alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)

Cute and quirky, hopeful and charming, The Isobel Journal nicely captures a bit of what it's like being a creative teen in an ordinary world. I love peering into the journals of other people. This one is more of a scrapbook/sketchbook, and it gave me inspiration to doodle more and juxtapose illustration with photos (they looked like Holga photos in the book - sticking with Isobel's artsy hipster taste).

It's a nice little book, but it only took me about 10 minutes to read the entire thing.

Note: I received a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book because I wanted to challenge my prejudices against self-published books. It's a mindlessly entertaining teen fantasy romance, and I appreciated it on that level.

But, I did have some problems with it:
The main character, Alora, and Loverboy are soulmates. In this fantasy story, that means they can’t do things without kissing each other all the time. No really. They will die. So because they have to kiss each other all the time, you have to read about it. All. The. Time. The second half of the book can be divided into three categories:
- Kissing
- Adults talking about how it’s impossible for teenagers to be soulmates and frowning at all the kissing action (BUT CAN YOU BLAME THEM.)
- Characters over-narrating because we readers are too stupid to understand them or lack the ability to figure it out.

The other problem I had with the book is its anglocentrism. Half of the story is set in Montana, and while I understand there isn’t a whole lot of diversity there, the other half of the story is set in a fictional land. A land where, since anything can happen, you would think there could be a good non-white character. What actually happens is that in the fictional land, people marry other people only if they have the same eye color. I go into further detail about this in my full review on Papercuttts.

(note: I did receive this copy for free from the author, but my review is 100% my true opinion)

Uhh it's a good idea and I would probably want my kids to read it when they study WWII, but there are some big problems with the character development, among other things.

The biggest problem I have is with the last line: "Of course all this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age." Uuuhhhmmmm hello, it is currently happening in North Korea, and genocides are happening in other countries. That's the problem. It is happening and will most likely happen again.

If you were to guess that this book is a retooled tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, you would be correct. Like any good fairy tale, it is not incredibly original, but it blends Arabic, Persian, and Egyptian culture and vocabulary with some of the more famous Arabian Nights stories, creates scenes that transport the readers to the early twentieth century Arabia (if it had magic and steampunk additions), and teaches us about the nature of the Islamic faith through the patient piety of the main character Baba Ali.

The story is well structured and thoughtfully paced. Its suspense elements are not revealed too quickly, and I enjoyed guessing at the mysteries rather than being hammered over the head with their answers. The steampunk touches pump in elements of fun, and it was easy to immerse myself in the descriptions without the progression of the story being bogged down. Sometimes the characters felt a little distant to me as the reader, but they are multidimensional and interesting. Overall, the book is a light-hearted adventure story that will entertain and enlighten you.

Full review upcoming on Papercuttts.

(note: I got this book as an ARC, but that didn't affect my honest opinion)

Beautiful, whimsical, enchanting, playful.

Maddy is an Arizona girl (holla!) who needs to turn her parents, currently an adorable pair of kangaroo rats, back into humans. Her adventures lead her to fantastical creatures, magical machinery, and delightful surprises.

The art is gorgeous, the story is entertaining, and I cannot covet this book enough.

Full review upcoming on Papercuttts.

(note: I received this ARC ebook for free, but that didn't change my honest opinion.)

Not super duper original, but it was entertaining! I can't really complain because I listened to the audiobook every chance I could snag, and I was genuinely interested in figuring out the motive (though the murderer is like Nancy Drew level obvious). I'll probably listen to the sequel after my library buys the audio version, but I don't like the characters enough to do a binge, anyways.

A little different than what I know of Sedaris's other works, but still very clever and the tongue in cheek humor made me giggle.

Beautiful. I used the prayers in this book to help me before reading the Bible, or sometimes to inspire me before I prayed. I suggest trying to write prayers like the ones in the book as a wonderful way to meld meditation and prayer together.

Ciudad, by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, and Anthony Russo, reads like an action flick, which is probably why it was picked up for a silver screen adaptation by Sierra Pictures. It is fast paced, violent, gritty, and features all the twisted corruption that we love about South American politics. In spite of its predictability, and the characters being more like caricatures than real people, I found myself liking it for the same reason people like action movies. It’s racy and entertaining and not from my world.

Full review on Papercuttts.

(note: I got an ARC from Netgalley, but that didn't affect my honest opinion)