books.

Book Review: The False Princess

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The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
The False Princess
by Eilis O’Neal 

4 out of 5 stars


Sinda has grown up as a princess, but on her sixteenth birthday she is told that she was only a decoy. She was a commoner baby switched with the royal baby to shield the real princess from a murderous prophecy. Sinda has to leave the only life she has ever known to live in a poor country village with an aunt she has never met.

I loved this book so much! Sinda is a wonderfully complex character, and goes through really intense character development. She is shy and awkward in the beginning, floundering around in fear and anger. But she gradually learns to trust her own strength, and she begins to fight to build a life of her own.

The plot is really interesting with brilliant magic and plot twists.

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Classic Book Review: Mansfield Park

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Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park
by Jane Austen

5 out of 5 stars

Fanny Price goes to live with her rich relatives, who make her feel inferior and criticize her. She befriends her cousin, Edmund, but is belittled by her cousins, Maria and Julia. When the Crawford siblings arrive as new neighbors, Maria and Julia compete for the attention of Mr. Henry Crawford, while Edmund gradually falls under the spell of the beautiful and wicked Miss Crawford. Only Fanny is undeceived by the Crawford’s pretty manners.

Marvelous story! Each time I reread it, I find something deeper in the story and the characters. But I always want to slap some sense into Edmund, until he realizes how delightful Fanny is.

Jane Austen’s writing never fails to amaze me. She has such a perceptive way of laying bare every thought and action of each character with exquisite insight into the little vexations and desires of human nature. Continue reading →

Activity Book Review: Paint By Sticker Dinosaurs

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Paint by Sticker Kids by Workman Publishing
Paint by Sticker Kids: Dinosaurs: Create 10 Pictures One Sticker at a Time!  by Workman Publishing

5 out of 5 stars

This activity book has 10 beautiful designs, and hundreds of stickers in little mosaic shapes! It’s so easy to put the stickers into place, and the finished product looks wonderful. It’s very relaxing and helped me to get creative. You really feel a sense of accomplishment when you finish!

The stickers are sturdy and easy to remove from the sticker sheet. The colors are vibrant and it’s simple to follow the instructions to find the right placement for each sticker. I really loved that the pages are perforated, so that you can tear out the sticker sheet or the design or both. That way you don’t have to keep flipping back and forth in the book.

I love the clever designs and beautiful colors! This is perfect for anytime you have some anxiety and need a calm activity. Continue reading →

Book Review: Larklight

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Larklight by Philip Reeve
Larklight (Larklight, #1)
by Philip Reeve (Author), David Wyatt (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Arthur and his sister Myrtle live in a space home in an outer orbit of the Moon, and they find it very boring. Nothing ever happens in such a remote area of space, and they long to travel to Earth, or see the colonies on Mars, or visit the exciting moons of Jupiter. One day their home is visited by a mysterious stranger named Mr. Webster, and they are thrown into an adventure that takes them across the solar system with pirates, ancient civilizations, and alien spies.

I loved everything about this book! The plot, the characters, the hilarious writing, the world-building, the mystery, the adventure, and every single dramatic chapter all kept me reading for hours on end. This is one of those books where there isn’t a good place to stop reading. You just have to keep going through the next chapter and the next. Continue reading →

Graphic Novel Review: The Daughters of Ys

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The Daughters of Ys by M.T. Anderson
The Daughters of Ys
by M.T. Anderson, Jo Rioux 

1 out of 5 stars

When their mother dies, two princesses handle their grief differently. One sister finds solace in the beauties of nature, and the other learns everything she can about her mother’s magic in the palace. Ys is a city built with dark magic. As the sisters grow up, the evil of their kingdom can no longer be contained.

I did not enjoy this graphic novel. There are very graphic violent scenes with a lot of blood and gore. And there are sexual scenes, and that ruined it for me. I wish the story could have been told in a more classy way. Continue reading →

Picture Book Review: Over in the Woodland

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Over in the Woodland by Nicole Abreu
Over in the Woodland: A Mythological Counting Journey
by Nicole Abreu (Author),Shar Abreu (Author), Susanna Covelli (Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars

This picture book counts up mythical creatures in a magical fairyland as they dance and fly with their parents. Each family of fairies, griffins, centaurs, and trolls grows in size as we count from 1 to 10. The rhyming text is meant to be sung to the tune of “Over in the Meadow”.

Each mystical family is in their own element. The mermaids swim in cool water. The centaurs practice archery in a forest. The dragons fly through the clouds. The dwarves carve rock and stone. The mother or father teaches their children to work together and learn the magic ways of the woodland.

The illustrations are marvelous. The art is warm, rich, and vibrant. There are tiny details in the illustrations that make each scene come alive with magic: little dew drops on a leaf, the sparkle of a waterfall, the strands of hair or fur on the mythic creatures. Each little whisker is alive with energy and movement.
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