It’s felt like eons since the last time I published a blog post, when really it’s been almost 2 months. Summer Reading, online programming, and opening the library back up has monopolized most of my time this summer, and left me feeling pretty drained/stressed the rest of the time. I have been keeping up my reading to an extent, mostly with graphic novels and mangas, though I am trying to read one “adult” book for my August book club (though I will not finish in time as it is massive and I can usually only handle about 20 pages at a time – at the most). Fascinating read though, and the book was a finalist in the History category of Books, Drama, and Music for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize. On to the reviews!
Star Wars Clone War Adventures Vol 6: Four Tales of Planets in Peril and Jedi in Jeopardy! by W. Haden Blackman, Matt Fillbach, Shawn Fillbach, Ronda Pattison, Mike Kennedy, Steward McKenny, Rick Lacy, et al
My boyfriend, ten year old son, and I have been rewatching Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series on Disney Plus, trying to go through the most important ones so my son can follow along to the storyline and see the last season and finally watch The Bad Batch with me. I had randomly found this in the kid’s section at my local used bookstore and thought I would like it as it has a story about my favorite non-essential Jedi Ki-Adi Mundi, and thought my son would like it (he did and finished it quickly as it was so short). The book features 4 stories of planets and Jedi in peril, my favorites being the Ki-Adi and his padawan story and the Plo-Koon/Kit Fisto story of taking down criminals.
Cloudia & Rex written by Ulises Farinas and Erick Frietas, illustrated by Daniel Irizarri
Pluses: The artwork in this book is stunning! I liked that all the human characters were strong Afro-Latinx females, and who doesn’t love a tale that features what looks like Pre Columbian gods! Minuses: The story was a bit to complicated and hard to follow for my taste. Here’s what I could get out of it. On a far off planet, mythological gods of all nationalities who have been mostly forgotten are being devoured by “the one god” and they band together to project themselves out of the planet (and thus to safety) but accidentally end up in a teenage girl’s phone. The girl is about to go on a roadtrip with her mother and younger sister, following the death of the girls’ father, which none of them seem to be able to get over. They end up on a different world (or maybe another dimension?) after the gods get stuck in her phone and the girl start using the god’s powers to help to defeat “the one god” and his minions (the Pre Columbian guy on the cover and the monsters behind him). The younger sister keeps turning into extinct animals because she’s obsessed with paleontology, which I thought was kinda cool. The older sister is a bit bratty but knowing about her father’s demise puts her attitude into perspective. Eventually with their mom’s and more of the god’s help, they manage to defeat the minions and save the gods, and maybe understand each other a little bit better since the god’s peaked in on their memories of their father during the battles. Recommended for ages 15+, 3-1/2 stars.
The Red Scrolls of Magic (The Eldest Curses #1) by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu
I’ve been wanting to read this for forever, but was finally able to get time to read it. I love Magnus Bane, he is one of my favorite Cassandra Clare characters. He and Alec were so cute together, especially as this seems to be set before The Bane Chronicles, so before they got married/started a family, so right after the Mortal War. Hopefully most Cassandra Clare fans have read all the previous books and I didn’t just drop a major spoiler there, but there will probably be more spoiler alerts ahead if you want to stop reading now. Magnus and Alec decide to celebrate surviving the war by touring Europe, and it is adorably awkward between them as they have just started dating but have not been intimate yet, and are already traveling together. As you can imagine the sexual tension is palpable. And then of course it comes to Magnus’ attention via an old friend (Tessa) that everyone believes he started a cult to Asmodeus, which is a bit awkward as the demon hell-lord is actually Magnus’ dad, whom he doesn’t have a good relationship with, and hasn’t told AleC this little fact about himself. So things are off to a rocky start in between all the, as C.G. Drews’ Goodreads review from June 13, 2009 puts it, “demons, doomed train rides, exploding houses, satanic rituals, blazing swords, and Alec charging into trouble the very second it blinks because he’s a freaking Gryffindor and can’t help himself.” Yet still Alec and Magnus find some time together to be vulnerable. Magnus is, of course, completely fabulous and full of hysterical one-liners and a little blaise about his powers as usual. At least they get to enjoy Paris and the Orient Express a bit in-between all the demon killing and shutting down cults and demon fathers. There is also an introduction to Aline Penhallow and Helen Blackthorn, who I remembered from The Dark Artifices series (though have not managed to read the third book, need to get on that). I’m curious to see what will happen in the next book! Recommended for ages 15+, 4 stars.
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (The Underland Chronicles #2) by Suzanne Collins
Originally read Feb 2009: Again, another great book by Suzanne Collins. This one had me guessing until the end, and even that was a huge surprise. It’s the tale of Gregor returning to the Underland after the Crawlers have kidnapped his baby sister. Turns out they need him again for another prophecy, this one about him killing a white rate named Bane. Of course, he never learns the whole story at the beginning and ends up discovering all kinds of things (esp about himself) along the way. I can’t wait to read book 3! Highly recommended for ages 8-11, 5 stars!
Re-read to my son (May 19-June 18, 2021) on e-book: Rereading it to my son after recently getting him into the series at bedtime. He was on the edge of his seat with this one!
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (The Underland Chronicles #3) by Suzanne Collins
Originally read March 2009 (and spoiler alert if you’ve never read it): I enjoyed the book and managed to get through it in 2 days. I liked the storyline a little less, as it seemed like it was rambling a bit. However, I was happy to see that Luxa and her bat Aurora returned as she was one of the more interesting characters from the first two books and I think eventually Gregor’s love interest (or at the very least a crush). It’s crazy to think that the Regalians were trying to use biowarfare to control the population of the Underland, but even more so that Solovet was part of the conspiracy. I would’ve liked more storyline with Hamnet, Luxa’s uncle but I guess it was necessary for him to die to progress the story between her and Hazard. I am curious to see what happens when Gregor tells Mrs. Cormaci the truth about where he’s been.
Re-read it to my son as part of his bedtime stories (June 28-July 17, 2021): He really enjoyed it, as he has been enjoying the entire series so far. This one got really dark, and it seems like Gregor’s “quest” was more of a growing experience/an opportunity to get more scars than an actual quest for anything tangible except of course discovering the truth about what Solovet et al were planning in Regalia.
Dawn Raid written and illustrated by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith
I found this book through one of my book review emails and it sounded fascinating so I decided to give it a try. It was well worth the effort and I learned a lot about a period of New Zealand history I never knew anything about, as well as a group that fought for social justice in their community, the Polynesian Panthers. I thought it would be a graphic novel, but it turns out to be an illustrated diary (in the Children’s Fiction section) based on the author’s personal experiences growing up in New Zealand. In the story, Sophia is a twelve about-to-turn thirteen year old Samoan New Zealander who like many girls growing up in the 1970s, just wanted to earn enough money to buy a pair of white go-go boots after she saw them on a pop star on TV. According to the publisher’s blurb on the book. “It comes as a surprise to Sofia and her family when her big brother, Lenny, starts talking about protests, “overstayers”, and injustices against Pacific Islanders by the government.” At first her father won’t allow her or Lenny to attend any protests fighting for the injustices. Her family actually experiences one of the “Dawn Raids” while on vacation up in northern New Zealand while visiting family and the injustices suddenly become real to Sofia and her family after Lenny and some other members of her family are arrested. They quickly ask for help from the Polynesian Panthers, a local social justice community program dedicated to educating Polynesians on how to fight for their rights, and get their family out of jail and join the rising movement. The book talked a lot about how TV skewed the viewpoints of the New Zealanders and only focused on racist politicians, and it reminded me of some of the politics going on here the previous four years. Overall I really enjoyed it. Recommended for ages 9-14, 4 stars.
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
This is another book I found on one of my publisher or book review newsletters and I loved Molly Ostertag’s The Witch Boy series, so I figured I would take a look at this one. The Girl From the Sea is about fifteen-year-old Morgan, whose parents have recently divorced and no one in her family is handling it well. Her brother is mean and argumentative, her mother is despondent, and Morgan has a big secret that she’s not told either her friends or family, as she is afraid of what everyone will think. One night Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie, and it makes one of Morgan’s wishes to come true – she has now kissed a girl. The two become fast friends, but Morgan’s other friends do not take kindly to Keltie, who is a selkie. Keltie has a secret of her own and she needs Morgan’s help in order to protect the ones she loves. As s.penkevich, a reviewer on Goodreads on May 28, 2021 has said, “One aspect that works particularly well is the way group texts figure prominently in the novel, showing the friend-group dynamic and Morgan’s notable absence. Juxtaposing the digital conversations with Morgan’s dates with Keltie the selkie is effective and anyone who has ever felt guilty for ignoring texts while trying to enjoy time away will certainly vibe with these scenes.” Morgan and Keltie are so adorable together and I loved seeing them get to know each other! Hightly recommended for ages 13+, 5 stars.
Hermione's Knapsack 