Cute, Cuddly, Captivating story

Review:

 

 

 

Pip Bartlett can talk to magical creatures, and they talk back to her. Unfortunately, no one believes her. After a magical creature incident at her school, her parents decide she should spend the summer with her aunt. Aunt Emma is a veterinarian for magical creatures, so Pip isn't too disappointed about going.

 

 

 

Pip is 9 years old and her favorite book is a guide to magical creatures. Here is a picture of Pip from the book:

 

 

 

Along with the picture of Pip, throughout the book, there are pictures of different magical creatures which will really appeal to kids. Other characters in the book include Tomas, Pip's friend who is allergic to everything and a bit of a hypochondriac; Regent Maximus, a neurotic unicorn who is afraid of everything; Bubbles, a grouchy Miniature Silky Griffin; and a bunch of Fuzzles who are constantly setting things on fire.

 

 

 

 

Pip is determined to find out why the Fuzzles are suddenly appearing in town before Mrs. Dreadbotch from the Supernatural/Magical Animal Care, Keeping, and Education Department (S.M.A.C.K.E.D.) finds a way to get rid of them permanently.

 

This is a Grade 3-5 Sunshine State nominated book. I predict the kids will love this one. :) I read it in a couple of hours and really liked it.

 

Recommended to:

Grades 3-5, readers who like fantasy, adventurous girls, and cuddly creatures.

 

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1447063/cute-cuddly-captivating-story

Why did I wait so long to read this??

Review:

 

This book - wow. I LOVED it. 

 

I am so excited to read the next two books. But, I have like 6 books that were on hold and just came in and were electronically checked out to me. (UGH!) I told myself I would try to read as many Sunshine State books as I could during my break from school, so

 

*grimaces* 

 

I will read the books I have that were on hold first.

 

Anyway, I loved the writing, loved the story. If you are late to the party, like me - you need to read this book.

 

Check out some of the writing:

 

My existence is vibration, the echo of my own breath, and heat so thick and noxious it feels like I'm swaddled in a heavy quilt of hot piss. - Chapter 1

 

(Um... GROSS, but very descriptive.)

 

An empire cannot be destroyed from without till it is destroyed from within. Remember that. We're empire-breakers, not terrorists. - Chapter 10

 

You do not follow me because I am the strongest...You do not follow me because I am the brightest...You follow me because you do not know where you are going. I do. - Chapter 36

 

Words are a weapon stronger than he knows. And songs are even greater. The words wake the mind. The melody wakes the heart. - Chapter 44

 

 

Darrow - the things he goes through. Just when you think you know what's going to happen next, there's a twist. Just when you think you know who to trust, there's a betrayal. Just when you think you know what the overall purpose of something is, you're like wait... what the hell?

 

And then you remember that these are teenagers.   WOW.

 

 

Recommended to:

This is an epic tale of vengeance, and rebellion with a hero you can't help but root for. If you like that kind of story, this is for you.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1445560/why-did-i-wait-so-long-to-read-this

Scary Squirrels at Summer Camp

Review:

Wow. I honestly did not expect to like this as much as I did. This book is scary, nail-biting, compassionate and somewhat realistic. But I am glad that my summer camp experiences were never this intense.

 

I don't want to give anything away, but I will say this is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of death. There are a lot of crazy "rabid" animals. There are good kids and bad, brave kids and cowards, and there are a lot of slow revelations about the kids' backgrounds.

 

This book is fantastic if you like a realistic story with a heavy dose of fright. 

 

This is on the 2016-2017 Sunshine State Nomination list of books for grades 6-8. And it is good for those grades and above, but I will suggest to our elementary librarian that we leave it out of our collection. As I always say, you know your kids. This book is intense, but if you have a budding horror fan (as I was as a preteen), they will probably love it.

 

Think:

 

Cujo (King) + Zoo (Patterson) + summer camp - adults = a fantasticly frightening experience

 

Recommended to:

Budding horror fans in grades 6 and up. (Avoid if you are sensitive to animal death or are squeamish in general).

 

 

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1445546/scary-squirrels-at-summer-camp

Amazing Fantasy adventure series!!

Review:

 

 

I absolutely love this series! If you like middle-grade books and fantasy stories, read Hollow Earth! Highly recommended. I am hoping to get this for our school library!!  

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1445530/amazing-fantasy-adventure-series

Magic vs. Reality

Review:

 

 

I loved Breadcrumbs, the first book I read by Anne Ursu. Her writing is amazing, it really draws you in. The friendship between the two main characters in that book was powerful. The same type of friendship is found in The Real Boy, with Callie and Oscar.

 

Oscar is an unusual boy, who most people treat as "less than". He believes there is something wrong with him, something missing, but he doesn't know what it is. Callie is a true friend. She sees Oscar for who he really is and realizes that there is something different about him. She never holds that against him, but rather encourages him to try new things. 

 

They live in a forest called the Barrow. The Barrow is the last place where magic exists. The Barrow surrounds a city, Asteri, where the "shining people" live. Oscar is a shop boy for the most powerful magician and Callie is an apprentice to the village healer. Oscar has a simple, predictable life and he likes it that way. The real world is too predictable and he doesn't want to deal with that. (It almost seemed like he had a form of autism from the way he acted).

 

The people of the Barrow provide magical services to the shining people of the city. But, at what point do they rely too much on magic?  The shining people reject reality and want to live in a fantasy world of magic. When reality intrudes, neither the shining people nor the villagers in the Barrow deal with it well. Oscar and Callie aren't leaders in the Barrow, but they are the ones who see what is happening and they are the only ones who try to act to make a difference.

 

This is a beautiful fantasy story where the real magic is found in the friendship of the main characters.

 

Recommended to:

Grades 3 - 7 (and up). Fans of fantasy and friendship stories, where the little guy makes a big difference.

Original post: readingismyescape.booklikes.com/post/1436659/magic-vs-reality