December 2022 Books: Mini Review Catch Up

These are the books I read in December! Quite a few more than I normally read because I was really trying to make a push and meet that dang Goodreads goal!

And with this post I might be mostly caught up!

Atomic Habits by James Clear: I finally got to this one that pretty much the whole world has been talking about. And yes, I can see what all the fuss is about. It does lay out a plan for getting into good habits in a way that is very clear (ha clear....get it?) and relatable and that makes sense. I would love to implement something into my life, but I will probably just on about things and forget it all! I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads.

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren: This was our for fun Christmas book club read and it was pretty perfect for that directive. Our girl goes on vacation with her family and family friends every year, but this year is different in that it might be the last time they are able to do this. And then something happens, everything starts over, Ground Hog Day style. And she gets a couple of tries to get things right and to help fix the issues that are making everyone so sad. It was heartwarming, romantic and fun. I totally enjoyed it. Three stars on Goodreads.

Secrets of the Looking Glass by J. Scott Savage: This an ARC I got from the publisher and it needed to be read in September when it came out. Gah, ooops! It took me awhile thank you to all of lives distractions and my terrible time getting anything read these days! It's the second in the Lost Wonderland Diaries series, which is a delightful fun sort of retelling (not really, but in that world) of Alice in Wonderland. It's so very clever and funny and full of fun riddles and the like. I feel like kids will enjoy it even more than I did! I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

Places We've Never Been by Kasie West: I got this one for Christmas and read it in a couple of sittings, because as you know, I love her stories! Another fun YA romance that takes place on a road trip through very familiar places to me. I love that. Our characters are friends, but time has elapsed and things are now on shaking ground. It's fun to see them rekindle things. "Friends, to enemies, to lovers!" I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool: Another book I'm reading from my shelves that has been waiting forever. This one takes place shortly after WWII about a 13 year old who has been sent to a boarding school and he befriends a strange and interesting kid named Early, who teaches him all sorts of things about life. Together they go on a quest and navigate growing up. It's very heart warming and sweet. It won the Printz honor award. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. 

And that brings us to the end of 2022 reading! I think I might just do a monthly wrap up mini review post this year. And see how that goes. And here's hoping I read a TON more this year than last! 

Book Review: Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Book: Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Genre: MG Historical Fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This was last month's book club book as part of our Utah Book Month. Does anyone remember when we used to have a whole month celebrating our Utah authors? And a bunch of us bloggers hosted it? Yeah, good times, those. Anyway, we like to give a nod to those memories and still read a Utah author in our book club. It's great!

One of our favorite Utah authors is Jennifer Nielsen. She's pretty awesome, both as an author AND a person. So she often ends up on our lists. There are so many books to choose from. Personally, I'm way behind in keeping up with her. 

She has a line of historical fiction books so we ended up choosing one of those. This one tells the stories of five different kids during WWI, from all their points of view and ends up weaving their stories together in a really interseting way. We have the boy who witnessed the Archduke's asscination, the girl who is trying to become a nurse like her mom, the girl who is the son of German military leader, and the Russian boy fighting on the front lines. I found all their stories to be quite compelling and hopeful.

I mostly had a problem feeling like, could kids really do these things? It was hard for me to imagine. I know others in our book club had issues with how sweetly and neatly everything was wrapped up and how it all worked out so well. Granted, this is for a MG audience, but I do agree that everything seemed a bit too perfect. 

That being said, I still enjoyed reading about all these kids and look forward to trying to catch up with all the other books of hers that I have yet to read! I do wish there were more like The False Prince though. That one still remains my favorite! 

Book Review: What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen

Book: What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen

Genre: MG contemporary

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This was a cute story about a girl with Turners Syndrome, something that I wasn't at all familiar with. So we as readers learn all about that and how it affects our girl and all the stuff she had to deal with.

Our girl is also very into science so when she gets an assignment to write about someone in history who is not in her history book, she knows just who it will be! 

And thus begins her quest to actually get this person added to the history book.

She's quite the tenacious kid and it's lovely to see that. It's a very heart warming story and I actually learned a lot from it. 

Book Review: My Life as a Potato by Arianne Costner

 Book: My Life as a Potato by Arianne Costner

Genre: MG contemporary

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

What a fun cute story! I really enjoyed this one about a middle grade kid who feels like he is cursed by potatoes! And that seems to be confirmed when he ends up having to be the mascot at his new school where the mascot is... A POTATO! 

Turns out he kind of has a knack for this sort of thing, but still he doesn't want anyone to know. So ends up lying to get away with it all. Which makes him feel bad towards his friends. 

It also turns out he's becoming popular at this new school. And he sometimes finds himself wanting to help the underdogs, but remain popular. Which as we all know, is sometimes a conflict of interest. 

So how does he solve all this issues?

I fell in love with this character from the very first page and I love it when that happens. Rooting for him all the way! He's an adorable kid, I know this! LOL. A truly funny story with lots of heart. Awesome.

(This one read a little bit older than some of the other MG books I've been reading lately... which probably contributed to the fact that I enjoyed it a lot. But not TOO much older. It was pretty spot on, really, perfect for grabbing all sorts of audiences.)

Book Review: Kits and Cubbyholes by Loralee Evans

 Book: Kits and Cubbyholes by Loralee Evans

Genre: MG fantasy

Rating: ★ ★ ★

This one is along the vein of Magic Treehouse, where our kids have the ability to time travel. In this particular story, a kid from the 1700's comes to the present day and the kids are all like... "Hey, don't you remember the time we visited YOU?" 

But alas, he doesn't! Which means somehow perhaps something happens to the memory of the kids in the past? 

Anyway, so this book is the present day kids trying to figure out how to get this kids back to his time. In process they all end up witnessing an event they've heard about.

The fun thing about this book is the premise that when they kids go back in time, they end up in the stories of their very own ancestors. Which would be pretty cook, yeah? But also quite disconcerting! 

The part that made me a little crazy was that they just kept referring to their previous adventures, and I kinda wish we were experiencing an adventure... but it just felt like they were trying to get the one kid back and not a whole lot was happening. Until that event at the end, which was just a little bit of this book.

Anyway. Cute story. 

Book Review: Horace and Bunwinkle by P.J. Gardner

 Book: Horace and Bunwinkle by P.J. Gardner

Genre: MG 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

I wasn't too sure about this one, not being a huge fan of talking animal books. But it looked fun and easy, so I jumped in and guess what?

I thought it was adorable! An ornery stuffy dog and a cute lovable pig become siblings... and they end up teaching each other all kinds of things about getting along and loving life. 

They get in all sorts of trouble and have all kinds of adventures... along with the fact that there's a mystery to solve. The mystery of the missing pets!

Very cute with loads of fun animal characters. My immediate thought was how fun it would be to read aloud, especially by someone who loves to do voices. So upon finishing it, I sent it to my granddaughters with the suggestion that their mom and/or dad read it with voices! I'll let you know how that goes over!

But regardless, hopefully they'll have fun with it (yes there are even cute fun pictures!) and it will get a second life with them. 

Book Review: 96 Miles by J.L. Esplin

 

Book: 96 Miles by J.L. Esplin

Genre: MG contemporary survival

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Wow, but I haven't read a book that gripped me like this one for quite awhile. It's a survival story that really had me on the edge of my reading seat the whole time, and I devoured it. (Ha devoured... because yet again, this book will make you HUNGRY and THIRSTY both, like... literally!)

It's about two brothers (ages 13 and 11) who are trying to walk the 96 miles across the Nevada dessert to get to family friends who they hope will help them. Because there's been a country-wide blackout and it's been about a month now with no electricity. Which means that society is falling apart.

Just before the blackout, their dad had gone on a business trip, leaving the boys alone. And it appears he is having a problem getting back to them, because they have heard nothing from him at all. 

Normally they'd be fine, because their dad is one who has prepared... they have food storage and a generator and all the things they need. But the neighbors raid it and steal everything. This is a problem in more ways than one, and so they head off for help.

It's written in such an engaging way that I was invested from page one. It read very much like a YA for me and not sure why... the characters just felt a bit older than they actually were, but not in a way that bothered me, you know? They are awesome kids. We do meet up with another sibling pair and the four of them face this adventure together. It's very heartwarming. And rough, and scary. And sad, once again showing an idea of what people will do in the face of survival. 

Anyway. Yeah. I loved it. Now, I kind of want to go take drive and see this road they had to walk down. 

Book Review: On These Magic Shores by Yamile Saied Mendez

 

Book: On These Magic Shores by Yamile Saied Mendez

Genre: MG magic realism-ish

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

I've been anxious to read this author for quite sometime now. She was someone I met way back in the big book blogging days before she became famous.  (Her books are currently making quite the buzz especially after she was chosen as a pick for Reese Witherspoon's book club.) And I think this was a great first choice for me to read!

It's about a 12 year old girl and her two sisters. Her single mom works hard to keep them going, but one day when the mom heads to work... she doesn't come home. And she doesn't call, and they have no idea what's happened.

So our girl  tries to keep going as if all is well. But that's really tricky when she has to go to school. And she finds out the day care her mom uses for the baby is crap. And she wants to try out for Peter Pan and get the role as Wendy. And she needs to figure out how to get food for them. 

Her mom has told them stories about fairies, which she rolls her eyes about, but turns out it appears these fairies might actually be helping them somehow. Or SOMEONE is anyway. She ends up befriending a cute boy that actually does help them in the small ways he can. And the neighbor helps them a bit. And she finally gets the courage to contact  her grandma that she doesn't even know... to see if SHE can help. 

It's all very moving and sad in bits, but funny in bits too and cute and wonderful in all the family and friend connection stories. We do find out what happened to the mom and in the end some hard choices have to be made, but it all works out and I think all three of these sisters are in a better place. 

I totally enjoyed finally reading one of Yamile's books and hope to add more to my list soon! 

Book Review: Beginners Welcome by Cindy Baldwin

Book: Beginners Welcome by Cindy Baldwin

Genre: MG contemporary

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This is the story of a mom and daughter trying to recover from the death of their husband/father. Our girl has not only lost her dad, but her friends have drawn away from her too. She's so sad. And her mom is really truly not functioning. In the midst of this, she escapes one day to the mall and befriends an old guy who is there playing the piano in the courtyard. She talks him into teaching her piano, and this happily brings back some good memories of her dad and makes her feel like life is good again.

Except the problem is, her mom would be SO MAD if she found out! 

So it's all quite a problem. She wants to enter a contest at the end of the year, and she needs this guy's help to do it. But she also doesn't want to cause her mom more trouble.

Oh, and then there's the matter of her dad's ghost that just won't leave them alone!

It's all quite a sad story, but with a hopeful feeling. And how you can find friendship in the most unlikely of places. I quite enjoyed it!

Book Review: The Elephant's Girl by Celesta Rimington

 

Book: The Elephant's Girl by Celesta Rimington

Genre: MG 

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Our girl was lost from her family during a tornado, saved by an elephant and adopted by the zoo. What a premise, yes? This happened when she was about 5 and now she is 12. She still hasn't found her family and the zoo train engineer has taken care of her all this time. She lives in the zoo with him and is friends with a boy that also lives in the zoo. She has lots of plans for this summer, but everything ends up going a little crazy and not according to plan.

That's because she finally gets to visit the elephants and it turns out that the elephant that saved her can actually sort of talk to her. And this elephant tells her to go check out a spot in the woods next to the zoo. And when she does, she unearths quite the secret! And maybe even a clue to her past!

This book gave me "we bought a zoo" vibes and that's one of my all time favorite movies so... cool! We also get lots of parallels to the book "Island of the Blue Dolphins" which our character has just had to read for school. And that is also cool. 

So yeah, I really enjoyed and became totally immersed in the mystery that our girl needed to solve. What a sweet, lovely story!

Book Review: The Blue Jeans Rebellion by Joanna H. Kraus

 Book: The Blue Jeans Rebellion by Joanna H. Kraus

Genre: Early reader chapter book, historical fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Really cute story based on a true incident that happened in early Utah days. We meet a cute 11 year old boy who is sick of the pants he is made to wear every day. Homemade woolen pants. When he sees blue jeans for the first time, he wants a pair and he does something not quite okay to get money to buy some. 

Then all the boys want some, so when this kid gets in trouble, they all come together to figure out a way to make it possible that they can all get jeans!

Cute and fun with lessons learned without being too in your face. It was a fast little read, took me 20 minutes or so to get through it. 

Book Review: You May Already Be a Winner by Ann Dee Ellis

Book: You May Already Be A Winner by Ann Dee Ellis
Genre: MG Contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


I've been reading a bunch of middle grade books for an award for which they are all nominated. This was my favorite of the bunch. I was totally charmed be everything about it! It probably doesn't hurt that I've loved everything I've read by Ann Dee Ellis. I think it's safe to say she is favorite.

This is the story about Olivia who lives with her little sister and her mom in a trailer park. Her dad has left them and so her mom is struggling to provide, which means Olivia and her sister are left alone to fend for themselves most of the time. When the book opens, she hasn't been to school for months because she's had to stay home with her sick sister. But, she finds a community in all the people that live around her, which is one of my favorite things about this book.

But not only that, she is very smart and resourceful and they do a sort of home-school on their own and have a great time. Olivia hopes it never ends.

But then one day her mom has to send her back to school, which is not great, but she deals. However, one day, she has to take her sister with and so she hides her in a closet. This is not really that great, yes?

Meanwhile, she's made a friend that's a boy who she loves quite a lot. Together they think up all sorts of adventures. But when she finds out he goes to her school, she is worried he will learn way too much about her. But in return, she starts to learn a lot more about him too.

It's kind of a sad "neglected" kid sort of story, but I loved the style and the quirkiness of everyone and the spunkiness of this main character. I flew through it without any slow moments. And loved it.

The setting is nearby my home and one day when I was in the neighborhood I actually tried to find the trailer park. Well, I found it, but not sure it's the one the story was based on, since the KOA is no longer there! LOL! But it was great because everything talked about in the book, I could picture. The bike path to the lake, the restaurants and stores mentioned, the rec center. Etc. Fun times.

I have a YA in the stacks by this author and I think I'm going to bump it up the list and read it soon.

Book Review: Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

Book: Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown
Genre: MG Contemporary
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆


This is  cute and heartwarming story based on the true story of the authors' (they are married yes) daughter. It's about how she started having issues with her arm and leg and when they got her checked out, they discovered a brain tumor. So she has deal with that fear and ends up having a couple of operations.

But it's not just about how she was brave through that ordeal, but how she deals with a sticky little situation in her 6th grade class room. How she doesn't feel included, and how she is scared to try include others. And then when she becomes the more popular kid, how does she now not make the same mistake and go ahead and include the kid that was mean to her.

I read it for much of the book with a smile, but thinking...I don't know, that everything was too obvious and I was sort of being used and manipulated. You know that feeling, yes? But then, somewhere along the way, that feeling went away and I just enjoyed the story and the touching relationships formed here. At one point, there were tears. Probably because I could relate to something as a parent. That's usually what starts them.

I loved that they included some blurbs at the end about what really went on with Maddie, and then there was a letter from Maddie herself. Thanks for that guys! It was awesome.

I enjoyed the story. It's very simple but sweet and lovely.

Book Review: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Book: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
Genre: MG Fantasy
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆☆


After much campaigning, book clubber Jenni Elyse finally got this book on our line up and it was finally its turn this past month! WOOT!

At first I was having a hard time getting my hands on a copy, but finally I got the audio version from Overdrive. And I only decided to relent on this because the lovely David Tennant is the narrator. Yum. (The whole thing is on YouTube if you are interested!)

However, I found that even so, my attention would wane as I listened. Either I would try to do something else and not hear, or fall asleep and not hear, or just zone off and not hear. Maybe David Tennant was just too dang lovely with that soothing voice of his. I don't know.

But I tried and it was fun trying. Eventually, I did get a hard copy from the library and I happily finished it off, and then went back and skimmed the parts I "missed" from my audio experience.

My thoughts? What a strange little story. And nothing at all like the movie. I was like... wait, the dragon talks? Wait, he's HOW small? Wait, where are the girls? Wait, they aren't going to fly on them? WHAT???

And there were a bunch of other little things that bugged me (wow, but there's an over usage of adverbs! Some I can see were part of the charm, but... I don't think ALL!!!) But when keeping in mind the audience intended for this book, it's really quite fun and cute and I can see how a whole fandom of kids are in love.

Do you want a summary? I forgot that that's the method here. So Hiccup goes out with his friends to charm up a dragon. And they find some, but not without adventure. And Hiccup ends up with this little bitty thing he names Toothless and proceeds to try and teach it stuff. But he is quite unsuccessful until he realizes he can be bribed with jokes. On the day of the big event where they get to show off their dragons, the dragons all get in a fight instead and now Hiccup is banished by his own father. But before that can happen, a huge dragon his awakened and threatens the town and so Hiccup, who can talk to dragons, is sent to find out what the dragon is up to. Well, he wants to eat everyone, but in the end... tiny little Toothless saves the day. Together with Hiccup's accidental contribution. And now they are heroes!!

Yes. Cute. :) But nothing like the movie.

Book Review Thoughts: Summerlost by Ally Condie

Book: Summerlost by Ally Condie
Genre: MG contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


When I realized that Ally Condie based this book on her Utah hometown and centered it around Utah's famous Shakespearean Festival, I couldn't wait to read it! It got bumped up the stack! And it did not disappoint!

This is the story of a young girl named Cedar who comes to this small town for the summer. Her brother and father have recently died in a car accident and the rest of her family is trying to get a new start. They've bought this old house and plan to spend summers here and rent it out to college kids the rest of the year.

Every summer in this small town there's a festival that happens called Summerlost. Cedar ends up getting a job working concessions along with the neighbor boy that she at first finds nerdy and then finds fascinating. They have some sweet adventures together and learn how to deal with their respective issues in the process. It's the start of a beautiful friendship!

Bottom Line: It's cute simple story that deals with the not so simple subject of grief. and it's so so awesome. I loved it.

Other Reviews:


A strong and outstanding novel for middle grades, this book takes a courageous look at grief and the resilience it takes to continue to live. From Waking Brain Cells

It was hard to read at certain points because it is a highly emotional book but it’s so worth it. From Twenty Three Pages

“Summerlost” is quiet and tender. You never feel rushed nor do you feel a lack of purpose. Ally has created a story of friendship and family that rings true whether you have experienced loss or not. From Cracking the Cover

Book Review Thoughts: Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Book: Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

In an effort to read more widely, the book club has been adding graphic books to our lineup recently. This particular book is our February choice. It's one I've seen floating around for years, I remember it way back from my book fair days, which was a long time ago! It's fun to finally read it!

Basically, the author who is an amazing artist, has illustrated and documented her middle school years, which are defined by the fact that she has to get major orthodontic work because of an incident where she fell and knocked out her front teeth. It does sound quite traumatic and had I been her, I wouldn't have suffered through it quite as well as she did I'm afraid.

And her friends! Sheesh, what terrible friends! I was happy to see that even as a kid, she realized this pretty quickly and made changes. I think most kids would have just been devasted and wallowed in self pity.

It was fun to see the historical and cultural references she made to stuff going on in the world. This was during my "lost years" where I wasn't paying attention to much of anything since I had just entered my life as a mommy with little babies. So while I can't say totally that I related, I did enjoy experiencing it with her.

Bottom Line: I found it to be very fun and a fabulous way to preserve a bit of one's life story!

P.S. I was so happy to see they included a real life picture of the author as she looks today... smiling! So we could see how her smile turned out all these years later!

Other Reviews:

Something I love the most about this book - well, maybe it's just Raina Telgemeier - is the power of storytelling through comics, even stories from your own life. From The Blue Bookcase

What I really love about this book is how well Telgemeier captures tween angst. The accurately portrays many of the struggles tween girls are faced with, from fake friends to body image issues. From The Reading Zone

I really liked the artwork; it’s pretty straightforward panel-based narrative, but I like Telgemeier’s style of drawing, and the book is really bright and colorful throughout. From Fyrefly's Book Blog

I really enjoyed the nostalgia I felt while reading. From Jenni Elyse

Book Review Discussion: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Book: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Genre: MG
Rating:★★☆☆☆
For: Beehive Award long list
From: The library

Short Synopsis:  Six grader Ally struggles in school, especially with reading. This is the story of how she got a new teacher who helped her to overcome and learn that even though she has a hard time with letters, she is smart in so many other ways.

My Response: I mean, it was okay. I liked what it was trying to do, but it did get a little overly agenda-y for me. And I kept thinking... would kids who struggle with reading actually read this to get something out it? And would kids who enjoy reading, enjoy this book about a kid who struggles with reading? I really doubt it. Because I must say, it was a bit on the boring side. Buy maybe someone would READ it to kids who struggle to read, and then they'd have hope and feel uplifted by this story. Maybe?

Bottom Line: Very slow,  and too much of an agenda for me to totally enjoy it.

Let's Talk About: There are LOTS of middle grade books out there that are most awesome, but books like this are the reason I tend to stay clear of them for the most part. Sigh. I wanted to like it better. What's your feeling about middle grade? Do you find that there's almost always a "lesson to be learned" in them?

Other Reviews;

An incredibly strong novel, this one belongs in every library and will be inspiring to students and teachers alike. From Walking Brain Cells

Hunt provides an encouraging story for both children and educators. Caring teachers can indeed make a difference in the lives of their students. From Reading Junky's Reading Roost

My students keep recommending this to one another, especially to friends who like stories that really reach your heart. From Great Kid Books

Book Review Discussion: Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage

Book: Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage
Genre: MG steampunk dsytopian
Rating★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
 For: Review and supporting local authors
From: Received for free from Netgalley. All opinions are my own. Released September 29, 2015.

Short Synopsis: Trenton lives in a society that's hidden themselves from the world by creating an underground city. They fear creativity and invention. They blame all the bad stuff that's happened to them on progress and forward thinking. This makes life for Trenton especially hard since he is a thinker and a creator. And he keeps getting in trouble for it. As the book opens, he is assigned to work on the farms instead of the machines, and he's so unhappy. But he's pretty distracted as he deals with this because he meets a girl who just happens to be the daughter of the most notorious inventor of the city. And when he (Trenton) finds an interesting gadget, this girl, Kallista, thinks it's been left by her father (who is no longer with them). This leads the two of them on a sort of crazy treasure hunt with a prize at the end they did not at all expect.

My Response: This is one of those stories that has lots of fun and games such as building stuff, puzzles, riddles, mystery and adventure, mixed with some pretty thought provoking ideas like is creativity good or bad, do you trust history, should you blindly follow... just to name a few. I was surprised at some of the deep issues this society and these kids are dealing with. The ending was awesome and had me glued. The twist was great and quite unexpected and I am totally left wondering what happens next.

Bottom Line: The writing was fun, the characters were fun, the story was fun! It was all fun!! Fun, but mixed with lots to think about and lots of awesome stuff smart kids will eat up.

Let's Talk About: So, what do you think about creativity? Good or bad? LOL! JK!! You know, I am so into creativity that it felt almost sacrilegious for the people in this story to suggest otherwise. It makes you want to stand up and say... WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?? Which, I suppose, is the whole point and the hope that kids reading it will feel the same way. Don't you think? Are you a champion for creativity?

Other Reviews:

What I myself liked best about the book is that it celebrates creativity and the questioning of received wisdom, without being didactic about it. From Charlotte's Library

It’s an ideal middle grade read that should appeal to a wide range of readers, and likely introduce them to some genre concepts they haven’t encountered before. From Views from the Tesseract

There is just so much to love in Fires of Invention, with its blend of science, nature, physics, a mechanical dragon and a story that was both interesting and fun for me and my kiddo to read. From Log Cabin Library

The adventure is fast paced and you will be visualizing this new society as the levels inside the mountain come alive. From Always in the Middle

Also, here's the trailer which I saw played several times on the huge Jumbo-tron at Comic Con this past weekend in front of thousands of people. Great marketing!

Book Review Discussion: Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

Book: Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
Genre: MG Contemporary
Rating:★★★★★
For: Review
From: Received for free from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Short Synopsis: Bridge is a 7th grader dealing with fairly normal 7th grader things. She has a nice group of friends that have promised to never fight... and yet during this year, some stuff happens that tests this promise in a pretty big way. She also becomes friends with a nice sweet boy named Sherm who has his own problems to deal with, namely the fact that his grandparents who live with him have split up after 50 years. We get insights into his thoughts through letters he writes to his grandpa. Everything is leading up to a head, which happens to be Valentines Day. We get a peek into this day from a narrative that is from a POV from a mysterious character that we don't know until the end. Does that all sound complicated? It's not really. It's pretty awesome.

My Response: I loved it. Awesome handling of things that kids this young shouldn't' have to deal with, but do in this day and age. And awesome handling of it perfectly for kids this age. Does that make sense? Not too over the top and/or in your face, just simply and plainly. I also loved that the author had these two characters be attracted, but not "fall in love" quite yet. Way to young! Save that for later! I love the friendship between the girls and how they actually talked if they had an issue. I loved that there were parents involved. Parents! And... I loved the writing. Gah, there's some amazing authors out there! And PS. I really loved this boy Sherm. Like, a lot.

Bottom Line: As I said in my one sentence review over at Goodreads, if you don't think you're that into middle grade fiction, you should definitely try Rebecca Stead's stuff and you'll find out it's just as awesome and thought provoking and emotion inducing as YA.

Let's Talk About: What IS your feeling about MG books? Do you find them not as deep, as a rule, as other books? Do you get frustrated that they lack romance, for instance? Or other stuff? I want to know... what do you think of MG?

Other Reviews:

GOODBYE STRANGER is another terrific novel from a celebrated author in children's fiction. In Bed with Books

I think this would be a very valuable story for middle graders and could generate some excellent discussions. From Rhapsody in Books

While the characters were young, I could still relate to everything they were going through, and I think you would be hard pressed to find any adult who couldn’t relate this book to things hey have experienced both in adolescence and their adult life. From Ex Libris

Despite the number of voices, the book remains clear and shows in many ways the difficult decisions that come from starting to try to figure out who exactly you are going to be. From Waking Brain Cells

Book Review Discussion: Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Book: Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Genre: MG Fantasy
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Utah Book Month
From: Bought from Amazon, I think. One loses track of these things.

Short Synopsis: Nic has been a salve just outside of Rome for years. His mom has been sold off and now his only wish is to keep his sister safe and out of the clutches of Sal, their mean old guard. One day, Sal forces Nic to be lowered into a scary cave where they suspect treasures of the gods to be found. Well, Nic does find something and his life is forever changed. Now not only does he have to protect his sister, but all of of the Roman Empire.

My Response: What I loved most about this one is that it took place in Rome! And where was I just hanging out a short month or two ago? How awesome is it that I could totally picture everything? Awesome I tell you! And I've always loved stuff that has to do with ancient Roman gods and their power over the people. Really fascinating stuff. There was some awesome magic power fighting and a cool creature (a griffin) and some bad guys. All great stuff. Being a middle grade, there was only a hint of a romance, which made me crazy. And also, it ends just when you are all revved up for more! Gah!

Bottom Line: Perfect book for fans of Percy Jackson and company.

Let's Talk About: Are you like me were if you've been to a place, and then read a book set in that place, it just makes the reading experience all that much better? That's why we have go everywhere so all the books will be even cooler!

Other Reviews:

MARK OF THE THIEF showcases Nielsen's addictive writing, which has much to entice adults as well as the target child audience. From In Bed With Books

But there was action aplenty, the bonus griffin relationship was a nice touch, and the whole set up promises good things in the next books! From Charlotte's Library

I'm certain that kids are going to love it, and I look forward to the next book. From Jen Robinson's Book Page

I loved how the story combines Roman history with magical elements. From Literary Rambles