Book Review: Born Scared

Born Scared by Kevin Brooks sounded like an interesting book from the description, however after reading it and weighing what I liked and disliked, I decided that it just wasn't the book for me.

Elliot is a boy who is scared of everything.  He has been that way since he was born.  When an awful snow storm prevents the delivery of his medication, Elliot decides that he must take matters into his own hands and do something about his predicament.  Will Elliot finally get over his debilitating fear or everything?

I had high hopes for this intriguing story and was disappointed upon reading it.  I felt it moved from oddly fascinating to downright strange.  I understood where the author was going with the book, but I just couldn't jive with it.  The book is well written, though, and I would be interested in reading another book by Kevin Brooks.  I just think that Born Scared was a little too strange for my liking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for this e-ARC!  All opinions are my own.

A Perfect Conclusion to the Track Series: Lu by Jason Reynolds

It started with Ghost and ended with Lu…  What can I say?  I absolutely loved this book!  Lu is a wonderful conclusion to Jason Reynolds’ Track Series.  The only thing I would wish for is a stand-alone book featuring the Defenders’ Team Coach Otis Brody.

Even before I knew that Lu was going to have his own book, (before I knew that Ghost was the first in a book series) I remember laughing out loud at Ghost’s description of Lu.

“A weird-looking kid, I can’t really explain what he looked like, well…  let me try.  You know how I said Mr. Charles looked like James Brown if James Brown was white?  Well, this kid looked like a white boy, if a white boy was black.  Wait.  That doesn’t make sense.  Let me start over.  His skin was white.  Like the color white.  And his hair was light brown.  But his face looked like a black person’s.  Like God forgot to put the brown in him.  Wait, is that like Mr. Charles or not?  Forget it.”

(Don’t you just love the way Jason Reynolds writes?  I do!!)

Lu is albino and although that is not the true heart of the story, it’s important because being albino is what makes Lu, Lu.  It’s the thing that sets him apart and the driving force behind his track talent.  Before every track practice and meet, Lu has a ritual to get him pumped up and ready to shine on the track.  It actually revolves around his skin…  As he rubs sunscreen over his body and face, he chants to himself:

“I am.

The man.

The guy.

The kid.

The one.

The only.

The Lu.

Lucky Lu.

Lookie Lu.

Lu the Lightening Bolt.”

He chants his mantra to himself until his skin has absorbed the sunscreen.  Then he proceeds to don his gold chains and diamond earrings and when he’s done, he’s ready to roll.  That’s Lu!  He’s got swagger!

Lu’s got swagger, and rightfully so!  He’s the best sprinter on the Defenders track team, but Coach decides to add a new event for Lu- the 110-meter hurdle.  Not wanting to let his team down, Lu starts training and it isn’t pretty.  This new event isn’t the only hurdle that Lu has to overcome.  Everything from picking the right name for his soon-to-be brother or sister to confronting a former bully, Lu’s got some choices to make and a lot of life lessons to learn.  A great coming of age story and beautifully written, Lu should be on your list of books to read now!

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Book Review: Otherwood

The first Pete Hautman book I read was Slider, a humorous realistic middle grade novel about a boy and a competitive pizza eating contest.  So when I stumbled upon another book by Hautman, I jumped on requesting it from NetGalley!  Little did I know that I would be taken on a ride to a new world called Otherwood...

Creative, whimsical, and utterly mind-blowing!  Otherwood by Pete Hautman brings to life the story of best friends Stuey and Elly Rose.  Upon learning that they have the same birthday and the same secret place in the woods, they declare themselves soul mates.  The two friends have an unbreakable bond and play in the deadfall where their imaginations run free.  When Elly mysteriously vanishes right in front of Stuey, he’s not sure what to think.  And when no one believes what Stuey saw, he begins to believe that all of his grandfather’s ghost stories of the forest and his ramblings about alternate realities are true.  Stuey is drawn to their secret place and to his surprise, he and Elly can see each other.  Elly seems to be living in another world, the same but different.  In Elly’s world, Stuey is the one that is missing.  How did their worlds split apart?  And most importantly, how can they bring it back together?

I loved the imagination of this book!  While the overall story focuses on two different worlds on the same timeline, the book is also a coming-of-age story.  Both Stuey and Elly come to terms with the loss of a friend, but also grapple with growing up and no longer playing make-believe. 

"As soon as she turned her back on the deadfall, Elly felt two conflicting emotions: sadness and relief.  It was the same way she'd felt three years ago when her real cat, Meowster, died after several weeks of piteous meowing.  Instead of a new cat, her mom had given her Grimpus.  Now it was Grimpy's time, and the castle's time.  It seemed only right that they should go together."

"The deadfall felt different now.  Maybe Deshan was right.  Magic was for little kids."

The book also takes a peek into family feuds and how those feuds affect one generation after another. 

"Pop never finished high school.  He fought his way up from nothing, and sometimes he cut corners.  He resented educated people like Rosen, and Rosen had no respect for my dad or what he'd accomplished.  It was like they came from different worlds, and neither one of them was willing to accept the other.  I think those two men hated each other so bad they just hated themselves out of existence." 

"... My history is your history, and your history is Stuey's history... We're all connected.  My father might be gone, but he left something of himself behind.  You spend enough time out in those woods, you'll see him."

A unique story of parallel universes and converging realities, Otherwood is a book I’d recommend to middle grade readers who also enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time.  I hope that you will enjoy this book as much as I did! 

A special thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for allowing me to read this E-ARC.  It’s definitely one I enjoyed and will never forget! 

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Book Review: One of Us is Lying

WOW!  What an awesome debut novel from Karen M. McManus!  Definitely one of those "edge of your seat" murder mysteries.

When five Bayview High School students walk into detention, they didn't know that by the end of the day, their lives would be changed forever.  Addy, Cooper, Bronwyn, and Nate become suspects in the death of one of their classmates, Simon Kelleher, when authorities believe that Simon's death was not an accident.  Each student comes from a different social background and each student had secrets to keep...  Secrets that Simon somehow knew and were about to be posted on his gossip app.  Someone is lying and is willing to kill a classmate to keep their secret buried.

If I had the time, I would have read this book in one sitting.  The book is written like a journal, with each suspect writing an entry.  Each character has one motive or another for killing Simon and you will find yourself trying to piece the puzzle together as you're reading.  First you will say to yourself, "Oh yeah, ___ definitely did it!"  But then in the next journal entry, you will think, "Eh, maybe ___ did it."  It's like the Breakfast Club meets Clue in a novel of Whodunit?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and so will any high school student who enjoys a good mystery.  Put it on your list of books to read!  You won't be disappointed!

Book Review: Inkling

Imagine being in school, tasked with a group project of creating a graphic novel.  Everyone has a job and because your father is a talented artist, you automatically get the job of drawing every panel in your graphic novel.  The problem?  You can’t draw a thing to save your life!

This is the dilemma that Ethan Rylance is in.  So imagine his surprise when he discovers a funny little blob of ink that seems to be alive and has a mind of it’s own. He learns, he eats ink, he can hear, and communicate!  His name is Inkling!  Inkling agrees to help Ethan with his group project by drawing the panels and even agrees to teach him how to draw.  But when a profit-hungry publishing company looking for the next best seller discovers Inkling, they steal him with the intention of using him to create a new graphic novel series.  What will Ethan do and how will he be able to rescue his little friend? 

Great themes of friendship and family are interwoven with the creative storyline.  Ethan struggles with the responsibility of helping take care of his little sister, who has Down syndrome, and coping with the loss of his mother.  Inkling seems to be the relief that Ethan needs in his life, which is why their bond is so strong.  I loved that Ethan cared for Inkling, feeding him novels like The BFG, The Old Man and the Sea and Anne of Green Gables, so that Inkling could learn and become intelligent.  And I loved that Inkling cared for Ethan by being a sounding board when Ethan had worries on his mind.

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel is one of the most imaginative books I’ve read in a long time!  It will be a treat for middle grade readers age 8-12!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this E-ARC!

Audiobook Review: The War That Saved My Life

I had been meaning to read this book for a while and since I never got around to it, I ended up listening to the audio version.  I was not disappointed!  I am not a huge fan of historical fiction, but this book and it's narrator have changed my point of view.  I was so hooked on this audio book, that it only took me 2 days to listen to the entire thing!  Not a bad way to spend 7 hours and 38 minutes!  😄

This powerful story is about a young girl named Ada and her little brother, Jamie, who escape an abusive mother in the midst of Hitler's takeover in London.  The siblings find themselves in the English countryside where a woman named Susan apprehensively takes them in.  Though Susan never had any children herself, she is a kind woman and takes care of Ada and Jamie.  Susan pays special attention to Ada, who has a club foot and is determined to learn to walk and even ride a horse.  As Hitler's war ravages through England, Ada learns what true strength is and that her voice is a powerful thing.  Heartbreaking, uplifting, and emotional, The War That Saved My Life is worth a listen!

Jayne Entwistle does a wonderful job of narrating the book!  Every character has a distinct voice, so you always know who is speaking.  She also has a very pleasant accent, which immerses you into the setting of the book.  Even my kids were stuck to their seats listening to what would happen next!  This was an excellent audio book and I'm looking forward to listening to the next one in the series!