A magical, fairytale inspired mystery....I really enjoyed seeing the plot unfold, and glad to see the young heroine, hardened by her unpleasant upbrinA magical, fairytale inspired mystery....I really enjoyed seeing the plot unfold, and glad to see the young heroine, hardened by her unpleasant upbringing by a crook, start to develop a moral compass. If you like cursed castles and plucky youngsters unravelling curses, you will like this one....more
this touched the heart of even cynical non-dog person me, and if it can do that, I'm sure that young uncynical dog lovers will be utterly and completethis touched the heart of even cynical non-dog person me, and if it can do that, I'm sure that young uncynical dog lovers will be utterly and completely in love with it!...more
The story of a girl on the cusp of middle school is full of lots of small moments in ordinary life; there's nothing dramatic, but it's all interestingThe story of a girl on the cusp of middle school is full of lots of small moments in ordinary life; there's nothing dramatic, but it's all interesting, and there's enough going on, and enough food for thought, to invest the reader in Ryan's world.
But most of all the story is full of love --from her parents, from her friends (with empathy even coming from a boy she hadn't before been able to quite trust), from her teacher, and from herself--not just love back to all those people, but loving herself, and believing, as the title promises, that she will keep on building dreams. Though the honor of being her class valedictorian comes with the horror of public speaking, Ryan rises to the challenge. And her speech, which brings this part of her life, and the book, to a close, says something many of us need to be reminded of--
"So, instead of telling you to dream big and change the world, I want to say, go change your world--your family, your neighborhood, your community. I've learned that it's not only important to dream of doing big, big, big, things, it's also important to dream of simple, everyday things we can do to make the world a better place."
The original Hans Christian Anderson story is rather horrible with regards to the ending; this is a much more satisfying story, because it ends with tThe original Hans Christian Anderson story is rather horrible with regards to the ending; this is a much more satisfying story, because it ends with the match girl alive, having helped galvanize a successful strike at the match factory! Though based on actual history, the magic of the matches was still a statisfyingly integral part of the story....more
a lovely book--both the words and the pictures gave me great pleasure. If I had someone in my life who loved beautiful fairy tale/dragon books, they wa lovely book--both the words and the pictures gave me great pleasure. If I had someone in my life who loved beautiful fairy tale/dragon books, they would be getting this as a gift........more
a rather appealing story of a Dutch girl in Zeeland in the early 20th century (?) who dreams of seeing the world....Slightly too heavy on teaching aboa rather appealing story of a Dutch girl in Zeeland in the early 20th century (?) who dreams of seeing the world....Slightly too heavy on teaching about Dutch culture and rural life, but the appealing heroine makes it worth reading. Rounded up--not quite a four star must keep to re-read book, but I did enjoy the peaceful reading of it and went down online rabbit holes exploring Zeeland.......more
It was a nice change for me to read an engrossing YA sci fi story that checked lots of my reading boxes.
I was worried that this story of a group of teIt was a nice change for me to read an engrossing YA sci fi story that checked lots of my reading boxes.
I was worried that this story of a group of teenagers colonizing a new planet it might become a Lord of the Flies scenario, but happily for my reading pleasure, the kids included some great leaders, who made their settlement into a functional sort of found family. And much of the book involves the dynamics of this group as they work together to make their outpost a place to call home. Another mystery quickly intrudes, though--bits of a broken shuttle are washing ashore. Could there be survivors beyond this one island?
The pacing won't be for everyone--for much of the book, there are few Exciting Happenings (there are some very exciting ones towards the end though). You have to be a real lover of character driven survival stories to fully appreciate this one, which I am, so I did! I really enjoyed the group dynamics as they worked through practical and ethical problems together, and the romance was sweet. The only thing that would have made me like the book more would have been more time spent by the kids trying to figure out the ecology of the world. One of the things I immediately found disturbing about this already disturbing situation (and the wrongness of it all is clear from the get-go) was that the colonist kids didn't include anyone with biology experience, and so there wasn't much attention paid to the specifics of flora and fauna (and fauna, especially, was given short shrift).
I will happily read more about these kids and their new world! The book ends at a good stopping point, but I want more answers (why, as Leigh herself asks, are there no Canadians? Has something bad happened to Canada? And even more pressingly, why the heck weren't the kids briefed and trained?) and more attention paid to the ecology (the ready-made "food" supplies they arrived with won't last forever....)....more
this was an utterly lovely magical found family book, in which an orphaned girl, a woman fleeing an abusive marriage, and an old grandmother with no ithis was an utterly lovely magical found family book, in which an orphaned girl, a woman fleeing an abusive marriage, and an old grandmother with no immediate family of her own are brought together after the devastating Japanese tsunami of 2011. They move to an abandoned house on a lovely, secluded cape, and become a family. But the tsunami has unleashed a magical danger, trapped for centuries, and now it is up to them to stop it from fracturing their fragile peace, and destroying their community. Led by the grandma, who knows all sorts of Japanese magical beings and enlists their aid, their journey of personal healing becomes entwined with supernatural conflict. A must read for those who love mg fantasy....more
charmingly illustrated episodes in the life of a little girl who is blind, exploring the world with her other senses and the help of the loving adultscharmingly illustrated episodes in the life of a little girl who is blind, exploring the world with her other senses and the help of the loving adults in her life. It is lovely to see her horizons expanding, and it is easy to imagine young readers being enthralled by all the sensory details that make her way of being in the world come to life. There is no pity her, except for one episode with a stranger that made me (and the little girl's parents) very angry....more
a neat time travel story staring a young rapper and a genius girl who inadvertently creates a time travel device that sends the boy back to when his fa neat time travel story staring a young rapper and a genius girl who inadvertently creates a time travel device that sends the boy back to when his father was a kid. This puts the world in danger of utter temporal collapse, and makes for fun reading!...more
Three young teenaged girls arrive at a house camp on an island in the middle of the Maine woods; none of them wanted to go, but their parents, who hadThree young teenaged girls arrive at a house camp on an island in the middle of the Maine woods; none of them wanted to go, but their parents, who had been there themselves long ago, promised them a wonderful, transformative experience. They have doubts, and these doubts are more than realized then they find the Lake House is a burned shell, and a corpse who has been shot. They have no way to communicate with the outside world, and no food or clean water. And then things get worse, when they must survive a horrible evil that makes the island its home....I loved the growing friendship between the girls, and especially how Claire's anxiety and tendency to catastrophize proves incredibly valuable. A great one for 12-14 year olds who like friendship stories mixed with supernatural horror....more
really enjoyable, well-written and creative; I save five stars for books I know I want to reread and keep for every, and though I liked this one lots,really enjoyable, well-written and creative; I save five stars for books I know I want to reread and keep for every, and though I liked this one lots, it wasn't quite that for me (maybe because I am not a dog person....)...more
everything I want in a magic school story! Friendship, mystery, fascinating magic with real world roots, and a lovely main character to empathize witheverything I want in a magic school story! Friendship, mystery, fascinating magic with real world roots, and a lovely main character to empathize with and cheer for!...more
Loading...
