Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (8/9/16)-The Dragon of Trelian

Hello, everyone, and Happy National Book Lover’s Day! It’s super great that it’s a Tuesday because of the aforementioned national holiday. Perfect for a book review! So get out there, read a book, and spread the love and bookworminess!

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The Dragon of Trelian

Apprentice mage Calen never thought in a million years that he would ever meet a princess, and much less thought that they would ever become friends. But when it does, Princess Meglynne has a startling secret- she is caretaker for a dragon, who she calls Jakl. What’s more, Meg has a connection to the dragon like no other. Can she and Calen keep Jakl safe from those who would slay him? And, what are those mysterious, screaming creatures that appear around the castle grounds?

 

I’d say that for those of you who like Narnia-ish or Harry Potter-ish books, this book is most likely for you. Have a great rest of your summers, and happy reading!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (8/2/16)-Maybe A Fox

Hi everyone, and happy August! I still can’t believe summer’s almost over. Sigh…

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Maybe A Fox

Eleven year old Jules and her twolve year old sister Sylvie are inseperable. Sure, one likes rock collecting and the other likes running (really, really fast), but they’re still inserperable. Jules can’t imagine life without Sylvie. But when Sylvie drowns in the nearby creek, Jules finally has to. Just as Sylvie dies, a fox cub is born. The cub is a kennen- an animal with a connection to a human. And this cub is connected to Jules. Can the cub find Jules in time? And will Jules get over the death of her sister?

 

I honestly forget if this made me cry or not, but I’m guessing roughly 60% of readers will cry. Beautiful book.

Also, I’m not going to review this on my blog b/c giving away the plot would spoil an awful lot, I FINISHED THE EIGHT HARRY POTTER BOOK YESTERDAY. SO AWESOME.

Bye!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (7/26/16)- Darkbeast

Hi everyone!!! Lately I’ve been reading a lot, which is very exciting. For me, at least.  I’ve been waiting to read this for a little while since it was recommended to me on Goodreads. So here you go!

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Darkbeast

In the land of Duodecia, every child has a darkbeast- an animal bound to them at birth that takes all of their fear and bad thoughts. On their twelfth nameday, every child must go to the godhouse to slay their darkbeast. But Keara cannot bear the thought of losing her darkbeast, a raven named Caw. So on her nameday, she fails to kill him and runs away to join the travelers, a troupe of performers who roam the land performing their plays. Will she stay hidden from the Inquisitors, who are hunting her down because of her failure?

 

As I said in my Goodreads review, “Beautifully written, with an original concept to match. I just LOVE the concept of an animal, bonded to a child, that takes all of their fear, rebellion, and other bad thoughts. Great characters, creative, and just plain great.”

Thank you for reading!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (7/19/16)- Curiosity House- The Shrunken Head

Hi again! Sorry about last week. But hey, cat memes fix everything, riiiiiiiiight?

Ha.

So here’s your review.

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I hope you’re used to the huge book cover images by now.

Curiosity House- The Shrunken Head

 

Thomas, Phillipa, and Sam- three kids with strange abilities- live in Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders, where weird objects from around the globe are housed, and where other strange people perform. But when Max, a knife-thrower who’s lived on the streets for almost her entire life, arrives there, a frightening series of events is set off. The newest attraction, the Amazonian shrunken head, has gone missing, and in it’s wake, many gruesome murders have been committed. Can the kids and performers solve the mystery and retrieve the shrunken head?

 

This was a very inventive book. Great illustrations, too!

Also, for those of you who have read this…isn’t Phillipa a whole lot like Lydia Deates (forgive me if I spelled that wrong) from Beetlejuice ?

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She kinda dresses like her, too.

So yeah. Enjoy what’s left of summer, guys!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (7/5/16)- How to Outrun a Crocodile when your Shoes are Untied

Hi again! This book was one of a few that I read in Alaska. Well, technically, I read and finished this on the plane to Alaska, but still. I really enjoyed it!

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How to Outrun a Crocodile when your Shoes are Untied

Ana Wright has a much less than normal life. First, she has weirdo zooligist parents who named her after an anaconda. Seriously? And second, her best friend Liv just moved to New Zealand. And third, she and her family just moved to the local zoo in Denver. Plus, as if life couldn’t get any worse, the Sneerers (a trio of popular girls) are making Ana’s life even more miserable as it is. Can she survive the last week of junior high?

 

This book was hilarious, with a little animal factoid at the beginning of each chapter with a comment from Ana. Being a complete animal freak, this book attracted me like a magnet. Love!

P.S. As I’m writing this review, I’m listening to “Space Oddity”. *sniffles*

Yes, I’m still sad, and I will be for a very long time.

 

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (6/21/16)-Upside Down Magic

Hi again! Hope your summer has been good so far! Quick note- I might not be able to do Book Review Tuesday next week. I have a legitimate excuse- I’ll be in Alaska! Woot woot! I’m probably going to make a post about that too @ some point. For now, here’s your review for this week!

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Upside Down Magic

Nory isn’t your average girl. Yes, she’s a Fluxer- someone who can turn into animals- but her animals turn out a bit…wonky. Her animals are always a combination of two, whether it’s a bitten (beaver+kitten) or a dritten (dragon+kitten, shown on cover). So when she fails the Fluxing test to get into a private magic school, she is instead sent to Dunwiddle- a public magic school. But this is no ordinary magic school- there is a special program for people who have abnormal magic. Can she survive her classes- and the bullies who tease her and her friends for their magic?

 

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Upside Down Magic- Sticks and Stones

When Dunwiddle’s charity money is mysteriously turned to a pile of stones and  bully Lacey Clench is shrunken to three inches tall, the normal students begin to have suspicions about the Upside-Down Magic class. They think that they are responsible and that they shouldn’t even be at the school. Can Nory and her friends convince them that they are innocent before they are all expelled?

 

This is a cute little series. The books themselves are shortish, but hey- that doesn’t  matter the most. I mean, DRITTENS! HOW CUTE IS THAT?!?!?

Bye for now! See ya in Alaska!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (6/14/16)- Shadows of the Silver Screen & The Black Crow Conspiracy

So, as promised last week, today I’m reviewing the other two books of the Penelope Tredwell series. Ladies and Gentleman…I present you with…PENNY TREDWELL AWESOMENESS!

(Forgive my melodrama. I just like this series a lot.)

(also forgive my usage of too late in many of my reviews. I swear, I can’t help myself.)

 

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Shadows of the Silver Screen

Shortly after the invention of the motion picture, a filmmaker comes to Montgomery Flinch with a proposal to turn one of his stories into one. Reluctantly, he (or rather, she) agrees, and together they go to a secluded house in the country to film. But while the movie is slowly coming to life, strange things begin to happen with the house and the actors. Will Penny figure out what’s going on before it’s too late?

 

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The Black Crow Conspiracy

Penny Tredwell (Montgomery Flinch) is running out of stories. So, she asks her readers to write her and give her ideas. She receives a mysterious letter soon after- it has a good idea for a story, which she publishes, but the letter has no name. There is only a drawing of crow’s silhouette. But soon rumors begin to spread- the Crown Jewels have been stolen, and the crime is suspiciously similar to the story Penny just wrote? Can she find the thief before more goes wrong?

 

I highly recommend this series to all of you guys who like mystery and/or have read and like the Enola Holmes series (which I may review in the future). Also, look forward to some good reviews soon- I’m currently reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and soon I’ll be reading Raina Telegemeier’s (did I spell her last name right? Raina, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry) newest graphic novel Ghosts. Bye for now!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (6/7/16)- Twelve Minutes to Midnight

Well, hi again and sorry about last week. Unfortunately, you’re likely to get a post like that about three or four more times before the end of 2016.

But hey, here I am again with another book!

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Twelve Mintues to Midnight

Penelope Tredwell is the secret owner and writer of the Penny Dreadful magazine, with a hired actor in case of public appearances. Her sudden rise to fame has gotten her (more like the actor, actually…) a huge audience, one of them being the Bedlam Mental Hospital. The inmates have begun writing strange messages and ramblings wherever they can-scrap paper, the walls of their cells, and even in their own blood-at exactly twelve minutes to midnight. Can Penny solve the mystery of the inmates? And what exactly do the strange spiders have to do with it?

 

I just finished this book about…maybe an hour or two ago. I was pleasantly surprised, and I’ll definetely read and review the other two books, Shadows of the Silver Screen and The Black Crow Conspiracy, at some point. Thank you for reading!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (5/24/16)- The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle

Hi guys! I’m really excited because SUMMER’S ALMOST HERE! This book is not at all sunshiny or summery, but nobody cares. Okay, WHY did I bring that up? Have I been possessed? Or has my *deleted for spoiler alert reasons*?

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To escape from the WWII bombs in London, Kat sends her and her siblings Rob and Amelie to a castle in Scotland to stay until it is safe. But little do they know that the castle harbors a strange and dangerous individual…

When children mysteriously begin disappearing, Kat knows something is fishy. And, she has heard rumors of someone stealing the souls of these children and keeping them in charms on a chatelaine. Can she stop the mysterious soul-stealer before it’s too late?

 

I bought this a couple days ago at Tattered Cover (a.k.a. THE BEST BOOKSTORE EVER) and I didn’t know if I’d like it. The result- this would rate about a 6.5 to a 7 on the Madeline Todd Book Rating Scale. So yeah! This was a decent read! Hopefully the last days of school (or work) are good and your summer as well!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (5/17/16)-The Key to the Extraordinary

Hi again! To relieve you from the Neko Atsumeness, I am presenting you with this BRT-and giving you a good read! I recently (meaning…oh, maybe a week ago?) finished and liked this book! Here you go:

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The Key to the Extraordinary

All here life, Emma has lived in the small town of Blackbird Hollow, where she and her surviving family run the Boneyard Cafe and give tours in the nearby graveyard. For ages, people have known that somewhere, there is a treasure hidden near it, buried by someone named “The Conductor”. But when Emma has a strange dream-her Destiny Dream-that shows her a key-she knows she is destined to find it. On the way, she uncovers many secrets-some of which have been hidden for centuries. Will she find the treasure? And what even is the treasure?

 

After reading Natalie Lloyd’s previous book, A Snicker of Magic,  I heard of this book coming out soon, and for a few months I waited. I eventually forgot and then found it again, and lucky me, it was available! I borrowed it on my kindle and enjoyed it a lot. I got a lot of great quotes from The Key to the Extraordinary- maybe I’ll post some at some point!

Well, that’s it for this week’s BRT. Goodbye!