The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A quick read.  Dark, creepy atmosphere and topics that address some of kids' deepest fears.  BUT, at the end, I am still thinking that this was overall Stephen King's It -lite.  :/  That being said, it wasn't bad, though I never really got into it.  I think in it's place, I'd recommend Neil Gaiman's Coraline as similar & much better (doesn't seem like so much of a knock-off).  Also, it's for older readers (9? 10?).


View all my reviews

Misty of Chincoteague

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'd avoided this book since grade school since it was an animal book that plenty of people just knew I'd love. I probably would have too! I liked it pretty well even as a grown up. :) It's also nice to have some animal books like this intermingled with the Old Yeller's and The Red Pony's out there. A little bit about growing up - both for the young people and animals in the book, but it's not as harsh a transition/decision/lesson as in some of the other animal books out there.

Definitely recommended for kids who love horses or other books with animals, but also recommended for general readers also.

View all my reviews

The Medusa Plot (Cahills vs. Vespers #1)

The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So this book is the first in the series that I read as a book rather than listened to in the car as an audiobook. It was a little bit harder to get into, but was still compelling once I got going. :) The authors working on the series weave a great story! :D It's nice to see more of some of the minor characters from the first series too - in particular Sinead. It's also nice to see the characters working together again, but one can tell that this alliance is still fragile.

Recommend reading the 39 Clues series first. If you liked that, you'll like this continuation series. :)

View all my reviews

Mind's Eye

Mind's Eye by Paul Fleischman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Quick read as it's in a play format - without most of the set descriptions & stage directions. The main character, Courtney is not very likable, but neither was Pollyanna right after her accident, so I can cut her some slack. Overall, it was a good book about imagination & the value that literature can have for an inner, mental life that other forms of entertainment don't always provide enough substance for.

I would definitely recommend this book to teens who need to do a book report in a hurry. I'd also recommend it to young people who like the sort of tearjerker where the main character (probably) dies in the end because she had sex once & got HIV or fell in love with a boy who dies at the end, etc... because this book is sort of like the book that comes after that. There's a terrible accident & the girl gets paralyzed, but that's not what this book is about. This is about her first few months in the hospital doing physical therapy & slowly recovering a will to live. It's not a tearjerker, but it deals with a terrible calamity that's befallen a beautiful girl.


View all my reviews

Exploring World Art

Exploring World Art by Andrea Belloli

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book groups works of art together on a topic regardless of where they were created or when. This is useful for a very general introduction to art history, but does not provide much depth. The descriptions of each work provide information about the time, place, and culture in which the object was created. This is a very visual book - a bit like the Eyewitness books from DK press - only with more depth on each particular picture. Overall, an interesting book for young people (6th grade +) interested in art or history, but not a useful book for an assignment (not enough depth on any one thing).



View all my reviews