Author: Schizanthus Nerd

A Monster Like Me – Wendy S. Swore

The world is a dragon; my book a shield.

Sophie believes a witch cursed her when she was a baby and she now spends much of her time with her head down, reading and rereading The Big Book of Monsters. She uses it to help identify and protect herself against the monsters surrounding her that are cleverly disguised as humans and searching for clues to figure out what kind of monster she is so she can find a cure. She’s also hiding her face from the world because she’s ashamed of her ‘monster mark’, a hemangioma (blood tumour) that appeared when she was only a few months old.

I really liked Sophie for the most part but she also made me really sad. My heart ached for her each time she called herself a monster and every time someone stared, pointed at her or bullied her. She’s so self conscious because of her ‘monster mark’ and spent so much time looking out for danger that she missed out on having a lot of fun.

With Sophie always on the lookout for the mythological creatures from her beloved book she’s able to find the magical in people, but she can also find the monster in people whose behaviour doesn’t warrant the title. I found it interesting that for a girl who is eager to hide her face from the world she was quick to judge others based on physical attributes. She matches up what she’s read with those she meets and random circumstances that she attributes to them (like the wind blowing) confirm to her that the person is really a monster. This can result in wholly inaccurate assumptions based on first impressions; Kelsi is the best example of this. He’s adorable and the voice of reason in this book, yet Sophie is certain he’s a dangerous shapeshifter.

I loved Autumn, Sophie’s friend, who’s eager to play along when Sophie tells her she’s a fairy. Given what Autumn’s family are dealing with it makes sense that her lively imagination helps buffer her from painful reality.

I think my favourite character would have been Mrs Barrett if she’d played a larger role. I was disappointed when she started to fade into the background and would have loved more scenes with her in them.

I don’t know that Ms. Cloe’s role in Sophie’s life was introduced. I assumed she was a therapist (I spent the entire book waiting for someone to finally get this girl some counselling) but wondered why a therapist would be giving a client a present. Sophie had to win a game with her mother and Ms. Cloe to get the prize, which I’m guessing Sophie’s mother bought, although this isn’t stated. Since the game involved chance, rolling dice and moving around a board, it was pretty convenient that Sophie won.

Initially I loved the excerpts from Sophie’s monster book between each chapter because of my love for mythology, although I did have trouble finding the connection between excerpts and their surrounding chapters at times. The excerpts did get a bit of a preachy vibe towards the end, focusing more on being a good person than monsters. Not that there’s anything wrong with the whole ‘be a good person’ thing but I was really enjoying reading about the mythological creatures.

The cover image is wonderful and drew me to the book in the first place. I particularly liked the monster marks added to the font on the title. I did notice that in the book Sophie’s monster mark is on the right side of her face and the cover illustration shows her hair hiding the left side of her face. Once I noticed that I naturally couldn’t unsee it.

Now for the part of the review that I agonised about and the entire reason it took me almost two days to post my review after finishing reading. I want to make it clear that I read an ARC so this may not be an issue in the final version of the book. With that in mind, if I hadn’t committed to reviewing this book I would have abandoned it as soon as one of Sophie’s classmates was introduced (at 58%) as the cringeworthy and offensive ”Zac the spaz”, regardless of how much I was enjoying it prior to then. Fair or not, that word tainted my enjoyment of the book from that point on so I’m really hoping this will not make it into the final version of the book. I expect this would have been a 4 star read for me if it wasn’t for that horrendous word.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

There are trolls, goblins, and witches. Which kind of monster is Sophie?

Sophie is a monster expert. Thanks to her Big Book of Monsters and her vivid imagination, Sophie can identify the monsters in her school and neighbourhood. Clearly, the bullies are trolls and goblins. Her nice neighbour must be a good witch, and Sophie’s new best friend is obviously a fairy. But what about Sophie? She’s convinced she is definitely a monster because of the “monster mark” on her face. At least that’s what she calls it. The doctors call it a blood tumour. Sophie tries to hide it but it covers almost half her face. And if she’s a monster on the outside, then she must be a monster on the inside, too.

Being the new kid at school is hard. Being called a monster is even harder. Sophie knows that it’s only a matter of time before the other kids, the doctors, and even her mum figure it out. And then her mum will probably leave – just like her dad did.

Because who would want to live with a real monster?

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Sawkill Girls – Claire Legrand

“There were monsters in that book.”

And I loved it! I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book or that this is my first Claire Legrand read. I have seriously been missing out!

Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep. He’ll follow you home and won’t let you sleep.

So goes the island’s monster tale. But is the Collector just an urban legend? Why have Sawkill’s girls been disappearing? What happened to them?

Zoey needs to know, especially since her best friend Thora is the most recent missing girl, presumed dead for seven months. One of 23 girls.

Decades of dead girls. Poor girls and rich girls. Black and brown and white girls. All of them Sawkill girls.

I went into this book having read its blurb, and that’s all. I highly recommend you don’t know too much about this book before uncovering the secrets of the Sawkill girls yourself. So instead of me telling you much about the book itself I want to tell you who my favourite characters were, but quickly I want to address that romance. This romantiphobe wanted the romance to work, needed it to work, yearned to see more of it, despite everything that told me that it couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t work.

Absolute Favourite Character

Is it weird if I tell you that Zoey was my absolute favourite character? And also that in a lot of respects Zoey is me?! Some of the things that came out of her mouth felt like I’d spoken them.

Zoey is ME Example 1:

“Sorry. That isn’t helpful. God. I need to stop talking. I’m a really awkward person. It’s a chronic condition.”

Zoey is ME Example 2:

“Hi, Future Zoey, this is Past Zoey”

[Zoey, to her phone’s voice recorder]

Zoey is ME Example 3:

“Imagine, if you will, a sponge—“ “Animal, cleaning, or Bob?” Zoey interrupted.

Except sometimes Zoey was not me. At all. Because I would never say:

“Can I just say that I’m really disturbed by the number of secret rooms on this island?”

Because there’s no such thing. If Zoey was me she’d know that.

And a Very Close Second …

Grayson. Oh, I need a Grayson in my life. He’s adorable, he cooks, he cleans, he gives great hugs and did I mention he’s adorable?

But Let’s Not Forget …

the surprise standout character, the Rock.

No, not that one! Although he will always be a favourite.

Initially I found the Rock’s voice unsettling and a tad confusing but as I made it further into the book I began to look forward to those pages and they became my favourites.

I loved the creepy. I loved the moths. I loved the atmosphere. I loved the imperfect characters. I loved the diversity. I loved the girls sticking it to the patriarchy.

A girl with incredible strength. A girl who can vanish. A girl who burns.

Yes, I had some questions that weren’t answered and yes, I had the whole nitpick about how the moths’ markings on the cover of the book don’t match the colour described in the book but seriously, who cares?! If you haven’t already, you need to read this book!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep.

He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.

Who are the Sawkill Girls?

Marion: the new girl. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find.

Zoey: the pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken – or maybe everyone else is.

Val: the queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives, a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies.

Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires.

Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight … until now. 

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SHOUT – Laurie Halse Anderson

This is the story of a girl who lost her voice and wrote herself a new one.

I expect I’m one of the only ones reading SHOUT before they’ve read Speak. I’ve had Speak on my ‘I absolutely have to read this book’ list for as long as I can remember but still haven’t read it. I searched my local library for it but they don’t own it. I tried for several years to buy it on Kindle but it wasn’t available to purchase in my country (I just checked and it’s still not an option). I finally bit the bullet and added it to my Book Depository order last year and it’s been looking at me ever since from my shelf, quietly asking me why I haven’t opened its pages.

Honestly? It’s intimidated me. It’s the book about sexual assault and while I’ve read so many others, I think I’ve worried about what it will bring up for me when I do finally read it. So, long story slightly shorter, my plan is to SHOUT, then Speak, and then SHOUT again. I’m interested to see if my perspective on SHOUT changes after I’ve read Speak. I guess time will tell.

The first section of this book is essentially memoir in free verse. Laurie takes the reader on a journey through a series of childhood memories; a father haunted by war when alcohol isn’t numbing his memories, a mother silenced, her own experiences of school, work and surviving sexual assault. I really loved reading about Laurie’s experience as an exchange student in Denmark and would happily devour as much information as I could about those 13 months; what I’ve read has sparked an interest in Danish culture.

The second section, which begins almost two thirds of the way through the book, broke my heart as Laurie shared just a handful of stories about her interactions with other survivors, whose young bodies have been invaded and lives changed, most often by those they know and should have been able to trust. Although this section made me cry one of the things that got to me the most was something hopeful – the colourful ribbons tied to fences in Ballarat, Australia in support of the abused, which ultimately created Loud Fence. The images of those ribbons of support broke me.

This section includes responses from readers, students who have heard Laurie speak, teachers and librarians; those who need to share their story, those who don’t understand what was so bad about Melinda’s experience in Speak, those who want to censor “inappropriate” reading material.

I’m not sure how to sum up the third section other than to say that it was the shortest section but also the one in which I shed most tears. Laurie’s final poems about her parents simply gutted me.

Although it’s clearly stated in the blurb I still hadn’t thought there’d be as much memoir as there was in this book. I’d expected a greater percentage of poems to be directly addressing sexual assault, even though there are plenty that do. When my expectations didn’t line up with reality I thought I’d be disappointed but I wasn’t and I’m already ready for a reread. I expect that I will revisit this book each time I read one of Laurie’s books that are mentioned here, to search out her favourite scenes and glimpses of the story behind the story.

There’s a vulnerability here and it’s entwined with strength, determination, courage, resilience and so much compassion. While I finished this book with a contented sigh I’m still yearning for more. Luckily for me, as this is the first of Laurie’s books that I’ve read (shame on me!), I still have plenty to explore.

Thank you, Laurie Halse Anderson, for sharing some of your life in this book, for breaking my heart, growing my empathy, giving me so many amazing passages to highlight and inspiring me. I will see you on Ultima Thule.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless.

In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she’s never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society’s failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice – and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

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Say Something – Cathy Morrison

I’ve read every review that’s been written about this book so far and they’re pretty much overwhelmingly positive so I’ll start by alerting you to those and encouraging you to read some of them to balance out what I have to say. I really hope this book will help readers, those who will be validated by seeing themselves in Maggie’s story and those whose eyes will be opened and their sensitivity engaged by what they find in its pages.

I’m always on the lookout for good books about sexual assault and I applaud anyone who tackles this horrendous topic at all so it breaks my heart that I couldn’t five star this book and tell you all that you absolutely have to read it immediately.

There’s something about this book that didn’t quite feel authentic to me but even a day after finishing reading I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. The author spoke to survivors, counsellors and members of law enforcement and I think it’s wonderful they took the time to do that, yet it reads at times like they were spending so much time trying to tick all the boxes on a list they’d collated from their research that there wasn’t much time left to truly bring Maggie’s experience to life.

For example, Maggie feels angry because her mother forced her to recant what she’d told a friend about the man who sexually abused her. Of course she’s angry but that doesn’t even begin to explain what that feels like. Show me the abandonment Maggie experienced when the one person in this world she should have been able to rely on to protect her above anyone else instead took the side of the man who’d abused her. Show me how Maggie felt when her mother told her that the perpetrator was only being affectionate and how the denial of something that Maggie knew without a shadow of a doubt to be the truth then led her to question her very reality; if something she knew for sure could be so easily dismissed then how she ever really be sure about anything again?! Please don’t just tell me she was angry.

I don’t know. Maybe because of my own experiences I’m pulling this to bits too much. This book does get a lot right about the long term effects of sexual abuse and it does tick a lot of the boxes. Maybe it’s wrong of me to expect this book to take a deep dive on what Maggie’s experience would really feel like but even some aspects of the abuse itself didn’t sit right with me, like the fact that Maggie’s abuser immediately stopped abusing her when her mother asked him about it. While some perpetrators would stop their abuse once confronted there is no way this specific man would have.

The insta romance annoyed me so much! Part of this will no doubt be a byproduct of my romantiphobia. Other readers have loved this romance but it drove me crazy. After only four dates she told this boy her most painful secret, the first time she’s spoken about it in almost ten years (with the exception of a counsellor she sees sometimes). Really? And she calls him “my boy”. 🤢

“My boy” takes it upon himself to decide what Maggie needs and goes into full blown action mode without even consulting her. This is a young woman whose life was turned upside down as a direct result of loss of control so, while I was never going to think a boy taking it upon himself to make critical decisions for a girl without her input was romantic, it was even less so in Maggie’s situation. And “my boy” takes control of Maggie’s decisions after he’s already decided that if he ever meets the perpetrator he’s going to beat him up. Hello, toxic masculinity!

The only character I really liked in this book was Kelvin. Maggie irritated me, “my boy” spent much of the book practising his own weird blend of sensitivity and the toxic masculinity thing and Maggie’s mother drove me crazy, but at least she was realistic. I hated her mother’s responses to Maggie’s abuse and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I did understand where she was coming from (I still think that almost any response other than the one she had would have been a better choice).

While it’s great that Maggie was able to report her abuse to authorities it bugged me that other options weren’t explored. Not everyone reports sexual abuse and not everyone who does report it gets a result that could be even accidentally mistaken for justice. I’m all for reporting if a survivor chooses to do so but there’s an unfair expectation that if you’ve been victimised in this way then it’s your responsibility to protect potential future victims by reporting this crime. This puts a huge burden on people and if they do report and the perpetrator gets away with it then it can be even more devastating for the survivor in the long run. They can feel like it was their fault the perpetrator is still free to potentially assault other people, when the sole responsibility for past, present and potential future abuse lies with the abuser.

The Hallmark ending sets up unrealistic expectations for anyone considering reporting sexual abuse. Had Maggie reported her abuse to the police in my state she would’ve been told flat out that because she had no physical evidence of the abuse there was almost no chance the perpetrator would be able to be charged, let alone make it to trial. Sure, the introduction of other victims would have helped the case but I’ve known of rapes where the perpetrator wasn’t even interviewed because the crime wasn’t reported immediately.

Regardless of my feelings about the specifics of this book I really do hope it finds its way into the hands of those who would benefit from reading it. Once again, please read other reviews before deciding if this book is for you or not. I’m just one opinion and I’m an outlier.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Cold Fire Publishing, LLC for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Little beauty.

That’s what he called me when he stole my innocence. I was a trusting, little girl, and he ruined everything. I tried to tell someone, but my mother made me change my story. After all these years, I still carry this dark secret in my heart.

Now there’s this guy in my class. A nice guy. And he likes me. He makes me think that maybe, just maybe, I could be normal. I could be happy. Just when things are getting good, the pervert barrels back into my life and I discover another little girl is in danger.

Now, what do I do? I can stay safe and silent … or I can do whatever it takes to make sure he never calls another girl “little beauty” again.

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The Star-Spun Web – Sinéad O’Hart

One thought was so urgent that it drowned out all the others: she’ll only be two worlds away – will it be enough?

Tess is my kind of heroine. She’s smart, stubborn, determined and a good friend. She conducts scientific experiments in a raincoat that’s seen better days and her lab is otherwise known as the detention room. She has a pet tarantula named Violet and will quite happily ruin brand new clothes by climbing up a chimney. Oh, and she can travel between different realities!

“Could it be true, then, to say that everything which could exist, does exist somewhere? That every choice made creates a ‘branch’ effect, where both outcomes can come to independent fruition, each entirely unknown to the other? It would mean an almost unimaginable abundance of universes, but who is to say such things cannot be true?”

I’m pretty sure I’ve never been emotionally attached to a tarantula before, but Violet somehow spun some web magic over me and I became fiercely protective of her. I also became very fond of Moose the mouse and grinned whenever Hortense the hockey stick was mentioned. I quickly moved from “huh, a pet spider” to “I’m going to boycott this book if Violet and Moose don’t make it to the end alive”.

Then there were the humans. While Tess was a great main character, Wilf and Millie were the ones I wanted to simultaneously adopt and be best friends with. Millie was an absolute sweetheart, while Wilf managed to snag the best lines in the book (most of my smiles, smirks and chuckles came courtesy of her). Of all of the characters they’re the two I desperately need updates about. I’m not greedy; just a book each where their individual stories are the focus would satisfy me. 😜

The settings came to life for me, particularly the chapel and Ackerbee’s. I love Ackerbee’s even more now that I’ve seen photos of the building it was based on, the Lafayette Building in Dublin. I need to live in that attic!

I can’t tell you how much I love that ‘home’ in this book doesn’t consist of buildings and ‘family’ doesn’t require you to share DNA with people. Tess’ home is with those who love her, including Miss Ackerbee, Rebecca, Wilf and all of the other girls at Ackerbee’s Home for Lost and Foundlings, and Violet, of course.

If I’d read this book as a kid I would have loved that it didn’t talk down to me. While there were some wonderful analogies that made complex ideas easier to understand (my favourite image was sheets of paper illustrating parallel universes), it never felt like anything was overly simplistic. I definitely would have gotten my science geek on after reading this.

Sara Mulvanny’s cover artwork and Sophie Bransby’s design drew me to this book in the first place and now that I’ve finished reading I can appreciate all of the elements that were included. I also liked the web at the beginning of each chapter; it was simple but effective.

Eensy weensy nitpick: I wasn’t overly sure why Moose could travel between realities when Tess had to leave Violet behind each time she went to Thomas’ world. Maybe I missed something though. Also, unlike Moose, Violet never seemed to eat.

While The Star-Spun Web works as a standalone there are enough loose ends to warrant a sequel. I can imagine what’s next for some of my favourite characters but I’d much prefer to hear Sinéad O’Hart telling me all about them. I need to see Tess reunite with her father, visit other realities, relearn how to move between realities without needing the Star-spinner and foil Mackintosh and Mrs Thistleton’s dastardly plan.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Stripes Publishing, an imprint of Little Tiger Group, for the opportunity to read this book and for introducing me to a new (to me) author. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to add Sinéad’s debut, The Eye of the North, to my wish list.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

With her passion for scientific experimentation and her pet tarantula Violet, Tess de Sousa is no ordinary orphan. When a stranger shows up at Ackerbee’s Home for Lost and Foundlings, claiming to be a distant relative come to adopt her, Tess hopes to find some answers to her mysterious origins. But as she adjusts to her new life at Roedeer Lodge, it becomes clear that Norton F. Cleat knows more about Tess – and the strange star-shaped device left with her when she was abandoned as a baby – than he’s letting on. And when Tess discovers that the Starspinner is the gateway between her world and a parallel world in which war rages, she realises she may be the key to a terrible plan. A plan she must stop at all costs …

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Change Happens – Kathryn & Ross Petras

Kathryn and Ross Petras have collated in this book an alphabet of wisdom about change. Taken from a variety of writers, philosophers, musicians, scientists, entrepreneurs and others, there are quotes to inspire you, comfort you and make you smile.

While you may want to read from cover to cover initially, I liked that the quotes are grouped in themes so you can easily find the ones that are most applicable for your current situation. For example, here’s L.

description

This would make a good gift book for someone going through a big change in their life or for reflection yourself because as the quotes tell you, change is inevitable. My favourite quotes include:

When we are no longer able to change a situation … we are challenged to change ourselves. – Viktor Frankl

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. – Maya Angelou

Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today. – Ernest Hemingway

Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced. – James Baldwin

When people are ready to, they change. They never do it before then, and sometimes they die before they get around to it. You can’t make them change if they don’t want to, just like when they do want to, you can’t stop them. – Andy Warhol

While the layout was clean and consistent and the font made the quotes easy to read I didn’t find the creative flair I expect from gift books. I love quotes and have since I was a kid when I’d write the ones that spoke to me in notebooks. However if I’m going to buy a book of quotes I don’t want to be bored by the layout. Some pages included an illustration but when they didn’t the pages blended together.

description

Thank you to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

This collection of quotations – from the masters of the quote book, Kathryn and Ross Petras – focuses on the empowering aspects of change and is perfect for graduates or anyone else facing a life passage -landmark birthday, new job, new home, or the beginning (or end) of a relationship.

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The Quiet You Carry – Nikki Barthelmess

none of us can understand what’s going on in another person’s life from the outside looking in. No one can really see the quiet you carry, unless you let them.

Victoria lives with her father, stepmother and stepsister. Well, she did until the night her father locked her out of the house. Suddenly this shy, studious 17 year old finds herself stuck attending a new school in a new town and living with a foster mother who appears to hate her. Everything she thought she knew about her life has crumbled around her in a confusing mess.

Foster care isn’t one size fits all in how kids wind up in care in the first place or their experiences once there. There are so many negative stereotypes about foster kids so I was delighted to discover that Victoria wasn’t a stereotype. It never occurs to her to quit school and give up on her dreams because of circumstances outside of her control. There’s no smooth sailing here but she’s determined to move on from this experience and not allow it to define her.

Victoria’s foster care experience, while it sounds horrendous, is fairly average. Some foster kids fortunately land in families that provide the love, protection and encouragement they so desperately need and at the other end of the spectrum there are those who wind up in abusive situations that mimic those they were removed from. The portrayal of overworked caseworkers is sadly realistic and the shame of being a foster kid is all too real.

Nikki Barthelmess notes that while this book is fiction, she spent a number of years in foster care herself. I think it’s a testament to Nikki’s resilience that she has managed to articulate so well the way foster care feels. While there are some minor details in the way things unfold in the story that I could perhaps question (and will in a minute) I have nothing but praise for the authenticity of Victoria’s feelings from beginning to end.

I loved that Victoria has Christina and a boy named after a vegetable supporting her the entire time, before they know her story and, even more importantly, after. She also has supportive teaching staff, who truly can make a world of difference in a foster kid’s life.

I only hope that foster kids who read this book have someone in their corner as well because foster care can be such a lonely and terrifying experience. Even with support being a foster kid can make you feel so separate from other kids, who are worried about things like makeup and clothes while you’re worrying about the potential consequences if you tell the truth about what’s happened to you and where you’ll go next if this foster home doesn’t work out.

I found it difficult to believe (maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part) that in juvie a male worker would be responsible for searching a teenage girl. I would hope that if it was protocol to do a physical search for new arrivals that a female worker would do this for girls. I also found it weird that Victoria’s best friend doesn’t try to make contact with her when she drops off the face of the Earth; sure, Victoria doesn’t have access to a phone or social media anymore but her email account is still active.

Because of my own experiences and those of other foster kids I’ve known I had expected this book’s contents to be more brutal. I’m not saying everything is peachy or anything. My content warnings alone give you some indication of what to expect. I’m sure that what’s described in this book would be shocking for a lot of people so I expect I’m an outlier in this regard.

There needs to be more YA and kid’s books about the foster care system. When I was in the system I would have loved to have seen any aspect of my experience mirrored by a character I was reading about. This book will hopefully be an eye opener for people who don’t know the foster care system from the inside and provide much needed empathy and validation to those who find themselves fostered, for whatever reason.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Flux, an imprint of North Star Editions, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Victoria Parker knew her dad’s behaviour toward her was a little unusual, but she convinced herself everything was fine – until she found herself locked out of the house at 3:00 a.m., surrounded by flashing police lights. 

Now, dumped into a crowded, chaotic foster home, Victoria has to tiptoe around her domineering foster mother, get through senior year at a new school, and somehow salvage her college dreams … all while keeping her past hidden.

But some secrets won’t stay buried – especially when unwanted memories make Victoria freeze up at random moments and nightmares disrupt her sleep. Even worse, she can’t stop worrying about her stepsister Sarah, left behind with her father. All she wants is to move forward, but how do you focus on the future when the past won’t leave you alone?

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Unwritten – Tara Gilboy

“What if every story ever written is a world in another dimension, waiting for us to find it?”

I was enchanted by this book from the very beginning. It explores the complexities of good and evil, and the power we have to write our own story, regardless of the roles and labels others have placed upon us. There’s action, drama and so much heart.

Gracie may look like a normal 12 year old girl but she’s actually the creation of Gertrude Winters, an author whose unpublished story includes Gracie, her mother and Walter, a boy in her class and an aspiring scientist. Gracie gets story glimmers, glimpses of what her life would have been like in the story, but she doesn’t know the whole story and is frustrated that her mother won’t tell her.

When Gracie learns the story’s author will be coming to her town she can’t resist. Here is the opportunity she’s been waiting for! If only she can speak to the author then she may finally find out who she really is and what her story contains. Things don’t go quite as planned and Gracie, her mother and other characters wind up in the world of the story.

I was captivated the entire time I was reading. I loved the greys in this story; the villains weren’t all bad and the heroes didn’t always make the right choices. I was easily able to imagine the story world and wanted to stay longer to meet more of the people who live there.

While this book works well as a standalone I’m greedily hoping for a sequel and/or spin-off. I’m interested in knowing what happens next for Gracie, Walter and Cassandra in particular. I’d also love to see how Gertrude, the author of Gracie’s story, would react if another of her storybook characters walked into her life and wonder what their story would be about.

I would like to know more about Cassandra, particularly her background and more about her motivations. She was an intriguing character who deserves more page time. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not but Cassandra in this story has some similarities to Cassandra from Greek mythology; although different in so many aspects they were both able to foresee the future.

Jomike Tejido’s cover illustration is absolutely gorgeous and captures the essence of this story so well. I’m not sure I would have read this story’s blurb without that cover sucking me in and I would have missed out on a gem.

Over the course of a single book Tara Gilboy has cemented her place in my ’Have to Read Everything They Ever Write’ Hall of Fame. I can’t wait to read whatever comes next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press, an imprint of North Star Editions, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Twelve-year-old Gracie Freeman is living a normal life, but she is haunted by the fact that she is actually a character from a story, an unpublished fairy tale she’s never read. When she was a baby, her parents learned that she was supposed to die in the story, and with the help of a magic book, took her out of the story, and into the outside world, where she could be safe.

But Gracie longs to know what the story says about her. Despite her mother’s warnings, Gracie seeks out the story’s author, setting in motion a chain of events that draws herself, her mother, and other former storybook characters back into the forgotten tale. Inside the story, Gracie struggles to navigate the blurred boundary between who she really is and the surprising things the author wrote about her. As the story moves toward its deadly climax, Gracie realises she’ll have to face a dark truth and figure out her own fairy tale ending.

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Harry Moon #1: Wand Paper Scissors – Mark Andrew Poe

I’m conflicted about this book. I like the idea of living in a town where it’s perpetually Halloween. I’d previously read another book in this series, Harry’s Christmas Carol, and quite enjoyed that so I had fairly high hopes for this, the first book in the series.

Harry is performing his magic show at his school’s annual Scary Talent Show but Titus, school bully and the evil mayor’s son, has other ideas. Titus is desperate to win and is prepared to do whatever it takes to make Harry withdraw from the show. Add to that a strange mix of magic and Christianity, a talking rabbit and some questionable content.

Quite a few things had me scratching my head including:

  • Why this quote was included in the first place and how it made it through the editing process. Hao was the newbie when he moved to town in the third grade. “Are you black or Asian or Indian or what?” asked Bailey when Hao came into the third grade classroom.
  • When Harry gets told he needs to rise above name calling after telling his parents about the school bully accosting him on his way home from a rehearsal, lifting him into the air and cutting off some of his hair with sheep shears.
  • I’m not sure what 16 year old girl is going to be excited about being a magician’s assistant for a 13 year old boy she used to babysit at his middle school talent show. I’m also not sure how I feel about them kissing.
  • There are multiple obvious Harry Potter parallels, the most obvious of which is the whole wizard in training called Harry thing. Harry also manages to walk past people undetected because he was able to make his cape and anything under it invisible.
  • It’s mentioned that Harry is aware of another boy being physically abused by his father, which is then passed over with Harry thinking about how lucky he is that his father doesn’t hit him. Meanwhile this other kid is wandering around with welts.

Despite my problems with this book I quite liked the illustrations. My favourite was the row of pumpkins, with the one on the end winking.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Harry Moon is up to his eyeballs in magic in the small town of Sleepy Hollow. His archenemy, Titus Kligore, has eyes on winning the Annual Scary Talent Show. Harry has a tough job ahead if he is going to steal the crown. He takes a chance on a magical rabbit who introduces him to magic. Harry decides that the best way forward is to DO NO EVIL and the struggle to defeat Titus, this battle turns epic. 

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Creature Files: Predators: Discover 20 of Nature’s Most Ferocious Hunters – L.J. Tracosas

This is the sort of book I would have loved to borrow from the library when I was a kid. It provides information about 20 predators, including wolverines, bald eagles, polar bears and Tasmanian devils. Readers will learn where each predator lives, their size and weight, and some introductory information about how they live.

Special attention is paid to claws and how each animal uses them, whether for hunting, defending themselves, climbing or burrowing. There are photos of each predator, including a close up of their claws.

My favourite facts were:

In one meal, a full-grown wolf can eat up to 20 pounds of meat – that’s like eating 80 hamburgers.

A grizzly’s claws can be up to 6 inches (15.2 cm) long and as thick as a person’s finger.

Once they sink their teeth in for even a single chomp, the Komodo dragon’s work is done. Their spit contains so many bacteria that even if dinner manages to get away, it’ll eventually collapse from the poison.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – becker&mayer kids! for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

There’s no need to fly around the world to see the more fearsome predators out there Creature Files: Predators brings them straight to you! Check out incredible animals from the arctic to the savanna.

Don’t make any sudden movements, because from the savanna to the snowy Arctic, vicious predators are poised to pounce! In Creature Files: Predators, you’ll take a tour around the globe, learning about hunters like the lightning-fast peregrine falcon and the elusive snow leopard.

Experience the fascinating world of claws and talons through this guide filled with juicy facts to chew on – like how grey wolves can eat up to twenty pounds in one meal, and the largest land predator (the polar bear) can weigh up to 1,200 pounds. Animal lovers will find plenty of tidbits, such as which creatures are fastest, where they live and what they eat.

With beautiful photos on every page, this interactive tour also includes maps and even three realistic replica claws of some of the world’s most fearsome predators!

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