fantasy – Page 8 – One Chapter

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters

When I read this synopsis at the library, I wondered why I hadn’t heard about this book before. I already had a mountain of books to read but what the heck, what’s one more. A fiddle that can summon ghosts from their grave, oh yeah! Imagine the significances of that but then again, what would be the repercussions?

Shady is the main character of this book and she’s been having nightmares since her father died in a tragic accident. Shady can’t make any sense of what these nightmares mean. If only she could talk to her father again, he could probably answer many of Shady’s questions

Shady has an interesting family. Her grandmother was a medium who helped individuals talk to their dead loved ones. Her father had a fiddle that could summon spirits. Only her father’s fiddle seemed to cause more trouble than good. Shady has not seen her father’s fiddle since the day of his accident, it was in the vehicle with him. If only Shady could find her father’s fiddle and play it, she could talk to her father once again.

I liked the depth of this story. The mystery surrounding the fiddle and the history of Shady’s family, I found these interesting. I have mixed feelings about Shady though, as I liked how she believed in her family but how she treated some other individuals, I thought it wasn’t right. Why these individuals would put up it, I didn’t understand. As the lies and the past came to light in the story, I started to wonder if anyone knew the whole account or if they all, just had their own little part. I think the book could have been shorter, as parts of the story felt drawn out to me. I’m glad that I found this book at the library and read it.

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Courtney is one of my favorite writers and I admit I was hesitating to read a book about a zombie apocalypse and a suicidal girl. I mean, if you think about it, it’s a sad situation really and a strange combination. Yet, Courtney pulled it off and the book was engaging, sensitive, and entertaining.

Sloane was relieved when she was distracted from eating her breakfast. Now, she wouldn’t get in trouble for not eating but what are they going to do with the woman that her father stabbed with the shard of glass? As Sloane looks out their door, she sees the neighbor with the heart condition, lying on the grass, with individuals hunched over him. As Sloane watches, she notices that his chest is being pulled open by their fingers.

If those images don’t want you to board-up your house, I don’t know what would? I don’t know much about zombie apocalypses but I know, I’m not ready for one after reading this book.

It is now a week later and I find Sloane in a high school, barricaded with a handful of teenagers. There are the typical teen power and relationship issues with these survivors which I’m glad the author included as it makes this drama more realistic. The high school is a great fortress, as it has a lot of amnesties except its BIG. Big means lots of places to keep secure and lots of places for problems. THUD! THUD! Someone is pounding on a door and now, what are they going to do?

Sloane doesn’t know why she is with these teens. She has wondered this from the beginning as she doesn’t share the same feelings as the other teens. While the others want to survive and get to where other humans are, Sloane feels just the opposite. Her feelings all started six months ago when her family started to have problems and they have only escalated. Sloane’s character was perfect for his book.

I enjoyed reading this book and was glad that I picked it up.

Attack of the Underwear Dragon by Scott Rothman

Dreams do come true, at least for Cole and knights, they really do cry. When Cole wanted to be an assistant knight to Sir Percival (a knight at King Arthur’s Round Table) he wrote him a letter asking for the position. This letter touched Sir Percival so much, that he cried and then, he appointed Cole his assistant knight.

Cole did everything that Sir Percival asked from him and he learned a lot! Cole learned what it was like to be a knight and he learned what Sir Percival was most scared of, a big, scary Underwear Dragon. Sir Percival would dream about this dragon when he was sleeping. Cole loved being an assistant knight even if sometimes this job was difficult and hard.

Dreams do come true for knights also, unfortunately. The day came when the kingdom was under attack by…. an Underwear Dragon! Yes, you heard me right. All the knights were fighting this Underwear Dragon and it wasn’t looking good, for this dragon was fierce. Sir Percival was nervous as he didn’t want to have to fight it. Cole, being an assistant, knew how to fight like a knight should Sir Percival need him, but Cole was still just an assistant. The Underwear Dragon was putting up a good fight and Sir Percival thought he might be going into battle.

This was a cute story and the illustrations were wonderful. I thought Cole was a courageous young boy and I liked how he thought his way through the various situations that he was presented with. I liked how down-to-earth the issues were and how fun the book was. It’s a cute and entertaining story.

The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers

Located deep under the ground, beneath the store Perfect Pets, there’s a lab. In this laboratory, Green Rubber Suits create Perfect Pets. The lab is also home to the not-so-Perfect Pets. These not-so- Perfect Pets are called Failed Projects and they’re all stuck living under individual bell jars on one of the lab’s shelves.

Barnabus has wondered about the world outside the laboratory but it wasn’t until after, the Green Rubber Suits marked the Failed Projects did he decide to do something. Barnabus is a clever one as he gathers all the Failed Projects together so they can escape the lab. With fantastic, bright illustrations, you will love the journey that this team undergoes to find their way to freedom.

I adored these illustrations. The Failed Projects looked very adorable and unique. I enjoyed how they worked together and stayed together as they planned their trip. I loved the heavy pages of this book too. This is a fun book to read.

Lights on Wonder Rock by David Litchfield

This book was dreamy. As a young girl. she had dreams of going into outer space, so she sat on Wonder Rock with her flashlight, staring into the dark sky. If only, the aliens would see her flashlight and take her back to their home. Off and On. Off and On. Off and On, she clicked her flashlight. Then, it happened! A bright light lit up the sky and Heather face beamed. The alien was friendly and Heather was so happy! Yet, while inside the alien’s spaceship, Heather discovered that perhaps living in outer space with the aliens, wouldn’t be so great. She has waited so long for this chance but now, Heather is having second thoughts.

The illustrations in this book are terrific. I love how they were broken up into different sizes and the detail is fantastic. This is a larger size book which works perfectly for some of the illustrations. This book is a gem! Check out this book as I highly recommend it. I think many of us have dreamed of visiting the aliens in outer space.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Henry, everything must be done in moderation!

What a cute book! It was an accident really, the way this all started. Henry wasn’t paying attention when he took his first bite, it was one single word out of a book. Henry enjoyed it so much that he continued eating words until eventually, he was eating whole books! Henry got so good at eating books that instead of taking the books apart, Henry was swallowing the books whole! This part made me smile as I thought Henry must be related to the, “I know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a ….” as Henry was beginning to swallow some pretty big books!

This new talent that Henry had discovered was also beneficial for him too. He discovered a reward for all this eating and this is where he should have had some self-control! Henry should have enjoyed his new life and it’s perks but nope, Henry had to shoot for the stars.

Another great story by Oliver Jeffers!

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

She could have eaten Good Dog but Snap was hoping that they’re wrong. The kids called her a witch but that didn’t scare Snap. Snap threw open the door where she discovered her dog, lying down on the floor. It must have been that dark image that came in behind her that made her twitch. Or was it that question, which was thrown at her, for which Snap knew there was no good answer. It was a reflex that had her, grabbing Good Dog and running like lightning off the porch and into the freedom of light.

I found Snapdragon to be a spunky girl. She did her own thing within limits. It was sad that she didn’t have any friends but I liked that she was okay with it. She didn’t dwell on the fact that she’s not popular and she’s doesn’t worry about what others think. I hated it when she was bullied, besides all the obvious reasons, she had no one to talk to about it.

Later, Snap ends up going back to the woman’s house as she needs her and they strike up a deal. Snap and Jacks are now going to be helping each other. Snap finally has a friend and she begins to learn more about the person that her peers think is a witch. I liked how Jacks sparked issues and subjects inside of Snap. Snap’s enthusiasm and energy soared when she was learning.

Snap has a close encounter with Louis and I enjoyed Louis’ innocence. He was the perfect friend for Snap. I think they both benefited from their relationship. The scenes where they were watching the horror movie together were comical.

There were many relationships in this book, having great moments and moments that all true connections with another person have. I enjoyed these relationships and I look forward to seeing where some of these will go in future books. The only issue I had with this graphic novel was, I thought some of the transitions between the story lines were rough. I had a hard time knowing where one story stopped and another one began. I look forward to the next book in this series. 4.5 stars

Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart

I’m working my way through Dan Gemeinhart’s books and when I saw the cover of this book, my initial thought was that this would be an emotional, sweet story yet the synopsis told me something different. Even after reading the synopsis, I wasn’t prepared for what I read.

This was an emotional story about the love between a dog named Brodie and his boy. I liked how Dan wrote the story from the dog’s point of view. Like many people, I always talk to animals like they understand every word I say, and in Good Dog, the animals converse like humans.

When Brodie awakens, words engulfed his mind. He knew precisely what each word meant, yet he sensed that something was missing. Brodie didn’t know where he was, but he felt that this place where he was, was perfect. This was a dog’s paradise. Sasha, another dog, explains to Brodie that he’s dead, that he used to have a life and knew people, and soon his memories would come and he would remember what his life was like before arriving there.

Brodie mind is soon flooded with words, memories and emotions as his previous life starts to come back to him. Suddenly, that emptiness that Brodie had been feeling is filled. A memory washes over Brodie and motivates him to leave his dog paradise and return to his boy.

Brodie is determined to return to his boy. To do so, he pays a price. Returning to the human world, I had a hard time believing that this is a children’s book. I liked the idea behind what happens but the details to make that happen, I thought were intense and alarming on a children’s level. Perhaps on a middle school or YA level, they would be okay but not on a children’s level.

I liked Brodie’s commitment to his boy and the friendships that he made. He had quite the journey. There were moments that I found myself laughing, on-edge, and then, I had tears at 4 am this morning, it was an emotional story. I enjoyed the author’s creativity and how the story ended. There were a couple parts in the story, I was reluctant to read every word. I skipped a few paragraphs.

I don’t think this is really a children’s book. The violent description of the dog fighting is why I’m not giving it 5 stars. The violence is rather descriptive for my taste in children’s book. I liked the idea of the story; it was very creative.

“All this stuff (room full of books, old toys, video game system). And the only thing the boy asked for was this picture of him and his dog.”

Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk

Have you ever read a book and even though it stretches your imagination, you’re actually liking it, and then……bam, they’ve totally lost their minds and you wished, you could undo what you’ve just read? That’s what I felt as I read Making Friends. This middle school graphic novel was dealing with some typical teen issues in a unique way when suddenly the main character cracked.

Dany’s Aunt Elma died, leaving the family to sort out her estate on their own. Dany finds herself in the possession of one of her aunt’s sketchbooks, one of the few items the family didn’t fight over. Labeled, “handle with care,” Dany finds many of the pages empty and after a hard day at school, she begins to sketch in it.

Life was easier in elementary school when Dany had Joan and Leah at her side but now in middle school, it was getting more complicated. Dany decides to draw Prince Neptune, yet she stopped after only drawing his head. Neptune would protect her, if he was real. Dany talks to her drawing as her pencil slides over the paper. Admiring her finished drawing, Dany is stunned when the image pops off the paper and becomes a living thing! Remember, she only drew his head so the Prince is now a talking head.

Prince Neptune is immediately head-over-heels in love with Dany and calls her Princess Dany and boy, how fun is this!? Dany is enchanted and scared at the same time. What has just happened? The prince is compassionate, caring, and supportive to Dany (even though, sometimes his ideas are a bit extreme) but you need to remember that he’s just a head, that was drawn to protect Dany and he doesn’t know that much about this world and then you’ll understand why he says what he does.

Having the prince around does help Dany but it’s not like the prince can be out and around everyone else. Dany wants other friends and she wants to fit in, but how? You guessed it! She takes her pencil and she begins drawing in her aunt’s sketchbook. I see the dangers of this right away but Dany, she thinks it’s going to work out wonderfully.

Now, Dany is on a roll and she can’t stop now. It’s as if someone has taken over this girl and she has become a different person, who is she? Dany is this loud, screaming individual who rants and yells. Her face takes up the whole text box. Someone, please push her off button. I was liking this book until Dany got greedy.

Overall, it was a fun book that I was enjoying until things got out of hand. Why Dany had to go extreme, I have no idea but it was a turn-off for me.

Last Things by Jacqueline West

I really enjoyed the author’s use of language in this book. I liked how they slowly explained the events occurring, without revealing too much, letting me become totally immersed into the drama. I could feel the intensity and the energy of this book which I didn’t put down until I had finished it.

I also liked that there weren’t many individuals to keep track of in this book. Reading this on vacation, I didn’t want to have to resort to keeping a lot of notes on it while reading it. I found that, I got so involved in reading it, I forgot to write down anything about it except for the first few pages.

The book centers around a girl named Thea who moved to Greenwood and lives with her Aunt Mae. Aunt Mae has a reputation around town as being witch, or perhaps a lunatic. Yeah, not a good one to have. Some think it’s because she’s a drunk and when she’s like that, she likes to talk. Her talking is not pleasant either. Aunt Mae tries to warn individuals about things that she has seen, things that haven’t yet occurred and that doesn’t settle too well with some individuals. Aunt Mae doesn’t move much from the couch, she keeps her bottle close to her and Thea makes sure that her aunt has a fresh supply.

When we meet Thea, it’s Friday night and she’s headed off to the Crow’s Nest to hear the band, Last Things. It’ll be a mixed crowd of high school kids to heavy metal fans. Last Things is a local band and they’re becoming quite popular. Anders started the group and when he plays, he gets lost in his music just like their fans get lost when he plays on stage. They put on quite the show and lately, the place has been packed.

Thea stays off to the side when she watches the group perform, she hasn’t missed a show, since she got in town. Back at Aunt Mae’s, Thea has been stockpiling items outside, taking great care to secure these items, hidden from sight. Why she’s doing this, I have no idea but the idea that she doing this to “lock them out,” intrigues me. Thea attends high school, where she doesn’t really fit in but she watches and she’s aware of her surroundings. She keeps an eye on Anders, he’s different than the guy who everyone loves on stage on the weekends. Is this a crush or it is something else? Does Anders even know about Thea? I was beginning to wonder what their connection was.

Thea doesn’t spend much time at home but when she does, she talks with her aunt. Thea and her aunt have a bond with “them.” Thea feels that “they” are becoming bolder and closer and Aunt Mae understands this. What they are talking about and how this all ties in with Anders was getting quite interesting as Thea’s behavior was getting stranger. I was all in and I couldn’t put this book down.

Thank you to Harper Collins and Epic Reads Insiders for supplying a copy of this book to me for an honest review.