I really liked this one in the series. Cassie is a great charater. Tana French does a great job at developing the details of the story, you can really visualize the scenes and get into the heads of the characters.

I would day 3.5 might have been higher if I had read vs listening. It took 20+hours to get through, and at times, I found the voice the narrator chose for some the female characters to be downright annoying (even nerve grating)--and it wasn't consistent between those female characters.

Okay, so this is a murder mystery told by a detective (Rob) who, when he was a child, was part of an unsolved mystery. In the beginning, he tells us flat out that he lies, and again repeats it towards the end of the book. I know he changed his name, and hid his past from people, but I could never figure out if there were more lies that we were supposed to discover. If so, I never did.

At times, I liked Rob, but other times he was quite apathetic. I did feel that his history has left a deep emotional rift that leaves him incapable of developing true lasting relationships.

And what the hell, did Cassie know?? Was he a psychopath?

I hope I don’t get kick out of work for not liking this one that much. It was just too much for me. There is great world building here I will not dispute that, but my brain could it keep up. Names and places and some of the language was difficult to retain. I’ve always had an issue with that though.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher, Disney Book Group, via NetGalley in exchange for my opinions.

Where did Jasmine and Aladdin go that night their Magic Carpet Ride? What happens when Jasmine wants to see Ababwa, the Kindgom where Prince Ali hails from?

This was a wonderful story about what happens that night. We already know the story of Jasmine and Aladdin from the movies, but Aisha Saeed takes in depth to the night when Aladdin, still trying to woo Jasmine, whisks her away on the magic carpet. After many glorious sites, Jasmine asks to go to Ababwa. With Genie's help, Aladdin takes her to his made up kingdom.

Jasmine has, most recently, lived a very secluded, dull, "safe" life. Her father wants to keep her protected and out of harms way. We discover, that it was not always this way. Jasmine's mother had been grooming her daughter to be a leader, including her on diplomatic meetings and such. Jasmine misses this and knows she can do more to help her kingdom of Agrabah, but her father, and his advisor won't let her.

Aladdin, who became an orphan at a young age, has many ideas of how he would improve life for the citizens of Agrabah with no way to implement them. When Genie creates Ababwa in Aladdin's eyes, and he has the chance to see his ideas in action, as does Jasmine. In fact, the two of them work together to create new ideas and plans how to help both Ababwa and Agrabah citizens.
Over time, Jasmine is reinvigorated about how she can lead Agrabah and is excited to return home to help her father lead. Meanwhile, Aladdin is realizing that the love and notoriety of being the Prince of Ababwa is feeling empty and shallow, as he knows it is all a creation of the Genie, he desires to work at being that person in reality. He knows he has to earn Jasmine's faith and admiration as Aladdin, not Prince Ali.

The story never rectifies how Aladdin tells Jasmine, but as in the scope of the storyline, it wasn't covered in the book.

How do you write a review for a book you don’t like but is actually well written.

This book was darker than I had expected. Fairy tales made of nightmares and fears.
I do like that it comes full circle, that which fueled David with anger he was able to come around and protect.

Beautiful illustrations.

Story of an earthworm looking for his purpose in life. It took leaving and returning to discover his role. He returns from his search to find all the soil dry and hard. All the plants are gone. All the animals gone. He begins to dig and churn the soil again, and we see the plants, and subsequently the animals return.

takeaway: No matter your size, you have a part to play in this world

This was a little hard to follow on audio. The narrator had a fine voice, but with each transition to a different voice, it took a while to realize which character was talking. There was a lot of transition between different main characters, often with long stretches in between.

I love that the identity of the clockmaker's daughter was kept secret for so long.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this to be a mystery, with a shocking revelation. Not all ties were shored up though.

Damn can Angie Thomas write a good story. She really encapsulates teen life, that time when you think you can handle it all on your own, but you are still young and make a mess of it.

Tear it all down and this book is about finding out who you are and how you want to represent yourself to the world. And the mistakes you make on the way. Add to that, the pressures of who other people want you to be, and some who abuse their position under the screen of it being in your best interest.

Both of Angie Thomas’s books have the main character thrown into situations that lead to them being in the center of civil unrest. Both are pressured to be the epicenter of change. But that’s not always the easiest thing to do, or the place these characters want to be. Angie shows us how
That spotlight and the pressures affect her characters.

In “On the Come Up” Bri records a song in response to the unwarranted assault she was a victim of at the hands of the school security guards. The public loves it, and it fuels more than her rising stardom. She naively believes it was just words, but comes to see the impact her words have on others, even when that isn’t how she meant for them to be. This coupled with her coming to face with the fears and fight response that has been a cloud over most of her life.