The World Before Us Review

Title: The World Before Us

Author: Aislinn Hunter

Publication House: Hogarth

Publication Date in US: March 31, 2015

Date Started: May 15, 2015

Date Finished: May 26, 2015

Format: Hardback

Medium: Book

Review:

I feel as if I am in a perpetual state of dislike for the book I have been reading lately.  I don't know if it is because of my personal issues with work being hectic and I HATE MY UPSTAIRS NEIGHBOR or if these books are just that nonplussed to me.  Hop.

I didn't get that far into the book actually before it was a strain for me to even pick it up.  I turned to reality television and my Netflix because I have wary eye after wary eye to this book every time I looked at it.  I really wanted to like it.  Truly, I did.  I always enjoy a good historical fiction filled with paranormal and fill-ins but this seemed to just drag on.

By the time I reached page 75 I was kinda done with it and I was a little sad about it.  I like learning about the people but my main concern was that I couldn't keep any of the characters straight in my head.  I kept having to go back and re-read what I just read so I could have some sort of understanding of who was who and what was going on.  The spirits narrations weren't even the most difficult, just the regular narration in "real-time".

What I did enjoy was the actual setting.  I like learning about the asylum and the museum but geez I just couldn't get into the storyline.

DNF...again.

Material Girls Review

Title: Material Girls

Author: Elaine Dimopoulos

Publication House: HMH Books for Young Readers

Publication Date in US: May 5, 2015

Date Started: April 19, 2015

Date Finished: April 29, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

Agh,  just...agh.  So this book is filed under DNF (Did Not Finish) because, well, I didn't finish it.  I feel as if this book would have appealed to me at a previous point in my life, like when I wanted to major in fashion and attend the Fashion Institute in NYC.  There are certain novels that are written for a specific group of people and I feel as if this is one of those books.  While this book is a sort of dystopian (maybe utopian for some) it still kind of feels like it could be within in century.

I am a self-proclaimed sewing enthusiast that has to take monthly breaks to appreciate the art of "THE SEW".  Really what I'm trying to say is I enjoy sewing.  I like taking pieces of nothing and turning it into something that someone can wear.

I thought I would really like this story.  I had no want to read it, really.  There wasn't that catch that kept wanting me to come back and read it.  Normally I can power through something in order to give a full review but I just couldn't.  The characters lacked any kind of star quality about them and I couldn't figure out why the main character was so dull.

I don't know.  Not much to go on for a not much to go on review.  Sry.

Even Monsters Say Goodnight Review

Title: Even Monsters Say Goodnight 

Author: Doreen Mulryan Marts

Publication House: Capstone Publishing

Publication Date in US:, August 1, 2015

Date Started: April 21, 2015

Date Finished: April 21, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Adobe Digital Downloads

Review:

When I do these reviews on picture books I like to review as I read so I can get real time opinions on it.  It saves me time on flagging and bookmarking comments on Adobe Digital and then having to go back and bleh bleh bleh.

D'AWWWW is my first thought on the cover.  Look at the cute witch and cute mummy and cute dracula :D

Also, the weiny dog is a-dorable!  I also really like the font.  It stands out on it's own and would catch a lot of kids attention.

In the middle of the story I could see how this could fit in to a variety of storytime themes.  While this is a mostly Halloween themed book, it could easily fit in to a bedtime themed storytime along with Goodnight Moon.  I can also see how it could be a little difficult to get into the story.  The first page doesn't have anything on it with the exception of pictures so a description from the storytime kids would be key.

This book would also pair GREAT with fingerpuppets.  I feel that if a kit were sold with these specific puppets (i.e. werewolf, ghosts, witch, skeleton, and vampire) it would do soooo well!  While most children's programmers are pretty efficient with making their own flannelboards or finger puppets, there are some programmers that just do not have the time.(Me.  I'm pointing at me.  I have no time. None of the time.)

The story itself is just a wonderful way to teach kids that it is alright to be afraid, you don't have to feel dumb about being afraid of monsters, and while the fear is real the actual thing is not.  It is also a great tool for parents to learn and understand how to talk to your child about monsters.  As a grown child, I know to treat their imagination with the utmost respect.  If a child is genuinely fearful of something, respect that, don't just shoot it down.

I enjoy a good lesson learned picture book :)

Great job Ms. Marts!

Joe All Alone Review

Title: Joe All Alone

Author: Joanna Nadin

Publication House: Little Brown Young Readers

Publication Date in US:, May 7, 2015

Date Started: April 18, 2015

Date Finished: April 19, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

As you can see, I read this book in less than a day.  It probably could have taken me less time than that seeing as there are only 240 pages compared to what I have been reading lately but...life.  Cleaning and napping when I'm not working 10-12 hours take up most of my day and I am quite alright with that.  But!  Back to what I'm suppose to be doing on here, reviewing Joe All Alone by Joanna Nadin.

NetGalley has an odd way of grouping Juvenile and YA books together so I was a little confused about who this was targeted towards going into this.  The main protagonist is 13 and the cover makes this book seem to be targeted towards Juvenile...buuuut I can tell you it's not.

I haven't ever experienced anything like what Joe had to go through when I was 13; mom and boyfriend abandoning him for weeks, not having enough food, not having electricity, not being able to shower, etc.  This book was so heartbreaking the entire time I was reading it because Joe also hinted at having some form of OCD that he went through therapy to try and help.  Sometimes throughout the book, Joe's OCD comes out through him counting his steps, counting the paint chips on his wall, and also how many times he checked to see if the phone was still working.  His poor little life was so hard before and throughout the book, it just keeps getting harder.

Asha reminded me of one of my best friends when I was younger.  She was spunky and relatively different than most people of my little town.  She practiced a different religion and hung out with me...which was different in itself.  She was always funny and I miss her terribly but she would help me with problems in the way that Asha helped Joe with his problems, in a positive way.  She really did stay loyal to Joe no matter the circumstances and/or consequences that came along with that.

Her uncle Otis was so sweet..  I enjoyed his "Jamaican" accent and how he took things with a positive attitude.  He helped Joe right after he got bullied and was just trying to look out for the well-being of both children.

While I feel this story would not be appropriate for the majority, there are some children and teens who could benefit from a story like Joe's.  I know a couple of patrons who would see themselves in his shoes and who could understand what he was going through.  You never know what book will help which child in whatever situation they find themselves in.  Moral of this paragraph: LIBRARIES DON'T CENSOR.  Thank you and Goodnight. :)

FairyTale Reform School: Flunked Review

Title: Fairy-Tale Reform School: Flunked

Author: Jen Calonita

Publication House: SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky

Publication Date in US:, March 03, 2015

Date Started: April 12, 2015

Date Finished: April 18, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

Just look at this cover!  I know I know, "Don't judge a bloobey blah by it's bladdy bleh" but look at it!  It makes you want to read it.  For some, the cover art may be busy, but the book matches that.  Not that the book is messy in any way at all but it is constantly moving, which (in a book) is very AWESOME.

I feel as if this whole fairy tale movement is coming all at once what with Kingdom Keepers, The Land of Stories, and The School for Good and Evil being published within the last few years all stem from the show Once Upon a Time which is just a fantastic show.  While all of these books and the show talk about how the fairy tale characters were, Flunked takes a completely different approach that is quite interesting.

I enjoyed how Calonita portrayed the evil villains as being reformed and how they can, if they really wanted to, change to be for the better.  While reading this book I also realized how many of Disney's villains her female.  Ursula, The Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters, Cruella DeVil, the Evil Witch, Maleficent...it was really quite odd too seeing as the main character in all those stories who were in trouble were women.  I don't know...crossed my mind at some point towards the end when Gottie turned into Maleficient? I was really confused by the whole name change, which I see as necessary so Ms. Calonita doesn't get sued, but it was odd and confusing.

I LOVED MAXINE.  Holy cow I wish there were a story about Maxine and her troll ears and her dress for the ball. HEEHEE she was adorable and I want more Maxine, now!

I really hope that this book gets processed for e-readers because it was very difficult to read it during the Magical Scrolls parts.  It took up like three or four pages when it should have taken one or two.

I kind of feel like Gilly is like Harry Potter in the sense she is the main character of the story and also the accidental heroine buuuuuut she won't be anyone's favorite. She doesn't have any defining characteristics that would pull someone into thinking she was just fantastic enough to have as a favorite character.

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to have more!

Jake's Monster Mess Review

Title: Jake's Monster Mess

Author: Ken Spillman

Publication House: Star Bright Books

Publication Date in US: April 15, 2015

Date Started: April 13, 2015

Date Finished: April 13, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Adobe Digital Edition

Review:

How adorable is it when a child wants nothing more than to please his or her elders by doing something that will please his or her elders of their own choosing?

This book is great not only for children to learn and understand how actually respecting elders can be satisfying for them but it also help adults realize that we can give kids the benefit of the doubt.  Sometimes kids are really trying their hardest to do the best we can but adults push them to the limits.  It is great when adults can give kids a push in the right direction, but when it comes to pushing too far, it gets out of control.

With the lesson out of the way, I LOOOOVE and adore the illustrations throughout this story.  While I am not sure if this book would work properly for a storytime, I think it would be good for kids to use this storybook for learning how to read.  It is almost like a pre-chapter book for kids to learn how books that aren't normal storybooks are read.  It's actually pretty cool.

The illustrations are quite interesting.  I am not sure if this is not the finished product or if the illustrator meant to make the illustrations look unfinished.  I would really like to ask the author what his take on this was.

Overall I quite enjoyed this one and would most definitely get it for my library collection.

The Mermaid's Sister Review

Title: The Mermaid's Sister

Author: Carrie Ann Noble

Publication House: Skyscape

Publication Date in US: March 1, 2015

Date Started: April 5, 2015

Date Finished: April 12, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

I read Noble's The Mermaid's Sister at the same time I read Tom Cooper's The Marauders and I must say, this one came in as a night read when I had to read with my kindle light.  My averaged thoughts throughout the story were confusion for the time period (the elf/sprites and mermaids just threw me for a loop when trying to picture the period clothing and auto's used), confusion for Clara being so modest and no one else being modest, and why Scarff didn't go looking for those kids himself.

No, but really.  He's not stuck to the land like Auntie is...WHY NOT LOOK FOR THOSE KIDS?!

I don't know.  I really don't know how I feel about this book. I enjoyed the whole premise of the story.  Girl has mermaid for sister, girl loves sister, girl brings sister to ocean, girl marries love of her life and lives happily ever after.  But isn't that a bit conventional?  I mean, yes it's nice when characters get a happy ending, especially after a reader gets attached to the characters but if an author doesn't make her characters at least likeable, then does it really matter if they get their happy ending?  I was more enthralled with Auntie and Scarff's story than I was with what the story was actually suppose to be about.  Wait, what was the story suppose to be about?

Oh, right.  Getting Maren to the ocean.  But they don't want to bring her to the ocean.  But they do.  But they want to tell the ocean king off.  But they don't.  Well, they kinda do.  But not a huge ordeal or anything.  Just what they came to the ocean to do?  I really don't know.

I had a problem with the time period not being clarified either.  I don't know if obscuring the time period was the author's point or if it was accidentally never mentioned?  I DON'T KNOW.  I just didn't like it.

Short review.  Slow book.  Not enough magic for the magic part of it.  Okay characters. But in the end it could have had a much bigger punch.  Very sad.

The Marauders Review

Title: The Marauders

Author: Tom Cooper

Publication House: Crown Publishing

Publication Date in US: February 3, 2015

Date Started: March 29, 2015

Date Finished: April 12, 2015

Format: Hardback

Medium: N/A

Review:

"For better or worse, the Barataria was his hom.  Whatever that meant.  Home was the peaty odor of Spanish moss in the first spring rain.  Homes was the briny sweetness of fresh oysters thirty seconds out of the water.  The termite swarms of early May.  The cacophony of swamp frogs in the summer.  The locusts in the day.  The crickets at night.  The lashing five-minute thunderstorms of late July.  The sugarcane trucks rumbling through town in the autumn.  The carnival giddiness of Mardi Gras.  The blessing of the fleet.  The petit bateaux clustered in the bay.  The pinprick points of their pilot lamps like yuletide lights on the horizon gloaming.  The earthy smell of crawfish boils.  The pecan pralines and boudin and gumbo.  The alligators and herons and redfish and shrimp.  The Cajun voice, briny and gnarled.  The old wrinkled faces as strange as thumbprints...more often than not the Barataria felt like the place he belonged."

RESONATE.  If this book did nothing more it gave me a strong sense of nostalgia.  I originate from a little town with almost the same aspects of Jeanette.  Strong-willed community, a sense of independence from outside help, and a healthy dose of potty mouth.  My family are the people represented in this book and they were represented very well.

I've always hated the term "coon-ass".  I guess it's because most of the time it's spat and comes out wrapped in a disgusting tone.  I love my hometown and I love how simple-minded the people and the life is back home but I just don't fit in there.  I guess Grimes felt the same way and that's why I connected with him so well.  It was amazing to see the transformation of disgust for his hometown to his utmost willingness to stay behind with his sick momma.  That's how life is in Louisiana.  If your momma or daddy are sick, you stay at home and you help.  It doesn't matter what kind of outside life you live, you help the ones who helped you.

Cosgrove and Hanson did not rub me right.  The same way the Toups brothers did not rub me right.  While one set of comrades seemed a little less vile than they other, they both had a motif that would get them into some deep poo-poo.  The Toup brothers are more or less a cultural metaphor of the entire Cajun culture and how protective they are of anything they have.  Be it land, food, or (not often) some MJ.

Lindquist.  Poor poor Lindquist.  He made me sad for any and all old men in the swamp.  I wanted to hug him and let him know that he could be whatever and whoever he wanted to be no matter his situation.  I wanted to be his Wes and let him know that he could move out of the Barataria if he wanted to.  The Toups brothers were just so vile and vicious to him without any regard for his well-being.  It made me sick.  That is the awesomeness of good writing, I tell ya.

I feel as if Cooper made some of the lingo more New Orleans than he did Cajun.  For emphasis, most Cajuns do not live around New Orleans.  Most live around Lafayette.  I don't know if he was basing his little Louisiana town on Jeanerette, La or if he put New Orleans influence into a Cajun town.  Some of the wording was a little off.  Like most Cajuns say "Mais" before and after any sentence.  While this can get monotonous within a book, putting it in once or twice will get a good laugh out of any Cajun reading it.  I quite enjoyed the use of "frissons" and that made me giggle and smile so much.

I feel as if this book gives a pretty good idea of what the BP oil spill meant to be people down in Louisiana whose lives depend on the swamp.  My daddy has recently received a cut in his pay. He is an offshore worker and was one when the BP crisis hit.  I was so afraid for him I lost it and drove home.  He was alright but ever since then it has been hard.  He has now gone to trawling in the swamp for crawfish.  It makes me sad but the man sure does love a hard job.  He loves to work with his hands and loves to work for his money.

Anyone from Louisiana should read this book just for the sake of loving your home and the people found in it.  

Max the Brave Review

Title: Max the Brave

Author: Ed Vere

Publication House: SOURCEBOOKS Jabberwocky

Publication Date in US: September 1, 2015 (BUT CAN IT COME OUT SOONER PLEASE)

Date Started: April 2, 2015

Date Finished: April 2, 2015

Format: E-Pub 

Medium: Adobe Digital Downloads

Review:

So, there's this little thing that I do at my library called "storytime", I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but during this "storytime" we read books, dance, sing songs, do crafts and just have a lot of fun laughing at Miss Breonna making a fool of herself.  It's a great time.  Books like "Max the Brave" make storytime sooooo much easier for me and sooooo much more fun for the kids who attend.

(I have allergy brain right now so please excuse if the next parts make no sense. I will try my best)

I enjoy making the kids laugh during storytime and any book that helps push that enjoyment along is of the utmost adoration of mine.  Something else that the author Ed Vere does is makes it easier to recreate his characters for things like flannelboard play or fingerplay.  Kids always enjoy when they can participate and move the story along.  The biggest participation I would be able to get out of this book is when Max asks if this certain animal is a mouse; the kids would respond with no or they would just scream and yell like they enjoy doing.

It is also great to fun to reassure the kids that they are so smart.  I like acting like I don't know certain things like an animal or what that person is doing and I say "can you remind Miss Breonna what this is/how to do this?" and they just love it.  It makes them feel as if they are teaching an adult rather than the other way around.  At the same time, when a child gets an answer wrong, I don't criticize them or put them down, I say "Close, try again".  This book gives lots of opportunity for engagement of audience and important repetition phrasing.

"Max the Brave" would also be amazing for this Summer Reading Program which is all about heroes.  Not just Superman and Batman but local /community heroes as well.  I am putting on a community hero program that will include firefighters, cops, and animal heroes and this would just work so well.  Alas, it is not being released until after SRP but that's okay.  I'm still going to add it to my collection. :)

The Doublecross: And Other Skills I Learned as a Superspy

Title: The Doublecross: And Other Skills I Learned as a Superspy

Author: Jackson Pearce

Publication House: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Publication Date in US: July 14, 2015

Date Started: March 21, 2015

Date Finished: March 29, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

No, but how cute, right?!

Let me first start off by saying that it took me a while to read this book.  And it had nothing to do with the book itself.  It was life situations such as work drama, moving, and I GOT TO SEE RUPAUL'S CONDRAGULATIONS TOUR WITH BIANCA DEL RIO LAST NIGHT (a little excited about it, yes) so it took a lot longer than it would have normally taken me to get through it.

But...OH MAN HOW ADORABLE WAS THIS BOOK.  Yes, I thought it was so adorable (especially Clatterbuck, I just fell for him) and I cannot wait for it to be published so I can purchase it for my library collection.

I grew up in the heyday of the Spy Kids movies and this brought me straight back to sitting in my younger brothers room, learning each of our piece for Carmen and Junie.  It was so much fun to follow Hale and Kennedy around and learn about their world, about SRS and The League, and about what it takes to be a spy!

For some reason I quite enjoy when female author write in a male protagonist  viewpoint *cough cough* Rowling *cough cough*, it always turns out great.

Pearce does a fantastic job in creating a world that, I feel, many of my patrons would love to visit.  There are many groups in a library patron setting that are missed and middle grade boys are definitely at top contender.  Most novels or series written for young dudes end up falling flat or don't even take off but Pearce does a fantastic job at overstepping those boundaries.  Kids will love to follow Hale, Kennedy, Ben (and his AWESOME-TASTIC designs), and Beatrix (awesome girl hacker BTW) from breaking into The League to eventually breaking into some place a little more close to home.

Pearce also does a fantastic job in the funny department.  I had quite a few "tee-hee" moments, some "aww how cute" moments, and some "WHA...how could he/she!" moments that granted some looks from outsiders but did I care? NOT A CARE WAS GIVEN!  Why?  Because I was having fun.  And that is exactly what this book is about...fun...and a little bit of spying :)

Shadow Shadow Review

Title: Shadow Shadow

Author: VB Marlowe

Publication House: CreateSpace Ind. Publishing

Publication Date in US: February 16, 2015

, 

Date Started: March 18, 2015

Date Finished: March 21, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

"Shadow, shadow void of light.  Accept this offering tonight".

Soooo, what's the first thing that came to mind when I was done reading Shadow Shadow you ask? Why, how soon can this book be released so I can put it in my library system, of course.

I actually had a lot of fun reading this book and I even got kinda creeped out at some parts, which is a good thing. Of course, with all books comes pro's and con's and with the first book in the Shadow Pines Trilogy my con's are pretty much all personal preference rather than anything substantial that would take away from enjoying the storyline.

There were only a couple of inconsistencies throughout the novel.  One of them catching my attention right after I read this part:
   
 "Teaghan, you don't have to leave.  We're friends now, and just because we don't agree on something doesn't mean we can't hang out."

..........exceeeeeeept for the fact that Teaghan just basically banished/killed/murdered someone.  I don't think that someone I just started being friends with would be this understanding.  While Harley may feel bad for Teaghan, I really don't think she would just be so nonchalant about Teaghan killing someone especially since this was the first time someone in their group used the boxes that Ava-Kaya gave them.

That little section towards the middle of the book is really the only odd thing that stood out to me.

Everything else...OH MY CRIPES.  I flew through this book and cannot stop telling my girlfriend that I want to get this book for my library because I just know it would be a hit.  The story progression is just so smooth that there was not a bump in any of my reading and not once did I second guess if I wanted to actually be reading this.

The best thing about the characters in this book is that the reader has a chance to connect with at least one of them.  There is the outcast, the nerd, the jock, the smart one, and the cheerleader and then you have many different types of family statuses throughout the story.  While most people enjoy reading things that are completely opposite from their own life, sometimes it is nice to experience and kind of understand what other people may be going through.

All-in-all I enjoyed this story so much and I cannot wait until the rest of the trilogy is written and released!

The Room Review

Title: The Room

Author: Jonas Karlsson

Publication House: Hogarth

Publication Date in US: February 17, 2015

Date Started: March 14, 2015

Date Finished: March 15, 2015

Format: Hard Copy

Medium: Paperback

Review:

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

(Recieved this copy of "The Room" from Blogging with Books for a review)

Well, well, well.  This book actually took me by surprise.  At first glance, I fell in love with the cover art.  Minimalistic has always, and will always, be one of my favorite types of art work for just about anything that includes art.  The cover art is what drew me to getting the book from Blogging with Books and the story is what will have me cataloging this book in my library.

While reading this book, I never once was confused about what was going on. Which is odd for me seeing as I get confused very easily when it comes to reading, seeing, listening...or anything that involves my attention for a long time (I normally fall asleep doing anything that's not walking or working).

I enjoyed learning about Bjorn even if he is a little self-centered and conceited and thinks that he is above anyone else in his workplace.  I even felt a little bad for him at a point in time because it did seem like this colleagues were ganging up on him before they even knew about him.  I would consider Bjorn to be a work-a-holic and not someone who has much time for humor in his life.  I guess I find this book interesting because I am neither of those people described above so it is interesting to me to be in someone's head who thinks completely opposite of myself.

The book mainly takes place at Bjorn's work which is called "The Authority".  The Authority is almost an Orwellian type of government that doesn't really get any kind of explanation of what they actually do except something with numbers and transcribing those numbers out of case files into something that can be presented to the company.  The Authority head is called DG (which I read as Dollar General...hello America) Director General who is never seen in the book, almost like Big Brother, but has a big hand in the way the story ends.

The story is about Bjorn's time at his work where he drinks coffee, works for 55 minute intervals and then breaks for 5 minutes, and kisses a colleague in a room at the Christmas party.  Basically, any office you walk into is what this book is describing.  I read it as a generalization of any office space and almost a parable of what goes on in office life.  While this may seem boring, it is most definitely not.  The Room is a part psychological thriller.

Bjorn finds this pretty plain room that has a desk, filing cabinet, a little desk fan, and a chair.  Pretty much what you would expect to find in an office but no one else can see it...or they pretend not to.  Throughout the entire book, Bjorn's colleagues are trying to get him fired.  Whether it be because of his attitude towards them or because he is just better at his job, we don't actually find out.  What we do find out is that everyone but Bjorn cannot see the room.  When he points it out to them, they say they only see a wall.  When he brings them into the room, they claim to follow him to the wall where Bjork proceeds to stand as still as a statue staring at the wall in question.

The end of the story is not surprising but very satisfying.  I won't go into detail, you'll just have to read it but it is very satisfying indeed.

As far as the writing, it was to my taste.  The writing and the cover art go hand in hand; concise, beautiful, and a little harsh.  I enjoyed the slow pace of the storytelling, even though this was a novella, and I enjoyed how not jam-packed the story was.  It was a refreshing story to read compared to the romance and 50-books-long mysteries that are taking over my bookshelves now a days.  I will be proud to shelve this little novella into my stacks and recommend this book to anyone who wants a refresher in what it means to be a writer.

The Astrologer's Daughter Review

Title: The Astrologer's Daughter

Author: Rebecca Lim

Publication Date in US: June 9, 2015

Date Started: February 25, 2015

Date Finished: March 14, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

Courtesy of NetGalley

Alright, so I just finished this book after a looooooong time spent reading it and I will admit I had a little struggle to get through this book because I kept having to start and stop with my reading.  As background, I read this book in the middle low points of my moving situation (I'm moving across the state so I can be closer the the library I work in).

"The Astrologer's Daughter" is a story about a young girl, Avicenna, whose mother is MIA.  Her mother, Joanne, was an astrologist (NOT PSYCHIC OR PALM READER, thank you very much) and would receive payment in form of many different kinds in exchange for a horary reading.  She would take the time to use her compass(es) and chart out people's lives using the stars and a graph and would answer their questions whether it be "When will I die?" or "When will my cat die from diabetes?" (the last question is not asked but I'm sure she received questions like that from time to time).

The beginning of the book starts out with the main character Avicenna worrying about her mother's disappearance.  Avicenna has a different background which makes her different from most teenage girls her age.  She was raised by a single mother who was an astrologist, she was caught in a fire that killed her father and left her with bad scar on one side of her face, and she was moved around a lot with her mother.  Avicenna is used to her mother not coming home for days on end but she is not used to her mother not letting her know when she would be home.  This is where the story begins.

I enjoyed the story as a whole and there were some very memorable characters in the story.  I got a little lost throughout the story because there were some parts that were not explained very well.  For example, when Hugh's father is seen by Avicenna for the first time near the end of the book he is introduced as Hugh 30 years in the future.  Not as a Hugh look-alike but Hugh himself.  It took me a minute to realize that no the author didn't just change this into a time traveling book and yes she did just abruptly introduce a character that was not talked a whole lot about.  Most things I did not like about the book had some semblance of being terribly confused about characters and what was actually going on in an instance but for the most part I followed the story line alright and did not struggle too much with identifying characters as they were introduced.

For the other characters, the younger ones can be put in a group of solemn and desolate and the older ones really did not have that much personality with the exception of Boon.  Kircher was a money hungry passing character that played a part in his own death (which I still don't understand why he blew himself up with those pyrotechnics), "homicide" was I feel a ploy to relate to the Asian culture in that people who aren't Asian tend to put Asians together so they feel more at "home", and Avicenna's liaison was a pretty important character who just kinda disappeared in the middle of the book.  

I quite enjoyed Boon.  He was by far my favorite character in the whole book.  Book reminds me of any older gentleman who is able to be a father figure when my daddy is not around.  He cares about Avicenna more than she will ever know and Lim makes that very clear through Boon's body movement in conjunction with how he speaks with Avicenna.  I just found him to be quite an enjoyable character and I wish dearly he was included more in this book.

I feel like this book had it's strong points (nice plot, enjoyable theme, angsty characters teens can relate to) but I also feel like this could have been an incredible book if only some strong elements were added (stronger characters especially Simon and Hugh, better flow of story progression, and a wrap of of the ending).  The ending is what bugged me the most.  The author kind of just stops writing almost.  Like she was done with the story and wrote an "After" part that tells you nothing was really resolved.  Avicenna doesn't find her mother, Eleanor will still be depressed, Hugh will never get closure from him father, and what really happened to Simon's mom?  Did she die?  Is she still in the hospital?  If she lived, has she given up on life?  Where the hell is Avicenna's mom and why is she still playing that dumb word game and not contacting her daughter?!

Rating: 5/10

Luna's Red Hat Review

Title: Luna's Red Hat: An Illustrated Storybook to Help Children Cope with Loss and Suicide

Author: Emmi Smid

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Publication Date in US: April 21, 2015

Date Started: February 26, 2015

Date Finished: February 26, 2015

Format: E-Book

Medium: Kindle Keyboard

Review:

Luna's Red Hat is one of the only picture books that I have read that tackles a tough subject with such grace and dignity that I feel it should also be a book placed in an adult section of a library.  Not only does Smid address the means of how a child feels about suicide and the loss that comes with it, but she also addresses how a parent should speak with a child about difficult life situations.

The illustrations are beautiful.  I enjoy how almost minimalistic and almost childlike the illustrations seem.  They aren't a distraction from the message of the story but a companion that walk arm in arm with one another.  The story is not dark so the pictures are not dark.  The illustrations actually convey a sense of beauty using daffodils to remind the main character, Luna, that while her mother may be gone the memories they shared will always be around; all she has to do is look at her mother's favorite flowers.

One of my favorites part of Luna's Red Hat is towards the end there is a commentary from Dr. Riet Fiddelaers-Jaspers explaining to parents, grandparents, or any guardian of a child on how to handle speaking to a child on this very difficult subject.  He also explains how a child sees and feels when something of this magnitude affects their life in a negative way.  I enjoyed the research that went into this storybook as well.  A reader will be able to tell Smid took the time to actually research the subject to properly give this subject the proper feeling it needs.

While I would not use this book during a storytime because of the nature of the subject, I would definitely have this in my library as a reference.

Rating: 4/5

The Beginning of My Demise

Okay, I admit, I may be in this for the free books...and that may not be such a great thing.

I love books.  That is one of the main reasons why I took up a liking to library work and also the general atmosphere of a library/bookstore (the others being a slow-paced work environment aaaaand the occasional lazy day that happens to all twenty-somethings who work where their passions lie).

Another reason is it gave me an outlet for all of these books I hoard.  No, seriously, it has become a situation in this household.  Let me clarify.  There are two, I repeat, TWO book obsessed/ book genre polar opposites/ and talk-about-work-when-we-aren't-at-work librarians living under a very tiny roof. It has become "what I call" a nightmare (thank you Miranda Hart, I love you).

We like 2nd and Charles, book ARCs, and I will name her....., (since people on blogs enjoy making incognito names for their children and significant other, I feel this is only proper) Socks, just go with it, juuuuuuuuuuust signed up to be a committee member on the Georgia Peach Awards (almost 100 free books a year YAY!) board and I have a gut wrenching feeling she will be picked so we shall be receiving/buying/begging for books ALL OF THE TIME. (UPDATE:  She didn't get picked. BOO! But I signed up with Blogging for books and get free books at least twice a month. Yay!)

                    ________________________________________________________

I have been wanting to do one of these blogs for a while and finally have the time to do them.  This one will be mainly for doing book reviews and they may be short and they may be run-on-ey but that's how my brain works so *raspberry*.

When I said Socks and I are polar opposites, I was being completely true.  She enjoys zombie dystopian (Jonathan Maberry, Charlie Higson, and the Walking Dead compendiums) and I, on the other hand, enj...well, I'm actually kind of all over the place with my interests.  I like Margaret Peterson Haddix, D.J. MacHale, Scott Westerfield, Rainbow Rowell, Loren Long and lots lots more when it comes to the youth categories but oh, man gee man do I like adult fiction too.

Andy Weir, Ernest Cline, Daniel H. Wilson...pretty much anything Sci-Fi or Fantasy I will drink up.  (Help me with Game of Thrones, though, too much high fantasy all at once).

So, that's my ramble.

Welcome to my rambly blog.

-Book Brain