I really enjoyed reading this book that is part of the popular series. The pace is fast, which I like. I traveled to Japan in August of last year, so I remember some of the places the book talks about. The Samurai culture is very interesting to me and readers will enjoy it. This story has it all, history, geography, international travel and an interesting ending.
Reviewer Grade: 7
This enjoyable story about Danny Dragonbreath is a good read. Danny has to deal with bullying, but he makes it through. His trusty friend Wendell is a classic. You will enjoy the pirate ship, the amphibians and the deep sea creatures. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
Reviewer Grade: 7
This book was very fun to read, it left you on the edge of your seat. It is a fairly short book. The story line has a fast pace. I would recommend this book to a more advanced reader. It is a riveting survival story centered in the Canadian wilderness.This book is now one of my favorites.
Reviewer Grade: 7
This is a kid friendly and amazing book. I personally loved the series. I read this series a lot it is about a kid trying to survive middle school named Greg there are ten books in the series so far and I have read all of them. This book is great and I would recommend this book for younger readers.
Reviewer Grade: 7
I really like this book. This is one of my favorites because I can relate to Gregg Heffley. Since I just started 7th grade, much of this book matches what I’m going through now. The reader will enjoy the illustrations throughout the book. You will need to read the book to find out if Gregg and Rowley are able to get their friendship back on track.
Reviewer Grade: 7
This absurd book was a fun read. I enjoyed the humor and outrageous premise of the book. Mr. Popper makes many sacrifices for his family of penguins, but the sacrifice is worth it. This book has won many awards and is a classic at my school. I especially enjoyed the unique ending to the satisfying story.
Reviewer Grade: 7
This book was suspenseful and amazing, it had several unexpected twists like when the main character finds out about his uncle’s job. This book is about a teenager whose uncle died unexpectedly. This book is a must read but it is a longer series. I recommend this book for a more experienced reader. Those readers will find it action packed and reading it is a worthy use of their time.
Reviewer Grade: 7
This humorous page turner was fun to read. I would recommend this book, it is a shorter read but it is very entertaining. This is a children’s book. This book was surprisingly humorous. I enjoyed the pace of the story. It is not a hard book to read and it is geared to the young reader. This book will definitely make you laugh.
Reviewer Grade: 7
Peeps is an amazing book that takes a interesting, scientific approach to vampirism. It is centered around Cal Thompson a carrier of a unique parasite that causes aversion to light, heightened senses, and cannibalistic impulses. Because Cal is only a carrier he shows none of the extreme symptoms of the parasite. At the beginning of the book, Cal has had the parasite for a year. With the help of the Night Watch, a shadowy organization that hunts down parasite positives, or 'peeps', and a girl named Lace, he is tasked with capturing all of the girls he gave the disease to in that year. Filled with information on real parasites, this book is definitely not for squeamish people. Peeps also has a little content that some people might not be comfortable with. That being said, this is a great book and an interesting take on the idea of vampirism. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys science fiction, or any of Scott Westerfeld's other books.
Reviewer Grade: 9
All Tally Youngblood ever wanted was to be a pretty. Now Tally is almost sixteen years old, and in just a few weeks, she will get the surgery that will make her beautiful. When she meets Shay, a girl with many new ideas, Tally is told about a reclusive group called the Smokies that keep their own faces. Shay, a few days before their birthday, runs away and joins them, leaving Tally to explain to everyone where her friend is. Because of Shay, Tally is forced into a world that she wanted no part of. To become pretty, Tally must betray Shay and all of her new friends. As she realizes the truth behind the operation, Tally starts to enjoy her new life. Uglies, the first book in the series, is a great dystopian book. With an amazing plot, and complex characters, I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoyed Divergent or any of Scott Westerfeld's other books.
Reviewer Grade: 9
Queen of Shadows is the fifth book in the Throne of Glass series. It begins soon after Aelin Galathynius, the rightful Queen of Terrasen returns to Rifthold planning to kill the King of Adarlan. To do this and reclaim her birthright Aelin must go up against of an evil that is not of her world. As the plot thickens, there are more complications than Aelin can count.
Meanwhile, one of Aelin's closest friends must battle his own enemy; an enemy that lives inside him and controls him. This book is a great addition to the series, carrying on its legacy of great characters and fast-moving plot.
Queen of Shadows keeps many of the incredible characters from the previous books, and introduces many new ones. I thought that the internal struggles of these characters made this book even better. (If this was a movie, I would probably rate it PG-13 for some violence and a little romance.)
Reviewer Grade: 9
The second book in the Throne of Glass series, The Crown of Midnight is a fantastic addition to the series. This book continues a few months after the Throne of Glass leaves off. Celaena Sardothien has been working for the King for a few months without any word from Elena. Although her job requires the King's trust, Celaena is far from loyal. She is always secretly plotting, planning. As a romance that Celaena never imagined starts to blossom, she realizes that there is more going on in Adarland than meets the eyes. Because Celaena is trying to not only protect those she loves, but also hide her own deadly secret, it is hard for her to do anything for the suffering people around her. This book is a great addition to the series, introducing the true conflict and clarifying many things from the last book. Celaena is still a great character, funny, proud, and clever, and truly unpredictable. I loved this book, and would recommend it to anyone that enjoyed the first installment in the series. The Crown of Midnight has a perfect balance of romance, action, and political intrigue. Full of new insights to Celaena's character, this book will pull you in and keep you reading long into the night. I would like to note that this is definitely a young adult book, and has some content that maybe not everyone is comfortable with. That being said this book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading fantasy.
Reviewer Grade: 9
Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt tells the story of Penelope who is untouchable because her body destroys her platelets which causes her to bruise easily. Penelope's Family is in the black market for organ transplant, this makes Penelope's life more dangerous than it already is. All Penelope ever wanted was to be treated like everyone else, but when a brutal act thrusts her into New York alone and scared she finds there are bigger threats than bruises. This book tugged on my emotions, and made me feel what loss is like. I picked this book because a good friend of mine recommended it to me and I would recommend this book to people who like suspense and romance.
Reviewer Grade: 8
3000 years ago (aka present day), the earth suffered from "the Cataclysm" - an apocalyptic event that changed the literal shape of the earth (because earthquakes) as well as all of its political structures. In this future version of earth, technology has been all but outlawed, and magical folks are treated in a vastly superior way to those without magic. Hob Smythe is a non-magical miner living in the Dusk (outside of present-day Vancouver) who is recruited by a secret society called The Fellowship that wants non-magic folks to have the same rights as magic folks. He is quickly whisked away to the capital (Impyrium) where he is to spy on Hazel Faeregrine - the princess third in line to the throne that the Fellowship suspects is massively powerful. Meanwhile, Hazel is trying to learn how to wield her great magical power, while maneuvering and investigating interesting goings on in the palace.
As you can probably tell from that description, there is a lot of world-building that happens in this book. As a result, the beginning is a little slow, but after a few chapters, I found myself engrossed. Neff creates a dynamic world full of magic, demons, and dragons. The characters themselves are intelligent, likable (if a little gullible), and independent. If you like your heroes with pluck, you'll love Hazel and Hob. The story, once it gets going, is fairly complex, but in a really great way. There's a lot of plotting and conspiracies and it's really fun to try to figure out what is happening along with Hazel and Hob. A lot of little threads are introduced, and many plot points are tied up in the end while still paving the way for the next installment in the story. Additionally, there is fun social commentary in terms of non-magic vs. magic folks and their respective treatments.
I liked this enough that I immediately put the author's companion series, which is called The Tapestry and tells about the events of the Cataclysm, on hold. This is probably my favorite non-sequel middle grade read of the year. Recommended for fantasy readers of all ages. 4 stars.
In this Superman comic written by Gene Yang, Superman is being blackmailed by a mysterious agency (or person) called HORDR. He's also got a new ability (solar flare) that destroys everything in his immediate vicinity, but that leaves him human/vulnerable for the 24 hours immediately following the flare's use.
Even though this is labeled "Volume I", the issues in it are marked as 40-46. As such, the first issue was super confusing. It took me a hot minute to figure out what was happening, but basically, the Justice League was testing Superman's new power: solar flares. Honestly, you could skip it and be fine.
Anyway, so after that bizarre first issue, we enter the main story. I think it's my fav Supes story (I mean, it's the first one I've read, but I've seen *some* of the movies), just because in my opinion, Superman is usually a little over powered (OP), which makes him a lot less interesting as a character. It was nice to see him being a human, and we get a few cute moments as a result (hangover!). The story has a nice, easy to follow progression, the characters (for the most part) act in ways that make sense, and the last issue leaves the door WIDE open for future issues. If you have no knowledge of Superman, it would be really hard to follow. Movie watchers will be fine, but if you are totally new to Superman, start elsewhere.
This might be really stupid, but I hated Superman's costume update. The jeans just looked silly. Like, go full tights/ridiculous superhero costume, man, or just do nothing at all. Also, like, shave or don't shave, don't walk around with that spiky stubble all the time, it's distracting.
Somehow worse costume aside, I liked this Superman story, and I'll likely check out the next volume. 3 stars - it was pretty good.
This book didn't go the way I expected it to. I expected a light teen fiction read, but the storyline was meatier than your normal teen novel. The pranking doesn't get started until about 2/3 of the way through. The reason why she was doing it really wasn't laid out very clearly. I think I was a little disappointed overall.
Blue Sargent has unusual name, but she is an unusual girl. She lives in the small town of Henrietta, in a house filled with psychics, including her mother. Ever since she can remember she has been told that she if she kisses her true love he will die. Up until now Blue has tried to stay away from boys, especially the preppy rich ones that go to the boarding school in town. But when she gets involved with four boys from the Aglionby School who are searching for the burial site of a mythical Welsh king, Blue’s plans go out the window. As the hunt for the grave becomes more dangerous (ghosts and Latin speaking trees included), so too does Blue’s relationship with one of the boys named Gansey. Will Blue be able to be part of the quest without killing one of the Raven boys?
The Raven Boys is a dark and gritty fantasy, which turns the ‘true love’s kiss’ cliché on its head. For anyone looking for a more modern take on the fantasy genre or are interested in the paranormal, this is the book for them.
This book is an amazing example of epic fantasy. The first book of the Seven Realms Series, The Demon King is a great start. Princess Raisa ana'Marianna is about to come of age in a time of high tensions. She aspires to be like her ancestor, the warrior queen, Hanalea, who saved the world by defeating the demon king. Her mother though, influenced by magical means, has another plan; a plan that could put the Grey Wolf line of queens at risk.
Hans Alister is a retired streetlord. He stopped living the life of crime a year ago to protect his family. He didn't know that when he started doing the right thing, he would put them in more danger than ever before. Told from two perspectives, this amazing novel combines action with romance and political intrigue. This book is set in a phenomenally developed world, with a complex culture and thought out political relationships. I would recommend this book to people that enjoy fantasy, as long as they like a fair amount of backstory and politics mixed in with the action.
Review Grade: 9
Owen, a young book-nerd, desperately wishes he could live inside his favorite series. Bethany, a half-fictional girl, is desperately searching for her missing father within fictional worlds, hopping from story to story. One day, Owen discovers Bethany's secret. He makes a deal - he helps her find her father, she allows him to enter his favorite book. But, as they discover, the worlds of fiction are much more dangerous than they appear on the page...
This book was so much fun! I loved every minute of it! Owen and Bethany are great characters that you root for. I also loved the various references to popular books, such as Harry Potter, Peter Pan, and Percy Jackson. If you enjoy fun and geeky adventure stories, this one is DEFINITELY for you!
Grade: 10
Celaena Sardothien was the most feared assassin in the country. She killed without mercy or remorse. When she was captured, she was sent to the salt mines of Endovier, a labor camp that few survived longer than a week.
Now, a year later, the crown prince needs a champion to participate in a competition. The winner will, after four years of service, be awarded their freedom. At first, all Celaena wants is to win, but as she begins to care again, she discovers that winning isn't the most important thing, and her competition may not be her most dangerous advisory. This book has amazing characters, and a plot that is sure to keep you reading. Like any epic fantasy, this book has a fair amount of backstory. That being said, this book is full of action, and a great read. I strongly recommend this to anyone that likes fantasy and doesn't mind a little romance.
Reviewer Grade: 9