4 Stars. Volume Two was still a strong entry in this series but it didn't charm me quite as completely as the first collection did. I enjoyed reading a bit more about Goldie's mom but Goldie herself came across as a bit of an attention-seeker and a brat this time around. It wasn't enough to completely turn me off but it was a [...
5 Stars. Oh my goodness! This is so stinking cute and smart! I was never a big mystery reader as a kid. I could never guess "whodunnit" and that irritated me. Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys were practically nonstarters for me. I wish Goldie Vance had been around back in the day because she would have turned me into a mystery reader for sure! [...]
4 Stars. I grabbed this on a whim as I was prowling through my library's shelves last week. Who can resist a bright and cheerful cover that also portrays monsters? Not me. This was really cute and contained important messages about friendship; overcoming self-doubt; and living for your own ideals of happiness, not those dictated [...]
This is my third Grady Hendrix novel this year and with every single one of them, I think the premise sounds like fun and then I'm surprised by how dark the book gets. You would think I'd learn, wouldn't you? The books do start off amusingly enough but the dread and the creep factor slowly ratchet up until I'm practically [...]
I literally just finished this graphic novel and I'm about to flip back to page one and read it again. That isn't to say it was perfect--it wasn't--but I know that in my hurry to read it, I missed a lot of important details. Now that I know Anna Kharkova's story, I can take my time and chew it over. I'm struggling with where to...
I loved these young ladies! They’re funny and they make mistakes but they’re loyal and there for each other. I related a lot to both Susan and Daisy. When Daisy asks about book club on her birthday, I howled with laughter! That is so me! I’m not quite sure about Esther and her drama but at least she doesn’t actively...
Julian, Dick, and Anne are disappointed when their parents announce plans to vacation alone in Scotland. The children quickly change their tune when they learn that they will be spending the summer at their aunt and uncle’s house on the coast with their cousin George (Don’t ever call her Georgina) and her dog, Timmy. What follows...
I usually rate books five stars if they rock my world or if I simply can't bring myself to put them down. That's not the case here. My rating reflects the subject matter. How frustrating it must be to have a sharp intellect but to be written off as "less than" because...
I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first. These books are just a lot of fun, even to a 30-year-old woman. They would have been some of my favorites if they'd been around when I was a kid. I have to admit to giggling aloud even now. But aside from the wackiness of the story, I like seeing Artemis grow and learn about...
I truly enjoyed this book. Artemis is a genius, but we also get to watch him grow up (and loosen up) a little as the book progresses. Just when you start to forget that Artemis is only twelve, a scene comes along that shows how vulnerable he still is. The plot was smart, funny, and well-written. The fairies were not your typical [...]