Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: Pie by Sarah Weeks

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Pie by Sarah WeeksPIE
Sarah Weeks
Scholastic
Published October 1, 2011

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Beloved Aunt Polly’s death leaves Alice miserable and the small town of Ipswitch floundering. Her world-famous restaurant serving free pies must close, but as the will is settled, everyone wonders who will get Polly’s award-winning pie crust recipe? No one is more surprised than Alice when Aunt Polly’s attorney presents her with Lardo, her aunt’s grumpy cat and sole inheritor of the coveted recipe. News ricochets through town. In its wake a mysterious villain vandalizes Polly’s shop and catnaps Lardo (in case the rumors that the recipe is tattooed on the feline’s enormous belly are true.)

Alice’s mother refuses to listen to Alice’s claims that the cat has been abducted and instead rages against her sister’s leaving her out of her will. It’s up to Alice and the local grocery delivery boy to solve the mystery and rescue Lardo amid the whole town’s frantic attempts to recreate Polly’s famous pies.

An unexpected guest reveals the final pieces of Aunt Polly’s will, leaving Alice and her mother dumbfounded. While Alice knows the knot of grief inside her will never fully disappear, she finds a way to cope with the loss and keep her aunt close in her memory and in her sweet baked treats.

Though it grapples with a young girl’s first experience with grief, PIE is an overwhelmingly sweet story, packed not only with tender moments and humor but over a dozen pie recipes, ranging from the all-American classic Apple Pie to the unexpected Green Tomato Pie. This is a great story to read aloud – with frequent breaks to do a little baking! What a great opportunity to bond with middle readers both in literature and in the kitchen.

Language Content
No profanity or crude language.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Who Could It Be at This Hour by Lemony Snicket

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, , ,

Who Could It Be At This Hour?
Lemony Snicket
Little, Brown and Company
Published October 24, 2012

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Thirteen year-old Lemony Snicket is ready to begin a thrilling adventure as an apprentice to a detective. His first assignment leads him and his confident companion to the small town of Stan’d-by-the-Sea. Snicket soon discovers the object he’s been hired to recover is part of a complex plot which will risk more than his apprenticeship to solve.

As Snicket works to uncover clues with the aid of his bungling mentor, he often finds himself asking the wrong questions, and later regrets the consequences. His partner, though more experienced, often overlooks evidence or logic, and though Snicket disagrees with her decisions, he remains positive and respectful toward her. The story maintains the 1950s feel of a classic spy novel.

Fans of Snicket’s earlier infamous series will find a slightly more sophisticated tone draped over the same tongue-in-cheek humor and playfulness in the first volume of the series All the Wrong Questions. Recommended for ages eight to twelve.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Language Content
No profanity or crude language.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Snicket discovers a woman tied up in a basement which is filling with water. He frees her.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Of Triton by Anna Banks

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Of Triton (Syrena Legacy #2)
Anna Banks
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 28, 2013

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When her Syrena boyfriend Galen recognizes her mother as the long-lost princess promised to his older brother, Emma realizes her life just got way more complicated. With a Syrena mother and human father, Emma is a half-breed. Humanity would label her a freak and Syrena law demands that she be put to death. Galen and his sister work to reunite their brother Grom with Emma’s mother, but none of them realize the tidal wave of repercussions the return of the lost princess will cause.

Fans of Banks’ earlier novel exploring the world of the Syrena will only find more to love in this upbeat romance jam-packed with royal political intrigue and forbidden romance. Some of the scenes involving the underwater Tribunal meeting, a trial which will decide the fate of the Syrena royals, do tend to drag on with little action and much dialogue, the story otherwise moves quickly and tensions between characters run high making this a great summer read. Of Neptune,the final chapter of the Syrena Legacy hit stores early this month and promises to be a thrilling conclusion to Emma and Galen’s story.

Language Content
Mild. More often, Emma uses terms like “flipping” or “shizzle” rather than profanity. Fits her character and spares readers looking for a cleaner reading experience.

Sexual Content
It’s clear that Emma feels deeply attracted to Galen and wants to consummate that attraction, but the two have little opportunity. Sirenna law prohibits mating between partners who have not been paired at a proper mating ceremony, and despite the force of his attraction to Emma, he is committed to respecting the traditions of his people.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Conflicts between hot-tempered Sirenna sometimes become physical altercations, though few weapons are used and few details embellish the violence. A fisherman harpoons a young whale. A young girl is stabbed with a spear. No graphic details.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Nihal of the Land of the Wind by Licia Troisi

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Nihal of the Land of the Wind
Licia Troisi
Open Road Integrated Media
Published May 27, 2014

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Since she was a little girl, the only thing Nihal has wanted to be is a warrior. When a young sorcerer tricks her and wins her sword, Nihal begins to study magic for defense and healing purposes. Her instructor introduces her to a warrior who in turn begins to train Nihal and helps her gain entrance into the elite academy of warriors known as Dragon Riders.

Along the way Nihal discovers that she is the last of a once-great race of half-elves. The voices of her people and their cries for vengeance haunt her dreams. Nihal uses this fury and her iron will to bulldoze her way through training and into battle. When a mentor challenges her to leave her hate behind before entering the battlefield again, Nihal begins a new and unexpected journey, seeking life apart from her warrior identity. She must discover how to allow peace to transform her before she can return to war.

At first glance this story might seem like an echo of Christopher Paolini’s popular novel Eragon, but in fact it’s not. Though her dragon is a significant character, he appears for only a short part of the story, and it is not the instant bond one might expect it to be. Instead the relationship teaches Nihal about patience and compassion and that her strength of will alone won’t get her everything she wants.

Nihal is young and often focused on one goal to the exclusion of all else. Her friend Sennar sees her more clearly than she sees herself. Though their lives take them in very different directions, their closeness remains and even hints at possible romance (Troisi leaves readers in eager anticipation for a second book to explore this more fully.) Though there are some battle sequences, details are few and the story focuses more on Nihal’s journey to become a warrior, not only in training, but in heart as well. Readers who enjoy fantasy with emphasis on character development and relationships will enjoy this story.

Language Content
Mild profanity, infrequent usage.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to the lore and deities of the fantasy realm in which the story takes place.

Violence
Nihal goes into battle several times. No gory descriptions of battle wounds or death.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: One Realm Beyond by Donita K. Paul

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

One Realm Beyond
Donita K. Paul
Zondervan
Published January 28, 2014

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The day Cantor has been dreaming of has finally arrived: his mentors have released him to make the journey through a portal to a new realm and begin his training as a Realm Walker. A shape-shifting dragon and a wild-haired girl quickly join Cantor as they begin their first mission to free prisoners forced into military service. Though Cantor believes Realm Walkers should be just and good, he discovers many simply are not so. When he’s confronted with the depths of the depravity of those leading the Realm Walkers Guild, he cannot simply sit by while the corruption runs rampant, even if stopping them should cost his life.

While Cantor and Bixby are both fascinating and unique characters, the author’s prowess really shows in her creation of the dragon characters, Bridger and his sister Totobee-Rodolow, who put the fun and pizzazz in this tale. Though at first glance this may seem a heavy story for younger readers, Paul handles the battles and conflicts deftly, shielding the reader from unnecessarily gory details and focusing on character and story. Recommended for readers ages eight to fourteen.

Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Cantor and his friends serve the god Primen in a monotheistic religion similar to Christianity.

Violence
Brief references to physical violence. Cantor and his friends work to thwart a terrorist attack against council leaders. Details are vague and the attackers aren’t featured much.

Drug Content
Cantor and Bixby team up with a healer who uses various potions to patch their wounds.

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Review: We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

We Are the Goldens
Dana Reinhardt
Wendy Lamb Books/Random House Children’s Books
Published May 27, 2014

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Fifteen year-old Nell has always been comfortable in her older sister’s shadow. She and Layla are intertwined. Nell begins her first year of high school, delighted to share her school days with her sister again and thrilled by the interest of a handsome boy. Then she begins to sense something strange in Layla. Her sister is pulling away. Keeping secrets. And try as she might, Nell can’t understand why.

Desperate not to lose their closeness, Nell pursues Layla, being supportive and loyal. Earning her way back into Layla’s secrets. But learning Layla’s secrets comes with a price Nell isn’t sure she can pay: should she keep Layla’s confidence even if she believes Layla is doing something wrong and deeply destructive? As she watches her usually sensible sister slide further into her secret life, Nell realizes that the only way to save her sister may be to betray her.

Reading this novel is like taking that first ride on a roller coaster and feeling the adrenaline and rush building over each tick-tick-tick as the coaster inches up to the top of its track until its riders can look out over the imminent fearsome drops and wild loops ahead. Reinhardt nails the emotional turmoil of teen relationships and the anxiety of difficult choices, creating a powerful story about both the healing and destructive powers of love.

Language Content
Moderate word choice, infrequent usage.

Sexual Content
Nell and Layla go to a very liberal-minded school whose students, according to Nell, are more interested in briefly hooking up than actually dating or having relationships. Nell very briefly relates her own experience with boys. Details are scarce and the experiences are few. Nell sleeps over at her best friend Felix’s house while his parents are out of town, but the two are not intimate with each other.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
References to a family friend who was rumored to have a drug problem. Nell and Layla attend a couple of parties at which teens guzzle alcoholic drinks. Nell indicates that a few people retreat to the porch to smoke a joint, but she doesn’t describe further nor does she participate.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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