Tag: 5 stars

Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends Through the Decades – Disney Storybook Artists

Mickey Mouse made his cartoon debut in 1929 in Plane Crazy with his girlfriend Minnie. Since then Walt’s creations have made their way into so many hearts around the world, including mine. Family members have long joked that they’re going to drop me off at Disney World; promising they’ll come visit me at my new home from time to time.

I have zero artistic ability but a Disney book was always going to pique my interest. I was expecting the step by step instructions to recreate Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the gang but I didn’t realise I’d also find such an interesting history lesson about the introduction and progression through the decades of my childhood friends.

I loved the animation timeline shown at the bottom of the information pages and I adored the layout of the entire book. You can really see the progression of Mickey and his pals throughout the years in the frames from classic cartoons. There are also tips on the illustration pages that will help bring out the characters’ expressions and personalities.

I didn’t think for a second that I’d have a chance at replicating any of the step by step masterpieces and chuckled to myself when I thought about the scary monstrosities I could come up with from trying to attempt just Step 1. However, when I looked at the illustrations objectively, I could see how they would help someone who can already draw turn their pencil strokes into something that would make Walt himself proud. I do think this would be too advanced for most kids though.

The projects begin with 1920’s Mickey and Minnie, along with Pete from Steamboat Willie (who was actually first drawn as a bear three years before Mickey was born).

In the 1930’s audiences were introduced to Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, Daisy Duck and Mortimer Mouse. Goofy and Daisy originally had different names. The 1930’s projects teach you Pluto, Goofy, Donald, Huey, Dewey and Louie, as well as 1930’s versions of Mickey and Minnie.

The 1940’s & Beyond section includes my favourite illustration; Mickey as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. There are also other more modern Mickey’s and Minnie’s to draw, as well as Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck.

Fun Fact: Did you know that 1943’s Pluto and the Armadillo was the last time Mickey wore his iconic red shorts until 1995?

While this book will certainly appeal to artists, the additional information about Mickey and co. along with the promotional posters and photos of such Disney awesomeness like the desk where Mickey was drawn for 45 years elevates this book to Disneyana status. I loved it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster for the opportunity to drool over this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends Through the Decades is a must-have collector’s item that celebrates the world’s most beloved mouse and his pals through step-by-step drawing projects and vintage artwork from the Disney archives.

On November 18, 1928, Walt Disney unveiled a cartoon character who would soon become one of the most recognisable global icons: Mickey Mouse. Since then, Mickey has touched the lives of fans of all ages, all around the world. For more than 90 years,Mickey has undergone several transformations, changing in appearance from his premiere appearance in “Steamboat Willie” in the 1920s to the modern mouse we know and love today. A collection of vintage artwork from the Disney archives reveals early designs, sketches, and poses of Mickey Mouse, as well as other classic characters, such as Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck.

This book celebrates Mickey and his friends with 128 pages of art instruction and animation history, making it a covetable collector’s item for any Disney enthusiast or aspiring artist interested in learning to draw in vintage cartoon style.

Featured projects include the evolving looks of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Each section of drawing lessons is categorised by style and decade in Disney history. Artists and fans alike will find interesting anecdotes and facts sprinkled throughout Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends Through the Decades, for a well-rounded collector’s experience that is sure to entertain and enlighten. 

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Skyward Volume 1: My Low-G Life – Joe Henderson

Illustrations – Lee Garbett

Colours – Antonio Fabela

I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, mostly because of that gorgeous cover and the flying. Who doesn’t wish they could fly?!

Willa was just a baby on G-Day when most of Earth’s gravity disappeared, her mother floated away and her father confined himself to their apartment. Twenty years later Willa wants to see the world but is stuck working and paying the bills while her father hides inside.

Not only did Willa’s father somehow predict G-Day, he also claims to know how to fix it but evil Mr Barrow will do whatever it takes to stop him. After all, Mr Barrow has profited from G-Day and is currently living the high life (low life?) on street level courtesy of the gravity boots he invented.

I loved the illustrations and colours used in this volume and especially enjoyed finding out what a rainstorm looks like in this low gravity world.

I have a lot of questions about how this new world works and hope to find out more when Willa reads her dad’s journal, maybe in the next volume because – cliffhanger! Grr!

There’s violence in this series, with floating blood droplets (and also some gag inducing floating beads of sweat), so it felt like it was more suitable for a young adult audience. I wish there was more depth to the characters, particularly the boring and clichéd baddie, but I’m interested to see what happens next.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

One day, gravity on Earth suddenly became a fraction of what it is now. Twenty years later, humanity has adapted to its new low-gravity reality. And to Willa Fowler, a woman born just after G-day, it’s … well, it’s pretty awesome, actually. You can fly through the air! I mean, sure, you can also die if you jump too high. So you just don’t jump too high. And maybe don’t get mixed up in your Dad’s secret plan to bring gravity back that could get you killed …

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Snoopy: Boogie Down! – Charles M. Schulz

It’s Charlie Brown and the gang so naturally I devoured this book as soon as it downloaded on my iPad. I’ve now finished my reread and all I can think is that I need to save up for the inevitable. One of these days I’m going to own the entire collection of Peanuts so I will always have smiles at my fingertips.

I was surprised by the amount of comics in this collection that I’d never read before. There will be kids who are discovering Peanuts who’ll no doubt ask their parents what some of the now dated references mean but they are few and far between. I loved that this collection was in colour so even the comics I already knew and loved felt fresh.

Snoopy continues his battle of wits with the creative bully cat next door

and we wait with Linus and Marci for the Great Grape. (Sorry, Linus, I was just messing with you. Unlike Marci I know it’s the Great Pumpkin!)

Peppermint Patty asks for Marci’s help to stay awake in class and Sally talks to the school building and seeks protection against the powers of darkness, i.e., the third grader whose ruler she broke. Charlie Brown checks his calendar to see if there’s anything coming up that he needs to dread, Schroeder plays piano and is annoyed by Lucy, Lucy dispenses 5 cents worth of wisdom, Snoopy’s brother Spike visits, Woodstock saves the day, and Pig-Pen even makes an appearance. My favourite comics included delightfully dour Eudora, who Sally first meets at camp.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to giggle my way through this collection of comics. I’m already looking forward to the next collection.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Is your baseball team getting beat sixty-eight to nothing? Are you caught in the rain without an umbrella? Have you finally worked up the courage to call your crush only to get the wrong number? Don’t worry! The Peanuts gang has the cure for your worries.

Join Linus as he awaits the Great Pumpkin, Peppermint Patty as she faces off against an entire hockey team, and Snoopy as he attempts to eat the largest sandwich he’s ever seen. Sally befriends the new girl at school, Eudora, only to find a rival for the affection of her Sweet Babboo. And Charlie Brown searches for a home for Snoopy’s mysterious brother, Spike.

So put on your top hat, fancy tie and dancing shoes, and join Snoopy and the rest of the gang in this boogielicious new collection of classic Peanuts comics.

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A Story of Patience & Fortitude #1: Lost in the Library – Josh Funk

Illustrations – Stevie Lewis

I first met Patience and Fortitude over thirty years ago when Venkman and Stanz passed them on their way to meet Egon and spend some quality time with the library ghost. I learned their names this week. I’ve wanted to live in the New York Public Library since my first Ghostbusters experience. Now that I’ve read this book I know that if I ever get to visit this wonderful place I will be imagining Patience and Fortitude’s adventures as well as keeping an eye out for my favourite spectral librarian.

One morning Fortitude wakes before dawn and discovers that Patience isn’t sitting on his plinth.

Concerned, Fortitude enters the library and searches for his friend. He asks for help from those he meets inside including the statue called Frolicsome Girl. Fortitude knows he needs to find Patience before dawn so they can return to their posts and greet the library’s visitors.

This is one of the best kid’s books I’ve read this year. The rhymes are lovely, the story is about friendship, the setting is a library, the illustrations are beautiful and the answer to the mystery of Patience’s location is bookish! I’ve read this book twice so far and I’ve smiled my way through it both times. My eyes may have gotten a little misty towards the end of my reread; it’s just such a beautiful story!

What I found especially interesting was the Get to Know the New York Public Library! page at the end of the book. I was able to learn about the different rooms Fortitude visited in his search for Patience, as well as the statues and paintings he spoke to. The dot points made the story really come alive for me and solidified this library’s place on my bucket list. My favourite fact was about Patience and Fortitude, which reads in part:

They have perched there since 1911 and were given their names in the 1930s by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in recognition of the qualities he felt New Yorkers would need to survive the Great Depression.

I have to buy this book and find a kid to read it to!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Steadfast Fortitude and curious Patience are waiting every morning to greet visitors of the Library.

That is until, one early morning, when Fortitude finds Patience is missing. The city is about to awake, and the lions absolutely must be in their places before the sun rises. Now, Fortitude must abandon his own post to find his best friend in the Library’s labyrinthine halls.

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Nature Craft – Fiona Hayes

This book is adorable! I’ve come across so many kid’s craft books that contain instructions that I doubt I could follow, let alone the child that’s supposed to be able to construct the marvellous creations. Thankfully this isn’t one of those books.

With step by step instructions accompanied by step by step illustrations and photos of the final masterpieces this is the type of book that makes me want to borrow one of your kids so I’m not the only one having fun making all of this cuteness. There are also templates included for the shapes you need to cut out. I love that the basics of each project come from nature so there’s a built in excuse to wander outside and rummage for an assortment of items including feathers, twigs and seashells.

While each project also requires additional crafty items there’s nothing overly expensive on any of the lists and a lot of items are used for multiple projects. Besides the items specific to each project you’ll also need:

  • PVA glue or a cool-melt glue gun
  • Paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Felt-tip pens
  • Pencils
  • Scissors
  • Ruler.

The animal projects in this book are “Aww!” worthy with sweet little faces and googly eyes. I can definitely see kids wanting to make these for themselves and if I was a parent my kidlet would earn a serious amount of brownie points if I received any of these critters as a gift.

I anticipate this book being a hit with parents, babysitters, teachers and child care workers, along with adults like me who will most likely be pretending we’re buying the items at the craft store for our non-existent children. I want to make the owl, the tortoise, the rabbit, the dragonfly, the mice, the penguins, the tree frogs, the lizard, the hedgehog, the dinosaur, the mushrooms … Okay, fine! I want to make everything!

If you’re like me and your crafty enthusiasm outweighs your crafty expertise then it looks like the worst that could happen is that your finished critter will have more character than intended. I can definitely see a craft day with my mother coming soon.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – QEB for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Make fun animals and objects from nature’s finest materials! Collect twigs, fir cones, feathers, leaves, shells, and pebbles from your yard, park, or vacation, and create animals and objects with them.

Stunning projects included are a bird nest bowl made with feathers and leaves, a nut mask and feather mask, seed pod flowers, and fir cone owls, a feathery bird bookmark, fir cone fish mobile, painted snail shells, and a twinkling night light jar. Learn about the nature around you whilst being creative.

Perfect activities for parents and children to do together. Over 40 crafty makes feature a well-balanced mix of techniques, materials and colours for a range of ages. 

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Black Bird of the Gallows #2: Keeper of the Bees – Meg Kassel

I need all of the stars for this one but it feels more appropriate to say it like this: 💛🐝🖤🐝💛

I was initially denied early access to this book and I completely understood why. This is the type of book I’m supposed to want to avoid. The love between this girl and (sort of) boy is insta and as sweet as honey (sorry, I had to go there) so it makes perfect sense that a romantiphobe should steer clear. So why did I beg for it? Because I should have wanted to stay far, far away from its companion, Black Bird of the Gallows and I really enjoyed that, so I just knew this would be the book for me, despite everything that screamed otherwise.

What attracted me to Black Bird of the Gallows was intense insta cover love and I was quite shocked when I also loved the story. This time around, while another gorgeous cover drew me to it, my memory of being drawn into Angie and Reece’s story (and love) gave me the confidence that Keeper of the Bees was for me. However, I didn’t expect to love this one more!

Our main characters, Essie and Dresden, are both damaged, victims of cursed lives. People either don’t even notice them at all or steer clear of them. They’re desperately lonely outcasts. Essie experiences a reality that ‘normal’ people don’t and her hallucinations cause people to fear her. Dresden is a beekeeper, feeding off peoples’ fear and condemned to wear the features of the victims of his curse. Their instalove appears doomed from the get go and although this goes against my very being to say this, I was hoping their love would find a way from their introduction.

There’s something about the agony of the person they once were fighting against what their curses have transformed them into that I really connected to. Essie’s struggle to distinguish the boundaries between the reality she sees and the reality others see was heart-wrenching. The struggle of a beekeeper, being bound to an existence where over the course of centuries you’re witnessing the worst humanity has to offer with no hope in sight, no known end to your pain or isolation, broke me.

While the curses of the harbingers, beekeepers and their mythology are explored in both books, the focus is different in each book. In Black Bird of the Gallows one of the main characters is a harbinger of death, whereas in this book it’s a beekeeper. I always love learning the mythology in characters’ worlds and adore the mythology of this series. Once again Meg Kassel’s writing is gorgeous and intoxicating. While the world of Black Bird mesmerised me, Keeper of the Bees made me a believer and I need more!

I was delighted by Dresden’s unorthodox friendship with Michael, one of the harbingers, and I loved Stitches. Now I definitely need a companion book where a Strawman is the focus as I have to know more about these mysterious beings.

Essie’s aunt was my favourite entirely human character; her ability to see beneath the curse to the girl Essie truly was made me love her and want her in my life. I know what it’s like for people to see a label or what’s on the surface and to fear or resist getting to know what lies beneath so the insights into the complexities of people, the light and the dark, captivated me.

While this book could be characterised as a romance it’s so much more and it’s the so much more that had me hooked. There’s the exploration of mental illness, the murder mystery, the growing unease of an impending catastrophe, the impact of our past on our present and the underlying hope of overcoming that which seems impossible.

As this is a companion, not a sequel, you could read this book first but I’d highly recommend you read both because they’re just so good! Also, if you read Black Bird of the Gallows first you’ll be rewarded with a ‘where are they now?’ segment, a fleshing out of the mythology and an appreciation of just how remarkable Essie and Dresden’s love is, along with Dresden and Michael’s friendship, in this book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Keeper of the Bees is a tale of two teens who are both beautiful and beastly, and whose pasts are entangled in surprising and heartbreaking ways.

Dresden is cursed. His chest houses a hive of bees that he can’t stop from stinging people with psychosis-inducing venom. His face is a shifting montage of all the people who have died because of those stings. And he has been this way for centuries – since he was eighteen and magic flowed through his homeland, corrupting its people.

He follows harbingers of death, so at least his curse only affects those about to die anyway. But when he arrives in a Midwest town marked for death, he encounters Essie, a seventeen-year-old girl who suffers from debilitating delusions and hallucinations. His bees want to sting her on sight. But Essie doesn’t see a monster when she looks at Dresden.

Essie is fascinated and delighted by his changing features. Risking his own life, he holds back his bees and spares her. What starts out as a simple act of mercy ends up unraveling Dresden’s solitary life and Essie’s tormented one. Their impossible romance might even be powerful enough to unravel a centuries-old curse. 

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Dino Riders #5: How to Track a Pterodactyl – Will Dare

Illustrations – Mariano Epelbaum

It’s the wild west with dinosaurs! What’s not to love?!

I enjoyed reading this book so much that I’ve just finished it for the second time. With adventure, action, humour, potential danger, friends and foes, and a childhood hero in the mix, this was always going to be a fun read. Once you add the dinosaurs and cowboys you’ve got yourself a book that I imagine would pique the interest of even the most reluctant of readers.

Summer is almost over and Josh is meeting his friends Sam and Abi at the annual Trihorn County Funfair for some fun before they go camping. The trio are watching when a group of pterodactyls arrive and carry Josh’s hero and “the fastest, meanest, and bravest dino rider the Lost Plains had ever seen”, Terrordactyl Bill, away. It’s up to Josh, Sam and Abi to save T-Bill! They’re joined by Josh’s nemesis, Amos, and Amos’ sidekick, Arthur. I loved that everyone, even the kids, ride on the backs of dinosaurs and especially liked Josh’s triceratops, Charge.

The accompanying illustrations by Mariano Epelbaum are a mix of greyscale images in the same style as the front cover image, which are amazing, and diagrams on ruled paper that are intended to look as though a kid has drawn them, complete with short descriptions and arrows pointing out the important bits. I really enjoyed the main illustrations although found that the details didn’t always match the details of the story.

As soon as I discovered this book I knew I had to read it. Marketed as a new chapter book series I assumed it was the first in the series and didn’t bother to check prior to beginning to read. I’ve since learned it’s the fifth book in the series and the sixth is scheduled to be released before the end of the year. While I had no trouble following along without having already read the earlier books I loved this one so much that I now want to read the entire series.

New Favourite Phrase:

“Holy dino dung!”

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

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Welcome to The Lost Plains!

A wild west frontier where dinosaurs never went extinct.

Josh Sanders wants to be the next great dinosaur cowboy! Ropin’ raptors and ridin’ bucking brontosauruses just like his hero Terrordactyl Bill.

Too bad he’s stuck working on his family’s Iguanodon ranch, riding his ancient dino, Plodder. The closest Josh has ever been to a T-Rex is reading about them in his Dino Cowboy Handbook.

To prove he has what it takes, Josh is determined to win the annual Settlement Race. But he’s gonna need one fast dino to stand a chance. With the help of his friends Sam and Abi, Josh will need to tame a wild Triceratops!

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Danny Blue’s Really Excellent Dream – Max Landrak

I’ve read this book at least five times in the past couple of months because I love it so much and because I couldn’t think of the right words to tell you how much I love it or why. The blurb tells me it’s about “creativity, comfort zones – and colour”. It feels like much more though.

Danny Blue is the son of Mr Blue, a paint maker whose factory makes “the most beautiful shades of blue in all of Blue York.” Danny lives in a world of blue, from blueberry pancakes to the blue spoon he uses to eat his blueberries for dessert.

One night Danny has a dream but this dream is different. This is a Really Excellent Dream! Danny wonders if it’s possible to show people what he saw in his dream, but how will the people of Blue York react when they’re faced with something that’s not blue?

This book speaks to me of following your dreams (sorry, I had to go there) and that different doesn’t automatically equate to bad. I thought of pioneers whose ideas are met by peoples’ resistance to change and how embracing change can spur on creativity. I also thought this was a really cool book to teach kids about primary colours.

Max Landrak’s illustrations are fantastic! I love the imaginative use of the word everything to showcase Danny’s blue world. Inside each letter you’re shown a different element of Danny’s world, from the blue parrot to the blue ice cream (with a blue cone) to the blue bricks. I loved that most of the book is greyscale with highlights of blue, like the stripes on Danny’s shirt, so by the time a new colour is introduced it really does look revolutionary.

While I’ve told you a lot about this book and probably used more words than you’ll find in the book to do so I still don’t feel like I’ve really gotten to the crux of why I love this book so much. I’m not sure I can. Sometimes you come across a book and your love for it can’t be fully explained. It just is.

In a nutshell, this is a really fun kid’s book about a boy that follows his dream and, in doing so, changes his world. It’s a new favourite.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Danny Blue lives in a world where everything is blue. And while there are many different shades and hues, everything is essentially the same. But then one night Danny sees something in a dream that is unlike anything else. He tried to describe it, but no one can understand what he means, and so he decides to create the thing he saw in his Really Excellent Dream (or R.E.D.).

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Zita the Spacegirl #3: The Return of Zita the Spacegirl – Ben Hatke

What a fun way to round out the trilogy! After the huge Legends of Zita the Spacegirl cliffhanger I’ve been keen to know where we’d find Zita at the beginning of this story. Zita is on trial in the Court of Dungeon World, facing a slew of trumped up charges; her heroics in the first two graphic novels twisted into crimes. Poor Mouse appears at her kangaroo court and, shackled in a way that brought to mind Hannibal Lector, he’s been sentenced to death! But wait! Who or what is that mysterious creature in the blue cape that’s overlooking the proceedings?

Bringing back all of my favourites from the first two books and introducing a few new ones, this is the action packed volume that finally answers the question of whether Zita ever returns home to Earth. I don’t think I’d return if I were her because of all of the amazing adventures she’s had and the wonderful friends she’s met along the way, but it’s what she’s dreamed of since the beginning so I couldn’t help cheering her on.

What’s lovely about this story is that you don’t just get to witness Zita saving a friend, an enemy or a world; Zita needs help herself in this one. Thankfully she’s made such an impact previously that there’s no shortage of people/beings/objects willing to lend a hand or whatever is needed to contribute to saving her.

Femur and Raggy, Zita’s dungeon mates, were the comic relief for me and became new favourites.

I also loved that previous favourites including One, Strong-Strong, Randy and Shippy returned.

Like the two previous Zita books the illustrations in this one were brilliant. Although the story could end with this book and currently does, there is potential to keep the story going. While you could argue that this series presents a good case for quit while you’re ahead I’d keep reading if another Zita book magically appeared in front of me.

In what I’ll call the Special Features after Zita’s journey concludes (I’ve been bingeing a lot of TV series recently) there’s a beautiful story of how she came to be. It’s one of those melty heart stories that makes you appreciate Zita even more.

Once again, I have to say that I love my library. They didn’t stock this book but they bought it just because I asked them to. Now they have the whole series, which I plan to borrow again for a reread ASAP!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Ben Hatke brings back our intrepid space heroine for another delightful sci-fi/fantasy adventure in this New York Times-Bestselling graphic novel trilogy for middle grade readers.

Zita the Spacegirl has saved planets, battled monsters, and wrestled with interplanetary fame. But she faces her biggest challenge yet in the third and final installment of the Zita adventures. Wrongfully imprisoned on a penitentiary planet, Zita has to plot the galaxy’s greatest jailbreak before the evil prison warden can execute his plan of interstellar domination!

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Tricks – Ellen Hopkins

Can you tell me how you ended up in “the business”?

More mostly truth. “I never wanted to.
I just didn’t know any other way to survive.”

Ellen Hopkins. Whenever I begin one of her novels I know I’m setting my heart up to be broken. It always feels as though my heart is being folded into some distorted origami design each time one of her characters is hurt or betrayed. Then the inevitable happens; one fold too many breaks me.

When you sell your body, you also sell what’s inside. Piece by piece, you sell your soul.

Why do I put myself through this? Because it’s worth it! I don’t think there’s an Ellen book I’ve read where I haven’t come away changed by the experience. They’re just so real and I love that about them.

Ellen opens my eyes in a way that I don’t think any other author ever has, and she does it over and over again. She takes issues I know about from personal experience, validates my feelings, shows me other perspectives and introduces me to characters who are willing to discuss what people I know don’t/won’t. She also takes issues I only know anything about from reading news stories, blogs or textbooks and gives me insights and understanding I may never have gained any other way.

When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival.

Ellen breaks my heart but she also enlarges it. I come away with empathy I didn’t know I still had. I come away with the confidence that regardless of how dire your situation may look and feel there is hope. If Ellen’s books had been published in the dark ages when I was a teenager I don’t think I would have felt so alone.

What is wrong with me? Why aren’t I worth loving?

Ellen opens my mind, allowing me access to people I don’t know in my life outside books. She takes topics that people discuss in terms of statistics and humanises them. Her characters stay with me when I finish reading and in the case of this book I wanted to adopt all of the kids I encountered.

I found myself with a preconceived stereotypical notion that all of the characters would eventually meet one another on the streets in Vegas. I was wrong. As I began to read about the five main characters I couldn’t help wondering how their lives were going to intersect. I became attached to the five as well as others like Ginger’s Gram and younger sister Mary Ann, and Andrew, who made me want to believe in true love.

Although I read the blurb prior to reading that told me otherwise I still assumed that most of the kids who feature in this book would come from extremely abusive families; probably because everyone I know personally who has been homeless has been for that reason. Again I was wrong.

You might be surprised at what you can do, should circumstances dictate.

I loved the book’s title even more after reading it. Tricks. I originally associated it solely with prostitution yet while I was reading I also began to associate it with the deception employed by the adults in the book.

I need to know what happens to these kids so I’m diving straight into the sequel.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching … for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don’t expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words “I love you” are said for all the wrong reasons.

Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story – a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, “Can I ever feel okay about myself?”

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