It's been awhile since I've done one of these, so an explanation is probably called for.
I'm really bad at remembering to put those FTC notices in my reviews. So rather than do them all at once, I do them 15 at a time. Thanks to Presenting Lenore for the idea to do it this way. You can see the complete list of all these posts (it's pretty short so far) at my sources page.
Here are the sources for the last 15 reviews I've posted in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent:
Pirate Penguin Vs Ninja Chicken, Volume 1: Troublems with Frenemies by Ray Friesen - Public library
Drama by Raina Telgemeier - swapped for through Paperbackswap.com
The Forbidden Stone (The Copernicus Legacy #1) by Tony Abbott - Public library digital collection
Princess Comics #2 by Amy Mebberson - Personal purchase
Wild Born by Brandon Mull - swapped for through Paperbackswap.com
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer by Sydney Padua - Public library digital collection
Ivy's Ever After - Local newspaper for review (and I assume from publisher/publicist to the paper)
Doll Bones - Public library
Prince Tennyson - Public library digital collection
Aphrodite: Goddess of Love - Public library
Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck - Public library
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers - Public library
Foiled by Jane Yolen - Local newspaper for review (and I assume from publisher/publicist to the paper)
Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull - Local newspaper for review (and I assume from publisher/publicist to the paper)
Dorothy of Oz by Son Hee-Jun - ARC from publisher
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Monday, September 04, 2017
Review: Pirate Penguin Vs Ninja Chicken
Pirate Penguin Vs Ninja Chicken, Volume 1: Troublems with Frenemies by Ray Friesen
Pirate Penguin and Ninja Chicken are the perfect definition of frenemies. One minute they’re the best of friends, and then the next they’re fighting and trying to beat each other. But you can count on them having lots of fun along the way.
There is something so endearing about this book, and it’s not just the charming illustrative style (which I really enjoyed). It was instant book love for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that consistently made me genuinely belly laugh. And then I was not only laughing, but also running to the next room to share my favorite jokes with family members. The antics of these two characters are completely silly and ridiculous, but somehow that works for their personalities. The “troublems” in the title should give you a clue that there’s a lot of odd word combinations, which sometimes works great for the storylines and sometimes not so much.
My one complaint was that the format of the book was a little weird. The first half is made up of mini-comics episodes 1-3 pages long, while the second half of the book was a longer continuous story (albeit made of up of smaller episodes). If you can’t stand silly or ridiculous things, you’re probably not going to enjoy this one, but I can see kids totally eating this up (and adults who don’t take life too seriously will enjoy it too).
Shady Glade Rating: 5 leaves
Check availability on Paperbackswap.com
Pirate Penguin and Ninja Chicken are the perfect definition of frenemies. One minute they’re the best of friends, and then the next they’re fighting and trying to beat each other. But you can count on them having lots of fun along the way.
There is something so endearing about this book, and it’s not just the charming illustrative style (which I really enjoyed). It was instant book love for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that consistently made me genuinely belly laugh. And then I was not only laughing, but also running to the next room to share my favorite jokes with family members. The antics of these two characters are completely silly and ridiculous, but somehow that works for their personalities. The “troublems” in the title should give you a clue that there’s a lot of odd word combinations, which sometimes works great for the storylines and sometimes not so much.
My one complaint was that the format of the book was a little weird. The first half is made up of mini-comics episodes 1-3 pages long, while the second half of the book was a longer continuous story (albeit made of up of smaller episodes). If you can’t stand silly or ridiculous things, you’re probably not going to enjoy this one, but I can see kids totally eating this up (and adults who don’t take life too seriously will enjoy it too).
Shady Glade Rating: 5 leaves
Available at Amazon.com in Hardcover or Kindle
Add to your Goodreads shelfCheck availability on Paperbackswap.com
Monday, August 28, 2017
Review: Drama
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
The plot of Drama is hard to sum up. I think this is because I see it more as a "slice in the life of" book. Callie is a middle school student who loves theater (especailly musicals). Due to a less than stellar singing voice though, rather than trying out for a role in her school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she's part of the stage crew. And you can bet there will be a whole lot of drama to ensue.
I’ll start by getting the controversial out of the way first. This is a middle grade book, featuring middle school aged characters, a book aimed at 9-12ish years of age. And one of the characters is gay. So if you’re a parent and that’s something that will bother you, keep that in mind. For me, personally, it didn’t bother me, and I say that coming from a conservative perspective. It is definitely presented as a situation where being gay is not a big deal, so parents you may want to use that to start a conversation with your children. Personally, I am of the opinion that a child in middle school doesn’t know enough about him/herself to know if he/she is gay yet, but that’s a discussion for a different medium.
Moving on to the book itself, I have to start by saying that I love Raina Telgemeier’s books. I have read pretty much every one she’s done, and Smile in particular ranks up there in my favorite books of all time. That being said, I felt something was missing in Drama. There were parts of it that I loved. The artwork and characterization is spectacular as always, and I enjoyed the theater aspect greatly because it reminded me of my (brief) stint in high school theater. But as mentioned above I just didn’t feel like there was much of a plot. Callie seemed a little too boy crazy for my taste (although I realize some girls are really like that), I just felt like it didn’t gel well with the whole theater plot thread. I will also say that I wasn’t very happy with the shoehorned climax at the school dance, which I won’t talk more about because it would give the ending away. But it just felt a tad too cliché for me.
All that being said, I would still recommend this, especially if like me you’re a fan of Telgemeier’s other books. I just think it’s going to need to find the right audience to really enjoy it.
Shady Glade Rating: 3 leaves
Check availability on Paperbackswap.com
I’ll start by getting the controversial out of the way first. This is a middle grade book, featuring middle school aged characters, a book aimed at 9-12ish years of age. And one of the characters is gay. So if you’re a parent and that’s something that will bother you, keep that in mind. For me, personally, it didn’t bother me, and I say that coming from a conservative perspective. It is definitely presented as a situation where being gay is not a big deal, so parents you may want to use that to start a conversation with your children. Personally, I am of the opinion that a child in middle school doesn’t know enough about him/herself to know if he/she is gay yet, but that’s a discussion for a different medium.
Moving on to the book itself, I have to start by saying that I love Raina Telgemeier’s books. I have read pretty much every one she’s done, and Smile in particular ranks up there in my favorite books of all time. That being said, I felt something was missing in Drama. There were parts of it that I loved. The artwork and characterization is spectacular as always, and I enjoyed the theater aspect greatly because it reminded me of my (brief) stint in high school theater. But as mentioned above I just didn’t feel like there was much of a plot. Callie seemed a little too boy crazy for my taste (although I realize some girls are really like that), I just felt like it didn’t gel well with the whole theater plot thread. I will also say that I wasn’t very happy with the shoehorned climax at the school dance, which I won’t talk more about because it would give the ending away. But it just felt a tad too cliché for me.
All that being said, I would still recommend this, especially if like me you’re a fan of Telgemeier’s other books. I just think it’s going to need to find the right audience to really enjoy it.
Shady Glade Rating: 3 leaves
Available at Amazon.com in Hardcover, Paperback or Kindle
Add to your Goodreads shelfCheck availability on Paperbackswap.com
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