Where You'll Find Me by Natasha Friend | Book Review #162

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Where You'll Find Me by Natasha Friend 

Are there spoilers?

Nope.

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Title: Where You'll Find Me

Author: Natasha Friend 

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Pages: 272

Published: 2016

Publisher:  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Mental Health

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Date Read: April 30, 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

The first month of school, thirteen-year-old Anna Collette finds herself…

Dumped by her best friend, Dani, who suddenly wants to spend eighth grade “hanging out with different people.”

Deserted by her mom, who’s in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt.

Trapped in a house with her dad, a new baby sister, and a stepmother young enough to wear her Delta Delta Delta sweatshirt with pride.

Stuck at a lunch table with Shawna the Eyebrow Plucker and Sarabeth the Irish Stepper because she has no one else to sit with.

But what if all isn’t lost? What if Anna’s mom didn’t exactly mean to leave her? What if Anna’s stepmother is cooler than she thought? What if the misfit lunch table isn’t such a bad fit after all?

With help from some unlikely sources, including a crazy girl-band talent show act, Anna just may find herself on the road to okay.

The Rating:

My Review:

Just by looking at this book you'd think it would hold a beautiful story full of happiness and friendship but no! The pretty flowers and paster rainbows have nothing to do with the story and I love it.

This book deals with such a powerful theme. The main characters mother almost dies of an overdose on painkillers and leaves her daughter to deal with it. 

But that's not just it. Anna also deals with adults being inconsiderate and malicious gossip. Along with losing friends, not knowing when other kids are being nice or messing with her, new stepmom and a baby step-sibling. This kid is barely a teen and she has already dealt with so much. That I couldn't help but root for her to find some sort of peace in all the mess she was in.

I think I might have cried twice. Not only because of what Anna went through but because of her friends'stories. There are just too many moments in this book that tugged at my heartstrings and made me cry so much.

And in the end, I was left being so thankful for the messed up childhood I had because it ever went beyond the point of being completely alone in a tough situation like Anna was. 

Goodreads

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Yasmina and the Potato Eaters by Wauter Mannaert | Book Review #152

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Yasmina and the Potato Eaters by Wauter Mannaert 

Are there spoilers?

No spoilers.
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Title: Yasmina and the Potato Eaters 

Author: Wauter Mannaert

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Pages: 144

Pub Date: March 20, 2019

Publisher: Europe Comics

Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Cooking, Food

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Date Read: March 11, 2019

Rating: ★★★★★

Eleven‐year‐old Yasmina and her dad lead a modest life in a small city apartment. Luckily, the food-loving Yasmina can whip up just about anything in the kitchen, with an assist from her edible herb books and her friends from the community garden. That is, until the day the garden disappears, bulldozed and replaced by a field of potatoes that are both experimental... and completely addictive! The only solution is for Yasmina to track down and eradicate the source of the problem. A fun and colorful tale for all ages.

The Rating:

My Review:

Yasmina and the Potato Eaters was a very entertaining story. With Yasmina being so into food and cooking and making elaborate meals for her and her father.

Yasmina was such a fun character to follow and the rest of the characters were all so unique and interesting. They all had their roles and colorful personalities.

And the food in this looked so delicious and colorful. Like I wanted to eat after I finished reading this graphic novel.

In the end, I was left wanting to read more about these characters and see what happens next.

What will Yasmina get up to next? What is going on with the Potatoes? I have so many questions.

Goodreads

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The Bookish Island
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Shug by Jenny Han | Book Review #116

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Shug by Jenny Han

Are there spoilers?

No.

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Title: Shug

Author: Jenny Han 

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Pages: 248

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2006

Genre: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Contemporary

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Date Read: July 6, 2018

Rating: ★★★★★

SHUG is clever and brave and true (on the inside, anyway). And she's about to become your new best friend.
Annemarie Wilcox, or Shug as her family calls her, is beginning to think there's nothing worse than being twelve. She's too tall, too freckled, and way too flat-chested. Shug is sure that there's not one good or amazing thing about her. And now she has to start junior high, where the friends she counts most dear aren't acting so dear anymore -- especially Mark, the boy she's known her whole life through. Life is growing up all around her, and all Shug wants is for things to be like they used to be. How is a person supposed to prepare for what happens tomorrow when there's just no figuring out today?

The Rating:

My Review:

This story had everything. From problems at home to boy problems to school problems.
And right in the middle was Annemarie. A 12-year-old who had just begun junior high. She came across puberty, and first crushes, and the knowledge that her parents might not be as close as they once were. And with her big sister not being around as much, and her two close friends both having their own stuff to deal with, she gets to go through most of that on her own.

Annemarie was brilliant in every way. Smart, sassy, and didn't let the boys mess with her. Which only made me wish I had a friend like her when I was that age.

I cried. Like I cried, cried. It wasn't pretty either. But I also fell in love with this book.

It was such a sweet and easy to read book that was a perfect in-between to read after having been reading a few strong Mystery/Thrillers. I loved that it was a quick read and that it had such a good story. Making me think about another book that made me feel that way. Flipped. And like Flipped, This has to be a movie. Because that would be so cooooool!

Also, this book and Flipped should totally be BFFs.
See my review of
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Goodreads    |    Book Depository

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The Bookish Island
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Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel by Kimberly Willis Holt | Book Review #102

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel by Kimberly Willis Holt

Are there spoilers?

A few ones may have escaped me.

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Title: Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel

Author: Kimberly Willis Holt

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Pages: 336

Publisher:  Henry Holt

Published: 20l7

Genre: Middle Grade, Fiction, Family, Childrens

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Source: Borrowed.

Date Read: Nov. 21, 2017

Rating: ★★★★★

Twelve-year-old Stevie's world changes drastically when her parents are tragically killed and she is forced to live with her estranged grandfather at his run-down motel. After failed attempts to connect with her grandfather, Stevie befriends the colorful motel tenants and neighbors. Together, they decide to bring some color and life to the motel by planting a flower garden, against Stevie's grandfather's wishes. It will take Stevie's departure before her grandfather realizes just how needed she is by everyone.

The Rating:

My Review:

Stevie lost both her parents when car hits their produce stand. Leaving her alone, till she finds out she will be sent to live with her grandfather. Someone she knows little about. He lives in Texas where he lives in and runs a small motel. There she meets Mrs. Crump her elderly tutor, and fellow tutoree, Frida. Violet, the head house keeper, Roy, the handyman's son And long term residents, Horace and Ida. Then she gets to visit her fathers sister and her family. Finding out somethings about her parents that her grandfather wouldn't tell her.

I loved the characters. All of them seemed to stand on their own and in their own way they influenced Stevie's life in a good way. Of course Roy was very adorable as a character. And throughout the book Stevie grieves by gardening and wanting to help those around her. Finding out things about her parents along the way and getting along with her grumpy quiet grandfather.

This is a well written book with great characters and although its slow I enjoyed every page.

Get a copy at:
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Can't Wait Wednesday #4 - Front Desk by Kelly Yang

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Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Wishful Endings. 

I've decided to switch to this since Waiting On Wednesday has been over for a long time now. But its basically the same concept. Books that I cant wait to get my hands on or am really interested in that are to be released soon.
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Why I Can't Wait:
Besides liking YA, I also love Middle Grade books and have a decent sized collection on my shelves at the moment. So when I saw both the cover and the synopsis to this amazing sounding book I quickly added it to my most anticipated Middle Grade books list on Goodreads.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Front Desk tells the story of 10 year old Mia Tang. Every day, Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel while her parents clean the rooms. She’s proud of her job. She loves the guests and treats them like family. When one of the guests gets into trouble with the police, it shakes Mia to her core. Her parents, meanwhile, hide immigrants in the empty rooms at night. If the mean motel owner Mr. Yao finds out, they’ll be doomed!

Based on the author's life, the story follows Mia—the daughter of first generation Chinese immigrants.

Published by:  Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine

The Release Date for the book is:
May 29, 2018

Pre-Order:

Barnes&Noble  |  Amazon US

Or pre-order it from Book Depository using my Affiliate link:
Book Depository

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The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Forester | Book Review #98

The Bookish Island's Book Review:
The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Forester

Are there spoilers?

No.
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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books.

I decided to not do this for the books I've read on 2018. But it has been 6 months since Hurricane Maria. And I'm happy to announce that now we have water, and electricity.  

Title - The Boy Who Knew Everything
By - Victoria Forester
Publication - October 25th 2016 by Square Fish
Copy -  Paperback, 416 pages

Genre - Middle Grade, Adventure, Fiction, Fantasy

An epic modern fantasy about an unforgettable friendship.

There is a prophecy.

It speaks of a girl who can fly and a boy who knows everything. The prophecy says that they have the power to bring about great change . . . .

The boy is Conrad Harrington III. The girl is Piper McCloud. They need their talents now, more than ever, if they are to save the world-and themselves.

Victoria Forester does not disappoint in The Boy Who Knew Everything, the long-awaited sequel to New York Times-bestselling The Girl Who Could Fly, which Stephenie Meyer praised as "the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men."

The Rating:

My Review:

I started and finished this book on September 30, 2017.

The day after Hurricane Maria passed by Puerto Rico I was supper stressed and freaked out. And I was very worried about my cat, Yang. Because I had left her behind and went upstairs to safety cause the whole first floor had flooded. I was crying, hysterical and again, freaking out. Both because I felt I failed Yang and my moms bird Juan, for leaving them behind and because I was losing everything that I had.
Mom was frantically trying to get water out of everywhere and taking care of my grandma who was having mini heart attacks and seeing that the neighbors who are mostly older people were okay. And I felt like I was useless because I couldn't do anything. So I read the book I had randomly picked out and cried as I read the book in the middle of the night. I started having a panic attack about Yang being all alone and surrounded by water. No one understood. Especially my grandmother. Her pet was comfy in the corner of the kitchen, dry and warm. While Yang was in an over 5 inches of water house with no place but the sofa to be on. But its not moms house so we couldn't say anything. And she also reassured me that Yang is really smart and she would climb up something higher than the water and be safe. But my mind was set on worrying, so I just cried and cried and by the morning the next day I had read The Girl Who Could Fly. It was my good place. To be in that world with those characters helped me take my mind off reality. So it obviously has a good spot in my heart. And I already had the second book in the series so I read it next and it didn't fail me.
So I totally recommend this book and the first one. They are middle grades but it doesn't feel like a kid story. Its really good.

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The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester | Book Review #81

The Bookish Island's Book Review for:
The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

Will there be spoilers?

Only a little.
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This is one of the books I read after the passing of Hurricane Maria here in Puerto Rico. With no water, electricity or internet I took to reading my books.
I read this one on September 21. 1 days after.

Title - The Girl Who Could Fly 
By - Victoria Forester
Publication - October 27th 2015 by Square Fish
Copy - Paperback, 352 pages


Genre - Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Science Fiction, Children's Books

You just can't keep a good girl down . . . unless you use the proper methods.
Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie.

Sure, she hasn't mastered reverse propulsion and her turns are kind of sloppy, but she's real good at loop-the-loops.

Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma's at her wit's end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents' farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities.

School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences.

Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore.

At turns exhilarating and terrifying, Victoria Forester's debut novel has been praised by Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight saga, as "the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men...Prepare to have your heart warmed." The Girl Who Could Fly is an unforgettable story of defiance and courage about an irrepressible heroine who can, who will, who must . . . fly.

The Rating:

My Review:

The Cover:

Although they say never judge a book by it's cover I believe the cover should represent what the book is going to be like or at least some aspect of it.

The cover is beautiful. ❤

With Piper flying in the clouds over the icy mountains on the cover. Helping make a visual of what she looks like as a character. Which is always good. Its also a scene from the book too. Then there's the title which is on a badge type. And it's so cool. 😀

And to be honest it was the whole reason I got it in the first place. 😜

The Story:

Piper McCloud has always been different. From the day she was born she's had an ability to float. Despite her parents telling her not to float or levitate she just cant help it. Its who she is. Till one day she learns to fly and everything changes in her life from there. 


Relationships:

Piper x Conrad
Piper and Conrad have such an interesting relationship in this book.  They each don't know the other and yet Piper wants to be friends with him and Conrad just wants to use her abilities. So you get to see their progress as they get to see the strengths and stubbornness they both have. 

Piper x the McClouds

Their relationship is very much what your expect from a family that grew up on a farm they are hardworking people a that truly cared about each other and it showed. 

But with Piper's powers there was a fear her parents had of what people would think. Which is to be expected since they've never heard of a girl who could fly. But they get better at understanding her and her abilities which is very important because if her parents don't believe in her then she'd be alone. Even if there are others. You know?

Overall:

The characters in this book were insanely good. 

Each great in their own way. Well written and fully their own person. I was impressed by how amazing they all were. All that made me adore Piper even more because it felt like I was cheering for someone real. I wanted her to get her happy ending. 

Then there was the world. 

The world in this story was super. Not only did it smoothly transition from a quaint southern town to secret underground government but it was done in such away that I never questioned what was happening. 

As for the fantasy element in this story. 

It was well done mostly because it wasn't done in such a way that it made you question it. Like does every kid have powers and they just suppressed them or what? No, you quickly learn what the situation is with the powers the children have and what is being done with and about them. 
And as the blurb Stepahanie Meyer wrote for this said. I did get that X-Men vibe from this story as well. 

I truly wish I could talk more about this book but I really don't want to spoil it.

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Book Depository

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Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman | Book Review

Book Review:
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

I am finally reviewing this book after months since I finished it.

Spoilers?

No.

Title - Fortunately, the Milk
Author -  Neil Gaiman

Illustrated by: Chris Riddell 
Publication - September 17th, 2013 by HarperCollins
Format - Hardcover, 113 pages
Genre - Fantasy, Middle Grade, Humor
Source - borrowed Rating - ★★★★★

You know what it’s like when your mum goes away on a business trip and Dad’s in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he’s got to do. And the most important thing is DON’T FORGET TO GET THE MILK. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is the story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back. Featuring: Professor Steg (a time-travelling dinosaur), some green globby things, the Queen of the Pirates, the famed jewel that is the Eye of Splod, some wumpires, and a perfectly normal but very important carton of milk. The award-laden, bestselling Neil Gaiman, author of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Stardust, Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book and Coraline, brings his biggest ever publishing year to a spectacular conclusion with this gloriously entertaining novel about time-travel, dinosaurs, milk and dads..

My Review:

This is one of those books that were given to me for a while to read and enjoy and give back, so borrowing. And I did enjoy it about back in October of last year and I didn't write the review because I didn't own it and felt like I couldn't say that I enjoyed having this as a part of my collection and felt sad but since I did love it I will write the review here on my blog.

Once my friend told me they had this book I just couldn't say no to the offer of letting me borrow it. I've been curious about Neil Gaiman's writing style and of his brilliant stories for a while. So when I started reading this book I could tell that I did in fact like his style. The story was so brilliant and adorable in some places. It would have been grand if I had it as a kid, little me would have loved it.
I actually read it with my mother and she thought it was cute too. So 5 stars from me and my mom.

Get a copy at:
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