A fun collection of shorts involving detention is great for most kids.

Breakfast Bunch in Detention Disaster 2 stars
Too silly for me

Cheating Death
Meh
2 stars

Worse than detention 3.5/4 stars
I loved this one! My favorite of the collection. I've worked with kids, and they have a tendency to be just like Mitchell.

Milo's Journey 3 stars
Nice. I liked the fantasy elements even tho the wizard business was confusing. I thought Milo was dreaming, but I guess he wasn't *shrugs *

Too Nice 3 stars
Oh my gosh! The art style is super cute! The story's cute too.

Cyclopean Kid 3 stars
"The world looks so sad through the blur of my tears. "
Super adorable art style!

Think about what you have done 3 stars
Simple but I liked it!

Squish Leave No Detention 2 stars
It was fine

Unique art style with a beautiful palette of colors! Still, I found the villain too 1-dimensional along with the mean girl, but I liked the overall story.

Well, this story was emotionally draining. You gotta know that upfront.

Good chemistry/banter between the two leads (2 months tho!?!) and morality, friendship/loneliness, and abandonment issues are baked into a loaf of delicious bread. However, toward the 300-mark the story began to feel so long, and the bread got stale.

I honestly enjoyed reading this before getting burnt out toward the end.

I think Jihoon brought a good point with not pinning all your love and hope into one person because when they are gone, where does that leave you?

With that being said, I don't know how Jihoon and Miyoung can still love each other. So much death and drama happened because those two fell in love.

I would read a spin-off about Juun/the dokkaebi, but I'm not sure if I want to continue Miyoung's journey.

SN: Gorgeous cover. Heads up! There is a Korean glossary at the end of the book, not that you'll really need it. I wish books would let you know that at the beginning of the book.

3.5 stars

Ballet has always had a special place in my heart. I took ballet classes for two years, from seven to nine years old, and I loved it. Grand jeté was my favorite move. My earliest memories of ballet were the Alvin Ailey Dancers and numerous Russian ballerinas. This story really brought me a sense of nostalgia.

Story:

"I didn't finish the thought. Instead, I imagined us dancing together, his walking around me in a slow promenade, looking into my eyes" (pg 94)

In Dancer by Lori Hewitt (214 pages), Stephanie had been passed up for the role of a lifetime, to be Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) in a ballet play. She starts contemplating the many difficulties in ballet and begins to doubt herself. Not to mention her parents don't think she will have any longevity as a ballerina, a black ballerina at that. Stephanie gets tired being the only one who believes she can accomplish her dream until she meets the lustrous Miss Winnie, a woman who embodies all the ballerina Stephanie wants to be.

I really want to give a handclap to Hewitt for including beautiful female friendships. She realistically shows the pettiness, insecurity, and loving nature girls can have toward one another.

Dancer had some authentically realistic moments. One scene, in particular, left me with a great quote:

"Maybe I could be her friend, but I couldn't help her solve her problems" (pg 205)

I enjoyed the tinge of romance as well though I wanted just a glass more.

CHARACTERS:

I like Stephanie because she's relatable. She is insecure about her talent, her future, and even a little bit about herself. Stephanie even acknowledges that she has an inner ugly voice that thinks rude things. The situation she had with the three private school girls, Lisa, Kelly, and Gillian, is all too real.

"On Saturday night, when Lisa was out with her boyfriend and I was supposedly having a slumber party, I sat at home sewing ribbons on a new pair of pointe shoes and was in bed by ten o'clock" (pg 38)

Most people know that feeling when you agree or get involve in something you had no plans in due to pressure, not even from wanting to fit in but just not to say the wrong thing.

Vance is cool. He reminds me Monty, from my favorite book Standing Against the Wind, but a lot rougher around the edges. He's more than what meets the eye and he is very conceited but sweet. I wish he spoke his feelings more in the book because I wanted to know what he was thinking.

The mentor character is one that I have always liked, so Miss Winnie was great in my opinion. The descriptions of her outfits seemed so pretty too.

Also, I sympathize with Anna. She simply just did her job well. It was not like she was trying to be the teacher's pet.

The character development with Gillian was a nice one. It's nice that Lisa and Kelly were not shoehorned into to flat mean girls roles as well.

OVERALL:

I was deeply engrossed in this book and its characters, so five out of five stars from me. I am not sure if this is a book you read once and it stays with you, or a book you read over and over. Either way, it's a book you have to read.

I might have to add this one to my bookshelf.

Yes, another black ballerina! I used to do ballet, so this always takes me back to a more pleasant time. Anyway, this story flies by quickly, so I finished it in one sitting. I loved the conversation of parental expectations, anxiety, fear, and college. Trey was a sweetie with good conflict resolution. The romance was okay. I love jerks with hearts of gold (in fiction), but I never really felt it for Eli. At all. Despite the fact Eli was into

art

,which is something I can relate to.

Really good. A bit confusing at times but a unique colorful art style and a message about heartbreak/negative emotions make it worth reading. I think another volume or a few more pages could have fleshed things out more. A few points off because I really hate the ex-girlfriend beats the snot out of her cheating boyfriend's new girl trope. Lowkey, I hope Emma wasn't taking advantage of her friend Xan. He was awfully chill about her stealing his credit card during her heart journey.

Gorgeous artwork. I loved the character designs and backgrounds and colors and everything else. At first, I thought this was Alice in Wonderland related.

Why 2 stars?
- It's not really explained how Alice's dreams started. Was she always this way or just after the move back? Ehh, that wasn't too big of an issue to me.
-

I didn't like the forced-friendship with the bully girl Taisha. I can't just be friends with someone who wrote Loser in mascara on my forehead. I mean forgive but don't be silly now. Girl all pressed and mad. Don't nobody want Jamie anyway.

-

ehh, I don't like cheaters/cheating (it's a lack of respect for your relationship). I guess it was to tie in why Jamie's dad didn't like Alice instead of being racist, but maybe I would have liked this more with a different angle.

-

Um, Clementine looked more like Alice's sister than her aunt. Is she her mom's half-sibling?

What's up, guys! This was a delightful read. More than ever it makes me really want to publish my first book. This one's going to be pretty short, almost like a mini review.
STORY:

"You are someone, Rickety Stitch. That much I know."

Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo: The Road to Epoli by Ben Costa & James Parks (208 pages) is about Rickety, a free-thinking skeleton who comically misses the point and has some disturbing dreams. Recently through a haunting song that stirs up memories in Rickety's head and after being fired from a dungeon-keeper job, he decides to go on a journey to discover who/what he was before a singing skeleton.

I hadn't expected too much out of this story besides some awesome art, but I found the story kind of heartwarming. To be honest not too much happens in this book. I will say it's a great set up because I am eager for the second book.

CHARACTERS:
Rickety Stitch— had a lovely cast of characters. The female knight only made a cameo this book, but I am certain we will see more of her come the next one. 

Rickety seems pretty sweet. He really doesn't understand much about the world or himself, but he knows he loves his friends and his hilariously bad music gigs.

Goo! Not much to say about him, but he was very clever.

I enjoyed Ziggy, the friendless imp, the most. He had some pretty quick but good character development.

ART:
I loved the art. It had such a whimsical, storybook feel. The color direction as well was great too. The lighting in this story can go from deep browns and blues to bright grays and yellows. I just love how varied it is and how rich the colors are in this book. Great job to the colorists!

OVERALL:
You should read this story. I think it started a bit slow, but once I got involved into the story I liked it. It's sort of heartwarming at times. 

Read more of my reviews here