book review

Book Review: Nell O’Dell Hates Quests

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Nell O'Dell Hates Quests by Emily B. Martin

Nell O’Dell Hates Quests (The Golden Crossroads #1)
by Emily B. Martin

5 out of 5 stars

Nell is sick and tired of quests. She works at the crossroads inn where she constantly hears about chosen ones, grand prophecies, and magic weapons. She sneers at all the questers who pass through the crossroads looking for glory and fame. Nell just wants a quiet life at the inn taking care of her chickens and her garden. But when there is a problem with the deed to the inn, Nell’s parents send her on a “journey” (NOT a quest!) to the capital to present the deed at the Exchequer’s office and prove their ownership of the inn. She is joined by an overly-excitable goblin, Midge, who is delighted to be included on the journey (NOT a quest!). Along the way they run into a mysterious thief, a hermit faun, a dragon keeper, and a sad troll whose name has been stolen by an evil fairy. Their journey (NOT a quest!) is fraught with danger and adventure and mystery, but Nell O’Dell hates quests, so it just CAN’T be a quest… can it? If a quest is “just a trip with a goal that’s important to you”, will Nell embrace the questing legends or find a way to complete her quest on her own terms?

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Book Review: Sneaks

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Sneaks by Amy Tern

Sneaks
by Amy Tern (Goodreads Author)

1 out of 5 stars

Valory has a reputation as a thief and liar. She is rude to all the adults in her life, especially her mother’s boyfriend. She gives adults rude nicknames that she calls them behind their backs. She is well-known at her school for elaborate pranks and for stealing from the teachers. She disobeys her mother on various occasions, saying she knows she will get in trouble, but she doesn’t care.

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Book Review: Castle Rackrent and The Absentee

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Castle Rackrent / The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth

Castle Rackrent / The Absentee
by Maria Edgeworth

4 out of 5 stars

Castle Rackrent is about a servant of the Rackrent family, who sees four generations of the landowners go through bankruptcy and scandal. Thady Quirk remains loyal to the family despite their drunken debaucheries, years of wasted income, and scandalous relationships. His narration gives excuses for their bad behavior and turns a blind eye to their evil ways, steadfastly claiming that the Rackrent family are all saints and the kindest masters in the world. On the one hand, his loyalty is admirable, but it could not have attached itself to a more unworthy object. Eventually, the family comes to ruin and a circumspect lawyer snaps up all their land and livelihood and the last of their house dies in poverty.

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Book Review: The Thing About Giants

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The Thing About Giants by Christopher Galvin

The Thing About Giants
by Christopher Galvin (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Jacq’s parents are giant hunters, but she has always thought the practice was barbaric. Despite growing up in a city literally made from giant bones, Jacq is dismayed when she is chosen to be trained as a giant hunter and follow in her parents footsteps. On her first mission outside the city, Jacq is lost in the wilderness where she meets Corman.
Corman is a young giant travelling with his father to find some medicinal herbs when they are attacked by giant hunters, throwing them all into a dangerous adventure and an awkward friendship that could change both their cultures forever.

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Book Review: Graciela in the Abyss

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Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina

Graciela in the Abyss
by Meg Medina (Goodreads Author), Anna Balbusso (Illustrator), Elena Balbusso (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Graciela is only thirteen when she falls off a cliff and dies in the ocean. One hundred years later, she wakes from her death sleep and becomes a ghost. The friendly ghost community welcomes her, and her mentor Amina teaches her about living in the ocean and trains her to be a sea-glass artisan.
Jorge is a living boy from a family of blacksmiths. He discovers that his grandfather created a mystic harpoon capable of killing ghosts and sending them to a final death. He puts his own life at risk in order to destroy the terrible weapon, but he can’t do it alone.

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Book Review: The Floating Island

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The Floating Island by Elizabeth Haydon

The Floating Island (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, #1)
by Elizabeth Haydon

4 out of 5 stars

Ven’s family are shipbuilders, and when Ven goes on a ship to inspect it, the ship is sunk by Fire Pirates and Ven is left adrift in the ocean. He is rescued by a merrow/mermaid and taken aboard a passing ship on the way to Serendair, an island nation where adventure awaits.

This book has an enchanting fantasy world! There are little variations on different typical fantasy creatures. Ven is a Nain, which is similar to a dwarf. There are merrows, like a mixture of mermaids and selkies. The Spice Folk are like nature fairies or brownies who are invisible. The Lirin are sort of like forest elves. They all have their own characteristics and skills and magical abilities. I was delighted with the details about each culture!

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Book Review: Infinitely Big and Infinitely Small

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THE INFINITELY BIG and the INFINITELY SMALL by Ammi-Gabriel Burgstaller

THE INFINITELY BIG and the INFINITELY SMALL: A Tale of Everything and Nothing
by Ammi-Gabriel Burgstaller

5 out of 5 stars

This story follows a point – a point in time, a point in space. The point starts at Zero and wishes to reach One. He stretches himself into a line, traveling along infinite space and time, trying to reach One. But the distance and time between Zero and One are infinite, so it takes a very long NOW to get there. The point that became a line now meets other points and lines on their own journeys, and eventually our hero meets the One, and discovers the true nature of reality.

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Book Review: Secrets of the Snakestone

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Secrets of the Snakestone by Piu DasGupta

Secrets of the Snakestone
by Piu DasGupta 

3 out of 5 stars

Zelie’s father has gone missing, along with the mysterious Snakestone that can grant healing and long life to the wearer. Zelie meets Jules, who was working down in the sewers below Paris and found the locket that once held the Snakestone. The locket is empty, and Zelie and Jules go on an adventure to find the Snakestone and Zelie’s missing father, but a dangerous secret society is also hunting for the Snakestone.

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Book Review: The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good

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The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good by Kirsty Applebaum

The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good
by Kirsty Applebaum (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

When Fran goes to visit her aunt and uncle, she discovers that they can’t remember their own daughter, Fran’s cousin Imogen. Imogen has completely disappeared without a trace, and no one remembers her but Fran. There is a mystery surrounding the hidden garden behind the estate, and Fran begins to investigate. Imogen’s diary says that she went to the garden on the day of her disappearance. Fran recruits the girl next door, Bex, to help her find the hidden garden and find out what happened to Imogen.

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Book Review: Escape Room, Game Zero

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Escape Room by Christopher Edge

Escape Room: Game Zero
by Christopher Edge (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Eden is confused when she receives an invitation to join the escape room game online, but she has not been given a VR headset to join the game. She is surrounded by a strange murmuration of birds, and just finds herself inside the game. She meets Ted, who does have a headset, so he assumes that Eden must be an NPC since she doesn’t have one. Ted is on a mission to find three keys and unlock the world. Their first puzzle is in a massive forest where they must find a song. They move through various gates that lead them further and further into the game, where they are confronted with impossible puzzles that could lead to life-threatening danger or… escape.

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