Archives for October 2020

HOLY, MOTHER COVER! US vs UK • Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

October 30, 2020 Comment : 1

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe), and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

**US vs. UK: Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth**

Comics

FROM PANEL TO PANEL • Fall 2020 Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens!

October 23, 2020 Leave a Comment

from panel to panel

I love comics and graphic novels, so what do I do with that love? Well, I turn it into a new feature!

From Panel to Panel is a new feature where I talk about the awesome (and perhaps not-so awesome) comic books and graphic novels I’ve read. Basically, this will be me pushing them onto your laps. You’re welcome.

Hi, remember this? It’s actually been a year since the last time I’ve posted about graphic novels I’m excited about that were coming out. I didn’t mean to stop doing these—2020 just hasn’t been kind.

But I’m ready to talk about all the graphic novels I’m so pumped for, which includes the amazing Trung Le Nguyen (aka Trungles)’s GN, witches and seances, and much more. When you read the synopsis, you’ll understand why these graphic novels are most wanted.

Let’s check out what graphic novels were released this fall for kids and teens!

Reviews

REVIEW • Lesson One of the Scholomance: Survive (A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik)

October 12, 2020 Leave a Comment

From the New York Times bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic.

I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.

Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans.

I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

At least, that’s what the world expects me to do. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school itself certainly does.

But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.

Although I’m giving serious consideration to just one.

With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a heroine for the ages—a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.

myreview

First sentence: “I decided that Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life.”

Imagine yourself going to a magic school where there are no teachers and the school is actively trying to kill you. That’s the Scholomance.

Your main goal is to survive until graduation, lest you be food for all the creepy monsters that lurk in the underbelly of the school, picking off unknowing students who don’t have anybody to watch their back in the cafeteria or in the staircase. There’s no teachers, and you learn your magic—whether it’s on the Alchemist track or the language track or wherever—on your own with constant threats to your life if you’re not careful. That sounds intriguing, right?

Discussion

BOOKS IN HAND • What Customers Bought in September 2020

October 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

September is here, what are the books people bought?

During the last week of February 2018, I pondered about what type of post to make for “Books in Hand.” At first, I planned to discuss all the books customers came in asking for or buying, but that’s a bit too much because everybody came in asking for different books, and I didn’t remember all of them. My boss showed me a way to check our store’s best selling books, and I found out what we sold a lot of!

And that’s what this post is—seeing the top selling books of September 2020!

FICTION

Dune by Frank Herbert | Red At The Bone by Jacqueline Woodson | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho | A Magical Match by Juliet Blackwell | There There by Tommy Orange

Reviews

REVIEW • A Myrtle’s Afoot (Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce)

October 5, 2020 Comment : 1

Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has a passion for justice and a Highly Unconventional obsession with criminal science. Armed with her father’s law books and her mum’s microscope, Myrtle studies toxicology, keeps abreast of the latest developments in crime scene analysis, and Observes her neighbors in the quiet village of Swinburne, England.

When her next-door neighbor, a wealthy spinster and eccentric breeder of rare flowers, dies under Mysterious Circumstances, Myrtle seizes her chance. With her unflappable governess, Miss Ada Judson, by her side, Myrtle takes it upon herself to prove Miss Wodehouse was murdered and find the killer, even if nobody else believes her — not even her father, the town prosecutor.

myreview

I received this book for free from Algonquin Young Readers for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

First sentence: “‘Correct me if I’m wrong.’ My governess, Miss Judson, strolled into the schoolroom, her sharp bootheels clicking like a telegraph.”

Move over Sherlock Holmes, there’s a new detective in town! Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle is making a run for his money, and she will not let any stones be unturned until she gets to the truth behind the murder! And the the murder she’s investigating? Well, it’s her wealthy elderly neighbor—Miss Wodehouse—who supposedly died in the bath. Did she though, or was there a sinister reason for her death?

Holy Mother Cover

HOLY MOTHER COVER! • Full Name Basis

October 1, 2020 Comment : 1

You know what’s even better than a book with a good story? When that book has an awesome cover!

This is not your typical YA anthology-type post where I tell you these are the books that you should get on your TBR list, no siree! (There are plenty of posts for that, so I don’t want to recycle what has already been said.)

I will present to you something that I haven’t done before—a mix of themes, so to speak. Book covers, BUT also books that have a full name in the title! I wanted to see the different titles with a full names.

Behold!