Jill's Book Blog

Title: Leatherback Blues
Author: Karen Hood-Caddy
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Dundurn
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: February 20, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Robin is kidnapped by dangerous poachers while trying to save leatherback turtles in Central America.

Robin Green is carrying on her work rescuing vulnerable animals at The Wild Place Animal Shelter when she and Zo-Zo get an amazing chance to help protect sea turtles in Central America. Worried about the bugs, the heat, and the threat of poachers, Robin faces her fears and travels there with Zo-Zo, her brother, Squirm, and her eccentric grandmother, Griff.

It only takes one scorpion sting before Robin wants to go home, but the unbelievable sight of a leatherback turtle laying eggs on the beach changes her mind. Just when the group starts making progress, the poachers strike back. Suddenly, the turtles aren’t the only ones who need rescuing! Can Robin and Zo-Zo find a way out?

Review:

This is a great story to teach kids about wildlife!

Robin is a great character. She’s brave because she’s willing to travel around the world to save animals. She convinces her family to travel to Costa Rica to help a turtle sanctuary. She’s realistic because she is also flawed. She doesn’t listen to her grandmother when she tells Robin not to go on the beach by herself. Robin ends up paying the price for that when she is kidnapped, so she learns to follow her grandmother’s rules.

The setting of Costa Rica was very realistic too. My friend just came back from vacation there, and it was depicted just the way she described it to me. It was very hot but rainy when she got there, just like when Robin arrived . Carlos even says “pura vida,” which is what all the locals say. Though I have never been to Costa Rica, I felt like I was there in this story.

The climax of the story, when Robin is kidnapped, happens close to the end. Since it was mentioned in the description, I thought it would happen earlier. But this was an important turning point in the story. Robin learned what the animals at their rescue shelter feel like when they are kept in cages. She ended up learning from the scary experience.

This is a great story for young readers who are interested in wildlife!

Title: The Nest
Author: Kenneth Oppel
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Purchased
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For some kids summer is a sun-soaked season of fun. But for Steve, it’s just another season of worries. Worries about his sick newborn baby brother who is fighting to survive, worries about his parents who are struggling to cope, even worries about the wasp’s nest looming ominously from the eaves. So when a mysterious wasp queen invades his dreams, offering to “fix” the baby, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered.

All he has to do is say “Yes.” But “yes” is a powerful word. It is also a dangerous one. And once it is uttered, can it be taken back?

Review:

This is a great middle grade book!

The story was quite creepy at times. It reminded me of Coraline and Skelig. The children in those stories also encountered supernatural things in their backyards.

Steve had very realistic dreams that haunted him during the day. I’ve had dreams that seem like they’re really happening and it can be very scary. But the wasps in his nightmares also appeared to him outside. I kept wondering if Steve was really going crazy!

This story is a great learning experience for children. Steve has to learn to cope with his ill baby brother. Though he doesn’t want him to be sick, he also wouldn’t want to replace him with a perfect baby. Many children have to deal with a sick relative at some point, and though it is difficult, we have to learn to deal with illness. Steve also has anxiety, which is not often depicted in children’s stories, but children can get anxious too.

This is a great story for middle grade and adult readers.

Title: The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray
Author: E. Latimer
Genre: Children’s
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: February 13, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A Tim Burtonesque retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray aimed at Middle Graders.The most peculiar things always happen to Bryony Gray. As if it isn’t bad enough that her uncle keeps her locked in the attic, forcing her to paint for his
rich clients, she’s becoming rather well known in the art world… since all her customers seem to go missing.

When her newest painting escapes the canvas and rampages through the streets of London, Bryony digs into her family history, discovering some rather scandalous secrets her uncle has been keeping, including a deadly curse she’s inherited from her missing father. It turns out, Bryony has accidentally unleashed the Gray family curse, and it’s spreading fast.

With a little help from the strange-but-beautiful girl next door and her paranoid brother, Bryony sets out to break the curse, dodging bloodthirsty paintings, angry mobs and her wicked uncle along the way.

Review:

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favourite Victorian novels. This is a great sequel to the story.

This story had great pacing. Bryony’s paintings began to come to life right at the beginning. It was so creepy! It kept me hooked through the whole story. I really couldn’t predict what was going to happen next, so I was always surprised.

I think this story is actually creepier than The Picture of Dorian Gray. Though it is a sequel, it follows Gray’s daughter, so it is for a younger audience. I loved this story and I got a lot out of it, even though it is aimed toward middle grade readers. It is a great choice for both young readers and older fans of Dorian Gray and Oscar Wilde.

After reading this book, I’ll never look at paintings the same way again!