middle grade

Book Review: The Giver, Graphic Novel

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The Giver, Graphic Novel
The Giver series
by Lois Lowry
adapted & illustrated by P. Craig Russell

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s dystopian, graphic novel

I read and reviewed the original book (see review here), so this review is less about the story and content than it is about the graphic novel format. My first impression when glancing through the book was that the use of pseudo black and white (it’s sort of more like blue black and white) for most of the novel was perfect for the story. The flashes of color here and there heighten the difference between Jonas’s view of the world and everyone else’s (besides the Giver). The visuals of the memories Jonas is given bring the story to life and highlight the blandness and sameness of the rest of the community. Certain graphics that I won’t specify to avoid spoilers are much more emotional than simply reading about them. Though in this format, the ending strikes me as even more ambiguous as it did the first time around, or maybe it’s just knowing the rest of the series now that makes me view the ending differently. All in all, I’d say the idea of converting The Giver to a graphic novel was a success, and I can see this being a good way to introduce the thought-provoking story to more reluctant readers.

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Book Review: The Runaway King

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The Runaway King
Ascendance #2
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
read by Charlie McWade

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Middle grade adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review will contain some spoilers for the first book in the series, The False Prince.

Jaron’s return and ascension to the throne is precarious, as is the peace of his kingdom. The most pressing threat comes from the very group that tried to kill him years in the past and helped kill his parents—the pirates. Against the advice and wishes of everyone close to him, Jaron sets out on a plan to stop the pirates.

I can’t say I’m surprised that I liked this book less than the first. While the first one had the big surprise going for it by the end, I knew this book couldn’t pull off another similar twist. So what we’re left with is politics and war, which tends to just drag along for me, like most of the previous book did. What seems to be the big selling point for most of the people who like this series is Sage/Jaron himself and his wit, snarkiness, ingenuity, etc. However, while I appreciate the difficulty of his situation, he actually seems ill-suited for his role as king. He makes a lot of bad decisions and basically gets lucky. Plus, while the pirates aren’t exactly friendly, they don’t end up seeming quite as mean and hardened as they were made out to be. Imogen’s involvement is difficult to find realistic, and I don’t understand Amarinda’s role at all (is she good? bad? pointless?).

I did recommend the first book for teens, and I’d imagine that age group would be more interested in the rest of the series that I am. I’m personally calling it quits right here, which is saying something, considering that the book ends on a cliffhanger. It’s just not enough to draw me back. I’m not saying it’s terrible, since I did give it 3 stars. But in the end, it’s just too slow and uninteresting to give me a reason to come back.

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Book Review: Storm Warning

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Storm Warning
The 39 Clues #9
by Linda Sue Park

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

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

On the trail of pirates, someone else is on the trail of Amy and Dan Cahill, but then, what else is new? But now they’re learning that the threat may have been closer than they knew all along.

We’re nearing the end of the main series now, and the story is ramping up appropriately; this book dives right in with Amy and Dan confronting Nellie about her deception. Personally, I’ve figured Nellie was more involved than she claimed from the beginning, when her snake nose ring was described, but that seemed to be a red herring, since it wasn’t brought up again in 9 books. The real truth about what Nellie has been keeping from Amy and Dan isn’t exactly earth-shattering or completely unexpected, but it’s nice to start getting things out into the open. The Madrigal involvement in the clue hunt is close to what I suspected partway through the book, but there are still some surprises.

In this book, Amy is awkward and stumbles over words when she’s with her family, but later, she doesn’t seem to struggle at all talking to people she doesn’t know, even in stressful situations. This might not have been something I’d have pointed out, except that it seems likely it’s due to this book being written by an author who’s new to the series. Though overall, I’ve really enjoyed the journey, I do sometimes feel that the one-off authors could have had more of an understanding of the characters before writing their contribution. Or that there should have been an editor who read all of stories with an eye toward fixing any characterization issues. Though the final book in the main series is written by yet another new author, I’m still looking forward to seeing how all of this ends. I’ve already strongly recommend this series to my 13-year-old daughter who has just recently gotten into reading more heavily, and I think kids as young as 10 would enjoy this series as well.

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Book Review: Hatchet

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Hatchet
Brian’s Saga #1
by Gary Paulsen

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Classic middle grade adventure

I remember reading the story of teenage Brian stuck alone in the wilderness for several weeks when I was a kid, though the only parts of it I could recall were that the plane went down into water and that at some point he dove into the water to try to salvage supplies from the plane. When I read it again recently because my daughter read it for school, I remembered a lot more of the challenges Brian faces. The reader easily roots for Brian to solve the next problem, to overcome the next hurdle. He has setbacks and moments where he contemplates giving up, which make the story all the more realistic. On top of it all, he’s reeling from a divorce caused by a horrible Secret that he’s kept buried, and while his dangerous situation tends to overtake that trauma, it’s always there, waiting to creep in during his weakest moments. Overall, the story is engaging, and when a potential major issue happens near the end of the book, I found myself groaning and shaking my head for poor Brian.

My only gripe with the book is the author’s style, which involves a lot of repetition within sentences and paragraphs. Though some might be seen as showing Brian’s mental state, it started before the plane even went down, so I think it’s purely a style choice, and one that I don’t personally care for. Otherwise, though, I think this book is still great for pre-teens and teens to read, maybe with parents for pre-teens.

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Book Review: The False Prince

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The False Prince
Ascendance #1
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
read by Charlie McWade

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade adventure

Street-smart orphan Sage is tagged as one of three candidates to pretend to be the king’s long-lost son, in order to prevent a civil war that would lead to destruction by the nation’s enemies. He’s not so sure he wants to be the prince, but the alternative is death.

By halfway through this book, I was really beginning to wonder what so many people saw in it. It was slow and not terribly interesting, with cliched characters and politics that caused the story to drag. Characters make terrible decisions, and Sage himself doesn’t seem to know when to quit while he’s ahead. Just the fact that nothing interesting seemed to be going on caused intrigue as I tried to figure out what kind of twist might be coming that would cause so many people to give the book 4- and 5-star ratings. Then came a twist, like I was expecting, but not quite what I was expecting. And to say much more at all would be a spoiler, so before I get into that, I’ll say that, though I did appreciate the twist and how it made me look back on the rest of the story in a different light, it wasn’t quite enough to completely redeem that first 75% of the book. Also, the narrator is fairly monotone, and while I do intend to continue the series with the audiobooks, it’s mostly because his voice is already so ingrained in my head as the voice of Sage, I’ll hear it either way, so I might as well listen to him reading it. Now, read on if you choose, but beware that at least mild spoilers are ahead.

What this book taught me is that I’ve become far too trusting with narrators. I’ve always known about the potential of an unreliable narrator, but I haven’t come across them often and certainly not one to the degree that this book has. What I took as other characters making incorrect assumptions or Sage being unnecessarily cagey was actually just the reader being kept in the dark. And the sad thing is that even when it started to be revealed to me that some things had been kept from me, I didn’t follow that through to the Big Secret. I made guesses about the Big Secret, but the only way I could see it being true would be if the author used a really cliched trope. When I began to realize that Sage was keeping secrets from the reader, I should have realized…but I didn’t, so the twist mostly caught me off guard.

My guess is that most of the readers of the age group this is intended for would be blown away by the twist and would learn a good lesson in being too trusting of a narrator in fiction (like I did). While I do wish that the first 75% of the book had been more engaging overall, I still recommend this book to kids around age 10-13 and to anyone else that is interested in the premise.

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Book Review: Tasty

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Tasty: A History of Yummy Experiments
by Victoria Grace Elliott

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade nonfiction, graphic novel

This history of certain foods told by “food sprites” in a colorful graphic novel is a fun, unique book for kids. It may work better for the age group it’s intended for than it did for me, not that I didn’t enjoy it overall. However, I had hoped for a little more of the science promised at the beginning of the book, especially at certain points when a statement is made that leaves me wanting to know more (like how does the wheel shape help cheese stay dry and avoid spoiling?). It makes sense that this wouldn’t be a comprehensive look at the foods chosen to be included—cheese, pickles, gelatin, etc., but some of the information goes by so fast, it’s hard to absorb it all.

Outside of the history told, there’s (sort of) a story going on with the sprites, but it’s really confusing to me. The main sprite, Peri, seems to have some kind of rivalry with a water sprite that pops in to talk about liquids sometimes, but why? I have no idea. I guess the author felt that giving the sprites a little of their own story would make it more engaging to kids, but I paid little attention to their little asides, other than the bizarre contention between Peri and Maia, which stuck out quite a bit. And there’s a place in the pickles section where the characters cry, “THE SAUCE” like a battle cry, like something we’re supposed to “get”…but I don’t. Maybe some of this connects back to the pervious book by this author, Yummy: A History of Desserts, but not having read that one, I can’t say for sure. While I do think that kids who are interested in food or cooking would probably enjoy this graphic novel, I don’t know that I’d recommend it for adults, unless they’re really into food history. Though in that case, they probably already know all of, or more than, what this book provides.

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 Faithful Spy

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The Faithful Spy
by John Hendrix

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade nonfiction, graphic novel

I read this book after my 13-year-old daughter, who read it for book club at the library. It’s an impressive mixture of information about Bonhoeffer, who was part of the conspiracy to stop Hitler before and during WWII, and a concise picture of how Hitler came to power in Germany and then went on to conquer lands around it. Bonhoeffer’s struggle to accept what was happening in Germany and then figure out how he should act in response is well presented, and I can really appreciate his (and others’) difficulty trying to reconcile his faith and God’s commands with wanting to do what he/they can to stop Hitler’s reign of terror. It presents the reader with the question of what he/she would do in the same situation.

Hendrix does a great job of presenting all of this in a way that is easy to follow, not just because of the artwork, but because of the clear, simple wording he uses. My daughter isn’t exactly a history buff, and frankly, neither am I, but we were both caught up in the book. I gained a lot of insight into the history around WWII, things that I either never knew or forgot from my school days. The artwork is stunning and poignant, with symbolism here and there like Hitler as a wolf or the Nazi party as rats invading the “cellar” of the German government. A few of the images are a little dark, not that the subject matter doesn’t lend itself to that, but it’s something to keep in mind for younger readers. While I’d recommend pre-reading for parents of younger kids or those prone to be sensitive, I highly recommend this book for teens and even adults.

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Book Review: The Emperor’s Code

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The Emperor’s Code
The 39 Clues #8
by Gordon Korman

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Children’s mystery, adventure

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous books in the series, starting with The Maze of Bones.

Amy and Dan Cahill are reeling over news of their heritage and take it out on each other. When they get separated, Dan and Amy will have to use the clue hunt to find their way back to each other. 

I really liked the fresh turn this story took with Dan and Amy’s argument. Not that it’s the first time they’ve argued, but the siblings being separated, having different experiences, and working the clue hunt from two different angles, is all new and interesting. The ways that they’re both trying to deal with what they discovered in the previous book about their parents, grandmother, and themselves, adds some realism and seriousness to the story. While there are still some outlandish situations, the climax in particular, I found myself enjoying the ride. I really want to see how Amy and Dan handle their ancestry and what it means for their role in the clue hunt, and I hope to learn for certain who can be trusted and who can’t. The clues themselves seem less important than the hunt to find them at this point, and I look forward to continuing the series.

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Book Review: Ramona’s World

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Ramona’s World
Ramona Quimby #8
by Beverly Cleary
Read by Stockard Channing

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

Now in fourth grade and with a new baby sister at home, Ramona is growing up, but still struggles to fully understand what that means. She still reacts to perceived (or real) injustices a bit extremely, but she’s also a lot calmer than she used to be. It’s nice to watch her get a female best friend (no offense to Howie), and her having a crush is kinda cute and pretty relatable, even at that age. I don’t particularly care for the way her fourth-grade teacher treats her in regards to spelling mistakes, but I also had plenty of teachers who might not have handled imperfect students as well as they should have. Though I think some of the charm of the very young Ramona is gone as she gets older, I still enjoyed this book. I appreciated Stockard Channing’s narration throughout the series, and I recommend it for anyone who might be interested, young or old.

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Book Review: Shiloh

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Shiloh
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

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

Another classic about a boy and his dog. While it was nice to have the happier ending than other such classics I’ve read recently, the story didn’t impress me overall. The main character, Marty, lies to everyone he cares about to take care of the dog that isn’t actually his, and his reasoning is that protecting Shiloh makes it okay. He feels bad about the lying and taking food that his family could use in order to feed the dog, but he does it anyway and gets away with it. I am not condoning animal abuse, but that doesn’t mean I condone lying and stealing to stop it. I’m not entirely sure what message Naylor was attempting to get across in this book, maybe that there’s not always an easy answer to a difficult question, but I think it could have been done better. I also think that a dog person might appreciate or enjoy the story more than I did. I wouldn’t really recommend this book for kids, other than perhaps to discuss the ethical questions presented within.

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