The Race by Édouard Manceau

Translated by Sarah Quinn 3 stars A strange but entertaining read. Manceau describes a race between caribou from an outsider’s perspective who knows nothing about races. This leads to some humorous descriptions and interpretations (the finish line, the starting pistol, the lineup at the start of the race). The pictures are fun and give a…

Read More

In a Glass Grimmly (A Tale Dark & Grimm #2) by Adam Gidwitz

5 stars Another amazing book in the series. This one tells of cousins Jack and Jill as they go in search of a long-lost treasure. The adventures are all new, so you can read this one without having read the first one, though the first one is also amazing and I highly recommend it. Fantastically…

Read More

Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise, Part 2

by Gene Luen Yang Illustrated by Gurihiru 3 stars Continues the story established in Part 1. I checked out the first two books from the library together and didn’t realize there was a third book, so I was thinking this would wrap up more quickly. Still, this one offers a nice break from the major…

Read More

Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise, Part 1

by Gene Luen Yang Illustrated by Gurihiru 3 stars This graphic novel spin-off picks up where the show left off. Aang and Katara are getting all cutesy, giving Sokka major “oogies”. Toph has started a school for metalbending. And Zuko has become the new Fire Lord, establishing the Harmony Restoration Movement to remove Fire Nation…

Read More

Fairest of all (Whatever After #1) by Sarah Mlynowski

2 stars The mirror in the basement is not all it seems. After knocking on the mirror three times, Abby and her brother, Jonah, are transported into a fairy tale realm. While trying to help a young girl, they realize they’ve changed the ending of her story. Now they must set things right and find…

Read More

The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories #1) (Audiobook)

by Chris Colfer 3 stars Twins Alex and Conner are having a hard time adjusting to life after the death of their father. When their grandmother gives Alex her book of fairy tales, the siblings are transported inside into the Land of Stories. Now the two must search for the items of the Wishing Spell…

Read More

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 2

by Yuto Tsukuda Illustrated by Shun Saeki Translated by Adrienne Beck 3.5 stars Another entertaining volume in the Food Wars series. In this one, we learn more about how Totsuki works, specifically the shokugeki and the Council of Ten. As always, the food looks amazing. I love when they go into detail on how a…

Read More

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Volume 1

by Yuto Tsukuda Illustrated by Shun Saeki Translated by Adrienne Beck 3.5 stars Hilarious and weird. It’s an odd one to rate. I’m not a huge fan service person, but I love the cooking aspect. I have watched the anime previously so I knew what I was getting into. For those unfamiliar with the series,…

Read More

Mushrooming with Confidence

A Guide to Collective Edible and Tasty Mushrooms by Alexander Schwab 4 stars A helpful beginner’s guide to foraging and identifying mushrooms. Schwab provides information on how to confidently identify a mushroom based on specific characteristics. Because of this, Schwab does not give information on lookalikes, focusing on positively identifying the mushroom in front of…

Read More

Kevin’s Kwanzaa by Lisa Bullard

Illustrated by Constanza Basaluzzo 3 stars A nice introduction to the celebration of Kwanzaa. Told in four short chapters, this picture book goes through some of the basics of preparing and celebrating. This includes decorating a unity cup, enacting the seven principles, and setting up the candles and lighting them over seven days. It also…

Read More