Lisa Harkrader

I thought this was a cute, charming, quick read. I had not read or heard of this series. I picked this book up because I thought my nephews would enjoy reading this book and the idea of progressing from just books to graphic novels I liked. Right now it is kind of hard to find the perfect combination of books for them. They are 9 and 10. So right at that stage where children's books are too easy for them but the teen/young adult books might be too much. Well some of the teen/young adult show more books. So this book was a good choice. It had a good storyline, fun characters, nice graphic pictures that did not have a bunch of stuff going on but helped to tell the story, and easy to understand words. My nephews can read this book by themselves. show less

The adventures of Beanboy was simply amazing. There were so many core principles that used in the story that could also transfer into the real world. From Tucker being so patient with his little brother, to the backstory on Sam, even the struggles of being a single parent, everything was simply incredible. It was a beautiful story that I think students in middle school could relate to. I think that this story could spark some very interesting and meaningful conversations.

Here I was wishing for just a regular old vampire story and up turns Nocturne. Nocturne leans more towards high fantasy than vampire though. Mostly it is about a world where magic is common and everyday and all the magic creatures of legend exist, werewolves, brownies, vampires and the like. The vampires just are, they are not the point so that was refreshing for a change. It was also refreshing to have a head strong, capable heroine who doesn't immediately fall in love and get all stupid. show more Flannery is very powerful and knows it. She just been caged in by her uncle's worries and his need to keep her safe. But when she decides to take ownership of her powers, then the story really kicks in. Nocturne is a quick, fun read that borrows more from Diana Wynne Jones than Stephanie Meyer and her ilk.

The Little Bookworm show less

Airball is a story about a very brave boy who conquers his fears. The whole book he is trying to find clues to find his father. His basketball team is so bad that they haven't won a game all season. His coach develops a strategy to make the boys play in their underwear. It works and the boys improve at basketball and beat every team. He thinks that he has enough clues to find out that his father is the #1 Basketball player of kansas. His basketball team gets the opportunity to meet the show more jayhawk team. The boy shows the player the evidence and finds out that his real dad is his own basketball coach.

I loved this series because it showed that people are creative. The book showed that a child would do almost anything to find his dad. It also showed that it takes a lot of courage to be a leader. The coach stripped basketball all the way down to the basics. Making sure the kids had nothing to lose. This is not the normal type of book I read but i think I might start reading it. show less