Plot: Shi’mon and Yeshua are best friends living in Roman occupied Capernaum, Israel. Shi’mon’s heard of the Zealots movement against the Romans. He wants to join. Yeshua cautions him against it. But when Shi’mon’s father dies at the hands of the Romans, Shi’mon is outraged. He’s determined to join and train with the Zealots. During this time, Yeshua continues his studies to be a rabbi. Both boys hear word of a new rabbi, called Jesus. After Shi’mon is gravely injured in an attack against the Romans, Jesus finds him and heals him. Shi’mon starts to listen to Jesus. Jesus calls Shi’mon to follow him and be his disciple. Yeshua continues his studies in Jerusalem. He’s close to becoming a rabbi when his father comes to visit. A Zealot attack breaks out while his father is there and is killed by mistake by a Roman soldier. Yeshua turns to rage and revenge. He learns to become a Zealot. During Passover, Yeshua takes part in a massive Zealot attack in Jerusalem. But the attack goes wrong and Yeshua is arrested. On the last day of Passover, Jesus is arrested and put on trial. In exchange for Jesus, Yeshua is released. What will Shi’mon and Jesus’ other followers do? Will Yeshua seek forgiveness? Or will he return to his Zealot ways?
Rating: 4.0 – a different side of the Jesus story
Opinion: This was a great story. It was great to learn more about Jewish life during biblical times. The book talks about the process of becoming a rabbi and fishers daily routines. It also talks about what happened if you didn’t have enough money for the Romans, or if you tried to stand up to them. It shows why many Jews turned to the Zealots. As it’s a young adult book, it doesn’t go into as many details. The book describes both sides of who people thought Jesus was. My heart broke for Yeshua. I’m glad there was a redemption arc for both boys. He’d seen so much but he saw so much hate. I also loved that the book included Hebrew words and phrases. Though I wish there was a pronunciation guide to go with the guide at the end of the book. This is a great book for young adults, and adults, too. It’s great for anyone who wants to learn more about Jewish and Christian history.
Plot: It’s Chester Raccoon’s first day of school. But he’s very scared and doesn’t want to go. Mama Raccoon tells Chester all of the fun things he’ll be able to do at school. But Chester still doesn’t want to go. Mama gives Chester a secret way to know that she’ll always be with him. It’s called the kissing hand. Will it help Chester?
Rating: 4.5 – a cute book about overcoming fears
Opinion: This was one of my favorite books growing up. My parents read it to me a lot when I was struggling to adjust to a new school in the middle of the school year. It’s great for kids who are more sensitive. It’s a great book for kids are struggling with something big, new, and scary. It’s also good for a classroom to learn about emotions and ways to help with the big ones. Every kid loves the pictures, which are adorable. They love finding all the animals in the book. It’s a good book for the classroom and home.
Titles: Book 1 – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Book 2 – Hollow City, Book 3 – Library of Souls, Book 4 – Map of Days, Book 5 – Conference of Birds, Book 6 – The Desolation of Devil’s Acre
Author: Ransom Riggs
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Plot: Book 1 – Jacob Portman is a normal, lonely sixteen year old. His closest friend is his grandpa. Jacob grew up hearing his grandpa’s childhood stories. His grandpa fled Poland to a small Welsh island during WW2. In Wales, he lived in a children’s home where the children had peculiar abilities (one can fly, another can conjure fire in her hands, one’s invisible, etc.). Then everything starts to change when his grandpa dies. Jacob finds his grandpa’s body in the Florida forest. Nearby is a white monster only he can see. His parent’s try everything to help him. They take him to a psychiatrist who suggests they visit the place where his grandpa grew up to help him recover. Jacob spends the time searching for his grandpa’s childhood home. All he finds is ruins, until he meets a girl named Emma. Emma shows him a magical place full of his grandpa’s stories. But there is a darker side to the stories. Now Jacob has to figure out how to help his new friends. But how can he? He’s completely normal right?
Book 2 – Jacob and his new friends are trying to help Miss Peregrine. They’ve rescued her but she’s injured and stuck in her bird form. They search for any help they can get and start by trying to navigate through WW2 England to reach London. Along the way, they search for ways to help Miss Peregrine. Others tell Jacob and his friends that they only way to help Miss Peregrine is to get her to the care of another ymbryne. But all of the ymbryne’s have been taken by wights and hollows. If the ymbryne’s haven’t been taken yet, they’re in even deeper hiding than before. To make matters worse, they only have three days at most to help Miss Peregrine before she becomes a bird forever, a real bird forever. Can they reach another ymbryne in time? Can they keep themselves save from the hollows and wights that hunt them?
Book 3 – Jacob and his friends have lost Miss Peregrine again. The bird they thought they’d saved was really Miss Peregrine’s evil brother Caul. Him and his band of wights are so close to achieving their goal of world domination. Now Jacob and his friends must travel to the Devil’s Acre. There’s a rumor that the wight’s headquarters are there. On the way there, they meet a guide, Sharon. Sharon is reluctant to help them in any way shape or form. Jacob and his friends promise to compensate Sharon in whatever way he needs. While they travel, Jacob’s peculiar-ness continues to grow. While there, Jacob starts to learn he can control the hollows. But will it be enough to help? Will they be able to stop Caul in time? Or will Caul be able to achieve his world domination?
Book 4 – The world, the peculiar and normal, is safe again. Jacob tries to adjust to normal life again. He’s back at his parents house, going to therapy again, and acting like he’s improving. That is until, they find his letters to Emma. Right when he’s about to be driven off to the mental institution, his peculiar friends come to his rescue. Jacob tries to have both his peculiar friends and his normal life, but his parent’s can’t accept his peculiar friends. With the help of Miss Peregrine, Jacob manages to leave and have his parents forget a few things. But after being treated like a child again, Jacob and his friends sneak off to his grandpa’s old house. They find a secret bunker under his house. Jacob’s grandpa did secret missions. Jacob and his friends start to take up some missions. But things don’t go as smoothly as possible. Peculiar life is much more different than anyone was expecting. When Jacob’s contact asks them to find a newly discovered peculiar, they get in way over their heads. Can they find this new peculiar? Can they help them? Or will these mysterious people stalking them get the new peculiar first?
Book 5 – H died saving Noor. He pleaded with Jacob to take her to another member of his secret hollow hunting society, called V. But her loop is hidden and no one has ever heard about it. Noor starts to remember clues about her childhood. That leads to a smaller and smaller search area. But other peculiars want Noor on their side, because she’s a powerful peculiar. Now they have to hide from other clans of peculiar while trying to find V. But when the captured wights escape, that leads to another level distrust of the ymbrynes. Will they be able to find V’s loop? Can the ymbrynes make peace with the other peculiars? Or will the wights ruin everything?
Book 6 – Caul is back. His followers are gathering and growing stronger by the hour. Jacob and his friends must find the other peculiars the prophecy mentioned. But they have to find a way to avoid hollows and wights. When they find them Caul is not far behind. They narrowly find their way back to safety. Now they have to plan to destroy Caul. But he and his followers are closing in. They’re continually finding ways to divide the peculiars. When Caul finally finds their hideaway, the peculiars find they’re outmatched. There’s still one way to fight, but it’s risky. Or there might be another way, but it’s even riskier. How will they survive? Or will Caul win? Or will their plans work?
Rating: 4.0 – a good young adult fantasy series
Opinion: This was a great young adult and fantasy series. This series does a great job of explaining how people get their peculiarities. And it’s not done in a way that’s overloading, or too much at once. It also build healthy relationships for young adults to look up to. Though there’s some drama surrounding some of the main people’s relationships, it’s realistic, more so than some other young adult series I’ve read. And another positive thing is that there’s no love triangle. One relationship ends cleanly and another relationship starts. The couple also doesn’t forget about their friends. This series has a slow build in each book. For most of the books, it’s very slow. Towards the end of each book, the plot moves faster and faster. Each book ends with a good open ending that easily continues to the next book. While these books aren’t always the most exciting books I’ve read, they’re still very well written. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It’s different than a lot of other young adult books I’ve read. I’d recommend this for any young adult who loves fantasy.
Plot: Quackers is a duck, not really, who enjoys the life of a duck. Until he wanders away from the pond and finds a barn. There he meets another cat. Quackers finds another animal he can understand. His new friend teaches him how to be a cat. After a while away front pond, he starts to miss it. He returns to the pond, but wants to find a way to be both places. How can Quackers achieve his goals? Can he live at both places?
Rating: 4.5 – a cute book about being yourself
Opinion: This is another classroom must. It’s a very cute book about a cat who grew up with ducks and thinks he’s a duck. When he learns he’s a cat, he learns how to be a cat. But he learns how he can be a cat and a duck. Quackers learns to how to be true to himself. I’ve read this book with the older kids at work and they love it. They think it’s kinda funny that there’s a cat who thinks he’s a duck. It’s a good lesson for all kids to learn, too. They learn that it’s okay to be yourself. It’s a great addition to any classroom.
Plot: This book is told in parallel narratives: one takes place in Louisiana in 1875 in the years of reconstruction, the other takes place in Louisiana in 1987.
Louisiana, 1875: In the upheaval of Reconstruction, three women set off on a journey. They begin as unwilling and untrusting companions: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the heir to a plantation that has seen better days; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. The group heads for Texas, each carrying their own secrets and troubles. Lavinia and Juneau Jane are hoping for information on their stolen inheritance and freedom from their desperate financial situation, but Hannie is hoping that the pilgrimage will lead her to information on the family she was torn from. Along the way, they encounter other freed slaves hoping for information on the families they thought they had lost forever. The three women begin keeping a list of names and information in an effort to help reunite people with their loved ones.
Louisiana, 1987: First-year teacher Benedetta Silva hopes that by taking a subsidized job at a poor rural school she will finally be free of her hefty student debt. When she finds herself in a tiny Mississippi River town that is suspicious of new ideas and new people, she begins to have second thoughts. On top of that, Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students and struggles to connect with them in a meaningful way. When Benny discovers the story of the three girls from 1875, she finds a way to not only engage her students, but her entire new community.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Opinion: I had previously read Lisa Wingate’s book Before We Were Yours and absolutely loved it, so I was eager to read this one. Now, I do not usually enjoy books told from multiple storylines. I either find myself more engaged with one story line than the other, or the story lines and characters start to get mixed up in my head and I lose interest entirely. That was not at all the case with this book. I found the writing itself to be fluid and enjoyable, and the characters to be relatable even if they weren’t always likeable. I think what I enjoyed the most was knowing that this book was based loosely on real events – there were real “books of lost friends” during Reconstruction, individuals placing ads looking for the families and friends they had been separated from. Knowing that made reading this story even more poignant. I couldn’t help but put myself in the characters’ place as they dealt with various difficulties on their journey. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way Wingate wove the two storylines together. I was deeply appreciative of the fact that the author tied up all the loose ends, and not in a way that felt trite or forced. The characters felt alive to me, not stagnant as they sometimes do, and the obstacles they faced were used as opportunities for character growth and development. What I really loved was that each of the women changed dramatically from the time they were introduced, each growing in a way that felt appropriate for both the time period and who they were as people. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, with a focus on women’s historical fiction.
Plot: Did you know that dragons love tacos? They do. They love all things taco, except for spicy salsa. Whatever you do, do not give them spicy salsa on their tacos. This book tells you how to give dragons the best taco party ever.
Rating: 3.4 – a silly book for kids
Opinion: This is a cute kid’s book. The kids get a kick out of it. They love the dragons in it. They’ll point out which dragon is doing what and tell me which ones are their favorites. The kids also find it funny that dragons like tacos. It introduces them to the idea of an interactive narrator. It confuses the younger kids I’ve read it to, but they’ve gotten the hang of it after a few times. This is a good book for kids who need a laugh and who enjoy dragons.
Plot: It’s Chrysanthemum’s first day of school. She’s grown up loving her name. But the other kids laugh and make fun of her when they hear her name. Chrysanthemum returns home dejected. She no longer loves her name. But something happens when they go to music class. Will her classmates stop teasing her? Will Chrysalis learn to love her name again?
Rating: 4.5 – a cute book with a good lesson
Opinion: This was one of my favorite books growing up. I’d forgotten about it until I took a children’s literature class in college. It’s super cute. It also has a great message in it about bullying. It’s also a good book to talk about celebrating uniqueness and about being yourself. I haven’t gotten a chance to read it with the kids at work yet. I’m sure they’d love the idea of flower names. It’s another great classroom book. I hope it stays around for a long time.
Plot: A cap peddler, who carries his caps on his head, has trouble selling caps one day. He takes a walk to the countryside and takes a nap. When he wakes up, his caps are gone. Where did they go? How will he get them back?
Rating: 3.2 – a fun kids book
Opinion: I’ve read this book to the kids at work. They enjoy saying the lines along with me, especially the parts with the monkeys. The kids also like stomping their feet and shaking their fingers along with the book as well. They ask me for the monkey book every once in a while. They also like ‘reading’ to each other in a big book version. Some parts of the book are a bit repetitive so I skim a few parts. During those parts, I encourage the kids to say what I’m pointing to in the book. The books states the cap colors a lot, so I’ll ask them to say the colors. I’ll also ask them where the caps are, as the book does. This is a simple little story that the kids really get into. It’s a fun little addition to the classroom library.
Plot: This is a different sort of children’s book. There are no pictures. But the strange rule is the adult reading the book has to read all of the words, no matter how ridiculous the words are. Be warned of the craziness when you start this book.
Rating: 3.5 – a hilarious children’s story
Opinion: I’d heard of this book years ago, but never got around to reading it with the kids I work with. That changed when a coworker got this book as a gift. She read it to her class. The kids loved it. They thought it was hilarious. We’ve read it to them a couple times now, and they still laugh all the way through it. They’ll quote it to me, each other, and my coworker. Though it doesn’t have any pictures, it doesn’t need any. The words are big and colorful. Some of the words are nonsense words, so it makes it harder for the adults to read at first, but the kids don’t care. It’s a great book for kids who need a good laugh. One of the writer’s of The Office (the American version) wrote it, so it really helped the book’s hilarity. I’d highly recommend this book for all elementary classrooms.
Plot: Hercule Poirot is on his way home. With some help from his friend, Mr. Bouc, he finds bunk on the Orient Express. Everything changes when the train is delayed because of snow. Some time after, Poirot learns a passenger, Ratchet, has been murdered. Bouc begs Poirot to take the case. Poirot agrees and questions the passengers. Each passenger in the compartment has an alibi and generally confers on the time of death. But something in their alibis doesn’t add up. On top of everything, all of the passengers seem to have a connection to the murdered man. To shake things up even more, not even the dead man was who he said he was. Can Poirot solve the case? Is the murderer still on the train? Or did they find a way to escape?
Rating: 3.5 – a very logical telling of a mystery
Opinion: This was a lot more straightforward than I was expecting. It was more of ‘let’s get the facts first,’ then ‘oh look, a clue!’ then ‘we learn some more information.’ The last third of the book was when the twists and turns started. For most of the book, Poirot was gathering all the facts. It was kind of boring. Part of that was because I’d seen the movie a couple times before I read the book. Cheating, but I took the time to see how the book was different. The movie was pretty consistent with the book. Some of the characters had different ethnicities or different jobs. There was only one character who didn’t make it into the movie, but was absorbed into another character in the movie. I also noticed a few more clues in the book. The movie glossed over them, but it delved into the clues more. The other part of why it was a little boring was because it’s a different mystery style than what I’m used to. The style was from a different era, so I adapted quickly. I’m used to mysteries with more twists and turns throughout. This book is a classic, and I still enjoyed it. It’s great for anyone who enjoys mysteries and enjoyed the movie.
A Bookworm's Book Reviews 