The World's Most Pointless Animals: Or are they? by Philip Bunting

 
The World's Most Pointless Animals: Or are they? by Philip Bunting
My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this collection of seemingly pointless animals, Philip Bunting does a great job with teaching kids about each animal in addition to demonstrating that they are each important in their own way. Each animal is featured across 1-2 pages with cute drawings that are usually accompanied by some trivia or something that will make its readers laugh. Some references will fly over the heads of the target audience, but their parents or guardians will understand those references while reading, so it’s perfect for people of all ages.

If you, your kids, or someone you know are animal lovers, I think it’s a perfect book to read as a family. The drawings are cute, and it will introduce children and adults alike to animals and facts that are news to them while getting everyone to laugh. I know I learned about a few animals I had never heard of in addition to learning some facts about animals I had previously not known. Personally, I can’t believe I never noticed that Narwhal’s tusks grow straight through their top lip. I did think it was interesting that it is actually their single tooth as well!

All in all, I enjoyed this book and think it’s a great read for all ages. It’s a book I would’ve enjoyed even more as a kid than I did as an adult. I found myself looking up the few animals I didn’t know about. I think my favorite search was about an animal I did know about, the Gentoo Penguin, just so I could see what they look like while molting.

Herbal Magic: A Handbook of Natural Spells, Charms, and Potions by Aurora Kane

Herbal Magic: A Handbook of Natural Spells, Charms, and Potions by Aurora Kane
My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Wellfleet Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect book for anyone interested in practicing herbal magic. Plus, it’s a wonderful directory of a variety of plants in addition to a list of goddesses for anyone interested in connecting with them. I usually see these kinds of directories purely in text form, so I was excited to see all the beautiful artwork that accompanied this information. It’s an extra touch that goes a long way.

I personally found this book to be very informative, especially for beginners. There’s quite a bit of general information in the opening chapters, so it’s perfect for people who are new to spell work as well. I also learned some information in the early chapters that I had no idea about, so you never know what you’ll find in this handbook that’s brand-new information to you! Plus, there’s a variety of spells at the end of the book that I think is great for anyone.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It’s very informative and is aesthetically pleasing. The only drawback is that there is one font used from time to time that’s extremely difficult to read. Otherwise, it’s a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in herbal magic or looking to expand on their knowledge about dabbling with herbal work.

The Stonekeeper (Amulet #1) by Kazu Kibuishi

 
The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

My Rating: ★★★★★

When Emily and Navin’s dad dies in a terrible accident, their mom decides to start over by moving into her great grandfather’s empty home. Emily and Navin are not exactly happy about moving into their great great grandfather’s old house, which has been empty and in the family since his disappearance. Their small family quickly discover that the house needs a bit of elbow grease in addition to a monster infestation. When Emily and Navin’s mom is abducted by a strange monster in the basement, they find themselves on the adventure of a lifetime so they don’t lose her too.

While I was shocked to discover that the opening is rather dark, especially for a children’s book, the story quickly sucked me in and has me ready to start the next volume ASAP. The target audience is middle schoolers, but if they have lost a parent, the opening might be too tough for them since we see Emily losing her father in real time. That said, I think the rest of the story is perfect for the age group it was written for.

We follow Emily and her younger brother, Navin, as they get ready to start over in their great great grandfather’s old and empty home way out in the middle of nowhere. We start to see their sibling dynamic right away, which seems very authentic to me. Some of the bickering reminded me of the bickering between me and my brothers, especially since my older brother had a tendency of being the first to take things over when we were growing up. The bickering that occurred over the stone necklace that Emily finds in the house strongly reminded me of this.

As the story continues, we see that Emily and Navin are close and care about each other a lot. The world they’re sucked into through the basement is quite interesting with a variety of characters and a whole lore that I’m excited to see further explained. One of the things I loved the most is that Emily and Navin can applied skills they developed through their hobbies in this other world they’ve been sucked into. I’m super excited to start the second volume soon and see where the story takes us after this brilliant series opener.

Moonstruck, Vol. 3: Troubled Waters by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle

 
Moonstruck, Vol. 3: Troubled Waters by Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle

My Rating: ★

Saddened that her best friend won’t be around for the annual mermaid festival, Julie is content with attending with her girlfriend, Selena. All is going well until they meet up with Selena’s friend and roommate, Skyla. Things start to go south, especially when it becomes clear that something is lurking around the corners watching Julie’s every move.

I absolutely loved the first volume. While the second volume was a big rocky, I still liked it and was looking forward to seeing where the story went. Sadly, this volume is a huge miss for me. While the artwork was absolutely stunning as always, we find Julie and Selena in a bit of a pickle of their own making. I assumed they’d grow together after the last volume, but it’s revealed that they’ve been rather awkward with each other rather than communicating in the time between the two volumes. It’s very clear that their relationship is thriving on their lack of communication, anger management issues, and topped with a good amount of jealousy.

Unfortunately, it turns out I don’t enjoy following Julie and Selena after the first volume. There isn’t much character growth and they both seem to keep taking steps backwards. It also quickly becomes apparent that rather than looking at herself and noticing what her toxic traits are and working on them to better herself, Julie blames those flaws on being a wolf. The whole story ends with her making a very hasty decision that isn’t going to solve anything for her because she’s focusing on the wrong things.

While I didn’t like the main plot, I did love the side characters, who don’t make much of an appearance this time around. Maybe I would’ve felt a little better about this volume if some old favorites were around with the new characters to break up just how awful this relationship truly is. You’re not going to see me happy for Julie and Selena if they get back together, which appears to be the endgame. I’m not sure where this series is going anymore or if I’m interested in the next volume after this because this book was a hard miss for me. All I know is that Julie and Selena should go to therapy and work on themselves before getting back together or entering new relationships. 

Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World's Worst Diseases by Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen

Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World's Worst Diseases by Lydia Kang, Nate Pedersen

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Workman Publishing Company through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re interested in reading about epidemics, then this is the book for you! Each short chapter presents a different disease and the epidemic that quickly followed their discoveries. While the true patient zero for any of the diseases are unknown, the patient zeroes presented here are people who are well-known to be early accidental spreaders of the disease they contracted.

I picked up this book because I’m a huge fan of Lydia Kang. While I know this is non-fiction, I thought the concept was interesting, especially since we’re living through a pandemic. Each chapter covers a disease, where it likely originated from or how long it was around before it was first detected, who got it, how it spread, and what damage it caused. The book is also sprinkled with photographs and different facts related to epidemics that is related to the chapter they’re featured in.

I have to say that it was interesting to learn that pandemics are usually handled pretty badly in varying degrees. I knew our species has a history of repeating ourselves, but it hits harder when you realize we’re repeating history yet again in real time. This was a very interesting read, and I’m looking forward to seeing more non-fiction books come from Lydia Kang.

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

Tidesong by Wendy Xu
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from HarperCollins Children's Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Sophie is sent to live with her Great-Aunt Lan and Cousin Sage to prepare to audition for the Royal Magic Academy, she’s apprehensive while still excited because her imagination has run wild about what it’ll be like. Sadly, Sophie’s dreams are quickly shot down when she overhears her Great-Aunt Lan speaking badly about her right after they first met. To top things off, she’s not even practicing magic. All she’s doing is a bunch of chores they claim will be the foundation to learning how to harness her magic. Finally, when Sophie has had enough, she decides to show her family what she’s capable of. Unfortunately for her, the spell quickly gets out of hand, and she finds herself nearly drowning and accidentally erasing the memory of a water dragon, possibly putting everyone she loves in danger.

This is such a cute and heartwarming story that has beautiful artwork. I loved seeing the story come to life through the images. If it wasn’t for the fact that this is a graphic novel, it’d almost feel like I was watching an animation. That’s how great the flow of the story went with the stunning artwork.

We follow Sophie, a young girl who is under pressure to do great at her audition for the Royal Magic Academy. Through the story, we watch her go from being obsessed with proving that she’s talented and useful to discovering what she actually wants is different from what her mother and grandmother want for her. I could relate to her because growing up, I was pressured into thinking all the goals I had were all things I wanted. At some point, I realized the reason I was so miserable was because all my goals were not anything I chose for myself. They were goals selected for me.

While this is a fictional fantasy book, I think that Sophie’s story is an important one, especially for children. Sophie doesn’t just realize that she’s taking a route that she doesn’t want for herself by auditioning for the Royal Magic Academy. She also learns what she’s capable of, what her talents are, and what she wants for herself. It’s an important message for kids, and it’s even better if they also have people who support them just like Sophie does when she puts her foot down and makes a major decision about her future.

Aru Shah and the City of Gold (Pandava Quartet #4) by Roshani Chokshi

 
Aru Shah and the City of Gold by Roshani Chokshi
My Rating: ★★★★

When Aru wakes up in a mysterious place with a girl claiming to be her biological sister, she isn’t sure what to believe. Is Kara really her sister? Is she truly good or just pretending so she can gain her trust? Something tells her that Kara isn’t lying, so she trusts her. Tentatively. Unfortunately, it turns out her soul sisters have a range of mixed feelings about Kara, but they don’t have time to discuss it. Kubera has invited them to visit him and pass his trials. If they don’t show up, they won’t have access to his troops or any aid from him, and they must race against the clock to get around the Otherworld’s traveling ban to get there.

The series may be winding down, but it’s certainly not getting any slower! We have a new character joining the potatoes this time around. While I liked Kara, she was a slightly different version of Mini. Now, Mini is my favorite character, so of course I liked Kara. I just wish there was a greater divide between her and Mini’s characterization. That said, I think she did bring something new and fun to the potatoes, so I don’t actually have any complaints about her.

Oh boy. This book had me glued to every single page going along with the characters on their journey. I felt bad for Aru and Kara so many times, especially given Kara’s backstory and the revelations that hurt her. The distrust that divided Aru from her soul sisters and how much they were squabbling was very realistic, except for the celestial connections of course.

I am disappointed by one plot, though. It’s been very clear that it was a very significant plot that was going to change everything since it was first brought up. However, the closer we got to it happening, it was clear that it wasn’t going to be anywhere near as big as it was supposed to be. Essentially, it fell flat on its face. Sure, I’m interested in seeing how this will impact this one character when we see them again, but did this prophecy coming to life in any way significant? Sadly, it’s overall impact is mostly minor, and that is what makes it so disappointing.

While this isn’t my favorite book in the series, I did enjoy it. There were so many twists and turns in addition to meeting more new and interesting characters. I’m a little sad that this series will be coming to an end with the next release, but I’m also excited to see how everything wraps up.