Tag: 4 stars

Moth & Whisper Volume 1 – Ted Anderson

Illustrations – Jen Hickman

The Moth and the Whisper were the two great thieves in the city but they haven’t been seen by anyone in almost six months, not even their child, Niki.

Niki’s parents didn’t want them to search for them or put themselves in any danger if they ever disappeared. Naturally Niki, who is a teenager, does the exact opposite, utilising the tools the Moth and the Whisper left behind to try to track them down.

Along the way Niki meets a couple of unlikely allies: Walter

and Moira.

Niki is non-binary (them/they/their). I really liked that this was part of the story and loved that everyone used the correct pronouns, even the villains!

There are some fun action scenes and plenty of handy gadgets that I expect even Q would appreciate. My favourite invention was the Weaver suit, which is “a combination shapeshifting outfit and instant makeup kit.” I would like to place my order for one of these please!

A lot of background information is included in this Volume. I found this useful but would expect less info dumps in future Volumes. The narrative touches on human trafficking and organ dealing. I enjoyed the story and loved Jen Hickman’s illustrations, particularly their use of colour.

Thank you to NetGalley, AfterShock Comics and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I’m looking forward to reading the next Volume.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Everyone knows that the two greatest thieves in the city are the Moth and the Whisper. Very few know that the Moth and the Whisper disappeared six months ago. And what nobody knows is that the new Moth and Whisper are actually one person pretending to be both of them. One supremely skilled but uncertain young genderfluid thief: Niki, the child of the Moth and the Whisper.

Niki has been trained by their parents in the arts of stealth and infiltration, but they’re still just a teenager, and now they’re alone, searching for their parents in a hostile cyberpunk dystopia. Corporations run the streets while crime lords like Ambrose Wolfe run the alleys-identity is a commodity and privacy is impossible. The truth about Niki’s parents and their disappearance is out there, but can Niki survive long enough to find it?

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Unplugged and Unpopular – Mat Heagerty

Illustrations – Tintin Pantoja & Mike Amante

Spoilers Ahead!

Erin Song lives in Culver City, California, with her parents. She hasn’t managed to crack the popularity code yet.

While her best friend Cody doesn’t care about popularity, Erin does. This results in her going against her better judgement and helping the most popular girl in school cheat off her during an exam.

When they get caught Erin’s parents ground her. Her punishment? No access to anything with a screen, so basically her entire existence.

When she’s no longer attached to her phone Erin begins to notice things she never has before, like aliens!

It quickly becomes clear that the aliens haven’t come in peace and it’s up to Erin, her grandmother and twin librarians, Joe and Charlie, to save the world.

I enjoyed the illustrations and use of colour in this graphic novel. I particularly liked it when a noise was mentioned and words to describe it lined up with what was happening, for example, “breaking glass” was spelled with shards of broken glass.

This story takes place in the near future; Erin’s grandmother is pictured as a young woman in the 1980’s and her parents grew up sans internet. While I love that the majority of the heroes live in retirement homes, this story also perpetuates the myth that older people and technology don’t mix. Besides Erin, who’s not using technology because she’s grounded, the only other people in the story who aren’t glued to their devices are elderly.

I don’t think librarians will particularly like the comment about how the internet has resulted in libraries no longer being used. This is certainly not my experience as a frequent library user. All of the librarians I know are very tech savvy and I see people of all ages in my local library.

There are clues early on in the story about what’s really happening if you pay attention to what’s being said and details in the pictures. I loved that the president in this near future version of America is female and I had fun picking up on the background details, like the movie poster advertising Jaws 26. This naturally reminded me of when Doc’s Delorean arrived in 2015 and Marty McFly encountered the hologram shark from Jaws 19.

I really liked the points this story makes about popularity and how invaluable grandparents are in kids’ lives. This graphic novel also includes not so subtle commentary about the overuse of technology, with people so focused on the screen in front of them that they miss out on the reality that’s happening all around them. Considering that this story’s target audience are growing up surrounded by the glow of screens, it makes a good point.

My childhood would have been vastly different if I’d had access to the technology kids have on hand today and while I know I would have loved the internet as a kid I’m consistently grateful that social media didn’t exist back in the Dark Ages of my childhood.

While the majority of the story flowed well for me, I couldn’t figure out how Erin’s grandmother’s retirement home suddenly became an electronics store. Was this somehow part of the mind control? I reread this story to try to make sense of this but I’m still not clear about it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Oni Press for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

After Erin Song’s parents ban her from using her phone, TV, Internet, and all her screens, she soon discovers mysterious, strange creatures and must foil their plot to take over Earth in this hilarious sci-fi graphic novel for tweens.

Erin Song lives in a digital world. Everyone has a phone, a tablet, a computer – more screens than you can count. Even with a world of information at her fingertips, Erin can’t figure out the secret to popularity at her clique-y junior high school. So when uber-popular Wendy asks for help cheating on a test, Erin jumps at the opportunity. This could be her big break! Unfortunately, she gets caught, and her parents ban her from all her devices. Suddenly, Erin Song is the only girl in the world who’s not allowed to look at a screen.

And that’s when Erin notices something funny: small, furry aliens making humans disappear with a weird device Erin’s never seen before. No one else notices them, though – except Erin’s grandmother and two old men who run the local library. They’ve discovered that the aliens are using screens to control the human race, tricking them into thinking they aren’t really there – and that anyone who’s been abducted never existed. 

Now it’s up to Erin and her grandmother to save the day! But without technology on their side, do they stand a chance?

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The Animal Awards – Martin Jenkins

Illustrations – Tor Freeman

I just can’t go past a kid’s book that tells me fun facts about animals. This fascination has led to me knowing the most random and strange little tidbits about all sorts of animals, and I can’t stop. So, here’s another one! Unlike others I’ve read, this one presents awards to the winners in each category.

Each award is granted two pages, incorporating information and illustrations. Beside learning the name of the animal that has won each of these prestigious awards, I also learned the type of animal they were (insect, bird, mammal, reptile, etc), where they live and for how long, and what their diet consists of. Then there’s information specific to the award they’ve won and other interesting facts.

Relevant information about other animals was also included. For example, while the chimpanzee won the coveted Nifty Tool-User Award, other animals that also use tools are mentioned, including sea otters.

A couple of times there was no overall winner for the category but instead several winners for its subcategories, such as the Family Awards, where winners were selected for the cool dad award, mom-of-the-year award, loyal couple award and great-grandmother award.

My favourite awards were the:

  • Enlightenment Award, which was won by the Deep-Sea Anglerfish. I am fascinated by bioluminescence and I have a soft spot for strange animals that are unlikely to win any beauty pageants.
  • Deep Sea Diver Award, which was awarded to the Cuvier’s beaked whale, who was also awarded my Favourite New Fact Award for this marvel: “Its longest and deepest dive recorded so far lasted for an amazing 2 hours and 17 minutes, with a descent of nearly 10,000 feet below the surface of the sea.” The runners up in this category were also given medals.

I usually prefer fact books to include photographs of the animals but I had fun looking at Tor Freeman’s illustrations. The animals were expressive and had character, and I loved the winners pictured with their award on display. Their poses often reflected the attribute that won them their award and the backgrounds were effective, simple enough to place the animals in their native environment but not so detailed that they took away the focus from the stars themselves. I particularly loved the chameleon, who looks very proud to have won its award.

I learned some new facts about some of my favourite animals and encountered a few animals that I previously knew very little about. If this book had been available when I was a kid I definitely would have borrowed it from the library for a school assignment. The information would have made me sound smarter than I was and I’m almost positive I would have traced some of the illustrations to spruce up my assignment as even drawing a legible stick figure has only ever had a 50/50 shot of success with me at best.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for granting my wish to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Fifty fantastic creatures are awarded prizes to celebrate their most dazzling talents and some unusual skills. Roll up, roll up! The Animal Awards are about to begin. Who will win the Terrific Teeth Award? Who will claim the title of Most Smelly? Who will win the prize for Best at Pretending To Be A Plant? Celebrate with 50 brilliant animals from around the world who represent nature’s rich tapestry.

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Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me – Anna Mehler Paperny

This book is part memoir and part journalistic investigation, with a fair amount of acknowledged subjectivity based on the author’s experiences with depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, and various treatments. In trying to explain the contents of this book I couldn’t go past this quote:

It’s an uncomfortably personal exploration of a sickeningly common illness no one likes talking about, one that remains under-treated and poorly treated and grossly inequitably treated in part because of our own squeamishness in confronting it or our own denial of its existence as an illness and the destruction it wreaks when left to its own devices.

I found myself cycling between wondering how wise it was to be describing the methods used in so much detail because it could potentially be read as instructions in the wrong/right hands and admonishing myself for wanting to control the narrative because people who live with suicidal ideation are already silenced in so many ways.

It’s difficult to sit and think about depression and suicide for any extended period of time and I did find my mood changing as I read, especially the early sections where the author recounts her “entry point into a labyrinthine psychiatric care system via the trapdoor of botched self-obliteration”. I think I’d be more concerned if reading a book like this didn’t have any impact on me, though. I was able to binge watch some TV to effectively switch the channels in my brain for a while for some respite. I am keenly aware that this is a luxury someone experiencing chronic depression and/or suicidal ideation do not have.

While some of the information contained in this book is specific to Canada and/or America, overall there’s something for pretty much everyone. Given the prevalence of depression, it’s likely to have touched your life in some way, either personally or through someone you love.

This book:

  • Demystifies suicide – no, asking someone if they are considering suicide does not cause someone who isn’t suicidal to suddenly become so
  • Offers some protective measures – loved ones, curiosity, procrastination
  • Discusses various treatment options – “pharmacological treatment of mental disorders has all the precision of surgery conducted with a chainsaw”
  • Outlines some studies and research
  • Highlights the additional barriers to getting treatment if you’re not white or you’re poor or from a remote community or a child or Indigenous or from a culture that shames seeking mental health treatment or, heaven forbid, any combination of these – “We fail the most marginalized at every level, then wonder why they worsen”; and
  • Provides insights into depression and suicide through stories of people who’ve experienced them up close and personal.

I found some of the language used in this book referencing mental illness iffy at best: “nuts”, “crazy”, “nutbars”. While I’m never going to be okay with those words myself, I don’t have the right to tell someone who’s describing their experience what words they’re allowed to use to do so.

Subsumed by such an agency-stealing disease, we need all the empowering we can get.

While it covered a lot of information I already knew (I’ve read a lot previously in this area), I learned about some studies and potential future treatments I wasn’t aware of and the details of the author’s experiences in hospital opened my eyes.

I appreciated the author’s honesty and her down to earth approach, which made difficult topics more accessible for me. The amount of interviews with various health professionals, researchers and others who are consistently dealing with mental illness provided a well rounded exploration, with a variety of points of view.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone whose work involves interaction with people who experience mental illness as it holds valuable insights into what it’s like to have to live with an illness that people silence, shame and shy away from.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

In her early twenties, while outwardly thriving in her dream job and enjoying warm familial support and a strong social network, award-winning journalist Anna Mehler Paperny found herself trapped by feelings of failure and despair. Her first suicide attempt – ingesting a deadly mix of sleeping pills and antifreeze – landed her in the ICU, followed by weeks of enforced detention that ran the gamut of horrifying, boring, hilarious, and absurd. This was Anna’s entry into the labyrinthine psychiatric care system responsible for providing care to millions of Canadians.

As she struggled to survive the psych ward and as an outpatient- enduring the “survivor’s” shame of facing concerned family, friends, and co-workers; finding (or not) the right therapist, the right meds; staying healthy, insured, and employed – Anna could not help but turn her demanding journalist’s eye on her condition and on the system in which she found herself. She set off on a quest to “know her enemy,” interviewing leading practitioners in the field across Canada and the US – from psychiatrists to neurological experts, brain-mapping pioneers to heroic family practitioners, and others dabbling in novel hypotheses.

She reveals in courageously frank detail her own experiences with the pharmacological pitfalls and side effects of long-term treatment, and offers moving case studies of conversations with others, opening wide a window into how we treat (and fail to treat) the disease that accounts for more years swallowed up by disability than any other in the world. 

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Abbott – Saladin Ahmed

Illustrations – Sami Kivelä

Colours – Jason Wordie

Spoilers Ahead!

Abbott is a 2019 Hugo Awards finalist in the Best Graphic Story category.

I’m not sure how to talk about this graphic novel without providing some information about the plot, so … Warning: potential spoilers ahead!

This is Elena Abbott.

She’s a reporter for the Detroit Daily and as a black woman in 1972, she’s practically surrounded by racist and misogynistic white men. The newspaper board members and most of the police force aren’t exactly thrilled about her reporting the truth, particularly when it involves police brutality.

Having barely begun her new investigation into some eerily similar and grisly murders, Abbott discovers the perpetrators aren’t the usual suspects (hint: the police force’s usual suspects aren’t white). Instead, Abbott is soon face to face with a supernatural blast from the past.

Abbott tries to tell James, both a police sergeant and her ex-husband, about the shadows she sees on the second body.

They’re the same shadows that she saw on her husband, Samir, when he died. He called them the Umbra. Abbott seeks help from Sebastian, who tells her to stop running from her calling.

“Whether you accept it or not, Elena Abbott, you were born to wield the light. But there are those born to wield the shadow. Where your paths cross, blood will spill.”

Abbott is a chain smoker who enjoys her daily two glasses of brandy and drives a 1966 V8 Mustang. I got the feeling she’s not typically a huge believer in the whole ‘calling’ thing.

Later, Abbott has a conversation with Amelia, who has a message of her own. One that involves a gun. Amelia also happens to be romantically involved with Abbott but Abbott’s keeping this under wraps right now.

I was hit with so much information in the beginning of this graphic novel. I didn’t know how it would all fit together and I wasn’t sure I would care when it did. Then I met my first shadow monster and it was all over for me from that moment on; I needed to keep reading.

Much like Saga, which I’ve recently binged for my Hugo readathon, it seems like it’s not a good idea to become emotionally involved with any of the characters in Abbott. My two favourite characters didn’t survive this graphic novel but, although I’m preparing to harden my heart as we speak, I hadn’t grown to love them yet.

I’m giving this graphic novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ instead of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for two reasons: it took a while for the story to get its hooks into me and I don’t desperately need a sequel, even though I’m left with some unanswered questions and loose ends. Overall though, this was a very entertaining read.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

While investigating police brutality and corruption in 1970s Detroit, journalist Elena Abbott uncovers supernatural forces being controlled by a secret society of the city’s elite.

In the uncertain social and political climate of 1972 Detroit, hard-nosed, chain-smoking tabloid reporter Elena Abbott investigates a series of grisly crimes that the police have ignored. Crimes she knows to be the work of dark occult forces. Forces that took her husband from her. Forces she has sworn to destroy.

Hugo Award-nominated novelist Saladin Ahmed (Star Wars: Canto Bight, Black Bolt) and artist Sami Kivelä (Beautiful Canvas) present one woman’s search for the truth that destroyed her family amidst an exploration of the systemic societal constructs that haunt our country to this day.

Collects Abbott 1-5.

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Sweet Valley High #1: Academic All-Star? – Katy Rex

Illustrations – Devaki Neogi

After spending much time, effort and money going through an ‘if I could turn back time’ phase several years ago collecting The Baby-Sitters Club books, I turned my attention to another set of childhood memories, those involving Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. After more time, effort, money and an entire box full of Sweet Valley High books later I realised how impossibly large the task I’d set for myself really was.

It turns out Sweet Valley High series not only contained over 150 books, but it also had multiple Super Editions, Super Thrillers, Super Stars, Magna Editions and TV Editions. Then there were the plethora of spinoffs, which themselves oftentimes had their own special editions:

  • Sweet Valley Kids with Super Snoopers, Hair Raiser Super Special and Super Specials
  • Sweet Valley Twins with Super Editions, Super Chillers, Magna Editions, The Unicorn Club and Team Sweet Valley
  • Sweet Valley Junior High
  • Sweet Valley High Senior Year
  • Sweet Valley University with Super Thrillers
  • Elizabeth
  • Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later
  • The Sweet Life.

Eek! When I encountered these apparently never ending lists I reluctantly admitted defeat. I had to consider my sanity, budget and let’s not forget the need for magical, never ending bookcases. Then there was the fact that I hadn’t read a single SVH book since the 90’s so who knew if I’d even enjoy them as an adult!

So here we are, several years later and I still haven’t picked up my second hand copy of Double Love yet. Stumbling upon this graphic novel feels like cheating in a way but what a fun way to figure out if a SVH readathon will be in my near future or not.

I remember feeling so grown up reading the early books in the series on the beach as a pre-teen and having in depth conversations with friends about whether we were Jessica’s or Elizabeth’s. I always aspired to be like Elizabeth because she was the smart yet still gorgeous twin, the one who liked reading (what a surprise!) and I also aspired to find my own Todd. What was I thinking?! I don’t remember him being so vapid, whingey and clingy.

Ugh! Run, Elizabeth, run! Run as fast as you can!

Meanwhile, Jessica is being typical Jessica. She missed too many English classes so she has to take a class at Sweet Valley University, where the boys are older and much more mature than high school boys. Naturally the one she’s interested in is a T.A. Never one to shy away from manipulating a situation for her own benefit, Jessica decides she needs to dress more like Elizabeth so she can appear smarter and get her man!

As usual, Jessica is in love with the idea of being in love but there’s more to this crush than meets the eye. I seem to recall boy trouble and twin swaps being fairly consistent plot points in the original series and they’re front and centre here as well.

Jessica and her friends mention the Boosters several times, which is weird as this is Sweet Valley High. As far as I knew the Boosters were the Sweet Valley Middle School cheerleading squad from Sweet Valley Twins, not the high school one, whose name (if they had one) escapes me.

I wasn’t entirely sure about the introduction of modern technology in Sweet Valley but I didn’t mind after I got used to it. I even liked Jessica’s Instagram name: DEVILINABLUEJESS.

It may be due to the nature of the format or perhaps time has dampened my recollections but all of the characters’ personalities seem amplified in this graphic novel and it makes for a fun, dramatic read. When I was about halfway through the story I wasn’t sure I’d want to continue but with the introduction of a new boy (of course he’s cute! Isn’t that one of the prerequisites for living in Sweet Valley?) and some deviously unanswered questions dangling in the air I think I’ve accidentally gotten hooked. I’ll be there for the next installment and I expect to have as much nostalgic fun as I did during this one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Dynamite Entertainment and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

When Jessica falls in love with her Shakespeare teacher, she begins to act like her studious twin sister Elizabeth to impress him. Now it’s up to Elizabeth to make sure that all’s well that end well – but with Jessica playing her role, will anyone be able to tell which twin is which?

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In the Shadow of Spindrift House – Mira Grant

I fell in love with Julie Dillon’s cover illustration at first sight. It’s so delightfully ominous and between the house that should be mine and the promise of tentacled creepiness I was sold. I may have already been sold by the fact that my all time favourite author wrote it but even if I hadn’t, that illustration would have clinched the deal. Having said that, this is the first Seanan/Mira book I’ve read where I didn’t fall in love at first page and I feel like I’ve somehow failed as a reader.

Spindrift House has had a great deal of time to decide what it wants to be, and what it wants to be is unforgiving.

On a hillside in Port Mercy, Maine, “A Healthy Place for Families”, you will find Spindrift House. It was built some time in the 1800’s and while local legends disagree on many of the details, everyone agrees it was built by someone who wasn’t a local, someone who died soon afterwards by falling from its widow’s walk.

There’s a mystery about Spindrift House that needs to be solved and the Answer Squad (this book’s Mystery Incorporated equivalent, minus Scooby-Doo and Scooby Snacks) are certain they’re up for the task. The Answer Squad are:

Harlowe– “cryptography fanatic, mystery freak, beloved nerd”. Harlowe, the brains of the Squad, is a girl with a tragic past. She’s in love with Addison and is the foster sister of Kevin.

Kevin – foster brother of Harlowe. Kevin lives on a family farm with his mother, he has an older brother and adores his pet chickens. He doesn’t date.

Addison – best friend of Harlowe and Andy’s twin. She snores and shares the role of “being the beauty and being the bruiser” with Andy.

Andy – Addison’s twin. He’s the quiet one and has anxiety.

The difficulty with being a recognized member of a teen detective club is that “teen” was always a limited-time offer.

Harlowe doesn’t want to lose her found family and hopes that solving the mystery of Spindrift House will keep the Squad together.

Once we reached Spindrift House, nothing would be simple, or predictable. We were counting on it. The word for a simple, predictable mystery is “solved.”

This is a Mira Grant novella. There’s no such thing as simple.

And you may want to stop reading now because I’m about to go off on a really weird tangent but for some reason I can’t help myself. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So, I’m not one to shy away from telling anyone who will listen about Seanan McGuire. Every Heart a Doorway was life changing for me and secured her place as my favourite author of all time. While I still have many, many of her books to read I’ve figured out that, while written by the same literary extraordinaire and having definite similarities, Seanan and Mira books have different flavours. It’s like they’re both caramel but Mira books are salted caramel, or perhaps because of the sciency bits, they’re more like NaCh caramel.

While this book was labelled salted caramel it felt more like caramel with some geometry, so maybe caramel of a specific shape, one without straight lines. While I love all caramel I was expecting one type and although there were traces of it, I also found more of the type I wasn’t expecting. Why did I use that analogy?! Now, not only have I confused myself, I’m hungry too.

“Some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved.”

Anyway, while I enjoyed this read I’m not desperate to reread it, and that’s a first for me with Seanan/Mira. I didn’t connect with these characters, the ending felt rushed and I feel like I somehow messed up an incantation or something, because I didn’t feel the magic I’ve experienced while reading literally every other book of hers so far.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Nature abhors a straight line. The natural world is a place of curves and softened edges, of gentle mists and welcoming spirals. Nature remembers deviation; nature does not forgive.

For Harlowe Upton-Jones, life has never been a straight line. Shipped off to live with her paternal grandparents after a mysterious cult killed her mother and father, she has grown up chasing the question behind the curve, becoming part of a tight-knit teen detective agency. But “teen” is a limited time offer, and when her friends start looking for adult professions, it’s up to Harlowe to find them one last case so that they can go out in a blaze of glory.

Welcome to Spindrift House.

The stories and legends surrounding the decrepit property are countless and contradictory, but one thing is clear: there are people willing to pay a great deal to determine the legal ownership of the house. When Harlowe and her friends agree to investigate the mystery behind the manor, they do so on the assumption that they’ll be going down in history as the ones who determined who built Spindrift House – and why. The house has secrets. They have the skills. They have a plan. They have everything they need to solve the mystery.

Everything they need except for time. Because Spindrift House keeps its secrets for a reason, and it has no intention of letting them go.

Nature abhors a straight line.

Here’s where the story bends. 

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Paper Girls Volume 2 – Brian K. Vaughan

Illustrations – Cliff Chiang

Colours – Matt Wilson

Spoilers Ahead!

A note about spoilers: I don’t know how to review this Volume without including them, especially since I’m using this review to remind myself of what I already know when I make it to Volume 3. Please proceed with caution if you haven’t already read this Volume.

Tiffany, Mac and Erin had a really weird All Saints morning in 1988 and now their friend KJ is missing. Or maybe they are because here they are, standing in front of Erin (same Erin, but all grown up) in 2016. Cue The Twilight Zone theme right about now.

Meanwhile, the old-timers in 1988 seem to think they know what happened. Our girls have been “timelined”, same place, different time. Except they could be “anywhere in time” so that doesn’t exactly narrow things down for the old-timers.

The Cardinal is the lady in the stormtrooper cosplay, the guy with the white beard is Grand Father, whose mother was born in 2016, and the one on the left? Yeah, that’s a pterodactyl!

Then, as if two Erins weren’t enough, a third one shows up.

This one actually seems to know what’s going on and I’m guessing this is probably not all that unusual of a conversation for a Uber driver and their passenger to be having.

This creature shows up. He’s a gigantic tardigrade.

Then there’s this maggot.

Okay, so the massive creepy crawlies aren’t the prettiest. But at least this happens.

Yes, please Erin III. Please give me all the answers.

We learn the Erin I’m calling Erin III (red backpack Erin) is actually a clone and she knows Naldo and Uncle (?) Heck, the teenagers from another time that helped our four original paper girls in the first Volume. Although when both of the new Erins are telling our paper girls different things, who are they supposed to trust?

We may not know much about the old-timers (or anyone, really) yet but we now know that old-timers travel in some serious style. Check this awesomeness out!

We even get a glimpse of the future in this Volume and while it looks pretty interesting, it appears global warming has followed through on at least one of its promises.

While I’d much rather read a book than keep up with what’s happening in the world of politics I did appreciate the not so subtle political jabs included in this Volume.

Raising all sorts of fun Back to the Future-ish quandaries and space-time continuum conundrums, including what to do if you find out you don’t exist in the future, I found this second Volume a lot easier to follow than the first. I’m now keen to continue the series, despite and maybe even because it raises interesting and potentially scary questions, like what your kid self would think of the adult you became and what you’d want to tell your kid self if you met them now.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

After surviving the strangest night of their lives in the Cleveland suburb of Stony Stream, intrepid young newspaper deliverers Erin, Mac, and Tiffany find themselves launched from 1988 to a distant and terrifying future … the year 2016.

What would you do if you were suddenly confronted by your 12-year-old self? 40-year-old newspaper reporter Erin Tieng is about to find out in this action-packed story about identity, mortality, and growing older in the 21st century.

Collects Paper Girls 6-10.

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Hot Dog! #6: Movie Time! – Anh Do

Illustrations – Dan McGuinness

Best friends Hotdog the dog, Kev the cat and Lizzie the lizard are enjoying their ice creams when Hotdog finds something exciting – posters advertising acting auditions for a new movie called The Volcano Monster! Hotdog wants to be the ninja, Kev wants to be the ballerina and Lizzie wants to be the volcano monster.

It’s only a week until the auditions so the friends need to start training if they’re going to be as heroic, brave and terrifying as the movie makers need them to be. The trio help each other perfect the talents they will need to show during their auditions. The only problem is that Lizzy is scared of heights and a volcano monster isn’t.

I always enjoy the humour in Anh’s books, even though it’s usually of the dad joke variety and super cheesy. This series always majors on friendship, with teamwork, being a good sport and looking out for others at the forefront, so there’s always a great message beneath all of the fun.

Once things quite literally heat up in this story it did wander into ‘don’t try this at home, kids!’ territory so it may be a good idea to follow up with your child after you finish reading to make sure they know that the ways the main characters deal with danger here isn’t something your child should attempt to replicate.

Dan McGuiness illustrates this series and once again he’s captured both the heart of the characters and the humour of the author. Be on the lookout for some cute porcupines, Kev in a tutu and a cucumber on an amusement park ride. The kitchen sink is even thrown in for good measure.

Each book in this series has splashes of a specific colour (usually in two or three shades) that make the illustrations pop; key words are also coloured to match. The colour for this book is red, which seemed appropriate given the volcano monster movie is central to the story.

While not my favourite book in this series it’s nonetheless a really entertaining read and I’ll be looking out for the next adventure featuring Hotdog, Kev and Lizzie.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Hotdog, Lizzie and Kev want to be movie stars! But first they’ll have to try out with all the other actors to find the perfect roles. 

Do Hotdog and his friends have what it takes to get the parts?

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Not Hungry – Kate Karyus Quinn

Lie #1 – “I’m not hungry.”

June is hungry. All the time. When she’s not starving herself she’s bingeing and purging, but because she’s overweight no one realises she has an eating disorder. All they see is a fat girl on a diet.

“The purging place,”
I call it.

Where I bury my shame.

Lie #2 – “I’m fine.”

June isn’t fine. Neither is her sister, Mae, whose boyfriend treats her like garbage. Neither is Toby, who lives next door and has secrets of his own.

Everyone has secrets.

Lie #3 – “It’ll be okay.”

Like most lies, it’s the thing we most wish was true.

This is a short book written in verse that introduces a variety of issues that many teens deal with, including eating disorders and fat shaming. The story flows well and it was easy to follow along with who everyone was and their relationships to one another.

The ending felt a bit rushed and too neat for me, but I still managed to get all of the answers I wanted. I didn’t become emotionally involved with any of the characters, but I thought the author did well to include all of the details they did with a limited word count. Even though I didn’t get attached to any specific character I could have quite happily strangled Mae’s boyfriend for her and I was certainly not a fan of Toby.

Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 Books, an imprint of Enslow Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book. I love hi-lo books! Hi-Lo are high-interest, low-readability books and I love that I live in a world where these books exist. On their website, West 44 Books advises their young adult books are Reading Level: 3-4, Interest Level: 9-12.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

June is fat. June also has an eating disorder, but no one sees. When she doesn’t eat, her friends and family think they see a fat girl on a diet, not someone starving herself. When June’s secret is found out by Toby, the new boy next door, she is panicked. Then she learns he also has a secret. Everyone has their own little lies.

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