Tag Archives: friendship

Review: Roger Tarkington and the Magic Calendar: Surviving Middle School by I. M. Maynard

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , ,
Roger Tarkington Surviving Middle School

Roger Tarkington and the Magic Calendar: Surviving Middle School
I. M. Maynard
Taft Publishing
Published February 1, 2021

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About Roger Tarkington and the Magic Calendar: Surviving Middle School

Fresh off achieving middle school greatness, 11-year-old Roger Tarkington sets his sights on something bigger than himself. He plans to use his magic calendar to help the powerless at Jefferson Middle School and turn the tables on the school’s powerful bullies.

Just call Roger a modern-day Robin Hood!

But Roger’s very first attempt could be his last, as he uncovers a secret at the school so big that even his magic calendar may not be able to fix things!

Is Roger’s plan to right the wrongs at Jefferson Middle School foolproof or foolhardy? Are some middle school wrongs impossible to be righted?

My Review

More goofy antics, time traveling adventures, and grand schemes begin immediately in this second book in the Roger Tarkington and the Magic Calendar series. This time, we get to know Roger’s best friend, E3, a bit better, as she works with him to solve a mystery about cheating on homework among the football players. She’s a smart girl, piecing together things that Roger sometimes overlooks, and pretty much keeping laser-focused on solving the case.

The story also forces Roger to recognize his dependency on the calendar and find ways to achieve his goals without solely using the calendar, which I thought was really cool. A couple of the people who he has “protected” end up being able to help him, too.

To be honest, though, I was a little disappointed with the Robin Hood theme. I kind of felt like Roger didn’t really GET Robin Hood. Robin Hood was about justice and protecting people who didn’t have the ability to protect themselves. Roger seemed to want to protect people he thought were cool from people he thought were annoying. He also has snarky nicknames for so many people, and I guess that got a little bit old after a while. It made him seem like a jerk sometimes.

He does learn some lessons about truth and justice, and his own misjudgments, though. I liked the way the mystery unraveled and the way Roger couldn’t solve everything on his own. All in all, this was a fun, goofy story that will appeal to fans of the first book in the series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Most characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Roger holds hands with a girl.

Spiritual Content
A calendar gives Roger the ability to time travel to the date or event he’s touching on the calendar.

Violent Content
Some instances of bullying, including trapping someone in a locker.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of ROGER TARKINGTON AND THE MAGIC CALENDAR: SURVIVING MIDDLE SCHOOL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Vasilisa by Julie Mathison

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Vasilisa (Old Rus #1)
Julie Mathison
Starr Creek Press
Published February 23, 2021

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About Vasilisa

Three witches, two children, one ogre — and nowhere to run.

It’s 1919, but in Edenfall, Pennsylvania, the Great War is not over — not for Vasilisa, at least. Papa is presumed dead on the fields of Flanders, Mama is being courted by an absolute ogre, and now Babka, her beloved grandma, has had a bad spell. Or has she fallen under one? Only the Old Tales, the Russian fables Vasilisa was raised on, offer any comfort or counsel.

But what if they are more than child’s tales?

Enter Ivan, who jumps a train for Edenfall at midnight and finds Vasilisa in a real fix. Old Rus is calling from across time and both worlds, and if they heed the call, they might both get what they want. It won’t be easy. Three witches, two children, one ogre – they’re outnumbered and outclassed. Baba Yaga and Old Koschei are after the same thing — and each other — and the children are caught in the crosshairs.

Vasilisa has a secret weapon, in the humblest of guises, but will the meek truly inherit the earth? Or will the mighty prevail? One thing is certain: it’s a fairy tale of their own making, a tale whose happy ending is ever in doubt.

My Review

This is such a different story than BELIEVE, Mathison’s debut, which I loved that I was scared I wouldn’t be able to get into this one. However– I had zero trouble. Right from the first pages, Vasilisa and her grandmother had my heart, and I was desperate to follow their story to the very end.

So many of the relationships in the story were really believable and complex. I especially loved the friendship between Vasilisa and Evelyn and Vasilisa’s relationship with Meredith, the local herbalist.

One of the things I liked also about VASILISA is that it makes a really nice bridge between middle grade and young adult books. Vasilisa turns fourteen in the story, and she has a love interest, but it’s not at all the focus of the book. The family relationships and adventure make it a great fit for upper middle grade readers (5th and 6th graders), and the more mature elements, like the romance, open the door for lower young adult readers (7th and 8th graders). It’s often difficult to find books that hit that age group, so I love that this one does.

I think readers who enjoyed tales about Russian folklore, like NEVERTELL by Katharine Orton and THE DOOR IN THE STAIRCASE by Katherine Marsh will love the folklore and adventure of VASILISA.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Vasilisa is a Russian American, the daughter of Russian immigrants.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Vasilisa’s neighbor has proposed to her mother. Brief kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Several characters have some special abilities. One uses herbs for healing and believes every plant has a spirit. Another creates crude dolls used to harm others.

Old Rus is populated with mythical creatures, like Baba Yaga, many intending harm toward visitors.

Brief references to the Russian Orthodox church and a local priest.

Violent Content
Some references to murders that happened in the past– one character killed another’s parents. Baba Yaga hopes to eat some of the children she meets. One character plans to murder his father’s killer.

Drug Content
Herbs are used medicinally.

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

Review: Reckless, Glorious, Girl by Ellen Hagan

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Poetry, , , , , , , , , ,

Reckless, Glorious, Girl
Ellen Hagan
Bloomsbury Publishing
Published February 23, 2021

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About Reckless, Glorious, Girl

Beatrice Miller may have a granny’s name (her granny’s, to be more specific), but she adores her Mamaw and her mom, who give her every bit of wisdom and love they have. But the summer before seventh grade, Bea wants more than she has, aches for what she can’t have, and wonders what the future will bring.

This novel in verse follows Beatrice through the ups and downs of friendships, puberty, and identity as she asks: Who am I? Who will I become? And will my outside ever match the way I feel on the inside?

A gorgeous, inter-generational story of Southern women and a girl’s path blossoming into her sense of self, Reckless, Glorious, Girl explores the important questions we all ask as we race toward growing up.

The co-author of Watch Us Rise pens a novel in verse about all the good and bad that comes with middle school, growing up girl, and the strength of family that gets you through it.

My Review

One of the great things about this novel-in-verse is how unpretentious it is. Sometimes reading poetry makes it harder for me to connect to a story, because I get lost in the rhythm of the words or have to stop to decode things, but RECKLESS, GLORIOUS, GIRL is really easy to read. It’s still got a lot of emotion and heart, it’s just also really straightforward, which I liked.

Sometimes Beatrice’s character felt a little shallow to me. Everything she felt made sense and seemed realistic. She focused a lot on her skin and how she looked and wanting to be cool– which are totally reasonable things for someone to think about. I guess it just felt like a lot to me, and I wanted her to hurry toward realizing that those things weren’t what was the most important.

Beatrice grows a lot through the story. I love how the story centers around women: her mom and grandmother, her two best friends, even other girls in Beatrice’s class. Her relationships with her mom and Memaw were my favorite. I love how they challenged each other and sometimes experienced friction, but always they loved each other.

I think readers who enjoyed THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS will enjoy the heart and family relationships of this story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Beatrice is white. Her best friends are Latina and Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used maybe half a dozen times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Beatrice attends a party where they play spin the bottle. She and a boy are matched up but don’t kiss. There is one kiss between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Beatrice’s grandmother is a very free spirited person and makes a vague reference to thanking the goddesses.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Beetle and the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne

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

Beetle and the Hollowbones
Aliza Layne
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published August 4, 2020

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About Beetle and the Hollowbones

In the eerie town of ‘Allows, some people get to be magical sorceresses, while other people have their spirits trapped in the mall for all ghastly eternity.

Then there’s twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, who’s caught in between. She’d rather skip being homeschooled completely and spend time with her best friend, Blob Glost. But the mall is getting boring, and B.G. is cursed to haunt it, tethered there by some unseen force. And now Beetle’s old best friend, Kat, is back in town for a sorcery apprenticeship with her Aunt Hollowbone. Kat is everything Beetle wants to be: beautiful, cool, great at magic, and kind of famous online. Beetle’s quickly being left in the dust.

But Kat’s mentor has set her own vile scheme in motion. If Blob Ghost doesn’t escape the mall soon, their afterlife might be coming to a very sticky end. Now, Beetle has less than a week to rescue her best ghost, encourage Kat to stand up for herself, and confront the magic she’s been avoiding for far too long. And hopefully ride a broom without crashing.

My Review

Graphic novels are still a pretty new thing for me, but most of the ones I’ve read have been really cool, and Beetle and the Hollowbones is no exception. I really enjoyed Beetle– she’s awkward and quirky, loyal and brave. I didn’t realize reading it that she was supposed to be twelve, and I thought she seemed a lot older than that– maybe fifteen or sixteen, is what I had guessed?

The story world reminded me a little bit of The Nightmare Before Christmas, where things are all sort of dark and populated with sticky or undead magical creatures, and Halloween seems perpetually just around the corner.

I enjoyed Beetle’s journey to save her best blob pal and the sparks that reuniting with her childhood best friend caused. Beetle’s expressions and reactions to things often had me giggling.

All in all, I thought Beetle and the Hollowbones was a really entertaining and totally fun read. I’m so glad I was finally able to read it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
The story is populated with magical and undead creatures. Beetle has a crush on another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Most characters have or are learning magic. Undead characters must bind their soul to an object, like a heart, to stay alive.

Violent Content
One scene shows some depictions of verbal and physical cruelty toward a child.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Summer of L.U.C.K. by Laura Stegman

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

Summer of L.U.C.K.
Laura Stegman
INtense Publications
Published September 15, 2020

Amazon | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Summer of L.U.C.K.

Stuttering Darby is never perfect enough for her mother. Justin’s been silent since his dad died. Naz is struggling to learn English. But after they meet at summer camp, mysterious calliope music from an abandoned warehouse grants them power to communicate without words. When they sneak inside, the dark, empty space bursts into a magical carnival. They’re greeted by the ghost of Leroy Usher, who asks for their help convincing his family to restore the carnival to its former glory. In return, he promises to teach the kids how to find their voices.

As Darby, Justin, and Naz are swept off on a series of midnight adventures via Mr. Usher’s carnival rides, they discover they’re capable of more than they ever imagined. With each challenge, their confidence in communicating – and in themselves – grows. Meanwhile, they scheme to persuade the Usher family to revive the carnival. But when Darby’s bunkmates trick her into starring in the camp talent show, her budding confidence falters. Can she risk being less than perfect by performing in the show and speaking up to Mr. Usher’s resistant son? If not, she’ll put the carnival in danger and sabotage her most important quest: to believe in herself, stutter and all.

My Review

The story follows all three kids– Darby, Justin, and Naz, showing scenes in each point of view. The bulk of the story takes place at a summer camp called Camp Inch, where each of them face the thing they’re most afraid of.

They also each discover a connection with each other, and those friendships help give them the confidence to confront bigger fears. Naz, Justin, and Darby also learn a lot about family relationships as they learn about Mr. Usher’s family and the relationships between him and his children, all of whom are adults now.

I thought the story was sweet and the characters’ stories moving. I liked the background of the summer camp and how their experiences at camp tied together with the Usher family and the fate of the carnival.

Readers who enjoy summer camp stories or tales with a whimsical feel to them will like this one. If you enjoyed FOREVERLAND or THE GIRLS OF FIREFLY CABIN, definitely add SUMMER OF L.U.C.K. to your reading list.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Naz is French and Morroccan. Darby stutters. Justin is selectively mute.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Naz, Justin, and Darby are visited by the presence of a man who has died but can’t find peace until he achieves a goal. They have a sort of magical experience, seeing the carnival the way it once was and interacting with carnival rides that shouldn’t work anymore.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Frank by Ece Gurler

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Sci-Fi, , , , , , , ,

Frank
Ece Gurler
BookBaby
Published December 1, 2020

Amazon | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Frank

Have you ever dreamt of an alternate world? A world full of second chances and lost dreams, found again. Just like the one Frank has stumbled upon.

Frank, an eleven-year-old science nerd, fashions a hiding place in his closet with his favorite things. He calls it the “Aurora Shell”, where he retreats whenever he feels upset or scared. The day he learns that he was adopted, he discovers an empty space behind his Big Bang Theory poster, in the Aurora Shell.

He decides to crawl in and find out what awaits him at the end of this dark tunnel. There, he meets an incredibly cheerful kid, Andy, who becomes his first true friend. Soon after they realize that this is not just a simple passage, but it is a bridge that connects two parallel universes! Frustrated that he was unwanted by his biological parents in his own world, Frank decides to take his chance in this new universe to gain acceptance. Maybe this time his parents would welcome him and love him?

Grabbing their backpacks, the two friends set out on a quest to find Frank’s birth parents in Andy’s universe. In the beginning of their journey, everything looks brand new and astonishing to Frank. But this adventure will hold dangers they never could have imagined. Will they be able to survive the grave challenges and find Frank’s family in the end? Was their secret going to cause them trouble?

My Review

I’m definitely a fan of stories about friendship and family, so even the idea of this book held a lot of appeal for me. I liked that Frank’s family isn’t perfect– they’re going through some hard times, and that impacts their relationships with one another. It also seemed cool that Frank and Andy had very different personalities and ways of dealing with things.

While some of the dialogue was a little bit awkwardly worded, I thought the banter between Frank and Andy added some fun to the story. The pacing slowed a bit toward the middle of the book, and I was surprised by some of the directions the story took, but the speed picked up again toward the end.

On the whole, I think it’s a sweet, if a little bit dark, tale of friendship, family and the multiverse. Ha.

Update 1/18/21: The version of FRANK that I read was a pre-release version. The author had a final edit to remove awkward wording (English is her second language) and any swear words.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 up.

Representation
I think the characters are white, based on the illustrations.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used about a half dozen times.

Update 1/18/21: The version of FRANK that I read was a pre-release version. The author had a final edit to remove awkward wording (English is her second language) and any swear words.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Reference to praying. At one point Frank’s mom says, “Thank God…”

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
Some brief descriptions of domestic violence and child abuse.

Drug Content
A couple of adults drink alcohol and behave cruelly when drunk.

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