Tag: Fiction

The Magic Misfits

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Hello, and happy summer break! I haven’t had much of a chance to write, but now that I’ve gotten out the issue of Best Friends Essential that I was working on, I should have more time to blog regularly. This post will be about The Magic Misfits, Neil Patrick Harris’s middle grade debut. It’s filled with adventure, friendship, and some hidden codes and secrets that make you pay attention.

Carter Locke is running away. Away from his Uncle Sly, who took him in when his parents disappeared, and who has never given Carter a real home. When you trick people out of their money and valuables, you can’t really settle down. Away from his old life as a vagabond, this could be a new chance for him. A chance to live a normal life. However, when he gets to the small town of Mineral Wells, he doesn’t find normalcy. What he does find is secrets, mysteries, and new friends. Can this band of magical misfits outwit an evil villain who may have more in common with them than they think?

I hope that you enjoyed this blog post, and that you decide to try out The Magic Misfits. In addition to being a successful comedian and actor, Neil Patrick Harris has proven himself a talented author. The Magic Misfits in the first book in the Magic Misfits series. There are four books, with a wonderful cast of characters. I have read them all, but am still in the process of uncovering their secrets. Until next time, keep reading!

The Magic Misfits (The Magic Misfits Series #1) by Neil Patrick Harris, Lissy Marlin, Kyle Hilton, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

Wildwood

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Hi! I’m back. I’ve been busy with schoolwork and Best Friends Essential (we now have a website!), so I haven’t had as much time to post on my blog. I’m going to be talking about Wildwood today, a great book by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis. It’s nice and long, with an interesting plot with twists and turns.

Prue is worried. Her baby brother, Mac, was just carried off by crows while she was watching him. Even worse, the crows carried him into the Impassable Wilderness (the I.W.). No one knows what’s in there. And no one who’s gone in has come back out. Prue decides to go in anyway. She just has to find her little brother. Her classmate, Curtis, also goes into the I.W. to help Prue. Once they get in, they see things that can’t be real. In the Woods, animals can talk. Not only talk – in the Woods, animals are equal to humans. When coyote soldiers capture Curtis, Prue must go through a series of adventures to find Mac and get back her friend.

I hope that you decide to read Wildwood based on the description above. Like I said, it’s a great book, and there are more too! The Wildwood Chronicles has three books. I’ve read two so far, and liked both immensely. I’m looking forward to reading the third.

Wildwood (Wildwood Chronicles, 1): Meloy, Colin, Ellis, Carson: 9780062024701: Amazon.com: Books

Fortunately, the Milk

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Hi! It’s been a while. Today, I have a funny book by award-winning author Neil Gaiman. I just read one of his books, The Graveyard Book, for Halloween, and really enjoyed it. He has some great books for adults and kids alike. The one I’ll be blogging about today is a short, silly book told in first person point of view.

In Fortunately, the Milk, a boy and his sister are home with their father. Their mother has gone off to a conference (presenting a paper about lizards). The next morning, there is no milk in the fridge. All out. You can’t have cereal without milk. Not the same. The father goes to the corner store. The brother and sister wait. And wait. And wait some more, for what seems like ages. When the father finally comes home, he has a story. A story that explains why he took so long. No, he didn’t talk to one of his friends and lose track of time. He got lost in time. When aliens beam him up into their ship, he opens a door in an attempt to escape–a door that is clearly labeled “Do Not Open For Any Reason.” This rips a hole in the space-time continuum. Fortunately, he meets Professor Steg (who happens to be a stegosaurus) and travels through time to bring milk to his children. Will he survive the many near-death experiences? Likely, as he came back and is telling the story. Will he keep hold of the milk? How crazy will this get? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

I hope that, if you decide to try this book, you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Have you read any other Neil Gaiman books? Do you have a favorite? Have a recommendation for a book to post about? Make sure to comment below, and I’ll see you next time!

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Grandpa’s Great Escape

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Hello again! I’m really excited about this post. I loved this book when I read it. An interesting and funny story, exciting characters, suspense, and one of my favorite parts was that there were great illustrations, and the words were even in different fonts and sizes, depending on and emphasizing what they said. I hope that, if you decide to try it, you like this book as much as I did.

In Grandpa’s Great Escape, by David Walliams, Jack loves his grandfather. In fact, Jack feels closer to him than to his own parents! Grandpa always tells wonderful stories about his glory days when he flew his fighter plane, the amazing Spitfire, in the Royal Air Force in World War II. However, at the time our story begins, Grandpa is getting old, and beginning to forget things. Small things at first, like making a cup of tea and forgetting to drink it, but then larger things. What year it is. Whether his long-gone wife is alive. If the war is over. For him, the past is more real than the present. Only his grandson, Jack, understands. Jack realizes that to get through to his grandfather, you have to enter his world. The only problem is, when Grandpa starts running away from home, Jack’s parents think it’s best to put him in the old folk’s home, Twilight Towers. There, you can only visit once a week, for 15 minutes. Jack uncovers a plot, and has to get his grandfather out of Twilight Towers. Can he do it in time, and what secrets will he discover along the way?

I hope that based on the description above, you decide to give it a try. Let me know how you liked it in the comments! If you have any other suggestions for books you think I would like, or for me to review, tell me in the comments as well, or go to the “contact” page on the website. Thanks for reading!

Grandpa's Great Escape: Walliams, David, Ross, Tony: 9780062560896: Amazon.com: Books

Conceal Don’t Feel

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Hello! It’s been a while. School is starting soon, but if I have time, I’ll keep blogging. Today’s post is about Conceal Don’t Feel: A Twisted Tale by Jen Calonita. The Twisted Tales are really cool twists on classic fairy tales. In this, Jen Calonita explores what Arendelle would be like if Anna and Elsa didn’t know each other.

Elsa’s life as the future queen of Arendelle is filled with responsibility. She follows her parents, so that she can learn what it’s like to be a ruler. This means attending boring, awkward, political banquets and balls. All the while, she feels as though some important part of her is missing. When her parents are lost at sea, she becomes the queen of Arendelle much sooner than she thought. Is she ready for this responsibility? How can she rule her people wisely when she doesn’t even know the truth about herself?

This was a really enjoyable book that explored the fairy tale world in a completely different way. There are other Twisted Tales too that I can’t wait to read, such as Straight On Till Morning: A Twisted Tale (by Liz Braswell) that explores what the story would be like if Wendy first traveled to Never Land with Captain Hook. If you decide to check out some of these books, let me know what you think! Until next time.

Amazon.com: Conceal, Don't Feel: A Twisted Tale (9781368052238): Calonita, Jen: Books

City Spies

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Hello again! It’s been a while. I recently went to the book store, and after a lot of consideration, I decided on City Spies, a great book by James Ponti. That’s going to be the subject of this post.

Twelve-year-old Sara Martinez has lived in a few foster homes, but the worst has been Leonard and Deborah Clark. They take in a lot of kids, more than they have room for, because the state pays them by the kid. Sara was determined to expose them so that the she, and the kids she lives with, can get better homes with families who actually care. To do that, she has to hack into the juvenile justice database to see how many kids are being fostered by the Clarks, and then into their bank accounts to see where they were spending the money. Instead of being greeted as a hero, however, she is arrested for hacking. Her lawyer isn’t being much help, until she meets a strange man called Mother, who gets her a six-year sentence in Crunchem Hall, a school that really only exists in Matilda, but Judge Pancake doesn’t need to know that. Mother takes Sara to FARM, a secret base for M16, where she will learn to spy. Hopefully, she’ll be ready for the mission in a few weeks, where her skills as a hacker will be invaluable.

This is a really good book. I like it in part because I figured something out, which is fun, but it wasn’t the whole story, so there was some element of surprise. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Tell me in the comments below!

Amazon.com: City Spies eBook: Ponti, James: Kindle Store

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew

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Hello again! This is going to be my last post before I go on vacation. I will be gone for two weeks. I will still post about normal books and such, but also look out for special vacation posts! Today, I will be blogging about one of my favorite easy mystery series, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew. This series is kind of like Nancy Drew for kids.

There are a few different Nancy-Drew-for-kids series, but this is the one I found, and I really like it. Nancy is in 3rd grade, and goes to River Heights Elementary School with her best friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne. Bess and George are cousins, but they’re nothing alike. George’s real name is Georgia, but never call her that. She likes computers and comfy clothes. Bess, on the other hand, is super into fashion. The three of them make up the Clue Crew, a club where they solve mysteries. When something mysterious happens, they are called upon by their classmates to help figure out what is going on. In the book I just read, Earth Day Escapade (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #18), the Clue Crew has to figure out who sabotaged their class float for the Earth Day parade before it’s too late!

I hope you like this series as much as I did when I first discovered it. It’s a great easy read. Until next time, and watch out for a vacation post!

Sleepover Sleuths (Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew Book 1) - Kindle ...

The Westing Game

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This is a good book that I read a while ago, and just reread. It is kind of confusing, but it is still very good. I hope you enjoy it!

When dared to go into the spooky Westing House, Turtle discovers that Mr. Westing is actually dead, as some had thought when he disappeared from the public eye years ago, after a carriage accident that was nearly fatal. Sixteen heirs are chosen, and brought to the Westing house for the reading of the will. Instead of just plain inheriting things, the heirs discover that they are to take part in the Westing Game. The object: To win. The heirs are divided into eight pairs. Each pair gets 10,000 dollars. Absent pairs forfeit the money. There will be sessions in which to announce your one and only answer. The winners will inherit about 2 million dollars. Who murdered Mr. Westing?

As I said in the first paragraph, this is a great book I just recently reread. I like rereading this book because, if you wait long enough, you forget what happens and you can experience it all over again. I hope you enjoy The Westing Game!

The Westing Game (Puffin Modern Classics) - Kindle edition by ...

The Trials of Apollo

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This is a great series by one of my favorite authors, Rick Riordan. I just read the first book in this series, and that is what I will be posting about today. A few of Rick Riordan’s other great Greek mythology series include Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus. He also writes other mythology series, such as The Kane Chronicles (Egyptian mythology) and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (Norse mythology).

The great god Apollo has angered his father, Zeus. Just because his auger, Octavion, started a little war between the Greek and Roman demigods, Apollo has been cast down to earth as the mortal teenager Lester Papadopoulos. Granted, the war almost destroyed civilization, but how is that Apollo’s fault? Although his memory of Zeus punishing him felt like yesterday, Apollo has been gone from the world for six months. During that time, the Oracle of Delphi, Camp Half-Blood (The Greek demigod camp)’s source of prophecy, has stopped working. Now, Apollo must go on a quest to restore the forgotten oracles that have gone dark to regain his father’s favor and his seat on Olympus.

I like this series for a few different reasons. As I said in the first paragraph, it’s written by one of my favorite authors. For another, Apollo is a very funny narrator. We still get the whole story, while also seeing how a god-turned-mortal thinks. Hint: He’s very self-centered. Anyway, this is a great series for pretty much anyone. Even if you have never read Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus, you can still read this series. However, if you plan on reading either of those, you should read Percy Jackson first, Heroes of Olympus next, and Trials of Apollo last. Apollo contains a few spoilers, but they are well explained if you only want to read this series. Happy reading!

The Trials of Apollo 3-Book Paperback Boxed Set by Rick Riordan ...

Wishing Day

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This is another book that I read recently that I liked. I hope that you enjoy this book as well, if you choose to try it.

Natasha Blok’s ancestors instituted the age-old tradition of Wishing Day, when on the third night of the third month of a girl’s thirteenth birthday, she makes three wishes. The first is an impossible wish. The second is something she can make come true herself. The third is the deepest with of her secret heart. Is this just another superstition, as Natasha’s best friend Molly and younger sister Darya think? Or is it valid, and your three wishes come true, as the youngest of the Blok trio, Ava, believes? Natasha will find out when she makes her wishes, starting an adventure that intertwines all of her wishes. Will they come true? Maybe, but not in the way she expects.

There are three books in this series, each about a different sister. Natasha’s book is Wishing Day, Darya’s is The Forgetting Spell, and Ava’s is The Backward Season. I hope you like these great books by Lauren Myracle. I can’t wait to read the next two.

Wishing Day: Myracle, Lauren, McLaughlin, Julie: 9780062342072 ...