lindseythelibrarian's Reviews (559)

Joshua Becker promotes a view of accessible minimalism. I enjoy his perspective as a practicing Christian pastor. If you enjoy this book, definitely check out his videos--they're free on youtube and basically sum up what is in this book

Thanks to NetGalley for This Arc.

This is going to be beautiful in color. Wow! I will say that this graphic novel is great for emerging readers (potentially first through second grade). The text is simple and clear and the drawing do a lot to convey a sense of fun and wonder as well as movement throughout the pages.  

The messages in this book for the young readers might be a bit unclear as Anna and Tess decide to plant flowers to save the bees. The conflict arrives from a friendship disagreement which starts right at the beginning so it is a bit difficult to understand the friendship. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to those who are reading by themselves or for caretakers who could also read along with their kids as there are talking points regarding bees disappearing as well as being a good friend. 

There were elements of this book I really enjoyed. For instance, I thought the narrator did a fantastic job matching the atmospheric feel of the book.

Issues:
However, there were some things that prevented this book from going beyond 3-star territory. Overall, I felt like the characters were enjoyable, but not fully fleshed out. Don't get it wrong--I did enjoy them and found their romance to be cute and not distracting from the main plot, but there just wasn't enough for them to feel entirely real.

Now, the thematic element regarding grief and exploring it was done in a compelling way. However, I thought the author brought up a few points that she didn't fully explain, i.e. character grappling with tough realizations and then going on as if they're nothing. This is exemplified in two ways:

the Bone House encampment literally had musicians, dancing children, etc. and Ryn felt bad for like .02 seconds and then was like "well, I guess I'm on a mission to take out the cauldron so it's fine that I've taken people with some sentient thoughts" meanwhile they have the bone goat following them. Plus, Ryn found her Bone House father and we don't get much time focusing on that scenario.

Plus I think the author was trying to create more mystery with Ellis and then flattened it out by the time you were a fourth of the way through. I just felt like there was a bit more missing with the Bone Houses, the world, etc.

Final thoughts and recommendations:
With all the things I didn't like, I would still say this was an enjoyable listen and would recommend this to someone who enjoys dark but slightly humorous adventure stories. It kind of gave me Castlevania (tv show) vibes in how the characters interacted as well as the humor. 

Obviously, this book is problematic (gender roles and racism combined) and very strange.

Brief Thoughts:
I think my main enjoyment from this story comes from the whimsical way it was written combined with my enjoyment and nostalgia for the Disney cartoon, live-action movie, and Robin Williams classic. Not to mention I remember being like Wendy myself (without the "motherly" instincts, and more with the crush).

 Audio VersionThoughts:
The author, Vanessa Maroney, did a great job with the voices, though some of the Lost Boys sounded a bit similar to each other.

I'd recommend this too...
Regardless, this is a fun classic that I probably would only recommend to older children/ adults who've enjoyed the movie.

Sasaki has a very different view of what minimalism is.  I found this book to be calming and interesting as far as philosophy is concerned, but a bit different when compared to other books of this type. 

This book is not: a manual on how to declutter.
What this book is: minimalism from a Japanese perspective, a philosophy. This book definitely comes off as a bit privileged (a store is a storage system) and minimalism can often be construed to be a classist mess. 

Overall, I already understand minimalist philosophy (focus on others, time, essentials, etc), but for someone starting out this book might be helpful for the journey. Know that his minimalist lifestyle might be inaccessible for you, and that's ok. There are plenty of others who live life with the essentials who own a TV. 

Tip: Reading the book is probably more helpful than listening to the audiobook (which I did) since it's a bit rambly. 

Chanel's story is poignant, heart-wrenching, vulnerable. 

Take the time you need to read this one, but read it nonetheless. 

It's quite difficult to get me to like a romance. I'm not a big fan of the "will they/won't they dynamic, I hate the miscommunication trope, etc. It's usually just not for me. I also 

BUT DAMN--this book WAS FOR ME. Maybe it's because these two were already married at a similar stage of life as I am (sans kids), maybe it's because the message was so positive, I don't know.  All I know is that the last 20 percent of this book was hitting me in the feels. Like it was personal and exactly what I needed from a romance book. 

Regardless, there were certainly times when I was frustrated with the protagonists but of course, that is part for the course with humans. 

Review to come