The Hypnotists by Gordon Korman

from goodreads

2 stars

Well, the weather forecast says that we have snow coming in our future. I don't really believe it, though, it most probably is true. With the cold winter of last year and our cool summer, it seems impossible that winter could already be starting again. To quote on of my friends, "I'm still waiting for summer".

Oh well, at least with the cold weather we get to bundle up in our sweaters, have mugs of hot tea or chocolate and hibernate with our reading list stacked beside us. Here's hoping for a milder winter. Bring on the snow.

Synopsis

Strange things always happen around Jackson Opus. Superstar athletes stop being good. Doctors act like monkeys. Girls actually notice him. When he realizes he is actually a hypnotist he learns how to use and harness his powers. But others with less pure intents take notice too.

My Thoughts

I love Gordon Korman. The MacDonald Hall series made me laugh and I love his book I Want to Go Home. I still remember my mom passing the book back and forth because we couldn't get through a section we were laughing so hard.

This book, not quite as good. I read it because the second book in the series just came out and it looked interesting but I thought I should read the first book first. It starts off really good and in usual Gordon Korman fashion you are hooked. The chapters were exciting and interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Then, the rest of the book happened. I don't know what it was. Perhaps, how naive Jackson was, but I found myself just not caring. I didn't care for the characters, or what happened to them. By the end I was skimming just to get to the end faster. I only kept reading, one, because I hoped it would get better (it didn't), and two, I wanted to see if the "bad guy" was able to get found out at all.

I may have felt annoyance at the characters because I am an adult reading a kids book. Perhaps kids wouldn't notice how ignorant people were being, though kids are more savvy than we think, so, I'm not sure if that is the case. But kids might be more forgiving of the characters faults and the story's flaws than I am.

I am not sure if I am going to read the second book. The premise sounds interesting, but then, so did the premise of this one and I ended up disappointed. We will have to wait and see.

Despite the poor review for this book, I still highly recommend the author. You should definitely check him out.

Superhero School by Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Andy Rash

from goodreads

3.5 stars

It is almost Hallowe'en. We carved our pumpkins on Sunday so they are all ready to go. When I go looking for pumpkins I tend not to go for the most perfect looking ones. I like the ones that are oddly shaped, or have weird bumps on them, or have scratches and scars. I find that those are the pumpkins that end up giving the jack o' lantern so much character. Also, my carving skills are not top notch. Triangles and a couple toothed grin are about the extent of my jack o' lanterns so the odd ball pumpkins are good enough for me.

We live in a rather aging neighbourhood. We don't have a lot of kids on our street. Our first year in our house we had two kids, not including my own. Last year we had no kids but we did have university students going around giving us chocolate to raise awareness about free trade chocolate. (It was very yummy).

The kids have gone to Hallowe'en parties at Brownies and Sparks (those are branches of the Girl Guide organization). It is always fun to see what other kids decide to wear. All the Sparks, so that is girls aged 5-6, were wearing princess costumes except for one wonder woman, and my girl who was a very fashion witch. At brownies, which are girls aged 7-8 there was a greater variety. There were zebras and cheerleaders and even Amelia Earhart. It's amazing what a year or two will do to children's interests.

Now the real test will be having my kids not change their minds about what they want to be before Friday. I am costume finding/making out. What do you like to do for Hallowe'en?

Synopsis

Leonard knows that there is something special about him so it wasn't a surprise that he was enrolled in a special superhero school. What he didn't know was they would be doing math instead of fighting monsters.

My Thoughts

This was a fairly amusing book. It was nice to see that even superheros need to have a basic education, that they cannot rely on their talents alone. It was cool how the author was able to weave math into superhero stuff and I loved how the kids were tested on their math skills.

Superhero stuff is so over done now with all the different movies that are out now. This book was able to have a fresh vibe with it, though it still had some cliche superhero stuff thrown in.

For me it was just meh. My kids enjoyed it more. I am glad that I read it, but it wouldn't be my first choice in books to read to them. So, the 3 stars come more from just a personal preference then anything negative or lacking from the author or illustrator.

So if you want to read about math learning, ice zombie finding superhero students this book might be right for you.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

from goodreads

4.5 stars

Have you ever gone through a period where you feel distracted. It is hard to keep your focus and you flit between projects like a butterfly. That's how I feel right now. I seem to be flitting between household projects, church projects and different books.

It's weird when you are not able to just hunker down and get one thing done and then move on to the next. It's like you are juggling a billion balls and making sure none of them drop. Hopefully I'll be able to get out of this pattern soon as it can be quite stressful at times. But, that's the fun thing about life. Things are always changing, it doesn't stay stagnant for long. (At least that is my life, especially with young kids.)

Synopsis

This is a beautifully simple and lovely story that follows two primary characters. The first is Marie-Laure. A girl who lost her eyesight at age six and lives in Paris with her father, a key maker that works for a Museum. The second is Werner, an orphan who lives in a children's house in Essen. He has a raw talent for building and working with radios.

The book shows us their experience during WWII. Though they live hundreds of kilometers apart, their tales are compatible and interwoven through their love of knowledge.

My Thoughts

What a magical and wonderful story. I really enjoyed this book. The era and locations in which this book was set are of great interest to me and I felt that this author gave great justice to the history and societal happenings of the time. You get a glimpse at the complex nature in which Europe found itself, without being bogged down by names, dates, and overloads of other data.

I really loved how we get to see the characters before the war and then get the opportunity to watch them evolve as the war goes on.

I loved the character of Werner. I felt for him. The author did a beautiful job at showing Werner's confusion and stalled behaviour. Werner's inability to react to and understand the mean, nasty and inhuman actions that went on around him gave voice to those in Nazi Germany who were in the same position. It would not have been an easy position to be in. You know something is wrong but you are not sure what to do about it. Risk your life or safety, or put up your blinders.

The story of Marie-Laure and Etienne was heart-warming. It was great to see them come together and emerge from their shells. The juxtaposition of Marie-Laure's action and Werner's inaction was very interesting. Though Marie-Laure is physically blind she sees truth and right and acts on it. Werner can see yet he puts on blinders.

I wish we knew more of the thoughts and background of Volkheimer. He seems like a sensitive soul I would have liked to know better. There were a few other little frays that I would have liked to see wrapped up or know about, such as what did Frederick's father do? Was he high up in the Nazi regime? I know that everything can't nicely wrapped up and that the not knowing makes the story realistic to the time period, but it would still have been nice to know.

While I do like happy endings, and in my dream world, no one would die, this did not happen and yet I felt satisified. Sometimes when characters die it seems senseless and ridiculous. (Thinking about Divergent series.) In this book it made sense and in some way made the story seem more complete because of it.

This book is definitely a must read. I found it to be lovely. I now want to live in Brittany in a 6 story home. I think visiting St. Malo will be on my bucket list. I would also love to see the models that Marie-Laure's father made as well. What a thoughtful man he was. What a sweet story this is.

Fleas! by Jeanne Steig illustrated by Britt Spencer

from goodreads

3 stars

What a busy past few days. Saturday seemed so jammed packed, yet I was barely out of the house. It seems as if there is always something to do, and not enough time to get my reading done.

I am probably one of the lone people out there, but I can't wait for the Christmas holidays. Two weeks when I don't have to be rushing in the morning getting things ready, and I can stay in my pajamas all week if I want. That sounds like bliss to me. I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet. But I'm not worried. I think this year we will go simple and sparse. My kids already have so much, they don't need much more. It will be nice when they get older and they will be happy with cash and gift cards. That will be bliss indeed.

Synopsis

Quantz is helpful and scratches a dog. In return for that favour Quantz ends up with the fleas! He then continues to make trades with people he meets. What will he end up with?

My Thoughts

Well, it was kind of a cool story. It was interesting to see what he would end up trading for. The wrap up at the end was very satisfactory. This book is not life changing and awe inspiring, but it does make a good story for bedtime. It isn't offensive, and it isn't the best. It just is, and that's great.

There were a few things that made this a book I wouldn't necessarily have on my shelf at home. One, what the heck is up with the name Quantz? What is that? I didn't even know it is a name. Perhaps it is a more of a region specific name. I have never heard of it before, and a first I thought he was going to turn into an alien or something. For a kids book, that is predominantly going to be read in North America, Quantz might not be the best name to use for the main character. Now, I am all for interesting or obscure names, but Quantz, I just don't know. How about Rosco or Gonzoro instead?

Two, some of the drawings were really bazaar and one kind of scared me. They also didn't match the story exactly. Some children when looking for a picture cue to go with the story might be confused when they don't see it.

One the whole, it was a cute story. My kids like it. It just wasn't my favourite. If you don't have an aversion to the name Quantz, then this book might be for you.

Flee, Fly, Flown by Janet Hepburn

from goodreads

4 stars

After a beautiful long weekend it is now a very gray and wet week. I was awoken today by crazy hard rain and wind blowing. My only thoughts were, of course it is raining and probably will stay raining when I take the kids to school. It always rains at either drop of time of pick up time. What's up with that.

By the time it was time to go to school the rain had lightened to a light drizzle and no wind. Much more preferable.

Now, I love rain. I know it is important and I love that it gives us puddles to splash in. I just don't love it when I have to be standing outside waiting for kids. I want to enjoy it on my own terms. Usually that means curled up with a caf-lib and and blanket on my couch with my latest read. That's the kind of rain I am talking about.

Synopsis

Lillian and Audrey live at Tranquil Meadows. While other residence seem to enjoy their time there Lillian and Audrey are plotting their escape. When they finally make it out their trip is almost doomed, until they meet a young man named Raine who agrees to drive for them.

My Thoughts

This was  a beautiful story. It is told from the vantage point of an octogenarian who has dementia, the beginnings of Alzheimer's. This sometimes makes the story seem a bit confusing as it shows that she herself is confused. But, it was also great to have her view point and understand how people suffering with that condition feel and think and how frightening and frustrating it must be for them.

As I have travelled the same route as the characters it was kind of fun to picture it as I went along. I could actually visualize where they were and how desolate Northern Ontario can be. It has lots of rocks, trees, and lakes, and to me the trees are all scraggily. Not the nice, thick lush trees of the south. But, some people may prefer the scraggily trees, and that's fine too.

I love the character of Raine and wished that he could have been fleshed out a bit more. He seemed like a decent guy, yet, you are still not quite sure, so I wished that could have been explained a bit more.

While I was reading this, the story really hit home. My parents are quite a bit older. My dad is 80 and my mom will be turning 74 in November. My father is suffering from dementia and I know what a toll it takes on not only him, but my mother, and then slowly trickles down to us, but not as much as what my mom gets. And things are starting to slip for her too. This book helped put a voice to what my parents are going through, that I don't always get to see, or what they are not telling me. (I live quite a distance away and don't get up to see them as often as might be helpful.)

I love how the book shows these elderly people as people who still have hopes and dreams. They have the desire to be loved, appreciated and respected. I think to often we see people's limitations and think that is all there is. Usually there is a lot more going on under the surface than we realize. We don't need to patronize them as if they are completely helpless. It can be a hard line to walk.

The ending was sort of open ended. I hope that the old girls made it to the coast. That would make me super happy.

Despite some feelings of repetition, some awkward plot moments and the need for some meatier character construction this was a great read. I highly recommend it.

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin Illustrated by Harry Bliss

from goodreads

3.5 stars

I am a day late posting. Yesterday was such a busy day and then my little one decided that would be a great day not to nap. I don't know about you but I need the nap time to get things done. I am able to do some stuff when she is around. But other things, it is impossible to do, like computer items or putting anything away (as she promptly take it out again).

Yesterday I had to do the finishing touches on an activity that I was co-ordinating at my church. It was really fun. We learned how to make our own laundry soap and salad dressings and sweetened condensed milk. It was really interesting and yummy.

Today is my catch up day and luckily the little one is napping! Oh the things I will be able to do. I think I might read my book!

Synopsis

We get an in-depth look at this little spiders life. We get to see spider from is prospective. Very cool.

My Thoughts

This was a really cute book. I like how they showed the spider going to school, the rivalries between spiders and insects, yet, they also showed things spiders do like molting and catching wind to make their webs.

The drawings were really neat and engaging. It was great seeing some of the fun ways the illustrator interpreted the authors words.

The negative to this book, is that it is not the best read out loud story. There are the journal entries but then the pictures themselves have word-bubbles or other words that I had to read to my kids, as they are still learning to read. It broke up the flow of the story and I had to pause to explain things as it wasn't automatic.

My seven year old liked it more, she is able to read more than the 5 year old, and could get more from it on her own. My five year old didn't really like it as it was harder for her to engage with the book. It is definitely a picture book for an older child.

That being said it was a fun read, it is just better for older kids.

The Second Deadly Sin by Asa Larsson

from goodreads

4 stars

The past little bit has been preoccupied with what books I want to contribute to my book club selection. We are doing the same thing as last year. We have chosen three broad themes and then we are each to choose a book that belongs in that theme.

This year we are to choose a classic (this means a book that stands the test of time and is considered to be a classic, not necessarily a book written in a particular time period), a mystery, and then one of our choice which could be literally anything.

I don't know why but I always stress over this selection process. I make lists and then try to whittle them down. I think I stress over it because I don't want to pick dud books. I don't want my book club to say "That Meredith, she sure picks some really 'interesting' books." Or worse they could say, "Let's not let her pick out any next year."

Most of the books are from my "to read" list, so at least I can hopefully get that list a little shorter this year. I think I will still show up with two selections for each theme and have them choose... maybe... I'm not sure. I don't even know when we are supposed to have them chosen for. Hopefully November's meeting.

Synopsis

When a hunter takes down a bear that has given a community in northern Sweden quite a scare, a gruesome discover is made in the bears stomach contents. A human bone. Then, when a woman is discovered murdered in her house Prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson starts to see a connection.

My Thoughts

This was an amazing read. I didn't know about his author or the Rebecka Martinsson books before. It was on my to read list on goodreads so I decided to get it from the library. I am now going to have to go back and read the rest of the series. I hope they are as good as this one.

This is part historical novel part mystery. It follows two time lines. One starts at the onset of WWI and goes until the war is over. The other time line is set in modern day. The timelines are done very well, you are not confused when they change and you get excited to see how the two stories are going to join up.

In the historical time line I really felt for the character Elina. She was definitely a girl ahead of her time. A lot of heartache could have been done away with if she and others were honest with themselves. And the one guy... what a creep. If only women weren't scared and could speak out against him. Though I did like what happened to him in the end. I felt satisfied, in a morbid kind of way.

I loved the landscape that was painted in this book. It makes me want to book a trip to Sweden right now. I want to enjoy a fire fueled sauna and go berry picking. I know it might sound sort of stereotypical but it sounds very ideal to me. A simple and slower pace. Sign me up. I think I will ask my husband for a cabin in the woods for Christmas.

This is a book that is going to keep you guessing until the end. But you feel justified that the jerk people get their comeuppance and the good guys prevail. I just loved it.

Little Monster Knows Excuse Me by Connie Colwell Miller Illustrated by Maira Chiodi

from goodreads

5 stars

I am exhausted today. I didn't have the best of sleeps last night. My energy is way low. My husband was snoring like a bear, and then the little one started to fuss so I slept in her room on the recliner. Well at some point she ended up on my chest asleep. And while she may have been sleeping, I was not. She loves to twirl hair and since my long luscious locks were available she decided to twirl her hand up in mine! No matter what I did or how I rearranged her and my hair her hand kept on getting into my hair. Perhaps I should get it cut.

Oh well, if my husband snores tonight it will be his turn to embark on the great exodus. I can only be so kind for a little while.

Synopsis

Monster goes grocery shopping with his mom. There he is able to show off his manners.

My Thoughts

This was such a cute book. What a fun way to teach kids about using their manners instead of just plowing through people and things. I like how it showed all the different contexts in which "excuse me" can be used.  I also like how it shows that it is okay if a mistake was made or an accident occurred. You just need to make sure that you fess up to it and try your hardest to make it right. So good.

This is one in a series of monster knows books. I am excited to read the other ones, which are all manners based. I hope that the concept sinks into my kids. If a monster can be polite then so can I.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour bookstore by Robin Sloan

from goodreads

2.5 stars

Yesterday I went to the chiropractor. I love him. I always feel great after he works his magic on me. He even worked magic on my toe. So I am not hobbling as much any more. There are still some painful spots on my toe, but on the whole it is a lot better. Definitely more range in motion.

It's always nice when magic occurs in the real world. Okay, I know that chiropractic practices and techniques don't constitute magic because there is a science behind them. But to me, with the immediacy of effect, it is magic. 'Cause I don't completely understand it. I just know it works and I am so grateful it does. 

Other things in life are like that. I don't completely understand computer coding etc. I just know it works and I am glad it does. Are there things like that in your life? You might not understand all the science behind it or reasoning behind it, it just works and you are grateful?

Synopsis

Clay Jannon has felt the hit from the recession. When he finds himself jobless he happens upon a advertisement for a 24-hour bookstore. He gets the job and starts on the graveyard shift. After a while he begins to suspect there is something more to this bookstore than meets the eye and he is determined to get to the bottom of it.

My Thoughts

This is a really hard book to rate. There were some parts of it that were really interesting and there were other parts of it that were so boring and seemed to just drag on.

This book is definitely a book for font geeks, google lovers and computer enthusiasts. I wonder if the author has a deal with google or works for google, with all his talk about google. Reading it definitely makes me want to work at the google campus. Free lunch that sounds delicious and I don't have to make it myself. Yes please! I think I would have enjoyed it better if I was one of the above as I found some parts confusing and other parts, well, I just didn't care about.

Most of the characters seemed a bit one dimensional to me, especially the google employee girl that I can't even remember the name of right now... I guess I should have written it down before I returned the book. Seriously girl, computers are not the end all and be all of life. (Living in the tech town of Waterloo, I guess I should keep that opinion quietly to myself. ;)

The plot always seemed to pique my interest right as I was about to give up, but as I said the mystery part of it seemed to drag on forever. I just wanted to get to the answer.

I like how it discussed the idea of a marriage between new technology and technology of the past. How innovation is great but it is not going to be the answer to everything. Sometimes you need to embrace your roots. It also helped show light on the debate of whether the printed hard copy book will become obsolete and everything will become digital. I for one like my hardcopies. I like the feel of paper.

I also liked getting an insight into the museum world and how artifacts can be verified. Very cool. I also liked learning about how lucrative fonts can be. I think I might have to develop one... or find someone who understands coding etc. to help me design one. I am willing to split profits.

All in all this book left me wishing for more depth. Depth in storyline and depth in characters. I would consider trying this author out again, but I would not be in a hurry to do so.