Well, it's not quite the end of March, but I'm not going to be picking up any more middle grade reads so I decided I would wrap up this month-long readathon.
There were 5 challenges:
1. An award winning book: Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
2. A book adapted into a movie or TV show: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
3. A childhood favorite: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
4, A Classic: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5. A book with diversity of any kind: George by Alex Gino
Additional books:
El Deafo by Cece Bell
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
I'm not a huge reader of middle grade but I found this challenge really enjoyable. It was nice to have an excuse to just pick up some fun easy reads.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Final Week Wrap Up
This week I read 5 more books.
The first I picked up A River in Darkness by Masaji Isikawa. This was a memoir of a half-Korean, half-Japanese man who moved to North Korea at age 13 and his harrowing escape nearly 30 years later. I am fascinated by accounts of North Korea and this was a different outlook since he had lived somewhere else for several years and knew what he was missing out on. However, it ends on a very depressing note. Unfortunately, life doesn't always wrap up neatly. I gave this book 4 stars.
The slump was hitting hard so I picked up the shortest book I had; Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan. At only 64 pages, I was able to get through this quickly. I remember loving it quite a bit more as a child. I found it too short, with very little character development. Still, I've always been interested in pioneer life and this was a glimpse into that life. I gave it 3 stars.
Then I picked up another middle grade read called Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend. Oh my goodness! This was so lovely. It is a fantasy novel about a cursed child who is whisked away to another world to enter a school of gifted students. Some people have complained its too much a mash-up of Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, and other famous fantastical novels but I feel it stands on it own. There is a sequel coming out in October and I just can't wait. I gave the book 4.5 stars!
I decided to browse Hoopla for some more middle grade reads and decided to listen to A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. This was based on a true story about the war in Southern Sudan in the 1980s and the "lost boys" who walked to refugee camps across the border into Ethiopia. This was an interesting part of history that I knew nothing about. It also focused on how lacking their access to clean healthy water was. While I enjoyed this story, I wish there had been more information about the war and the refugee camps. I gave it 3 stars.
Lastly, I picked up a graphic memoir called Lighter Than my Shadow by Katie Green. This was a graphic novel about Katie's struggle with anorexia. The artwork is simplistic and the story is sad. However, you never really understand why she develops anorexia. Why did she have a need for control? I wish she would've explored that a bit more. I'm grateful this resource is out there for people who are struggling with eating disorders. I gave the book 3 stars.
The first I picked up A River in Darkness by Masaji Isikawa. This was a memoir of a half-Korean, half-Japanese man who moved to North Korea at age 13 and his harrowing escape nearly 30 years later. I am fascinated by accounts of North Korea and this was a different outlook since he had lived somewhere else for several years and knew what he was missing out on. However, it ends on a very depressing note. Unfortunately, life doesn't always wrap up neatly. I gave this book 4 stars.
The slump was hitting hard so I picked up the shortest book I had; Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan. At only 64 pages, I was able to get through this quickly. I remember loving it quite a bit more as a child. I found it too short, with very little character development. Still, I've always been interested in pioneer life and this was a glimpse into that life. I gave it 3 stars.
Then I picked up another middle grade read called Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend. Oh my goodness! This was so lovely. It is a fantasy novel about a cursed child who is whisked away to another world to enter a school of gifted students. Some people have complained its too much a mash-up of Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, and other famous fantastical novels but I feel it stands on it own. There is a sequel coming out in October and I just can't wait. I gave the book 4.5 stars!
I decided to browse Hoopla for some more middle grade reads and decided to listen to A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. This was based on a true story about the war in Southern Sudan in the 1980s and the "lost boys" who walked to refugee camps across the border into Ethiopia. This was an interesting part of history that I knew nothing about. It also focused on how lacking their access to clean healthy water was. While I enjoyed this story, I wish there had been more information about the war and the refugee camps. I gave it 3 stars.
Lastly, I picked up a graphic memoir called Lighter Than my Shadow by Katie Green. This was a graphic novel about Katie's struggle with anorexia. The artwork is simplistic and the story is sad. However, you never really understand why she develops anorexia. Why did she have a need for control? I wish she would've explored that a bit more. I'm grateful this resource is out there for people who are struggling with eating disorders. I gave the book 3 stars.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Third Week Wrap Up
This week I finished 5 books.
The first was Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo. This fulfilled my last challenge of reading an award-winning book. I picked this book up because its often compared to Harry Potter. Young boy finds out he has magical ability and goes to a magical school where he has to fight evil/bad situations. However, this is definitely geared toward a younger audience. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure I'm going to continue on with the series. There is definitely some loose ends because the dad is still missing or dead. I presume we find out what happened to him later on. I gave it 3 stars.
Then I read We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson. This has been highly praised on booktube by several different people. I thought it was pretty good but nothing mind-blowing. The premise is that a teenage boy is abducted by aliens who know the world is going to end but give him a chance to stop it by pressing a big red button. To most people that decision would be a no-brainer because we all have an innate survival instinct. However, he has several problems in his life (grandma has dementia, father left him, boyfriend killed himself, etc.) and decides he would just rather die and let humanity be wiped out. Things happen throughout time that cause him to waver on this decision. The book was funny at parts and incredibly sad at other times. The portrayal of grief seemed very accurate. However, it was just a little bit redundant and too angsty for my taste. I gave it 3.5 stars.
Next I read The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. This was one of the best books I read in quite a while. The book is a slice-of-life look into a gay man growing up in the 50s and 60s in largely homophobic Ireland. The book starts out with a teen girl being condemned by the Catholic church for becoming pregnant and is then kicked out of her home. She travels to the big city and finds friends, and job, and a family for her baby. The story is then about her baby Cyril as he grows up in a strange house and the relationships he forms. Each section jumps seven years. The relationships felt so authentic that when he loses certain loved ones, the pain he endures was palpable. I finished this just a few days ago but I already want to read it again. I will definitely seek out John Boyne's other books because I found his writing to be so enjoyable. I gave it 5 stars.
Then I picked up A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa. This was an incredibly depressing memoir of a half Korean half Japanese man escaping from North Korea in the 1990s. I have read a few books on North Korea so I was aware of the songbun (which is the caste system which identifies citizens and what jobs they're allowed or whether they can attend University) but I wasn't aware that citizens from Japan (called returnees) were at the lowest level of the caste. This book was really short, which I felt left out some important points. However, he illuminated once again how desperate things are in North Korea and unfortunately, how poorly they are received in other countries. I gave the book 4 stars.
Lastly, I read Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. I picked this up for two reasons: the first was because I wanted to read more children's classics and the second was because I wanted to read more translated books. Ugh... This wasn't good. I didn't read this as a child so I didn't have the nostalgia factor. Pippi is ridiculous and attention-seeking. She is a chronic liar and consistently is getting into messes. The fact that she doesn't have any adults looking over her is something that just wasn't realistic to me. Her super strength is never explained. I might've enjoyed this as a child but as C.S. Lewis said, “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” Additionally, this wasn't a story with a plot but rather a series of unrelated vignettes. Overall, it was incredibly disappointing. I would've quit it if it hadn't been so short. I gave it 1 star.
Since then, I've been in a bit of a slump...just not wanting to pick anything up. I have several good choices though so I'm hoping to turn it around. I'm thinking a graphic novel might be the way to go.
The first was Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo. This fulfilled my last challenge of reading an award-winning book. I picked this book up because its often compared to Harry Potter. Young boy finds out he has magical ability and goes to a magical school where he has to fight evil/bad situations. However, this is definitely geared toward a younger audience. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure I'm going to continue on with the series. There is definitely some loose ends because the dad is still missing or dead. I presume we find out what happened to him later on. I gave it 3 stars.
Then I read We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson. This has been highly praised on booktube by several different people. I thought it was pretty good but nothing mind-blowing. The premise is that a teenage boy is abducted by aliens who know the world is going to end but give him a chance to stop it by pressing a big red button. To most people that decision would be a no-brainer because we all have an innate survival instinct. However, he has several problems in his life (grandma has dementia, father left him, boyfriend killed himself, etc.) and decides he would just rather die and let humanity be wiped out. Things happen throughout time that cause him to waver on this decision. The book was funny at parts and incredibly sad at other times. The portrayal of grief seemed very accurate. However, it was just a little bit redundant and too angsty for my taste. I gave it 3.5 stars.
Next I read The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. This was one of the best books I read in quite a while. The book is a slice-of-life look into a gay man growing up in the 50s and 60s in largely homophobic Ireland. The book starts out with a teen girl being condemned by the Catholic church for becoming pregnant and is then kicked out of her home. She travels to the big city and finds friends, and job, and a family for her baby. The story is then about her baby Cyril as he grows up in a strange house and the relationships he forms. Each section jumps seven years. The relationships felt so authentic that when he loses certain loved ones, the pain he endures was palpable. I finished this just a few days ago but I already want to read it again. I will definitely seek out John Boyne's other books because I found his writing to be so enjoyable. I gave it 5 stars.
Then I picked up A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa. This was an incredibly depressing memoir of a half Korean half Japanese man escaping from North Korea in the 1990s. I have read a few books on North Korea so I was aware of the songbun (which is the caste system which identifies citizens and what jobs they're allowed or whether they can attend University) but I wasn't aware that citizens from Japan (called returnees) were at the lowest level of the caste. This book was really short, which I felt left out some important points. However, he illuminated once again how desperate things are in North Korea and unfortunately, how poorly they are received in other countries. I gave the book 4 stars.
Lastly, I read Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. I picked this up for two reasons: the first was because I wanted to read more children's classics and the second was because I wanted to read more translated books. Ugh... This wasn't good. I didn't read this as a child so I didn't have the nostalgia factor. Pippi is ridiculous and attention-seeking. She is a chronic liar and consistently is getting into messes. The fact that she doesn't have any adults looking over her is something that just wasn't realistic to me. Her super strength is never explained. I might've enjoyed this as a child but as C.S. Lewis said, “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” Additionally, this wasn't a story with a plot but rather a series of unrelated vignettes. Overall, it was incredibly disappointing. I would've quit it if it hadn't been so short. I gave it 1 star.
Since then, I've been in a bit of a slump...just not wanting to pick anything up. I have several good choices though so I'm hoping to turn it around. I'm thinking a graphic novel might be the way to go.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Second Week Wrap Up
Well, I've had another successful reading week. I read 5 books this week and DNF'd one.
The first book I read was The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. I heard about this book from both Simon and Mercedes who both raved about it on booktube. Unfortunately, it wasn't that good. I like literary fiction, I like family sagas, and I like slow burns, but somehow I didn't really care for this book. It was boring. I felt like it focused on too many characters and you only got a shallow look into their lives. I gave it 2 stars.
Then I read Educated by Tara Westover. This is a new memoir about growing up in a survivalist family. The abuse, neglect, and paranoid mania that this girl endured was unbelievable. She didn't step foot into a classroom until she went to college. She didn't know about the Holocaust until she embarrassed herself in a class. But she triumphed. She got away from her family and went on to get an education. It was inspiring. I gave it 4 stars.
Then I read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. This fulfilled my challenge to read a middle grade book that had been adapted into a movie. This story was so fun. The pace was quick and I feel that this was a book for book lovers. I rarely read adventure stories but I really should rectify that because I enjoyed this a lot. I gave it 4 stars.
Next I read El Deafo by Cece Bell. Another middle grade read about diversity. This is a graphic memoir of growing up as a Deaf child. I loved seeing differences represented in books. Children can be so cruel to those who are different. Even the people who were trying to help her seemed to just define her by her deafness. I really liked this book and finished it in one sitting. I gave it 4 stars.
I listened to the audio book of Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. This fulfilled the challenge of reading a childhood favorite. This is a heartfelt coming of age tale about a boy and the love of his two dogs. It is so sweet and made me cry. I gave it 4 stars.
Lastly, I started Hunger by Roxanne Gay. I read about 100 pages before I decided to quit. While her story could be amazing and needs to be told, she is not the writer to do so. Her writing is disorganized and full of redundancies and generalities. She writes in short choppy sentences which I find irritating to the flow of the story. Additionally, it isn't written in a narrative which I expected but more like a high school essay. Overall, I was dreading picking it up so I decided to quit.
This week had some great reads. I hope to keep up my pace next week.
The first book I read was The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. I heard about this book from both Simon and Mercedes who both raved about it on booktube. Unfortunately, it wasn't that good. I like literary fiction, I like family sagas, and I like slow burns, but somehow I didn't really care for this book. It was boring. I felt like it focused on too many characters and you only got a shallow look into their lives. I gave it 2 stars.
Then I read Educated by Tara Westover. This is a new memoir about growing up in a survivalist family. The abuse, neglect, and paranoid mania that this girl endured was unbelievable. She didn't step foot into a classroom until she went to college. She didn't know about the Holocaust until she embarrassed herself in a class. But she triumphed. She got away from her family and went on to get an education. It was inspiring. I gave it 4 stars.
Then I read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. This fulfilled my challenge to read a middle grade book that had been adapted into a movie. This story was so fun. The pace was quick and I feel that this was a book for book lovers. I rarely read adventure stories but I really should rectify that because I enjoyed this a lot. I gave it 4 stars.
Next I read El Deafo by Cece Bell. Another middle grade read about diversity. This is a graphic memoir of growing up as a Deaf child. I loved seeing differences represented in books. Children can be so cruel to those who are different. Even the people who were trying to help her seemed to just define her by her deafness. I really liked this book and finished it in one sitting. I gave it 4 stars.
I listened to the audio book of Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. This fulfilled the challenge of reading a childhood favorite. This is a heartfelt coming of age tale about a boy and the love of his two dogs. It is so sweet and made me cry. I gave it 4 stars.
Lastly, I started Hunger by Roxanne Gay. I read about 100 pages before I decided to quit. While her story could be amazing and needs to be told, she is not the writer to do so. Her writing is disorganized and full of redundancies and generalities. She writes in short choppy sentences which I find irritating to the flow of the story. Additionally, it isn't written in a narrative which I expected but more like a high school essay. Overall, I was dreading picking it up so I decided to quit.
This week had some great reads. I hope to keep up my pace next week.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
First Week Wrap Up
This week has been full of books. I started and completed 5 books this week.
First I started with Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire. This was a huge disappointment. While I enjoyed the first book, and adored the second, this was a sticky mess. Firstly, it dealt a lot with Nonsense which just was annoying. Secondly, the main character kept constantly talking about how she was fat. As a fat person myself, some of the thoughts resonated with me. Definitely at her age I would compared myself to others and push myself harder to make up for my body. However, I didn't constantly bring it up to people like she did. It felt unnatural how much she talked about it. The plot was disorganized. The only redeeming quality was seeing a few of the worlds and the lush descriptions that really helped me imagine them. I gave this book 2 stars.
Next I picked up Beartown by Fredik Bachman. This book really surprised me. At first glance, its all about hockey and how it consumes the lives of the small town people but it's really so much more than that. It is about people in positions of power taking advantage of the system. Of being able to quiet the people they've wronged. About how society elevates athletes to an undeserved position. It was a little hard to get into at first because while its in third person, the perspective switched between so many different characters. It was an ensemble cast. This was a powerful book and I gave it 4 stars.
Then I read George by Alex Gino. This was my diversity pick for my Middle Grade March Readathon. This is the story of a fourth grade transgender girl coming to grips with her identity and using her passion of acting in a school play as a means to come out to her friends and family. I enjoyed this quite a lot and felt these messages of acceptance were incredibly important. However, some of the lines seemed quite clunky and odd coming out of a ten year old's mouth. I wish it could've been a bit smoother. I gave it 3 stars.
I then read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This was my children's classic pick for my Middle Grade March Readathon. I can't believe I never read this book as a child. I remember watching the movie and loving it. I thought this was such a good read. I adored the transformation of Mistress Mary alongside the re-awakening of the garden. This was actually much deeper than most children's stories and held up really well for being over 100 years old. I gave it 4 stars.
Lastly, I picked up The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling. After finishing Harry Potter last month, I was still hungry for more of that world and this definitely satisfied that craving. This is a collection of short stories/fables from the wizarding world. The second story was my favorite. I gave this collection 4 stars. This is a middle grade read, but doesn't fulfill any specific challenge.
This was a really good reading week. I have so many more I'm excited to get to that I want to keep up this pace.
First I started with Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire. This was a huge disappointment. While I enjoyed the first book, and adored the second, this was a sticky mess. Firstly, it dealt a lot with Nonsense which just was annoying. Secondly, the main character kept constantly talking about how she was fat. As a fat person myself, some of the thoughts resonated with me. Definitely at her age I would compared myself to others and push myself harder to make up for my body. However, I didn't constantly bring it up to people like she did. It felt unnatural how much she talked about it. The plot was disorganized. The only redeeming quality was seeing a few of the worlds and the lush descriptions that really helped me imagine them. I gave this book 2 stars.
Next I picked up Beartown by Fredik Bachman. This book really surprised me. At first glance, its all about hockey and how it consumes the lives of the small town people but it's really so much more than that. It is about people in positions of power taking advantage of the system. Of being able to quiet the people they've wronged. About how society elevates athletes to an undeserved position. It was a little hard to get into at first because while its in third person, the perspective switched between so many different characters. It was an ensemble cast. This was a powerful book and I gave it 4 stars.
Then I read George by Alex Gino. This was my diversity pick for my Middle Grade March Readathon. This is the story of a fourth grade transgender girl coming to grips with her identity and using her passion of acting in a school play as a means to come out to her friends and family. I enjoyed this quite a lot and felt these messages of acceptance were incredibly important. However, some of the lines seemed quite clunky and odd coming out of a ten year old's mouth. I wish it could've been a bit smoother. I gave it 3 stars.
I then read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This was my children's classic pick for my Middle Grade March Readathon. I can't believe I never read this book as a child. I remember watching the movie and loving it. I thought this was such a good read. I adored the transformation of Mistress Mary alongside the re-awakening of the garden. This was actually much deeper than most children's stories and held up really well for being over 100 years old. I gave it 4 stars.
Lastly, I picked up The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling. After finishing Harry Potter last month, I was still hungry for more of that world and this definitely satisfied that craving. This is a collection of short stories/fables from the wizarding world. The second story was my favorite. I gave this collection 4 stars. This is a middle grade read, but doesn't fulfill any specific challenge.
This was a really good reading week. I have so many more I'm excited to get to that I want to keep up this pace.
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