Category Archives: Book Review and Content

Review: How to Go Anywhere (And Not Get Lost) by Hans Aschim

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How to Go Anywhere and Not Get Lost by Hans Aschim

How to Go Anywhere (And Not Get Lost)
Hans Aschim
Workman Publishing Company
Published March 30, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How to Go Anywhere (And Not Get Lost)

From journalist and adventurer extraordinaire Hans Aschim, here’s a lively and interactive book that gets kids unplugged and out of the house—and teaches them cool navigation techniques to use while hiking, camping, or just exploring the backyard or nearby park. 

With lively full-color illustrations and full-color photos throughout, HOW TO GO ANYWHERE (AND NOT GET LOST) combines fascinating history with fun hands-on activities that bring critical science, geography, and astronomy concepts to life. Readers will discover explorers and the tools they developed through the ages: from the ancient Polynesians who crafted stick charts to learn swell patterns in the water to navigate precise paths through the ocean; to Age of Discovery navigators who used compasses and maps to reach the New World; to the modern-day pilots who wield radar and GPS to soar across continents. Kids will also learn skills like taking their bearings with a compass; finding their way with dead reckoning; and locating their own latitude and longitude. 

And best of all: 17 activities—making their own sextant, compass, stick chart, chip log, and more—will turn all young adventurers into young navigators.

My Review

This book is part history, part DIY, and part love for the outdoors. Even though I’m not really a camping/hiking kind of person, I found I loved this book. I liked the approach the author took, walking readers through the history of navigation and navigational equipment. At each stage, the author describes how people used clues from nature and the stars, combined with basic math to figure out where they were and also where they were going.

The activities are integrated pretty seamlessly into the book, too. They’re directly related to concepts the author has explained, so they read like a, “now you know, go try it,” type of thing. I loved that, and I also really want to try out some of the activities myself and with my kids.

On the whole, this book was very easy to read. The sections of text are short and often broken up with sidebars or other short bits of information. The author scaled the information really well for young readers. I think anyone, nature enthusiast or not, could benefit from this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Briefly covers history of famous explorers or groups with a focus on navigational methods.

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

Review: Mirror to Mirror by Rajani LaRocca

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

Mirror to Mirror
Ranaji LaRocca
HarperCollins
Published March 21, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Mirror to Mirror

In Rajani LaRocca’s breathtaking follow-up to the Newbery Honor– and Walter Award–winning Red, White, and Whole, identical twin sisters with a complicated relationship do everything together—until one day, they break apart.

Maya is the pragmatic twin. But when her sister threatens to reveal her secret anxiety to their parents, she feels completely betrayed.

Chaya is the outgoing twin. With Maya shutting her out, she decides to make a drastic change to give her twin the space she seems to need.

The once-close sisters can’t seem to find their rhythm, but they know that something has to give. So they make a bet: they’ll switch places at summer camp, and whoever can keep the ruse going longer will get to decide where they both attend high school—the source of frequent arguments. But stepping into each other’s shoes isn’t as easy as it sounds. Will the twins’ relationship recover?

My Review

I didn’t realize this book was a novel in verse until I began reading it. From the first pages, I was drawn in to Chaya and Maya’s lives. I got them mixed up early on because they both say similarly complementary things about each other, but as the story went on and I got to know them better, it became a lot easier to keep track of which was which, so that by the end, when they switched places, I followed those scenes with no confusion at all.

I love sister books, and I don’t often get a chance to read books about twin sisters, so I was super excited to read this one. I loved the way the sisters know each other better than anyone, but even then, they’re not immune from doubts or unable to keep secrets. I also liked some of the things their parents said to them. Their parents are obviously not perfect, and they have a rocky relationship. But they still see and notice Maya and Chaya, more than the girls even realize at first. So I really appreciated the dynamics in their family.

All in all, I think this is a great novel in verse and a wonderful story of the bond between sisters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Maya and Chaya are identical twins and Indian American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Mentions of celebrating Gokulashtami, Lord Krishna’s birthday.

Violent Content
Self-harm: Maya battles anxiety and begins scratching C’s into her hand using her nails in response to her anxiety.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu

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I Will Find You Again
Sarah Lyu
Simon & Schuster
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About I Will Find You Again

All the Bright Places meets Ace of Spades in this twisty teen thriller about finding a way to live after losing the one person who feels like home.

Welcome to Meadowlark, Long Island—expensive homes and good schools, ambition and loneliness. Meet Chase Ohara and Lia Vestiano: the driven overachiever and the impulsive wanderer, the future CEO and the free spirit. Best friends for years—weekend trips to Montauk, sleepovers on a yacht—and then, first love. True love.

But when Lia disappears, Chase’s life turns into a series of grim snapshots. Anger. Grief. Running. Pink pills in an Altoids tin. A cheating ring at school. Heartbreak and lies. A catastrophic secret.

And the shocking truth that will change everything about the way Chase sees Lia—and herself.

My Review

For some reason, I find I’m always drawn to books about complicated grief. This one is no exception. It’s an intense story, both in its exploration of grief, but also in the way that it’s written like a thriller. I feel like all the stories I want to compare it to give things away about the plot, though.

After Lia’s death, Chase finds herself trying to sift through her memories and those of her friends to piece together what happened and understand why. She feels someone must be responsible, or that there must be an explanation that will make Lia’s death make sense, and she’ll do whatever it takes to find the truth.

I liked those things about her. Her desperation was palpable. Her grief exploded off the page. I couldn’t help rooting for her, even though sometimes she did self-destructive things.

The story explores the pressure that Chase and her friends feel at school. All of them have ambitious AP course loads plus extracurriculars. They decide that drugs and a cheating ring, in which one person completes an assignment or test and distributes the work to the others, is the only reasonable way to survive.

While obviously cheating is wrong, I couldn’t help pausing to think about why they chose that course and whether certain high-achieving academic programs do push kids too hard. I don’t know. It’s still something I’m thinking about.

All in all, I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN has perfect pacing in a deep, emotional landscape. Fans of E. Lockhart or Matthew Quick totally want to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Chase is Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Taiwanese. Lia is Korean and adopted by white parents.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Mentions of suicidal thoughts. Brief mention of a suicide attempt.

Drug Content
Chase takes an upper called Focentra (a fictional drug) which she buys from a classmate.

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

Review: The Girl and the Galdurian by Tim Probert

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

The Girl and the Galdurian (Lightfall #1)
Tim Probert
HarperAlley
Published September 1, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Girl and the Galdurian

Deep in the heart of the planet Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s House of Tonics & Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted granddaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once-prosperous world.

All that changes one day when, while walking through the woods, Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, an ancient race thought to be long-extinct. Cad believes that if anyone can help him find his missing people, it’s the Pig Wizard.

But when the two arrive home, the Pig Wizard is nowhere to be found—all that’s left is the Jar of Endless Flame and a mysterious note. Fearing for the Pig Wizard’s safety, Bea and Cad set out across Irpa to find him, while danger fights its way out of the shadows and into the light.

Will these two unexpected friends find the beloved Pig Wizard and prevent eternal darkness from blanketing their world? Or has Irpa truly seen its last sunrise?

My Review

What a fun book! I loved the dynamic between Bea and Cad. Bea is more timid and anxious, and Cad is the epitome of a can-do guy. He always believes they’ll get free from every trap or bad situation. I loved the way the two of them worked together as a team.

The illustrations are gorgeous. I feel like I’m really picky about graphic novels. I tend to love ones that have a more epic fantasy feel to them with more woodsy or nature-centered artwork. So this one scratched all those itches for me. I thought there were a few panels that were maybe a little dark or lower contrast that were a bit hard for me to see, but only a very few. The whole of the story more than made up for the fact that I had to slow down a bit a few times.

I think readers who enjoyed ESTRANGED by Ethan Aldridge or the Amulet series will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Cad is a Galdurian, a race of people thought to be extinct. Bea is adopted by her wizard grandfather.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some cartoonish battle sequences fighting giant crabs, a tentacled monster, and hungry lizards.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Castelon by Alyssa Roat

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

Castelon (Wraithwood #3)
Alyssa Roat
Mountain Brook Ink
Published March 15, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Castelon

Fifteen hundred years of Arthurian legend come to a head in the final installment of The Wraithwood Trilogy.

The sword of legend, ancient magic, and a dead man’s secrets—together they could save Brinnie’s world or end it forever.

Brinnie barely escaped Mordizan with her life. Battered and broken in body and soul, she knows she’s running out of time. And though she has discovered the identity of Mordred’s bane, no one knows where to find the legendary weapon.

To discover the truth, she and Marcus must journey to Castelon and seek the aid of the Council. However, their actions at Mordizan brand them as enemies and war criminals. Between Mordred’s armies engaged in full-scale war and the political machinations of the Council, Brinnie struggles to balance the battlefield and the courtroom while estates fall before Mordred’s wrath.

As magic ravages her own body, threatening her survival, the allure of ancient, forbidden power grows brighter. And only one man holds the knowledge of the weapon that could destroy Mordred once and for all—a man they buried in the gardens of Wraithwood.

My Review

CASTELON is the last book in a series I’ve closely followed. I love the way the author reimagined or was inspired by Arthurian legend. I also loved Brinnie and some of the other characters, too.

In CASTELON, we get to know Brinnie’s mom a bit more, and see the return of a character we thought was lost. We also say tough goodbyes to a few beloved characters. I liked the way the relationships between each character unfolded and especially the ones that I didn’t expect. In the second book in the series, MORDIZAN, Brinnie befriends a girl named Lana. I really liked the friendship between them, so I was excited to see her in this book, too.

The first two books in the series have built up to a battle against Mordred and his forces, which are bent on ruling the wizard world and destroying the human one. Brinnie and her allies struggle to find the weapon a prophecy calls Mordred’s Bane, believing only it holds the power to kill their enemy. The search takes them behind enemy lines, and gives Brinnie lots of opportunities to make brave but reckless moves.

Her bond with Marcus grows stronger chapter by chapter. Though he disagrees with her choices sometimes, he always respects her as her own person. They are partners in war and love. I adored him.

The conclusion of the book was both really exciting and also different than I expected, in a good way. I loved the wedding scene and all that represented, and the sort of open-ended way that the last pages concluded.

All in all, I thought this was a fantasy series both fierce and sweet. I think it’s perfect for readers just dipping their feet into young adult fantasy, especially those who enjoy reimagined fairy tales or Arthurian legends.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Some characters reference their Christian faith. Brinnie draws battle inspiration from Bible stories like the story of Gideon.

Some characters have the ability to perform magic.

Violent Content
Battle scenes and some references to torture.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway by Ashley Schumacher

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The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway
Ashley Schumacher
Wednesday Books
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

Since her mother’s death, Madeline “Gwen” Hathaway has been determined that nothing in her life will change ever again. That’s why she keeps extensive lists in journals, has had only one friend since childhood, and looks forward to the monotony of working the ren faire circuit with her father. Until she arrives at her mother’s favourite end-of-tour stop to find the faire is under new management and completely changed.

Meeting Arthur, the son of the new owners and an actual lute-playing bard, messes up Maddie’s plans even more. For some reason, he wants to be her friend – and ropes her into becoming Princess of the Faire. Now Maddie is overseeing a faire dramatically changed from what her mother loved and going on road trips vastly different from the routine she used to rely on. Worst of all, she’s kind of having fun.

Ashley Schumacher’s THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY is filled with a wise old magician who sells potion bottles, gallant knights who are afraid of horses and ride camels instead, kings with a fondness for theatrics, a lazy river castle moat with inflatable crocodile floaties, and a plus-sized heroine with a wide-open heart… if only she just admits it.

My Review

Is there anyone who writes complicated grief like Ashley Schumacher? I’ve read all three of her books, and loved all of them. THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY introduces Madeline, a girl who’s approaching the first anniversary of her mom’s death– and her mom’s favorite Renaissance Fair, which has been redesigned by new owners. So, her grief over losing her mom and how it’s changed her life irreversibly gets kind of mirrored by this other big event. I thought it was really clever to pair those two things so closely together.

I really liked Maddie’s character, too. She’s a loner, but not in a sad, get-that-girl-some-friends kind of way. She’s an introvert who treasures close relationships with a few people.

The only thing that worried me at first was Arthur’s approach to Madeline. He gives her a nickname she doesn’t like, and plays the “I know what you need better than you do” card, which tends to rub me the wrong way. It’s a little too close to refusing to respect someone’s “no.”

However, in several scenes, Arthur listens to Madeline’s preferences and quickly adjusts his behavior in response to her boundaries, so I liked that. And I liked that it became clear that wasn’t his whole approach to relationships with girls.

One of the subplots of the story is the evolution of how Madeline feels about her body and how she behaves in response to those feelings. She’s a curvy girl who still carries some hurts from unkind things people have said to her. When Arthur first asks her to be the Fair princess, she has a hard time believing he’s serious, or that accepting the role won’t open her up to ridicule. But as she begins to explore what makes her comfortable in her own skin, she realizes that some of the things she’s been thinking about herself aren’t reality-based. And she finds ways to shop and dress that make her feel good. I liked that journey, and I especially liked that while it didn’t happen in a vaccuum– there were people who influenced her here and there– it was still her journey.

Conclusion

All in all, I loved this book. It had lots of goofy moments and starry-eyed love. I think fans of Jenn Bennett should definitely check out THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Arthur has two dads.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Madeline carries a coin that, according to family lore, predicts the future. She flips the coin before making big decisions. She feels bound by the coin’s predictions, especially since it predicted her mom’s death from cancer.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE RENAISSANCE OF GWEN HATHAWAY in exchange for my honest review.