Bookish Review: The Mostly True Story of Jack

I picked up an ARC of this at  some conference, so thanks to the publisher! It did not affect my review.

I was expecting this book to be some sort of twist on Jack and the beanstalk, but it's not. Jack is a boy who doesn't believe in magic. He has no friends and no one seems to pay him any attention--even his parents don't really see him. When his parents start divorce proceedings, they bring him to stay with his aunt and uncle in a small town in Iowa, and strange things start happening. He makes friends for the first time and he starts to believe that maybe his parents aren't his parents after all, and maybe magical things can be non-fiction.

A fun read. Good for kiddos who like magic and nature. A little scary (souls are being stolen), but with a happy ending.

Bookish Review: Seven Sorcerers

Seven Sorcerers is the start to a series, so don't expect a very tidy ending. This middle-grade novel involves a girl, Nim, who wakes up to find that every trace of her brother has disappeared and she is the only one who remembers him. He's been snatched by a bogeyman, and she is the next on the list. She joins up with another kidnapped child who managed to escape the bogeyman's grasp and goes on a quest to find her brother and return everyone's memories of him and her. They travel through a magical world fueled by human's hopes and fears that is slowly dying, encountering magical creatures and danger along the way. Nim is a very likeable character, and it's a pretty good read. Recommended for fans of Fablehaven. (It is not, as one person told me it was supposed to be, "the next Harry Potter.")

Bookish Review: Ten Miles Past Normal

Ten Miles Past Normal is a fun read for tweens about a girl who (somewhat accidentally) convinces her family to move to a farm and then comes to regret her own persuasiveness as she starts high school and is quickly labelled "Farm Girl." It's a book about trying to fit in or stand out, dealing with friends (old and new), and discovering who you are and how to be comfortable in your own skin. It's a quick and enjoyable read, clean, with no overwhelming romance--a good one for young girls.

Disclaimer: I received an advance electronic copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of review. Free access to the book did not affect my opinion. For more information on Simon & Schuster's eGalley program, please visit www.galleygrab.com.

Bookish Review: The Daughters

The Daughters tells the story of Lizzie Summers and her friends Carina and Hudson. All three girls are daughters of the rich and/or famous, and they have rules about being such a daughter. The book is about what happens when they break some of their rules. Lizzie is the daughter of a supermodel, but she unfortunately got the looks of her journalist father. She is mortified every time she has to pose with her mother for a paparazzi photo until she falls into "ugly modeling" and gets labeled the new face of beauty. In the midst of all this, the girls are starting high school and Carina is fighting with her business mogul father while Hudson struggles under her pop-star mother's creative control over Hudson's first album. Throw in a very attractive boy from Lizzie's past, who wants to be a friend...or more than a friend...or not even a friend, and it's quite an interesting story!

The friendships and angst feel real. Tweens will love these girls and be very eager for the next installment after the cliffhanger ending.

Book Review: Infinity

This book is the first in a new series called the Chronicles of Nick. The book is set in New Orleans, which I found to be the most interesting part. Nick is a poor teen on a scholarship at a ritzy school. His mother is a stripper and his father is in prison for murdering several people. Strange things begin happening (not unusual in New Orleans) and when zombies (but not dead zombies) begin taking over the school and trying to eat their classmates, Nick discovers that his "crazy" friends who believe in zombies and demons are not so crazy after all. Little does Nick know, he is the latest generation in a demon family, and he can choose to save the world, or destroy it.

There's also a love interest, of course, who is really watching Nick to make sure he doesn't become the embodiment of evil, but may have feelings for him, too.

The plot is a little odd, and some of the writing is hokey or laughable (in an unintended way), but it's rather entertaining, too. (How do they become zombies? a video game, if you can believe it. How to change them back? A cattle prod!)

Full Disclosure: I received a free ARC of this book at a conference, courtesy of the publisher.

Bookish Review: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Isn't the cover design of this book awesome?

Calpurnia Tate is a girl growing up in TX at the turn of the 20th century. In a household filled with brothers, Callie's mother has high hopes for her coming out in a few years and is struggling mightily to get Callie to learn knitting, sewing, cooking, and other domestic arts--all of which Callie hates. What Callie loves is investigations with her naturalist grandfather, who teaches her about microbes, plants, animals, observation, the scientific method, and The Origin of the Species. As Callie grows to love science, she also begins to realize that a career or education at the university is probably off-limits to her as her family believes her future lies in a good marriage. As she sees the injustice of it all, she begins to wonder what her future holds.

Callie is a very compelling protagonist, and the ending does not answer all questions about where her future lies--there's definitely room for a sequel here.

Bookish: To Kill a Mockingbird

So, I finally got around to reading Harper Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. I was never assigned this in school and somehow never read it (or saw the movie) until now. I must say that its status as a classic is fully deserved. The story of two kids growing up in a small Southern town with no mother and an older father whom they don't always understand (and whom they call by his frst name). Their father becomes involved in representing a black defendant in an unfair rape trial, and reading about the trial and the town's and the children's reactions to it is compelling. The trial is important and a big part of the book, but the book is also just about growing up and trying to understand the world you were born into. It's about kindness and not judging others or fearing the unknown. I did wonder, after the trial and after the death, where Harper Lee was going with the remaining 7 chapters or so, but she wrapped things up quite nicely. There is some language in the book, but it is indicative of and appropriate to the time period.

Bookish: The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline is an Enola Holmes mystery. Enola is the 14-year-old sister of Sherlock Holmes, hiding from her brothers as they desire to send her to boarding school and take away her freedom. A master of disguise and deduction, much like her famous brother, in this book she is investigating the disappearance of her landlady, a deaf and dotty old bird that it seems no one would want to kidnap. The book is fun and well-written. It's a short, quick read with a feisty female lead. A good choice for young mystery fans.

Bookish for Kids: Escape Under the Forever Sky

Escape Under The Forever Sky is a story of an American girl living in Africa with her ambassador mother. Lucy has friends and likes where she lives but she deaires freedom. Her mother is very worried about her safety, and thus puts serious restrictions on where she can go and what she can do. Of course Lucy decides to rebel against this, but she quickly learns her lesson the hard way when she is kidnapped. She decides she must escape from her kidnappers and find her way home, even though she is far from the city and does not know exactly where they have taken her. Her adventure as she escapes is exciting, though I thought it was over a bit too quickly. Of course, this is written for a young audience and perhaps the author was anticipating short attention spans. Not bad, overall.

PS-I liked the cover on the ARC better than the final cover. Just FYI.

Bookish: The Omnivore's Dilemma

So, I read the Young Reader's Edition of Michael Pollan's much-lauded manifesto on the state of food. Why? Because I got a free ARC at a conference, and the information is the same as the adult version; it's just written on a lower level. The book was great--compelling, interesting, and truthful. It didn't read like propaganda; rather, like Pollan had set out to find the truth, and he found it. Agriculture in America is not a pretty thing these days. It is extremely unusual to find Ma and Pa Farmer working their land, raising animals and different crops--it just doesn't work that way anymore. These days, with government subsidies and the insane dependence on corn, it doesn't pay off to grow multiple crops or raise multiple animals. Pollan visits big corn farms, big cow farms, big organic farms--which are better because of the lack of pesticide, but still not as great as you might imagine--an industrial farm raising "free range" chickens that never leave the coop, and a small, local farm that works the way farms used to work--the way they SHOULD work. Pollan even hunts and gathers his own food, to get the full picture of how food can be obtained.

Warning to parents: your kids may want you to change the way you shop after reading this book. But if you read it too, you may want to change the way you eat. An interested, eye-opening read. Recommended, in either version.

Bookish for Kids: Battle of the Labyrinth

This the the 4th book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan. It is the summer before Percy turns 15 and he has yet another school orientation before heading off to camp. Again, monsters disrupt his orientation and the school is left believing he firebombed a cheerleader. Percy and Annabeth return to camp, only to find that Kronos is growing stronger and the Titans' revolt is imminent, Grover is about to lose his searchers' license, Clarisse is capable of being almost nice, and Annabeth must lead the others on a quest through the labyrinth if they are to have any hope of saving the camp from Luke's invasion. So, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson head into the labyrinth, but they soon find they can't find their way without a mortal guide, so Percy calls on his friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare, which does not make Annabeth happy. Also, there is still the problem of Nico, son of Hades, who still blames Percy for the death of his sister. Nico could be an ally to the camp or he could be a very powerful enemy, and he is being influenced by a dangerous spirit.


Lives are at stake, as usual, and there is the added "girl drama" with both Annabeth and Rachel possibly wanting to be more than friends with Percy, not to mention an encounter with Calypso.


Yet again, the allusions to Greek mythology add to the fun. The big battle fulfilling the prophecy will happen in the fifth and final book in the series, available now, though I have not yet read it.

Bookish for Kids: Fortune's Folly

Fortune's Folly by Deva Fagan is a new book recommended for ages 12 & up. Ever since Fortunata's mother died, the magic has left her father and though he once made beautiful shoes, his creations are now hideous and nearly impossible to sell. Fortunata does not believe in magic and tries to convince her father that he can make the same shoes he did before, but he cannot even see the difference.


In trying to save her father and herself, Fortunata gets mixed up with a band of fortune tellers and she soon finds herself in the unenviable position of creating a prophecy to help a prince find his bride...and being forced to make it come true.


As she goes on the quest with the prince, she soon falls in love with him herself. But, if she doesn't find him the princess her invented prophecy predicts, her father will be put to death. What's a girl to do?


The story is fun, sweet, and well-written. Not completely original, but what story is. A good read for fairy-tale fans.

Bookish Review: The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series. The first two books have also been reviewed here. Percy and his friends start off with a rescue mission fir two suspected half-bloods at a school in New York. With a little help from Artemis and the Hunters, they manage to get the kids safely away, but Annabeth is lost in the process. Soon, Artemis is also in trouble, and Percy, Grover, Thalia, and the Hunters must go on a cross-country quest to save them. With a little help from the gods along the way, they make it to the West Coast where they have another altercation with Luke and the others trying to restore the Titans to power.


Another good installment to the series.

Bookish Review: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters is the 2nd book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series. The echoes of Harry Potter are a bit louder in this one than in the first, but even so, it is an enjoyable story. We rejoin Percy, a demigod (son of Poseidon and a mortal), as he heads out on a quest to save his friend Grover, a satyr on a quest to find Pan. Annabeth, daughter of Athena, rejoins him, and he has picked up another companion--his half-brother, the cyclops Tyson. As the book opens, Percy is kicked out of yet another school for an incident with monsters in the gym. In addition to saving Grover, Percy must also save Camp Half-Blood, since Luke, under the spell of Kronos, has poisoned the tree (formerly Zeus's daughter Thalia) that protects the camp. There are more fun mythical allusions and the book is fast-paced to keep readers' attention. Recommended.

Bookish Review: Inkheart

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke is a book for booklovers. Technically, it is a children's book, but I think bibliophiles of all ages will enjoy it. It will shortly be released as a movie, though what I have seen of the trailers so far leads me to believe they have taken some liberties with the story. Meggie and her father have the ability to read books to life, but at a price. When Meggie was only three, her father (Mo) was reading aloud to her mother, and three characters from the book appeared in their world and Meggie's mother disappeared into the book. Meggie's father vows never to read aloud again. He works as a book doctor, repariring bindings and chewed pages, and he and Meggie are continually on the run from Capricorn, one of the characters he set loose in the world, though Meggie does not know it. Capricorn is a true villan, and wants to get his hands on Mo so Mo can read him riches and other tools from books that will help him increase his power. When it is discovered that Meggie also has the talent, Capricorn is happy to use her instead.
The book is an adventure, a love letter to books, and a really good read. I will certainly write a review of the movie when I see it, and of the other books in the trilogy when I read them. Highly recommended for book lovers of all ages. I also found myself wanting to read many of the passages aloud--it would be a great one to share at bedtime with kids, as long as they are not too young. There are some scary elements in the book, and we don't want nightmares, now do we?

Bookish for Kids: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is the first book in the Percy and the Olympian Series. Percy (short for Perseus, of course) Jackson, age 12, is dyslexic, has ADHD, and has been kicked out of more schools than you'd care to count. He's never met his father, and his mother has married a real terror, but she loves Percy very much and tries to take care of him. Percy has almost made it all the way through the year at his boarding school--the first time he has spent so long at any school. Of course, it can't last, and Percy gets kicked out after a series of strange happenings. His mother decides it is finally time to do what his father wanted and take him to summer camp, but not just any camp--Camp Half-Blood. Percy soon discovers that his father is one of the Greek gods and that gods and satyrs and dryads and all of the other mythical creatures are not myths at all. A war is about to break out between Poseidon and Zeus, and Percy must go on a quest and find a way to stop the war.

The book is fast-paced and full of fun mythological allusions. I love mythology; I took a whole elective on it in high school, in addition to the myths I was exposed to in my Latin and English classes, so I found this a really fun read. I think it will appeal to Harry Potter fans as well.

Bookish for Kids: Rumblewick's Diary

Book 1: My Unwilling Witch Goes to Ballet School

These books are told through the diaries of a witch's familiar: the cat Rumblewick. Rumblewick's witch, Haggy Aggy, is extremely reluctant to do anything witchlike and only wants to know what it is like to be a regular girl. Rumblewick has to hide Haggy Aggy's unwitchlike behavior from the other witches, lest she (and really, HE) get in trouble. In this book, HA decides to try out being a ballerina, but when the high hags come to check up on her, Rumblewick must find a way to make her act more witchlike, despite her stubbornness.

Book 2: My Unwilling Witch Sleeps Over

Haggy Aggy decides to go on a sleepover with regular little girls. With HA's aunt's familiar, Sassy, on the prowl to catch HA in any un-witchlike behavior, and Rumblewick trying to prepare for the Steeplechase heats--which he needs HA to attend to enter--will he be able to keep her from the sleepover and sure witchy disaster?

Overall, the books are cute, fast reads for kids beginning chapter books. There are black-and-white illustrations to accompany the stories. Sometimes Rumblewick's indignation goes over-board and there are some questions about how witches age, since Haggy Aggy fits right in with the little girls, but she can also drive a car. Overall, the books are cute, and will have some fans out there.

Both books will be available in hardcover from Little, Brown, & Co later this year.