Animal Farm

 

 Title: Animal Farm   Author: George Orwell  Pages: 141  Genre: Classic Fiction

    On a farm out in the country of England, some animals get really sick of not reaping the rewards of their hard work when the humans don't do much of anything at all.  One day they run the farmer off the land and call it "Animal Farm" with the promise that things would be equal and fair and come up with their own rules. Slowly, the pigs who are of course the smart ones bit by bit start taking freedoms and changing rules on the rest of the animals. 

    I really enjoyed this book and feel a bit ripped off that it was not something I read in high school like so many others. It does make me think of all the things going on right now with Covid-19 and the President and how little by little I feel like he is trying to rip away our freedoms and so many people are willing to blindly follow just because of his title. It's not just the President either. Religion does the same thing in some regards. It is a book I will read from time to time to remind myself not to just blindly follow the crowd and do what is right for me. 

Conceal Don't Feel

 

Title: Conceal Don't Feel Author: Jen Calonita Pages: 312 Genre: Ficton

    What if there was a version of Frozen that Elsa didn't know Anna? Elsa grows up in the castle and is being courted by Hans while Anna is in a small village as a baker's kid. When the King and Queen are lost at sea Elsa is devastated and ends up finding a letter written from the Queen to her to explain the powers she is struggling with and also finds out she has a sister out there. She goes out to try and find this sister and along this amazingly hard journey she finds out the closer she gets to Anna, the more danger Anna is in. Anna will freeze if she is near Elsa and doesn't remember Elsa on her own. Luckily most fairy tales end with a "happily ever after".

    There is a lot of this book that goes with the movie that our sweet daughters are so obsessed with. I did enjoy it, I remember thinking how weird it was to imagine Hans and Elsa together instead of Hans going after Anna. Lovely images filled my head as I read it. It is a book I would recommend older kids or teens to read if they enjoyed it. I'm sure my 13 year old niece will enjoy it along with my 10 year old daughters. 

    

Pixie and the Green Book Mystery

Title: Pixie and the Green Book Mystery  Author: Coraline Grace  Pages: 103 Genre: Beginner Fantasy

~Review Request by Author~

     Pixie is a unique little 2nd grader that likes to read and wear apples. It's a bad day at school for poor Pixie. She races home so she can go to the library with her Mom (her favorite place). While she is there she sees a book that she hasn't seen before, this book isn't like any others. She soon meets Alice from Wonderland with that time crazed white rabbit and Cindi which is short for Cinderella. They quickly tell her that there is a  book guardian and he is trying to get them stuck in this new green book so their stories are erased forever! Cindi and Alice decide to trust their fate to little Pixie, good  thing she likes to read...but can she get them back to their books fast enough without getting herself caught by this mysterious book guardian?

I read this book with my twin 8 year old girls and they fully enjoyed it. They could relate to little Pixie and they loved the adventure she went on they can't wait for the next book in the series. I enjoyed the book and having a book that I can read to them and watch the excitement on their face was awesome as a Mom. It was lively and cute and I myself can not wait for the next book in the series to continue this bonding time with the kids and see what happens to Pixie next. So from this family Coraline is getting 6 thumbs up!!

The Diary of a Young Girl

Title: The Diary of a Young Girl  Author: Anne Frank   Pages: 268 Genre: Autobiography 

anne Frank is a typical 13 year old. she gets a diary for one of her birthday presents and is very detailed about the things that happen around her.
the detail anne puts into her diary made me feel like I was a friend and I was there with her. the drama at the annex and the tension of everyone cooped up. by the time the book ends anne is 15 and she has brilliant ideas and thoughts and knows more about herself than most adults do in this day and age. I would consider myself fortunate to be her friend.

Ruthless

Title: Ruthless  Author:  Carolyn Lee Adams  Pages: 248  Genre: suspense/thriller

Ruth Carver is a self driven teenager who takes the weight of the world on her shoulders. With this weight she doesn't let anyone close. One day she finds herself in the bed of a truck and not sure how, with a turn of events she finds out she has been kidnapped and needs to find a way out of this mess. As she fights obstacles trying to get back to safety she realizes that she has been taking her loved ones for granted.. now only if she could get home to tell them...

It starts off with a self involved teenager and it was hard for me to get into but as she starts fighting the obstacles and her character changes I enjoyed it more and more. By the half way point I hated putting it down.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  Author: J.K. Rowling  Pages: 435  Genre: Fantasy

Harry is getting ready for his third year of Hogwarts. However there is news that a mass murderer is loose from prison. As he gets closer to actually able to go to school he is told that this murderer is after him! There are a lot of twists and turns in this novel that keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens to Harry and his friends. 

This is my favorite Harry Potter book! I felt like it was more relate-able then those that dealt with Voldemort. This is a series that is fun to read with kids or just by yourself. There is so much more detail in the books that they need to leave out of the movies due to time probably and the "artist rights" and all. I can not recommend this series enough. I can even get my non-reading boyfriend to read them and enjoy them. I encourage everyone to try and read this series. There is so much you miss out on by just watching the movies. (I am in no way badmouthing the movies I think they are great too!)

Goosebumps: Trapped in Bat Wing Hall

Title: Goosebumps Trapped in Bat Wing Hall  Author: R.L. Stine  Pages: 137 Genre: Suspense/Thriller/Choose Your Own Adventure

It is done as you are the main character and you get to choose which path you take and how it ends. There are many different scenarios that can be played out. You get invited by a boy to go to "Bat Wing Hall" for horror story sharing. However it isn't story time its game time. How will you pick the ending?

I have always enjoyed the "choose your own adventure" books, I have however found it is harder and harder to find them. This is a book I will read over and over to see what different things can happen. The choice is yours :)