Title: Don't Check Out This Book
Author: Kate Klise
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Operation Frog Effect by Sarah Lynn Scheeger
Friendship Over by Julie Sternberg
Rating:
 |
| easy to follow |
Summary (provided by publisher): Is the sweet town of Appleton ripe for scandal?
Consider the facts:
Appleton Elementary School has a new librarian named Rita B. Danjerous. (Say it fast.)
Principal Noah Memree barely remembers hiring her.
Ten-year-old Reid Durr is staying up way too late reading a book from Ms. Danjerous's controversial "green dot" collection.
The new school board president has mandated a student dress code that includes white gloves and bow ties available only at her shop.
Sound strange? Fret not. Appleton's fifth-grade sleuths are following the money, embracing the punny, and determined to the get to the funniest, most rotten core of their town's juiciest scandal. Don't miss this seedy saga!
My opinion: Censorship, especially in schools, is a popular topic for middle grade fiction these days. Interestingly, this book is just as much about corruption in local government as it is about censorship. It focuses a lot of attention on the school board president's abuse of her position for financial gain and to push her moral agenda. The pun based names and the novelty of the format are amusing. My biggest criticism of this book is that it casts adults as both the protagonist and antagonist. While it is the children who reveal the truth behind what is happening at their school, the librarian and school board president hold these key roles. I'd have preferred to see the kids in more prominent roles. Use this book to start a conversation with young readers about censorship, responsible leadership, and effective protests.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Who Got Game? Baseball by Derrick Barnes
Total read in March thus far:20
I bought some landscape prints at a thrift shop, intending to add monsters to them. Someone had pasted cheap floral prints to the back of them and I thought they might make for good practice paintings. And then I had no idea what to put on them.
Finally, this weekend inspiration struck. I added a baby Groot to this one.
The Vinyl Underground by Rob Rufus
Total read in March thus far: 16
How I Broke Up with My Colon by Nick Seluk
Total read in March thus far: 13
Trending by Kira Vermond
Total read in March thus far: 9
Title: Wicked as You Wish
Author: Rin Chupeco
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
Rating:
 |
| an impressive feat |
Summary (provided by publisher): Many years ago, the magical Kingdom of Avalon was left desolate and encased in ice when the evil Snow Queen waged war on the powerful country. Its former citizens are now refugees in a world mostly devoid of magic. Which is why the crown prince and his protectors are stuck in…Arizona.
Prince Alexei, the sole survivor of the Avalon royal family, is in hiding in a town so boring, magic doesn’t even work there. Few know his secret identity, but his friend Tala is one of them. Tala doesn’t mind—she has secrets of her own. Namely, that she’s a spellbreaker, someone who negates magic.
Then hope for their abandoned homeland reignites when a famous creature of legend, and Avalon’s most powerful weapon, the Firebird, appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala unite with a ragtag group of new friends to journey back to Avalon for a showdown that will change the world as they know it.
My opinion: The story of the Snow Queen has been increasingly explored in recent years, though is probably one of the more unique takes that I've read. It certainly includes an impressive number of classic tales into the world. Magic combining with technology along with racial and social issues. All of the magic has rules that must be followed; spells that exact costs with few exceptions (and those exceptions seem t o hint more of secrets to be revealed than of genuine rule breaking). There's a vast cast of characters, each with at least a small degree of complexity. It's almost too much, too big and complex. With curses and prophecies all over the place it's easy to lose track of the details. This is not a series to tackle when you're looking to relax, but rather when you have time to mull and absorb and consider.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
