Title: A Bird's-Eye View
Author: Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Brooke Allen, Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis
Illustrators/Colourists: Grace Ellis, Carey Pietsch, Ayme Sotuyo, Maarta Laiho
Series: Lumberjanes Series (Volume 7)
Pages: 112
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Year Published: 2017
Format: Paperback Copy (Library)
"All Lumberjanes are on deck when the High Council comes to camp for inspection!
The High Council is coming to camp and counselor Jen is determined to make everything perfect, even though a storm is brewing and kittens from the boys' camp are manifesting magical powers. It's every Lumberjane on deck as the girls do their best to prep for the grounds inspection... but there are some storms no one can prepare for."
My Rating: 2.75/5
This is such a stupidly specific rating. I just couldn't help but think about how this series completely changed the direction it was going and I'm not happy about it. I feel like now this series is so much younger than it was when I started reading it. That being said there was a cute moment at the end of this volume and I loved that moment but the rest was so blah to me. I'm going to read the next instalment but after that, I don't plan to continue unless I love Volume 8.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Little & Lion
Author: Brandy Colbert
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT
Pages: 330
Publisher: Little, Brown
Year Published: 2017
Format: Audiobook
"When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn't sure if she'll ever want to go back, L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.
But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new... the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel's disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself-- or worse."
My Rating: 4.5/5
I decided to take out this audiobook on a whim. And I was shocked by how much I enjoyed the storyline. This book deals with so many aspects of life: race, sexuality, family and what makes them, mental illness and probably more than I'm missing. This story really taught me somethings about bipolar disorder that I didn't know about (not sure if this is own voices or not). I was invested in Suzette's life and was interested in her relationship with other characters around her. I think that the author did something interesting where she took a character from a very trendy city to a small town and then back again comparing the differences in opinions on sexuality and race. Overall I really liked it and only docked .5 stars due to one aspect that kinda bothered me\
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Giant Days Vol. 7
Author: John Allison
Illustrator/Colorist: Liz Fleming
Series/Standalone: Giant Days Vol. 7
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Contemporary
Pages: 112
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Year Published: 2018
Format: Physically Read (Library Copy)
" Esther, Susan and Daisy continue to face the rigors of young adulthood in this Eisner-nominated series.
Fast friends Susan and Daisy, and Esther continue their second year at Sheffield University, and these are formative times, indeed. Education and looking ahead to the future isn't all that college holds in-store for these ladies-- grocery store protests, family reunions, and even an MMORPG wedding are all on this semester's docket."
My Rating: 4.5/5
I'm still loving this series and can't wait to continue. I feel like this is a great series for people either entering post-secondary or anyone who's done it. It pretty much just follows the ups and downs of your late teens and early twenties (or if you're me sometimes your current life). If you like a comic series that has heartwarming characters. Overall loved this and the budding romances in this installment and can't wait to continue.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Giant Days Vol. 6
Author: John Allison
Illustrator: Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar
Series/Standalone: Giant Days Series (Vol. 6)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 112
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Year Published: 2017
Format: Physical Copy (Library Copy)
"Second year begins and Daisy, Susan and Esther have taken their friendship commitment to the next level by moving into their 'beautiful home' off-campus. But the keys didn't come without new responsibilities. Unwanted suitor visits, a robbery, and Susan living only a few blocks apart from her ex-boyfriend, McGraw, has made the dorms feel like a haven. The girls are in for a dose of reality when they learn that there's more to being an adult than paying your own rent."
My Rating: 5/5
How dare these creators hit us right in the nostalgic feels? This book reminds me so much of my first year really living on my own and figuring out how to live. It also was a great exploration of different neighbourhoods and brought up interesting ideas of different upbringings. As per usual I love the characters and the setting. Just great!.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride (Book #3)
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction,
Pages: 405
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year Published: 2007
Format: Audiobook
"In MAXIMUM RIDE: SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS, the time has arrived for Max and her winged "Flock" to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of "Re-evolution," a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race... and to terminate the rest.
Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them-- but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?
My Rating: 2.5/5
I know that this one was supposed to be more dramatic but I just found that it was so repetitive to the ones in the past that I had trouble caring about the world and the characters. I will say that the fight scenes in this were well written and interesting, but other than those I wasn't too invested in anything that was happening. I am looking forward to continuing the series and wonder where the author will take it now that they have a different voice reading them and the characters have a different objective.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: School's Out- Forever
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride Series (Book #2)
Genre: Paranormal, Science Fiction, Young Adul
Pages: 409
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year Published: 2006
Format: Audiobook
"In this eagerly awaited follow-up, brave bird-kid Max and her flock are discovered by an FBI agent and forced to go to "school." There is no such thing as an ordinary day as Max deciphers how and when she's supposed to save the world, and she faces her greatest enemy- a clone of herself."
My Rating: 3.5/5
Again I read part of this series when I was probably 14-16 and I really liked it then. So when I saw that my library had all the audiobooks. How could I resist? I think that this series holds up fairly well and would likely be great for people in their teens, but it's a little young for me. And as per usual it's a little dated just due to how far technology has come in the past 13 years. The other thing to note is the audiobook has a lot of music and sound effects. It works ok for me, but it can be a little over the top at times. Just a heads up.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: The One Memory of Flora Banks
Author: Emily Barr
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 306
Publisher: Penguin
Year Published: 2017
Format: Audiobook
"HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO TO TRUST WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN TRUST YOURSELF?
I look at my hands. One of them says FLORA BE BRAVE.
Flora has anterograde amnesia. She can't remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her, how old she is.
Then she kisses someone she shouldn't, and the next day she remembers it. It's the first time she's remembered anything since she was ten.
But the boy is gone. She thinks he's moved to the Arctic. Will following him be the key to unlocking her memory? Who can she trust?"
My Rating: 3.5/5
This book wasn't what I thought it would be. When I heard about it I assumed that it would be a mystery, but unfortunately, it was more of a contemporary. Not that that's a huge deal. The concept is very interesting and there is in one a mysterious element to the story. That being said the content has to be repetitive just due to the fact that the main character has amnesia. I also found that the timeline was hard to follow for similar reasons. I felt as though more time had passed almost always than had. And in some ways, I felt that really put me in the headspace of Flora, but in some ways took away other aspects of the plot.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
Title: The Angel Experiment
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride Series (Book #1)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 413
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Year Published: 2005
Format: Audiobook
"Six unforgettable kids- with no families, no homes- are running for their lives. Max Ride and her best friends have the ability to fly. And that's just the beginning of their amazing powers. But they don't know where they come from, who's hunting them, why they are different from all other humans... and if they're meant to save mankind- or destroy it."
My Rating: 3.25/5
I started to read this series when I was probably in 9th grade. So needless to say to finish the series I had to start a total reread. So this was the beginning. I chose to do the audiobook route this time and I was surprised that it was only 4 hours long. It was enjoyable overall, just read a little young for me at some points. Not that that is surprising considering I am 24. The only real problem I had with the audiobooks were the weird music and sound effect aspects. The story seemed to hold up pretty well surprisingly and I look forward to continuing on.
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
