I was told this book was just a Victorian novel with dragons. And a friend said it was boring. I was warned and didn't listen. Couldn't finish because it was a boring novel of Victorian drabble with dragons.

This book slightly reminded me of Sideways Stories from Wayside School just nowhere near as silly (or 90s) but each chapter is a student. Not all from the same school, but their lives are all connected and most of it happens in that hour after school lets out. Each chapter is a moment in a student's more complex life. I really enjoyed the lightness of this book. Not that it doesn't deal with some heavier subjects like parents with cancer and bullying and very minor theft, but besides stupid Marcus, the kids we learn about don't really have a mean bone in their body. It was refreshing.

Mock Printz review:
Augh, I can't ever deny Jason Reynolds, the man is a fantastic writer. I knew Long Way Down was going to win all the awards the other year but this one I'm not so sure. The characters are it's strongest point, because while there are many, each one is written with a back story in mind, creatively, they have their own tics and quirks to make each one memorable. Setting is second strongest and a very close contender. Heck, the whole book is based on the ten blocks around the school (most of the) characters go to. And we get to know so much about this neighborhood in just ten chapters. Third strength was the layout. The chapter beginnings with a horizontal blue line illustrating the character we were about to be introduced to (just their waist and lower though, never any faces), and put them all together and you get a whole street of the characters you meet within this book, and it holds so much action! Like a film-strip. It's wonderful.
But put it all together, and I am left with the feeling that this isn't his strongest writing. Would I recommend it to readers age 5th grade and up? In a heartbeat! Would I nominate it as a Printz winner....ehhhhhh. I'm not as confident about this one as Long Way Down. Sorry Mr. Reynolds!

I must say I'm partial to the Librarian. OOk!
Per usual, I have to be at full mental capacity when reading Pratchett, as he'll go off on a pretty long tangent just to make a joke, or a kooky situation even kookier. I'll laugh out loud often when reading Pratchett, but he does run-on a bit and often I can't follow. It's okay, I still love Discworld and all its crazy characters.

Whoooosh! What an intense and dark book! I guess that's every Daniel Kraus book, which is why I keep reading them. Also for the gross descriptions, which there definitely are in here! All sorts of oozy, squishy, gory descriptions! And torture, which is actually quite intense so, trigger warning for that. Also TW for an abusive friendship. Kraus does a very good job at getting you into the MC's head, and sometimes that's a very scary place to be! Reading his books, like this one, is like reading and holding your breath because if the main character can't get a breather, neither can you, and you read feverishly fast in hopes that everything turns out okay for the MC-and you- in the end.