MUST FIND THE SUGAR BOWL.

Predictable but sweet. I loved the invented languages, but the grammar was distracting.

This was my first "Wimpy Kid" read.

I had imagined that these books were all hype, but when I found myself laughing out loud while reading aloud to some students ("Mrs. O., what's so funny??") I knew I had to finish the book myself.

Greg is the tween we can all identify with, whether we've been through these awkward years or whether we're still in elementary school. Greg's quirks are endearing and universal (in a good way!), and even if you weren't a middle child, we all had a Rodrick, Manny, and awkward friend Rowley in our lives. Kinney understands the mind of this difficult age and provides a great outlet to remind the awkward voice in us all: You aren't alone.

And the pictures. The pictures are fantastic. I was skeptical of the typography, but it worked for the piece and my eyes didn't get "tired" from it.

I'm looking forward to reading the first book in the series and several more. I'm not sure if Kinney has written outside of this series, but I'd love to see his work in other writing venues.

Pullman's style is excellent. As a Christian myself, I'm not sure what the fuss is about the spiritual component at this point, but according to him, this is the least offensive of his books--hence why they made only one into a movie (which I haven't seen).

Thoughts before reading the entire series:
*I'm interested in Pullman's binding of science and religion. I know we see more of this later.
*Sometimes the way he builds mystery is weak, but it's still made me want to keep reading! :)
*The book seems to be a fantasy novel, but all the characters are flawed--but not tragically so. They are quite real characters, which may step a little outside what is typical of the genre, but I don't think this is bad having finished the series. I think this is his intention, and he these characters are real and memorable.
*The movie may have been geared for children, but I feel this book is geared more towards young adults. As a rebuttal to Narnia (and I like to think he chose his wording ardently like he seems to choose his wording in his novels) I may not have seen the parallels if I wasn't expecting them ahead of time.
*I'm unsure if it's actually Pullman's intention to "offend" (which is where the conservative Christian hype seemed to go). From the few interviews I've read with Pullman, it seems that maybe it wasn't--but controversy sells. More research is needed, though.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! Really enjoying all of the characters, and Pullman's descriptions are fantastic (there are a few that are sloppy, but they are few).

The movies have tainted these books a little. The books weren't perfect, but the movies were pretty awful. ;)

All things considered, it stands well for a "middle" YA book. Nice suspense.

All things considered now that some time has passed, it's decent writing for a YA book.

Bella is awkward teen girl and decently believable in the first book, from what I remember...not so much in the films.

This series has since birthed some hilarious internet memes, (mostly from the movies) for which I am grateful. ;) No matter what you say about this series - we all read it, and Meyer made a mint and influenced culture. No matter what you say about her writing, that says a lot about her. So kudos.

The movies have tainted things, so here I go. ;)

Even though some of Meyer's vampire facts get a little silly, I still admire her innovation, even if the internet has had a hayday with it (myself included :)). It was a gutsy move to do something different than the long-standing status quos.

**SPOILERS**

I like that Edward wants to "wait" until marriage (call me old-fashioned): this was a big risk for Meyer.

However, marrying right out of high school seems awkward (please understand I'm not bashing anyone who has - I know plenty of happy people!). I just think it's awkward for this particular setting, but the reasoning makes sense (and in Edward's age, that's What People Did, I think).