Tag Archives: runaway

Review: The Legend of Brightblade by Ethan M. Aldridge

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,
The Legend of Brightblade by Ethan M. Aldridge

The Legend of Brightblade
Ethan M. Aldridge
Quill Tree Books
March 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Legend of Brightblade

A young prince must learn to be his own kind of hero in this stand-alone graphic novel from the acclaimed creator of the Estranged duology. Perfect for fans of the Amulet series and The Witch Boy.

Young Prince Alto dreams of being a hero like his mother, the Lady Brightblade. Her well-known legend was woven into stories by the magical bard who fought by her side.

The kingdom may be at peace now, but Alto believes that the world still needs heroes. He has been learning the bard’s magic, and has grown restless with royal life. Determined to have an adventure of his own, Alto runs away from the palace.

On his journey, he finds himself making new friends and encountering new and exciting magic. But when he discovers that there are dangers threatening the kingdom, Alto realizes that he might not be able to handle them alone–and making his mark as a hero is harder than the stories made it seem.

My Review

I received a copy of one of Aldridge’s other books for review, and since then, I’ve bought two of his books– this one and ESTRANGED. I loved both the books in the Estranged duology, so when I spotted this book on Goodreads, I added it to my shopping list. The color palette in the other duology appealed to me a lot more than the colors of this book. Now that I’ve read it, though, I think they’re perfect for the vibe in this story.

So basically the story is a troupe of (magic-wielding) bards who fight evil with music. Just that premise alone is enough to hook me into the story. Pair that with Aldridge’s fantastic worldbuilding and character expressions, and I feel like it’s impossible not to love this one. Alto cracked me up with his ideas for the group’s name. (Letting someone else choose was probably the best idea!) I loved both Ebbe and Clarabel, Alto’s friends and troupe members. And I loved the background story about the three warriors who defeated the dragon before the story begins.

All in all, this was a spunky, fun story, every page entertaining. I’m super glad I read it, and will absolutely be buying/reading more by Ethan Aldridge in the future.

Content Notes for The Legend of Brightblade

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
The main characters are from different (made up) races.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
List.

Violent Content
Some (cartoon-like) battle scenes and situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Being Toffee by Sarah Crossan

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

Being Toffee
Sarah Crossan
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 14, 2020

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

About Being Toffee

One is trying to forget. The other is trying to remember.

After running away from an abusive home, Allison finds herself taking shelter in a shed behind an abandoned house. But the house isn’t empty after all; an elderly woman named Marla, who suffers from dementia, lives there. And rather than turn her away, Marla welcomes her – she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past named Toffee.

Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be, so she decides to play along. But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real companion, Allison begins to waver. They both deserve a home, a safe place, and a family – but at what cost?

My Review

Wow. It’s amazing to me that this novel in poetry hits so hard emotionally in far fewer words than a narrative novel. Like, a good writer always gets you hooked on their characters, right? But this… like, I’d read 100 words and feel my heart breaking, or my blood boiling with anger, or I’d be overwhelmed with the tenderness of the scene.

Like my whole review could be summarized to say: I felt things.

Honestly, this book is such an emotional ride. I loved Allie and Marla both in all their flaws and brokenness. I hated every time someone took advantage of or hurt them.

But I loved how they healed each other in these incremental ways, and how they found ways to be friends around and through the broken places in their lives. I loved that.

The story has some tough content in it, so please read with care. I’ve listed trigger warnings below under violent content. Allie also is befriended by someone who takes advantage of her– not physically or sexually, but emotionally, and that got kind of gross, too, so be aware if that’s something you’re sensitive to.

One the whole, I still feel blown away by this book. I’ve read others by Crossan before, but this one hit me hardest by far.

See my reviews for:

MOONRISE by Sarah Crossan

WE COME APART by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

ONE by Sarah Crossan

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are Irish. (Takes place in Ireland.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – TRIGGER WARNING
Multiple graphic descriptions of domestic violence and abuse and emotional trauma.

Drug Content
Smoking pot. Drinking alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of BEING TOFFEE 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: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vanishing Girls
Lauren Oliver
HarperCollins
March 10, 2015

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Book Depository

About VANISHING GIRLS

Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara’s beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged.

When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it’s too late.

My Review

I read VANISHING GIRLS in the middle of a suspense binge. I like that it blended suspense elements with psychological elements. Nick is a complex character. She wants to be close to her sister, but has a lot of feelings of guilt and resentment toward her.

Weirdly, VANISHING GIRLS is the second suspense book I read this summer where the main character works at a theme park. (The other is TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET in which Ellery works at a horror-themed park.) I had some parts of the plot related to the theme park figured out pretty quickly. Other things took me completely by surprise.

One big twist didn’t make sense to me. It’s one of those moments that turns your whole perception of the story on its head. I love those kinds of moments. I love looking back through the big moments earlier in the book to see how the new information changes what was really happening there. But one moment didn’t seem to fit with the new reality. So I got kind of caught up on that.

On the whole, I think VANISHING GIRLS is an interesting book, and some of the issues it deals with are big issues. I definitely appreciate that and think it’s awesome that this novel addresses an issue that most people don’t want to talk about. I think I like PANIC by Lauren Oliver better, but it ‘s a different kind of story– more community-oriented whereas so much of VANISHING GIRLS is about what’s happening in Nick’s head.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Characters are white and straight.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A girl and boy kiss. References to sex. A girl and her boyfriend kiss while both are topless. He asks her to have sex with him, but she refuses.

References to child pornography. Someone finds an image of a teenage girl posing topless.

Spiritual Content
Dara and Nick’s aunt believes in energy and crystals and seances. The girls don’t buy into her beliefs.

Violent Content
Some brief descriptions of a violent car accident. A man threatens a teenage girl.

Drug Content 
Several scenes show teens drinking. Dara has a history of smoking pot and experimenting with other drugs like mushrooms and cocaine.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but which help support this blog.