Buzzing by Samuel Sattin
Buzzing is more of a 3.5 as an averaged out score than either a 3 or a 4. I enjoyed seeing the changes in the illustrations to show the emotions, feelings, and how our main character is reacting. This is clever and a unique way of helping us see the situation. However, I never felt any one character was overly fleshed out and none felt “real” and more of a bit of a cliché. At the same time there are a lot of good pieces […]
Things in the Basement by Ben Katke
The rating of a four for Things in the Basement is because of the illustrations. While on the surface, Ben Hatke’s story and art are not huge “wows” (the illustrations are not overly colorful, or detailed; the story is slow to build up), there is something about them that makes you want more. The focus you need for the illustrations means you need to read the images as the book itself is mostly wordless. There are some interesting twists and turns and the “creepy factor” […]
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
I know people who read the Fourth Wing and raved about it; I picked it up in a bookstore, saw that it used first-person present-tense narration, and put it back immediately. I saw it at the library, and decided to give it another chance. I struggled to get into it, and then I saw a social media post of a bookstore display with the signed “worst books ever”; the two things on that table I have read I kind of believe deserve to be there. […]
Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang
I was hesitant to start Lunar New Year Love Story for a few reasons: I am not a romance reader; I thought the use of Leuyen Pham as the illustrator was an odd choice; and as I like Gene Luen Yang, would I build this book up too much and it would not live up to my hype? Well, I am still not a romance reader and the arc was not how I run my romance life, but it was fun and heartwarming. (Granted if […]
Heart Attack by Shawn Kittelsen
Includes triggers. Not for under aged 14 (and even then, know your reader). I’m rating Heart Attack by Shawn Kittelsen, Eric Zawadzki and Mike Spicer a 4 for several reasons: It is a strong take on what is happening today. It is an interesting story about family (biological and found) and how friendships and love shapes us. It talks about how power and greed corrupts both good and not so good people. And we see how things are not perfect, but humanity does try to […]
Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto
I was hanging out in a vehicle, waiting for the driver to come out of the grocery store. I had a few books with me and decided to pick the biggest one up (well, longest physically/horizontally) as the sun was hitting me right in the eyes and thought maybe it would block things. It mostly did, as it was (as I said) horizontal and not the usual vertical style. And what this book turned into was not just a poor woman’s sunshade, but one of […]
