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I'm not really sure what to rate this. I've only read it once before when it first came out. I love it because it puts a lot of pieces together and answers a lot of questions. But it also gives me bits that I wish I didn't know about the series because I feel like it makes it more problematic? idk, anyways, 3/5 is where I'm gonna put it.
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2.5/5 stars
*sigh* I'm disappointed to say that I was pretty disappointed by this. It being Schwab's first graphic novel, and me loving her work so much, I'm willing to give it a pass. I just felt like it didn't flow very well and we don't get enough development between characters for their actions to make sense.
I also didn't love the art style or character design. I found myself getting a little confused at times as to exactly what was going on, which character was which, and what was happening with magic.
I will definitely keep reading the series, mostly because I want to see what happens next, but also because I want to see if the flow and the writing gets better.
*sigh* I'm disappointed to say that I was pretty disappointed by this. It being Schwab's first graphic novel, and me loving her work so much, I'm willing to give it a pass. I just felt like it didn't flow very well and we don't get enough development between characters for their actions to make sense.
I also didn't love the art style or character design. I found myself getting a little confused at times as to exactly what was going on, which character was which, and what was happening with magic.
I will definitely keep reading the series, mostly because I want to see what happens next, but also because I want to see if the flow and the writing gets better.
After reading Brown's first novel and loving it, I couldn't wait to read this ARC of her next one.
The Meaning of Birds follows Jess as she grieves for her girlfriend after she dies from asthma complications. The novel switches from Then to Now, a sort of Before and After that reminded me a bit of I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - mostly because they both follow the before and after of a tragedy. Just like her first novel, I think Brown did a fantastic job, but instead of following a girl and her first love of a girl, this follows a girl and her first lost of a girl.
I may have to flip through the final copy of the novel, as there were a few things that didn't entirely sit well with me. I felt the approach to trans girls was a tad uneducated. And a few things happen in the novel that aren't cool are never really pointed out.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this!
4/5 stars.
The Meaning of Birds follows Jess as she grieves for her girlfriend after she dies from asthma complications. The novel switches from Then to Now, a sort of Before and After that reminded me a bit of I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - mostly because they both follow the before and after of a tragedy. Just like her first novel, I think Brown did a fantastic job, but instead of following a girl and her first love of a girl, this follows a girl and her first lost of a girl.
I may have to flip through the final copy of the novel, as there were a few things that didn't entirely sit well with me. I felt the approach to trans girls was a tad uneducated. And a few things happen in the novel that aren't cool are never really pointed out.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this!
4/5 stars.
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4.5/5 stars
My love for Victoria Schwab is strong. This book is great for kids who like books like Goosebumps but also like books like Wonder. I loved Cassidy as a main character, and I loved the concept for this book just overall. You'll also love this book if you're the kind of teen/adult who likes TV shows like Ghost Adventures.
I read this on audiobook, as I commonly do with middle grade books, but I'd be down to re-read it physically as well.
My love for Victoria Schwab is strong. This book is great for kids who like books like Goosebumps but also like books like Wonder. I loved Cassidy as a main character, and I loved the concept for this book just overall. You'll also love this book if you're the kind of teen/adult who likes TV shows like Ghost Adventures.
I read this on audiobook, as I commonly do with middle grade books, but I'd be down to re-read it physically as well.
Quick note before the review; I'm not too sure why people have this on their LGBT shelves, but it's not LGBT. I believe the author is LGBT, but there are no apparent LGBT themes.
Also trigger warning for depression and talk of suicide.
I really really loved this book. Darius's mom is Persian, but Darius has lived his whole life in America. He's fat, awkward, takes meds for depression, and loves tea. He doesn't really have friends at school and is constantly being teased by a few of the guys in his grade. Upon the news his grandfather has a brain tumor and won't get better, his parents decide they need to take a trip to Iran to see him. While they're there, Darius befriends Sohrab, and they discover they're a lot like each other, despite them growing up in different countries.
Despite the writing style being the fourth-wall-breaking kind, I really liked it. I connected to Darius more I think, because of the way his depression is narrated. It doesn't come up and down like a lot of authors tend to do, it's always there, lurking between the lines. It reads like depression feels.
I also loved that it takes place in Iran, I love that teenagers are going to get to read this and find a part of themselves within it, as there aren't many teen books with Persian main characters. And that this one mostly takes place in Iran is fantastic. It also touches on the prejudices Darius faces at school, as well as what it feels like to visit somewhere that's supposed to be your home, but feeling like a tourist.
I also loved the way it depicted a healthy male friendship, where they could both show feeling, stand up for each other, and have respect for each other without worrying it would make them less "manly"
The only problem I had was that the writing became a bit repetitive after 200 pages, the voice that came from the style began to fall away because lines were repeating so often.
I can't wait for this book to come out. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the e-arc.
4.5/5 stars!
Also trigger warning for depression and talk of suicide.
I really really loved this book. Darius's mom is Persian, but Darius has lived his whole life in America. He's fat, awkward, takes meds for depression, and loves tea. He doesn't really have friends at school and is constantly being teased by a few of the guys in his grade. Upon the news his grandfather has a brain tumor and won't get better, his parents decide they need to take a trip to Iran to see him. While they're there, Darius befriends Sohrab, and they discover they're a lot like each other, despite them growing up in different countries.
Despite the writing style being the fourth-wall-breaking kind, I really liked it. I connected to Darius more I think, because of the way his depression is narrated. It doesn't come up and down like a lot of authors tend to do, it's always there, lurking between the lines. It reads like depression feels.
I also loved that it takes place in Iran, I love that teenagers are going to get to read this and find a part of themselves within it, as there aren't many teen books with Persian main characters. And that this one mostly takes place in Iran is fantastic. It also touches on the prejudices Darius faces at school, as well as what it feels like to visit somewhere that's supposed to be your home, but feeling like a tourist.
I also loved the way it depicted a healthy male friendship, where they could both show feeling, stand up for each other, and have respect for each other without worrying it would make them less "manly"
The only problem I had was that the writing became a bit repetitive after 200 pages, the voice that came from the style began to fall away because lines were repeating so often.
I can't wait for this book to come out. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the e-arc.
4.5/5 stars!
I first read this book in 2009 when it was nominated for the OLA's Red Maple award. I remember loving it, but A Way Lies North was also nominated that year, and that was the one my friends and I voted for. However, I still think about it over the years, not quite remembering how the story went.
The novel turned out to be about loss and grief and the things we do when we're looking for something to hold on to. This follows a family in the 50s who've lost their mother. They play a Knight of the Round Table game, but for Corrie's eldest sibling, Sebastian, it's more an anchor then a game. It follows Corrie as she, alongside her family, has to pick up and put the pieces back together after their mother's death.
I'm not sure how well this would do now, there are a lot of references that kids now wouldn't understand without some help from parents (or grandparents) and some googling. I actually don't remember having any trouble with it myself, proof that the words many parents might deem too difficult for their child might jus be them underestimating them.
Anyways, I loved it, but ironically like the Bell children discover within the novel, the magic and excitement was lost in this novel for me 9 years later. Instead, I read a book about sad children, which may have a hit a bit too close to home at times.
3.5/5 stars.
The novel turned out to be about loss and grief and the things we do when we're looking for something to hold on to. This follows a family in the 50s who've lost their mother. They play a Knight of the Round Table game, but for Corrie's eldest sibling, Sebastian, it's more an anchor then a game. It follows Corrie as she, alongside her family, has to pick up and put the pieces back together after their mother's death.
I'm not sure how well this would do now, there are a lot of references that kids now wouldn't understand without some help from parents (or grandparents) and some googling. I actually don't remember having any trouble with it myself, proof that the words many parents might deem too difficult for their child might jus be them underestimating them.
Anyways, I loved it, but ironically like the Bell children discover within the novel, the magic and excitement was lost in this novel for me 9 years later. Instead, I read a book about sad children, which may have a hit a bit too close to home at times.
3.5/5 stars.
More review soon, but I hope a lot of queer girls and teens get the chance to read this book.
I loved Chokshi's teen books, and hearing that she was going to write the first Rick Riordan Presents novel was so exciting to me. I listened to this as an audiobook and I'm really glad I did. The audiobook's narrator, Soneela Nankani, was a great choice. She pronounced the names so well, a way I wouldn't have been able to if I had just read it. She also did a great job at capturing the elegance of how Chokshi writes. Despite it being middle grade, her style of writing didn't feel dumbed-down or simpler. I don't think that means it would be difficult for younger readers to understand, it just means that Chokshi did a great job at keeping her own writing style though writing for a younger audience.
Aru Shah deals with accepting her culture, her knack for lying to fit in, and discovers meaningful friendships. She lives in a museum her mom owns (so cool!) and when she lights a cursed lamp to impress some kids from school she is sucked into a world she only thought were stories her mother told her at night. In order to save the world, though, she has to team up with Minnie on a quest to stop the end of time.
I can't wait to start recommending this book to kids who are looking for a new action trilogy, with a splash of good tidings. And I'm so excited for the next book to come out!
4.5/5 stars!
Aru Shah deals with accepting her culture, her knack for lying to fit in, and discovers meaningful friendships. She lives in a museum her mom owns (so cool!) and when she lights a cursed lamp to impress some kids from school she is sucked into a world she only thought were stories her mother told her at night. In order to save the world, though, she has to team up with Minnie on a quest to stop the end of time.
I can't wait to start recommending this book to kids who are looking for a new action trilogy, with a splash of good tidings. And I'm so excited for the next book to come out!
4.5/5 stars!