Genre: Middle-Grade


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Review: George by Alex Gino

Posted by 2 Comments

I received this book for free from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: George by Alex GinoGeorge by Alex Gino
Published by Scholastic on August 25th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA, Middle-Grade
Source: Scholastic
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

BE WHO YOU ARE.

When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl.

George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

What a wonderful book!! This is a MG book about a transgender girl and I can not give enough love to this. So many younger kids may know that they are not in fact the gender they are born, and this is the first book I have read that is targeted toward younger kids. George is 10 years old and she is a girl. She knows she is, but no one else does. I know from discussing with people that this may be a book that rubs some people the wrong way due to the targeted age, but I think it’s perfect. For people to say that it’s too young and that kids that age don’t know, I think that is ignorant. No one can tell someone what they feel or know in their mind and their heart. I think this is a fantastic eye opening book about what a transgender girl of this age might be going though. And I absolutely loved how from the start, there are only female pronouns used for George, since she is a girl. 🙂

George is a girl. Not by birth, but she knows she is. The only thing is, no one else knows. She has one really great best friend who she thinks would be understanding, but she doesn’t know how to tell her. When George discovers that they will be doing Charlotte’s Web for the school play, she wants more than anything to be Charlotte. When she doesn’t get it because she’s a boy, that hurts her. She finally comes clean with her best friend that she is a girl and they devise a plan so she can play Charlotte without anyone knowing until it’s too late. She also does tell her mom and brother. Her brother is super supportive and takes it well, but her mom is a bit put off at first. It’s a shock, but she comes around. Her rock through the whole thing is her best friend though, who she can just be herself around. Things aren’t always easy, but George is strong. And she prefers to go by Melissa. I loved her!!

I think that it is so great that there is a book for younger kids about being transgender. I love that a younger person who may be going through the confusion of how to tell people, or what things will be like in school could find this book helpful. To know that they aren’t alone. To be able to lose themselves in a story that they can relate to. It makes me so happy to see how much this community has grown and how many books are out there for everyone to read. Especially younger people. No matter what anyone else may say about this not being great for younger kids, I disagree. I think it is the best thing for younger kids. For any younger person regardless of whether this is a situation they are facing or not. It spreads awareness. It helps people who might feel alone. It is just a great book to get lost in. It was an uplifting and beautiful story!! I hope that this book finds its way to many, many hands!!

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

Series Spotlight : Thrones & Bones Series by Lou Anders

Series Spotlight : Thrones & Bones Series by Lou Anders

Posted by on 05/26/2015 • 2 Comments

Today I am spotlighting the Thrones & Bones series by Lou Anders. It is getting closer to the publish date for the second book in the series, Nightborn. This is a fantastic MG series that I think many people will enjoy. I have not yet read the second book yet, but I am almost done with the first one, Frostborn, and am really enjoying it.

Frostborn is the first in the series, and so far it is great! The characters are interesting, but more than that, I love the visual imagery that I get from it. I can imagine the lands and the Giants, and everything that is going on. The story is wonderful and I am excited to continue on the adventure and see where…

Review: If I Were You by Leslie Margolis

Review: If I Were You by Leslie Margolis

Posted by on 05/05/2015 • 6 Comments

This was a super cute and fun read. It’s middle grade book, so the characters are quite young. About to go into middle school actually. They have been best friends forever, until a boy comes between them. Their looks are completely opposite. Where melody is blonde, curvy and pretty much perfect (not to mention the boys all want her), Katie feels frumpy and has no curves to show off. Both are secretly jealous of the other though, not because of boys, but because the others life seems so much better. When they both wish to start over summer as the other and the wish comes true, it’s like a second chance to save their friendship and to understand each other a little better. Maybe even be closer than ever. It’s…

Review: The Doublecross: And Other Skills I Learned as a Superspy by Jackson Pierce

Review: The Doublecross: And Other Skills I Learned as a Superspy by Jackson Pierce

Posted by on 04/29/2015 • 3 Comments

OKAY, THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST ADORABLE AND FUNNIEST SPY-KIDS NOVEL I HAVE EVER READ.

Sorry for the all-caps, but seriously, I never thought a premise involving elite spy kids… or, err… pseudo-elite spy kids… would be in the same sentence as “cute” and “adorable”. In less than 3 hours, I finished from A-Z and I was like, “I NEED MORE SPY KIDS IN MY LIFE.”

Heroes don’t always look like heroes, and villains don’t always look like villains.

I had to work out who was who. I had to work out the truth.

Meet Hale Jordan – the son of two of the most elite spies of the SRS and the brother of a possible spy prodigy – a young soon-to-be-and-still-in-training spy who could not be anymore “unfit” for the role….

Review: Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp

Review: Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp

Posted by on 04/09/2015 • 3 Comments

I was hoping that this would be cute and fun, but I found myself so annoyed by the MC that I couldn’t really enjoy the book at all. I think that the story itself was pretty interesting, but I couldn’t stand Ivy. I did enjoy the stuff about the Clock Diamond and its magic and Ivy’s journey though. I wish that I could say that I enjoyed some of the characters, but I really didn’t. This is a middle grade book, so the younger crowd might enjoy it much more than me, and probably won’t find things as irritating as I did. The other thing that I liked about this book was the artwork. It was very good and thought that it really brought something more to the story. Since…

Review: Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly

Review: Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly

Posted by on 02/19/2015 • 8 Comments

This was a book that I was really excited to read. I didn’t like it quite as much as I had hoped, but it was really enjoyable. The characters were wonderful, especially Kymera. It was a bit predictable and long, but it was interesting so it kept me from getting bored with it. Even at its slow pace, the way things all came together was great and it was easy to get lost in.

Kym is a creation intended for the purpose of saving the sick girls from the wizard. She is very naive and only knows what her father has told her. She is happy with her mission and truly has a huge heart. She wants to do what is right and she wants to save everyone. She…

Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Posted by on 01/22/2015 • 2 Comments

I am always up for a fairytale retelling, so of course I had to read this book. Especially since it has a dark twist to it. This was a book that was so easy to get into and get lost in. I loved uncovering all the secrets and find out how everything would end up. This is middle grade, but it the writing was very mature. the characters were great, though we don’t get to know many of them very well aside from Sarah and Alan. We learn about the other characters, but don’t really know them on an emotional level. Either way, this was a great book.

Sarah is a young girl, but wise beyond her years. She has moved around a lot and she is a bit…

Review: Ferals by Jacob Grey

Review: Ferals by Jacob Grey

Posted by on 11/26/2014 • 14 Comments

You know what’s really hard? It is to read a book from a certain demographic that gave you a migraine, just right after you read another book from the same category that made you fly the heavens because of absolute ecstasy. There is always that voice in your head comparing the two, asking why is it like this when the other one did it better? More often than not, your mind fools itself to think that the book is actually worse than it is. I know I have to take that into account, but I can’t deny that my feelings right now are leaning towards a particular end of the stick… the one where a raging She-Hulk is preparing to throw a couple of knuckle sandwiches.

With that said, please,…