyster
Nov 29, 2011 05gmiyster rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like dragons
Recommended to 05gmiyster by: my mom
pages:312
This book is about a thirteen year old boy named Beck. He lived with his mom but his mom died so he moved into his uncles. He was a average boy he was althetic only in basketball he was bad at every thing else. So he moved into his uncles and was kind of creeped out by the house because it was seven storys tall and old and there were rumors that there was a basement that got filled in. But they dont know why they filled in the basement so he was kind of scared. So he stayed in his roo...more
Almak
Pillage is a fun read about a semi-troubled male youth named Beck that finds himself bereft of family and suddenly sent to live with an unknown Uncle in a mansion far in the mountains.

The story picks up at that point and moves at a good pace, building suspense yet not leaving one hanging for an extended period of time.

Beck is a likable character because of his brutal honesty about himself. He knows his flaws and faults and doesn't try to hide them. This quality, above all else, makes him endear...more
SMART Book Club
I think Pillage should get a 9/10 because of many reasons. First of all, the story is very interesting. Secondly, the humor or sarcasm in this book was awesome! Thirdly, at the end of each chapter Obert Skye added bits of history about Beck‘s family, which I thought was good because in the book you have to know some history. In the climax the history plays a big part. And, I love the fact that Obert Skye described a dragon holding a mailbox in the book, and the front cover of Pillage matches the...more
Terry
Given the picture of the dragon on the book's front cover, I thought dragons were going to play a much larger role in the book than they did. Instead, the protagonist's ability to control plants plays a bigger role, though this ability is connected to dragons. I was really hooked for the first 100 pages or so, but then the characters were sometimes inconsistent and the writing was occasionally sort of stiff. That said, I still finished the book and enjoyed it. The author puts the main character...more
Kristin
This story is an easy read. Most 3rd - 6th grade students would enjoy it. The story is about a High School boy who lives with his sickly mother, is always finding trouble, and is constantly moving because his mother can't keep a job. Beck, however, has a special talent when it comes to plants. One day his mother dies and he is sent to live with his uncle in a huge estate near a small town at the top of a mountain. He's never met his uncle and is curious to find out about him. Meanwhile, Beck stu...more
Chaundell Monn
I was a little surprised by this book. I got it for really cheap and had heard very little about it, so was expecting it to not be that great. It actually captured my interest within the first chapter and I wanted to learn more. It wasn't an amazing book; while none of the answers were left unanswered, I still felt that the plot and storyline was pretty minimal and not much to it. It's a very short book and so there's no beating around the bush. You meet the character and then things happen pret...more
Jared
I read the first Leven Thumps book and didn't care for it. I had heard that Obert Skye's ability to write had improved with each book he has written, and therefore I decided to give him another shot.
First, I can't say this book is horrible. I realize it's youth fiction, and from a young person's standpoint this book has the potential to be fun and interesting. However, I can't say that this book wowed me either. It's short, and it cruises along at a decent pace, but overall there's a certain sty...more
Cheryl
A fantasy adventure by the author of Leven Thumps, Obert Skye. Beck is a troubled kid who has cares for his dysfunctional mother. His father took off before Beck can even remember. Beck is disruptive, a smart mouth and without friends. After his mother's death he is sent to a rich uncle estate to live. Beck's adventure includes discovering his talent with plants and hatching dragons. I have wondered why this books is not as popular as other of Skye's titles. I think because the dragons are destr...more
Mandy
Another one of Sam's books he asked me to read. I enjoyed this one more than the last. I thought this one allowed us to get to know the character's more before it jumped into the story. I read the first chapter, put the book down, and asked my oldest if he could identify with the main character, Beck, and he had a huge grin on his face and said, "yep." I knew it. :-) So, as I read this book I saw a lot of my oldest son in it (minus the orphan scenario and rebellious behavior). It is a fun read a...more
Genie
Oct 20, 2010 Genie rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2010
Hmm. This was an odd book. I was about 200 pages into it before I felt the story was finally getting somewhere. The mc Beck goes to live with a reclusive uncle after his mother dies (in...England? Scotland? Austria or Switzerland? Ah, in the end, "somewhere" in the U.S. Obviously the setting was vague and not credible). Strange things happen, of course, made stranger because none of them mesh well--plants follow Beck's command, stones grow dragons, a pod person runs amuck. Uhm. In spite of it al...more
Michelle
Jul 27, 2008 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All ages.
A fun book! It is modern-day fantasy adventure with dragons that will be appealing to both boys and girls. I would recommend this to all ages.
Wendy
I really enjoyed this book. It is real simular to Fablehaven and Spiderwick. Very fun and fast read, I definately recommend it.
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good book!!!!!! 2 4 26 mar. 09:57  
Pillage 1 2 26 mar. 09:55  
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Obert Skye read his first book at age two. He wrote his first story at age four. And he was nearly trampled by a herd of water buffalo at age six. For a short time, he lived on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, where he spent time as a candy-taster. Several years ago, Obert Skye says, he discovered the existence of Foo. Publishing his story as a fictional series was not Obert’s first choice. Neverthel...more
More about Obert Skye...
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (Leven Thumps, #1) Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want (Leven Thumps, #3) Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret (Leven Thumps, #2) Leven Thumps and the Wrath of Ezra (Leven Thumps, #4) Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder (Leven Thumps, #5)

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