August 2018 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Sheets

Title: Sheets
Author: Brenna Thummler
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult
Publisher: Lion Forge
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.

When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.

Sheets illustrates the determination of a young girl to fight, even when all parts of her world seem to be conspiring against her. It proves that second chances are possible whether life feels over or life is over. But above all, it is a story of the forgiveness and unlikely friendship that can only transpire inside a haunted laundromat.

Review:

Marjorie is in charge of her family’s business, a laundromat. She struggles because she had to take over their business when her mother passed away. She doesn’t have friends at school. It gets worse when Mr. Saubertuck starts sabotaging her business so that he can build a resort on their property.

I found this story so sad. It was sad that Marjorie’s mother passed away, and her father didn’t really do anything after because he was so depressed. Marjorie didn’t have time to explore her feelings because she had to look after the family.

Wendell and the land of ghosts were also sad. Wendell is starting to forget his former life. The ghosts have a whole world, where they float around in sheets. The idea of the land of ghosts in sheets was funny sometimes. They had support groups and jobs. But it was still sad to think that all of those people had died and they were beginning to forget their former lives.

This was an emotional story with a positive ending about the power of friendship and forgiveness.

First Lines Friday – August 31

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:

“Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day. It seemed like just another Monday, innocent but for its essential Mondayness, not to mention its Januaryness.”

Do you recognize these first lines?

…

And the book is… Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

Goodreads synopsis:

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”, she speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone? What did you think of it?

Review: City of Ghosts

Title: City of Ghosts
Author: Victoria Schwab
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: Purchased
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspectres, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspectres head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn’t sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in her world. Cassidy’s powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

Review:

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t put it down!

This book reminded me of The Mediator series by Meg Cabot. In that series, Suzannah can speak to ghosts, and she has one particular ghost, Jesse, who follows her around. Cass and Jacob’s relationship reminded me of Suzannah and Jesse. There were also loads of Harry Potter references in this book, which is always a plus for me!

This story was very fast-paced. A lot of things happened in a short amount of time. The ending also left it open to become a series. The only problem is that I want to read the next book now!

I’ll definitely be recommending this book to YA and middle grade readers!

TBR Thursday – August 30

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 Sea Witch by Sarah Henning.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

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

Review: Quid Pro Quo

Title: Quid Pro Quo
Author: Vicki Grant
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Quid Pro Quo is a high-stakes, fast-moving legal thriller about real people, and funny ones at that. Cyril MacIntyre’s mother is an ex-street kid who dragged her son to all her law-school classes, then proceeded to get kidnapped. That aside, Cyril’s life isn’t too different from that of other thirteen-year-olds. He has all the usual adolescent issues to deal with: parent problems, self-esteem problems, skin and hair problems, and girl problems. But he has legal problems too. And he’s got to solve them if he wants to save his mother’s life.

Quid Pro Quo won the Arthur Ellis Award and the cbc Young Canada Reads 2009 award. It has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe and the Ann Connor Brimer. This 2018 edition has been updated with a new cover.

Review:

This story hooked me right from the beginning. It opens with Cyril saying he started going to law school when he was ten years old. But he didn’t really. He went with his mother to her law classes, so he learned alongside her. This was a great way to hook the reader right at the beginning.

I liked the way that Cyril narrated the story. He was sarcastic and funny. It was good to see the story from his point of view, since he had to go on a search for his mother when she disappeared. This story was originally written in 2005. The only thing that was missing from the story were cell phones and the frequent access to the internet, but other than that it could have been set in 2018.

This story was set in Halifax. There were so many references to the city! I have never been there but I have some close friends from there. I recognized things that they always talk about, such as the Donairs, which is a type of wrap that they eat. As soon as Cyril mentioned that, I knew it was set in Halifax.

The mystery of the story was great. I really didn’t know how it would end. With each clue that he found, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I was happy with the ending.

This is an entertaining YA read.

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – August 29

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 The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.

Goodreads Synopsis:

How do you stop a murder that’s already happened?

At a gala party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed–again. She’s been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden’s only escape is to solve Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder and conquer the shadows of an enemy he struggles to even comprehend–but nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

Deeply atmospheric and ingeniously plotted, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a highly original debut that will appeal to fans of Kate Atkinson and Agatha Christie.

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Beauty and Bernice

Title: Beauty and Bernice
Author: Nancy Viau
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Bernice Baransky likes the grunge look she’s come by honestly as the only girl at Porchtown Skate Park who can pop an ollie, ride the rails, and grind the slabs. She’d love to impress Wyatt Anderson, a skater who calls her Dude, but Bernice can’t seem to do more than mumble when he’s around. Should she accept help from a new neighbor, the proper and princessy Odelia, who is desperate to befriend her? Odelia keeps a fancy notebook called Odelia’s Guide to the Social Graces and spouts off hilarious lessons on poise, posture, manners, and what to do about embarrassing “oopsies” like unexpected burps and spilled soda. This exciting story takes readers on a thrill ride from the skate park’s half-pipe to Smile Academy, a summer camp for Down syndrome children. A novel full of adventure and heart, it asks the question: can two very different people ever be friends?

Review:

This book had some positive lessons, though I found the plot hard to believe.

This book had great representation. Bernice had to volunteer at a summer camp for kids with Down syndrome. She didn’t know how to treat them, and she got in trouble for her behaviour when she yelled at a boy, telling him to act normal. She learned how to treat people with disabilities and to be patient when someone acts in a way that you aren’t expecting.

Odelia seemed like she was right out of a fairy tale. She didn’t know how to behave in the real world. Her home life and family were a mystery throughout most of the story. She has a whole staff of people that we hear about but never see. I wish she was more of a realistic character, because her presence made it seem like there were some fantasy aspects of the story, but there weren’t any.

Unfortunately the mix of the fairytale and the real world didn’t work for me in this story.

Have you read Beauty and Bernice? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Take Place at a School

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Back to School, so I will be listing Books That Take Place at a School. Here’s my list:

1. Tradition by Brendan Kiely

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

3. S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett

4. The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

5. Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson

6. Morning Glories, Vol. 1 by Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma, and Rodin Esquejo

7. How to Be a Supervillain by Michael Fry

8. Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

9. The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

10. Giant Days, Vol. 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Whitney Cogar

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

Review: Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein

Title: Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein
Author: Linda Bailey, Júlia Sardà
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The inspiring story of the girl behind one of the greatest novels — and monsters — ever, perfectly timed for the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein. For fans for picture book biographies such as I Dissent or She Persisted.

How does a story begin? Sometimes it begins with a dream, and a dreamer. Mary is one such dreamer, a little girl who learns to read by tracing the letters on her mother’s tombstone and whose only escape from her strict father and overbearing stepmother is through the stories she reads and imagines. Unhappy at home, she seeks independence, and at the age of seventeen runs away with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, another dreamer. She travels to Europe and surrounds herself with more poets and writers, including Lord Byron and John Polidori. On a stormy summer evening, Byron suggests a contest to see who can create the best ghost story. After nine months of daydreaming, 21-year-old Mary Shelley’s terrifying tale is published, a novel that goes on to become the most enduring monster story ever — and one of the most popular legends of all time.

A riveting and atmospheric picture book about the young woman who wrote one of the greatest horror novels ever written and one of the first works of science fiction, Mary, Who Wrote Frankenstein is an exploration of the process of artistic inspiration that will galvanize readers and writers of all ages.

Review:

I have never read Frankenstein. I tried to read it a few years ago, but I couldn’t get into it. However, I loved this book.

I didn’t realize that Mary Shelley was so young when she wrote the novel. She was only 18 years old! The story was born from a challenge given to a few friends on a trip. They were tasked with writing a ghost story, and Mary’s was so good that it is still talked about more than a century later!

The art in this book was very cool. The illustrations looked like patchwork. The colours were very dark, which suits the subject matter.

This children’s story about Mary Shelley’s life is great. It has inspired me to try reading Frankenstein again.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – August 27

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished Beauty and Bernice by Nancy Viau.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Quid Pro Quo by Vicki Grant.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Goodreads synopsis:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Shadowland (The Mediator #1) by Meg Cabot

The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles #1) by Toni DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

Goodreads Synopsis:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1) by Rick Riordan

Hold the Pickles by Vicki Grant

Goodreads Synopsis:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

1. Tradition by Brendan Kiely

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

3. S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett

4. The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

5. Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson

6. Morning Glories, Vol. 1 by Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma, and Rodin Esquejo

7. How to Be a Supervillain by Michael Fry

8. Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi

9. The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

10. Giant Days, Vol. 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Whitney Cogar

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Review:

What to read next:

Frankenstein by Marry Wollstonecraft Shelley

She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger

What I just finished:

What I’m currently reading:

What I’m reading next: