A Tale of Two Crushes by Cori Cooper

 

A Tale of Two Crushes by Cori Cooper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love stories by this author! They are clean, quirky, and full of fun! You don't have to be a young adult to appreciate the writing style and stories either! Holland just moved from Arizona to Colorado and the adjustment is a bit. The climate change alone would do me in but add in teenage angst, trying to fit in, and life in general. It's a familiar scene for anyone who's been a teenager before! I felt like I was there in the hallways with Holland and her friends, but I really never ever want to go back to high school!

View all my reviews

The Viper’s Bloodline Awakened (The Gods’ Scion Series) by Winnifred Tataw

 

The Viper's Bloodline Awakened: The Fifth Book in the Urban Fantasy series The Gods' Scion by Winnifred Tataw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you enjoy a lot of drama, teenage angst, action, dark magic, fantasy, and more, you'll love this book. I do caution you though, make sure to read this series in order as there are a lot of characters and moving parts. If you pick this up out of order, you'll be slightly confused for a bit and might not want to finish this spectacular series. I do believe this is my most favorite book in the series. It's hard to say much more without giving anything away! This author has a way of writing to keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting more with each book!

View all my reviews

Cam Creates a Hero (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek

 

Cam Creates a Hero by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The world needs more kids like Cam!! While this is a kids book and a work of fiction, I wish this was a true story! Cam sees a need in his community for a hero and he designs a robot to help others. When his original design fails, Cam becomes upset until he's inspired to revive his robot in a different way. This is such a touching story and I found myself tearing up as I read it. This book has wonderful illustrations but the story is one that impact many people of all ages. Please read this book and share it with others!

View all my reviews

Luca Magoo, Don’t Eat The Glue (Luca Magoo Series) by Megan Delgado

 

Luca Magoo, Don't Eat The Glue: A back-to-school tale that encourages positive classroom behavior and creative expression. by Megan Delgado
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kids everywhere are going to love this story of Luca and his art class! Adults will love it too! I laughed out loud at several pages of instances that Luca was imagining himself in. The illustrations are very well done and colorful. I love the rhyming in the book and the story if very fun and imaginative! Time to get creative and ask your littles, "what would you do with glue?!"

View all my reviews

Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez

 

Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

This book was a difficult read for me, mainly because I know and have known, several people with ALS (Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis) throughout my life. I almost couldn't finish this book once the subject was brought up but I am so glad that I did. Also, I wasn't overly impressed with how ALS was portrayed in this story. It affects everyone differently but I don't feel like this was an accurate representation at all. I'm not an expert on it though, just have seen a lot in my lifetime.

I wanted to give this book 4.5 stars because I truly enjoyed the storyline throughout. However, the language was a major turnoff for me. I almost quit reading it because of that, but by the time I was about to put it down, I was already invested in Vanessa, Adrian, and Grace's story. I was not completely surprised by the ending, I could see it coming about halfway through. That's not an issue for me though and no points taken away for that. What really upset me was the whole "gender" issue at the end of the story. It had nothing to do with the overall story itself and could have definitely been left out.

I appreciated Vanessa's take on life and how she was able to get Adrian to respond (well, most of the time anyway). I tend to be a bit more pessimistic about life but reading this book inspired me to start looking for more stars than potholes. Everyone could use a Vanessa in their life to remind them to look on the bright side even when things are tough. I do think she could have benefitted from some counseling with Adrian though and how doing the counseling together could have further deepened their relationship.

Overall, a decent read minus the issues mentioned above.

View all my reviews

A Pig and a Poke by Tricia Gardella

 

A Pig and A Poke by Tricia Gardella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you've ever grown up in the country, you've probably tried to catch a greased pig or two! Angela has a great strategy to win the greased pig. Bruce the bully has other plans though and thinks he can beat Angela at her own game. I love the pictures of the race. They are very colorful and make you want to jump in the pen with them!

View all my reviews

Decisions Matter (Buddy the Blue Corgi Series) by Suzanna Lynn

 

Decisions Matter: A picture book about learning right from wrong by Suzanna Lynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great story of Buddy and his siblings! This book focuses on honesty. Buddy is being blamed for the trash being dumped over every night. He knows he's not the one doing it but can't prove who it is until one night he catches them. However, he's the one left standing in the mess as the real culprit got away before the humans got to them.

I am really enjoying this series! It is written from a Biblical basis and there is a Bible verse at the end of the story. It's a great way to share these Truths with young ones! The illustrations are also very well done throughout the story. I highly recommend this series!

View all my reviews