#MGTakesOnThursday / Ebb and Flow

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Book: Ebb and Flow (2018)

Author: Heather Smith

Publisher: Kids Can Press

Genre: MG, Contemporary/Blank Verse

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This book in three words…

Fresh-Start, Secrets, Forgiveness

Favourite Sentence from Page 11…

I was Jett the Incredible Shrinking Boy, small in her arms again.

My thoughts on this book…

Jett has come to live with his grandmother for the summer holidays. Written in blank verse, we know something’s wrong. Slowly, at the novel unfolds, the reason is revealed. We get to relive moments where Jett makes poor decisions.

And his Grandmother Jo is delightful. She’s the type to dye her hair the colour of her house (blue!) to match the colour of her house. 🙂 I love how she’s able to reach out to her hurting grandson as he works through issues like abandonment and betrayal. And the little stories they tell each other are wonderful.

Highly recommend!

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This post is part of a challenge to celebrate middle-grade books. For more information, go to: https://bookcraic.blog/2020/07/30/mg-takes-on-thursday-9/

How to take part…

• Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
• Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence.
• Write three words to describe the book.
• Either share why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.

Review / The Riddle of Ages

Book: Mysterious Benedict Society & the Riddle of Ages (2019)
Author: Trenton Lee Stewart
Genre: MG, Adventure
Rating: 4 stars

Basic plot: The Mysterious Benedict Society is back. The kids are older, and this time, they have a new recruit: five-year-old Tai. Their challenge is to break into the old institute-turned-prison to rescue Mr. Benedict and his criminal twin brother from certain death. But, with McCracken and the rest of the Ten Men close on their heels, it’s not going to be easy.

WHAT’S COOL…

1) What fun to be back with Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance. Even though they are considerably older. (From what I can guess is that the three older ones are around 16 or 17; Constance would be around 7.)

2) Tai was a nice addition. I was quite skeptical about him at first, and at times he was a little “too cute”. But he fits in nicely with the plot, especially the part at the end. I think it was also good to get another kid into the story since the three older ones have grown up so much.

3) Lots of riddles and adventure in this one. I’m horrible at solving riddles, but I do enjoy seeing the Society figure them out. (Or should I say, Reynie is the one that always figures them out.)

4) Milligan has a nice little cameo. Probably one of my favourite parts of the story. I wish he was in it a little more, but I understand why he wasn’t.

5) One of my least favourite developments of this series has been Constance’s telepathic abilities. However, I didn’t actually mind it in this story. I felt it worked really well within the plot. And I will say, overall, I have really grown to like Constance as a character. Sure, she’s moody. But she’s interesting. And not quite as contrary as she is in the other books.

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) Little things didn’t pan out. [*Slight SPOILER] Like the mysterious letter ‘M’ that Tai talks about at the beginning of the book. I was WAITING for that to actually be something. It wasn’t. Or S.Q.’s big feet? I’m not sure why that kept be brought up when it didn’t do anything for the climax of the story. [End spoiler] Not a huge problem. Just a disappointment because it didn’t live up to my expectation.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 4 Stars (out of 5) – I was excited when I first found out about the existence of this book about a year ago. BUT, I was also skeptical. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This book had all the fun worthy of a Mysterious Benedict Society book. The kids are older (and really, with the exception of Constance and Tai, no longer “kids”) but their characters remained true. And I liked how Stewart was able to bring together all the events of this book.

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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…

#MGTakesOnThursday / Breaking Stalin’s Nose

Book: Breaking Stalin’s Nose (2011)

Author: Eugene Yelchin

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Genre: MG, Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 stars

This book in three words…

Family, Brainwashing, Truth

Favourite Sentence from Page 11…

“Everyone in the kitchen stops talking when my dad comes in. They look like they are afraid, but I know they are just respectful.”

(Yes, technically, I chose two sentences, but I felt that you needed both to get the gist of the situation. Also, please note that Sasha’s dad is one of the secret police. So, yes, the people in the kitchen are terrified of him!)

My thoughts on this book…

I absolutely LOVE this book! The setting is the Soviet Union in the 1930s, and I find a lot of people don’t really know much about this time period in history. In my case, I grew up with these stories about the Soviet Union since my grandmother lived there. She lived through Stalin’s man-made famine in 1932-33 (the Holodomor, if you’re interested in knowing more.) It’s so important that we understand the ways a society can go wrong… that communism and socialism are not the answer.

In the story, young Sasha believes all the lies that have been handed to him in school and by his own dad. He can hardly wait to become a young pioneer to help bring in the great utopian future! So, when his dad is arrested, he thinks it’s all a mistake. Comrade Stalin will be able to set things right! Little by little, Sasha begins to see that things are not quite the way he’s been told. And yes, Stalin’s nose plays a very important part…

Very powerful book. It won a Newbery Honor in 2012.

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This post is part of a challenge to celebrate middle-grade books. For more information, go to: https://bookcraic.blog/2020/04/30/mgtakesonthursday-3/

How to take part…

• Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
• Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence.
• Write three words to describe the book.
• Either share why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.

 

Review: Breakout

Book: Breakout (2018)
Author: Kate Messner
Genre: MG, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars

Basic Plot: Nora, Lizzie, and Elidee all live in a small town that houses a large prison. Their world is interrupted when two inmates escape and the entire town goes into lock-down mode. While Nora is determined to get the scoop, both Lizzie and Elidee have their own troubles. And then there’s the mad mile, an annual tradition that keeps getting cancelled because the grownups are freaking out about the escaped prisoners…

WHAT’S COOL…

1) I enjoyed the format, which ranges from letters (for a time capsule) to text messages to newspaper articles. It’s nice to see the different perspectives of the different people in the story. Lizzie’s parody news segments are pretty amusing.

2) Nora and Lizzie have a great friendship. I liked the arc for the new girl, Elidee, and how she eventually fits into the story.

3) The manhunt is pretty exciting stuff. And, of course, it’s fun to know that our main characters [MINOR SPOILER] have a hand in the capture. But don’t worry. It’s actually quite realistic. And it’s based on history! And I love history… [END SPOILER]

4) I like the running sub-plot about the mad mile. I like books about running, so what can I say?

5) Love the cover of this book!

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) It’s really quite a long book at 448 pages. Now, this is just my personal opinion, but I would have removed all the Hamilton references and the hip-hop battles and poetry. First, I’m not a huge fan of poetry. And second, I just don’t get why that musical is so popular. (I’ve heard the music, and I’m not impressed. I feel like my grandmother!) Okay, let’s just say that this wasn’t my favourite part of the book, I tended to skim those sections anyway. (I would have been more interested if Elidee was reading more about space/planets.) I think Messner could have cut it completely and saved a few trees in the process.

2) Why did Elidee and her mother move upstate about two weeks before school gets out? This just didn’t make sense. Especially since there was no super good reason for this to happen. Two weeks would not make a difference. And if absolutely necessary, I really think Elidee’s mom would have let her continue at her old school in New York City for a few more weeks (since she could have stayed with her aunt and cousins for that time.) So, my complaint here is that Elidee’s arrival felt like an obvious plot device.

3) I felt that the racial issues dealt with in the book were not really necessary to the actual story. It’s like Messner was trying to fit it in, and those parts came across as forced and preachy. (Not that you couldn’t have a book about these issues, but I think they’d deserve their own story. It just got lost in this story.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 3 Stars (out of 5) – I found this book enjoyable for the most part. The girls were fun to read about, and the manhunt was quite suspenseful.

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YOUR TURN…

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

Review: Full Ride

Book: Full Ride
Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Genre: YA Fiction, Suspense
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Basic Plot: When Becca’s father is sent to prison, Becca and her mother must rebuild their lives in a small town in Ohio. To protect themselves, they have to keep that deep, dark secret hidden. Three years later, Becca applies for a full-ride scholarship to college. Suddenly, the past is revealed and Becca’s whole future is at stake.

WHAT’S COOL…

1) Becca is well-portrayed. I definitely felt for her, not only in losing her daddy to prison, but the fear she lives with trying to hide her true identity.

2) I liked Becca’s group of friends. It’s nice when she realizes she can trust them.

3) The mystery surrounding the fate of Whitney (of the scholarship fame) was done well. We get hints what happened, although it’s a nice, slow progression to the ultimate reveal.

4) I thought Haddix did a good job in her set-ups, leadins to the pay-offs later in the book. I loved the little details, like the u-haul switch before they move. And the essay switch-up was good.

5) The chapter headings were interesting. Basically telling us if it were “Then” or “Now”, often hinting at Becca’s state of mind. For example: “Now (Why, oh, why aren’t I in a different now?” or “Now—and things can get worse”.

6) I like how Becca’s father is portrayed. We’re able to feel the disgust and the sympathy, and all the emotions in-between that Becca feels toward her daddy. For a character that is hardly in the story, he has a very real presence.

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) [*Minor Spoiler] I thought the “sting” at the end of the novel a tiny bit unrealistic. Or rather, it didn’t seem it fit in with the rest of the story. It was like watching Hollywood suddenly take over.

2) The trip near the end of the story also felt a little forced. Like why is it that all of a sudden Stuart’s parents can’t make the trip? And then they only agree to the young people going is if Becca (the good student) is going?… How do they even know Becca? It’s very clear in the book that Becca never goes to the homes of her friends. So, that just seemed a tad too convenient to the purposes of the plot.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 3.5 Stars (out of 5) – I enjoyed the suspense of this book. It kept me guessing just enough to keep me reading. Overall, a good read.

Review: The Warden’s Daughter

Book: The Warden’s Daughter
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Basic plot: Cammie is the Warden’s daughter at a prison. Her mom is dead and she is desperately seeking a mother-figure. She latches on to Eloda Pupko, a trustee housekeeper (i.e. she’s a prisoner). But Eloda isn’t quite cooperating with all of Cammie’s demands…

WHAT’S COOL…

1) Cammie was a difficult character to like. I can only compare her Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden. BUT… I felt that she did grow on me.

2) I liked the bit about the toothbrush and the birthday party. Yes, well done, Mr. Spinelli! (BTW, I was with Cammie on this one, not the simpering toothbrush-girl. Although, she could have handle the situation a bit better.)

3) Reggie drove me crazy! She is obsessed with the prison’s most notorious inmate (a murderer) and wants his autograph… just ’cause he’s famous. Yet I like the arc with her character. And she works well as a foil to Cammie, making Cammie seem not quite so bratty. Especially when Cammie finally stands up to her and shows Reggie the mother of the murdered child, which puts the prisoners in perspective for Reggie.

4) I like the revelation at the end with regards to Eloda Pupko. But I won’t spoil it here. 😉

5) And Boo Boo. What a complex character!

WHAT’S NOT COOL…

1) At times it was really, really hard to like Cammie. I understand that this is part of the book (and it gets better near the end), but it’s still takes a toll on the reader.

2) At other times, I wanted to yell at Cammie’s father. Like why [*SPOILER] did he give her the key to the women’s exercise yard? [END SPOILER] I felt he allowed Cammie way too much freedom. She even bossed him around!

FINAL THOUGHTS

My rating is 3.5 Stars (out of 5) – I was certainly drawn into the story. I found that I didn’t like Cammie for most of the book, which is hard on the reader. We want to root for the protagonist. But in the end, I liked how everything turned out. (Which is why I tagged on the 0.5 star.)