Holy cannoli.  When I first picked up this series, I was worried it might ruin my childhood.  And while it did not do that, it didn’t make it any better.  

This is a story within a story.  Most people picking up this read are children of Bowie who dreamed of joining him in the labyrinth as a goblin, or a Sarah to take their place beside Jareth as queen of the Underworld.  The books pick up as Sarah enters the labyrinth to rescue Toby.  One of the goblins who is tasked with caring for Toby decides to tell a story.  A story of the great owl Goblin King and quest for a successor.  

This story is quite different from the original Labyrinth story but feels very repetitive.  Plus, you get now and then pages, and the now pages paint Jareth as an a$$hole.  I don’t like him at all.  In the movie he seems sexy, mesmerizing.  Even to adult eyes 30 years later, I see the problems with the movie, but I fall under Jareth’s spell every time.  Magic Dance is my bad day song.  It can get me dancing and smiling every time.  But in the print story Jareth is mean.  You see some of it in how Jareth treats Hogle in the movie, but it is made 10x worse in the story for the goblin.  

A baby has been taken by the Goblin King because the rich aristocratic father is afraid of the grandfather taking away his easy lazy life.  But mom, a farmer barmaid will do anything for her son, including entering the labyrinth to bring back the stolen child.  Her adventures in the Labyrinth are completely different than Sarah’s which is nice.  And they are not as fun inducing.  There are som new characters I really like, and others that are not bad, but they will never be Hoggle, Sir Diddimus, and Luto.  

To be honest these stories were nice, but not great.  I was left feeling ehhhh.  Especially how book 3 ended.  It was just a “what the heck” moment that just didn’t sit well.  It didn’t retain the magic and the happy thoughts, and the realization of growing older and growing from a kid to an adult like the movie did.  I used to think the graphic novel Return the the Labyrinth was ehh, but I can honestly say I liked those more than I liked them.

 

 Wow!  This book is hard.  It starts in beet juice and ends in blood.  It is as real as real can get.  And it pisses me off.  Not the book, the subject.  The author did an amazing job in writing a hard subject that is often neglected.  It’s about a young person in an abusive relationship.  So many youth think this can't happen to them, but it can and it does.  I knew nothing about this going in.  I was listening to it as an audiobook and it was absorbing, but you did have to take breaks.  It feels too real.  In my head I kept seeing R. Kelly and that situation.  I really like how the author states in her note at the end that this is not a story of R. Kelly, but a story of similar situations.  In a way I think the author chickened out having the story end in blood.  It’s almost too easy.  Because I see the R. Kelly story in this, I think of his victims who have to live day in and day out not watching their story be retold, rehashed everytime a new charge arises, or he gets bailed out and continues his habit.  Death gives a solid ending, and while for the character it is not an easy ending, for the reader it is.  The bad guy is gone (that is not a spoiler, you know from the beat juice beginning).  For the reader they can say this is just a book, that’s not me, that’s not my friend, that’s not my family, that’s not my idol.  Overall, this book is excellent.  It will live in my mind for a long time to come, but I expect nothing else from Tiffany Jackson.  An excellent book, a hard book, a necessary book. 

 

This audiobook was addicting.  From the minute I started it, I couldn’t stop.  I listened to it all in one day with my full attention.

Standardized testing in school is nothing new, but what if they weren't just testing your knowledge, but your personality, looking for those students who might show violent tendencies, or mental illness, or serial killer tendencies.  People now known as Class A’s .  Signal, the resident goth girl is a loner, with just one friend, until that friend winds up dead and the only suspect is Signal.  After conviction Signal is looking at a lifetime of prison, or take a job that will probably kill you young.  

This job includes preying on those serial killer tendencies to take out targets of value to the government.  But before the first assignment, comes training camp.  And I mean camp, in cold cabins and everything.  Think camp Crystal lake before Jason.  But when your camp activities are dismembering fake bodies and trying to hide the remains, you better get it right, or your might be the next remain.  

This book is about more than blood and guts.  There is a true mystery, and a love triangle that keeps the story moving.  Plus lots of blood and guts for those of us that like it.  In a way it reminds me of #Murdertrending and Clown in a Cornfield while at the same time being completely different.  This book was so much bloody fun I am highly disappointed I have to wait for the next one.  But I do know for sure that I will not be deleting this audiobook because I see myself revisiting it before book 2 arrives. 

When Mindy McGinnus puts pen to paper i know the story will be extraordinary.  This is no exception, and DAMN you for making we wait for book 2 when book one isn’t even out yet.  Now that that is out of my system…

Friends drift apart.  It’s natural, it happens, especially when transitioning between grades.  However, there is a difference between drifting and being torn apart. In this case the tear is a set of missing parents, and a ride home that never made it there.  

Tess is a parentless girl.  She now lives in the “white trash zoo” with a poor excuse for a grandfather. She has an important family name and family line Montor, but she is no longer important, just a girl on the fringes of society who acts as a punching bag for those who see themselves as her betters.

Felicity turnado, may not have the name, but her family has the money.  As long as they don’t show it off too much that is.  Felicity was present when Tess’s parents disappeared but remembers none of it.  She knows she is the reason Tess is a pirah, but between her secret health issues, mistrust of others around her, and her want to remain at the top of the social ladder, she is a mess.  

Then Halloween happens and a grand master plan kicks off.  However, Halloween is not just Halloween.  There is some flu going around the town, and they have canceled everything, including football games and dances.  But teens will be teens and the party must go on.  But unknown to a lot of them, there has been an escapee from the local zoo, who stalks his prey and will get what they want, blood and all.  

This story is super unique. There are so many things going one.  The story is told in multiple points of view including the view of the animals at the zoo.  I was privileged to listen to this as an audiobook.  And even though the narrator was an AI reader, it didn’t matter.  I was hooked.  I binged it and could not stop.  I had to know what happened next!!!  I still need to know what happens next.  This book is one of the best horror/thriller books for YA I have ever read, and I can't shut up about it.  It’s not out til Feb 23, but add it to your TBR, put your preorder in, or ask your library to buy it, because I can guarantee you don’t want to miss this book.

This book was fantastic.  I got to learning about a historical figure I never knew existed.  This is a fictionalized story about Agnes Sadler and her historic vote as the first black woman to vote in Knoxville, Tennessee.  The story is told through the eyes of her daughter Tansy.  The story was lovely and the infobits in the back were entertaining and educational.  The art style is a little old fashioned for my tastes but it sets off this historical story perfectly.

It’s hard to see a smile when wearing a mask.  But masks keep us healthy.  This book gives all the fun reasons to wear a mask and how the wearer can use them to express themselves.  It was quite clever and the illustrations are the fluffy cotton candy style that matches the wording perfectly.  The only complaint I have is that the author tries to rhyme, but there is no cadence.  The rhyming is just smit and smat throughout the book.

I believe this book sets a new standard on what books about being yourself entail. Riley comes from a loving family of a sister and a father.  Mom is not in the picture, no reason given.  Riley’s sister does everything she can to make Riley stop crying or to come to reason for the tears.  Turns out Riley, doesn’t like Riley.  What makes this book so successful is that it does not just focus on Riley.  Sister gets teased in school for her round belly, and after discovering what it feels like to not like herself she understands more what Riley is going through.  And with understanding from their father they start to like and make themselves happy being who they are, but understanding there will still be down days, or others who don’t understand. This book was fantastic.  It was a great lesson and a great story.  The illustrations work really well and set a tone of hope, love, and understanding.

Based on the title it’s easy to guess that this book is about ways for kids to learn to sit still.  It is quite effective and the illustrations are nice.  I think the book is overlong, and that too many ants in the pants scenarios are given, but the advice on how to combat these ants was nice and will be effective for many.

I listened to this audiobook courtesy of Netgalley.  I quite enjoyed it.  It was a nice break when you need a light hearted story to pass the time away.  Now some may argue my “lighthearted” story.  This is about the sources of light and darkness, good and evil.  And It is very literal.  The world is dark.  No sun, just night.  The queen of the night has been “good” to her people or so they think.  But one child achieving womanhood will change all that.  This child is the last Sun child.  And the only magic being that can truly bring the sun to the dark evil queen’s land.  So much of this book is traveling, or questing to get from one land to another.  They have to get out of the dark lands, and into the North where Siria can fully develop her power, find her true family, and help defeat the evil queen Iyzabel.  Of course there is a love interest.  It wouldn’t be a YA book without it.  And there is fear of doing the right thing, and the awkwardness of “shining you light” to be who you truly are and not just who your parents want you to be.  I believe this is a standalone and I am happy with it.  It doesn’t need a sequel, and I’m not sure I would read one if there was.  The story did what it was meant to do, bring light to the darkness.

This graphic novel was a lot of fun.  What appears to be an ordinary house cat, is really a Cat Ninja is disguise.  And one his nemesis, Master Hamster, is his house mate.  What type of trouble can these two get into, and how much of the world can they save.  Only the bounds of imagination know.  Throw in Adonis the dog, and these adventures will have kids laughing and reading up a storm.