Book Review: Lemon Drop Falls by Heather Clark

Book: Lemon Drop Falls by Heather Clark

Genre: MG contemporary

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

We (me and a couple friends) were lucky enough to go the launch of this book awhile back. And I actually picked it up and read (most) of it during the readathon. Proud of myself for not waiting years to actually get to it (See last week's Top Teen Tuesday! LOL!)

This is the story of a girl who's mom died when she was about 11 years old. We go back and forth seeing how things were before, and how things are now.

Before, her mom was very organized, having plans A, B and maybe even C, for everything going on. Our girl had friends and everyone was happy (mostly. There was a little friend struggle beginning.)

After, our girl is stressed out trying to make things run as smoothly as her mom did so her dad won't feel the need to move and change everything about their lives. Her friends have seemed to abandoned her and she is very worried about everything. Her dad decides they need to go on a camping trip, though she feels like how can they do that without her mom.

While on the trip, she decides to do something a little bit crazy and during that moment, she realizes so many things about how she can continue to deal with life without her mom.

The lemon drops refer to a tradition they have in their family to encourage talking out your feelings. Deal with the sour and then you'll get to the sweet. 

So, it's the story of the struggle of our girl dealing with her mom's death and the stress and anxiety that it causes with her and their family. It's sad. But also very beautiful. And so perfectly done. I really loved it.  

Book Review: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

Book: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Genre: MG contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★ 

We read this one for book club way back in June I think, so I'm not sure I can even remember my thoughts!

But basically, it's about a 4th grader student who loves to read and gets bugged when her favorite book series is banned from the library because some mom deems it inappropriate. Sort of accidentally, she starts to loan out this series, and then she finds out what else is on the banned list and with the help of her friends, she acquires more and more books from that list, and loans them out.

Soon she is running a pretty popular library from her locker.

And then she gets found out and gets in trouble and has to defend herself at the community meeting. Which, being a girl who doesn't speak up much, is quite the growing experience.

I enjoyed the book, but as is usual with these sorts of things, I get annoyed at the obvious agenda pushing. But, you know, that was the point of this book basically, to get kids aware of the issue and interested in reading a list of "banned" books ie books  they think of has "bad" in some way and thus more appealing to read. 

I also had an issue with the fact that the things this girl did I could not picture a fourth grader doing. She seemed so much older so that was distracting to me.

But it was all in all a cute story and very fun for any reader to embrace.

Book Review: Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

Book: Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
Genre: MG magic realism ish
Rating: ★ ★ ★

This was our book club read for the month. I didn't realize it was MG until I looked up at the library. But it was a good thing because that meant I could read it pretty fast in the days before our meeting.

I enjoyed reading it. It was fun and easy and intriguing. Guys, I was in it just for the fun of it, I didn't think about all the metaphorical allegorical stuff while I read it. Know what I mean? I just WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON!

But I guess that wasn't the point of this book. The point, I guess, was to make a point about growing up? I don't know. I really don't get it. But when the book ended I was very frustrated.

Back up a bit... here's a quick summary. There are nine kids stranded on an island. And every now and then (they call them years, but it could be longer or shorter) a boat comes and brings a new kid, and then the oldest kid gets on the boat and leaves. There is a pretty good rule system set up where these kids live and survive just fine. The island is magic after all.

So the book starts out when our girl is now the oldest, and she has the new littlest one to take care of. We go through most of the book with her questioning everything and starting to feel pretty discontent about life. And then she makes a decision that changes everything.

I really wanted to know what was up with the island, but we don't learn that. It may be spoilery, but just know that. There are no answers. It's frustrating.

And when I think of kids reading this, you know, the intended audience... they aren't going to care about what it's all symbolizing! Gah. They will want answers. So it bugs me that it's a kids book and yet it's all about making a point.

Yeah.

But... it was a good story. LOL!

If you've read it, what did you think? Was the thought-provoking-ness of it enough for you? Or did you want more?

Book Review: The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis

Book: The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis
Genre: YA? MG? Contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I can't really decide if this book is categorized as a YA or an MG... the character is 14... so I guess it could go either way yes?

Anyway, it's been a year since our girl Emmy's best friend died. Before she died, Kim told Emmy that she planned to come back and visit her so to be prepared. So all that year, Emmy tried to do all the things they'd planned but Kim never came back to visit her. So Emmy is upset and trying to figure out what she has done wrong and why Kim won't show herself.

In the meantime, we bounce from this present day stress to the years before... and we learn all about Kim and the friendship these two have and the plans they make in the face of Kim's death from congenital heart disease. We learn about Emmy's insecurities and fears. We learn that they take classes from a bogus dude who claims to know how to help people communicate with their dead loved ones.

It sounds a little weird, yeah? But I loved it. So much. The writing style is totally up my alley and is a style I wish I could learn how to do. So simple, but power packed. Beautiful prose. I just love it. And in the process we bond instantly with these characters, especially Emmy and her dilemma. How she misses her friend so bad and wants to talk to her again so bad, and yet she needs to move on with her life. It's heartbreaking.

And yet, told in such a cute and funny way.

Did say I loved it? Because, I did!

I'm glad I remembered I had this one sitting around waiting to be read!

Book Review: Paper Chains by Elaine Vickers

Book: Paper Chains by Elaine Vickers

Genre: MG contemporary
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆

This story is told by two different girls, alternating between their points of view. One girl is Katie and she struggles with the fact that she's been adopted from Russia and the need and desire to know more about that without offending her parents. She also has heart problems and feels stifled by her parents' worry and concern for her health.

Ana is her best friend, and she struggles with the fact that her hockey playing dad left them and her mom is suffering depression and her grandma (from Russia) has come to take over. Add to that her little brother is being bullied. She needs to fix it all!

We get to see how both the girls feel like the other has everything perfect in her life, but we as the reader know that they don't. We go on the journey of how they both are drawn to each other, and yet have some friction that pulls them apart. And then they come together again to help each other deal with their issues.

It was a well told story, but for me it dragged down a bit with the issues. It was a little heavy I thought for a MG and I feel like kids this age would have been bored with it. But it was fun to learn some Russian culture and some hockey culture!

Book Review: Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

Book: Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry
Genre: MG contemporary verse
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I totally enjoyed this cute story about a girl who has moved to a new school and has to deal once again with everyone getting used to her Tourettes. It's told in verse with alternating points of view between the boy and the girl.

So the girl, Calli, moves in next door to Jinsong (sounds Korean to me, but he's actually Chinese) who is the popular student body present. He's vowed to be a friend to all. But that friendship pledge is tested when his friends think Calli is weird and Jin has to decide, what's more important... what his friends think of him, or being nice and friendly to Calli.

It's a bit of a struggle, but spoiler... he comes around. I like this kid a lot. Yes.

And Calli.. she is trying to decide is it better just to tell people what's going on with her, or to try and hide her issues? At first she hides it and things just get worse, but then she tries telling and hey, it's not so bad when people know.

It's a really cute story with these two cute characters at the heart of its struggle with normal everyday middle school kid issues. I totally enjoyed it and the whole verse thing just adds to the charm. Fast quick fun read. Awesome!

Book Review: Under Locker and Key by Allison K. Hymas

Book: Under Locker and Key by Allison K. Hymas

Genre: MG contemporary
Rating:★★★★☆

I had a feeling I'd like this one! It's a cute story about a kid who "steals" things back for people. Like a mini Robin Hood. Or.. perhaps if they lost something, he will find it. He calls himself a retriever. And he doesn't accept any payment for his services... except chocolate cake. Yeah, he's such a good kid! With quite the attitude and...style.

So one day he gets a lost key back for an 8th grader. And come to find out... that key was not that kid's and he actually DID steal it...for that kid.

Now that kid is going to do not so good things with it and our boy (gah why is it so hard for me to remember names... oh right Jeremy!) Jeremy has to get the key back before things get too crazy.

And he has to enlist the help of his nemesis... Becca, who is the school's mini detective and major rule keeper. She thinks Jeremy is a true blooded thief. But, somehow, she reluctantly agrees to help.

Let the antics begin!

Very fun MG story. I loved the hint at the friendship building between the two who claim to hate each other. I loved how Jeremy might appear an out of control kid was really deep down good. I loved the banter and smartness of it. It was great!

Book Review: The Memory Thief by Bryce Moore

Book: The Memory Thief by Bryce Moore

Genre: MG Fantasy-ish
Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆☆

One day Benji and his twin sister are at the local fair and when Benji is running away from the local bullies, he stumbles into a booth with a funny old guy. After hanging out there awhile, the guy shows him his abilities, which is that he can give people memories. He gives (or shares more like) Benji a memory he has of being a fighter pilot. Benji feels like he really remembers it!

Well, he is now hooked and goes back the next day, hoping to get help with his parents who are planning a divorce. But instead of the old guy, Benji finds a creepy lady who is up to no good. She helps Benji erase the memories he wants from his parents, but right away, Benji realizes this is not a good thing.

And before he knows it, everything gets even worse. He tracks down the old guy to get help and then.. things get EVEN WORSE! But Benji now has the abilities to fight against the lady and he hopes he can restore everything how it was, even with all the problems.

An interesting concept about how important memories are. And how they make us be who we are., they are our very essence. And even the bad ones are good. And how if someone had the ability to give and take memories, it would really be a terrible thing.

I enjoyed the story, but it was a bit... over the top... for me. Maybe MG age kids wouldn't mind that aspect and just go with it, but for me, it was just a bit too crazy! But as I said, I enjoyed the things it made me think about and I'm sure kids reading this will go away with the similar thoughts about memory and what it means to us.

Book Review Thoughts: Hinges of Broams Eld by Jennifer Cano

Book: Hinges of Broams Eld by Jennifer Cano
Genre: MG Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆ ☆


This is the first book in a new middle grade fantasy series that features elves, cats, trees, and tons of magic all taking place in an alternate world to our own called Broams Eld.

We start the story meeting the well-loved aunt of the Hinge family. Sadly, she is taking her last breaths and dies before we even get to know her. A year later, we learn that she has hidden a magic leaf in a nearby tree and her niece, Livy, discovers it which then propels her on an adventure in the elf land called Broams Eld.

When she goes to this magic elfin land, she learns that her aunt was a powerful leader of these creatures and that she, Livy, can also be trained and join the community. Together with several other kids who join her, they go through a series of tests to see who will become the next Deliverer.

It appears that the world, both our world and Broams Eld, is being cursed with a plague called The Blight and someone needs to find the cure and save everyone. But there is also someone who does not want the world to be saved and they are preventing the cure being found and used. And it comes down to Livy and her friends to save the day.

This book is great for kids who are fans of both Harry Potter and Fablehaven. It's sort of a mashup between those two types of stories with a girl discovering her destiny and finding that destiny with the help of a group of misfit friends, in a magical land filled with magical creatures. Kids will enjoy all the interesting names, the cool spells and funny "snips" the Livy gets to try out and experience. And then at the end they'll be holding their breath as Livy and her friends fight to the end.

My favorite bits of this story are the trees that whisper encouragement and words of wisdom to help Livy when she needs it most. I also loved that certain people who the characters (and thus the readers) think are a certain way turn out to be not quite that thing.

Bottom Line: This is a fun, well written, debut that fantasy fans of all ages will enjoy.

Be sure to check out all the fun features found at the dedicated site for this upcoming series.... BroamsEld.com.

Seven Reasons to Read/Skip The Pages Between Us by Lindsey Leavitt and Robin Mellom

Book: The Pages Between Us by Lindsey Leavitt and Robin Mellom
Genre: MG 
Rating:★★★☆☆

Short Synopsis: These two best friends are just starting middle school (sixth grade) and are bummed they only have one class together so to deal with that, they've started a notebook wherein they plan to write notes to each other.  Regular sixth grade type drama happens and it's great fun!

Five Reasons to Read

1. Cute!
2. Sweet!
3. Witty.
4. What a great idea this idea of using a notebook passed between two girls as an idea for a book. Yeah. I love that idea! It worked for this age group (sixth grade) and now I wonder if it would work for a high school age in the form of notes. Yeah. Would that work? I, for one, love it.
5. It's a quick fun fast read. What's not to like about that, eh?

Two Reasons to Skip

1. Some of the thoughts and writing and style seem to NOT fit for sixth grade age. I could feel the authors creeping on in.
2. This one has a very MG feel, so if you aren't that much into MG, you might want to skip.

Bottom Line: A sweet look at a relationship between best friends.

Other Reviews:

Told in letters, posters, blog posts, homework assignments, and more, The Pages Between Us is a totally fun, totally earnest snapshot of real-life friendship From Mundie Kids

I loved how visual certain parts of the book are. The girls tape things into their "notebook" and it is fun to see that. From Kami's Library Thoughts

Book Review Discussion: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Book: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Genre: MG Fantasy
Rating: ★★☆ ☆ ☆
For: Review
From: Received for free from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

Short Synopsis: Call is a magician but he needs to pass the tests that allow him to get into magic school. (These tests are called the Iron Trials.) His dad is adamant that he fail, because if he ends up going to this school it will be BAD BAD BAD. But Call does not know why. All he knows is that his dad has told him that magicians killed his mom and that they want nothing but to do bad things to people. Despite his best efforts, Call passes and ends up at the school being tutored by the best teacher there. Adventures ensue and he, along with his new found friends, learn some deep and dark hidden secrets.

My Response: Hmmm... sadly, a little on the boring side for me and I struggled to get through it. All the description of the actual physical school... boring. All the back history of the magicians... boring. I enjoyed the characters and their interaction, but it seemed a small part of the story. I enjoyed the bit of mystery that Call needed to find out, but only a little. It wasn't compelling to me. I'm wondering if younger kids will like this one? Maybe. Maybe it will be too boring for them too? And the whole thing is much too Harry Potter-ish for comfort.

Bottom Line: It was okay in parts, but in the end I was disappointed.

Let's Talk About: Do you think all magic school books from now on will be compared to Harry Potter? Is that fair? Can no one write about a magic school ever again? I think it's okay if you make it very unique and different from Harry Potter. But so good if you make so very similar. What do you think?

Other Reviews:

The book is not a fast read. Especially not for a MG book. It’s actually quite slow to get started. By the end, though, it was kinda hard to put down. I wanted to keep reading, but didn’t find I had to. From Proud Book Nerd

Fans of Harry Potter will enjoy both the differences and similarities here, though readers of Percy Jackson will also find themselves right at home. From Walking Brain Cells

The Iron Trial has a fun story line with some unexpected twists and the characters are fun, but it really let me down when it came to world-building. From A Word of Reviews

The Magisterium series is not about to usurp Harry Potter in my heart. I truly loved reading it, but until the series continues I can’t say whether this story will become important to me or not. From Bibliomantics

Book Review Discussion: Guitar Notes by Mary Amato

Book: Guitar Notes by Mary Amato
Genre: MG Contemporary 
Rating:★★★☆☆
For: Fun
From: The library

Short Synopsis: The kids are assigned a time to use the practice rooms at school. Turns out that the boy, Tripp, who isn't even supposed to be using the room as he is not in orchestra and just wants to practice the school's guitar since his mom kidnapped his own guitar, leaves some garbage one day. The girl, Lyla, who is a genius cello player, gets upset at the garbage and leaves him a note. And so it goes.. many many notes later, they became amazing musical friends. Only. . . things don't go quite as they expect.

My Response: Very cute story! I loved the music stuff and was surprised by the events at the end which left me even a little weepy. Though it's predictable and there's not much deepness to it, it's cute and fun and worth it for music lovers, especially those that want to learn the all the songs the kids make up during the story. They are all included in the back. Awesome.

Bottom Line: I really enjoyed it!

Let's Talk About: Don't you just love music books? I mean... books about music! What are some of your favorites?

Other Reviews:

Guitar Notes was a refreshing and uplifting read. At the end, I felt satisfied and inspired and just moved. From The Book Addict

The story is a sweet one and although the ending is a little too abrupt for my liking, I think it's a worthwhile book to read. From Lyrics

This is a beautifully written and engaging story about two teens learning, growing, and bonding over music. From Teen Librarian Toolbox

Book Review: Doppelganger by Milda Harris

Book: Doppelganger by Milda Harris
Genre: YA paranormal
Rating: ★★★☆☆
For: Review
From: ebook bought at Amazon

Yet another book that slipped on in under the radar! Actually, this author approached me awhile back to participate in my Authors Pick Five feature and I said, sure! (See that post here.) But first I wanted to read one of her books, which I found easy (and cheap!) on Amazon.

This story is about a high school girl (named Citrus) who discovers when she gets to school that day that she is already there! Well, someone who looks like her, exactly like her. This freaks her out of course and she can't figure out what's going on. She pulls aside her boy crush and they, together, try to understand what's going on, who else has been "taken over" and what they should do about it.

It's a fun quirky story. I found myself going up and down in my interest level, however. I think it is best suited to a bit younger, perhaps even MG crowd. This girl, Citrus, is quite the character! We are so very much in her head and are privy to ALL her stream of conscious thoughts! Sometimes I found that to be fun, and sometimes it became a but much! She asks herself question after question, and repeats her thoughts over and over and over. She is, shall we say, going a bit crazy with this weird experience she is having!

So, for me, the first bit was fun and moved quite quickly, then the middle lagged a bit, and then the end was quite exciting and crazy and contained quite the twist that I did not see coming at all. That was great! And now it makes the story much more interesting and poses the question, how the heck will they deal with THAT?

Because, of course, then it ends and there are more books! Of course!

Bottom line: A fun quirky read geared for the younger teen set.

Other Reviews:

This is a great book for those who love and remembered the Animorphs. From Lizzy's Dark Fiction

I would recommend this book for a quick read, but be aware you will walk away wanting more. Which is both a good and bad thing. From The Book Maven

I am not exactly sure if we are dealing with a paranormal element or a sci-fi. I was intrigued the whole time just trying to figure that out. From Paranormal Wastelands

The action is in perfect balance with Citrus's amusing internal dialogue. From YA Reviews and News

Book Review: Case File 13: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage

Book: Case File 13: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage
Genre: MG Paranormal
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Review
From: ARC from the author

How could I pass up this opportunity to read the latest book from one of my favorite local authors? I could not!

What a fun story about three friends who love Halloween and want to make the BEST costumes every year. (And hope to outdo the girls while at it!) This year the ringleader, Nick, has come up with the coolest zombie costume ever! But sadly, he has to go to a funeral on Halloween and he ends up missing it all! Bummer dude.

However, some strange cool stuff happens while on his trip to the funeral. He discovers that his aunt just might be (make that might have BEEN) a voodoo queen. Then that night, while creeping around a graveyard, something happens. When he gets home, he appears to be turned into a real live (dead?) zombie!

Which is so cool! Until it's not. That's when he and his friends put their heads together to try and figure out how to fix things, a not so easy task.

This story has a bit of everything that will please the younger crowd, especially boys I think. There's lots of funny moments, mixed with lots of creepy spooky moments. And there's even a nice bit of the gross out factor! Very fun!

Oh, and then there was a shout out to "old man Dashner!" That was awesome!

Bottom line: I totally enjoyed this quick and quirky book!

Other Reviews:

As a fan of creepy things, I loved this humorous trio of boys and their adventures. From Alamosa Books

I thought the story really flowed, and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The ending is especially clever and fun. From Kami's Library Thoughts

Another favorite of mine was the chapter headings, make sure you don’t miss those. From LDS Women's Book Review

I also enjoyed the believable family relationships. Parents who don't solve the problem but are present, caring, and even funny. From Stories. Read 'em. Write 'em.

Review: Return to Exile by E.J. Patten

Book: Return to Exile by E.J. Patten
Genre: MG Fantasy (of the urban sort)
Rating: ★★★☆ ☆
For: Local Author Blog Tour
From: I bought this one at an event last Christmas at "my" library wherein I actually sat by Eric while he signed books! So that's kinda fun, yes?

The story is that last fall when this book came out the author (E.J. Patten aka. Eric) was recovering from surgery and wasn't able to promote it as he would have liked. Thus, this sort of delayed blog tour was formed thanks to Diana from Book Adventures who put it together, and we are now reading and blogging and touring it!

Let me just say right up front that this book is full of monsters! Chuck full of them! So if you love monsters, you can't go wrong with this book. If you are scared of them? Well, I say you read it anyway! :)

In this story we have Sky Weathers, a boy just turning 12, who idolizes his eccentric uncle who has been his best friend his whole life. This uncle suddenly disappears on Sky's birthday, even as Sky and his family are moving to a new house. This, to say the least, is a bit disturbing for Sky and he plans to figure out what's up.

Meanwhile, all sorts of other strange things are going on. There's the bullies at school who are a bit strange. There's also the teachers at school who seem sort of off. There's this strange mark that Sky has on his hand that acts up now and then which confuses him. Even his Mom and Dad are acting weird.

Of course, then there's the monsters that attack him when he went to investigate where he thinks his uncle might be!

Basically, this book is one crazy event after the other where Sky and his new friends have to save the day several times over. To me it was sort of a mix between ghost (or shall we say monster!) busters, and an alien (or monsters) "men in black" sort of feeling... with kids in the starring roles of course. These kids who hunt the monsters are called Hunters, which is where the series title, The Hunter Chronicles, comes from. Yes, of COURSE this is the first of series!

The only problem I had is that there's so much monster detail! Sometimes I felt the story itself got lost among all the explanation about the monsters... and the pacing suffered a bit for it. However, I think kids will find this quite fascinating. In fact, there's a fun monster handbook included at the end so they can get all the explanations in one place. Oh and wait! There's lots of riddles too. So monster loving AND riddle loving kids will be pleased!

My daughter (just turned 13) also recently read this book, and while I think she liked it for the most part (it did take her awhile though, it's a long one!) she did mention that she didn't like the ending. This made me prepared for something not so good to happen, yet, I actually found the ending quite satisfying.

Bottom line: I liked it! It's a fun, very adventurous story that I think lots of monster loving kids will really enjoy.

Be sure to check out the other reviews on the blog tour!