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Annie B., Made for TV by Amy Dixon
Released: June 5th 2018
Format: Kindle
Publisher: Running Press
Source: NetGalley

A BIG Thank You to NetGalley for providing me an advanced reader’s copy of “Annie B., Made for TV” by Amy Dixon in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this book. True, is it not a game changer of any sort, but it is a charming middle grade story of friendship, and shows how the main character, Annie reacts when her friendship with her best friend Savannah starts sinking and how she tries to mend it.

I thought this book touched on an interesting subject on how we feel and respond to our friends when we are faced with certain situations. We all have close friends whom we look up to and aspire to be like. Sometimes, when we see them be successful in things that we fail to be successful at, it make us angry or jealous at them, rather than be supportive. I liked how the story touched on this idea and showed how Annie reacted to the circumstances when she saw Savannah stealing her spotlight. I know a lot of us have had best friends whom we are not close with as time goes on, so reading books like these reminds me that we should really cherish the people who are close in our lives that we consider as good friends and family, and not let emotions like jealousy get in the way. After all, like how the author mentions in the story:
“Good friends are like stars. You can’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.”

The only part that I slightly got tired of was reading all the sales ads that Annie comes up throughout the book. At first, it was fun to read these quirky advertisement ideas that she creates, but after a while, it just got monotonous, and I just wanted to focus on the story. It would have been fun if the way each advertisement sounded was different from one another, but they were all portrayed in the same manner, and at times seemed like unnecessary fillers added to the book.

The style of writing is simple and the pacing is easy to follow. Overall, this was a very cute book that a middle grader would enjoy. However, as much as I liked it, I am giving it only 3 stars as I feel like the characters were not that memorable, and more often than not, I did get tired of the “advertisements” ideas.

Marabel and the Book of Fate by Tracy Barrett
Released: February 6th 2018
Format: Kindle
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: NetGalley

A BIG Thank You to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of “Marabel and the Book of Fate” by Tracy Barrett in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun book to read!

The book is written in a very simple manner and progresses so nicely that you never feel like it is dull even for a minute. It was one of those books that I really didn’t want to put down as it was so entertaining! Each adventure that the team faces as they go on their mission to save Marco is thrilling, but is also solved in a charming way that would not scare young readers. There are so many valuable morals mentioned in the book, and I felt it had the perfect blend or adventure, humor, thrills and scares to keep readers of all ages invested in it.

What I particularly loved about this story was all the pop culture references that were included in it. While I assumed the story to take place in a typical medieval setting, it was ingenious of the author to make the setting more modern, by including things like Wi-Fi, selfies, video games and yes, Siri as well with quirky names. Considering that all of these modern gadgets occur in the Barrens, while Magikos is still rooted in ancestral tradition, the author provides a good contrast on showing how important it is for us to be progressive, as well as retain our cultures and values.

Marabel, the main character, is portrayed different from other princesses in that she is depicted as an average girl and doesn’t have any unpleasant upbringing. At first I thought she was going to be one of those whiny characters who the reader feels pity for being neglected, but throughout the book, Marabel is depicted in a very positive manner that the mostly anyone can relate to. In fact, I liked all the supporting characters in the story like Ellie, Cornelius and the others (except for Ginevra) as they were all pleasant to read. However, Floriano is my favorite character in the story. The conceited unicorn not only provides humor, but saves the day for the girls in many occasions. Even Aunt Mab, the villain of the book, is a delight to read.

Overall, “Marabel and the Book of Fate” surpassed my expectations, and I highly recommend and encourage young readers and the young at heart to read this book.

A Hundred Little Flames by Preeti Shenoy
Released: November 11th 2017
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Westland Books
Source: Amazon

This is the third book of Preeti Shenoy’s that I have read, and it did not disappoint! I feel that Preeti Shenoy is one of those authors who writes relationships really well. Her style of writing is very fluid and easy to read, and she dwells into human relationships in such a manner that the reader can effortlessly relate and root for her main characters.

What I liked about “A Hundred Little Flames” is the message it conveys on how important it is to work hard to build trust to understand one another and develop a strong relationship without giving up easily. In our ever changing world where social media and mobile apps have become an integral part of our lives, by giving us so much freedom and accessibility to choose a product or a partner with a swipe of the screen, it also has a downside in that people give up easily on others if they find a fault in them, as they have numerous other options to find someone new. So, reading this book felt like a breath of fresh air to remind us that while these technological advancements might be good in some ways, the human bond and the way we personally interact with others and dedicate time to spend with friends and family is truly what matters.

There were some minor parts in the book which I felt could be easily removed. For instance, I felt the author was trying to shove the fact that what Gopal Shankar had Rohini was pure. While the story speaks for itself and the reader feels how special their story is by reading the events, I didn’t feel the need for the author to explicitly mention how special it was (via Ayan’s thoughts) across every other page. Also, I didn’t care much for the scenes between Ayan and Shivani as I thought they were unnecessary (because I wanted to read more about Gopal Shankar’s life) but I understood that the author included these details to show how impatient we have become in trying to build our relationships with people and how we tend to give in more to our physical pleasures than emotional bonds. Another thing that slight disappointed me about this story was how the ‘villains’ didn’t get their comeuppance.

Coming back to the positives, the story itself is written in a beautiful manner of four parts, each focusing on a different timeline of Ayan and his grandfather’s life. Apart from the storyline, the author has pleasingly depicted the majestic beauty of Kerala and its culture. On finishing this book, not only do I want to go back to the ideal village landscape of South India, but I am also motivated to start my own journal entries as a hobby. The main characters Ayan and Gopal Shankar are delightful to read, and the author has nicely portrayed the mindset and behavior of these two characters from two different generations.

Overall, this is a lovely book to read, and definitely one of my favorites by the author.

Wanted! by Caroline B. Cooney
Released: July 1st 1997
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: Amazon

I feel like this book had a lot of potential for being a memorable fast paced thriller. The plot itself makes you want to pick it up and find out what happens next. However, after reading it, I felt like that I had wasted my time reading this lackluster thriller.

Firstly, I felt the pacing of the story was a bit haphazard and the storyline had a lot of unwanted information that was not needed. For instance, when Alice meets Paul, do we really need half a page of how she knew another Paul from school who was joining MIT? Or when she looks at the high tower offices and wonders how glass structure stays that way and if her dad worked in one of those buildings? Or how about describing how neat Ginger’s room is and spend another two pages of how it reminded her of her dad? I felt like for every action Alice was taking, we got an additional few pages description of how it reminded her of her father. I understand that Cooney probably did this to show that the character was mourning for her father and was in a confused state of mind, but it got monotonous to read it repeatedly.

Secondly, the ending was very disappointing. Considering that I spent around 220 pages reading about how Alice is a fugitive and doesn’t know how to stop the nightmare she’s in, I would have expected the climax to be a little more interesting and drawn out when Alice finally confronts the killer, but things just happened with a blink of an eye, and I just sat rolling my eyes thinking how everything just unbelievably wrapped up neatly in place in the last three pages.

Despite all this, I am giving this book 2.5 stars as the book did hold my interest in the second half where I kept wondering what Alice would do next and how the story would end. I feel like in these kind of thrillers, you really need to love the main character and root for them, but at times I really couldn’t care of what happened to Alice as I found her to be stupid and careless, but I can understand that’s probably how any teenager would have behaved in that situation.

Overall, “Wanted” is a quick read but not a very memorable one.

Spring Break by Barbara Steiner
Released: December 01, 1997
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: Amazon

I used to love reading Point Horror, Fear Street, and well, mainly anything that R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike wrote. I still revisit some of these books from time to time, to see if it spooks me on re-reading it. While some of the books manage to give me the shivers even now (like the Babysitter book by Stine), I thought “Spring Break” was extremely boring.

Firstly, I found the main character of the book, Angie, to be very annoying. Throughout the book, I only got to see Angie getting jealous of her friends having a dating life, even though her friends are genuinely nice; bragging about how brave she is and is a go-getter compared to her friends; and worst of all, falling for some guy she hardly even knows just because he looks like Brad Pitt! I couldn’t find any likeable traits in this girl that made me want to root for her in the entire story.

Secondly, the book is SO slow! The story never seems to progress except for the last 30 or so pages when the girls finally decide to go attend the ‘party’. Otherwise the previous 150 pages mainly goes in this sequential loop: Angie meeting Val, she drools for him, he disappears, she gets depressed and gets jealous in seeing her friends coupled up, she hears strange noises in the guest house, and repeat. I started to fall asleep multiple times while reading this book, and had to force myself to continue.

The only saving grace about “Spring Break” is the ending. Even though I guessed who the culprit was, it was interesting to find the reason for why this person acted in this manner. Even the cover of the book was apt with the events that unfold in the climax, which usually doesn’t happen in Point Horror novels. Speaking of the cover, I thought the artwork for the cover was really cool, as it gives the perfect 80s horror vibe to it.

Overall, this was a tedious book that contains hardly any thrills or chills, and I would recommend any fan of the series to skip this one.

Thornhill by Pam Smy
Released: August 29th, 2017
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Source: Amazon

I loved how this book tells two stories in parallel from two different time frames, one through prose that happens in 1982, and the other through illustrations occurring in 2017. Coming to the story told through prose, the story is described in a simple manner through the diary entries of Mary, and how she struggles being bullied by one of the girls in Thornhill institute. As the story progressed, I was eagerly looking forward to Mary getting her revenge on the other girl who tormented and bullied her so much. While some people may find this book too negative because things don’t happen for Mary as you would like it to, it does depict the sad truth we face in our daily lives, where we realize that sometimes bad things happen, and you really cannot do anything to stop it, no matter how hard you try. It made me realize how many people there would be out there, who are extremely talented in their own way, but due to their circumstances, they really don’t get the recognition they deserve. However, having said this, I do wish that the story showed something nasty happening to the other girl, just to get a sense of satisfaction for the reader that she got what she deserved.

While I loved the illustrations depicting the present day story, the story itself did not make much sense to me. There are many questions I feel were not answered, like

• Why is Ella curious to find out about Mary? Are they related?
• Why is Ella sad? Did her parents get divorced and she does not have friends?

Perhaps these answers are depicted in the illustrations, but I couldn’t understand the reason for Ella’s motivation for going through all that trouble to find out more about Mary. However, the details in these illustrations themselves are hauntingly beautiful and I had to pause to look at each of them to admire the author’s talent.
Some of my favorite ones are:

This book isn’t really scary in terms of creating a gothic atmosphere, but it did leave me with a sense of discomfort and sadness upon finishing it. It is gripping and short enough to finish in one sitting, and I wouldn’t mind reading it again in the future.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (10th Anniversary Edition)
Released: October 13th, 2013
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Source: Gift from Friend

I received this book as a gift from a dear friend, as he knew I enjoyed reading young adult/suspense/thriller/horror novels. Since I have never read any of Neil Gaiman’s books before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew that “Coraline” had come out as a movie that was critically acclaimed as few years ago, but I haven’t watched the movie either so I wasn’t sure if I would like this book or not. Having said that, I really enjoyed reading “Coraline”. Gaiman’s style of writing is simplistic, unique, captivating and creepy at the same time. The story-line has interesting characters, good pacing, and a lot of creepy elements added to keep the reader turning to the next page.

One of the main reasons I liked this book was because of the main character, Coraline and how she interacts and reacts to the situations around her. Even though she is scared when realizes that she is trapped in the other world, she doesn’t succumb to defeat, and always tries to find a way to escape. Also, I’m not a cat person in general, but I found the cat ally of hers to be adorable, snarky, and humorous. I also found Miss Spink and Miss Forcible to be delightful, and would have loved it if the author had written an additional chapter on Coraline’s interaction with the “other” versions of them.

I disagree with some of the other reviewers out there saying that this is mainly a children’s book and not scary enough for adults. I found some parts to be extremely unnerving, like when the disfigured form of ‘other’ father approaches Coraline to trap her, or when the hand starts crawling around the house while Coraline is sleeping. However, this is a book meant for young adults as the target audience, hence the reader should not expect a Stephen King like story-line out of it.

Overall, “Coraline” is a wonderfully written book that tells young readers that sometimes people will tempt you with false promises and lies, but you should be smart and believe in yourself and do what is right, and have true friends who would support you along the way. Now it’s time for me to watch the movie and see which one is better (although I feel the book will be slightly better)

The Emperor’s Riddle by Kat Zhang
Released: May 2nd, 2017
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Aladdin
Source: Amazon

The Emperor’s Riddle is an adventure tale of eleven year old Mia, as she tries to solve a series of riddles in Fuzhou, China, to seek an old Emperor’s treasure and help her search for her missing Aunt.

Personally, what I loved most was the way Zhang takes the reader on a tour of Fuzhou while the characters try to solve the riddles to the Emperor’s treasure. As I have never been to any of the places mentioned in the book, it was fascinating to get knowledge and visualize the historical places like Sanfang Qixiang, the White and Black Pagoda, the Ming Dynasty and the Cultural Revolution. Knowing that this was targeted towards younger readers, I liked the fact that she just touched the surface of the history and significant places (without getting into too much detail), thus creating a good blend of the story with the historical backdrop.

It was interesting to read how the main character Mia, who is a shy, sensitive and timid girl, goes about living the Grand adventure she always yearns. I also liked her relationship with her brother Jake and the way they fight and patch things together the book. The story itself is wonderfully written where Mia uses the help of the family in order to solve the riddles while getting close to them. The maps were an amusing touch added after Mia solved each of the clues.

Having said that, there are a few things that I felt could have been done better. Even though I could relate to Mia’s character, I personally didn’t like the way she treated her uncle throughout the book, especially since he was so nice to her. I wish Zhang had written a bit more to patch their relationship together. Secondly, while the riddles and the story was fun to read, it did seem unrealistic that Mia just happens to solve most of the clues in the first 3-4 days in a place she doesn’t even know well. The story felt rushed at times and I feel the author could have done a better job with the character development.

Overall, this was a delightful quick read that I would recommend to young readers.