Posts By: Rashika

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang

Posted by 1 Comment

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

Secret Coders by Gene Luen YangSecret Coders Published by First Second on September 29th, 2015
Genres: Graphic Novel, Middle-Grade
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three-half-stars

Welcome to Stately Academy, a school which is just crawling with mysteries to be solved! The founder of the school left many clues and puzzles to challenge his enterprising students. Using their wits and their growing prowess with coding, Hopper and her friend Eni are going to solve the mystery of Stately Academy no matter what it takes!

Things to know about Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang

1. It’s for a much younger audience. I didn’t realize this at first but while I was reading it, it become clear that I was not the intended audience of Secret Coders. This didn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the graphic novel, it just meant that it took me longer to get involved in the novel.

2. It isn’t just about coding and computer science-y stuff. If that isn’t your thing, don’t worry. It isn’t my thing either but I definitely enjoyed Secret Coders. There is a mystery element that makes itself known towards the end of the novel and that is what tied the knot for me. I want more Secret Coders because I needs to know the answers.

3. The illustrations are AMAZING. They aren’t in full color but they are so much fun to look attttt.

4. Themes. Okay, so now I feel like I am writing a book report a la 8th grade but THE BOOK HAS SOME REALLY GOOD THEMES relating to identity, family and such. Also there is one really amazing friendship that made me super happy to read about.

Basically, I don’t know how much someone over the age of 12 would enjoy the book but I am definitely not 12 any more and enjoyed it so I’d still say it’s worth giving a shot or recommending to a younger kid you know! Also, can I haz book 2? I want more time with these kids.

three-half-stars

3.5 Hot Espressos

Epic Cover Battles #5: Sandy Hall Edition

Posted by on 05/11/2016 • 4 Comments

As a self proclaimed cover-whore, I enjoy judging books by their covers. I’ve noticed that when authors publish books through one publishing house, their covers are usually coordinated in ways that distinguish their books from other books. So this time for Cover Wars, I decided to battle out a single author’s covers. So go forth and choose your favorite Sandy Hall book-cover!

 

Legend: The Graphic Novel Series adapted by Leigh Dragoon, illustrated by Kaari

Posted by on 05/08/2016 • 1 Comment

Having loved the first two books in the Legend series (I still haven’t read Champion!), I was so excited to dive into these graphic novel adaptations and see how the story would translate over into a new medium.

Day and June are fantastic characters whether they are in a novel or graphic novel. I love them as individuals and I love them as a couple. Although, admittedly, I am kind of upset my favorite bathroom scene did not find its way into the graphic novel (SO MUCH SWOON IN THAT SCENE.)

The action scenes also translate very well into the graphic novel format and I love the ways in which the world building comes to life through the beautiful illustrations. It allowed me to experience the dystopic world Marie Lu…

Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki

Posted by on 04/20/2016 • 1 Comment

When I found out that Mariko Tamaki had a book coming out, I was so excited!  I was curious to see how Tamaki’s storytelling style would differ from This One Summer and it helped that the book had a stunning cover.

Montgomery Sole’s voice is truly unique and stands out. She is angsty like many young adults (in YA novels and in real life) but her way of dealing with her angst is usually not dealing with it at all which explains the title and her need to be ‘saved.’ Montgomery Sole also spends a surprising amount of time searching conspiracy theories and buying rocks we know won’t actually do anything. That’s okay though because Montgomery Sole is a precious child that needs to be protected from the world. All of this…

A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood

Posted by on 03/30/2016 • 5 Comments

I don’t usually read anthologies and I find it even harder to review them because there are so many stories and so many different feelings about the stories.

But, A Tyranny of Petticoats did say it was about badass girls and who doesn’t want to read stories about badass girls? If you don’t you have come to the wrong place so toodooloo. It was nice knowing you.

So, I read the stories. I didn’t love all of them yet here I am, reviewing the anthology as a whole. The thing is, whether or not I loved every single story is beside the point. What makes this anthology special is the diversity in it. I think historical fiction has a tendency to privilege white voices over other voices just because that is…