Reviews by purplepenning | The StoryGraph

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purplepenning

So This Is Ever After

F.T. Lukens

3.5

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe

Carlos Hernandez

4.0

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life: A Memoir

Delia Ephron

4.0

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Content Warnings

Once Upon a Tim

Stuart Gibbs

4.0

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Took me a bit to warm up to this one, but it's pretty funny, mildly irreverent, wholesomely subversive, and will likely appeal to 2nd through 4th graders who like Max and the Midknights and other Lincoln Peirce, Dav Pilkey, Jeff Kinney shenanigans.

Content Warnings

Know My Name

Chanel Miller

5.0

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

This is beautifully, powerfully written. If you're on the fence about reading it, please do. The audio is also very, very good (read by the author). I'm completely in awe.

Content Warnings

Squire

Nadia Shammas

4.0

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I would love to see more graphic novels like this! A stubborn, talented girl making her way — with sword play — in a beautifully rendered fantasy world based on Middle Eastern cultures and traditions. Great art and warm colors, easy to follow lettering, important thoughts and timely themes (patriotism, colonization, imperialism, militarism, war, friendship, loyalty, empathy), a great cast of characters with interesting relationships. Aiza, our main character, was just a bit grating for me, and I wanted a little more from the ending (or a sequel?!) but this is a great story to get into the hands of mature middle graders. (It's categorized as YA, but it really felt middle grade to me.)

Content Warnings

Part of Your World

Abby Jimenez

4.25

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

A scoop of passionate connection, a cup of trauma recovery, a healthy helping of wit and hijinks, and just a dash of subtle magic.

Alexis Montgomery, a big-city high-powered doctor from a family of big-city high-powered doctors, meets Daniel Grant purely by chance when he tows her car out of a ditch near the tiny town of Wakan where he's the B&B manager, carpenter, baby goat nanny, and all-around good guy. He's also the mayor, just like every generation of Grants before him. Given their different backgrounds and dueling legacies, they know nothing can come of it, but the attraction is undeniable. Plus, the baby goat is wearing pajamas — no one can resist a baby goat in pajamas!

Abby Jimenez is a master of great couple chemistry and the connection between Alexis and Daniel is one of the best. Fairytale nods, Princess Bride quotes, and animal shenanigans are light and entertaining, but there's a serious core to this story: trauma, domestic abuse, sexism, classism. It's a challenge to pull off, and the pacing suffers just a little in the emotional second half of the book, but overall it's a fun, hopeful, heartfelt read with a strong woman who saves herself and a super swoony small-town guy.

Content Warnings

Binti: The Complete Trilogy

Nnedi Okorafor

4.25

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels: Book One

Serena Blasco

4.5

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced

Excellent adaptation of the Enola Holmes books! Beautiful watercolor-style art that I could look at all day, coupled with cute and cheeky character depictions; three fun mysteries in one volume (plus an as-yet-unsolved overarching mystery); inspired addition of notebooks at the end of each mystery showing Enola's thoughts, processes, and codes (including the language of flowers used throughout); and the inclusion of some heavier themes like sexism (Sherlock's and Mycroft's, but society's as well), bigotry, poverty, etc. Perfect for middle grade mystery lovers and anyone who enjoyed the Enola Holmes books or movie.

Content Warnings

Pony

R.J. Palacio

4.25

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Content Warnings

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