Recent Reads: The Death of Death by K.N. Parker

The Death of Death by K.N. Parker
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing
Publication Date:  January 1, 2013

 

Format:  Ebook
Source: Free on Amazon Kindle.

Rating:


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

Death guides usually have rather normal names like John, Mary, Harry, and Jessica. And even ones not quite so normal, like Bartholomew or Ambrosia. They also have the most interesting tales behind their deaths. But one particular death guide has a few problems: she cannot remember her name or the details of her demise, and thus has no story of her own. One fateful night, she meets a young girl that may change her death forever.

Inspired by and in the style of Children's tales of old, The Death of Death is a tragic, yet sweet little tale about loss and acceptance.

Suitable for ages 12 and up. 

Review: 
I found this book free on Amazon for Kindle when I was on the internet a few months ago. I had seen that it won an award for a children's fantasy story and was interested in reading it around Halloween (which I did but the review is a little behind getting up). 

The story is about a death guide, who goes to warn people that they are about to pass on. While it is there the persons being warned is a little girl who asks a lot of questions of the Guide, now they are questioning how they came to be, did they die, did they have a story. This short tale follows the death guide on a quest for some answers.

The plot of this one is a little macabre and very sad and the ending was both surprising but very to the point. I found the story just long enough to give me answers and wrap things up but I wanted more about the death guides and their land and their purpose. It was a gloomy story but it was very good.

Recent Reads: The Painting by Charis Cotter

Source: From Librarything Early Reviewers Program and Tundra Books in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

The Painting by Charis Cotter

Publisher:  Tundra Books
Publication Date:   September 19, 2017

 

Format:  Hardback


Rating:


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

A haunting, beautiful middle-grade novel about fractured relationships, loss, ghosts, friendship and art.
Annie and her mother don't see eye to eye. When Annie finds a painting of a lonely lighthouse in their home, she is immediately drawn to it--and her mother wishes it would stay banished in the attic. To her, art has no interest, but Annie loves drawing and painting.
When Annie's mother slips into a coma following a car accident, strange things begin to happen to Annie. She finds herself falling into the painting and meeting Claire, a girl her own age living at the lighthouse. Claire's mother Maisie is the artist behind the painting, and like Annie, Claire's relationship with her mother is fraught. Annie thinks she can help them find their way back to each other, and in so doing, help mend her relationship with her own mother.
But who IS Claire? Why can Annie travel through the painting? And can Annie help her mother wake up from her coma?
The Painting is a touching, evocative story with a hint of mystery and suspense to keep readers hooked.

Review: 
This was a very strange book - dark and mysterious but also deliberate and deep. The story follows the point of views of two girls, Annie and Claire, who meet each other through a painting. Annie's mother was just in a car accident and so she is going through some things, and Claire lives by a lighthouse and recently lost her little sister. They come together to help each other through some traumatic times. That is the simplest way to put it all - the paintings are the threshold which Annie uses to see Claire, and Claire believes that Annie is the ghost of her deceased sister - so there are a lot more layers to this plot.

Annie is artistic but also wants to help, while Claire is more shy and has a tendency to dwell. The book alternated points of view pretty quickly as they visited one another or were alone, and the time the read spends with each girl is only 2-3 pages but there is a lot of depth of character in each section. I am honestly not really sure whether to characterize this as a MG or a YA book but it felt more on the MG side as far as the ages of the girls, but more YA in the overall concept, so for a more advanced MG reader this would be a great book. The story has time travel and is a bit of a ghost story as well, it is mysterious about the traveling and the paintings but it is deep in the wounds and healing side that both these girls are having to handle. It was a very good read. 

Early Reader Review: Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone

Source: From Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone
Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date:  September 7, 2017

 

Format: Ebook

Rating:


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

Allie Navarro can't wait to show her best friends the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp. CLICK'D pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. And it's a hit. By the second day of school, everyone is talking about CLICK'D.

Watching her app go viral is amazing. Leaderboards are filling up! Everyone's making new friends. And with all the data Allie is collecting, she has an even better shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at the upcoming youth coding competition. But when Allie discovers a glitch that threatens to expose everyone's secrets, she has to figure out how to make things right, even if that means sharing the computer lab with Nathan. Can Allie fix her app, stop it from doing any more damage, and win back the friends it hurt-all before she steps on stage to present CLICK'D to the judges?

New York Times best-selling author Tamara Ireland Stone combines friendship, coding, and lots of popcorn in her fun and empowering middle-grade debut.

Review: 
I love Tamara Ireland Stone, I have been following her writing since I started blogging and I have loved all the books I have picked up by her. When I saw this Middle Grade read I jumped at the chance to read it. In this book Stone writes about Allie - a girl who codes and built an app over the summer to connect people. Things go a bit crazy, as they can with technology, and she is faced with friendship problems, technology problems, and the possibility of loosing all her hard work.

This was a great book for SO many reasons, first off - girl coder. I love this, girls can be interested in technology, but they aren't always written about for younger readers, so this was refreshing. Another wonderful thing, Allie learns a lot of lessons in this book and they keep coming as you read - the importance of friendships, trust, hard work, she encounters it all, but also the need to sometimes ask for help. Another big love for me was that even when you push forward things don't always go your way and this book was a great example of that. I think that middle grade readers need more of this in books and I think that this is a wonderful read for them.

Since I had an ebook of an advance copy my experience wasn't as cool as finished copies will be - there were images and breakdowns of the app that got a bit scrambled in my version so those will help a lot when others read the book, and the only other downer for me was that while Allie learns a lot of lessons and is a great role model for readers, I didn't really find her all that likeable, but that is just my opinion. 

I do recommend this and many other books by Stone.

 Reviews to other Tamara Ireland Stone books

Time Between Us

Time After Time

Every Last Word 

Recent Reads: Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan

Source: From the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

 

Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan

Publisher: Inkitt
Publication Date:  September 17, 2016

 

Format: Ebook

Rating:
 


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

The coming out story that will completely change the way you look at love.

Juliet represents the road less traveled. Will Lena take it?

Lena Newman is 17, her best friend’s a cheerleader, her boyfriend’s a football player, and as far as everyone is concerned, her life is sorted. But that’s before she befriends the new girl. Juliet is confident, slightly damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and a lesbian.

Lena realizes that her interest goes beyond just friendship. She sets off on a path of self-discovery where the loyalty of those closest to her will be tested.

Review: 
This book is a coming out story about a young girl named Lena. She thinks that she has everything figured out and is taken by surprise when she realizes that she wants more than friendship from the new girl, Juliet. 

The book begins and we find out a lot about Lena and her life - she is the picture of a teen movie - young, cheerleader friends, jock boyfriend, not one of the 'popular' kids but close enough. When Juliet enters the picture things start to change for her and she realizes that there may be more to life than what she has known. Befriending Juliet was all she though she wanted but inevitably she starts to understand her feelings. 

This was a very well written book. It was very easy to read and even with the complex emotional situations and culture shock it was a very pleasant book. Lena and Juliet are very real characters, they are both strong and are there for each other. I think what I liked most about this story was the family dynamics in Juliet's household. Her father is so understanding and the house is just so full of love even with people who aren't related to him.

I flew through this book in one night, I kept needing to find out what happened next. The first half is really th building of Lena and Juliet's friendship and the second half is Lena learning about herself and the choices she might have to make. It was well done.

So if you like diverse books, LGTBQ characters and a good romance, this one is definitely for you. 

Recent Reads: Forbidden by Eve Bunting

Source: Goodreads Giveaways and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book in no way altered my opinion or review 

Forbidden by Eve Bunting
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication Date:  December 1, 2015

 

Format: Paperback ARC


Rating:
 


 


Goodreads Synopsis: 

In early-nineteenth century Scotland, sixteen-year-old Josie, an orphan, is sent to live with an aunt and uncle on the rocky, stormy northwest coast. Everything and everyone in her new surroundings, including her relatives, is sinister, threatening, and mysterious. She's told that Eli, the young man she's attracted to, is forbidden to her, but not why. Spirited, curious, and determined, Josie sets out to learn the village's secrets and discovers evil, fueled by heartless greed, as well as a ghostly presence eager for revenge. An author's note gives the historical inspiration for this story.

Review: 
This synopsis and the fact that this is a Young Adult stand-alone made me really want to read this book. I had heard some bad reviews about it but it seemed there was to be a strong female in it. Forbidden was a fairly short book at 244 pages and it was in fact a stand-alone, that being said the story seemed rushed. There was a lot of build up in the first half, telling the reader a little more about Josie the main character and how she has to move in with her uncle. It started to give off a very eerie vibe as it did so, and I enjoyed that. However, due to the rushed nature of the second half I was left feeling confused and a bit sad about the promptness of the ending. 

On to the plot itself - Josie in the beginning was very strong - she had faced the death of her parents, a move to a strange place, and her unloving relatives, but as the book progressed she began to lean more on other characters rather than fending for herself. The action in this book is very mysterious and I don't want to give anything away for those of you who choose to read it - so if you like mystery, some spookiness, and the feeling that you aren't getting all the information, this book is for you.