middle grade

Book Review: The Hostile Hospital

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The Hostile Hospital
A Series of Unfortunate Events #8
by Lemony Snicket
read by Tim Curry

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s fiction

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous book in the series, The Vile Village.

The three Baudelaire orphans are on their own now, but that doesn’t make them safe. In fact, now they have to be wary of anyone who’s ever read the newspaper, which is just about everyone. Fortunately, they’re able to hide in a group of volunteers who don’t read the paper and whose organization initials happen to be V.F.D. This leads them to a hospital, where they encounter Count Olaf and his associates in full force.

As we continue to progress away from the tired formula that the first half of the series followed, I find the overall story a little more interesting. I still don’t get most of the humor that others seem to like, but I’ll admit I found some of Sunny’s dialog to be funny in this book (I even laughed out loud one time). The V.F.D. mystery is gaining interest for me, and the ending was such a departure that it felt like a breath of fresh air.

In some ways, though, outside of the stand-out things mentioned above, this was still the same old story. Still, I liked it more than most of the previous ones, and Tim Curry singing the V.F.D. song throughout the book was a lot more fun than it probably should have been. (This book is brought to you by the word “spurious.”)

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Book Review: Swept into the Sea

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Swept into the Sea
The Imagination Station #26
by Chris Brack & Sheila Seifert

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Biblical children’s fiction

In this second of a 3-part story arc, cousins Beth and Patrick are tasked with finding a mystery liquid for the Imagination Station as they’re thrown onto a ship during a storm at sea. The ship is carrying the apostle Paul, as he’s on his way to stand trial in Rome. Besides the storm, the cousins will have to face angry sailors and Roman soldiers if they hope to get back to their time.

I actually read part 3 of this story arc (which, in turn, is part of a much larger series) first, then decided to go back and read the preceding stories. This is my least favorite of the 3 books in this trilogy of stories. All 3 show some snapshot of history, but this is the only one that is an account from the Bible. While the authors added some fictional characters for the two (also fictional) main characters to interact with, and I assume some of that was meant to provide extra excitement and human connection, overall, I felt like they added little to the story. All of these books are quite short, but this is the only one that felt so light and shallow. I didn’t feel any kind of connection to the story or characters.

On its own, I don’t know that I could recommend this book to readers, though kids 12 and younger, the age group that it’s meant for, might enjoy it more than I did. The other books in the series I’ve read so far were good, but I honestly don’t think much would be missed by skipping this one.

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Book Review: Canyon Quest

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Canyon Quest
Last Chance Detectives prequel
by Jim Ware

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Children’s Christian mystery, adventure

Mike Fowler hates Ambrosia, Arizona. It’s hot and dry, there’s no snow, he has no friends, and worst of all, his dad isn’t there. Even though his dad disappeared while flying a plane in the Gulf War, Mike is certain the answer to his whereabouts is still out there somewhere. And when he makes some new discoveries shortly after his twelfth birthday, he realizes the clues he needs might be out in the desert around Ambrosia.

I really like the Last Chance Detectives. I watched The Mystery Lights of Navajo Mesa so many times when I was younger that when I read that book for the first time recently, several of the lines from the book I could hear perfectly from the actor/actress’s mouth from the movie. This prequel is a chance to see Mike and the others before their detective club formed, even before the four of them became friends. For that, I appreciated the book. And considering how frustrated I was about Winnie’s utter lack of a personality or really any shown contribution to the group in the other 3 books I’d read before this, I really liked her as a character in this one (though it seemed like she had a crush on Mike, something I don’t recall coming up in the books that take place later).

The author made some strange choices with the story, though. From everything I could tell, and I went back to make sure I hadn’t misremembered, Mike’s dad has been considered MIA for 6 years. I don’t know how long he and his mom have lived in Ambrosia at the start of the story, though. It seems like it hasn’t been that long, since the book starts with him counting the money he’s saved up to buy a bus ticket so that he can travel back home and stay with the best friend he left behind. But wording elsewhere makes it sound like they moved to Ambrosia shortly after his dad disappeared. Either way, his dad has been gone for six years after remains of his F-16 had been discovered somewhere in the Middle East, yet Mike is absolutely certain throughout parts of this book that clues to his dad’s current whereabouts can be found in the desert in Arizona. Uh…what? It’s difficult to allow the excuse of “he’s a grieving kid” after this many years have gone by, but even still, it’s an idea with absolutely no merit. Add to that his surly attitude and how he lets his unhappiness lead him to be rude to the kids that are becoming his friends, and it wasn’t as fun to read as the other books in the series.

While I still think the main books in the series are great for kids around age 10-14, I would say there is unfortunately little benefit to reading this prequel. For those interested, though, especially for anyone who’s a big fan of the book series, movies, or radio dramas, by all means, check it out.

*Note: The entire group of 4 kids that make up the Last Chance Detectives come together in this book. This is a departure from the original edition of the first book in the series, The Mystery Lights of Navajo Mesa (which takes place after this prequel), in which Spence was introduced to the other 3 for the first time. However, in the recent re-release of that book, it’s changed to show Spence as already one of the group.

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Book Review: The Vile Village

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The Vile Village
A Series of Unfortunate Events #7
by Lemony Snicket
read by Tim Curry

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s fiction

The three Baudelaire orphans have been set up with a new guardian…town? The children choose the village of V.F.D. as their new guardian in the hopes of finding some clue to the whereabouts of their friends the Quagmires, whose cryptic clue upon being snatched away by Count Olaf was “V.F.D.” But Olaf is still after the Baudelaires too.

It’s a relief to be able to say that this book was much more interesting than most of the previous ones. Several breaks in formula happened, especially at the end of the book. There was a puzzle to solve, and while it was a simple one, I think it’s appropriately solvable for the intended age group. I finished this book with an actual interest in seeing what happens next, which I don’t really think I’ve had since the first book or two.

I wish by this point in the series there would be more to the siblings’ individual identities than inventing, reading, and biting. The kids aren’t really growing or changing as individuals (okay, that’s not really true about Sunny, at least). And though I also wish that it hadn’t taken this long in the series to start to get interesting, at least now I have more than Tim Curry’s voice to keep me going. (This book was brought to you by the word “skittish.”)

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Book Review: The Ersatz Elevator

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The Ersatz Elevator
A Series of Unfortunate Events #6
by Lemony Snicket
read by Tim Curry

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s fiction

The three Baudelaire orphans have been set up with a new guardian and move to their home in a neighborhood that has the most domineering homeowners’ association ever. Rules about what is and isn’t allowed change on a regular basis, but the Baudelaires are more concerned about what happened to their friends, who were abducted in the previous book.

I feel like my reviews for this series are beginning to become redundant. But to be fair, that’s because the books are redundant. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true, since a few things did happen in this book that broke away from the formula a little. But it’s just too little to make me suddenly start liking it. Especially given some of the absurd elements of this book, like Sunny climbing up an elevator shaft with her teeth and everything having to do with the red-hot tongs.

Any time I wonder why I keep listening to the series when I’ve disliked it so much so far, I only have to remember Tim Curry doing a purposely bad Swedish accent. It was the best part of the whole book for me, and half a star of my rating is based on his narration. However, even he may not be able to get me to continue this series, if it doesn’t get less ridiculous soon.

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Audiobook Review: Fireside Reading of Winnie-the-Pooh

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Fireside Reading of Winnie-the-Pooh
by A.A. Milne
narrated by Gildart Jackson

My rating (for this version): 4.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

My rating is specific to the audiobook version releasing from Dreamscape Media on February 22, 2022. The story itself was wonderful, and the narrator did an overall great job. Though I had to listen closely to hear the sound of the fire crackling, I liked that now and then, I could hear pages turning. It felt more like actually being there, listening to him read. I appreciated the conversational style he employed, and I’ve always loved Gildart Jackson’s voice, so that made it all the more fun.  I’ll admit that I didn’t care for the way he voiced Owl, but overall, it was a lot of fun to listen to.

Having never read the full book that started everything Winnie-the-Pooh before this year, I’ve now listened to it twice, by 2 different narrators, both audiobooks released by the same publishing company in less than 3 months. I grew up watching a lot of Winnie-the-Pooh, so it’s been fun to reminisce. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find more Gildart Jackson to listen to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me a copy of this audiobook to review.
Publication date for this version: February 22, 2022

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Book Review: Kitty Hawk

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Kitty Hawk
I, Q #3
by Roland Smith

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s spy thriller

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with Independence Hall.

New step-siblings Q (short for Quest) and Angela continue to trail a ghost terrorist cell along with SOS, a team made up mostly of retired operatives from the CIA and other organizations. Most importantly, they’re following Angela’s mother and the First Daughter, and it’s vital that they don’t fall for the ghost cell’s attempts to confuse whoever might be following them. Meanwhile, some unexpected new developments are thrown into the mix, and it’s not always clear who is friend, foe, or neither.

We start in the middle of the chase again in this book, though I had no difficulty diving back in. I’m glad I’m reading the series after it’s all out, or I’d probably struggle with remembering what’s going on if I had to wait a year or more to continue on. The first two books were largely from Q’s POV (1st person), with other scenes shown to us as 3rd person and in italics. This book, though, has a lot more from other people’s POVs, still 3rd person, and fortunately loses the italics, because it would have been a lot of italics, and that’s not always pleasant to read. It seemed strange to still be 1st person when following Q, since there was so much 3rd person this time, but it would have also been weird to suddenly drop the 1st person completely after 2 books. It was only a little confusing to go back to 1st person now and then, so overall, not a problem. And I really appreciated being able to follow the multiple sub-sets of the SOS team in one particular part of this book.

Two big things happened in this book that intrigued me the most. One was not clear to me by the end whether or not there’s more going on than what is stated (there’s not much more I can say without giving spoilers). The second new development is the big one, that being the sudden supernatural elements that seem to come out of nowhere. Though when I examine it further, I don’t think it’s completely out of nowhere. There were certainly signs that something unusual was going on in the first two books, but I definitely did not expect this. I’m willing to give both of these uncertain elements a chance, though. The books have been enjoyable so far, and I am still looking forward to seeing where the overall story goes from here.  At this point, I still recommend this series for younger readers who want something exciting or thrilling, or even adults who don’t necessarily care for adult spy thrillers but enjoy a good adventure story.

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Book Review: Genius Camp

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Genius Camp
The Smartest Kid in the Universe #2
by Chris Grabenstein

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s adventure

12-year-old Jake and his scientifically enhanced, super-smart brain are invited to Genius Camp for a week by Zane Zinkle, a man who had once held the title of the smartest kid in the universe. Now he owns a large corporation (the 2nd wealthiest in the world) and has created an AI computer, which he wants to pit against Jake’s smarts.

This book was just as fun as its predecessor. I really appreciated that Jake was insecure about his newfound genius, partly because he wasn’t sure if/when it might suddenly wear off, and partly because he knew the jelly beans don’t cover every subject. I like his connection to Haazim Farooqi (jelly bean creator) and Farooqi’s involvement in this story. And I love that a certain other book series by Grabenstein is officially in the same universe as this series (I really want to say more, but I won’t, to avoid spoilers).

Kojo started to drive me a little crazy in this book, with his insistence on adding “baby” into his dialog so often. If I met this kid in real life, I’d have to walk away pretty quickly. I also was initially put off by the incredibly ridiculous immaturity of the villain, but I mentioned this to my 11-year-old daughter who had already read the book, and she pointed out that it wasn’t necessarily unrealistic, given the villain’s backstory, and I was able to look past it more easily after that. I did predict the sort-of-twist at the end, but I think that’s mostly because of a certain movie I’ve seen several times (I won’t name it, because it would spoil the ending), which I’m sure kids in the age range that this book is meant for would be a lot less familiar with. As I mentioned above, my 11-year-old daughter read it before me, and she loved it as much as the previous. That’s the strongest endorsement I can ever give for a middle grade book, so make sure to check it out for your kids (or you)!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: The Austere Academy

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The Austere Academy
A Series of Unfortunate Events #5
by Lemony Snicket
read by the author

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s fiction

The three Baudelaire orphans have been sent to boarding school. Except Sunny isn’t old enough for school, so instead she works as an administrative assistant. Yeah. But Count Olaf is there, along with some of his henchmen, and even though the kids have been proven right each time they’ve made that claim in the past, Mr. Poe doesn’t believe them.

The author continues to be redundant, I suppose in an attempt at humor, but it’s done so often it’s just started to bother me along the way. But then again, this is not my kind of humor anyway—far too much injustice and even child abuse, none of which gets addressed or remotely amended, for my taste.

The formula that’s been so frustratingly followed for this series so far is broken slightly, in that the kids actually get to make some friends. But if you think that will work out well, you don’t know this series at all. It didn’t go the way I feared it would, and actually, I didn’t mind the way the story was left in the end, regarding the two friends. What I didn’t like is that the author nearly ruined the mild suspense provided by that ending, what made me feel, for a moment, at least, that I actually have an interest in the next story. Ah, well. I’ll continue on either way, because Tim Curry comes back with the next installment, and his narration is the only reason I got into any of this. I wouldn’t be continuing with this series if I wasn’t being read to by Tim Curry while I go about my day (except for the last 3 books, which I endured for the sake of…well, you get it).

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Book Review: The Miserable Mill

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The Miserable Mill
A Series of Unfortunate Events #4
by Lemony Snicket
read by the author

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s fiction

The three Baudelaire orphans have been set up with a new guardian, name unpronounceable, who sets them to work in his lumber mill. Yes, including the baby. And they get only gum for lunch. Count Olaf is in there somewhere, but he’s barely needed to make this stop on the Baudelaire journey a terrible one.

I can’t get a handle on these books—since the beginning I’ve struggled to understand if they’re meant to be serious or not. I mean, clearly there’s humor injected here and there, or at least parts that I can tell are supposed to be funny. But is the world the stories take place in meant to be remotely realistic? Is it modern or some time in the past? How does it make any kind of sense that the kids are put to work in a lumber mill? That the workers of this mill are given only gum for lunch and paid in coupons? The absurdity level is too high for me to find any humor in it, especially with the overall serious tone. If there were some kind of payoff, it might work better, but there really isn’t.

One break in the formula in this book, which I did appreciate, is the way the older two kids had to fill the other one’s role in order to escape Count Olaf’s evil scheme. But I still feel like I’m just hanging in there for the series to get good, as some reviews still promise. Handler (the book author’s real name) is not the best at the narration. He’s soft-spoken for the kids’ voices and normal narration, then gets loud for most everyone else. There is something to be said for hearing how a character’s voice sounds to the actual creator of the character, though, and the unnamed caretaker’s voice in this book is certainly unique. Now I’ve got 1 more book to listen to before I can get back to Tim Curry, which was my whole point in starting this series.

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