Category: Review

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream: An Anthology – Christopher Golden (editor)

I’ll be completely upfront with you; I only wanted this book for the Seanan McGuire story. Well, that and the cover image that reminded me of one of the guys from Mars Attacks! playing dress up. I’ve never read Christmas horror before so didn’t know what to expect.

I was hoping this book would contain a bunch of Christmas stories for people who prefer Halloween; serial killer Santas, blood soaked snowmen, Christmas trees that come to life and chase people through the house … What I found were some fun, creepy stories mixed in with a whole pile of stories that just so happened to take place on or around Christmas; Santa, Frosty and Rudolph not even peeking their heads around the corner of the page.

Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s Christmas Eve and Ava’s childhood fear has just knocked on the front door. The concept was good but felt a bit disjointed for me.

“Give us food. Give us wine. Then our song shall be thine.”

Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Murphy’s Law tags along for a Christmas vacation to Barcelona with a couple and their baby. This one started slowly and didn’t feel like it belonged in this collection for most of the story but then it well and truly made up for lost time.

You feel the same thought stirring – everything is going to be okay – but this time you have the wisdom to resist its lure.

Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Seanan has proven, once again, why she’s one of my all time favourite authors! A babysitter tells the story of Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden to Andy, Chloe and Diane. I want to tell you more but don’t want to spoil it!

“She looks for children who could be great, if only the snow that made them were melted down and given to someone else for safekeeping.”

Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Creeper gets more than he bargained for when he pulls his first job after being released from prison. I enjoyed the buildup but really wanted to know the history of what the Creeper finds in the apartment above the antique store.

”You came to steal from me, I know,” the woman called out.

Not Just For Christmas by Sarah Lotz – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’ve ever thought your pet being able to talk would be adorable you’ll change your mind after reading this one. Technology and the family pet don’t exactly mix. Oodles of swearing in this one.

“Do we really need any more surprises from you this year?”

Tenets by Josh Malerman – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bringing a failed cult leader to your holiday party can really ruin the holiday spirit. I wasn’t sure where this one was going for a while but was getting into it when it abruptly ended. While I can imagine all sorts of things I wanted to see what really happened next.

The last thing she wanted to be thinking about at a holiday party reunion was cults and cult leaders and what all that means and how sad it was if you really broke it down.

Good Deeds by Jeff Strand – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A man does a good deed and is so proud of himself that he writes a song about how awesome he is. His song changes peoples’ lives, although not for the better. Morbid and sort of amusing (but the type you feel guilty for being amused about), this was one of the weirdest Christmas stories I’ve ever read. I expect the insensitivity of the main character and the subject matter will be offensive to some readers.

The world was a dark, ugly, selfish cesspool of misery, but I’d done my part to shine a ray of joy upon it. With only a credit card, I’d made the universe a better place.

It’s a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sleazy Hollywood producer gets more than he bargained for when he takes an actress on a tour of his collection of rare movie memorabilia. A timely story but not really a Christmas story; just one that happened to be set around Christmas.

“That’s half the fun for a collector. The macabre stuff always goes for top dollar.”

Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A mother of three young boys grieves the loss of her husband as Christmas draws near, but just because she misses him doesn’t necessarily mean she wants him back. This one was predictable but creepy.

It was the holidays. Best to be prepared for the emotional bloodshed.

Snake’s Tail by Sarah Langan – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s Christmas Eve and children are going missing in a little town on the bay. I still have no idea what this one had to do with Christmas other than the time of year it was set.

Yes, the clock chimes, and by the time it stops resonating, the child is gone. Disappeared from her bed.

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Something awful happened in that room in the Christmas Hotel many years ago and now something wants justice.

The room was fine the rest of the year, no complaints, but come Christmas Eve, no one could make it through a night.

Farrow Street by Elizabeth Hand – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

After her holiday plans fall through, Melanie decides to book accommodation in London and spend some time alone. On Christmas day she ventures out, trying to find an open restaurant, and finds herself in Farrow Street. I don’t think she ever gets her meal. I kept waiting for something to happen and when the action is about to start the story ends.

She cast a final look behind her. A feather of candlelight touched the floor at the foot of the stairs and faded into darkness.

Doctor Velocity by Jonathan Maberry – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Destroyer talks to Doctor Velocity about his desperation and fear of having lost the spark that made his artwork come to life. Doctor Velocity has a Christmas present for him.

“Most often a person has survived because the monster did not want to destroy them all the way. To kill them would be to empty them of screams, of struggle, of fear and pain, and that’s what those monsters feed on.”

Yankee Swap by John M. McIlveen – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

After avoiding her slimy boss at their work holiday party Kat finds herself in another nightmarish situation, and she’s not alone.

That he had chosen her to go first was a terrible omen that seemed to validate her fear of not leaving there alive.

Honor Thy Mother by Angela Slatter – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Agnes’ family are having Christmas at her home this year; she insisted. Her sons plan to talk her into moving out of her home and into an aged care facility. Agnes’ plan is better.

She likes her privacy, knows it’s integral to her safety; her husband used to joke that if she could have got away with it, she’d have put a plaque on the front fence that read, “Nothing ever happened here.”

Home by Tim Lebbon – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The man and Old Bob make their way through an apocalyptic landscape. Is the man leading Old Bob or is Old Bob leading the man? And where are they going? It’s not until near the end of the story that its connection with Christmas becomes clear.

Standing, stretching, the beauty and horror of what he saw struck home as it did every single morning.

Hiking Through by Michael Koryta – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

While planning a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail a seasoned hiker hears a campfire story about a witch. I really enjoyed this one; I always love a good campfire story.

We all laugh harder around a campfire, because we don’t want to acknowledge that some part of us is deeply concerned about what’s out there just beyond the reach of the firelight.

The Hangman’s Bride by Sarah Pinborough – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The longest story in the collection and one of the best, the characters came to life for me and I want to read more by this author. Without giving away too much, Alexander’s grandfather tells him a story of a chimney sweep whose name is not Tom, a hangman, Miss Darkly, Mr and Mrs West, and the hangman’s bride.

‘People will do terrible things for love.’

Once I got over the gap between my expectation and reality I was able to enjoy most of these stories and have been inspired to attempt to write my own Christmas horror story, with plenty of tinsel, snowmen and blood. Wasn’t it Toni Morrison who said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it”?

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Anchor, an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read this book. My average rating was 3.86 so I’ve rounded up.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Eighteen stories of Christmas horror from bestselling, acclaimed authors including Scott Smith, Seanan McGuire, Josh Malerman, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, and many more.

That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together. The hideous children – Want and Ignorance – beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts. 
Bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

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Ninja Kid #2: Flying Ninja! – Anh Do

Illustrations – Jeremy Ley

Once upon a time, many moons ago, I balanced precariously upon the cliffhanger of book one. Now I’ve devoured book two and am perched above another cliff.

‘But that’s a story for another day.’

Nooooo!

I hate the waiting game!

Me too, Ninja Kid! It feels like I’ve been waiting forever to read this book (March was forever ago, right?) and it didn’t disappoint. I think we’ve already established that I’m obsessed with all of Anh Do’s kid’s books and after only two books I think the Ninja Kid series is going to be my favourite.

They’re such feel-good books; they always make me smile and I come away from the experience feeling better about the world. In this instalment, Ninja Kid (Nelson) is up against all of the machines in Duck Creek, which are mysteriously coming to life each time it rains. There’s also a class excursion to the zoo that includes a stampede of zoo animals.

Once again Ninja Kid is teamed up with H-Dude (his best friend and cousin, Kenny) and awesome inventor Grandma Pat, who will always be my favourite character in the series. His mother is also there, but not in a starring role. In this book we find out just who that evil guy in the helicopter from the first book is and a little of his dastardly plan but the scene is set for Ninja Kid and helicopter guy to do battle another day.

Because Ninja Kid is sort of a superhero in the making his disguise of a sock fashioned into a mask is more than enough to deem him unrecognisable to everyone who knows him, even when he’s wearing the exact same clothes in Ninja mode and Nelson mode. However unbelievable this may seem, the precedence has already been established by many superheroes before him.

Both Nelson and Kenny face their fears in this book and the writing is often so corny it’s funny.

‘I hate vacuum cleaners!’ said Kenny. ‘They suck!’

It was hard to argue with him!

Jeremy Ley’s illustrations are magic! Some pages had two illustrations and there was only one page in the entire book that only had text. While Anh is one of my favourite kid’s authors, Jeremy has easily become one of my favourite illustrators. There’s humour in the pictures that matches that of the text, the expressions on the peoples’ faces are easy to ‘read’ and what’s happening in the book matches what’s happening in the pictures. I can’t believe how many kid’s books I’ve read where the illustrations have huge details that don’t line up with the description in the text, so finding illustrators that get it all right is a huge plus for me. Jeremy ticks every box and makes me wish he’d teach me how to draw.

I need the third book now please! ‘Coming soon’ is way too long to wait!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Nelson is a ninja. He’s not the coolest. Or the bravest. But he is the world’s nerdiest ninja! And now he has to stop an animal rampage and machines going crazy all over town! For that, he’ll need his new jetpack … and some serious ninja skills! How will Nelson learn to fly when he’s scared of heights?!

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The Grerks at No. 55 #1: Nelly the Monster Sitter – Kes Gray

Illustrations – Chris Jevons

‘If monsters are real, how come I’ve never seen one?’ said Nelly.

‘Because they never go out,’ said her dad.

‘Why don’t monsters ever go out?’ said Nelly.

‘Because they can never get a babysitter,’ said her dad.

So Nelly becomes “Nelly the Monster Sitter!”, which is pretty much everything you imagine it is. Think The Baby-Sitters Club except it’s just Nelly, not a club, and she babysits monsters, not kids; although to be fair, some of the kids the BSC looked after were more monstrous than the monsters in this book. Nelly even keeps a record of her monster sitting experiences, just like the BSC girls did.

Nelly’s parents are comfortable with her monster sitting although her twin sister Asti, like many people, is afraid of monsters. Although fun and lighthearted, this book does have a subtle commentary underlining it about acceptance of those who don’t look like you and finding friendships with amazing people/monsters that others are too scared to get to know.

The Grerks at No. 55 is the first in the series so introduces Nelly and her family and sets the scene for future books. The only thing that had me a little squirmy about its inclusion was when Nelly glues millions of fleas to the wall, gets her friends to paint over the still alive but stuck fleas and calls it decorating.

The monsters in this book are imaginative and easy to picture, especially when the descriptions are paired with lovely illustrations that bring the monsters to life. I’m interested to see what adventures Nelly experiences when she knocks on the doors of her future monster customers.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Ever played catch with a six-legged Gog, or made pancakes with an oozy orange Squurm? Every time Nelly rings on a new monster family’s doorbell she’s up for a new challenge. Come on her monster-sitting adventures in this laugh-out-loud funny first book in the series.

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33 1/3 #135: Tori Amos’ Boys for Pele – Amy Gentry

Although I was really looking forward to reading about Tori’s Boys for Pele (I’ve been sort of obsessed for 24 years with all things Tori) I found myself glazing over whenever the discussion moved into a discourse about the nature of disgust or how the concept of taste can be, I don’t know, something about Kant and aesthetic philosophy. I blame myself; I saw Tori on the cover and neglected to read the blurb where it warned me that this book was a “blend of memoir, criticism, and aesthetic theory”.

Sure, I understood where the author was coming from when she explored disgust; the image of Tori suckling a piglet in the album artwork did elicit a WTF response from me when I first saw it in 1996. Perhaps you need to be smarter than I am to fully appreciate the connections between Tori’s music and the philosophical and sociological treatises mentioned in this book but it came across to me as kinda pretentious (sorry!).

In the end, Bourdieu’s sociological lens merely neglects what Kant purposely excludes: the body’s role in aesthetic experience.

I know a lot of people call Tori ‘pretentious’ as well but I just wanted to hear about her songs. I already knew the early Tori biography and had read a lot of the articles referenced. I also didn’t want to keep hearing about Wilson’s book about Céline Dion. I’ve got nothing against Céline (I quite enjoyed her Deadpool 2 music video) but I was here to read about Tori.

While it wasn’t what I was hoping for this book is definitely thoroughly researched and well written, and I expect a lot of Toriphiles will love it. The sections that actually deconstructed Tori’s songs were interesting and I did learn some new (to me) meanings behind lyrics and background information about the media’s portrayal of her. There were several passages I had to highlight including:

Process and product are never far apart in Amos’s music, which is, I suspect, one reason why her answers to questions about what the songs mean can often sound like additional lyrics rather than explanations. For Amos, it seems, to sing and play is to think through a complicated problem out loud, and that thinking is never really finished. Neither is the song; neither, perhaps, is the woman.

I was very disappointed that, in a book about a specific album, some of its songs were barely mentioned, including some of my favourites. In particular, Putting the Damage On is mentioned in passing twice and Talula is only mentioned once! Songs that aren’t even on this album were given more air time.

This series has been on my radar for a number of years and I expected that after reading about Pele I’d be bingeing the rest but it turns out they’re not for me and I’m really bummed about that. I usually have to buy any book written by or about Tori so this is a first for me.

Word of the Book: Abject. Abject and abjection are used a combined 47 times, although it felt closer to 100.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

It’s hard to think of a solo female recording artist who has been as revered or as reviled over the course of her career as Tori Amos. Amy Gentry argues that these violent aesthetic responses to Amos’s performance, both positive and negative, are organized around disgust – the disgust that women are taught to feel, not only for their own bodies, but for their taste in music.

Released in 1996, Amos’s third album, Boys for Pele, represents the height of Amos’s willingness to explore the ugly qualities that make all of her music, even her more conventionally beautiful albums, so uncomfortably, and so wonderfully, strange. Using a blend of memoir, criticism, and aesthetic theory, Gentry argues that the aesthetics of disgust are useful for thinking in a broader way about women’s experience of all art forms.

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Epiphany – Priya Sridhar

Illustrations – Meg Owenson

Kelli has known she can speak to objects and hear them reply for most of her life. Objects will even do what she asks them to. Since her parent’s divorce Kelli has kept quiet about her abilities but after doing paid surveys at the university where her mother works, Kelli’s abilities are suspected by researchers. Kelli joins a group of other children and young adults with potential ESP and telekinesis abilities for a three week study at the university. It isn’t long before the participants begin to disappear.

I enjoyed this book, although I am left with some questions (including why the blurb gave away so much of the story. Yes, I have too, but the blurb paved the way). I think my favourite character was Kelli’s pillow, whose role is to protect and comfort her. I can definitely imagine chatting away to an empathetic pillow when I have trouble sleeping.

I was annoyed by Kelli’s mother’s refusal to believe at the end of the book, despite all that she’d witnessed. She rambles to her daughter, “But Talia insisted on being part of that study anyway. And now look where that got her.” So much blame for Talia, so little responsibility for Kelli’s mother. Surely she would have found out all of the details of the study prior to allowing her daughter to participate.

I wondered how Kelli’s pillow knew what advice to give her but, all things considered, I suppose the pillow could have been given information from the walls. While I witnessed glimpses of what some of the other participants could do they never became characters I was invested in so I’d like to learn more about them.

It made no sense to me that when Kelli sneaks into Talia’s office she uses the computer to message her friend to do research on the person running the experiment instead of just using the desk phone to call her mother for help. We find out in the next chapter that the phone is in the same office as the computer. If the baddie was as smart as they obviously thought they were then they’d have known it was probably not the best idea to experiment on the children of their coworkers. If you’re going to do dodgy experiments on kids then surely anonymity is fairly high on your wish list, right?

While I thought the reason behind Kelli’s powers fading as the experiment progressed was obvious I’m not exactly the target audience for this book. If I was 8 to 12 when I was reading this I’m fairly certain I would have been pleasantly surprised when I learned why this was happening and probably wowed by it.

This book made me think about supposedly inanimate objects. As a kid I believed that objects could feel, long before I’d heard of animism, and even now I find myself unconsciously apologising to my car if I stall her. (Yes, my cars have all had names and personalities. I’ll happily admit to my weirdness.) Anyway … about the inanimate objects in this book.

Do walls and doors talk to one another and if so, what are they saying about us? Since Kelli seems to be the only one who can hear them when they respond to her, do the doors, walls and pillows think humans are essentially rude for refusing to acknowledge them? How does a pillow heat itself on command and can I ask mine to always remain cool? I also wondered how Kelli could drag a bag along the sidewalk, knowing that if she ever spoke to it she’d probably hear about how inconsiderate that was.

Following the end of the story there’s a glossary, discussion questions and writing prompts. From what I can gather from Goodreads there may be at least another two books following this one and I’m definitely interested in hanging out with Kelli again. I really want to know what happens if she ever tells her best friend about her abilities and whether her mother will ever believe they exist.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Kelli talks to objects, and the objects talk back. However, Kelli has kept her powers of ESP and telekinesis hidden until a psychological study notices her potential. Kelli agrees to the psychologist’s program, interested in learning more about her abilities. She also meets other people with powers of their own. But when test subjects begin to disappear, Kelli discovers the curious psychologist is much more like a mad scientist eager for power.

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Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker #2: Incognito – Shelley Johannes

Operation Upside has only just begun and Beatrice has made a big mistake. She secretly awards her teacher a certificate and Mrs Tamarack can’t see the compliment in her ‘Most Strict’ award. Now there’s a Wanted sign hanging in Beatrice’s classroom and if Beatrice is going to avoid detection then she’s going to have to go incognito, which for Beatrice can only mean wearing pink instead of her usual ninja attire.

Flying high was so much easier than lying low.

When incognito Beatrice tries to give helpful Wes an award it winds up in the wrong hands. If Operation Upside is ever going to be successful Beatrice is going to need her thinking cap and a window of opportunity to fix her mistakes and keep herself out of trouble.

I love Beatrice’s irrepressible nature. She’s adorable and while she only wants to make people smile her impulsivity and enthusiasm means that she is incapable of flying below the radar. The quirky illustrations add to the fun of reading this series.

I really liked the inclusion of Sam in this book. Her downcast demeanour, reluctance to speak to her classmates and interest in Morse code added some intrigue to this otherwise lighthearted book and I kept wondering what her backstory was. I would have loved it if Beatrice had wanted to include Sam for any other reason than wanting something from her and her motivation dimmed some of Beatrice’s sparkle for me, but at least they still became friends.

This is a series that I love as an adult and I’m certain I also would have loved it as a kid. I’d recommend reading Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker first to get the background on the main characters, how Operation Upside began and why all of these elementary school girls are playing Veterinary Clinic at recess.

I wish the Morse code alphabet was included at the end of this book. Kid me would have written secret messages to friends in Morse code as soon as I’d finished reading so I would have found it helpful.

I definitely need another Beatrice book and I want to know more about Sam!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

In book two of the Beatrice Zinker series, Operation Upside is finally in full swing! But when Beatrice’s over-enthusiasm lands Mrs. Tamarack with a Strictest Certificate, the team has to scale back a bit.

Lying low is not exactly Beatrice’s strong suit, especially when she sees someone who desperately needs to be recognised. But when the certificate meant for him falls into the wrong hands, Beatrice and Lenny have to find a way to widen their circle once again to save Operation Upside, and themselves, from trouble.

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Us People – Maxwell Gruber

DNF @ 35%

I’ve been trying to read this book since 2017. I read the first 20% and gave up in December because I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I’d been interested in their story based on the blurb but found I didn’t care what happened to them once I started to get to know them. I hate that because I can usually connect with pretty much anything; if a character I like has an emotional connection to a blanket I’ll probably ugly cry if something happens to that blanket.

Since my first attempt I’ve gone back to this book many times and never made it much further. Thinking that surely some time and distance from it would change my mind I’ve tried again. I’m now stuck at 35% and I’m done trying to make this work.

My point of no return was when the main character wakes to a knife in their face and the person holding the knife explaining why:

“Well, when you grabbed that boy and tried to lift him off his feet, that made me feel a certain way. The type of way that makes you feel really, really good inside. So, me not knowing who you were, I wanted to get a better look at you. And let alone, my luck, my chance occurred. You walked right up to me trying to grab some bread. That was when I decided it was meant to be.”

That was when I finally decided that, try as I might, this is never going to be the book for me. I start every book planning on shouting about its brilliance from the rooftops and it always hurts when that’s not the case. I hope other readers do find the connections that I failed to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clovercroft Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. I’m sorry it wasn’t for me.

Once Upon a Blurb

How far is a person willing to go to escape their own personal demons – the bottle, a drug, possibly a vacation? A past mired with trauma and heartbreak, Sam Case seeks what he believes will be the safety of the streets. A place to escape the demons that once haunted him and tugged at the deepest parts of his mind. Struggling to survive with the aid of his best friend Cam, a mentally unstable veteran, Sam finds solace amongst the chaos. Initially an escape from his past, the horrors of insanity and heartbreak coax him back towards confrontation. Sam must make an impossible choice – a stigmatised imprisonment or the freedom of the streets. 

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Manga Classics: Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë

Story Adapter – Crystal S. Chan

Illustrations – SunNeko Lee

Jane Eyre was one of my Nan’s favourite books so I have intended to read it for the past 30 years. Over the years I’ve tried and failed to make it past Jane’s childhood. I was so mad at the way she was treated, especially by Mrs Reed and John, and when I finally made it to the beginning of her time at Lowood I was so infuriated by the injustice of her life that I discarded this story and moved on to something else; probably something with unicorns.

Now I’ve finally learned the rest of the story thanks to manga! While I’m not the hugest fan of Jane’s story due to my romantiphobia (I would like to think that had I been in Jane’s shoes I would have bailed on both potential suitors and enjoyed my life as an independent single woman) I was engaged in her story from beginning to end. I appreciated Jane’s strong will and independent spirit, especially considering the adversity she faced, and I think it was Jane’s perseverance that would have drawn my Nan to this story.

I adored the illustrations in this book, although Jane’s gorgeous doe eyes made it difficult to take her seriously when she spoke of her plain looks. I loved that, in true manga style, this story reads from right to left and was surprised by how quickly I became used to reading this way.

Thank you to NetGalley and UDON Entertainment for the opportunity to read this book. I’m all doe eyes for manga right now and want to work my way through the rest of their Manga Classics series.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

As an orphaned child, Jane Eyre is first cruelly abused by her aunt, then cast out and sent to a charity school. Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education, and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers. 

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Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep – Brenda Gurr

Illustrations – R.J. Palmer

Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep is an interesting introduction to prehistoric sea creatures, providing facts and speculations about their lives based on fossils that have been discovered. The book begins with an overview of the three eras the animals lived in before focusing on various types: Megalodon and other prehistoric sharks, Dunkleosteus and other placoderms, Temnodontosaurus and other ichthyosaurs, Elasmosaurus and other plesiosaurs, Kronosaurus and other pliosaurs, Tylosaurus and other mosasaurs, Livyatan and other prehistoric whales, and an overview of other prehistoric sea monsters. Finally there is some information about modern sea monsters and a glossary.

My favourite facts were:

“T. rex weighed about the same as an African male elephant. But experts think that Megalodon might have weighed about the same as ten elephants!”

“Dunkleosteus had an impressive skill. It could open and close its enormous jaws in a fraction of a second. This was so fast that it created a vacuum that pulled its prey (along with plenty of water) into its mouth.”

“Its eyes are thought to be the largest eyes of any animal – ever. They were almost the size of dinner plates!” [this quote is about Temnodontosaurus]

“Kronosaurus [KRONE-oh-SAWR-us] is a pliosaur named after Kronos, a thoroughly nasty Greek god who swallowed all of his children. (Don’t worry, they turned out fine.)”

“Like a snake, Tylosaurus had a double-hinged jaw.”

“The name Livyatan comes from the Hebrew spelling of Leviathan, a biblical sea monster.”

“Its neck was about three to four times the length of an adult giraffe’s! It made up about half of its body length and contained more than seventy bones.” [this quote is about Elasmosaurus who looks suspiciously liked the Loch Ness monster but apparently isn’t]

I liked the conversational tone of the writing and the comparisons made between animals or objects kids would recognise and the size and weight of the prehistoric creatures described in the book. The length of each animal is illustrated against a coast guard lifeboat. Similar books I’ve read have compared animals to the height of an average adult; as a kid I would have found it easier to imagine an animal’s size if I was using a person as the comparison rather than a boat. Even now I appreciated the pronunciation help for some of the more unusual names.

The illustrations are detailed and the layout is interesting and varied. Photos are also used where possible to show fossils and animals children will be familiar with. A lot of the illustrations feature animals about to eat other animals or engaged in fights, which may be scary for some readers. Occasionally the white writing was difficult to read when it was against a pale background but I read this ARC on an iPad so this may have been fixed prior to publication.

I imagine I would have gotten a good grade if I’d used this book to research a school project and it’s the type of book I would still borrow from the library because you can never know enough cool facts about Megalodon and its meals. I definitely need to check out the Megalodon skeleton that comes with this book (instructions for assembling it are included – whew!).

Thank you so much 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

Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep brings real-life sea monsters back from extinction and up from the ocean depths!

Did you know that the prehistoric mega-shark called Megalodon was thirty times larger than a great white shark? If Megalodon were still alive, it would be able to destroy entire boats and swallow people whole! This nightmare-inducing shark continues to fascinate – and horrify! – shark fans everywhere.

Monster Sharks: Megalodon and Other Giant Prehistoric Predators of the Deep brings to the surface everything there is to know about this famed monster and explores other giant sea monsters from the past, including Tylosaurus (the deadliest marine hunter of its time) and the Elasmosaurus (a swimming reptile with a neck four times longer than a giraffe.)

Bring Megalodon to life with this 17-piece, 8.5″ long, intricately detailed Megalodon skeleton, complete with a 2-part stand. Assemble it yourself! 

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The Lost Diary of Sami Star – Karen McCombie

Hannah is sick of all of the arguments at home between her older sister and their parents. Her friends are drifting away from her. She feels invisible. When she finds a diary at the park she decides to try to find its owner and hopes she may also find a new friend.

In the last few weeks, it’s like the colour has drained out of our happy home. Life in the house feels black and white – and it feels like there’s a blinding spotlight pointing straight at Vix. No one even sees me. I’m in the shadows.

This book touches on bullying, grief and Asperger’s. It’s a quick read that would be suitable for reluctant readers. From the author’s website: “This book, like all books from this particular publisher, is designed so that everyone can read it, including readers with dyslexia (it’s printed on special coloured paper and uses an easy-to-decode font)”.

The chapters are short and there are some really cute illustrations. I particularly liked the illustrated snippets from Sami’s diary, which include polaroids of Sami’s shoes and hairstyle for the day along with a short handwritten ‘Best thing about today’.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Being at home is hard for Hannah. With Mum, Dad and Vix always fighting they’ve got no time for her or her worries, she might as well be invisible. But when she finds an abandoned diary in the park containing snippets and photographs of the colourful life of the mysterious Sami Star, Hannah hopes she’s found the real friend she always needed. Little does Hannah know Sami needs her too …

A heart-warming story of finding friendship in the most unlikely of places. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+

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