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Review: Finally, Something Mysterious by Doug Cornett

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Finally Something Mysterious by Doug Cornett

Finally, Something Mysterious
Doug Cornett
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published April 14, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Finally, Something Mysterious

Paul Marconi has always thought that Bellwood was a strange town, but also a bit of a boring one. Not much for an 11 year old to do. Fires are burning nearby, Paul’s parents are obsessed with winning a bratwurst contest, his best friend, one of the founding members of their only-sibling detective club, The One and Onlys, is about to have a younger sister, sort of undoing their whole reason for existing. But then! Hundreds of rubber duckies have appeared on the lawn of poor Mr. Babbage without any explanation. Finally! There is something that Paul and his friends can actually investigate.

In the face of all these strange occurences, Paul is convinced that solving who put the duckies on that lawn will finally bring some sense to what has become an upside down world. Soon the three friends have a long list of suspects, all with their own motives, but no clear culprit. When everything comes to a head at the town’s annual Bellwood Bratwurst Bonanza, Paul discovers some that some things don’t have an easy explanation and not everything can be solved.

A perfect summer story about friends, amateur sleuthing and a whole lot of rubber duckies.

My Review

You can probably guess from the title that FINALLY, SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS is going to be a funny book, and you’re right! These three friends won’t back down in the face of weird alibis, scary teachers, or midnight tuba solos. I had so much fun reading this book. I loved the friendship between Paul and the One and Onlys. His small town is packed with quirky people sharing interesting connections.

I love that the mystery they’re solving involves loads of rubber ducks. It’s random and strange and a great representation of the kind of goofy humor that fills the pages of the story. If you’re looking for a good laugh, this book delivers.

It reminded me a little bit of THREE TIMES LUCKY by Sheila Turnage and Lemony Snicket’s All the Wrong Questions series. If you liked either of those, or you just need a good laugh, you’ll want to check out FINALLY, SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
I think all three main characters are white kids.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Again Again by E. Lockhart

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Again Again
E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press
Published June 2, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Again Again

In this novel full of surprises from the New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud, E. Lockhart ups the ante with an inventive and romantic story about human connection, forgiveness, self-discovery, and possibility.

If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?

After a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, Adelaide Buchwald finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility, during which she will fall in and out of love a thousand times—while finally confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind.

A raw, funny story that will surprise you over and over, Again Again gives us an indelible heroine grappling with the terrible and wonderful problem of loving other people.

My Review

It took me a little bit to get my footing with this book. Basically, as a scene unfolds, there are other possible outcomes that appear in bold (at least, they’re bold in the ARC). So you read a scene as it plays out several different possible ways. Then the text goes back to normal and you read on.

At first, I found it a little confusing. In a way, that made the story reflect Adelaide herself– because she’s definitely confused and kind of going in circles at the beginning of the story.

The more I read, the more I liked the style of storytelling and the characters in the book. I especially liked Adelaide’s relationship with her brother, Toby. It felt so raw and aching and yet like there was so much potential for joy there. The way they spoke about their parents felt so real in terms of sibling relationships.

I feel like AGAIN AGAIN delivered a thing that drew me to E. Lockhart’s writing in the first place (She also wrote WE WERE LIARS, which I LOVED!). It’s like she has this uncanny ability to peel back the outer layers and cut straight to the core of emotions and grief and sort of reinvent the experience of reading a book. I wouldn’t want every book to be told in this way, but I feel like it really worked for this particular book with this particular family. All in all, I am so glad I read it, and would definitely recommend it to others.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Adelaide’s roommate is a lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used a couple dozen times or so throughout the book.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Reference to sex and nudity.

Spiritual Content
Some reference to a higher power.

Violent Content
A girl gets bitten on her wrist pretty severely by a Pitbull.

Drug Content
Adelaide and Toby’s parents are pretty permissive about teens drinking alcohol. One character develops an addiction to opiates and then heroin. One scene describes finding out a person has overdosed on heroin.

Note: I received a free copy of AGAIN AGAIN in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published February 21, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

My Review

I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time, and I’m glad I finally did it! I liked Ari right from the beginning. He’s a loner, both content to be alone and also miserable about it. He has an interesting relationship with his family, particularly both of his parents. I love that his dad and his relationship with his dad plays such a key role in the story. It’s not a major focus at all, but there are like these microburst moments between them that change everything.

I also love Ari’s relationship with Dante. They’re a perfect foil for each other. Dante is this upbeat, optimistic chatterbox, where Ari is a quiet, brooding guy who processes everything inside his head. Emotions are Dante’s first language, but they remain mysterious and opaque to Ari.

ARISTOTLE AND DANTE is a relationships book. The plot is kind of winding and I felt like it stalled out briefly in a few places. But the relationships with the characters, even between Ari and peripheral characters, remain dynamic and compelling. I’m so glad I read this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Both Ari and Dante’s families are Mexican.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl and two boys.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a boy getting beat up by several other boys. One scene shows a boy beating up another.

Drug Content
Several scenes show teens drinking alcohol. There are references to smoking pot and doing heroin, and one scene that shows two characters smoking pot.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

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The Henna Wars
Adiba Jaigirdar
Page Street Kids
Published on May 12, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Henna Wars

WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI meets SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA in this rom com about two teen girls with rival henna businesses.

When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life.

Flávia is beautiful and charismatic and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat choose to do henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.

My Review

I think this is my favorite f/f romance that I’ve read so far. I love the relationship between Nishat and her sister Priti. I’m a huge fan of sister books and sister relationships in books, so theirs was an easy win for me. It felt so much like my relationship with my sister in school– that tug-of-war between needing each other and needing to do things on your own or needing to find your own way.

If I struggled with anything (big IF!) it was feeling like Flávia didn’t deserve Nishat. The heart wants what it wants, but sometimes I struggle with a book where someone is in love with someone who just doesn’t seem worthy of them. As the story went on, however, it became clear that there was more to Flávia than I originally gave her credit for, and ultimately, she won me over.

I also loved the evolution of Nishat’s relationships with her parents. It obviously wasn’t an easy journey, and I don’t want to give anything more away. But there were some great moments there for me, too. (My favorite was her mom’s comment about someone being pansexual, but the way she said it sounded like someone who was in romantic love with paan. I definitely laughed out loud at that!)

On the whole, HENNA WARS was exactly the book I needed right when I read it. It’s funny and heartwarming (and at times, heartbreaking) and packed with the high of first love and the strength of a sister bond.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Nishat and her family are Bengali. Flávia is Brazilian and Irish. They all live in Ireland.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Some references to Muslim faith and beliefs.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
Some instances of bullying. Someone sends a hateful text message outing a lesbian. Some property destruction as bullying and references to cruel comments. When other girls find out that one character is a lesbian, they refuse to change in the locker room with her. There aren’t any descriptions of events when anyone directly attacks the bullying victim (which doesn’t make any of the things that happen better or okay, just thinking in terms of triggers).

Drug Content
References to alcohol at a teen party.

Note: I received a free copy of THE HENNA WARS in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher

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Stoneheart (Stoneheart Trilogy #1)
Charlie Fletcher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published May 1, 2007

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Stoneheart

A city has many lives and layers. London has more than most. Not all the layers are underground, and not all the lives belong to the living.

Twelve-year-old George Chapman is about to find this out the hard way. When, in a tiny act of rebellion, George breaks the head from a stone dragon outside the Natural History Museum, he awakes an ancient power. This power has been dormant for centuries but the results are instant and terrifying: A stone Pterodactyl unpeels from the wall and starts chasing George. He runs for his life but it seems that no one can see what he’s running from. No one, except Edie, who is also trapped in this strange world.

And this is just the beginning as the statues of London awake
This is a story of statues coming to life; of a struggle between those with souls and those without; of how one boy who has been emotionally abandoned manages to find hope.

My Review

I listened to this story as an audiobook read by Jim Dale, and I really, really needed this book right now. I started listening to it because I couldn’t sleep, and I think Dale’s voice is particularly soothing.

At first, I kept having to listen to the same chapters over and over because I’d fall asleep. But once I got hooked on the story, I started finding time to listen to it during the day, even if it was just for ten minutes while I folded laundry or started making dinner.

I found George to be a really sympathetic character (totally reminded me of like, every downtrodden, nerdy hero from 90s kids’ movies) and Edie even more lovable. I wish there had been more clarity about her background, but I feel like she’s such a big character in the present action in the story that I almost didn’t have time to miss the backstory details.

Also, the Gunner. I mean. Has there ever been a STATUE that made such an amazing character? I want him on my team forever. I felt like there were other more minor characters– the Clocker and Dictionary for instance– that I also thought were just great.

STONEHEART is a bit of a weird book. It definitely takes some willing-suspension-of-disbelief, but I both needed and really enjoyed the escape from reality for a bit while I read this one.

I think fans of THE STORM KEEPER’S ISLAND would enjoy the clever and unique story world of STONEHEART.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Main characters are white and from the UK.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used a couple of times.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Statues come alive. Some monsters or people live under curses. A curse can only be broken by following a certain ritual.

Violent Content
Some situations of peril and frightening images, including reference to a man trying to stab a child, a man drowning a child, a monster who intends to eat a child.

Drug Content
The children hide out at a bar that’s closed.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton

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The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly
Jamie Pacton
Page Street Kids
Published on May 5, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

Kit Sweetly slays sexism, bad bosses, and bad luck to become a knight at a medieval-themed restaurant.

Working as a wench―i.e. waitress―at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly dreams of being a knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood, so she can help her mom pay the mortgage and hold a spot at her dream college.

Company policy allows only guys to be knights. So when Kit takes her brother’s place and reveals her identity at the end of the show, she rockets into internet fame and a whole lot of trouble with the management. But the Girl Knight won’t go down without a fight. As other wenches join her quest, a protest forms. In a joust before Castle executives, they’ll prove that gender restrictions should stay medieval―if they don’t get fired first.

My Review

Oh. My. Gosh. This book! I love so many thing about THIS BOOK. I don’t even know where to start.

First off, the narrator, Kit, has this fantastic voice. She’s funny, awkward, determined and smart and I adored her from page one. Her friends and family members all stood out as distinct characters. I often get side characters mixed up, but I did not have that trouble here because they were all so memorable and different from each other.

You don’t have to read very far into the cover copy to guess that a theme of the story is feminism and gender roles. I was a little worried that that would dominate the story, but actually, I felt like it was integrated really well with the characters and other plot elements.

I also loved that Kit goes a lot broader than simply looking for female rights to work as Knight characters (a higher paying role) at her job. She quickly realizes that others– specifically her transgender and nonbinary friends– are also barred from applying for that position. So I thought it was cool that the story included a wider push for equal rights rather than falling into the sort of cliché story about a girl wanting to do something she’s been told she can’t do. It reminds us that those sorts of “men only” roles leave out more than women. I thought that was a great point and loved the inclusivity of the story in this way.

Another thing that I thought was well-balanced in the book with these elements was Kit’s relationships with her family and friends. She’s kind of an avoider, so her emotional journey involved some situations where things implode because she’s put off something important– from math homework to confrontation with a parent. She has to learn to live in balance, and I loved being on that journey with her, celebrating her victories and laughing or crying right there with her.

So, yes. If you need an uplifting story that will make you laugh and warm your heart, just go get this book right now. (Check the content notes– there’s some swearing and drinking, so know that’s there.)

I think the book is amazing, and I love it and can’t wait to read it all over again. Also I want more heroines like Kit Sweetly in my life immediately.

If you liked THIS ADVENTURE ENDS by Emma Mills or THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU by Lily Anderson, then I predict you’ll enjoy THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY, too!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Kit’s best friend is black. She also works with someone who is nonbinary (and uses they/them pronouns), and a transgender woman.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl. Brief/vague reference to sex.

Spiritual Content
Kit’s dad works as a musician for a large church but is himself something of a con.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of jousting as a part of a medieval show. One worker falls from a horse and is seriously injured.

Drug Content
Scenes show teens drinking alcohol. A drunk adult tries to get children into the car with him, but they refuse. Some references and brief descriptions of drug use.

Note: I received a free copy of THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.