Iron Hearted Violet | Kelly Barnhill | Mini-Review

Summary:

Princes Violet is an only child, and not a pretty one at that. Rather she is incredibly intelligent and strong-willed and, as a result, well loved by her family and her people. Unfortunately there is an evil in the castle that plans on using her to get free by using the stories she loves so much against her. When her father leaves her and her mother behind to capture the last known dragon, everything goes downhill quickly and Princess Violet listens to the darkness' advice.

Review:

This is a middle-grade book that I picked up from a used-book store. It's definitely a book that I wish I'd had when I was younger. It's got plenty of tropes in it, yes, but I still found it quite enjoyable. I loved the fact that the evil talked to people through mirrors and played on their vanity and insecurities. I enjoyed the fact that the gods themselves admitted that they weren't perfect. Most importantly, though, I loved the fact that when Violet gets turned into what she considers the physical embodiment of "a true princess" she realizes how physically impossible it is to do anything! Floor length hair is incredibly heavy. Tiny feet make it difficult to balance. Dainty figures get tired out easily. The book continuously affirms that a true princess doesn't have to be beautiful of figure, but beautiful of heart and I commend it for that. Like I said, I wish I'd had this when I was a kid. 4 hoots!

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Vampirates | Justin Somper

Summary:

The Tempest twins, Connor and Grace, have lost everything. After their father's death, all his debts were called in and cost the twins their home. Their only options are to move into the orphanage whose headmistress already has plans to work them, or be adopted by a couple more interested in pets than kids. They take the third option and steal their father's boat and run away. Unfortunately a storm separates the twins. Connor gets picked up by a pirate ship and Grace gets picked up by the Vampirate ship of legend. The book follows their attempts at to stay alive long enough to reunite. 

Review:

Yes, this is a middle-grade book. Yes, I picked it up because the title made my inner child go "woah!" No, I have no regrets.

This book was an easy and enjoyable read. The main characters are generally smart, if a bit too curious sometimes. I greatly appreciated that Connor was as empathetic as he was towards Cheng Li and her situation. Captain Wrathe was a lot of fun and really embodied a lot of what people consider a pirate to be while also being a good captain to his crew.

I also really appreciated the sword/weapons based exposition Connor received from his lessons with Cutlass Cate. The talk about the different weapons and their respective fighting styles was a delight to read. So many people think broadswords are easy to handle and effective at killing, but they're a lot better for show and can be unwieldy. The precision weapons are the ones that are effective in slaying an enemy.

This world was a little difficult to get into. So much of the book makes it sound like a historical fiction but, in fact, the book takes place about 500 years in the future. While this fact is presented up front, it was still sometimes jarring to read about Grace having a diver's watch that could survive 500 feet under water. If I really wanted to get into this world, perhaps the graphic novels would help me with these things.

In all, if I were younger I know I'd be devouring this series. As it is, I still found this to be a fun read, but probably won't be picking up any more books in the series. I do recommend this book if you have younger readers or enjoy middle-grade books in general. 3.5 hoots!

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Actually. Best. Jokes. Ever | Chantelle Grace

*Image and book provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Review:

This was a cute little book of knock knock jokes, tongue twisters and puns, definitely meant for a younger audience. A lot of the jokes I had heard before, but I still got quite a few chuckles out of them, as well as several groans of annoyance from my husband when I read them out loud. I do wish the book had more illustration or more to it than just a long list of words, but that's a personal preference. If you're looking for a cute little joke book for a younger child, this is a nice choice. 3 hoots!

Kid Zero | Conor Daniel

*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Harriet is a student at a school where she is constantly made fun of by other students and punished for things she didn't do by the Headmistress. The only reason she's there is because her father got a job working on string theory. If it weren't for Bruno, the teddy bear her dad gave her, she'd have no one to talk to. In one of her escape attempts, she is accidentally brought with Bruno to his home dimension. Unfortunately, his home dimension isn't looking so good. The Hoohahs (elites) are so wrapped up in protocol that they either don't notice or don't care about the Orliks (a race of teddy bear like creatures) and their struggles to make ends meat. Nor do they notice that some among their ranks are very close to taking over everything in a quest for all the power.

Review:

Kid Zero really is a fun book to read. You've got flying pigs, a fat queen, a race of teddy bears and an intelligent main character. Seriously, for this being a middle-grade book and Harriet being so young, I was pleasantly surprised at how intelligently and maturely she handled so much of what came her way. Daniel does not allow her youth to be an excuse for lapses in judgement or plot holes. He's also created several types of characters. Admittedly they're kinda simple characters, but it fit with the whole story so it didn't bother me. 

This book was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. There were times it was a lot darker than I expected as well. I highly recommend that you not read this to anyone younger than middle school age. There is a war and some suggestive dialogue that had me raising an eyebrow and grew my concern for Harriet.

I'll be honest, I don't often read middle-grade books (I think this is the first one in at least 5 years or longer). I may have to start reading more because this was the kind of book that made me give my teddy bear of almost 30 years a great, big hug. This book was a great reminder of how important my favorite toys were to me when I was younger and, like Harriet, not in a good situation. 

Really the only thing I didn't like about this book was the cliff-hanger ending. I should've known given that it's "Part 1" but still. At the very least, this could be seen as a sign that I was so into the book that I was quite emotionally charged at the ending. So, I happy give Kid Zero 4 hoots and recommend it for anyone in middle school or anyone who wants to be reminded of why we hug our teddy bears so tightly. 

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Animal Planet Strange, Unusual, Gross & Cool Animals | Animal Planet & Charles Gingha

*Image and book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

Animal Planet explores a plethora of animals that we humans would consider strange, unusual, gross or cool. There are snippets of information about various species and full pictures of some of the stranger ones.

Review:

Yes, this is a kids' book. No, I don't care. The format reminded me of the magazines I used to read in waiting rooms, but with much better pictures. This book would be a delight to read with your kids or to give to a kid who wonders what's so great about science. Gross animals are so interesting and easily capture the imagination. The funniest part, for me, was looking at some animals and thinking "so that's where Pokemon got the idea" and I've never been a Pokemon fan. 

If you're looking for a book to entertain your kids and you're okay with kinda large pictures of kinda large arachnids, bugs, creatures from the depths of the oceans, etc. I think you'll enjoy this book. It's a great way to introduce young readers to creatures than excite imaginations. To show them that strangeness, grossness, and coolness and be completely natural occurrences, and completely subjective to human standards. It's also a good book to introduce kids to the concepts of conservation. Many animals in this book are on, or close to being on, the endangered species list. 

Overall, I give this book 3.5 hoots. Not a book really for me, but definitely one I'd give to some young readers that I know or that I would pick up for my kids. 

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Platypus Police Squad: The Ostritch Conspiracy (Mini Review)

So I finally got around to reading Platypus Police Squad: The Ostritch Conspiracy by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. I won this book during an Armchair BEA Twitter Party and requested this book specifically because it sounded like so much fun. I was not disappointed. I normally don't read Middle Grade books, but I'm glad I got this.

This is the second book in the Platypus Police Squad series, but don't let that deter you. There are a few mentions of the events of the first book, but this is a complete story in and of itself. It's also a great way to introduce kids to government corruption. Basically you have a couple of cops trying to solve a mystery that goes all the way up to the mayor. The criminal ends up being who I thought it was in the early chapters, but let's face it, it's for Middle Grade readers.

All in all, this was a good read and I'll be recommending it to my nephew. 4 out of 5 hoots!

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