Month: March 2024

Book Review: Henry Huggins

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Henry Huggins
book #1
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Neil Patrick Harris

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

This book might be a bit dated, but Henry and Ribsy are a fun duo. In the intro, Beverly Cleary explains that she wanted to write a story that wasn’t all grand adventures, travels, heroics, etc. for the regular boy, and I think she did a great job of that. Certainly most of what happens in this book wouldn’t be remotely possible today, which is kind of sad, but that makes books like this all the more classic and worth reading. No surprise that Neil Patrick Harris did a great job narrating the book, and I believe I will enjoy visiting a simpler time as I listen to the rest of this series in the coming weeks.

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Book Review: Twister and Shout

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Twister and Shout
McGee and Me! #5
by Bill Myers

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s Christian fiction

This is one of the titles in the series that my family owned as a video when I was a kid, so I know it pretty well. I certainly can’t say that nostalgia didn’t influence my enjoyment of the book, but I also think that the fear involved on both sides is well represented. The parents, who have traveled 2 hours away from home, struggle with the lack of communication with the kids left alone, when a nasty storm comes through. And the kids, left alone for the night as the wind picks up and the discussion turns to tornados, try to be brave and take care of each other (after being at odds earlier in the evening). The subject of putting our trust in God even at the most scary times is discussed on both ends, both by those who do trust God and those who don’t. I have to admit that I’m getting a little annoyed at McGee’s ridiculous ego, which I guess is meant to be funny, and maybe it is for kids, but it’s starting to wear on me. Still, overall, I really enjoyed the book. Though these books may not be easy to find anymore, if you do have the chance to read this book or procure it for an 8-10-year-old child, I recommend it.

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Book Review: The Outsiders

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The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Classic YA coming of age fiction

I read this book in 8th grade, and I remembered a few things about it, mostly that I liked it more than most books I read for school back then. Reading it again as an adult, decades later, I was not thinking about theme or symbolism, but reading just for the enjoyment of it. I have to admit that I’m pretty far removed from this culture, not just because it’s set so long ago, but also because I’ve lived in a pretty sheltered, rural area all my life, especially as a teenager. Still, I enjoyed the simple writing style, the characterization, and the dynamics of the main group of characters. I felt for Ponyboy and Johnny in their no-win situation and in this culture that gave all of those on the high and low extremes of the social classes the feeling of futility and inevitability. My daughter, who is also in 8th grade right now, is reading this book for school, and I look forward to discussing her thoughts when she’s done. While the culture may have changed, I’d imagine that the overall idea of the clashing between the “high” and “low” classes, or other extremes of society, still happens plenty, especially in places with higher populations. The idea that “things are bad everywhere” and that people can strive to change their circumstances is still relevant to today. I’m glad I re-read this book, and though I don’t necessarily like the idea of over-analyzing literature for school, I think it’s still a good book for teens to read.

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Book Review: We Bought a Zoo

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We Bought a Zoo
by Benjamin Mee
Read by Gildart Jackson

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Memoir

Benjamin Mee tells the story of how he went from a DIY writer to a zoo owner, along with his family, and all of the difficulty that came with purchasing the zoo and getting the license to run it. Though normally, I don’t have a lot of negative to say about an autobiography or memoir, understanding that the author has shared what they wanted to share, whether I wish there was more or less of anything. I will say, though, that this book was quite slow and dry for a while. It picked up a lot when they actually acquired the zoo, and I especially enjoyed the various stories about the animals.

Various parts pertaining to Mee’s wife’s decline and death reminded me of my mom, who died just over a year ago from a quick-moving form of dementia. Mee’s enjoyment in spending time with her, even though that extra time was spent with him taking care of her in ways that aren’t so romantic, meant a lot to me. His difficulty with coping with his loss and the things that would remind him of his wife made me think of my husband—not that he’s gone, but how I think he’d be if he lost me, especially the part about various treats he would buy for her at the store. My husband does that a lot, and I can imagine just going grocery shopping being hard on him.

My least favorite thing about the book is Mee’s very strong evolution-as-fact worldview, which permeates most of the book. He even uses it to explain how people deal with loss, saying we’ve evolved to be used to the idea that a loved one might not come back from “hunting” or whatever. I’ve got news for Mee and anyone else with this mindset—we were not created to accept death. We were created to be eternal, and though man messed that up, God provided a way for us to live forever with Him through the sacrifice of his Son. I disagreed with a lot of Mee’s worldview, but I didn’t factor that into my rating. In an autobiography, I fully expect to get the author’s unadulterated worldview. Whether or not I would recommend this book for others, it’s hard to say, to be honest. Those who are interested in the business side of zoos may enjoy it, but as I said, it was a bit dry to me. If you’ve seen the movie and want to know if the book is similar, I haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve read that a lot of creative license was taken in making it.

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Book Review: Stars Beyond Realms

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Stars Beyond Realms
The Chronicles of the Starborne Cadets #1
by Marie-Hélène Lebeault

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi

Young cadets at a space academy are tapped for a mission to explore an alternate reality.

I received this book as a digital ARC, but I had no idea that it would be so short—72 pages. It’s not exactly a length I would expect for something billed as space opera. And indeed, the story and world-building are pretty shallow. The four cadets have a little characterization, but not a lot. They’re mostly relegated to their different skillsets. A few things made me scratch my head. For example, why did so many cadets get invited to the briefing during which Alex and his friends are told they’ve been selected for this special mission? Why does the alternative earth have a purple sky and 2 moons? Why do the cadets struggle so much with aspects of the mission that seem to me like they should have been part of their intensive training?

This book has every appearance (to me) of being self-published, but if it is, the author did a lot of work to keep it from known. If this is traditionally published, though, I don’t really know how an editor/publisher didn’t request for this to be expanded on. It really is more like the idea for a novel that is ready to be filled in more, and I can see potential in the author’s ideas if she were to go into more depth with it. As it is, it did not grab my attention enough for me to want to continue the series.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

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Book Review: Criminal Destiny

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Criminal Destiny
Masterminds #2
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: YA sci-fi adventure, suspense

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the first books in the series, Masterminds.

Broken out and on the run, the four teens from Serenity, New Mexico, the happiest town on earth, have to learn about the real world that their “parents” kept from them all their lives if they want to stay free. 

This book continues the action-packed story started in the previous. The angle of the kids trying to get a handle on the outside world while also figuring out what they want for their lives is often humorous. Not knowing who they can trust, but needing to trust someone, makes their plan to shine the light on Project Osiris all the more difficult. But at least they know they can trust each other…or can they?

Like the previous book, each teen’s perspective is shown at different times, all in 1st person. While I don’t usually appreciate that kind of storytelling, Korman pulls it off much better than most, as their voices are all unique enough to keep me from being confused (for the most part). This book takes the teens all over the Rocky Mountain area of the US (or somewhere in there) as they question their own actions and motives. This is turning into one of my favorite middle-grade suspense/adventure series, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out in the final book. I highly recommend this book for teens and even adults who enjoy suspenseful teen books (though definitely start at the beginning).

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Book Review: The Magic Factory

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The Magic Factory
Oliver Blue and the School for Seers #1
by Morgan Rice

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

As the perpetual new kid, bullied by peers as well as his own brother, 11-year-old Oliver has only his inventions to keep him sane. Things start to change, though, when Oliver notices he seems to be able to make things happen and then visits the old, decrepit factory of his hero, inventor Armando Illstrom. Oliver learns that he has powers, but before he can learn any more, tragedy strikes and Oliver is on his own.

Overall, this book felt like a mixture of Harry Potter and Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children with some steampunk elements. I didn’t care for what felt like a Harry Potter rip-off in the beginning, with Oliver being bullied by his older brother, seemingly uncared-about by his parents, who favored the brother, and having to live in an alcove… Even the school that Oliver ends up at later in the book didn’t feel remotely as much like a copy of HP as that beginning. And it does, indeed, move on from that similar feel. In fact, but the end of the book, I found that I had enjoyed it more than I’d expected to once I’d gotten a few chapters in.

Oliver meets others like him, called Seers, learns a tiny bit about how to use his powers, and then is thrust into a life-or-death situation that only he can take care of. The author’s inventiveness in the school itself was probably my favorite thing about the book. The bully at his new school (since, of course, there always has to be one) and his motivations were a bit weak. And the whole book could have used some more editing, with some verbal tic-like phrases here and then that detracted from the flow. I don’t normally hold self-published books to as high a standard as traditionally published books, but there’s still some burden of responsibility to smooth out the prose.

I’m glad I read this book, though I don’t plan to continue the series. In the end, though, I would say this book is better than average amongst self-published books I’ve read.

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Weekly Writing Update: 3/10

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Last week was a much more intentional, productive week, in regards to working on my writing. I’ve hit a bit of a stride, which comes more easily when the work I’m doing is more enjoyable or just otherwise flowing smoothly. I spent all week reading more of book #3 (“Power”) out loud, because that helps me notice dialog that is awkward, prose that could use adjusting, or even errors and typos that I had missed (which has turned out to be more than I would have hoped, since I thought I caught a lot on the previous revision. I’ve been really getting into the story again, which I take as a good thing, because it means that I, at least, enjoy it. Hopefully others will too!

While I work on continuing the series, if you’re interested in reading where it all starts, Pithea is available on Amazon in multiple formats (e-book, paperback, and now in hardcover) as well as Kindle Unlimited.

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Book Review: Faith, Hope and Hilarity

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Faith, Hope and Hilarity
by Dick Van Dyke

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Humor

Kind of a religious “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” I found this old book at a thrift store and thought I’d give it a try, since I’ve always liked Dick Van Dyke. It’s basically a collection of funny things kids think and say about various religious matters. Though the heavy focus is on Christianity/Catholicism, there are a few bits about kids in the Jewish faith as well. Van Dyke inserts his own thoughts about religion and its importance here and there, which I don’t really know how to reconcile with what he says in his much-more-recent book, Keep Moving, that basically no one can really know the truth about God. He seems a lot more certain about the truth about God in this book. Though I question some of the theology in the book. Note, most of it is information “presented” by kids and not meant to present theology, but there are still some clear statements made. For example, the one that really baffled me, is the statement that a kid got a question wrong on a quiz when she answered that God created light first. Since He did create light first, I’m not sure how that could have been a wrong answer.

Van Dyke’s personal faith aside, the book suffers from being out of date. Some references made are lost on me, due to not being around until over a decade after it was published (1970), and I found myself wishing he’d give just a little bit of context now and then. The topics of the stories are organized a little weirdly, and transitions are awkward. The illustrations provide a little extra humor now and then, but they’re pretty cartoonish and not necessarily needed in a book for adults. Overall, it’s a quick, amusing read, but nothing outstanding or hilarious and didn’t age well.

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Book Review: The Summer of the Swans

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The Summer of the Swans
by Betsy Byars

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade classic

I read this book as a kid, though I couldn’t tell you what age, and have thought of it many times over the years. My memories of it had mostly dwindled to there being a mentally handicapped boy who gets lost and whose watch, which is very important to him, has stopped working due to not being wound. Why those are the points that stuck, I don’t know, but I think there was something poignant about this 10-year-old with the mind of a toddler. Reading it again now, because my daughter was going to read it for school, I find that it has a different tone to it than I remember. Charlie being lost isn’t really the main plot so much as his older sister, Sara, gaining some maturity. Yes, Sara is self-centered, but in a way that I would say is completely normal for her age (13-14) and her situation—besides the handicapped younger brother, Sara, Charlie, and their older sister Wanda live with their aunt, since their mom died and dad has another family. In the end, it’s clear how much she loves her brother, even though in day-to-day life, she might get annoyed with or tired of him. How many of us can’t say the same thing about people in our lives who are dependent on us? My daughter enjoyed the book as well (she’s 13), and while this book may not be as action-packed as today’s middle-grade books are, I think it is a nice look at a simpler time and an uncommon family dynamic.

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