It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

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For Newbery club: 

Genre: Science Fiction 

AR level: 5.6

Grade appropriate: 5th and up

RATING BREAKDOWN: 

Overall: 3/5-- This is not my favorite kind of Fantasy. See my notes on the writing. 

Creativity: 5/5-- Unusual. Not like any story I’ve read before. 

Characters: 4/5-- The characters were fine, but not endearing. There is growth throughout the book for all the main characters. 

Engrossing: 2/5-- I really had to push through this one. I listened to the audio version so that helped me not give up on it. 

Writing: 3/5-- There’s so much that the narrator has to explain to the reader when we are plopped down in the middle of a world so different from our own. Some authors do it in such a way that you don’t even realize and it feels effortless. That is not the case with this book. It is very labor intensive trying to learn the ins and outs of this world. 

Appeal to kids: 4/5-- While not my favorite, this does strike me as one of those books that our hard core Sci-Fi/Fantasy readers will enjoy. 

Appropriate length to tell the story: 3/5-- Too long 

CONTENT: 

Language: none

Sexuality: none 

Violence: none-- the girls are almost trapped by slave traders and they are rough with the girls. 

Drugs/Alcohol: none

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This is not a new book, but it's one I never read when it was new. Let me tell you, it is a WEIRD concept that two young girls would hide a dead body and live weeks by themselves after burying it in the garden...

Genre: Realistic

AR level: 4.4

Grade appropriate: 5th and up

RATING BREAKDOWN:

Overall: 3/5-- such a disturbing thought that 2 little girls would hide the body of a dead aunt so they didn’t have to answer to child protective services…

Creativity: 4/5-- It is an unusual idea...

Characters: 5/5-- I really liked Angel and Stella. I wanted them to succeed. I loved George.

Engrossing: 2/5-- I don’t know if you’ve picked up on it yet, but I didn’t love this book…

Writing: 3/5

Appeal to kids: 2/5-- It’s a book we’ve had in the library for a while and even though the cover is appealing it doesn’t get much circulation.

Appropriate length to tell the story: 3/5

CONTENT:

Language: none

Sexuality: none

Violence: none

Drugs/Alcohol: mild-- the vacationing parents drink beer as they cook out.

Other: Not sure if this will put anyone off, but one of the vacationing families has 2 moms. The book does not mention anything else about the family.