MG E-Book Set Giveaway - The Black Shard

Remember when I reviewed the awesome MG book The Magic Warble? Well, the author Victoria has just released the second book in the series, called The Black Shard. The book is perfect for ages 9 - 13. It has 255 pages, and includes 1-2 pictures per chapter. I absolutely love the illustrations in The Magic Warble, and I'm sure that these are just as great.

Goodreads' Synopsis: Kristina's stay at summer horse camp is horrible to say the least, and it's all because Hester and Davina are there as well, making her life miserable. When Hester's cruel prank goes terribly wrong, it's actually what sends the three girls back to the magical land of Bernovem. In Bernovem, Kristina is very excited to see her former friend, Prince Werrien. When he invites her to sail with him on his ship to his homeland Tezerel, putting it simply, Kristina can't refuse.

Reunited with her gnome, dwarf, animal, fairy friends ... and best of all, Werrien, things seem like they couldn't get any better for Kristina. But when Werrien becomes fascinated with an unusual seeing stone, the "Black Shard," Kristina is haunted by a ghostlike old hag. Struggling against suspicion, guilt, illness, and ultimately the one who wants to possess her soul, Kristina will see it's in her weakest moment that she will encounter more strength than she has ever known.

I guess Hester and Davina didn't learn their lessons the first time...  The book is currently available on Amazon for $2.99. This is a great steal, most similar books are at least $5.99.

To celebrate the release of the second book, and because she is awesome, Victoria is going to give away 2 e-book sets to BBS' readers. So you will get The Magic Warble AND The Black Shard. Fo' Free. Sweet! To enter, just use the rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Pin It

MG Book Review - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Part of me didn't want to even write this review. Not because I didn't want to share how good it was, but because it has been given so many great reviews. What could I say that hasn't already been said? In the end, I decided to just go ahead and share what I loved about this book. So here goes.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick

Synopsis : A young boy lives in a train station in Paris where he meets all cast of characters and finds himself at the center of an amazing mystery. The book also gives a brief look into the beginning of cinematography.

How's that for a non-spoiler synopsis?

My review:

I received this book in late December, and it has been sitting on my to-read shelf since then. Everyday I would look over and see Hugo staring out at me. Literally, since the spine is half of Hugo's face. I wanted to read it desperately, but the sheer size of it intimidated me. It looks like a big clunker of a book. For some reason lately, I just wasn't ready for a big clunker of a book. Finally, I pulled it off the shelf at lunch one day and opened it up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that half of the book is made of amazing illustrations and stills from some of the earliest movies. This made the book go by much faster than I expected.

We meet the main character Hugo Cabret. He is the timekeeper at a Paris train station. He has a secret though. In his apartment, he has an automaton (see the illustration below to see what that is). His goal is to figure out how to make it work again, using parts he has squirreled away while fixing clocks. One day he is caught by the toymaker stealing a toy mechanical mouse. He is forced by the toymaker to work for him to make up for stealing. One day, the toymaker notices Hugo's notebook, which contains the images that Hugo and his father drew of the automaton. The toymaker freaks out and takes the notebook, mumbling all the while about "ghosts" and being "haunted".

The book is contains some of the history of early film-making. This was probably my favorite part. You learned a little bit about the first movie. Apparently it was just the image of a train coming out of the tunnel. But when viewers saw it for the first time, they fainted or ran screaming, fully thinking that the train was going to come out of the picture at them. It is amazing to think how far movies have come since then. It was really only a bit over 100 years ago that all this happened. There's a lot about Georges Méliès who really was one of the first film-makers. He is responsible for the famous image of the rocket flying into the moon. That image has always given me the creeps. 

What I loved about the illustrations in the book is that they weren't just illustrations. They didn't just show what was already written. Sometimes they showed the action that was occurring and continued the plot. I thought that was pretty interesting. It was almost a graphic novel, almost a picture book but with much more plot than both. It was an interesting new take on a children's book.

The automaton is in the bottom left.

The book has everything that a middle grader would want in a book. There's adventure, a mystery, a relate-able main character. The illustrations are a great addition to the book, as are the film stills. If your middle grader is a quick reader, they'll probably knock this one out in a day, maybe even faster. I definitely recommend this one. I was planning on giving it away, but instead I've decided to keep it for the bambino's ever-growing bookshelf. That's how much I loved it!

Favorite Quote: “I like to imagine that the world is one big machine. You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and types of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason, too" 

Disclosure: I received this book as a giveaway prize from Natalie Zaman. Thanks Natalie!

Pin It

MG Review & Giveaway - The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox

The Magic Warble is a new MG novel by Victoria Simcox. The main character is 12 year old Kristina Kingsly. She is an average girl with not a lot of friends but an awesome pet rat. The day before school break, her teacher gives her a gift in a small box. Unfortunately, neither Kristina, two bullies on the bus, nor her mean babysitter Davina are able to get it open. Kristina eventually tosses it in disgust.

Later that night, Kristina is woken by a loud buzzing noise. She searches all over until realizing that the noise is coming from the box, which now opens easily. Inside is a mysterious object, which Kristina picks up...

And finds herself outside in bright daylight lying in a pile of leaves. She sees a small, odd-looking man who seems to be gardening. She soon learns that he is a dwarf, and he's the leasy crazy thing she is about to learn. Kristina finds out that she is now in the Land of Bernovem and that she is the "chosen one" destined to return the Magic Warble to its proper place.

Kristina next meets a not-so-nice fairy princess Clover, her brother Looper, and a not-so-charming prince named Werrien. These three are going to help guide her to return the Magic Warble. Unfortunately, the evil Queen Sentiz will do anything to stop her, including sending her son and her monstrous zelbocks after her. To make matters worse, everyone who touched the box, including the bullies on the bus, her babysitter Davina, and her pet rat Raymond, have also been transported to Bernovem. How can Kristina get them home safely while also saving Bernovem?

This was a really cute fantasy novel with touches of Narnia, Hogwarts, and Lord of the Rings in it. Victoria has created her own fully fleshed land with all manner of creatures in it - both familiar and not. I have to say my favorite thing about the novel were the gorgeous illustrations. They really made the story come alive for me. I know that my young cousin is very reluctant to read anything without illustrations, so this book will be right up her alley. My only criticisms are that sometimes the children's speech was a little awkward for their age and that the bullies didn't get enough of a comeuppance for my tastes. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read. I wanted to sit and read it all at once, but unfortunately the baby had his own opinions on what I should be reading and when. There is no real violence or any profanity, so I would recommend this book for 5th graders and up. It would also make a great read-aloud with younger kids. 

Thanks so much for Victoria for giving me this book to read, and for being so patient with me when my review was continuously delayed. 

Would you like to win your own copy of The Magic Warble? Just fill out the rafflecopter form below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Pin It

MG Review - Scary School by Derek the Ghost

This giveaway is closed. Thank you for entering. The winner has been contacted.

 I've read lots of books with ghosts in them, but I've never read a book written by one. So when I got an email recently from Derek the Ghost, asking me to read the first book in his new series, I said yes. Who is going to say no to a ghost?!

Image copyright Derek the Ghost.

Scary School is the first in the series by the same name. It is Derek's tales of his school, the first of its kind. It is the first school to allow both human and monster children. Derek was simply Derek the student until a freak lab accident turned him into Derek the Ghost. Like all ghosts, Derek has unfinished business. He realizes that his unfinished business is to share his amazing school with you through his books.

Derek introduces us to to his former classmates and teachers. There is the vampiric Mrs. Fang, who only killed one child this year, making her the nicest and most popular teacher. Then there's Dr. Dragonsbreath, whose class rules will literally kill you. Then there is the founder of Scary School, Principal Headcrusher. While she is technically human, how many humans do you know with hands the size of boulders?

Dr. Dragonsbreath. 

There's also a student named Lindsey, which I loved. Her name was even spelled properly! She starts off as a real jerk, judging her classmates based solely on their looks. You'll have to read the book to find out if she learsn the error of her ways or just gets eaten by a really ugly monster.

If you are worried that Scary School doesn't sound like a very wholesome book, Derek has reassurances for you. "You're probably thinking this book isn't going to very wholeseome at all. Well, don't worry; just because a kid dies at Scary School, it doesn't mean that he or she will stay dead. As you will see, there's all sorts of ways a kid can come back from the dead and keep attending classes. In fact, losing your life is never an excuse for missing class. Plu,s through the act of dying, a dead student will ironically learn an important life lesson. It is such life lessons that will make Scary School probably the most wholesome book series to be published in the last twenty years."

I enjoyed reading about Scary School, but I would never want to attend it. I am too much of a wuss. Derek's writing is really comical. I found myself laughing out loud a bunch of times, and even stopped to read a passage or two to my husband. Derek does a great job of bringing his characters to life. Even the ones who are technically dead. The illustrations in the book are also awesome. The descriptions of the characters are vivid enough that they aren't needed, but I loved them. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the introduction of Derek's sister, Jacqueline. It is just the mom in me, and not anything wrong with the book. It just made me really sad to imagine an 8-year-old building a house for her big brother who is now a ghost. Like I said, this isn't a negative reflection of the book, just the idiosyncrasies of a crazy mommy. 

This would be a great book for a reluctant middle grader or as a read aloud with slightly younger kids. 

Pin It

MG/YA Review and Giveaway : The Magi

Goodreads' Description : Thirteen-year-old Elijah Hawk has never heard of the Magi. He doesn't know about the secret power they have. He has never been to Savenridge, the Magi city hidden deep inside the northern forests. Most of all, Elijah is unaware of the dangers hunting him, in search for something he has. After one terrifying night, however, all of that changes! 

My review : This book was so good! I wanted to read it all at once, but the baby wouldn't let me! The book centers on Elijah Hawk, a seemingly normal guy with a normal family. This all changes one night when his family is murdered. He escapes from the murderer and goes to live with his uncle. There he learns that he still isn't safe. His uncle goes missing and he is sent to a boarding school. While he thinks he is safe at the boarding school, he isn't happy, mostly because the headmaster and instructors are horrible to him. One of his teachers Master Roddick, helps he and his room mate escape from the horrible boarding school and get to Savenridge. 

In Savenridge, Elijah finally starts to find some answers, about who his family is, where he comes from, who the Magi are, and why anyone would be out to hurt him. He also starts to make friends and has some pretty awesome adventures. He learns that there are people who are able to harness the elements of air, fire, water, and earth to create magic.

This story has everything in it, magic, evil henchmen, wizards (called Magi), and elemental powers. To me it was a sort of cross between Avatar (the airbender, not the blue people) and Harry Potter. The only problem I really had with the book was the way the characters interacted with each other. Maybe it's because I'm now old (only 27!) but the way the teenagers spoke to each other just didn't ring true for me. They were extremely polite, even when they were mad or upset. Other than that, great book. I'd definitely recommend this to any fans of middle grade and young adult books. 

I rated this book 3.5 stars. 

Thank you Kevin for letting me read your first book, I look forward to the next. 

Would you like to win a e-book copy of The Magi? Just leave a comment below with which element (air, water, fire, earth) you think that you would be in control of if you were a Magi. 

Pin It