Review: Rebels of the Lamp by Michael M.B. Galvin, Peter Speakman

Rebels of the Lamp by Michael M.B. Galvin, Peter Speakman
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: May 12th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

Life is a blast when you have your very own genie. But when Parker Quarry is shipped from sunny Los Angeles to live with relatives in a quiet New Hampshire college town and releases a 2,000 year-old jinn from an ancient canister "borrowed" from the university building where his uncle works, the biggest blasts comes from the millennia old power struggle he reignites.

Now it is up to Parker, his mild-mannered cousin, Theo, and their wiz-kid classmate, Reese, to stop a battalion of battle-ready jinn from re-starting an all-out war one with humanity in the crosshairs

My Thoughts:
Rebels of the Lamp was really fun and I really enjoyed every minute of it!

This story was explosive from the start and the action never stopped!  Parker is in middle school and doesn't quite fit in.  He doesn't have the latest gadget and his shoes aren't from any name brand store. And in the middle school world this spells trouble.  Well that and the fact that he can't stop himself from making snarky remarks.  His mouth and fists finally land him in deep trouble and he is forced to move in with is aunt and uncle across the country.  Thinking things couldn't get any worse, he finds himself in the possession of a strange canister.  This canister unleashes just what he think he needs, but it also throws him head first into a war with very powerful genies.

What I described doesn't even come close to the adventure that is contained within these pages!  Like I said,  it was nonstop action from the first page all the way to the last.  I have to give the authors major credit for shoving so much in and having it not feel to crowded.  I think too much downtime would have slowed the pace of the story and it would have weakened it.  I liked that after every page something else happened and it had me furiously flipping pages to find out what would happen next.

I also have to give credit for Parker.  He is definitely smart mouthed and annoying, but the authors knew when to pull back and he didn't go too over the top and become unlikable.  Yes he wasn't my favorite person, but I am glad the authors let other characters take over.  If it was just told from Parkers point of view I think I would have hated him in the end.

I loved the way the side story was told also.  We get glimpses in the beginning telling us how the genies came to be and I thought it was a great addition.  So much so that I wanted more.  I'm not sure there was more to tell, but I liked the setting and the old world feel to that part of the book.

I also really liked Tarinn.  She made some questionable decisions at the end, but for the most part she was a great character and one I really hope we see more of.  I honestly liked the rest of the cast.  Theo and Reese were fun additions that helped ground Parker and I think they will help him become a stronger character in the sequel.

Overall this was a fun book and one I can see any middle schooler devouring.  I will say there is a lot of violence and a lot of blood/killing that I personally wasn't prepared for.  I think some scenes could've been taken out and the story would have still been the same so it was a bit unnecessary for so much to be included.  I haven't read much middle grade so maybe this is the norm??  If not then just a warning to some.

4 snowflakes

Review: The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey

Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey by M.G. Hennessey
Published: September 20th, 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins

A heartfelt and timely middle grade story about a transgender boy’s journey toward acceptance and empathy. Perfect for fans of George and Gracefully Grayson.

Twelve-year-old Shane Woods is just a regular boy. He loves pitching for his baseball team, working on his graphic novel, and hanging out with his best friend, Josh. But Shane is keeping something private, something that might make a difference to his teammates, to Josh, and to his new crush, Madeline. And when a classmate threatens to reveal his secret, Shane’s whole world comes crashing down. It will take a lot of courage for Shane to ignore the hate and show the world that he’s still the same boy he was before. And in the end, those who stand beside him may surprise everyone, including Shane.

My Thoughts:

Oh man, this book was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. Not only did it manage to make me feel a lot of different things, it also taught me something new. I think that kind of reading experiences are always the most rewarding ones.

The Other Boy is a story of 12-year-old Shane. He is in 6th grade, loves baseball and draws a graphic novel about a man called Hogan Fillion (named after his childhood dog Hogan and his favorite actor from Firefly, Nathan Fillion) in his spare time. He has a best friend called Josh and a crush on a girl called Madeleine. His parents are divorced, and he lives with his mother. Shane is happy with himself and his life, but he has a secret that could change everything - he is transgender. 

In addition to his friends Shane is surrounded by his mother and father who have divorced when Shane was younger. Shane's mother is wonderfully encouraging and loving and the way she approaches Shane and his gender is done, in my opinion, very well. Shane's father represent a more questioning side, and though it can be easy to dislike him at moments, the way Shane sees his father helps the reader to understand their relationship a little bit better. In addition to Shane's parents there is Dr. Anne, a physician specialized in transgender children and providing understanding and help when it is really needed. 

Shane is such a lovable, interesting character that I instantly fell in love with. He is funny, loving, incredibly mature and capable of forgiveness. He is creative, loves Firefly and spending time with his best friend, and hopes that one day he does not have to live with secrets. I was so touched by some of the things he says and thinks and the relationship he has with his mother is absolutely fantastic and very well written by Hennessey. I was absolutely heartbroken and angry about the things Shane has to go through as a result of people's close-mindedness, but also relieved that there were people around him that accepted and loved him. 

I want to applaud M.G. Hennessey for writing this story because I think stories like this are extremely important, especially for young readers. The earlier children learn to be accepting and open and to feel empathy for people who might be a little different from them, the better. The Other Boy tackles, for example, the importance of using the preferred pronouns and the hurt that comes from when someone identifies you incorrectly as well as when and how to use terms like "transitioning" and "stealth mode".  It also discusses the importance of accepting communities, like a support group for transgender kids and their parents and tells a heartbreaking story about a boy who feels like he cannot be what he wants to be just because people around him do not accept him. Hennessey also manages to acknowledge that not all transgender kids share similar experiences and is aware of the fact that there is not one correct way to deal with things such as one's identity, sexuality, etc. 

There will be parents who will keep their children away from this book and shun it, but hopefully, the majority will be parents who will share this book with their children and encourage them to make their own conclusions about Shane's story. I'm not a parent and do not have the authority to say how parents should raise their children, but I know that children are capable of making their own decisions. While it is completely fine to pass on opinions/values on children,  think they should be able to have a chance to form their own opinions. While this book shows examples of the cruelty children are capable of via bullying, it also shows that kids can have an incredible tendency for being open-minded and accepting of people just as they are.

Five snowflakes

The Sleepwalker Tonic (Nightmares! #2) by Jason Segel, Kirsten Miller

The Sleepwalker Tonic (Nightmares! #2) by Jason Segel, Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 8th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic is the sequel to the hilariously scary New York Times bestselling novel Nightmares! by multitalented actor Jason Segel and bestselling author Kirsten Miller. You thought the nightmares were over? You better keep the lights on!

Charlie Laird has a dream life.

1) He has a weirdo stepmom who runs an herbarium.
2) He lives in a purple mansion with a portal to the Netherworld.
3) Since they escaped from the Netherworld, he and his best friends have been sleeping like babies.

But Charlie can’t shake the feeling that something strange is afoot. Charlotte’s herbarium used to be one of the busiest stores in Cypress Creek. Now her loyal following is heading to Orville Falls for their herbal potions.
Weirder, though, Orville Falls is suddenly filled with . . . zombies? At least, they sure look like the walking dead. Rumor has it that no one’s sleeping in Orville Falls. And Charlie knows what that means.

Things are getting freaky again.

My Thoughts:
The Sleepwalker Tonic was just as amazing as the first book in the Nightmares! series!  I loved jumping back into Charlies world and I was even a tad bit more frightened this time around!

This second book in the Nightmares! series takes off with Charlie's life being pretty normal.  He works with his stepmom and has been enjoying his summer with his friends.  That all changes when a strange zombie like creature shows up to buy paint in Cypress Creek.  Charlie knows there is something strange going on so he and his friends investigate and discover something worse than nightmares has taken over the town next to theirs and Cypress Creek is next on the list!

I really enjoyed this story. It was suspenseful, scary in all the right ways, and a great adventure that most will fall into with ease.  The only problem I has was the side story.  Charlie has a huge jealously problem with his brother Jack and for me this takes away from the incredible adventure.  I understand why the authors chose to add this in, but I wish it would have been a little more in the background.  In the previous book Charlie and Jack have some major problems that get worked out and I would have liked to have seen their relationship be stronger than ever just like Charlies new relationship with his stepmom.

Other than that slight problem I loved this to bits. The inclusion of the dream realm was great and I thought it was a very clever addition.  I think what I loved the most though was the ending!  That cliffhanger was PERFECT and left me dying for the next installment!!!

One thing I will say these books are not just for middle schoolers!  I have learned quite a bit from Charlie and his group of friends and I think anyone who picks this up will love and learn too!

4.5 snowflakes

Review: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

The Marvels by Brian Selznick 

Published September 15th 2015
by Scholastic Press 

Caldecott Award winner and bookmaking trailblazer Brian Selznick once again plays with the form he invented and takes readers on a voyage!
Two seemingly unrelated stories--one in words, the other in pictures--come together. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries.

My Thoughts

I heard about this book from a very good friend of mine at B.E.A. He raved about for a full day so it of course piqued my curiosity. I didn't read to much into the blurb so all I really gathered was that there was part written story and a part that is illustrated. After requesting this from Scholastic i immediately was taken by the gorgeous cover and lovely illustrations. That is when they story began to take shape in mind. I am actually very glad that I did not read the blurb so I was a blank slate to start with.

The Marvels follow a young man named Joseph. He is the son of two very rich society type parents who have shipped him off to a boarding school. After an "incident" leaves him in a bit of trouble and his only friend Wink leaves the school, Joseph becomes a bit bereft and decides that he is going to London to seek out his Uncle Albert Marvel. Once arriving in London the story take a bit of a turn. There was many times while reading when I was sure if it was reality or some type of day dream. This of course all adds to the charm of the book. It is a bit mysterious and allows for much interpretation. I thought I was actually enroute for a ghost story but what I got was a glowing tale of life, love, and how we all deal with loss of loved ones.

That is what life is, Joseph realized, miracles and sadness, side by side.
The Marvels - arc pg. 599

The setting of the house at 18 Folgate Street seemed to be such a presence in the story. It was basically a character all it's own. Not only was it magical and enchanting in it's own right as it was like stepping back through time. It also brought so many people and tied so may lives together. As Joseph slowly unravels the tale of The Marvels amazing and tragic history, you can begin to see how the house was practically woven in among the people.

This book is so sure to be a classic among my family as I can't wait to share it with my son. It will surely delight readers of all ages.

4 Snowflakes

Review: Frostborn by Lou Anders

Frostborn by Lou Anders
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 5th, 2014
Purchase: Amazon

Meet Karn. He is destined to take over the family farm in Norrøngard. His only problem? He’d rather be playing the board game Thrones and Bones.

Enter Thianna. Half human, half frost giantess. She’s too tall to blend in with other humans but too short to be taken seriously as a giant.

When family intrigues force Karn and Thianna to flee into the wilderness, they have to keep their sense of humor and their wits about them. But survival can be challenging when you’re being chased by a 1,500-year-old dragon, Helltoppr the undead warrior and his undead minions, an evil uncle, wyverns, and an assortment of trolls and giants.

My thoughts:
This was a very interesting read for me.  On one hand I really enjoyed the innocence of it all because it's been a really long time since I have read a middle grade book, but on the other hand it kinda fell a little short for me.

I'll start with the part I liked, the giants.  I loved this part of the story. It was fun and unique and I really fell into it with abandon.  I thought Thianna was an amazing character and her struggles really touched my heart.  See she is a half giant living in a giant world.  A lot of the giants don't respect her because of her human half.  Thianna feels like she has to prove herself everyday and all she wants is to just be a giant and nothing more.  I felt bad for her and I just wanted her to accept her uniqueness but that's easier said than done and Thianna goes on an adventure that opens her eyes to a lot of things.


The part I didn't like was Karns which is a bummer, but I felt like Karns and Thiannas each held 50% of the story so it didn't ruin it for me.  I should probably clarify because it's not that I didn't like Karn its just that it resembled The Lion King a little too much for me.  I mean honestly if you break it down the story and the characters are basically the same. Even down to the dirt that Scar throws into Simba's face and the demise of Scar was the exact same as well.  I don't like how similar they were.  I don't think the author copied on purpose but my oh my they were the exact same!  It was hard for me to look at Karns story without thinking of Simba and that just depressed me because The Lion King was so sad!  I just really wish the author would have made Karns story as unique as Thiannas.

The two stories collide eventually and we get to see each side take center stage at different times. I liked how the author wove both in together and kept them separate at the same time.  Really if you look at it there were 3 stories all together.  Thiannas, Karns, and the one with them on the adventure together.  They made a great team and I rooted for them from the start.

I have the second book to read and I am thinking I will probably really like it because it is about Thianna and her moms side of the family.  I think it will be really interesting to see where the author takes his characters and with The Lion King side of the story done I am pretty sure Karn will have a fun storyline as well.  So I will definitely give this author another shot!

3 snowflakes

Review: Serafina & the Black Cloak by Robert Beatti

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Published July 14th 2015 by Disney-Hyperion 

A spooky mystery-thriller about an unusual girl who lives secretly in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate.
 "Never go into the deep parts of the forest, for there are many dangers there and they will ensnare your soul."
 Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of Biltmore Estate. There's plenty to explore in the shadowed corridors of her vast home, but she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate's maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember. But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore's corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of Biltmore's owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak's true identity before all of the children vanish one by one. Serafina's hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear. There she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic that is bound to her own identity. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

My Thoughts:

This amazingly charming story is the epitome of why I love to read Middle Grade books in the first place. There is something so light and enjoyable about them, even those this was quite a bit more chilling than most I have read. Serafina and her father are hiding out on the basement of the illustrious Biltmore Estates. You thought your job was bad? Try being a rat catcher! That is how Seraphina eeks out her existence. Thier secret life is soon discover and story begins to take shape.

Many mysteries were being followed at once. Well, okay it's really only about the man in the cloak and Serafina's mother. The ever elusive clues gave nothing away so I was pleasantly surprised when things finally clicked into place.The spattering of supernatural elements were the perfect touch.

The characters were a bit of a toss up for me. There was a ton I love about our M.C. Serafina, but she also was a bit immature at times. I get it though...MG. Biltmore Estates itself felt like character all its own. The painstaking detail that were poured into the descriptions made the house practically jump to life. It made seeing it through Serafina's eyes all the more amazing. I seriously wish there was some secret passages in my house! I would explore them all....maybe.

If you are a fan of middle grade that is a bit darker than most than this book will surely suit you. I felt it was a perfect concoction of mystery, beautiful settings, and haunting plot lines. Let's just say i will not being going into ANY woods for quite a while.

5 Snowflakes

Review: Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Nightbird
by Alice Hoffman 

Published March 5th 2015 by Simon & Schuster UK 

In her first novel for middle-grade readers , bestselling author Alice Hoffman tells a bewitching story of love and friendship that is truly magical.
Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumored to hide a monster. And two hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, everything will change when the red moon rises. It’s time to break the spell.

MY THOUGHTS

Alice Hoffman has long since been a favorite story teller of mine. Some of her great works include Practical Magic, which went on to be a great movie, The Dovekeepers, and The Museum of Extraordinary Things. I feel she is so much more than an artist which is why I always refer to her as story teller. The magic she weaves is sheer brilliance. It might not be the most fancy face prose out there but she still knows how to craft some of the most well developed characters I have ever read about. That is her strong point, extremely character driven books.

This was such a light yet fulfilling read. In Nightbird, we follow Twig, a girl who does her best to be invisible just as she was always told to do. When a family moves into the manor at the edge of the property, Twig can't help but want to be friends with the sisters Agate and Julia. Even though this is the house that used to be lived in by the witch who cursed her family and the girls are direct descendants of sed witch. Twig and Julia both have people they love affected by this wretched curse so they will do whatever they can to reverse it. Twig and her family had so many secrets that slowly came to light. I loved learning about her parents relationship and her brother James, who is the most fascinating of them all.

This book was a mere 200 pages so it was quite the quick read. It started off a bit slow but Hoffman lays the groundwork for the setting in those essential first pages. I think there is some info dumping but it is so cleverly worded you never feel weighed down by knowledge. If you feeling a bit hesitant about Middle grade this might just be the perfect book to try.

5 SNOWFLAKES

Review: Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones by Holly Black
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release date:May 7, 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . .

My thoughts:
I love Holly Black, she is creeptastic and just all out darkly wonderful. This story *shudders* deals with one of my biggest fears dolls.  Yes I am a grown woman, but growing up I had all these weird mop dolls laying around my house and well I have been terrified ever since.  It probably doesn't help that my cousins use to scare the daylights out of me with them, but anyway that's beside the point.  I have been avoiding reading this because I just knew it would scare me and I was right (I started it last night and I would not go to sleep until my husband did if that tells you anything).  Even though this is middle grade it still gave me goosebumps and I truly loved every single minute of it!

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have basically grown up together and they have created an imaginary game sort of like an RPG if you will.  This game is very important to all three and honestly I was captivated by what they had created. It was an intense game that centers around pirates and this world Game of Thrones time world just like I said with pirates.  Kinda cool if you ask me.  But when Zach's prize action figures get thrown out he is devastated and thinks his days of adventuring are over.  He lies to Poppy and Alice about why he can't play and so the girls decide to get the Queen out for one more round of adventure. The Queen is a china doll that is locked in Poppy's moms cabinet.  This doll is all kinds of creepy and when Poppy takes it out both girls discover that The Queen may have a story of her own.  The three set out together on a quest to put the Queen to rest and along the way they have to figure out ways to coexist with each other and the growing fact that they are all growing up.

The underlining story in this is fantastic.  Everybody eventually does grow up, but you can't forget where you came from and how to have fun.  I loved this story and the characters.  I felt so bad for Zach because he is trapped in this boy world where he is expected to grow up and be a man and not play with action figures.  I just wanted the poor boy to be happy and watching him learn from the quest was awesome.  Each character needed to learn something and in the end I think they all managed to do that.

Now I haven't talked about the doll so I guess I should *looks behind back*  This doll was creepy with a capitol C.  Throughout the story it does (well it never really says for sure if it is the doll but we all know it was) some pretty wicked stuff.  Not harmful mind you just creepy.  I can tell you right now I will never own a doll and if someone brings one into my house I don't think I will be able to sleep until it is gone.  The story behind the doll was way cool and so dark!  I give Ms.Black major props for creating it and I personally think it would make for an amazing story all on its own.

Whew okay moving on. If you are a fan of Ms. Black then you won't want to miss this one.  It is a wonderful addition to her collection that will leave you shuddering for more!

4 snowflakes