September 2017 – Page 3 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Shakespeare for Children: Romeo and Juliet

Title: Shakespeare for Children: Romeo and Juliet
Author: William Shakespeare
Genre: Children’s
Publisher: Sweet Cherry Publishing
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: October 21, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Hailed as one of the greatest romantic tragedies ever written, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the tragic love story of the ‘star-crossed lovers’, Romeo and Juliet. Set in the city of Verona, Italy, the play revolves around the feud between two affluent families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Despite the enmity, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall passionately in love and wed in secret. However, the curse of enmity overpowers and everything goes terribly wrong.

Review:

Romeo and Juliet was the first Shakespeare play that I read. My class put on a condensed version of the play when I was ten, and I later read it in middle school. I think it is a good choice for introducing children to Shakespeare.

This is a good version of the story. I liked the illustrations that went along with it. They would help children follow along with the story. Some of the men were drawn in a similar way, like Mercutio, Benvolio, and Tybalt. But Romeo and Juliet were distinctly illustrated.

I liked the way that some of the most famous lines from the play were paraphrased so modern children would understand. For instance, in the balcony scene, Juliet says “O Romeo, Romeo! Why do you have to be Romeo?” rather than “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” This way, children will learn what the characters are saying without getting confused by Shakespeare’s phrasing.

At times I found the story to get a little confusing. Especially at the beginning, there is a lot of “he did this, then this, then this.” However, the main points of the story were clear.

This is a great book to introduce children to Shakespeare.

First Lines Friday #4

This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.

Here are my first lines:

“All the best things in my life have started with a Dolly Parton song. Including my friendship with Ellen Dryver.
The song that sealed the deal was ‘Dumb Blonde’ from her 1967 debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly. During the summer before first grade, my aunt Lucy bonded with Mrs. Dryver over their mutual devotion to Dolly.”

Do you recognize these first lines?

…

And the book is… Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy.

Here’s the Goodreads synopsis:

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

I haven’t read this one yet, but I will soon! Have you read it?

Review: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)

Title: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Source: Purchased
Release Date: June 28, 2005
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse—Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena—Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

Review:

I love Greek mythology! So this series was made for me. Riordan does a great job of bringing Greek mythology into the modern world.

I kept smiling every time another myth was introduced into the story. For example, the Fates were in the story. They spin the threads of life. All of the myths were cleverly woven into the story.

There were also many twists that I didn’t expect. I did figure out who Percy’s dad was fairly early on. I think it was kind of obvious. But I was surprised at some of the other twists.

This is a great start to this series. I’m excited for the next books.

TBR Thursday #4

TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.

My pick this week is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

I just read Shadow and Bone and I loved it. I’ve had this one on my TBR for a while but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review: Rust: The Boy Soldier

Title: Rust: Boy Soldier
Author: Royden Lepp
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The story of the Boy Soldier begins!

Made to look like a boy but built for battle, Jet Jones is a robot caught in the middle of an ongoing war. While trying to save as many people as he can, Jet discovers there is more to who he is and what he was made for than he could have ever imagined. His experiences in the war set him off on a journey to learn what it means to both hero and human. It is the first adventure of many for the rocket boy.

Review:

This is a beautiful graphic novel.

I loved the images in this story. It has a sepia colour scheme, which gives it a flashback quality to it. The artist was able to convey perspective very well. Some parts would be in focus while the rest of the panel was out of focus, making it look three dimensional.

I also like the way this story shows the consequences of using artificial intelligence in war. Jet has a conscience so he feels bad about what he does, leading him to wonder if he should continue fighting in the war.

After I read this book, I discovered it is the prequel to a series. It was a quick read but I understood it without that background information. I will have to look for the rest of the series!

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday #4

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.

The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is Doctor Who: Myths and Legends.

I love Doctor Who so I’m super excited about this book. It tells all the myths and legends within the Doctor’s world.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Harley Quinn, Volume 3: Red Meat

Title: Harley Quinn, Volume 3: Red Meat
Author: Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: DC Comics
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: September 19, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

NetGalley Synopsis:

The Suicide Squad’s deadliest member continues to wreak havoc all across the DC Universe in the latest installment of her best-selling graphic novel series in HARLEY QUINN VOL. 3!

Harley’s managed to carve out a kind of peace with New York’s corrupt mayor…but once she gets wind of his plans for the city’s homeless population, the deal is most definitely off! She’ll have to take the fight to City Hall–but who will be her ally in her most desperate hour?

Review:

There were many different subplots in this new volume. Personally, there wasn’t enough Harley in it for me. But I still loved the graphic novel.

One subplot has the cannibals that the mayor’s assistant brought to town to kill all the homeless people. Harley’s sadness at the disappearance of the homeless show how caring she is.

Another subplot is a former Arkham Asylum inmate who has been sent on a quest. This story wasn’t really connected to Harley yet, but I think in the next volume it will become clearer.

The third subplot is a Batman fan from the future who is sent back in time to kill Harley. The ending of this one was so amazing! I loved the twist.

Once again, this was another thrilling Volume in the Harley Quinn rebirth series. I can’t wait for the next one!

Top Ten Tuesday – Books On My Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR.

Here’s my list:

Warcross

They Both Die At The End

All The Crooked Saints

The Hate U Give

The Upside of Unrequited

Ramona Blue

Editing Emma

Renegades

Nancy Drew And The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie

Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

(All images taken from Goodreads)

Release Day Blitz: The Missing

Welcome to the Release Day Celebration for

The Missing by Jerico Lenk

presented by Month9Books!

Make sure you grab your copy today!

Happy Book Birthday, Jerico!

Dark proclivities, excess, and outlandish curiosities prevail in 1890’s London. Around the city, a battle rages between the living and the dead. The Black Cross, tasked to keep the peace, are quickly losing ground.

Sixteen-year-old Willow Winchester, lives life as a boy called “Will” in his father’s house of distinguished ladies, all but invisible to the wealthy Londoners who frequent. It’s an easy ruse since his mother’s death left his father’s attention to fall upon business matters. But this isn’t his only secret.

When Will unwittingly becomes involved in a Black Cross ghost hunt, his uncanny ability to sense supernatural beings comes to light and the Black Cross wants him in their service. Suddenly, Will’s free to be himself.

But such freedom will come with a price, as Will fights for the acceptance of the only father he’s ever known.

Now, part of a team of misfits and unlikely allies, Will finds he isn’t the only one keeping secrets. Someone does not want him to uncover the truth about those who aren’t just missing from the world of the living, but missing from history itself.
Can he find the Missing before he ends up becoming one of them?

The Missing by Jerico Lenk
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Publisher: Month9Books

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Undergraduate studying Creative Writing, Classics, Russian and Western European History. Unabashed weeb probably burning incense and drinking too much coffee at this very moment. Out for queer representation and great sex hair. Beyond ready for the upcoming Vampire Chronicles TV series.

Lenk writes Young Adult/New Adult, spec fiction, poetry, and screenplays. He is currently unagented.

His poems have appeared at/in USF Tampa’s Thread Literary Inquiry, biannual 6×6 creative writing showcase, and placed second in National Poetry Month 2015; Tethered By Letters’ F(r)iction Spring 2016 poetry contest finalist; winner of the 2017 Bettye Newman Poetry award.

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