A Bookworm's Book Reviews

Miss Peregrine’s Home Series- Ransom Rigs

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.

Quackers – Liz Wong

Title: Quackers

Author: Liz Wong

Illustrator: Liz Wong

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

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.

Guest Post – Book of Lost Friends

Thank you Jess of Beauty in Humble Places for this book review.

Title: The Book of Lost Friends

Author: Lisa Wingate

Genre: Historical fiction, women’s fiction

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.

Dragons Love Tacos – Adam Rubin

Title: Dragons Love Tacos

Author: Adam Rubin

Illustrator: Daniel Salmieri

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

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.

Chrysanthemum- Kevin Henkes

Title: Chrysanthemum

Author: Kevin Henkes

Illustrator: Kevin Henkes

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

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.

Caps for Sale – Esphyr Slobodkina

Title: Caps for Sale

Author: Esphyr Slobodkina

Illustrator: Esphyr Slobodkina

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

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.

The Book with No Pictures – B.J. Novak

Title: The Book with No Pictures

Author: B.J. Novak

Genre: Children’s Book, Picture Book

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.

Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

Title: Murder on the Orient Express

Author: Agatha Christie

Genre: Mystery

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.

Acts of Faith Trilogy – Davis Bunn & Janette Oke

Titles: The Centurion’s Wife (book 1), The Hidden Flame (book 2), The Damascus Way (book 3)

Authors: Davis Bunn and Janette Oke

Genre: Historical Fiction, Biblical History

Plot: The Centurion’s Wife (book 1) – A Roman Centurion, Alban, is ordered by Pilate to find out what happened to the rabbi called, Yeshua, three days after his burial and death on a cross. A servant of Pilate, Leah has been asked by Pilate’s wife, Procula, to find out what happened to Yeshua as well. Procula thinks her headaches and visions have something to do with him. Behind the scenes, Herod and Pilate are talking about what to do with the disciples and Jewish leaders. While Alban and Leah are searching for what happened to Yeshua, Alban asks Pilate to marry Leah. Pilate accepts, so long as Alban finds out exactly what happened to Yeshua. When he does that, he can take Leah for his wife. Both slowly become accepted by Yeshua’s disciples. They tell Alban and Leah what happened to them. Leah and Alban start to accept to Yeshua as the Messiah. But the Jewish leaders, Pilate, and Herod are closing ranks on the disciples. They want the matter of the ‘dead’ rabbi to come to a nice and neat close. They don’t want to accept the fact that he’s still alive and the Messiah. When Alban gives his report to Pilate and Herod, they are furious, but let him take Leah as his wife. Leah and Alban have grown close over their time searching for what happened to Yeshua. But Herod and Pilate decide to capture Alban so he can’t spread the word. Will he be captured? Or will he find a way to escape with Leah?

The Hidden Flame (book 2) – Leah’s friend Abigail has stayed in Jerusalem to help the believers there. She’s caught the eye of two men, Linux (a Roman soldier) and Ezra (a Jewish merchant and part of the Sanhedrin). Abigail doesn’t wish to marry either of them as they desire her but don’t love her. Neither of them of are believers, as well. Both men try to convince the leaders of the believers that they are a good match for Abigail. But they must wait until Abigail’s guardian, Alban can return to Jerusalem. As they see the signs and miracles the disciples preform, their hearts are changed, one for the better, one for the worse. When Alban arrives, he sees the men’s desires and declines both of their claims to marry Abigail. Her relief is short lived when she is asked to marry Stephen. Abigail agrees. With tensions between believers and the Jewish leaders growing stronger every day, will they be able to stay in the city? Or will they need to flee?

The Damascus Way (book 3) – Julia and her mother live on the outskirts of they city, away from prying eyes. She’s not well accepted in either the Jewish or Roman communities, as she’s Samaritan and Greek. Her world starts to come apart when she learns her parent’s are married and her father has a legitimate family in Damascus. Then she learns that her mother’s servant is a believer. Slowly, Julia learns about the Messiah and becomes a believer. She tries desperately to tell her mother about the Messiah, but her mother won’t listen. Jacob is a guard in her father’s caravan along with Alban. He agrees to protect them along the way to meet a suitor for Julia. But everything changes when they encounter a sandstorm along the way. Her mother has a change of heart. Jacobs starts to learn more about the trading Julia’s father does on the side. Both Jacob and Julia start passing secret messages between other believers. Will that keep them safe? Or will delivering secret messages and supplies put them in great danger? Especially when they are asked to accompany Saul of Tarsus to Damascus. What will happen to them along the way?

Rating: 3.8 – a good historical fiction trilogy

Opinion: This was a sappy romantic, biblical history trilogy. While this wasn’t the most action packed trilogy, I did enjoy it. Though I knew some of the things that were going to happen, because it’s common biblical knowledge, I still found myself learning new things. It was easy to relate to some of the characters because they had the same doubts that modern Christians had. They struggled with the some of the same problems as well. I was a little confused that most of the characters did end up becoming believers. I know more obvious miracles were being performed back then, but it still had me confused on how easily people were becoming believers. Maybe it’s because I’m used to people brushing off things they see and hear much more than they used to. That and maybe I haven’t seen as many people come to Christ as others have. This was still a good trilogy. I loved all of the biblical history and Roman history in the series. While it was slower than the books I normally enjoy, I found myself wanting to know how the characters would overcome their challenges. This is a slow and steady trilogy that’s great for anyone who loves historical fiction with a little sappy romance thrown in.

Guest Post – The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Thank you Ali from Share to Inspire for this review.

Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Author: Mark Manson

Genre: Self-help book

As the author itself said, it’s a self-help book, and it’s for people who hate self-help books. The book is all about improving yourself. Although the approaches are counterintuitive, you will find them useful and powerful. In the quest of improving ourselves, problems are inevitable. But this book won’t tell you to look for the bright side and keep pushing yourself. It is the opposite, stop trying and believing in yourself. Mark’s suggestions are rare, vulgar, and different from every self-help book I have read but I found them to be profoundly true and helpful.

The subtle art of not Giving a fuck is a page-turner and life-changing. Reading once is not enough for me, it is worth rereading it. Mark Manson emphasizes that everyone cares about something. Everyone gives a f*ck about something. And you gotta choose wisely what those are. Another underlying message in this book is to be comfortable with what you lack. Embrace what is uncomfortable and sometimes pursuing the negatives results in positive. For example, our failure makes us realize our shortcomings. If you want to be liked by people, you have to be comfortable with the fact that not all people will like you. If you want to be successful, then you have to befriend failure.

Truth is problems and problems never go away. They will always be replaced with a new one. And the question from the book that will give you the insight to improve your life is “Which struggles are you willing to take?” The author takes relationships as an example. A lot of people want a perfect-looking relationship but they’re not willing to take the struggles of building one. These include awkward and hurtful conversations, failed dates, and rejections. You can’t have your desired result, without choosing and going through your struggles.

I could go on and talk more about the book, but I will leave the thrill to you. I am always left in awe every time I put down the book, so go ahead and read the whole book.