review

Book Review: The Celestial Globe

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The Celestial Globe
The Celestial Globe by Marie Rutkoski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this second book in the trilogy better than the first! In the first book, there was a lot of explanations and random minor characters, but in this book we have a more solid story and better pacing, I think.

Petra is on the run again from the evil Prince of Bohemia, and her friends, Neel and Tomik, are swept into her adventures. The mysterious spy/ambassador John Dee is back, and he tries to train Petra to use her magic, but she is an unruly student.

My favorite character by far is Astrophil, the metal spider with an encyclopedic brain. He’s so wise and intelligent and loyal! I just love his snappy dialogue. Continue reading →

Book Review: A Stranger at Green Knowe

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A Stranger at Green Knowe
A Stranger at Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this story, a gorilla escapes from the zoo and hides in the thicket behind Green Knowe, where Ping befriends and hides him.

This is not my favorite of the Green Knowe books, because I’m very “meh” about monkey stories, especially when monkeys are constantly being compared to men. Monkeys, gorillas, or any other primate are NOT like men. Seriously? They are animals. They work on instinct. That’s pretty much it. Are they interesting and majestic? Yes, sure! But it gets so annoying after the first 100 pages to constantly hear how the gorilla’s expression was just SO human. bleh.

But of course, I adore the old house of Green Knowe, and the delightful grandmother Mrs. Oldknow, and the enigmatic Ping! 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: The Adventures of Superhero Girl

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The Adventures of Superhero Girl
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These comics are wonderfully clever and fun! They are set up almost like daily comic strips with little punchlines, but with a longer story line too.
Superhero Girl has some awesome superpowers, but struggles to pay her rent, buys capes at secondhand thrift stores, and suffers from insecurity because her brother is a cooler, more popular superhero. When she has to put up with snarky comments from Skeptical Guy AND battle an alien monster, Superhero Girl has to call up all her patience and superhero know-how to save the day, and get her laundry done. Continue reading →

Book Review: Shades of Grey

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Shades of Grey
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gah! The Ending! What?!? My brain can’t stand it, and my heart is limping along all hurt and crushed and stuff. Dis book!

Okay, let me start from the top. This is the story of a dystopian future world where most people can only see one color or some not any color at all. The Greys are looked down on and oppressed by the Colorgentsia, and everyone’s place in society is determined by the percentage of color they can see.
There’s definitely a “1984-Big-Brother” vibe going on with the government controlling every aspect of the citizen’s lives.
In the middle of it all is Eddie, a high-color Red with a bright future, until he meets and instantly falls in love with a Grey named Jane. Jane is involved with some very deep revolutionary stuff, and Eddie gets dragged into it all, somewhat against his will, but mostly because he’s too good-hearted, kind, and morally upright to cheat and play the system like everyone else does. Continue reading →