Rafe, as always, a lovable troublemaker...

Review:

Five ROTTEN questions you'll find the answers to inside this book...
1. What's my super-secret mission that's sure to land me in hot water?
2. Is my sister, Georgia, as annoying as ever? (I'll answer this now: YES!)
3. What's Miller the Killer REALLY afraid of?
4. Who ends up being my first kiss? Is she temporarily insane?
And the most unanswerable question of all:
5. Why can't I ever stay out of trouble?

Rafe Khatchadorian is back in this 7th book in the Middle School series and he is up to his old tricks again - sort of. If you read any of the books in this series and liked it, you will like this one. This is a great series for reluctant readers (especially boys). There are cartoonish drawings throughout the books and they move at a fast pace.

The main character, Rafe, talks to the reader as if he is a friend. And Rafe is a good friend. He is still convinced he is a loser and is still terrified of Miller the Killer. But, can things actually go right for Rafe just this once? Well, you will have to read to find out.

My 11-year old son loves this series. He likes Rafe and the book made him laugh out loud several times. The story is highly relatable and the characters are fun. Watching Rafe deal with Middle School and all it's challenges is very entertaining (even for me).

I've read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and while they are humorous, I don't like the main character, Greg Heffley. He is not a good friend and is very self-centered. I don't mind reading the books with my son, but I often point out the things Greg does that are not nice. Rafe, on the other hand, is a genuinely nice kid. He does have issues and doesn't always do the right thing (which is totally relatable for all of us), but his heart is in the right place. He knows when he has not made the best choice and he feels guilty for it and tries to atone.

Recommended to:
Highly recommended to boys in grades 4-8, especially reluctant readers and lovers of humorous realistic fiction (in this case, school stories).

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1278459/rafe-as-always-a-lovable-troublemaker

Sort of like X-Men, but not really...

Review:

Attacks are sweeping across America.

Alec and Laura are at the center of the violence, while in a small town out west, Jack and Aubrey feel sheltered from the turmoil.

But these four teens are about to find their lives intertwined in ways they never could have imagined -- and one wrong step could trigger an explosion that ends it all.

So, how to describe this book... hmmm.... I'm having trouble. I really enjoyed Variant, by Robison Wells, so I was excited to read this book. And I enjoyed it, but there are a lot of unanswered questions and unexplained motives. I'm assuming there will be at least one sequel and that may be why. In some ways, I don't think enough was explained to keep me interested in the next one. Then again, I really want to know what, "For your mother and mine." means. The phrase is spoken by the teenage terrorists with powers (in the first chapter, so no spoilers here).

Not a bad book, and teens who enjoy dystopian novels will most likely enjoy it.

Recommended to:
Grades 6-12, fans of YA dystopian novels, maybe fans of X-men as the teens have "mutant" powers which may or may not have been caused by a virus....

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1277902/sort-of-like-x-men-but-not-really

Growing up during the zombie apocalypse

Review:

I think God took all the good people away. If there is a God. I'm not so sure anymore. Wait, will I go to hell for thinking that way?
-- Decay of Innocence

When the Dead walk the Earth, the REAL demons emerge...
-- Death of Innocence

First, I need to point out that these books were originally published as 6 separate graphic novels, Kellie's Diary #1-6. Then they were published as two compilations. Kellie's Diary - Decay of Innocence (Kellie's Diary #1-3) and Kellie's Diary - Death of Innocence (Kellie's Diary #4-6). I was confused about this and ended up buying Kellie's Diary #2 after reading Decay of Innocence. When I started reading, I was like, wait I already read this.. I eventually figured it out. Looking back, I don't know what confused me so much.

Decay of Innocence starts off in January of 1993. At the start of the book, Kellie is 9-years old and she is living a fairly normal life. Gradually, we hear that more and more people are getting sick. By Chapter 5, we realize that something is terribly wrong. Kellie is stuck by herself at school and trying to escape the zombies.

Kellie is very smart and resourceful, even though she doesn't seem to know anything about zombies. Her first goal is to get to her house. Once there, when she doesn't find her family, her goal is to get to Oregon (to where her grandfather lives). She is hoping to find someone from her family alive.

Throughout the series, Kellie is very strong and does what she needs to in order to survive. She protects those she loves and tries to protect herself as well. She meets many people along the way, some good and some bad. And it seems like the zombies are not the worst thing left in this scary world.

I enjoyed this series very much. I started reading the Decay of Innocence during the Readathon last Saturday and when I finished, I immediately bought Death of Innocence and kept going. It was hard to read about the abuse Kellie suffered. No child should be forced to deal with such evil. It was interesting to read about the zombie apocalypse from a child's point of view (a child who manages to survive on her own for quite a while).

Recommended to:
Fans of graphic novels and apocalyptic stories. This is definitely an adult book. There is a lot of graphic violence including child abuse and sexual abuse.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1275137/growing-up-during-the-zombie-apocalypse

Wait... What???

Review:

Wow. This book. It is scary, creepy and gross all at the same time. Dane is a terrifying character and what he does to people... let me just say ewww. His nickname is the Rest Stop Dentist because he takes his victim's teeth and leaves them in a trail leading to the body. Dane has been executed by the state of Arkansas, but that doesn't stop him from taking his revenge.

The book is told alternately through Dane's mother Ella's eyes in the present day and in flashbacks to when Ella & Dane's father met and Dane's childhood. By doing this, Lorn allows us to see the sweet, innocent boy that Dane was.

I felt sorry for Dane and was scared of him at the same time. He wasn't born a serial killer. He suffered horrific abuse from his father growing up. It was quite difficult to read about at times (children are a soft spot for me, along with dogs). His mother (Ella) stood by and let it happen. I can't even imagine how she could allow Dane to suffer such abuse. I would never let anyone touch my children if I was around to stop them. Yet somehow Lorn made me feel sorry for Ella even as I wanted to smack her and make her realize what she was doing to her son.

This is a dark book, with graphic descriptions of violence committed by Dane, alive & dead. It is very intense and hard to put down. I loved every minute of it and I couldn't have predicted the end in a million years. After I read the end, I had to go back and read it again. I just couldn't believe what happened.

Recommended to :
Fans of horror and serial killer stories. The surprise ending with leave you with your mouth hanging open....

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1274640/wait-what

Gross, but accurate....

In fact, the air was uncomfortably warm, like sitting down on a public toilet and finding the previous user's body heat radiating up into my own butt.

-page 3

Maybe this is crazy, but I love this description. I knew exactly what the author meant and this made me laugh. That is an awful feeling and I'm sure anyone who has experienced it will agree. But I have never seen it in writing before.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1270002/gross-but-accurate