Author: ofmariaantonia

Review: Dealing with Dragons

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dealing-with-dragonsBook: Dealing with Dragons (1990)
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Genre: MG, Fantasy
Rating: 4 Stars

Basic plot: Princess Cimorene hates the idea of being a princess. She never gets to cook or fence or learn magic. So she runs away and ends up in the clutches of the dragon, Kazul. But they soon become friends. And even when the knights and princes come to rescue her, she plots ways to stall them. However, when the wizards show up, well, that’s just asking for trouble…

WHAT’S COOL…

1) The tone of this book is what makes this worth reading! I absolutely loved all the references to fairy tales. It’s so meta. For example:

“Then they gave me a loaf of bread and told me to walk through the forest and give some to anyone who asked. I did exactly what they told me, and the second beggar-woman was a fairy in disguise, but instead of saying that whenever I spoke, diamonds and roses would drop from my mouth, she said that since I was so kind, I would never have any problems with my teeth.”

“Really? Did it work?”

“Well, I haven’t had a toothache since I met her.”

“I’d much rather have good teeth than have diamonds and roses drop out of my mouth whenever I said something”

– Dealing with Dragons

2) I liked the spunky Princess Cimorene. And the (almost motherly) dragon Kazul. They make a great team! I loved all Cimorene’s plots for getting rid of the princes.

3) I particularly enjoyed the short little chapter descriptions before each chapter. They give us just enough information, but not too much to ruin the story.

4) The Stone Prince was quite entertaining. I love how he bumbles into the plot and changes everything.

5) The end section is great. (Slight SPOILER: once the dragons are trying to find a new king — End Spoiler.) I loved how everything comes together at this point in the story for Cimorene and Kazul.

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) The book started out great, but somewhere in the middle, I hit a bit of a slow stretch. It did take a bit of time to get through it. (Picks up at the end again, though.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – A fun fantasy. I would recommend it for anybody who like dragon stories or fairy tales with a twist.

YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…

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Photo Challenge #24 / Flower

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IMG_9221“Dried Memories” / Theme: Flower

A little about this photo…

These are dried white roses. Of course, they look kind of yellow, don’t they? I always think there’s just something about dried flowers. Seeing them hanging there, upside down. They’re beautiful in their own way.

Maybe it’s the memories they bring back when we look at them.

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2019picoftheweek

Review: Genevieve’s War

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genevieves-warBook: Genevieve’s War (2017)
Author: Patricia Reilly Giff
Genre: MG, Historical (WWII)
Rating: 4 Stars

Basic plot: Genevieve and her brother have been visiting their grandmother in France in the summer of 1939. While her brother leaves, she chooses not to go back to the States… What she doesn’t know is that the war is going to be a long one. Including battles with her own grandmother, Meme. Little by little, Genevieve gets drawn in to helping with the French Resistance. She also soon finds an ally in Meme against the Nazi invaders. But Genevieve is not always sure who to trust.

WHAT’S COOL…

1) The spunky Genevieve is a fun protagonist. I particularly liked her relationship with her grandmother, Meme. Or should I said non-relationship. Those two are at odds for most of the book.

2) I liked the intrigue. Since the story is about the French Resistance, there is plenty of intrigue. With who Genevieve should trust or not trust… including her best friend Katrin. And hiding her other friend. And then there is the mystery of the sweater!

3) When I was reading, I wanted to know the dates of when things were happening. At first, I thought this might be something to put in my “What’s Not Cool”, but after finishing the book, I’ve changed my mind. I think it’s stronger not to know the dates because (at least for me) the dates would tell me how soon D-Day was coming. The datelessness forced me to live the events of the story not knowing how much longer the people would have to hold out.

4) Events near the end made me cry. Anytime that a book makes me care about the characters… Hey, that’s a win!

5) I loved how everything came together at the end of the story. I like that not all was wrapped up. There were some bittersweet things that happened. And I liked the realism of that.

6) I thought the cover worked with the story.

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) The book had a slow start for me. Events that I wasn’t sure were all that important seem to drag things a bit.

2) I’m not sure I completely bought Genevieve’s reasons for staying back in France. It seemed a little far-fetched to me, especially in light of her relationship with her grandmother at that time. I wish Patricia Reilly Giff had come up with a different reason.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I would definitely recommend to anybody who wants to read more about World War II and the French Resistance.

YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…

Photo Challenge #24 / Silhouette

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IMG_8920n“Prepare for Blast Off” / Theme: Silhouette

A little about this photo…

Not sure if it was meant to look like a rocket ship, but that’s what this slide reminds me of. Oh, that I were a kid again! I would have adored this playground… As it was, I did enjoy watching all the kids rushing around, having a blast.

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2019picoftheweek

Review: Every Shiny Thing

/ ofmariaantonia / 12 Comments

every-shiny-thingBook: Every Shiny Thing (2018)
Author: Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison
Genre: MG, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars

Basic plot: Lauren feels lost when her autistic brother goes away to boarding school. When Lauren’s best friend doesn’t seem to understand, Lauren starts spending more and more time with the new girl, Sierra. Sierra’s a foster kid who just wants to go back with her mom. But she’s drawn to Lauren and soon becomes the only one who knows about Lauren’s little problem: shoplifting. But Lauren isn’t stealing things to be bad. Her plan is to help others. Sierra doesn’t know quite what to do…

WHAT’S COOL…

1) The dual POVs work quite nicely in this book. Lauren’s POV is written in prose, while Sierra’s is written in blank verse. At first it was jarring, but I came to like it.

2) I liked how Lauren (the rich kid) is the one with the sticky fingers, rather than Sierra (the poor kid). I love how Lauren rationalizes everything! And Sierra’s struggle about what to do. I loved how complicated everything was.

3) I enjoyed watching Sierra’s growth in the book. I think I probably liked her more than I liked Lauren (who got on my nerves sometimes). I liked the development with the foster parents: Anne and Carl.

4) Ryan isn’t in the book much, but his presence is felt in the book. He’s the brother who’s away. He’s also the reason why Lauren’s starts her own little Robin Hood campaign.

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) So I loved all the restitution at the end, but I almost think Lauren got off a little easier than if it had been Sierra.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – Enjoyed this story, especially Sierra’s POV.

YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…

Review: The Detective’s Assistant

/ ofmariaantonia / 12 Comments

detectives-assistantBook: The Detective’s Assistant (2015)
Author: Kate Hannigan
Genre: MG, Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 Stars

Basic plot: Nell is orphaned and is sent to live with her Aunt Kitty. Except there’s one big problem. Aunt Kitty doesn’t want Nell. Reason #1: She’s busy enough as it is as the only female detective of the famed Pickerton Agency. Reason #2: Nell’s father killed Aunt Kitty’s husband. So now it’s up to Nell to show how useful she can be to her aunt. As well, she plans to prove that the fatal shot to her Uncle Matthew (fired by her now-dead father) was an accident. And the only person who can help reveal the truth had to escape on the Underground Railroad to Canada.

WHAT’S COOL…

1) I love the historical connection to the Pickerton Detective Agency. I had not read much about them before this book. What’s really cool is that Aunt Kitty is based on the real life Pickerton agent: Kate Warne. (And the plot of this book includes some of her cases!)

2) The cases involving Aunt Kitty and Nell are fun to read. I love how Nell helps out! She and Aunt Kitty get to wear some fabulous disguises 🙂

3) And oh! How Lincoln is brought into the story is a history-lover’s dream. (And to top it all, there really IS a historical event that connects Lincoln to Pickerton.)

4) The bickering between Nell and Aunt Kitty is hilarious. I love how Nell keeps calling her “Aunt Kitty” even though her aunt wants to be called “Kate”. And then, when they’re in disguise, Nell always seems to slip up while Aunt Kitty always remains in character.

5) The letters between Jemma and Nell have some fun codes to decipher. I could see kids enjoying the challenge.

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) On the other hand, the letters were the most unrealistic part of the book. They talk in code and yet the code would have been too easy to break. (This was the part that grown-up Maria thought a little too much.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – The historical part of this book was great. I loved Spunky Nell and all of Pickerton’s detectives. I especially enjoyed how the climax worked out and how it connects to really historical events. I would definitely recommend this book!

YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…

Photo Challenge #22 / Delicious

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IMG_9186“Sweets” / Theme: Delicious

A little about this photo…

I don’t eat too many sweets anymore. (I can’t have chocolate, so that kind of rules out a lot!) But I love licorice. Any kind of licorice. In fact, I haven’t meet a kind of licorice I don’t like. (Yes, even Dutch zouts! Yum.) So, for me, this photo really does say: “Delicious!”

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2019picoftheweek

Review: Twice Magic

/ ofmariaantonia / 11 Comments

twice-magic.jpgBook: Twice Magic (2018)
Author: Cressida Cowell
Genre: MG, Fantasy
Rating: 4 Stars

Basic plot: Xar (a Wizard) and Wish (a Warrior) are back. This time, they’re in big trouble. Xar has a witchstain that’s threatening to take over. And Wish needs to hide her powerful and magic eye. And they out to try to stop the Witchking… if they can collect all the ingredients to a special recipe that will get rid of the Witches.

Note: You can read my review for the first book in this series: The Wizards of Once.

WHAT’S COOL…

1) I still really liked Xar and Wish and their quirks… how they’re not perfect. They have plenty of faults. But I also like how they grow during this story.

2) I love the voice Cressida Cowell uses for this story. It’s very similar to her How to Train Your Dragon series. One of my favourite lines: “…in a British Isles so old it did not know it was the British Isles yet.”

3) Love the fact of the “unknown narrator”. I have my theories. So does my nephew. And he may be right.

4) I really enjoyed the story told by the Giant. (But I love fairy tales!) And I thought Xar’s little snarky comments were good. But more importantly, I liked how it all comes around to the parents and the whole feud between the wizards and warriors.

5) Probably one of my favourite parts was the Giant’s last breath and how THAT connects to the whole feud theme.

6) Like the book before it, this book has its own ending. Even if it does lead us into the next book, at least it’s not a cliffhanger book. I’m not a huge fan of cliffhangers at the end of books.

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) Still not too crazy about Squeezjoos, the little baby sprite. :/

2) The opening was a little slow for me. And it took me a bit to get into the story… especially trying to figure out where everybody was since the last book. It took a bit of time.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – Really liked this book, especially with how things seem to be developing. I’m looking forward to reading Book 3 🙂

YOUR TURN…

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…

Photo Challenge #21 / All’s Well

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IMG_9043“A Family of Geese” / Theme: All’s Well

A little about this photo…

This is a little family of geese living in a pond near us. There are five goslings. See how Papa stands alert? Making sure the human with the big black “Canon” isn’t going to come any closer. He’s making sure that “all’s well” with his little family.

THIS WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is posted every Saturday. Please join me in posting your own photos with #2019picoftheweek