Personal rating of 3 out of 5 stars
3 stars An interesting story centered around the Great Molasses Flood of 1919. This is the first book that I’ve read in the Girls Survive series and overall I enjoyed it. The writing is pretty simple and lacks some finesse, but I think it does a good job of making history appealing to young readers….
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
3 stars I’ve seen musical and film adaptations of the story, each choosing different details to include. But I never knew all the intense drama of the original. Despite my reservations, I was pulled in by the extensive details of the characters I only knew a simple version of (Esmeralda’s marriage, Phoebus’ womanizing antics, and…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
3 stars An interesting fictionalized story surrounding the shark attacks of 1916. I liked this original novel slightly more than the graphic novel adaptation (though I do like that there is more information in the backmatter of the graphic novel). This is the first book I’ve read in the series. They are very popular at…
Read More
3 stars Told in short chapters with simple language, this fictionalized account of Ivan’s story places Ivan at the center, giving him voice and agency in making change for himself and his friends. A wonderful story that highlights the importance of animal rights and the ethical treatment of animals. Applegate uses many of the real…
Read More
3 stars A picture book telling the story of Ivan, how a gorilla became a shopping center attraction and the public’s changing understanding of animals in captivity. The book goes through some of the main events of Ivan’s story, including some dark times. It touches on various aspects of human treatment of wild animals and…
Read More
3 stars TenNapel’s world building never disappoints. In this case it’s an island with strange plants, a mysterious origin, and an overabundance of creatures that want to kill you. This may go down as the worst family vacation ever, but at least it brought them closer in the end. Danger, adventure, humor, and fast-paced fun….
Read More