3 stars Hooray for the first girl lead in the series! Tarshis does address this in the backmatter but… Personally I wish Tarshis would stop hanging onto the explanation that she wanted to write books her sons would read and they weren’t interested in girl characters. I hate this excuse. Can we all just admit…
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2 stars Cute follow-up to the first book. This one sees the trio of Glitter Dragons back in the Magic Forest, using their smarts and bravery to go up against the Shadow Sprites. This time, we follow the water-loving Willa as she gains the confidence to clean up the forest’s waterways. As with the first…
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4 stars This is my favorite book in the series of those I’ve read so far (Also, so excited to see another elusive girl main character in this series!). Tarshis nicely handles the respecting wildlife storyline that was so clumsily presented in I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916. I really appreciate that, though certainly dangerous,…
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2 stars Fun adventure story for young dragon lovers. Thrilled to see dragons as heroes and girl dragons at that! This story gives the origins of the Glitter Dragons sect of the Dragon Girls and recounts their first adventure together with Azmina acting as the leader. The writing is simple and straightforward. It didn’t resonate…
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3 stars So excited to read a book in the I Survived series that follows a girl main character! In general, this one follows the same trajectory as the previous books. Most of the book sets the stage and information is given about the time period. Then the disaster hits and we see part of…
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4 stars Another adorable adventure featuring Auggie, Fen, and Willa. In this one, the gang saves a town from a band of Tattle-Tails… and vice versa. I loved the message of helping others, even after they’ve caused trouble. Auggie promises to take care of all creatures, even those “hard-to-love” and he does just that. The…
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2 stars What the first book lacked in originality, this one certainly makes up for. I’ve never read anything even close to this. However, for me, this one felt pretty random. It tries to throw too many elements together (amusement parks, androids, aliens). Much more sci-fi than the first book but seemed to portray itself…
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3 stars A spooky tale for young horror fans. The story follows the Finn family. Having recently lost their mother, Liam and Kelly aren’t thrilled about moving to Upstate New York. Then odd things start happening around their new home and they quickly learn its more than just a fixer upper. Some great lines and…
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3 stars A good look at what life was like in America in the late 1800s. The story centers around people moving to settle in the Midwest, including run-ins with wildlife such as grasshopper plagues and rattlesnakes, daily chores, extreme weather, and general living conditions. The blizzard itself is a pretty small section of the…
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4 stars Fast-paced, action-packed historical fiction centering around the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. The earthquake itself happens fairly quickly. There are some interesting facts surrounding earthquakes in the text, but much of the story deals with Leo’s life before the disaster and the resulting fires following the quake. It does contain some useful information…
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