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ethan_bluestone's reviews
110 reviews
The Wrath of Mulgarath by Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
The Ironwood Tree by Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Shattered Lens by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Facing the Beast Within by Mark Cheverton
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I got this book not really knowing what to expect, but thought I might as well read it considering how many of Mark Cheverton's books I've read. But after finishing it really felt bland; I think it had good intentions, but was written very poorly. It was a bunch of techniques for dealing with anxiety wrapped up in a lackluster middle grade fantasy story.
The writing was— for me personally— very hard to get through, especially when the actual story itself wasn't terribly well done and the characters kind of one dimensional, and the plot was pretty formulaic.
That being said, I think the author was really trying to do a good thing, and it had a lot of helpful information in it. I feel like it's stuff that every kid should know about, just to better understand people with anxiety.
But I'm not sure how helpful it is to a kid who actually has anxiety. For one, all the techniques are something you could just get either online or in actual therapy. For another, it could be a little discouraging to read about a boy with anxiety who finds out about this cool magic and goes on an adventure that helps him overcome it. Because let's face it, nothing that amazing would happen in real life.
I felt like this book didn't—like others recently— measure up to the Gameknight999 series for a simple reason: it's not Minecraft. What made all the Gameknight999 books interesting was the adventures taking place in Minecraft, a world where you can do anything. While this book, on the other hand, is in the normal world with unoriginal monsters attacking children. Not that interesting. If you haven't read the Gameknight999 series then this may not apply to you. But as a long time reader of this author I feel thoroughly tired of the same repetitive writing style.
But in spite of all that, I feel like this book could be helpful and enjoyed by some people. Just depends on who's reading.
The writing was— for me personally— very hard to get through, especially when the actual story itself wasn't terribly well done and the characters kind of one dimensional, and the plot was pretty formulaic.
That being said, I think the author was really trying to do a good thing, and it had a lot of helpful information in it. I feel like it's stuff that every kid should know about, just to better understand people with anxiety.
But I'm not sure how helpful it is to a kid who actually has anxiety. For one, all the techniques are something you could just get either online or in actual therapy. For another, it could be a little discouraging to read about a boy with anxiety who finds out about this cool magic and goes on an adventure that helps him overcome it. Because let's face it, nothing that amazing would happen in real life.
I felt like this book didn't—like others recently— measure up to the Gameknight999 series for a simple reason: it's not Minecraft. What made all the Gameknight999 books interesting was the adventures taking place in Minecraft, a world where you can do anything. While this book, on the other hand, is in the normal world with unoriginal monsters attacking children. Not that interesting. If you haven't read the Gameknight999 series then this may not apply to you. But as a long time reader of this author I feel thoroughly tired of the same repetitive writing style.
But in spite of all that, I feel like this book could be helpful and enjoyed by some people. Just depends on who's reading.
Always Isn't Forever by J.C. Cervantes
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Okay so I picked up this book and thought it seemed interesting so I was like I'll try it out. Well the first thirty pages or so I was like "okay, I don't think those was a good idea." But I stuck with it and ended up really liking it for a couple of core reasons:
1) The story. So actually the story was pretty awesome. Hart the main character dies saving a child but gets rei carnated as someone else and pr ceeds to try to win over Ruby. But there's a catch: he can't tell her who he is and he's also losing his memories every night.
This made the story incredibly more interesting and gave off some insane Gordon Korman vibes. Which is awesome because my favorite Gordon Korman books are Operation Do-Over, Restart, and Mixed Up which are all a lot like this book here. So it really felt like reading an older Korman book.
2) The book didn't have like anything inappropriate in it which was great (which I already assumed after researching it.)
Now of course I did have some problems with it; my biggest being the amount of bad language in this book was extremely annoying and kind of a sign of weak writing in the otherwise great writing. There was one gay character too but it didn't mention it much and really it's teen book so I didn't let it bug me that much.
But I feel like it was cool story and I was glad I stuck through and read it.
1) The story. So actually the story was pretty awesome. Hart the main character dies saving a child but gets rei carnated as someone else and pr ceeds to try to win over Ruby. But there's a catch: he can't tell her who he is and he's also losing his memories every night.
This made the story incredibly more interesting and gave off some insane Gordon Korman vibes. Which is awesome because my favorite Gordon Korman books are Operation Do-Over, Restart, and Mixed Up which are all a lot like this book here. So it really felt like reading an older Korman book.
2) The book didn't have like anything inappropriate in it which was great (which I already assumed after researching it.)
Now of course I did have some problems with it; my biggest being the amount of bad language in this book was extremely annoying and kind of a sign of weak writing in the otherwise great writing. There was one gay character too but it didn't mention it much and really it's teen book so I didn't let it bug me that much.
But I feel like it was cool story and I was glad I stuck through and read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade by Max Brallier, Douglas Holgate
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Man I'm really not sure how I feel about this book.
It started out amazing, I was completely hooked for about the first one hundred pages. But after a while the story started to take some drastic and unrealistic changes that completely changed the story up. I also started to notice how annoying some of the characters were. (Max..... And kinda Josie as well.)
But at the same time it had a good mystery surrounding the Whatnots and the main characters Josie and Max.
In conclusion; I think this book was on the right track but took the wrong turn that made it not live up to its full potential.
It started out amazing, I was completely hooked for about the first one hundred pages. But after a while the story started to take some drastic and unrealistic changes that completely changed the story up. I also started to notice how annoying some of the characters were. (Max..... And kinda Josie as well.)
But at the same time it had a good mystery surrounding the Whatnots and the main characters Josie and Max.
In conclusion; I think this book was on the right track but took the wrong turn that made it not live up to its full potential.
Lucinda's Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? by Lemony Snicket
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75