Author: Little Bee

Come join the fun! I review books :D
Posted in YA Book Reviews

Hunger

Posted on by Little Bee

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Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

 

I discovered this book in a random search of recommended books on Goodreads. From then, I actively sought out this book, but could not find in the bookstores. So I ordered it on Amazon. It took approximately 4 days to read, shorter if I had more time to donate to it.

This story has a powerful message, and I admit, there were times I felt it was TOO much. But overall, I am glad it was TOO much at times, because in real life, outside of the stories, it can be MUCH worse for REAL people. Lisa is anorexic. She tries to kill herself, however, Death comes and announces she is the new Famine. Yes, one of the Four Horsemen. This story goes through the emotions and motions with Lisa. Addressing not only how there are people all over the world starving everyday, but also addressing how Lisa views herself. Once Lisa had her “ah-ha!” moment, I found myself to be emotionally involved. It was nice watching Lisa grow and recognize she had a problem. I also liked that Kessler did not just fully force change onto Lisa. It has to be natural, and it is often a slow process.

I think at some point in our lives, we all come across someone with an eating disorder. We may not understand, we may not be able to help. Even trying to help, it may prove to be an uphill battle. Kessler wrote this for the Lisas in our lives.

I won’t give any spoilers. I liked the ending and disliked it at the same time. I wished there was a little more to the book. There is a lot of inner dialogue, which there needs to be, but I wish there were more opportunities to be Famine than what was in the book.

Overall, it is a great read and I highly recommend it.

Posted in Middle Grade

Loki’s Wolves

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Actual Rating: 2.8 stars

Rating Breakdown:

  • Originality: 2.5
  • Writing style: 2.5
  • Character Development: 3
  • Plot: 3

Genre based ratings:

  • Middle Grade: 3

 

I had some trouble with this book. As many may know, I am a HUGE fan of Rick Riordan. I have read the Percy Jackson Series (Greek), The Heroes of Olympus series (Greek/Roman), The Kane Chronicles (Egyptian), and have read the first book of Magnus Chase, Riordan’s new Norse Mythology series. I am anxiously waiting for book 2 and the start of his new series, Trials of Apollo. Having said that, lining up Loki’s Wolves with Magnus Chase, I have to admit, Riordan did it better. I think the concept of the Blackwell Pages series is a good one, however, the delivery is where it truly fell short for me. When reading, I could definitely tell it was a Melissa Marr book, and some of her works are hit and miss with me. She has a very distinct writing style that is different and like coffee, an acquired taste. I am hoping as the series continues, that it will pick up and will fall more into place. Also, the Blackwell Pages join the ranks of with killing of likeable characters (but let’s face it, we all saw that coming, it was Balder). I have been meaning to wipe this off of my TBR list for a while, and with the Mount TBR challenge, I finally dove in.

How does this book compare to likes of Riordan’s? It starts with 3 kids, going off to find other kids to join their little group, all champions of certain gods, in order to prevent Ragnarock from happening. By the end of the story, there are about 6 of them” Frey, Freya, Loki (2), Thor, and Balder (ish) and a witch sent by Odin. Cameo appearances from the Norns, Valkyries, and Odin. There are also trolls, wulfenkind, and maras (nightmares). The setting takes place in South Dakota. Throughout the story, I kept comparing it to Magnus Chase, which to be fair, I shouldn’t have. But I also compared it to Riordan in general and his master storytelling. There were some instances in the story that felt forced. A push to make the characters interact or respond a certain way that just did not make sense. Some instances in which it made the main character, Matt, Thor’s champion, seem too trusting and too innocent. Also, there were many instances in which the lack of confidence was TOO much. The inner dialogue lost it’s touch by the middle of the book. Desperate almost. Matt is supposed to beat the Serpent. As a 13 year old kid facing the challenge of saving the world, it is acceptable to feel overwhelmed and nervous. Totally acceptable. I am 30 and I do not think I could handle that kind of responsibility. At some point, you have to put your big kid pants on and get going, not going back and forth with yourself about if your lack of confidence is showing.

Of all the characters in the book, I believe Fen, Loki’s Champion, had the most character growth, even though he still struggles. Fen was on his own for so long, that he finally accepted his little rag tag group was his pack and he belonged. He was a member of the team. And no one judged him from his upbringing. Fen is wulfenkind. Laurie, also a descendant of Loki, is still learning her powers, but is a homing beacon of other descendants. Ray and Reyna (which I have a problem with Reyna being the name of descendant of Freya…seriously…Heroes of Olympus anyone?), Each character had some sort of growth, but Fen had the most. I am hoping desperately that Matt has some growth in later books. He needs it the most.

A major positive with Loki’s Wolves is that it hits the ground running. There was never really a lull in the story. It just started and kept going. I like that there was not a cliffhanger. This is a trilogy, of which all books have been completed. I like not having to wait for books. The overall premise is that this group of 13 years olds are tasked to save the world. Each one a champion of the god they are descendant from. Matt, Fen, and Laurie are tasked to go find the others in order to band together in order to save the world. There were attacks by trolls, attacks by Raiders (group of Viking like wulfenkind), and even maras causing confusion and fear. And of course, there was betrayal and death. Couldn’t have a Norse mythology book that did not involve betrayal and death. I have to admit, I enjoyed the book more towards the end, and my heart was broken for Baldwin (Balder) and Fen. 

 

 

Posted in Children Books

Jingles All The Way

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 5 stars
Audible rating: 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from audiobookbookblast.com in exchange for my honest review. 

This story was super cute and heartwarming. Believe it or not, there were parts that had me on edge a little waiting to see what happens. I am glad it worked the way it did for Jingles. This is a cute story for children. My job entails sometimes transporting young children and this is a book I will definitely share with them.

Posted in Children Books

Old Blue

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 3 stars
Audible Rating: 2 stars

I received this book from Audiobookblast.com free in exchange for my honest review. I have not been paid for my review.

This book was cute, and quick. The big hang up was the narration. The narrator was fine, however, the quality was sub-par. There was an echo to the narration and it felt like it was being narrated far away from the microphone. Cute book for kids!

This book should be able to hold a child’s interest. And it is true, sometimes are little furry friends find us, not the other way around!

Posted in Children Books

Cupcakes vs Brownies

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Audible Rating:

  • Overall 4 stars
  • Performance 4 stars
  • Story 4 stars

Narrator Rating: 4 stars

 

I was given a copy of this book for free through Audiobookblast.com in exchange for my honest review. I have not been paid for my review. These opinions are my own. 

This book is a Middle Grade adventure of Karim, a young boy, who finds a Djinn’s lamp (the Djinn’s name is Zimmah). Karim wishes for the world to be a happier place, and WHAM! Everything is dessert. EVERYTHING. #Candypunk Though this world should be a happy place, there is a war going on between the Cupcake King and the Brownie Queen. Rewinding a bit, prior to finding the lamp, Karim overheard an argument between his mom and dad. Karim has gluten allergies. His father was supposed to pick up vegan gluten free brownies for his birthday his mom had special ordered, he forgot. So Father went to a different bakery, believed to be gluten free and brought cupcakes, which after mom swatted them out of his hands, engaged in a verbal altercation. Results? Dad asked for a divorce.

The Cupcake King is Karim’s father, but the King does not know Karim in the new setting. The Brownie Queen is Karim’s mother, and again, does not know Karim. Karim races through the story with his dog (turned into a Lion) trying to get Zimmah to turn the world back to normal, and that a world made of treats was not what he meant by Happy World.

Karim learns that his parents will always argue. Always. He learns through this adventure that he can be happy even if they are not together. There are a lot of lessons that Middle Grade kids can learn and take away. The lessons are presented in a fashion that are enjoyable and not in your face about what the issues are.

My only qualm with this story is that the story ended, the lamp was tossed in concrete to be buried, but there is a second book. It is not a traditional cliffhanger, just confusing. I do look forward to reading the next book though!

Posted in Children Books

The One and Only Ivan

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 5 stars

This review contains spoilers. Through the ENTIRE review. I don’t usually do that, however, I cannot explain my rating without telling why.

The One and Only Ivan is such a sweet book. It is a fast read told from the perspective of Ivan, a Silverback that was captured in the wild when he was a young gorilla. He was ultimately brought to a roadside Big Top circus by Mack, the man who bought him when he was captured.

Ivan thinks his life is perfect the way it is, he does the same thing everyday and never really thinks anything about it. One day, a baby elephant named Ruby is brought to the show in order to bring more people in. The older elephant, Stella, immediately takes to Ruby and helps her get adjusted. But one night, Stella dies, leaving Ruby all alone. Ivan made a promise to Stella that Ruby would know better in the world, and not be left in that Big Top like the rest of them.

After Stella’s death, Ivan thinks and thinks of ways that he can get Ruby to a Zoo where she could be taken care of by good people and run with other elephants. Finally, Ivan gets an idea. This idea is sparked through his love of art, and a little girl named Julia (her father cleans the Big Top every night after it closes) provides Ivan with finger paints and teaches him to use it. Ivan sees a commercial for the local zoo and paints a picture on MANY pages of paper. Once it is complete he tries giving it to Julia so she can see it. Julia doesn’t understand, but eventually sees letters that spell out the word HOME. Julia and her father set to figuring out the puzzle and eventually see that Ivan painted a picture of Ruby at the local zoo (logo included) with the word HOME at the bottom. Julia begs her father to put the sign up over the current billboard logo, and he finally relents. The next day lots of people show up at the Big Top to see Ivan and Ruby. There are also protesters outside of the Big Top. Eventually a news crew comes by to take photos of Mack and Ruby, and of Ivan. During an interview with Mack, the cameraman goes around the Big Top and spots the claw-poke that Mack uses to get Ruby to do tricks. You know the one, that circus trainers poke the back of elephants with? The really MEAN device….and this claw-poke gets aired on TV! The next day, an inspector comes to inspect the Big Top. After that, someone comes with a Ruby sized crate, and will click a clicker whenever Ruby touches it and gives Ruby a treat. After that, an Ivan sized crate comes and the same process is repeated. Finally, both boxes arrive. Ivan goes into his box so that Ruby will not be scared. After Ivan goes into his crate, he is sedated. When he comes too he is in an enclosed room with a bunch of people who are taking care of him. Soon, the lady who brought the Ivan sized box comes in and puts a show on TV for him. It is of gorillas. Two females and a juvenile male. He notices there is no silverback to protect them. He watches them. Everyday. Until one day, the woman opens the windows. Ivan looks outside and sees the gorillas he has been watching on tv. The zoo slowly introduces him with the other gorillas. One day while out in his zoo jungle, he goes to the highest peak. Where he can see Ruby playing with the other elephants. Ivan is very happy. Ivan is finally home.

This book made me cry happy tears. The change in Ivan when he accepted that Ruby deserves better than what he has grown up with. Ivan did not remember prior to be captured. He only remembered being at the Big Top. This book was very moving. I found myself entranced, even in the simplicity of the writing. Simplicity is not always a bad thing. There was no need for fluff in this story. Applegate did not need it.

If you want to be moved, I suggest it. Even with the spoilers I provided, I left out a lot. I have never read this particular writing style, but I enjoyed it. I have wanted to read this book for a long time, so I am glad I finally bought the copy to read.

Posted in Book Reviews

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 2.5 stars

Narrator Rating: 4 stars

 

I was suggested to read this book by my boyfriend’s sister, in time for the movie. I want to first point out, I am not a fan of the writing style of the time period, and I have never really been a fan of Jane Austen. I do not even enjoy watching movies her books are based off of. However, I gave this a good shot. And I didn’t care for it.

My low rating is simply because I did not care for it. It did not wow me. But, I admit, it is because, as I said, I do not like Austen style books. So. This rating is skewed in that regards.

I did like the narrator. I think that is the only reason I  kept listening. She made it enjoyable. I was a fan of Grahame-Smith’s Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter so I was looking forward to the style. I think that his ability to blend in his story in the Austen style was good, so my rating isn’t necessarily because of him. He did a good job. I just didn’t like the overall story of Austen’s.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

A Thousand Nights

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

 

I had high hopes when I checked out A Thousand Nights from the library. I selected this book as one of the books for the Retellings Challenge I am participating in. This story is a retelling of Arabian Nights. Where the book did well in challenging gender, power, and love/sacrifice, it failed for me in the overall final product.

The leading lady in this story is nameless, she is referred to more or less as sister, and once in the castle, Lady-Bless. I find that intriguing, since this nameless female sets off to become one of the most powerful and revered female in the land. She saves the lives of many, after 300 females died before her, she manages to keep Lo-Melkhiin’s interest to keep living another day.

Where this story failed for me, the book descriptions talk about the stories that the main character weaves keeping the interest of Lo-Melkhiin. There were not many stories told by the main character, and the ones that were told, did not last long. Lo-Melkhiin, or the being inside of Lo-Melkhiin, was fascinated by the power that Lady-Bless some how had.

This story seemed to take forever, the best part was the final event at Lady-Bless’ sister’s wedding. I felt that it took me longer to read this book than it should have. It was slow, and many parts were boring or unnecessary. The writing style flowed smoothly. I feel, overall, though the concept is intriguing, it failed to deliver. You will have to read it for yourself to see what you think. I think with other stories coming out retelling Arabian Nights, this one is not up to snuff.

 

Posted in Book Reviews

The Wave

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Wave by Todd Strasser

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

 

This book is boringly written, but has a great message. It is about a high school social studies teacher that, in order to get his students to understand the Nazi party and Holocaust, creates a social experiment called The Wave. A motto is created, rules are created, members are identified as “monitors” so that enforcement of The Wave’s ideals are upheld, and even a salute is created.

The Wave takes off like wildfire with the Seniors in the class, and they begin telling others about it. Then over 200 hundred students in the school become involved. People who resist, well, let’s just say, some members strongly discourage. One Jewish student got beaten up by members, friendships were destroyed, and those on the outside and saw The Wave for what it was, they became fearful to speak out or move against The Wave.

The movement moved as one pack. A few students broke free and saw what it was doing. One student even attempted to push through and show others in the movement what was really happening.

The Wave moved towards equality. Finally, everyone felt equal to each other. The cliques disappeared. Those who lived in shadows or constantly teased, were a part of a group.

I think, experiments like The Wave and the Stanford Prison Experiment, are beneficial to society. It shows how impressionable humans are in their adaptability to something bigger than themselves. Some individuals, not because they are weak minded, need to answer to something greater to themselves. You find this in religion, in politics, in group/clique settings. We are pack animals. We need to belong. Do I agree with this structure? No. I am appalled that the Holocaust even occurred. Do I believe I would have stood out? I would like to say yes, because I always stand against what I believe is harmful, but you never know. There were some stronger characters in this book, but only some learned AFTER they hurt someone they cared about.

This is a book I think my high school should have read at some point. I am not sure why it didn’t. I still feel kind of weird about what I read, and how to process these feelings. I wish the writing wasn’t so dry and that I could have been sucked into it, but I felt myself forcing through, just trying to get to how the experiment ended. I think the ending was too abrupt as a reader, and I am not sure if that would really work to end this kind of experiment. I may need to do some research on what happened to the kids AFTER the fact. Those who participated in the Stanford Prison Experiment were never the same, they were all effected by the roles that they were given and getting into those roles.

Posted in Book Reviews

The Devil’s Rose- Mount TBR Challenge

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Devil’s Rose by Brom

Goodreads: 5 stars

 

As I was finally finishing this story, I showed my boyfriend some of the pictures and told him what this story was about. He asked me who it was by and I said Brom. He asked, “that’s his name?”…Yes. Brom is amazing enough to just go by 1 name. He does not need a full name.

Is there an author that no matter what they publish, you will grab a copy and read it? Brom is one of those authors for me. I managed to snag a copy of this book, this is his second illustrated novel, on Amazon. They seem to be really hard to come by. I love Brom, my favorite is The Child Thief, a Gothic, dark retelling of Peter Pan. He has another novel coming out this year, which I am extremely excited about.

The Devil’s Rose is a “short” story, only roughly 128 pages but jam packed with a beginning, middle, and end. The gorgeous Gothic art makes it that much more enjoyable. I always try to get people to read Brom, I share his posts on Facebook, if his books are on sale for Kindle (Though I suggest getting the actual hard copy).

This story is a western Hell story, so if you have delicate sensibilities or do not want to read “Devil” stories, then this book is not for you. It mixes Western with Underworld. Cole is sent by a Fire Demon to catch Rath and several souls that managed to escape Hell to bring them back. Cole is a soul catcher, and when he does the Devil’s bidding, it is considered time served and eventually he hopes to be able to find the soul of his beloved in the afterlife.

Here are some images from the book which I have collected from Brom’s website (Here)

 

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Cole, the Soul Catcher, former Texas Ranger who was shot down by deputy during a tirade at the Church when his beloved Rose killed herself. He collects souls that have escaped Hell.

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Rath. The god that escaped Hell with a few other souls at the beginning of the story.

“‘I burned their churches, crucified their priest, raped their women, and fed their children to our beasts.’ He said this as though describing nothing more than a holiday table setting.”

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One of the guardian demons in Hell.

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Escaped demons that took over the flesh of some living humans that were camping.