What the heck did I just read? A boy, because that’s all I can think of him as, summons the great Duke of Hell to help him get the girl of his dreams that works at a restaurant. He makes friends with another guy that seems scared of everything and tells the great Duke of Hell he can go back to hell. His sister goes missing because she realizes there’s a demon in the house and I’m going to must kill him. And something is off with the girl who works at the café. This is just book one. I’m not sure if I want to stay or not. I finished it to the end, and it did get interesting when the great Duke of hell put on his human form. But I’m not sure it’s interesting enough to pick up the next book. The illustrations are OK, but I do find that some of it feels like it’s only half done. 

 

This book makes me think of a stereotypical Jewish grandma who is very excited to see their grandbaby. There are words in here the give reason for the glossary in the back, which is part of what makes me think Jewish grandma. This was just fun. That baby talk, happy to see them, their tummy, type of book. The illustrations are really fun. The catalog page tells how the book was illustrated, probably to stave off any idea this might be AI. I think this book was beautiful and fun and something kids would love to hear having read to them. 

 

This is a seasonally appropriate book. Our main character has just a little bit of baking magic. She can bake her feelings and make her treats share those feelings with others. Her aunt is a master at this, but this book takes a sharp turn when the Aunt passes away unexpectedly. Back to our main character who has to find a new normal as she learns why you don’t bake when you’re feeling bad. This book is sad but still lovely. It’s a realistic look at a child’s grief after losing someone they’re close to. The illustrations are fun and bubbly and help out the sadness within its pages. 

 

In a world where you play video games while you sleep, sometimes if you die in the game, you die in life. This book was interesting and I’m not 100% sure I understood the end of volume one. So I would be interested in checking out volume two. We start with the brother and his sister and who they are in this game. You wear this game at night while you sleep. The older brother is withdrawn and kind of going crazy and gets stuck in the game, but his sister is like no you’re not stuck in the game even though you’re at the hospital and still playing the game and I’m going to save you. They enlist their friends to see if they can’t win and figure out why they fall asleep then wake up with injuries. The storytelling this is quite interesting, and the illustrations are beautiful. Volume one leaves one questioning and wanting volume two to figure out if what they thought was the end is the end. 

 

This is the first book in a middle grade school series that is sure to get kids thinking of science and fantasy. This special high school is full of smart kids and the big project is the science fair. However, Newton is so new he doesn’t remember anything. He doesn’t know how he got to the high school or where he came from. But he knows he’s supposed to be there and now hast to not only fit in figure out if he can be as mad scientist as everyone else. Reading this book reminds me of the Pixar movie Meet the Robinsons. The idea that science can do anything if you only put imagination to it. This book and was fun. The worldbuilding was unique and I’m not ready to see this end. Apparently, there are six books and I plan to finish this series. 

 

This was a fun Halloween story. A little pumpkin is very excited to go out trick-or-treating. They learn they have to go with mom or dad, and they can’t go on their own.  They have a little temper tantrum and being sent the corner leads to an adventure in a haunted house, where our little pumpkin will meet all sorts of friendly monsters. This book was fun, and kids are really going to like it. My biggest complaint is that it is overly long but the illustrations more than make up for the length of the story. 

 

These books are always interesting. It’s like the best 80s camp movies that were incredibly stupid are turned into a similar style graphic novel. Throw in a little Captain Underpants humor and you get the agents of suits books. Kids love them and they should. Their wild mystery adventures that don’t always make sense Until everything is wrapped up in the end. But kids love them from beginning to end and this will be no different. 

 

I am sad to say but Hovergirls is a DNF. The main character Kim is so annoying. I cannot take it anymore. Kim and her best friend are moving to the city. Kim is very bubbly a bit of an airhead and very much into fashion and boys and not caring about anything else. Her best friend is more standoffish and socially awkward. But can they make themselves into superheroes and get the publicity Kim wants. The reason this book is a DNF is because of how airheaded Kim sees. I really hope she finds the strong person underneath by the end of the book, but I don’t care to wait the next hundred pages to find out. The other thing I don’t like is there is a size difference in these two girls and Kim is on the heavier side. The outfits they draw her in art extremely cute and I love that. The way Kim be behaves and the way others treat her is stereotypical of a larger size woman, and not in a good way. The boys that use her because she allows it is one of the things that I find most annoying. And her other qualities while also annoying are not cute enough to bring a redemption for the other. I really wanted to like this book based on the cover, but I’m sorry it’s not worth the time to finish it. 

 

This is a sequel to a book I loved. Nell Gumbling is about the small town of Gumbling and the inhabitants within. In the first book Nell and her friends were trying to save their town. In the second book they’re going away for a weeklong summer camping camp. The winners get these amazing jackets. But first Nell and her friends are going to have to handle changes in their friendship and how people can change as they grow up. I really did like this book. I do think it is less than the first book. This book is less graphic novel and more journal where the first book was more graphic novel, less journal. That makes it quite a bit longer to read than the first one. The story is cute and fans of the first book will enjoy this book. However, if someone starts with this book, the odds of them going back to book one are less than the opposite direction. 

 

It may seem odd to read a Christmas book in October, but this book actually starts in September so it’s perfect read. Pizza and taco need to get ready for Christmas if they want to get there super long list ready. They must remember to be good and help others with the hope of possibly getting anything on their lists. This of course is an early reader’s chapter book. It’s quite a lovely and fun read that kids are going to enjoy.