Tag: reviews

Friday Fifteen

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Holy cow, it’s Friday! And the first non-holiday week in a little while. Good thing we’ve got fifteen-word reviews to send us out right.

97804864043251. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Compelling history of Hungarian Jews during WWII but never really connected with the main characters.

2. Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman
Don’t remember much about the plot, but I do remember learning the term “pine box.”

3. White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Captivated reading it as a teen, especially about foster care. Would be curious to reread.

4. As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Let’s all go to the forest, dress in drag, and fall in love!

5. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
Bright colors and fun narrative that would be at home in a jumping rope game.

Friday Fifteen

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After the holidays and vacation time, I have a hard time figuring out what day it is. But I’m glad it’s somehow Friday again! Onto the fifteen-word reviews.

1. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Read this in high school and loved it. Curious to see if it stands up.

2. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
My  mom gave me this book to help me learn about puberty.

3. Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman
Great intro to ASL, and nice focus on what Deaf children can do, not limitations.

4. Flour: A Baker’s Collection of Spectacular Recipes by Joanne Chang and Christie Matheson
Got this for Christmas. Makes me want to stay home and bake all the things.

5. Stacey’s Book (The Baby-Sitters Club Portrait Collection #1) by Ann M. Martin
I thought this was how all NYC kids grew up. Let’s all skip ballroom class!

Friday Fifteen

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It’s the last Friday Fifteen of the year! At first I thought I’d round up some “best of” reviews, but I hate recycling content like that. Instead, today I’m reviewing a few books that I read in 2012 (that’s right, no flashbacks) and, for some reason, haven’t posted about yet. Onto the reviews!

97814231029911. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My favorite Green novel (so far). Still think about the scenes in Amsterdam.

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Didn’t quite have the momentum I wanted, but fun. Would have been obsessed at 14.

3. See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles
Knowles manages to balance a lot in this novel about family. So moving.

4. All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Coffee and chocolate are illegal = my own personal dystopia.

5. Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems
Great combination of illustration and photography, with Willems’s usual humor and sweetness.

Friday Fifteen

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Just like all sitcoms need a Christmas special, so does the Friday Fifteen. Onto the Christmas-iest in fifteen-word book reviews!

97803948007901. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
It’s not Christmas if you’re not haunted by memories of your past.

2. The Case of the Magic Christmas Bell (Sweet Valley Kids Super Snoopers #2) by Francine Pascal
I wrote a complete rip-off of this when I was eight. Was only mildly ashamed.

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
“…Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day” = one of the best lines ever.

4. Samantha’s Surprise (American Girls: Samantha #3) by Maxine Rose Schur
Victorians? Dolls? Paper snowflakes? I freaking loved this book in fourth grade.

5. A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
Lovely writing, cozy Christmas feel–great read aloud. (Secretly want it to be about whales)

Friday Fifteen

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It’s Friday, right? It’s felt like such a long week that I’m a little scared we aren’t officially at Friday. Maybe the Friday Fifteen will make it feel more real. Onto the reviews!

97807636171031. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Collins works in touching moments and touching moments in the Hunger Games sequel.

2. Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
Moore balances the literary short story well with a good dose of humor.

3. Felicity’s Surprise (American Girls: Felicity #3) by Valerie Tripp
Middle school dances are cooler in Colonial Williamsburg.

4. Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
So. Freaking. Cute. The fuzzy owls, the anxiety over mom coming back–can’t even deal.

5. Feed by M.T. Anderson
It’s not all GIFs and kitten videos when your brain’s connected to the internet.

Friday Fifteen

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Managed to make it through the week and to the Friday Fifteen. Check out this week’s list of fifteen-word reviews:

97804402191701. A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry
I’d be curious to read this now in conjunction with The Fault in Our Stars.

2. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Ceepy novel with an awkward, meek main character in an English manor home. Heck yeah.

3. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
Makes me want a winter part with bunnies, badgers, tea and popcorn.

4. World and Space (Childcraft: the How and Why Library #4) by World Book-Childcraft International
Geology, astronomy, and all sorts of natural sciences for kids.

5. Selected Poems And Four Plays of William Butler Yeats by William Butler Yeats, ed. M. L. Rosenthal
Read it for English lit survey class, but Yeats is one to go back to.

Friday Fifteen

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Happy Friday, everybody! Let’s dive into this week’s edition of fifteen-word book reviews:

1. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Fun European adventure. Would have had teen me planning my own trip.

2. Corduroy by Don Freeman
I remember being really nervous that Corduroy would never find a button or a home.

3. The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
I mentally recite “I had not thought death had undone so many,” on crowded subways.

4. Croak by Gina Damico
Lots of great death-related puns and fun world-building. Nice to see an aggressive protagonist, too.

5. It’s Thanksgiving by Jack Prelutsky
Liked this way better than real Thanksgiving as a kid (I was a picky eater).

Friday Fifteen

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Happy Friday, everybody! Here are this week’s fifteen-word book reviews:

1. A Chocolate Moose for Dinner by Fred Gwynne
Loved this book about homonyms as a kid. Apparently it was by Herman Munster. Heart!

2. Persuasion by Jane Austen
Great look at mistakes, forgiveness, and the harsh reality for unmarried women in the 1800s.

3. Little House on the Prairie (Little House #2) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I couldn’t believe they left their home to go somewhere without homes already built.

4. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The colonialism/race issues are awk, but “The horror! The horror!” is a great line.

5. Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Steampunky book in which cities are mobile and consume each other. Great adventure, plus orphans.

Friday Fifteen

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Holy cow, another Friday Fifteen already? Let’s get the weekend started with these fifteen-word book reviews:

1. Midnight in the Dollhouse by Marjorie Stover
Dollhouse people are secretly alive and help solve a mystery. 9-year-old me loved this.

2. Evelina or the History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World by Frances Burney
A precursor to Austen without the witty heroines

3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Not my favorite, but some great stuff like creeptastic Umbridge and the Department of Mysteries.

4. An Octave Above Thunder by Carol Muske
Lovely collection. Discovered “China White” from a college prof who knew all the good stuff.

5. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Dragon-human political intrigue centered around a young musician. Hartman made cool, unexpected choices; great writing.

Friday Fifteen

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Happy Friday, everybody! It’s almost Halloween, so this Friday Fifteen is brought to you by the world of creepy books. (Spoiler alert: I get scared really easily.)

1. Howliday Inn by James Howe
A sequel to Bunnicula, Harold and Chester go to a kennel where animals go missing.

2. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
Trisha ends up alone in the woods with something creepy. Reason #45 not to hike.

3. Coyote Moon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Book 3) John Vornholt
Say it with me, everyone: “Carnie were-coyotes.”

4. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
No, it’s not just a musical. Erik, the phantom, alternates between sympathetic and totally creeptastic.

5. Clifford’s Halloween by Norman Bridwell
Who’s that under the ghost costume? He’s house-sized, but I dunno if it’s Clifford.