Jill's Book Blog

Review: The Little Red Wolf

Title: The Little Red Wolf
Author: Amelie Flechais
Genre: Children’s
Publisher: Lion Forge
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lose yourself in in the dark forests of Amelie Flechais’ spectacular artwork. A young wolf, on a journey to bring his grandmother a rabbit, is charmed by the nice little girl who offers to help him… but nice is not the same as good. A haunting fairy tale for children and adults alike.

Review:

This is an amazing adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood.

Not only is the protagonist a wolf, but it is a male wolf. This is a great modern example for boys in fairytales. Usually the boy in fairytales plays the prince character, and is only the love interest for the princess. Or he is a fighter or hunter of some sort. But this is just an innocent little boy wolf who is sent on a journey to his grandmother’s house.

There are also larger connotations with the wolf being the main character. The humans don’t like wolves and want to kill them. When they find Little Red Wolf, they want to kill him even though he didn’t do anything to them. This could represent global problems on a broader scale, when people are blamed for the actions of one person in their group. An example of this is racism. This book can be a great learning tool.

As well as the fabulous story, the illustrations are amazing. I love the simplicity of it. The colour palette reflects the mood of the story. The colours are more vibrant when Little Red Wolf first enters the forest, and become darker when he meets the little girl.

I felt like the ending was a little abrupt, but I really loved this story!

Top Ten Tuesday – Book Boyfriends

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is Book Boyfriends/Girlfriends.

Here’s my list:

Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

Harry Potter (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone)

Prince Kai (Cinder)

Olly (Everything Everything)

Gansy (The Raven Boys)

Prince Maxon (The Selection)

Jamie Fraser (Outlander)

Kell (A Darker Shade of Magic)

Knightley (Emma)

Thomas (The Maze Runner)

Who are your book boyfriends/girlfriends?

(All images taken from Goodreads)

Release Day Blitz: The Perils of Growing Up Werewolf

Welcome to the Release Day Celebration for

The Perils of Growing Up Werewolf
(Hair in all the Wrong Places #2)
by Andrew Buckley

presented by Tantrum Books/Month9Books!

Grab your copy today!

Happy Book Birthday, Andrew!

Being a werewolf is no picnic. Colin’s constantly hungry, spends a ton of time shaving, and fights to keep his emotions in check to avoid turning into a giant, drooling, hairy, smelly, howling wolf. But Colin’s not the only creature hanging around the town of Elkwood. Vampires, zombies, goblins, ogres, and other questionable visitors and their various shenanigans have got everyone on edge.

Colin just wants to live a normal life, date, and get his homework done on time. But the town of Elkwood needs him. So when a secret government organization asks for his help, will he be able to control the animal inside, or will he give in to the perils of growing up werewolf?

The Perils of Growing Up Werewolf (Hair in all the Wrong Places #2)
by Andrew Buckley
Publication Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Tantrum Books

Andrew Buckley attended the Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television program. After pitching and developing several screenplay projects for film and television, he worked in marketing and public relations, before becoming a professional copy and content writer. During this time Andrew began writing his first adult novel, DEATH, THE DEVIL AND THE GOLDFISH, followed closely by his second novel, STILTSKIN. He works as an editor for Curiosity Quills Press.

Andrew also co-hosts a geek movie podcast, is working on his next novel, and has a stunning amount of other ideas. He now lives happily in the Okanagan Valley, BC with three kids, one cat, one needy dog, one beautiful wife, and a multitude of characters that live comfortably inside of his mind.

Andrew is represented by Mark Gottlieb at the Trident Media Group.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

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Blog Tour: The Divine Heart

Crooked Cat new Divine Heart Bookcover

Title: The Divine Heart
Author: Danielle R. Mani
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Crooked Cat Books
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Release Date: September 27, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Elle Collins spent most her life waiting for someone else to die…

When a heart donor is found, Elle awakes from surgery gifted with more than just a new heart—clairaudient messages and spiritual apparitions haunt her until she is convinced that she must be insane. Either that, or her donor is sending a message.

Desperate for answers the medical community can’t provide, Elle’s divination leads her to the family of her donor—a young girl named, Cas. With the help of her best friend, Rob—the guy who’s a testament that her new heart is capable of love, Elle must make sense of the clues Cas is sending. As pieces of Cas’s life and death emerge, Elle will discover that she and Cas share more than just a heart.

Add to Goodreads

Buy on Amazon!

Review:

This is a gripping novel.

It is emotional at the beginning when Elle is sick. But after she gets her heart transplant the story takes an eerie turn, which was amazing.

The story of Elle’s new powers is woven together perfectly with the ordinary problems that most teenagers face, such as first love. This makes the story relateable, even though there are paranormal aspects.

The twists were so thrilling, I couldn’t put the book down. I ended up becoming suspicious of everyone, though there weren’t as many “bad guys” as I suspected. The conclusions were somewhat logical, but I enjoyed the mystery of it all.

This is a great debut novel. I look forward to seeing what Danielle R. Mani comes out with next.

About the Author:

Danielle R. Mani is a fan of the paranormal in both print and film. In her first book, The Divine One, Ms. Mani combines supernatural fiction with the everyday dramas of young adulthood. Her newest YA paranormal novel, The Divine Heart, is scheduled to be released later this year. Ms. Mani holds a Bachelor of Arts in education and a Master of Science in communications. She is currently a doctoral student studying parapsychology. She resides in Westchester, New York, with her husband, four children, two dogs, and two rescue cats.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tour Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours

YA Bound Tour Button

Thank you to YA Bound Book Tours for letting me participate in this blog tour.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? #6

It's Monday! What Are You Reading

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:

Yesterday I finished The Divine Heart for my stop in the blog tour with YA Bound Book Tours. This is a really great book.

What I’m currently reading:

I just started The Upside of Unrequited. I’m so excited to finally read this one!

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading So Near The Horizon for a blog tour with YA Bound Book Tours.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments!

Review: 101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up

Title: 101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up
Author: Ben Bertoli
Genre: Children’s
Publisher: Walter Foster Jr
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: October 1, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Have you got game? 101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up is the unofficial, definitive guide for the best video games ever made!

Each page in this interactive handbook offers behind-the-scenes tidbits and trivia about the games that belong on your bucket list, along with parental rating guidelines, series background information, and storyline previews. Gamers can record their personal ratings of each series as they play their way through the list, making notes and critiquing the best and worst parts of each game.

All different types of video games are featured, including adventure, puzzle, platform, racing, and role-playing games. Both gaming newbies and more experienced players can learn tips and tricks about the best games out there, and discover new genres of games to explore next.

No matter what gaming system you have, this handy guide will help parents and kids alike choose the next best game to play.

Review:

This is a great book for kids who love video games.

There are so many games listed! Each game listing is very detailed. It made me want to play all of the games I haven’t played before.

What I like is that there is a space at the bottom of the page for kids to fill in their rating of the game and their thoughts on it. This gets kids to think critically about the games their playing. I used to learn so much from video games when I was a kid. They can be a great teaching tool.

There are fun facts about the creation of the game for each listing which are interesting to read.

I loved reminiscing about these games while reading this book. So many of these games filled my childhood, and are still relevant today, such as Mario and Sonic. I think you would even enjoy these games if you are already grown up!

Weekly Wrap Up #6

Here’s my weekly wrap up!

I read 6 books this week, and reviewed all of them:

My favourites were A Darker Shade of Magic and They Both Die at the End.

I also did a weekly book meme everyday:

What did you read this week? Have you read any of these books?

Review: The Trick

Title: The Trick
Author: Emanuel Bergmann
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: Goodreads Giveaway
Release Date: September 19, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sweeping between Prague during World War II and modern day Los Angeles, this deeply moving debut follows a young Jewish man in 1934 who falls in love and joins the circus as the country descends into war. Decades later, a young boy seeks out the now cynical, elderly magician in the hopes that his spells might keep his family together.

Prague, 1934: The fifteen-year-old rabbi s son Moshe Goldenhirsch marvels at the legendary circus magician known as the Half-Moon Man. Unexpectedly, he falls madly in love with the magician’s delightful assistant, spurring him to run away from home to join the circus, which is slowly making its way to Germany as war looms on the horizon. Soon, he becomes a world-renowned magician known as the Great Zabbatini, even sought after by Adolf Hitler. But when Moshe is discovered to be a Jew, only his special talent can save him from perishing in a concentration camp.

Los Angeles, 2007: Ten-year-old Max Cohn is convinced that magic can bring his estranged parents back together before they divorce. So one night he climbs out of his bedroom window in search of the Great Zabbatini, certain this powerful magician has the power to reunite his family.

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It isn’t something that I would typically read but I loved it.

This story was so easy to read. It had good pacing throughout. The chapters alternated between Moshe in the 1930s onward, and Max in 2007. By the end of each chapter, I wanted more, so I had to keep reading.

There were many surprising twists through the story, in both time periods. They were both dramatic and funny.

I loved the way that the two stories came together at the end. They are connected in a beautiful way. I won’t give it away, you’ll have to read it for yourself!

I recommend this story if you’re looking for a heartwarming read!

Stacking The Shelves #5

STSsmall

This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

On Sunday I went to Word On The Street, a book festival in Toronto.

It was blazing hot! And it’s all outdoors. Even though it was on the lake, there wasn’t any relief.

So of course, I splurged a little on books… okay I splurged a lot. Here’s what I bought:

From HarperCollins I bought:

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
Our Dark Night by Victoria Schwab
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard
One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake
Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay
Hunger by Roxanne Gay

From Simon and Schuster I bought:

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schemer

So after that I had to stop. Those books were heavy enough to carry back to the car.

I had a pretty good book week. Now I really have to take a break from buying books (but we’ll see if that happens!)

What books did you buy this week? Have you read any of these ones?

Review: DC Super Hero Girls, Volume 4: Past Times at Super Hero High

Title: DC Super Hero Girls: Past Times at Super Hero High
Author: Shea Fontana
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: DC Entertainment
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome back to DC Super Hero High!
In the newest original graphic novel from the DC Super Hero Girls line, catch up with the students of Super Hero High School as they find out that fun, friendship and hard work are all parts of growing up! DC SUPER HERO GIRLS VOL. 4 continues to develop the relationships forged in DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: FINALS CRISIS and HITS AND MYTHS. Written by Shea Fontana, this story is perfect for girls 6-12.

Review:

This is the first DC Super Hero Girls comic I’ve read. It was super cute!

I loved how all the super heroes are kids in this series! Young readers can fall in love with these classic super heroes. It’s especially important that it focuses on the female super heroes, such as Wonder Woman and Batgirl, since most super hero entertainment is aimed towards a male audience.

These stories also translate the characters into appropriate storylines for kids. I love Harley Quinn but her graphic novels are definitely not appropriate for children. However, the same characters are in this graphic novel without losing any of their personality. For example, Harley is able to charm dogs and she calls the baby dinosaur her “puddin’.”

I really liked this graphic novel and would definitely recommend it for middle grade readers.