Fairy in Waiting by Sophie Kinsella. Illustrated by Marta Kissi. Book Review.

Buy link https://amzn.to/3fIfPrI

 This  popular humor writer now has two children’s books. Both feature a girl whose mother is a fairy and father is  a mortal. This isn’t your typical fairy story however, as she uses a computerized wand and presents herself as a normal woman most of the time. The husband is reminiscent of the early Bewitched  television series. He’s not too crazy about her using magic.

  Kinsella  uses humor and suspense  effectively and engages a young audience from the first page. My almost six year old granddaughter listened eagerly as I read this book to her in four sittings.  This early chapter book is supplemented with many pictures.

 If you are a traveler to resorts, you’ll chuckle at the scene where two fairy mothers have a wand battle over reserving poolside seats with their towels. There is also a chapter with wacky monkeys that children will love.

All in all, this is a light-hearted romp through modern magic and family dynamics.

 

I am accepting books for review. For information on how to submit, go here: https://bferrante.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/get-featured-on-my-blog/

Buy link https://amzn.to/3ljMNj4

The Gatsby Kids and the Outlaw of Sherwood by Brian Michaud. Book Review.

Buy link https://amzn.to/3lc0a4Y

This is the first book in a series of time traveling adventures.  Three Gatsby siblings, the youngest in the 6th grade, are targets of some pretty extreme bullying at school. As a  retired teacher, it horrifies me that anything so obvious could be happening but I’m sure it does somewhere. The three kids stick together but seem to be resigned to the horrific treatment they receive from older violent students. However, they show great courage, pluck, and ingenuity when they travel back in time.

The author has come up with a  unique way of having a having the kids go back to the 13th century. Here they must rescue Robin Hood before he has joined the merry-men. The story is fairly gentle and without gore. It suits children aged seven and up although some might find the vocabulary bit of a struggle.

 The story comes to a conclusion but the  school bullying is not resolved. I suspect there will be more time travel and this will help the children overcome the challenges at school.

 The best part of this book and the most enjoyable is the humor. The children are hilarious, especially the youngest. Kids will laugh out loud at their banter and behavior.

The Gate Guardian’s Daughter by K.T. Munson. Book Review.

Buy Link https://amzn.to/2JhjrVL

This prequel to a young adult fantasy series will give you a good idea if the novels would be to your liking.

The main character is intriguing and charming. Elisabeth is a mysterious creature about to transform from a child into something wondrous. She is cared for in a secluded home by a variety of “monsters.” She is not allowed to have contact with outsiders or to leave the premises but when a human boy climbs the tree on the border of the property things change.

The pace and story line are enjoyable to read although there is a tendency at times to add a necessary qualifiers which slow the pace. Shaking his head, he went straight to his seat as well.

The story focuses well on Elisabeth encounter with a mysterious boy and the fallout from her innocence.

We have one odd info dump which leads to nowhere:

“Later, when the Gate Guardians met, Malthael could discuss it with them. No doubt Meredith of Tym Resh would be displeased. He wondered if Brandon in Hystera would threaten the Det Mor Clan again. That could be amusing. Young Stella of Oran would no doubt remain as stoic as always. He had no idea how Yennifer would respond in Lyreane. She was always a hard one to read. All in all, he and Meredith would fight for everyone to keep a level head.”

but otherwise the text flows smoothly.

The prequel ends with both a resolution of the current crisis and an opening to a larger dilemma. I was intrigued to know what the future holds for Elisabeth.

The series promises to be filled with wonder, mystery, and likable unique characters.

(I would recommend a different font for the cover as this one is difficult to read.)

Julia Unbound by Catherine Egan. Book Review.

I won this book in a giveaway and didn’t realize until I received it that it was part three in a series. There was a lot of backstory that I had to figure out which made it difficult to connect with the main character. I suspect I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read the first two books.

The writer provides extensive detail into both the landscape and the history encompassing this novel. Her world-building is complex  and rich. Thankfully there is a detailed map and the city and a list of the thirty-nine terms and characters introduced in this book. Again, someone who had read the first books would probably be familiar with most of these.

The major premise of the story focuses on Julia who, in order to save her brother, has agreed to allow a parasite to slowly infect her body and take over her brain. She has only a short time to defeat her enemy, remove a sabotaged bomb from her brother’s chest, and pull out her parasite before it  takes over her mind. She has a watchdog reporting back all her movements to her enemy and must secretly fight against him or her brother will be killed even sooner.

Julia becomes embroiled in a fight for the throne involving witches  and other powerful beings. To complicate matters, she develops a fondness for the rightful heir while being forced to support a false claim. But Julia has  a special magical skill of her own which gives her a chance to navigate through the complex and deceptive political forays.

Perhaps because the story was so detailed and I had not read the first books, I found it difficult to connect with Julia and took quite a long time to finish the novel and tackle this review. Your experience, especially if you read the first two in the series, may be different. Eden is an excellent plotter and world builder. If you enjoy complex fantasies, this series is worth looking into.

 

 

Laura Monster Crusher by Wesley King. Book Review.

This book is suitable for middle-grade to early young adult. This will be a favorite with readers who love fantasy and unusual female heroes.

Laura is a big girl who has been bullied since childhood about her size. Her family moves to a new town and enrolls her in a different school to give her a fresh start. Unfortunately the bullying begins again but this time two other victims befriend her. When Laura fails to stand up for one of them, her new relationship is at risk.

But the real challenge is navigating the secret world Laura can only access through a hidden elevator in her closet. She discovers she is destined to be a monster crusher and without her rising to the challenge, her family, friends, and world are in great danger. Laura, however, is neither athletic nor nimble. Night after night, for this is when she can secretly train, Laura fails to acquire the necessary skills of a monster crusher.

The danger rises to the point of crisis when her beloved blind little brother is kidnapped by the monsters. Betrayed and vastly outnumbered, Laura must pull off a miracle in order to save her family.

The affectionate relationship between Laura and her humorous little brother, her struggle with self-identity and confidence, her desire for friends, and her reluctant courage make her an endearing and interesting hero. An enjoyable read that picks up pace and increases in suspense as it progresses. Although it has a satisfying ending, the danger is still imminent and a sequel or series is possible.

BUY LINK

The Road to Ever After by Moira Young. Book Review.

This highly unusual book is told from the point of view of a 13-year-old orphaned street boy named Davey David. Lizzie, an elderly woman dubbed as a witch and a child who has the fascinating talent of drawing angels in the dirt go on an incredible journey together. Lizzie, to say the least, has unconventional expectations of a young man who seems destined to fill her last request.

During their flight across the country, they encounter an hard collection of situations and people. My favourite was their mad-cap release of doomed turkeys on their way for slaughter. This little scene echos a major theme of breaking free and going beyond death.

The writing style and the themes of regret, guilt, and death, however, will interest YA and adults equally. The book can be read at many levels.The story is poignant, sad, mysterious, and funny.

The two protagonists are at opposite ends of the age scale. Readers will connect differently and the takeaways will be as varied as their own personal experiences. The tone of this book is somewhat like the Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Midnight Circus but it also has the feel of a buddy road trip. It’s sure to be enjoyed by readers who like books that make them think, feel, and laugh.

Buy link http://a.co/jcVjfpj

Bonnie Ferrante: Books For All Ages

The Reality Blur – Recycled Sundays

Children under the age of seven have always had difficulty differentiating between fantasy and reality. Television has blurred these lines by having stars act in commercials during their shows, or flipping characters from one show to another while maintaining their stage personas.

Adults too, may find it difficult to decide what’s real and what isn’t when viewing television. You can “Chase” down the “Hall” to turn on a “Petty” talk show which will “Shirley” give you your “Phil” of “Whoopee”. You can gorge yourself on husbands who beat their wives, wives who cheat on their husbands, moms who mistreat their kids, and all kinds of lovers of deceit.

You can watch men who wear dresses, or diapers, or devices, or nothing at all. See teens who shoot drugs and folks who shoot thugs. Watch men who were women, women who were men, and people who want to change all over again. There are those who can’t teach, won’t eat, eat everything in sight, or only eat food killed during a full moon night. See tough love and rough love than those without enough love. Boo folks who harass, molest and cheat. Cheer those who have class, protest and compete.

When you’re done feasting on the obsessed and depressed, indiscreet and deadbeat, perverted and psychotic, you might want to watch something a little less revealing – a good mystery. There’s “Mystery!” For those who like literary drama with a gasp. “Ancient Mysteries” are for the more tenacious. “In Search Of…” Is for global mystery buffs and if that’s not enough, there are specials like “Magic Circles.” There are “unsolved Mysteries” featuring missing cult figures wanted for setting their grade 12 science teachers on fire. “Missing Treasures” documents missing children while “Missing Persons” dramatizes them. It’s hard to keep the mysteries straight without a detective guidebook.

If you like suspense without mystery, there’s “Rescue 911” and “On Scene: Emergency Response” and “Emergency Call.” Some are documentary, some are drama, and some are docu-drama. If nothing else, they give the reviewer an appreciation of an ordinary day.

For SF buffs, Start Trek has cloned again. The premier of Deep Space Nine did not show at the scheduled time. I’ve never seen so many bullets scroll across the screen, not even when there’s a tornado warning. Was the network hoping these apologies would stop fans from powering up their modems, breaking into the network computers and messing with their reality? Next season, I’ll be watching for “Descendents of Data” – Men, Machine or Memorex?, “Deanna Troy’s Third Cousins Once Removed” – they can only sense itches and the onset of sneezes, “Klingon Clans in the 28th Century” – will they or won’t they be able to wear hats?, and “My Mother-in-law is a Ferengi” – you call this a bargain?

For a final mishmash of reality and fantasy, we can watch shows that interview these and other stars. We are promised an insight into the real person behind the camera. “John and Leeza from Hollywood,” “Celebrities Offstage,” “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” ” Entertainment Tonight,” “The Late Show,” and “Larry King Live” features television and movie personalities as themselves. Barbara Walters prides herself on digging out the hidden emotions of stars and even did a show on Hollywood party girls, talk about “real” people.

Thanks to the likes of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, these shows are becoming more like regular talk shows. As we watch these body-sculpted, speech coached, agented, surgically-altered, and hair-implanted stars, they reveal their “inner” selves. I suppose that’s the most difficult to groom. Is it real or is it public relations?

Chronicle-Journal/Times News, October 24, 1993.

Bonnie Ferrante: Books For All Ages

The Frog Princess

Why does the frog want the princess to share her dinner and let her sleep over? Maybe she just wants a friend. Can a frog and a princess become BFFs?

Queek’s Race in Outer Space by Carrie Mortleman. Book Review.

 

This is a fairly challenging book for children just beginning to read longer texts or early chapter books which doesn’t seem to fit the idea of rhyming. Hellie the elephant and her friend, Queek the mouse, decide to go to Mars to challenge the aliens to a race. The aliens are generous hosts and the elephant wins by trumpeting and zipping across the finish line just ahead of the alien. The winner receives a prize supplied by the aliens. There are humorous and slightly suspenseful moments.

The first page reads:

• Queek is a scrumptious sugar mouse
• who glimmers in the sun.
• He lives in a yummy cookie house
• with Hellie, who loves to have fun.

The syllabication is off – seven, six, nine, seven. Writing in rhyme is not the best choice for most authors. The last line also klunks because the rhythm is broken.

Some of the sentences are awkward in order to make them rhyme.

• Very tired from the flight, they landed, feeling blurry.
• All the aliens stared in fright to see creatures so furry!

The next page reads:

• Hellie the Hovercraft elephant is an elephant who can fly
• she flitters and flutters
• and splitters and splutters
• and zooms up in the sky.

Since this book employs a lot of difficult words, I think it’s important to use them in their proper context. Splitters are devices for cutting software and splutters means to choke or spit. I understand that she is trying to make a rhyme but since there are so many other difficult words in the book, this could be confusing for a child starting to read larger books on his own. There are several large words used correctly such as frustration, tremendous, stupendous, precarious, hilarious, croissants. They often rhymes quite cleverly. There are also some odd phrasings like “feasted keenly.” and “a hefty blast”. The book ends with a glossary translating ten alien language statements.

On page 7, there is a knock knock joke coming out of nowhere which ends, “I must come in and use the toilet.” It features a sign on what appears to be a swirl of feces but later turns out to be Mars.

The illustration is an odd combination of flat drawings of the mouse and elephant and 3-D style computer graphics. This can be effective when the pictures are blended together carefully however most of these illustrations were not comfortable to the eye.

I received an e-book copy for review.

Bonnie Ferrante: Books For All Ages

Unforeseen Consequences – Erasable by Linda Yiannakis. Book Review.

If you read yesterday’s interview with Linda Yiannakis, you have already realised that Erasable is an intriguing novel for children.

The protagonist, nine-year-old Ellie, discovers something in her grandmother’s attic that promises to solve all her problems. But like the genie who grants three wishes, one never knows where magic will lead. Ellie has little understanding of the karmic results of her decisions. What begins as little improvements cascades into major life changes, not all positive.

I love how this book explains that one small action can have huge impacts on numerous people. It is impossible to tell what “erasing” something or someone from her life will cause. No one is immune to the results, not even Ellie.

The characters are likable. The family dynamics are realistic without being syrupy. The kids are kids, thoughtless and impulsive one minute, wonderful the next.

Yiannakis writes like a professional. The reader loses herself in the book. The prose is tight, the plot is trim, the dialogue is natural, and everything flows the way it should. It’s hard to believe this is Linda’s first book.

Although this book is targeted towards 9, 10 and 11-year-olds, it can be enjoyed by readers outside that age range. It would be a great book for a parent and child to read and discuss.

The book is not illustrated, per se, but there are little pen sketches dotted throughout. These are tiny, almost thumbnails, at the top of the chapter. I wondered why they weren’t larger.

All in all, this is an interesting, enjoyable, and thought-provoking read.

Click on this link to buy Erasable