The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
☆☆☆☆☆
This was a reread for me. I first read this as a teenager and absolutely loved it (and the other Shannon Hale books that were out at the time). I think I liked it more as a teenager than I did as an adult, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
It is a fairy tale retelling based off a more obscure fairy tale, in which a lady-in-waiting tries to steal her princess's crown, forcing the princess into hiding as a goose girl. This book has strong friendships, a sweet side romance, and a main character who learns confidence and how to stand up for herself by the end of the book. It is an awesome, clean read.
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
☆☆☆☆☆
This is a book I picked up on a Middle Grade March recommendation and I loved it!
Front Desk follows a ten year old girl as she immigrates to the US with her family from China in the 1990's. The immigrants then faced a lot of challenges and discrimination and this book did a great job of showing that. One of the focuses of the plot shows our main character caught between her desire to be a writer and her efforts to learn English as a second language. Mia inspired me as she struggled for what was right and left me wanting to be a kinder person.
The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech
☆☆☆
I have read a few books my Sharon Creech in the past and really enjoyed them (my favorite being Walk Two Moons). This one fell a little short of my expectations.
This book is hard to describe; it's a young girl's journey to discovering that everything--and everyone-- in the world is connected somehow. While I liked the main characters and the idea the book was going for, it was too vague and contrived for me to love it.
At the Edge of the World/End of Time by Avi
☆☆☆
These were the sequels to Crispin by Avi. They were just okay reads for me, Crispin was my favorite of the three.
Crispin is a boy trying to find his place in the turmoil of the middle ages. I enjoyed Crispin's character and loved the new characters we met throughout the sequels, but I had a hard time caring about what was going on. The ending also didn't give much more closure than the first book did.
Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens
☆☆☆☆
This was another Middle Grade March recommendation that I really enjoyed.
This is loosely based on Sherlock and Watson, set in a girls boarding school in 1930 Britain. Two young girls at the school solve a murder only they know about--but will their friendship survive it? It was a fun mystery and I loved our two main characters. It felt a little unrealistic, but the light hearted nature negated that for me.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
☆☆☆☆
I've been reading through the Sherlock Holmes books and I've really been loving the short story collections. I think I liked Adventures more, but this one was fun.
Juniper Berry by MP Kozlowsky
☆☆☆☆
Another Middle Grade March recommendation. This was fun, in an unexpected way. I didn't know much about this other than the cover going in.
When her movie star parents hit it big, Juniper fades into the background. But what if there's more than meets the eye to how her parents are acting? I really loved Juniper's character in this. It had a creepy (Coraline-esque) undertone and taught a lot of great morals.
The Book of Boy by Catherine Murdock
☆☆☆
This was the group read along for Middle Grade March, and I was torn on how I felt about it. I actually originally rated it 4 stars, but the longer I thought on it, I knew I had to lower the rating.
Boy, living in the middle ages, has his life changed when a pilgrame enlists his help on a quest, but Boy has more to hide than his humped back. I loved the middle ages atmosphere and the characters. I was invested in the story, which kept the pages turning for me. I had to main problems with it. First, the middle of the book introduces a sort of weird supernatural twist which felt very out of place for what we'd read so far; I wish it had been foreshadowed better. My other problem was that we never really got answers for most of the questions I had. We don't learn much more about Boy than we knew at the beginning. We don't know where the pilgrame ends up. We don't understand why or how these things happened. So while I enjoyed it while I was reading, the ending just wasn't enough for me.
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
☆☆☆☆☆
This was another Middle Grade March recommendation and ended up being my favorite read of the month!
Haa is a girl emigrating with her family to the US at the end of the Vietnam War. It's written in verse, a very personal way of showing Haa's dangerous journey from a beloved homeland and the hard transition to a new life. I loved the personal feel of the book, it left me wanting to be better.
The Shadow of What was Lost by James Islington
☆☆☆☆
This was a reread for me, as a refresher to finish the rest of the series. A few years ago (before the series was finished), Ben and I heard that this series had a Brandon Sanderson-esque feel to it. We listened to this first book together and really enjoyed it. It did feel a lot like a Brandon Sanderson book until the ending, which doesn't quite live up to his endings. Rereading it, though, I remembered how much I enjoyed it and I'm loving the second even more currently. If you enjoy Brandon Sanderson, I would highly recommend this.
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