books

Book Review: Castle in the Air

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Castle in the Air
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I adore this book! The first book in this trilogy was fantastic and I had high expectations for this one too, and I was not disappointed. I love the old-fashioned fairytale style!
At first, I was wondering, “Where are Sophie and Howl? I want Sophie and Howl.” but they came into the story just perfectly later on, and I was so pleased.

This book follows the magical adventures of Abdullah, who is a carpet merchant. When he buys a magic carpet and falls in love with the Sultan’s daughter, you think you’re in for an Aladdin retelling, but the story is so much more than that. Abdullah travels north to Ingary, where the first book was set, and meets a magical cat, an irate genie, power-hungry djinns, an old soldier who is not who he seems to be, wizards, witches, and an alarming amount of princesses. Continue reading →

Book Review: If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit

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If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit
If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some of the things this author said about writing really resonated with me, but other things were a bit too “out there”, flaky, and/or liberal weird. Most of what she said was really good though, and inspired me to write more freely!

In this book, the author encourages people to write from their true selves, to write with freedom from fear of criticism, to write about things they care about. Her words are at once deep and grand, but also simple and accessible. Her writing feels like a call to arms to a battalion of writers, and then she gives them training in how to be wild and watchful before throwing them into the war of words. Her manner of writing itself is actually very sympathetic and kind, but also includes the sort of tough love and bare truthfulness that makes you want to take action. Continue reading →

Book Review: Juliet Dove, Queen of Love

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Juliet Dove, Queen of Love
Juliet Dove, Queen of Love by Bruce Coville

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this on audiobook, and I think that really made a difference to the story, hearing an entire cast of characters reading the dialogue. There was so much acting and expression put into every sentence that it made the story really come alive!

This is the tale of Juliet, who is a shy young teen with a literary and artistic family. When a mysterious woman gives her an enchanted amulet, every boy in town starts to fall in love with her. It’s up to Juliet and her new rodent friends from the Magic Shop to unravel the mystery of the amulet, and get Juliet out of the ancient love story she is doomed to relive.

First of all, I love stories that bring in the old Greek gods into modern settings (because of Percy Jackson). Secondly, I love stories with wise-cracking rats or mice. And thirdly, I love stories with strong family relationships with both a mother and father present and involved and actually parenting (instead of dead, divorced, or absent). Continue reading →

Comic Review: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant

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Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love it so much!!! Action and adventure and friendship and travel and everything… Ah, so good!
So this is the story of two unlikely traveling companions, who go looking for adventure and go up against a dirty pirate king. They escape from hoards of bad guys in Delilah’s flying boat, and then stop for a cup of Selim’s famously delicious tea and biscuits. Continue reading →

Book Review: Wizard’s Castle

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Wizard's Castle
Wizard’s Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this so much more reading it for the second time! This delightful fairy tale follows Sophie, who has been cursed by a witch to look old even though she’s only 18. Sophie ends up in the house of the Wizard Howl, where the front door magically opens into four different places.  (This book has also been published as “Howl’s Moving Castle”.)

The world-building is brilliant! The magic system is really imaginative and interesting. The characters have such great dialogue and good development. I just adore this book! Continue reading →

Book Review: Floors

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Floors
Floors by Patrick Carman

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is the story of Leo, who lives in a hotel that resembles an amusement park more than a hotel. There are secret rooms, secret elevators, and secret trains running through the in-between hidden floors of the hotel. When the owner of the hotel, Mr. Whippet, goes missing, he leaves clues for Leo to follow throughout the hotel, discovering its secrets, and saving the hotel from being torn down. But he insists that Leo take a friend with him for safety, so Leo brings the new bellboy, Remi, along for his adventures. Leo also has to bring one of the ducks from the hotel’s pond along with him as he explores the hotel, and Betty the Duck proves more useful than he expected! Continue reading →

Book Review: Stars Above

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Stars Above
Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All my Lunar dreams come true in this book! I loved reading the backstories of so many characters, seeing them developing and growing as children into the people we know and love in the series. And then there was the wedding!!! I was laughing and crying and smiling through my tears. All my beloved characters happy and together and prospering- I’m in reader heaven!

Most of these I had already read as the short stories came out bit by bit, and of course, I adore them all. The new stories definitely did not disappoint me either! Continue reading →

Book Review: Henry VIII

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Henry VIII
Henry VIII by William Shakespeare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this play so much! It had a tight plot and delightfully interesting characters. I was especially intrigued with the changes that some characters went through, or the way some of them reacted under extreme circumstances.
This is the story of how Henry VIII got rid of his wife, Katherine, and fell in love with Anne Boleyn, married her instead, and had a daughter, Elizabeth. Of course, there’s a ton of political intrigue going on, and people being accused as traitors right and left. The Duke of Buckingham goes on trial as a traitor in the first scene, even though he’s innocent. Along with a bunch of corrupt Bishops and Cardinals, Cromwell is lurking in the background.
There are some really tense and emotional scenes with really powerful dialogue! Continue reading →