This is a fun book. On their first day of school, they’re having questions about their pets, and when another child says that a tortoise is boring our main character says they have a tortosaurus instead of a tortoise. The tortosaurs become famous but discover they like playing make belief more than they like being in the spotlight. I like this book, but I do think it needs a new cover. 

 This is a wonderful picture book about two families making one. About a blending of families and their first vacation. This book is sentimental and lovely but simple and full of heart. And it has lovely illustrations to match. 

 What the heck did I just read. A serial killer is on the loose in an amusement park based on fairytales. Yes, this is heavily coded to remind you of a certain mouse. But that mouse does play apart in this book. Based on the cover, this was not what I was expecting, but it was interesting, and it set itself up to be a series. While this was an interesting graphic novel, I think it would work better as a horror movie. Mainly because there are too many inconsistencies where the storyline drops and picks up under a different idea or topic. 

 This may be one of those books I need to read rather than listen to. I only got 10% though when I needed to turn it off. We have a girl who started tutoring one of the most popular boys in school. And the tutoring turned into a relationship. But it was a secret relationship that the tutor thought many knew about. That is until the day she finds out she was a “beard” to cover who Nate the basketball star was really dating. But now these two exes are going at each other, and Nate was found bloody on the flow of the locker room.

This book was a little too John Tucker Must Die for me at the moment. I do think I would enjoy this more if I was reading it. We see the point of view of the different characters, but the beard action and dating two girls at once, it just gets to me and is not really my thing. I thought this would be a perfect fit as I did enjoy John Tucker. Either I didn’t get far enough, and it’s the readers’ fault, or the start of the story is too long. Not sure what but that is where I am at right now. 

 

It’s senior year and Eleanor just wants more people to participate in the LGBTQ Club.  But after some miscommunication about BLT club and sandwiches, their club is not as popular as it could have been.  But one of the popular girls is found dead (by the lockers I think but can’t remember), and everyone blames the LGBTQ Club.  Now they must clear their name or else. 

I really wanted to like this book.  However, at 49% complete on my audiobook, I remember almost none of it.  It is very campy and feels a bit like the Breakfast Club meets Paul Blart.  This book was so cheesy and over the top that I found myself letting my mind wonder which is how I got to 49%.  I was listening to this in the car.  The one place I can be fully engrossed in audiobooks, and this one did not engross me.  I don’t know if I would like this book better if I read it, or if this book is just not for me.  And while this was not my cup of tea, I do know some teens who will love this book. 

 

My heart has been left bleeding on the floor.  As a member of the rebellion since the beginning, I knew Haymitch had a sad story that made him the hard man we readers meet in the Hunger Games.  This is the book I wanted when we got Songbirds and Snakes.  I wanted the story of a character that was hidden, not something to try and get me to root for the bad guy.  

This is Haymitch’s story of the 50th Quarter Quell.  We knew it was bad, but not how bad.  This story isn’t just of love and loss, but of defiance, propaganda, and war.  It is often said that winners write the history books, but what exactly does that mean?  And what does it really mean to win?  All of this is packed into a tight story of a man who wanted to save his family, help those who are expected to lose, and bring some type of dignity to the horrors faced by the few at the hands of the many.  This book asks us readers to look at why we do things. Why wo we go along with things just because we are told to?  Why do we constantly choose the easy way out when the “easy way” is just more death and destruction.  I am glad this want ’t the first book in the series, but it is a story I desperately wanted.   I think it is a story we all need. 

And while I would never want to live in the world of the Hunger Games, I am not ready to leave it behind.  I want to know more about Plutarch.  I want Mae’s story.  What happened in her Hunger games.  And I want more about the Avox and why they are not really seen in this book. 

This book was fantastic.  It has the power of the Hunger Games to make us think about what this book means, what it means in our society, and what is it trying to teach us, so that we can make our society better.  

 This is the newest Holly Jackson book. She is known for the Good Girls Guide to Murrder series. This book is about a woman named Rachel Price, who disappeared 16 years ago. She left her baby daughter in a running car at the side of the road and hasn’t been heard of since. It’s 16 years later and the family has agreed to participate in a documentary about this woman going missing but lo and behold… she comes back. Is Rachel back or was this a planned stunt for money and fame. The daughter Bell thinks it’s nefarious reasons but who is the nefarious party and what really happened 16 years ago. This book is a fine mystery. A little cliché and way too long. This book does not need to be as long as it is and it feels like a typical Jackson book. While I was a giant fan of a Good Girls, I hated the end of the series. And this book leaves me with that same feeling. Feels like OK this was good but… It’s either missing something or something could have been better. I think for me the absolute end is not the epilogue. What finally happens doesn’t seem realistic. And I think that’s part of the problem I had with the last of Good Girls Guide to Murder. The last book while good didn’t feel realistic to who the character is. The story is there, twists and turns are nice, but in the ultimate ending doesn’t feel like the characters would do what they did. 

 This is a well-done biography. The cover gives the credit to Jill Biden, but there is also a helper in Kathleen Kroll, who is known for her biography work. The illustrations were done by Amy June Bates. This is better than the Little people, Big world, biographies, and better than a lot of biographies written for children. I think the author being married to the person they’re writing about does help. The artwork seems a little old-fashioned but considering the person you’re talking about and the time most of the book takes place… it’s a great match. 

 Natalie Portman can write. She writes like she has a PhD which she does. But it’s that style that makes these books a tad hard to read. The vocabulary level is also very high. I did like to read these fables. Her reimagining of them works quite well and while she does a decent job rhyming every other sentence it’s that higher level of writing and vocabulary that makes it a bit of a tongue twister. Overall, did I like the book? It’s a nice effort, but I’d like to see what she could do with her own imagination and not rewriting Stories that have existed. 

 This is supposed to be a werewolf horror novel. Where is the horror. The first chapter or prologue was interesting from the historical aspect but once you hit San Francisco, everything just turned boring. Maybe 20% isn’t enough time to get into more action but so far all they’ve done is drive out to the desert. And the fact I don’t recall anybody by names it baby girl and this and that and just no thank you. I wanted to like this book but currently I do not.