Taro's family are all killed by invading soldiers, but the captain saves young Taro alive to be a servant. Taro vows to become a samurai, and regain the wealthy position his father once held. He begins as a lowly kitchen boy, but quickly is placed in higher positions of trust. He gains the respect of men in power and slowly rises in the ranks to follow his dream, but the shifting wars in Japan threaten to destroy everything he knows.

I wasn't surprised that there is a lot of violence in this book, since it was a bloody era in history. I thought it was handled well though, without being unnecessarily graphic. The writing treats the death and destruction of these 1570s Japanese wars with an admirable gravity and respect. Although is it unpleasant and sad to read about, knowing that this history truly happened, I think the level of violence is still appropriate for middle grade or YA readers.

Tons of people are beheaded, beginning with Taro's mother and brothers. Taro witnesses their murders as a young child, and carries that scar with him into his young adulthood, making him a much more compassionate person than most of the other samurai. He doesn't crave battle as some of the other soldiers do, because he has seen the crushing loss that follows violence.

This compassion is one of Taro's most attractive qualities as a main character, and he is also loyal and upright when others are sneaky and duplicitous. This makes him stand out from the crowd, and earns him respect from those in authority.

The writing style is very dry, which makes it a little difficult to get into the story at first, but by the middle I was fully invested in Taro's story and was cheering him on right to the end!

One of the good things about this book is how historically accurate the setting is, but it also creates complications because all these Japanese warlords have very similar sounding names, and often the sons are called by the same family name as the fathers, so it becomes difficult to keep track of the many characters and who is at war with whom.

I was often confused by various Japanese words and terms that were used. They are sometimes explained within the story's text, but other times just left there with no explanation. I could mostly figure out what was meant through the context, but I wish there were a glossary at the back.
It's as though the author is so familiar with Japanese culture and history that he expects his readers to have the same knowledge, so doesn't bother to explain or elaborate.

All in all a wonderful story and well worth the read!

Oh my goodness, I adore this comic!! So much cuteness and hilarity!
Wallace and his best friend, Spud, meet the new girl at school, Amelia, and are very impressed with her courage and baseball-throwing style. Each page has its own funny little punchline as we follow Wallace's strange interactions with friends and family at school, at home, on the ocean, on the field, through the summer and winter and all the in-between times.

Wallace's fisherman father, his creative mother, and weird baby brother make a delightful home setting for the antics and whimsical conversations of a little boy curious about the world and determined to dream big.
One of the best things about this comic is Wallace's close relationship with his parents. When Wallace comes to his dad with a crazy idea, his father doesn't criticize or say how ridiculously impossible it is to trade in their car for an ostrich to ride. His father enters into the fantasy with his son, and they have fun deciding how they will saddle their ostrich and cook the ostrich eggs. I love seeing kids and parents really talking and enjoying one another's company! What a great family!

Best Friend Spud is an anxious neighbor boy who follows in Wallace's bold wake with trepidation, and Amelia is a mischievous tag-a-long who prefers to lead. This mismatched trio burst into new situations with the wild recklessness of youth, throwing their shoes out the door, and skirting around the imaginary monsters lurking in drains and under beds.

I adore everything about this comic! The artwork is playful and cute. The jokes are entertaining and hilarious. The characters are splendid in every particular.
The style reminds me strongly of Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes put together! I wish I could give this 10 stars!!

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

Wow. I hated this so much. SO. MUCH.
First of all, the whole book is full of cartoon illustrations with vomit, farts, poop, blood, and grotesque faces. That does not make me a happy reader. I was too busy being nauseated to enjoy the writing.

And while the writing made a couple of good points about the concept of "being happy", I don't think the general philosophy here is a healthy one. No counselor that I know of would recommend this way of thinking.

I hated this so much. On so many levels. UGH.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

Dick and Dorothea are determined to learn how to sail on the Norfolk Broads while they are visiting a family friend with a small yacht. Since local boy Tom is getting into trouble with a shipful of rude "Hullabaloos", they invite him to join them on a journey to southern rivers and teach them to sail on the way. The friends are kept busy dodging the Hullabaloos, racing against the tides, exploring through the broads and rivers, and protecting the delicate birds' nests that the Hullabaloos are threatening.

Even better the second time (or third time) you read it! Somehow I always come back to this book as one of my favorites; although in this series, they are ALL my favorite really. Every time I read it, I can barely put it down, because there's always something interesting happening in the plot.

I just adore Dick and Dorothea, and the addition of the intrepid Tom makes for an exciting adventure, along with the redoubtable twin girls, Port and Starboard, and a host of young Coot Club members dedicated to protecting the local bird population. I love every character so much! They are each so original and likeable, and I enjoy seeing how they meet and make friends and immediately plunge into adventures together.

Swallows, Amazons, and "the D's" (Dick and Dorothea) are determined to find gold in the hills above their lake before Captain Flint returns from South America. The young mining company begin camping up in the fells and searching old caves for gold, while a severe drought has the locals worried about potential fires. The children have three homing pigeons that are trained to take messages from their camp back to Mrs. Blackett, letting her know the progress of the fledgling mining company. The Swallows are dismayed to discover that a rival miner, dubbed "Squashy Hat", is creeping about the fells, spying on their expedition and generally being a nuisance. It becomes a race to find the gold and stake their claim before Squashy Hat can ruin all their plans! But in the end, it will be the pigeons that make all the difference.

Once again, I adore every character in this book! The plot keeps me interested no matter how many times I read it.
I especially love Dick in this sixth volume. The others really rely on him to be the knowledgeable one of the group, but in this story they especially respect his book smarts, and they even call him "Professor". He takes that responsibility seriously, and feels that he mustn't let them down.
Then I love seeing the way Dorothea is so proud of her brother, and is gratified to see the others accepting and admiring him.
John and Nancy are such a great team, leading their crews through any sticky situation. And as always, the wonderful Susan is the one who holds the entire group together.

Wonderful book! I love every moment!

I love this book more and more every time I read it! It's nothing like the movies, of course. Nils, and Bernard, and Miss Bianca are such charming and stalwart characters. The plot is so interesting and funny, and the writing is just brilliant!

Bernard must persuade Miss Bianca to help the Prisoner's Aid Society in finding a Norwegian mouse who will bravely rescue a Norwegian poet from the cold dungeons of the Black Castle. Once she finds the courageous Nils, a seafaring Norwegian mouse, Miss Bianca is swept along in the adventure, and the three unlikely companions are tested to the limit of their abilities in the Black Castle. No mouse has ever freed a prisoner before, but these clever mice are determined to save the poet!

Orphan Maia is sent to meet her distant relatives on the Amazon River. Along with Miss Minton, the strict-but-fair governess, Maia explores the enchanting world of the rainforest and river, delighted with the exotic plants and animals. But her relatives are only interested in Maia's fortune, and they make her miserable until she finds friends among the native people. A mysterious boy hides in the forest, an out-of-work actor begs for Maia's help, and Miss Minton is keeping dangerous secrets of her own.

Wonderfully imaginative and descriptive! Made me feel like I was right there in the rain forest. I was laughing and gasping and crying and laughing again all through it! Marvelous book! The complex plot is a wonderful mixture of adventure, travel, mystery, and intrigue.
Maia's character is delightful. She's spunky and courageous, kind and sweet, everything a heroine should be.
I adore Finn's character! He's mysterious and thoroughly interesting.
Miss Minton makes me laugh; she's such a complicated lady, and so very deliberate in everything. Nothing could be better!

Princess Cimorene, who hates the endless embroidery lessons and dancing lessons at court, decides to run away and ends up being the "captive princess" of the Dragon Kazul. Studying Latin, cooking anything she likes, and concocting magic spells are exactly what Cimorene loves, and she has the time of her life with Kazul. If only those pesky knights and princes would stop hanging around trying to rescue her! When a group of sneaky wizards start spying in the dragon's caves, only Cimorene has the wits and courage to stop them.

I love this whole series, and I'm so happy to be rereading it again! Cimorene is utterly delicious. She's sensible and clever, although surrounded by stupid idiots. She's independent, and she gets annoyed when people chide her for being different.

One of the best things about this book is how Cimorene finds like-minded people who truly appreciate her as she is, instead of expecting her to conform to the "normal" Princess etiquette and rules of court. She finds her people, her friends, her tribe, and she flourishes among them.

I love the magic and the whole world of the Enchanted Forest! So many magical characters and scenes, with a lot of tongue-in-cheek references to classic fairy tales. The writing style is witty and fun, making me chuckle in every chapter. The plot keeps moving along with lots of mystery and interesting creatures and odd situations. Just brilliant writing!

This is one of my favorite books from when I was a young girl. Fairy tales at their best!

Young Snowflower's grandmother leaves her alone in the cottage with only an enchanted chair for company. The chair tells wonderful stories and takes Snowflower on a journey to the court of King Winwealth. Each evening Snowflower is called to the court after their feasting, and she asks her magical chair to tell the company a story. The King rewards Snowflower for each story that is told.

In each chapter a different fairytale story is told, and although they follow the classic fairytale structure, they are not common or well-known. Each one is a delight to read!

Sam and his sister Alice are living alone on the mountain, away from the turmoil of civilization. They hike and fish and forage for forest berries and roots, and of course Sam has his falcon, Frightful, to do the hunting. But their peaceful life is thrown into chaos when Frightful is confiscated by government conservation authorities, and Alice disappears into the forest with her pet pig. Sam, heartbroken over the loss of his bird, must lay aside his grief in order to track down his little sister through the treacherous Catskill Mountains.

I loved reading about how Sam and Alice build a plumping mill to make acorn flour, and how they built a dam by watching the beavers. All the little details of their forest life are so interesting and well-described!

The writing style is concise and careful, using very few words to describe a whole scene and using expressive words to bring an emotional connection. I really love the simple but poignant style.

There was a little bit of a structure problem in the beginning of the book with an exorbitant amount of flashbacks. Sam is so worried about Frightful that he reads through his old journal entries to calm himself down, and so we get all these flashbacks through his journal. It broke up the pace of the story, and did not flow well. But by the middle of the book, we are done with flashbacks, Sam is in the middle of the action, and the plot moves forward without all the explanations that slow it down at first.

I was captivated with the plot and how the ending resolved itself. It really kept me guessing all through the book.... Where is Alice? Why did she really run off? What happened to Frightful? Who really took Frightful away? So many great questions that push the story forward, and come to a satisfying conclusion.

I can't wait to finish this trilogy! Anyone who loves nature would fall in love with these books. I'm not a woodsy person at all, but I enjoy them immensely!