Review: The Bunk-Bed Bus by Frank Rodgers

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Janet and Sam have the most dynamic granny you’ve ever met. She goes jogging, builds shelves and fixes cars - and when a snooty neighbour tells her she’s not artistic she’s determined to prove her wrong. Granny sets to work and creates a wonderful iron sculpture for the art exhibition. The local children think it’s great - but what will the judges think of the amazing bunk-bed bus?

MY TAKE:
I was unsure about whether or not the illustration style and the font use of this book would be to my liking, but I decided to take a chance anyway, on the basis of the premise of the book.

In The Bunk-Bed Bus, Janet and Sam's Granny decides to join the art exhibition after a snobby neighbor taunts her about not being artistic. She comes up with an amazing concept, but will the art exhibition's panelists be fans?

I enjoyed this book a lot. The idea of not giving up, working hard to prove that it's never too late to learn to do things, and not being afraid to prove doubters wrong are great lessons for children to learn.

I'm a huge fan of Janet and Sam's Granny. She's a cool grandmother, the type that you would love to have as your own. I liked how imaginative, active and inspiring she is. It made me think that this was the kind of book that would be perfect for grandmothers and grandchildren to read together.

It's a very promising start to a children's series, and I for one would love to read more of it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hungry Horse for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. It's a fun story.
2. It has a good message.
3. Granny seems like a cool grandmother. 

THE BAD:

1. The illustration style may not be some people's cup of tea. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like books with an old-school feel to it.
2. You are looking for books that would be perfect for grandmothers and their grandchildren to read together.
3. You like books that have a positive message.

RATING:


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Review: AsapSCIENCE: Answers to the World’s Weirdest Questions, Most Persistent Rumors, and Unexplained Phenomena by Mitchell Moffit, Greg Brown

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

From the creators of the wildly popular and seriously scientific YouTube channel, AsapSCIENCE, comes entertaining, irreverent, and totally accessible answers to the questions you never got to ask in science class.
Why do we get hung over? What would happen if you stopped sleeping? Is binge-watching TV actually bad for you? Why should I take a power nap? In their first-ever book, Mitchell Moffit and Greg Brown, the geniuses behind YouTube channel AsapSCIENCE, explain the true science of how things work in their trademark hilarious and fascinating fashion.
Applying the fun, illustrated format of their addictive videos to topics ranging from brain freeze to hiccups to the science of the snooze button, AsapSCIENCE takes the underpinnings of biology, chemistry, physics, and other hard sciences and applies them to everyday life through quirky and relatable examples that will appeal to both science nerds and those who didn’t ace chemistry. This is the science that people actually want to learn, shared in a friendly, engaging style. And in the spirit of science, no subject is taboo. Amid the humor is great information and cocktail conversation fodder, all thoughtfully presented. Whether you’re a total newbie or the next Albert Einstein, this guide is sure to educate and entertain...ASAP.

MY TAKE:
I've never seen any AsapSCIENCE videos, but after reading this book, I think I just may start.

In AsapSCIENCE: Answers to the World’s Weirdest Questions, Most Persistent Rumors, and Unexplained Phenomena, readers get to learn the science behind things like love, answers to questions like why do we itch, and get tips for lucid dreaming and avoiding hangovers, among others.

With some reference books, the problem is there are not enough illustrations and images to break up the text, so even if the topic interests you, at some point, your mind starts to wander. With this book, there wasn't really any danger of that. The illustrations are in black, white, and blue, and some of them were stick figures, but that's okay as most of them were quite charming. There was also roughly one illustration corresponding to each paragraph and since each paragraph acts more like a caption to the illustration and it's not straight text, it's much easier to keep from getting bored.

That's not to say that the topics are boring. The questions and information are actually all quite interesting. I actually breezed through the book. There aren't a lot of trivia books that you can learn a lot of scientific information on and still say that it's an easy read.

Some of the topics that stuck with me are: the five-second rule, why we tend to dislike pictures of ourselves, tips for avoiding hangovers, and tips for lucid dreaming. These were quite interesting and helpful. If you are prone to hangovers or would like to experience lucid dreaming, you should definitely get this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. It's an easy read.
2. The ratio of text to illustration helps keep you from getting bored quickly.
3. There's plenty of interesting and useful information here. 

THE BAD:

1. The font is a bit small. 

READ IT IF:

1. You like trivia books.
2. You like learning new things.
3. You wish that reference books had more illustrations and pictures. 

RATING:


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Review: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Seraphina took the literary world by storm with 8 starred reviews and numerous "Best of"€ lists. At last, her eagerly awaited sequel has arrived €”and with it comes an epic battle between humans and dragons.
The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself, €”for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways.
As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?
Praise for Seraphina:
A New York Times Bestseller
An Indie Bestseller
Winner of the William C. Morris Debut Award
Winner of the Cybil Award for Teen Fantasy and Science Fiction
An Amazon Top 20 Teen Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Library Journal Best Young Adult Literature for Adults Selection
A Booklist Editors’ Choice
An ABA New Voices Pick
A Publishers Weekly Flying Start Author
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book
An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults Book
Recipient of 8 Starred Reviews
"Beautifully written, well-rounded characters, and some of the most interesting dragons I'€™ve read in fantasy for a long while. An impressive debut novel; I can't wait to see what Rachel Hartman writes next.€"
--Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon
"€œA novel that will appeal to both fans of Christopher Paolini'€™s Eragon series and Robin McKinley€™'s The Hero and the Crown."
--”Entertainment Weekly

MY TAKE:
I don't usually read books that are part of a series out of order, but when presented with the opportunity to read Shadow Scale, I grabbed the chance.

In Shadow Scale, in order to protect Goredd, Seraphina must find other half-dragons like her in order to create a protection that can keep dragons out of the city. However, Jannoula has found her way back and what she has in mind is too horrifying to even imagine.

It's been awhile since I've read a high-fantasy book so it took a few chapters to get accustomed to the strange names and places used. However, once I got a firm grasp of the basics, it was easy to get into the story, even though I hadn't read the first book. There are enough clues and explanations in this book for those who haven't read the first book to follow and appreciate the story in this one.

I haven't read a lot of books with dragons as main characters, so this one was a nice change. The characters were well-rounded and didn't feel like stock characters. The world was also well-thought-out and felt complete. Even though I only saw glimpses, I could see in my mind's eye the rest of the world, if that makes any sense.

The story was complex and it's not always easy to predict what comes next. Even during the moments wherein I couldn't understand why something had to happen that way, there was always an acceptable explanation later on.

For all that, however, I didn't connect with this book as well as I expected I would. I mean, the story was great, and so was the world, which is already half the battle for me. However, there were a couple of things that were probably what diminished my enjoyment of the book.

One, is Seraphina herself. I liked her most times, but there were also moments when she irritated me and I felt she needed to toughen up. I prefer my heroines to be a little bit harder than she is emotionally, and more naturally warrior-like, even if they weren't warriors per se in their worlds. As you can imagine, though, there aren't a lot of heroines I've read who were the perfect blend of warrior and vulnerable to me. In that sense, my disappointment with Seraphina was more of a personal preference thing, and I don't think the typical reader would mind it much.

Another thing that I found odd and not to my liking was how the love triangle was resolved. It made sense with the rest of the story, though, so I guess it really is one of those preference things.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. The characters are complex.
2. The world and its history feels real and complete.
3. The story is intriguing. 

THE BAD:

1. Seraphina can stand to be a little tougher emotionally. 

READ IT IF:

1. You liked the first book.
2. You like books with dragon or dragon-offspring protagonists.
3. You like complex characters and well-developed fantasy worlds.

RATING:


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Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

On Tuesday afternoon the mystery of Mr. Hardy's absence took a strange turn.

Review: The Scarlet Letter (Manga Classics) by Nathaniel Hawthorne

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

A powerful tale of forbidden love, shame, and revenge comes to life in Manga Classics: The Scarlet Letter.
Faithfully adapted by Crystal Chan from the original novel, this new edition features stunning artwork by SunNeko Lee (Manga Classics: Les Miserables) which will give old and new readers alike a fresh insight into the Nathaniel Hawthorne's tragic saga of Puritan America.
Manga Classics editions feature classic stories, faithfully adapted and illustrated in manga style, and available in both hardcover and softcover editions.
Proudly presented by UDON Entertainment and Morpheus Publishing.

MY TAKE:
Prior to reading this book, all I know about The Scarlet Letter was what I read secondhand from books and movies that referenced it.

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester has a child with a man who isn't her husband. Hester has not seen her husband in two years and is surprised to see him in the crowd when she is paraded in front of the townspeople while wearing a badge with the letter A on her chest. She refuses to tell anyone who her child's father is, but her husband vows to find out and exact revenge.

As I expected, this was a mostly sad story with a bittersweet ending. The townspeople were quite hypocritical and superstitious and they really got on my nerves at times. Obviously, this hypocrisy of people is a theme of the story, but so is guilt and how we deal with it and how people can manipulate it. I haven't read the book so I can't say if it's entirely due to the masterful writing of the novel, but this manga was able to convey well the themes of the story and the emotions of the characters. My favorite panel was one wherein Pearl hugged Hester and Hester just looked bewildered.

I found the art lovely, and definitely what I've come to expect from well-drawn and well-written manga. It's been awhile since I've read manga, so there was some initial confusion as to how to read the panels on each page. However, once I got into the groove, everything flowed quite easily. Hester was very pretty, and Pearl was cute, especially when she threw a tantrum or was angry at other children. There were times, though, when she creeped me out a little.

If you're curious about this novel but don't have the patience or inclination to read the actual book, you should definitely consider giving this manga a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and Udon Entertainment for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. The drawings are pretty.
2. It's easy to see and feel the characters' emotions.
3. You get the gist and message of the novel easily. 

THE BAD:

1. It would have been even better if it were in full color. 

READ IT IF:

1. You've always wanted to read the novel.
2. You want to know what happens in the story but you don't want to commit to reading a long novel.
3. You need a refresher on what happens in the novel. 

RATING:


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In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

FROM NETGALLEY:

The Scarlet Letter (Manga Classics) by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Review: The Writing Dead: Give Feedback Talking Terror with TV’s Top Horror Writers by Thomas Fahy

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Conversations with the creators, executive producers, and writers of today’s top horror shows
The Writing Dead features interviews with the writers of today’s most frightening and fascinating shows. They include some of television’s biggest names—Carlton Cuse (Lost and Bates Motel), Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies), David Greenwalt (Angel and Grimm), Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead, The Terminator series, Aliens, and The Abyss), Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica), Brian McGreevy (Hemlock Grove), Alexander Woo (True Blood), James Wong (The X-Files, Millennium, American Horror Story, and Final Destination), Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files and Millennium), Richard Hatem (Supernatural, The Dead Zone, and The Mothman Prophecies), Scott Buck (Dexter), Anna Fricke (Being Human), and Jim Dunn (Haven).
The Writing Dead features thought-provoking, never-before-published interviews with these top writers and gives the creators an opportunity to delve more deeply into television horror than anything found online. In addition to revealing behind-the-scene glimpses, these writers discuss favorite characters and story lines and talk about what they find most frightening. They offer insights into the writing process reflecting on the scary works that influenced their careers. And they reveal their own personal fascinations with the genre.
The thirteen interviews in The Writing Dead also mirror the changing landscape of horror on TV—from the shows produced by major networks and cable channels to shows made exclusively for online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Studios. The Writing Dead will appeal to numerous fans of these shows, to horror fans, to aspiring writers and filmmakers, and to anyone who wants to learn more about why we like being scared.
Thomas Fahy, New York, New York, is associate professor of English and director of the American Studies Program at Long Island University, Post. He is the author of numerous books, including the young adult horror novels Sleepless and The Unspoken, and editor of The Philosophy of Horror and Alan Ball: Conversations (University Press of Mississippi).

MY TAKE:
I wouldn't consider myself a horror fan, but this book certainly had me reconsidering my preferences.

In The Writing Dead:Give Feedback Talking Terror with TV’s Top Horror Writers, readers get to learn more about some of the best writers and showrunners in the business and their thoughts on the shows they created and wrote for.

Most of the shows these writers wrote for were not new to me, even though I've really only seen one episode of Grimm, and maybe a couple or so seasons of Supernatural. When the writers were asked about their inspirations and characters, there were moments when I drew a blank on who they were, but for the most part, I was able to follow along and enjoy their answers. It helped that the questions were the kind that helped fans learn more about their favorite characters while non-fans still get insights on the genre.

The writers were also asked questions about when and how they got into writing, as well as what the best criticism they received was. The amazing thing I noticed was that a lot of them mentioned Stephen King as an influence. Also, they tend to agree that the best horror writing is when characters are well fleshed-out and viewers care about the characters and what happens to them. I guess I never really thought about it, but I'd have to agree with that.

Overall, I'd say this book is worth a read, especially if you're a fan of any of the shows these writers have done. Even if you're not, you may want to still read this. It's a fascinating take on what makes good horror television. It's also made me seriously think about watching more Grimm episodes.

Thanks to NetGalley and University Press of Mississippi for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. It provides plenty of insights.
2. You get a behind-the-scenes look at some famous television horror series.
3. It's an interesting read. 

THE BAD:

1. The format is really just transcripts of interviews, preceded by a paragraph about the person interviewed. 

READ IT IF:

1. You're a fan of any of the shows the interviewees have created or written for.
2. You are a fan of horror, in general.
3. You want to learn more about television production. 

RATING:


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