The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters
The Unforgettable Logan Foster is a very cute middle grade book about an autistic foster kid with an eidetic memory whose foster parents turn out to be actual superheroes. It’s great read for about second grade and up to read to themselves and would make a fantastic family read aloud. I recommend this to people of all ages, especially if they are into superheroes.
5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 53
Pages Read in 2023: 17,255
From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon
From Twinkle, With Love is a super cute story with a perfect ending. It really shows how friendships change as you grow up and how your words affect others. At times I was so frustrated with the main character, but she realized when she did wrong and tried to fix it. I really cared about what happened to the characters. It’s written mostly in journal entry format which is somewhat unique and worked quite well. I recommend this book to teens and up.
5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 50
Pages Read in 2023: 16,451
Twelfth by Janet Key
Twelfth is perfect for any theater nerd. There’s a mystery wrapped up in lines from a Shakespeare play set on the backdrop of a middle school theater summer camp. It’s a fun book with lots of representation. Sometimes it had my heart pumping fast with worry for the characters as they solved the clues and got into increasingly dangerous situations. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of working in the theater.
5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 38
Pages Read in 2023: 12,516
Sisters of the Snake by Sarena & Sasha Nanua
Like the twins in Sisters of the Snake, the authors are twins born on Diwali ten minutes apart, though as far as I know they are not actually princesses. The book is set in an India-like land where some people are born with magic. The premise is similar to The Prince and the Pauper or The Parent Trap with one twin being a princess raised in the palace and the other a thief raised in an orphanage. The chapters alternate between the twins’ points of view. The book was a bit slow to get started, but really picked up in the last half or so. It’s about 500 pages long and still wasn’t long enough for me. The romances are very sweet. The epilogue is very short, but totally made me go buy the sequel right away. I recommend Sisters of the Snake to anyone who enjoys young adult fantasy.
4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 29
Pages Read in 2023: 9143
A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
Telling the story from the viewpoint of an anthropomorphized Mars rover, A Rover’s Story combines facts about the rovers and their missions with things that haven’t happened (like finding a really neat rock formation) or we can’t do yet (like bringing the rovers back to Earth). The story is really cute and includes several letters to the rover written by the daughter of one of the rover’s coders in order to give information the rover itself wouldn’t know. I recommend this book to any kid interested in space exploration. It would make an excellent family read aloud.
5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 20
Pages Read in 2023: 6569
Ballad & Dagger by Daniel Jose Older
For those who grew up reading about Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology by Rick Riordan, Ballad & Dagger is the first young adult book from Rick Riordan Presents. This one covers the myths of the island of San Madrigal, an island in the Caribbean Sea. Spanish is liberally sprinkled throughout. There is a lot of humor, but it is definitely more serious than Rick Riordan/RR Presents middle grade books. The mythology is laid out in a very understandable way as the story is told. The writing is often poetic and dreamlike. I recommend this book to teens and up who enjoy Rick Riordan/RR Presents books.
4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 94
Pages Read in 2022: 33,594
Graphic Novels: 2
Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
I really enjoyed Hotel Magnifique. There came a point where I hated to put it down. I had to know what was going on and how everything would be wrapped up (answer: amazingly well). The only problem I had with the book was like half the book being all “I’ll tell you what you need to know soon, I just don’t have time right now” over and over. I just wanted to scream at Bel to just tell her already. The descriptions of the hotel and the magic were really vivid and exciting. I recommend this book to teens and up who enjoy magic and fantasy.
4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 54
Pages Read in 2022: 19,563
Graphic Novels: 1
Filed under Fantasy, Reason: Owlcrate, Reason: We Be Book'N, Young Adult
A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson
I’m not exactly sure where I was expecting this book to go, but it wasn’t where it went. It was so enjoyable and who the “bad guy” really was only hit me a couple pages before it was revealed, though I had a few ideas before then (all wrong). After about the first hundred pages I had so much trouble putting it down and kept thinking about it until I could get back to reading. One character has social anxiety and it was written so well, especially how he evolved to accept himself the way he is. The writing was very descriptive. It’s extremely rare for me to be able to visualize what is happening beyond occasional hazy glimpses (I generally just see words in my head) so I appreciate books with enough words for me to get the idea even though I can’t “see” it. The end was very satisfying and pretty decently wrapped it all up. The epilogue, however, sets up a sequel which I would definitely read if there ends up being one. I highly recommend A Forgery of Roses to teens and up who enjoy urban fantasy.
5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 47
Pages Read in 2022: 17,184
Graphic Novels: 1
Filed under Fantasy, Reason: Owlcrate, Reason: We Be Book'N, Young Adult
Mama Reader 