Review! Love, Ish

Author: Karen Rivers

288 Pages--Ages 9-13

Published by: Algonquin Young Readers on 14 March 2017

Summary (goodreads.com):

Things Mischa “Ish” Love will miss when she goes to Mars: lying on the living room floor watching TV, ice cream, her parrot Buzz Aldrin. Things Ish Love will not miss when she goes to Mars: mosquitoes, heat waves, missing her former best friend Tig.

Ish is convinced that she’ll be one of the first settlers on Mars. She’s applied to—and been rejected from—the Mars Now project forty-seven times, but the mission won’t leave for ten years and Ish hasn’t given up hope. She also hasn’t given up hope that Tig will be her best friend again (not that she’d ever admit that to anyone, least of all herself). When Ish collapses on the first day of seventh grade, she gets a diagnosis that threatens all her future plans. As Ish fights cancer, she dreams in vivid detail about the Martian adventures she’s always known she’d have—and makes unexpected discoveries about love, fate, and her place in the vast universe.

Review! The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool

Author:  Margaret Gray, Randy Cecil (Illustartor)

176 Pages--5-10 years

Published by: Henry Holt and Co. on 01 October 2002

Summary (goodreads.com):

"A very long time ago, when all the countries you’ve ever heard of were in different places on the map, a princess was born who was not beautiful. She wasn’t even remotely pretty, and the whole kingdom was in deep shock about it."

Princess Rose doesn’t get any prettier as she grows up, but the kingdom does get over its shock. Everyone adores the skinny, buck-toothed princess, and she doesn’t mind her appearance—until the handsomest prince in the world comes looking for a bride. Despite warnings from her seafaring fairy godmother and a wise fool named Jasper, reckless Rose wishes for beauty. She gets her wish, and the prince, but finds neither is as nice as she had expected.

Summer 2018 Ending Thoughts

The summer officially ends in 2 days, on September 22, 2018 so I decided to post my Summer 2018 ending summary.

I ended up not being able to finish my 20 books this summer. The original list was:

1. The Wurst is Yet to Come


2. Engaging Father Christmas


3. Pippi Longstocking


4. Children of the Lamp: The Blue Djinn of Babylon


5. The Genius Files: Never Say Genius


6. Wilma Tenderfoot: The Case of the Frozen Hearts


7. It’s Raining Cupcakes


8. Murder on the Links


9. Class Dismissed


10. The Sinclair Mysteries: The Painted Dragon


11. Draw Blood


12. Blood Dawn


13. Airman


14. The Book Scavenger: The Alcatraz Escape


15. BOB


16. Fairy Tale Reform School: Charmed


17. Fairy Tale Reform School: Tricked


18. Fairy Tale Reform School: Switched


19. Descendants: Rise of the Isle of the Lost


20. Archie Greene and the Magician’s Secret

I only managed to finish 11 of these books. That's not to say I didn't read 20 books, there were just a couple I read that weren't originally on this list.

Oh, and my plan to clear out my bookshelf totally backfired. I ended up going to my library's summer sale where I bought like 4 books. Then my local used bookshop ended up having their end of the summer sale which was buy one get one free on everything! As you can imagine, I bought so so so SO many books. So now I had to clear out some space just to store all these new books.

The other books I ended up reading this summer were:

1. Hermes and the Horse with Wings (Heroes in Training #13)


2. Chocolate Fever


3. Perseus and the Monstrous Medusa (Heroes in Training #12)


4. Wild Card (Dresden Files Graphic Novels #6)


5. Dionysus and the Land of Beasts (Heroes in Training #14)


6. Samantha and the Missing Pearls (American Girls Short Stories #17)


7. Samantha's Short Story Collection


8. I am Mordred


9. The Report Card


10. Posted


11. The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl #2)


12. Murder in Retrospect (Hercule Poirot #25)


13. Sage and the Journey to Wishworld (Star Darlings #1)


14. The Princess Imposter


15. Restart


16. Schooled


17. Sugar and Spice (Confectionery Yours #3)


18. Flipped

So, while I didn't finish all of the 20 books I initially set out to read I ended up reading 29 books! Which, overall, is more than my initial goal of 20. So I'll take this as a half way win.

In the end I didn't really meet my goals, but I still think it was a fun try anyway.

Review! Restart

Author: Gordon Korman

256 Pages--Ages 8-12

Published by: 

Summary (goodreads.com):

Chase's memory just went out the window.

Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name.

He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return.

Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him.

One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets.

Pretty soon, it's not only a question of who Chase is--it's a question of who he was . . . and who he's going to be.

Review! Switched (Fairy Tale Reform School #4)

Author: Jen Calonita

304 Pages--10-13 years

Published by: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky on 06 March 2018

Summary:

Things at Fairy Tale Reform School are great. Rumpelstiltskin has been ousted, and everyone is buzzing about the fact that Beauty and Prince Sebastian (aka the Beast) have joined the teaching staff. Everyone, that is, except Gilly, who can't seem to focus on anything but Anna. How is it that her beloved sister somehow went bad and joined up with Rump? And why doesn't anyone seem to care? Sure, the Royal Court says they're working on it, but they've got exactly nothing to show for it.

But when new-kid Jack joins FTRS with tales of his own family being snatched by Rump, Gilly knows she's in good company. Jack wants answers, just like Gilly. And if the Royal Court can't get the job done, then maybe it's time to break some rules...

Review! The Princess Imposter

Author: Vivian Vande Velde

208 Pages-Ages 8-12

Published by: Scholastic Press on 10 October 2017

Summary (goodreads.com):

Princess Gabriella is accustomed to a certain kind of castle life. So when she wakes up one morning in a crowded hut, surrounded by squabbling fairy siblings, it takes all her princess training to maintain her poise and good manners.

Meanwhile, across the kingdom, Fairy Phleg revels in Gabriella's luxurious lifestyle. As long as she can fool the castle into believing she's the real princess-with a little help from her magical disguise-then she's set to enjoy three glorious days of sweets and comfort.

The mischievous fairies have placed a bet, and Gabriella is caught in the middle of it. Can she survive her time in the chaotic fairy household without failing the ultimate princess test and losing her temper? Phleg turns the castle upside down as she poses as Gabriella, but when an important guest arrives, will her antics unwittingly send the kingdom into war?