Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures is the story of Flora, a girl who is a proud cynic and comic book fan, and a squirrel who gains superpowers after surviving being sucked into a powerful vacuum cleaner (of course!). Parts of the story are told in comic strips, showing the action instead of describing it. […]
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
May 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
“Beautiful” is a word frequently used to describe Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and that’s the first word that came to my mind as well. It has its painful and brutal moments, but its exploration of coming of age, cultural and sexual identity, and relationships of all kinds is a beautiful […]
Gabby Duran and the Unsittables
May 11, 2015 by 2 Comments
Gabby Duran and the Unsittables is a funny story that pretty much lives up to its name. Gabby Duran is a babysitter so good that her clients are willing to fly her to her challenging babysitting gigs. The first job we see her on is the triplet daughters of an actor who needs someone to […]
Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Search
April 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Review written by MR Valentine. Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Search Parts 1, 2, and 3 follow the set of comics The Promise. I recommend reading those first. The comics all follow the story of the Nickelodeon TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender and only make sense if you’ve seen the show. Zuko has been focused on rebuilding […]
Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Promise
April 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Review written by MR Valentine. Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Parts 1, 2, and 3are comics/graphic novels that follow after the events that restore peace to the world in the Nickelodeon TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender and bring the series to a close. If you haven’t already, you should watch the series before you read […]
Grasshopper Jungle
February 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. This highly acclaimed and award winning YA novel might grab the interest of your tween, but Jonathan offers some insight into why you’ll want to make an informed decision about letting your young reader put this on their “to read” pile, and why it should end up on your “to […]
The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence
February 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence is the first book in the new series by Stan Lee, Stuart Moore, and Andie Tong. The premise is that during the convergence, the power of the Chinese Zodiac was brought back into the world, but Maxwell—our villain who wants to control all the Zodiac power—lost control when some people tried […]
Unbored Games
December 19, 2014 by 1 Comment
I rarely review nonfiction, but when I was offered a review copy of UNBORED Games: Serious Fun for Everyone, I couldn’t resist. It’s a hard book to quantify—it’s part history, part game review, part rule book, and part hacker’s guide. It’s aimed at a child reader; there are sections called “Training Your Grownup” that offer […]
The Sea of Trolls
December 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Sea of Trolls is a great historical fantasy epic for the middle grade set. It follows the adventures of 12 year old Jack after he and his little sister Lucy are captured by Northmen. After gravely insulting Frith, a half-troll queen, Jack needs to go on a quest to see the queen of the […]
The King of Attolia
November 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Review written by Jonathan Lavallee. The King of Attolia is a huge departure from The Thief and The Queen of Attolia. Not in tone, with its lovingly put together plot and brilliantly defined characters. Not in style, written with major intrigue rather than roaring battles as the focus. It’s a huge departure because the main character […]
