Book review - Werewolf Hamlet

 

Title: Werewolf Hamlet

Author: Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Genre: realistic fiction

Age range: middle grade

Summary (provided by publisher): 10-year-old Angus is unique. He quotes Shakespeare and wants to stage a Werewolf Hamlet play for his 5th grade legacy project. Angus's 17-year-old brother, Liam, is like a werewolf now—Angus never knows if he'll be nice or mean or when he'll sneak out to get drunk or worse.

Meanwhile, tension continues to build for Liam's family in Los Angeles. Mom and Dad are going to default on the mortgage. Older sister Hannah is fed up and ready to move herself to Maine, and little sister Sidney doesn't really get what's happening. Then Liam goes missing, and Angus decides he has to find him.

A realistic, heartfelt look at the complexities of family relationships and struggles. Along with Angus's loveable charm, sense of humor, and desire to stage his original play, Werewolf Hamlet is sure to win its audience—on and off the page—over.

What I liked: The topics discussed in this book are pretty heavy. The family is losing their house and the relationships are increasingly tense. It becomes apparent pretty quickly that big brother Liam has a substance abuse problem. That could make for a pretty dreary read. But Madden-Lunsford manages to make the bulk of the plot fairly light-hearted without ever making light of the serious issues. It allows the characters to address what is happening without making the book too intense.

What I didn't like: While the relatively light text is mostly beneficial it does tend to make the plot feel almost silly and unrealistic at times. It's a fine balance that is mostly positive but can be a bit eye-roll inducing on occasion.

More information: Werewolf Hamlet releases February 18.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Cards

I decided I wanted to make Valentine's Day cards this year. I had some cards I'd made some errors on, so they seemed like the perfect base for some fun cards. I figured I'd just draw over the old designs. Because the cards I have are nice vibrant colors I thought I'd make them Pokemon themed. And that's where things went a bit off the rails. It seems I am incapable of being sincere when writing the sentiment on the card and I wanted these to be clever. So the result isn't exactly Valentines themed. Like, at all. But they are fun.

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

(S)kin by Ibi Zoboi - A verse novel about two girls with vastly different lives, pulled together by forces they don't understand and deep family secrets.

What did you recently finish reading?

Ruby Finley vs the Interstellar Invasion by K Tempest Bradford - Ruby finds a strange bug in her yard that seems to cut it's way out of her room through the window screen. When she posts about it online, strange men appear in her neighborhood.

What do you think you'll read next?

Werewolf Hamlet by Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Non-fiction book review - Akeem Keeps Bees

 

Akeem Keeps Bees by Kamal R Bell

I qualify this book as non-fiction because, while there is a sort of narrative framework to the text, the primary focus is on sharing information about the process of bee-keeping. We walk through a year on a farm and learn about bees along the way. And the information extends beyond just the basics of types of bees and the structure of a hive. We learn about pollination, bee lifecycles, and observable behaviors like swarming and bearding. The information is surprisingly complete and easy to understand. A strong introduction to beekeeping appropriate for a young audience.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic Novel spotlight: The Snips

 

The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day by Raul the Third

If you like a graphic novel that is a bit off beat, you may enjoy the Snips. It takes the standard middle grade team dynamic - a cast of characters with unique abilities, all necessary to complete a job - and applies that to fighting crime through hair styling. It is, simply put, the best kind of strange. It absolutely does not take itself seriously. The illustration style is reminiscent of early cartoons and the color palette is slightly muted so it never becomes overwhelming. There's no serious takeaway here, just a simple entertaining story.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Pick 6: ghosts

 Culturally, we have something of an obsession with ghosts. Sometimes it's a malicious haunting. Others, it's a spirit imparting wisdom to the living. These stories run the gamut from scary to funny and appeal to a wide ranging audience. Here are six books featuring ghosts published in the past six months.

Six new books featuring ghosts:

1. Jasmine is Haunted by Mark Oshiro
2. Taxi Ghost by Sophie Escabasse
3. The Hysterical Girls of St Bernadettes by Hanna Alkoff
4. Heebie Jeebies by Matthew Erman
5. The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willso
6. Honeysuckle and Bones by Trisha Tobias

Non-fiction book review - Seeds of Discovery

 

Seeds of Discovery by Lori Alexander

The science of corn doesn't exactly sound thrilling. And if that's all this book was it would be a hard sell indeed. McClintock's story, though, is about much more than just corn. It's a story of determination, of defying societal and familial expectations. Even more than that, it's a story of finding the thing that thrills you and pursuing it. McClintock seems to have found real thrills in examining the heredity of corn. And through it, advanced our knowledge of DNA. Alexander tells the story in a traditional narrative fashion with asides explaining the science at the time and how it has advanced over time. The fact that corn is central here may still make it a bit of a hard sell but this book is absolutely worth the effort.