Return of Zombert by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Ryan Andrews
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
MG Review of Return of Zombert by Kara LaReau, Illustrations by Ryan Andrews
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Secondhand Dogs by Carolyn Crimi, illustrations by Melissa Manwill
Opening Lines: "Gus lifted his head and sniffed the chilly November air."
Praise for Secondhand Dogs:
“A sensitive, satisfying, and intriguing canine tale.” —Kirkus ReviewsTuesday, June 15, 2021
MG Realistic Fiction review of The Last Super Chef by Chris Negron
Format: E-ARC
Publisher: Harper Collins
Number of Pages: 416
Publishing: July 6th, 2021
Source: Author and Publisher via Edelweiss +
Opening Lines: "I know the exact amount of flour for the perfect cake batter."
10 year old Curtis Pith is passionate about cooking, whipping up everything from Crème brûlée cupcakes to a Cheese Soufflé. One day he hopes to be just like the host of The Super Chef, chef Lucas Taylor. Not only is Chef Taylor his idol, he's also secretly his absentee father, which his mom pretty much admitted when he was in the second grade. While watching Super Chef with his younger sister, Paige, Curtis is surprised to learn the show is changing up their format and that this will be Chef Taylor's final season. Curtis is heartbroken by the news until he learns that five children contestants will be selected from around the world to compete in a cooking contest with a grand prize of $250,000. Curtis knows this is his one opportunity to finally meet his dad and show him what he can do, and maybe help his single mom who's been struggling to pay their bills. Now all he needs is a winning video entry to impress the judges and be selected as a contestant for the competition.
I haven't had this much fun reading a book about cooking since All Four Stars by Tara Dairman. I like to think of myself as a culinary enthusiast, always curious to try new ingredients and dishes and I especially enjoy a story that highlights these skills. Plus as an added bonus both books have a Crème brûlée incident and speak to that inner foodie in me.
The Last Super Chef is a cross between the Golden Ticket from Willy Wonka, and the talented kids from Master Chef or Chopped Junior. The story follows along with each of the kids as they're selected to compete, start to prepare their dishes, including the prep work, utensils, descriptions of the scrumptious ingredients and the final presentation of their completed work to the judges. Each of Chef Taylor's challenges was designed to not only test their cooking skills, aptitude and how well they could work together, it also included a special theme for each challenge, based off the skills needed for an exceptional chef. I love how the story highlights kids from a variety of culinary backgrounds and introduces new ingredients, while exposing the reader to other cultures foods, including dishes from Kyoto, Japan, Mexico City and from Boston, Illinois and New York. Those Crème brûlée cupcakes and Jambalaya sound to die for!
The story is so much more than just the cooking competition, although this is the meat and potatoes of the book, there is also the emphasis of how a TV personalities life can become an international conversation. Speculation, rumors and questions about issues can arise at any given moment that don't pertain to anyone else but the individual. It highlights the pressures that kids place on themselves to live up to their expectations and those of their parents. And also the disappointment of letting yourself down by not feeling you can measure up. Yet, it's also hopeful by illustrating the importance of teamwork, friendship, a strong family support, and a dash of kindness go a long way in helping you succeed. If you enjoyed All Four Stars, love watching cooking shows and competitions, or know of a young culinary enthusiast, The Last Super Chef will certainly satiate their appetite. **A huge thank you to Chris Negron and Edelweiss + for the E-ARC**
Monday, May 24, 2021
Unlocked (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8.5) by Shannon Messenger
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Aladdin
Number of pages: 764
Opening Lines: "One of the first things Sophie's given after Fitz brings her to the Lost Cities is a registry pendant-a simple choker-style necklace containing a special crystal that allows the Council to monitor her whereabouts."
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Review of The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud
Format: paperback
Publisher: Walker Books
Number of pages: 400
Opening Lines: "That morning, with the dawn hanging wet and pale over the marshes, Scarlett McCain woke up beside four dead men. Four! She hadn't realized it had been so many. No wonder she felt stiff."
This is a mistake. They are soon pursued by men with dogs and guns and explosives. Scarlett is used to running from the law, but these trackers are the most skilled she's ever encountered--and they don't seem to be after her. Just who is this Albert Browne Scarlett must uncover his shocking secrets if either of them are going to survive.
Monday, May 3, 2021
MG review of The Antidote by Susan McCormick
Opening Lines: "No one in this village is safe."
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Blog Tour for WILLA OF DARK HOLLOW by Robert Beatty with Excerpt + Giveaway
I'm really excited to be hosting a spot for the Blog Tour of Robert Beatty's latest release, WILLA OF DARK HOLLOW hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. I hope you'll check out the excerpt and make sure to enter the
giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: WILLA OF DARK HOLLOW
Young nightspirit Willa discovers an ancient, powerful magic deep in the forest in the enchanting companion to Robert Beatty's instant #1 New York Times best-seller, Willa of the Wood.
This enchanting
companion to Robert Beatty's instant #1 New York Times
bestseller Willa of the Wood is perfect for any reader who
cares deeply about the natural world.
Willa and her clan are the last of the Faeran, an ancient race of forest people who have lived in the Great Smoky Mountains for as long as the trees have grown there. But as crews of newly arrived humans start cutting down great swaths of the forest she loves, she is helpless to stop them. How can she fight the destroyers of the forest and their powerful machines?
When Willa discovers a mysterious dark hollow filled with strange and beautiful creatures, she comes to realize that it contains a terrifying force that seems to be hunting humans. Is unleashing these dangerous spirits the key to stopping the loggers? Willa must find a way to save the people and animals she loves and take a stand against a consuming darkness that threatens to destroy her world.
Praise for Willa of the Wood:
"Willa of the Wood will grip readers from its first page...
Willa is... an admirable protagonist."—Culturess
"A moving, atmospheric journey of hope."—Kirkus Reviews
"Beatty conjures up a resourceful, compassionate heroine. Full of
atmospheric details and richly described magic... this well-paced tale asks
insightful questions about the relationship between nature and humans."—Publishers
Weekly
"The heroine is an appealing character... and her anguish is clear as she
wavers between frightened self-preservation and her desire to help her
friends."—School Library Journal
"Willa is a strong and likable creature of the natural world, and
seamlessly represents themes of loyalty, tradition, family, and stewardship of
the Earth in this engaging story."—School Library Connection
2018 Goodreads Choice
Awards: Middle Grade, finalist
2018 Cybils Award,
Elementary Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Nominee
Amazon: Best Children's
Books of 2018, ages 9-12
Imagination Soup: Best
Middle Grade Chapter Books of 2018
BNKids: July's Best Books
for Young Readers, selection (2018)
Brightly: 9 Middle Grade
Books for Environmentally Conscious Kids, selection (2018)
PopSugar: The Best books for
Kids in 2018, as Voted by Actual Kids and Parents Who Read Them, selection
A Mighty Girl: 2018 Books of
the Year, ages 9-12
Excerpt from Willa of Dark Hollow:
1901
The world is neither flat nor round.
It’s mountains.
1
Willa pivoted toward the sound. The sharp, popping cracks of fracturing wood rolled like thunder through the forest air. Then came the rain-like noise of a thousand snapping branches and tearing leaves crashing down. When the massive trunk finally struck the ground, the earth shook beneath her bare feet. A gust of wind swept through the forest and blew through Willa’s long bark-and-moss-colored hair. And as the realization of what had just happened sank into her mind, her chest filled with pain. The human loggers had cut down the great hemlock tree that lived at the bend of the river.
She stood frozen like a young deer.
It was a tree she had sat beside on sunlit mornings, watching the river flow past its roots, a tree she and her twin sister had curled up in on misty nights, gazing up through its outstretched branches toward the Great Smoky Mountain and the moon above. The trees of the forest had shrouded and sheltered her all her life. They had consoled her when her sister was killed. They were her earth and her soil, her sunlight and her song.
But now she heard the axmen chopping and sawing and shouting to each other, their harsh, barking words circling through the treetops like quarreling ravens. The quills on the back of her neck went up and a burst of heat flashed through her body. She knew she should flee this killing ground or blend her green skin into the leaves of the undergrowth and disappear from the coming human eyes. She must run from their tromping feet and escape their cutting blades.
But how could she run away when her friends were dying? How could she just leave them?
She had to stop the loggers, but she had no sharp claws or long teeth. She had no weapons or ability to fight. She didn’t hurt living creatures, she helped them.
The human loggers had jagged metal saws, axes, knives, guns, animals in chains, vast metal contraptions for dragging murdered trees from the forest, and black, steaming beasts that rolled on long gleaming tracks. She was a lone thirteen-year-old Faeran girl without a clan. How could she fight the men of iron?
The crash of another tree broke like a wave through the forest, the wind of it brushing her cheek.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
She knew she couldn’t protect the trees the way they had protected her. She couldn’t shroud them or shelter them or hide them from the world.
But she couldn’t just abandon them, either.
She took a few uncertain steps, her legs trembling. Her eyes watered with burning tears.
And then she ran toward the sound of the falling trees.
About Robert:
Robert Beatty is the #1 New
York Times best-selling author of the Serafina series and the Willa of
the Wood series published by Disney Hyperion. Loved by young readers and adults
alike, the Serafina and Willa books are being taught in over a thousand
classrooms nationwide and have been translated into over 22 languages. Robert
lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina with his wife
and three daughters. He writes full-time now, but in his past lives, Robert was
one of the early pioneers of cloud computing, the founder/CEO of Plex Systems,
the co-founder of Beatty Robotics, and the chairman/CTO of Narrative magazine.
In 2007, he was named an Entrepreneur of the Year. When asked about the
inspiration for his books, Robert said, “The Serafina and Willa books grew out
of my desire to write stories about unusual and heroic young girls for my three
daughters."
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads
| Amazon
Giveaway
Details:
3 winners will win a finished copy of WILLA OF DARK HOLLOW, US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week Two:
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5/2/2021 |
Excerpt |
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5/3/2021 |
Excerpt |
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5/4/2021 |
Excerpt |
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5/5/2021 |
Review |
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5/6/2021 |
Review |
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5/7/2021 |
Review |
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5/8/2021 |
Review |











