Nancy E. Krulik

Princess Serena is bored in princess school - and she hates her name! Call her Princess Pulverizer, because she's going to be a knight! Her father objects, but Pulverizer knows just how to get her way... at least she thinks she does!

This story starts out as a typical anti-princess tale, with wild Pulverizer wreaking havoc and demanding to be a knight. Things start to shift a little when her father, the king, points out that being a knight isn't all fun and games either. If Princess show more Pulverizer wants to be a knight, she's going to have to learn just as much as she would if she was going to be a proper lady. She'll also have to learn to be a nicer person, less selfish, demanding, and greedy. In fact, before she can even start learning to be a knight she must do eight Good Deeds!

Doing good deeds isn't as easy as it seems, and Pulverizer is soon in trouble. But with the help of an always-scared knight-in-training, his pet dragon (he's really gassy but he makes great grilled cheese) and Pulverizer's own determination, she just might manage to get started on her good deeds.

Balistrieri's cheerful cartoons show a red-headed wild child with plenty of pep and vim, but also a fair helping of ego. Pulverizer smashes her way through life, landing in puddings, getting trapped by stinky giants, and attacking dragons with little thought for the mayhem that surrounds her. Asides from a couple villagers in the background, all the characters are white. There's lots of gruesome and icky detail, with warty giants, disgusting slop, and plenty of farting and belching jokes.

Verdict: This is a little different from the average "tomboy princess wants to be a knight" beginning chapter. It's clear that Pulverizer doesn't think about anyone but herself, even if she's starting to learn that she might need friends by the end of the book. It's funny, but much more gross than Princess in Black. Hand this one to fans of Dragonslayers Academy or Time Warp Trio.

ISBN: 9780515158328; Published 2018 by Penguin Workshop; Review copy provided by publisher show less

Princess Serena (or Princess Pulverizer, as she prefers to be called) hates having to learn ladylike manners and would much rather go to knights-in-training school. Her father consents to this arrangement if she can first complete a series of tasks to prove she is worthy of taking on knighthood.

This is the first book in a series, which is increasingly obvious as the princess must complete eight tasks and barely finishes one by the end of this novel. In theory, I wanted to like this book, but show more I just felt like it fell a bit flat for me.

I'm getting more than a little sick of the idea that girls and women can only be a "strong female lead" if they take on male characteristics. This easily could have just been a book in which a child has to complete eight tasks before starting knight school; there was no need to make a big stink about how Serena/Pulverizer is the only girl to ever attempt this, blah blah blah. On the flip side, it was sort of refreshing that Serena/Pulverizer isn't a nice child and is continually having to learn a lesson about being a better person.

The story also relies a bit too heavily on flatulence and other such jokes to be humorous. I'm sure the target audience of elementary school-age children will enjoy that, but it wasn't for me. This book series already has other titles and given the author's popularity with other series, I imagine this one will continue to do well with its young audience. I, however, am not interested in reading more of these.

The illustrations reminded me of an animation style, which makes sense when I saw the illustrator has done work on numerous children’s movies. show less

First sentence: "Eggs-cuse me, please," Chirpy said. The little chick was hungry. But she could not reach the feeder. Clucky was blocking Chirpy's path. Clucky was blocking everyone's path.

Premise/plot: Clucky is a Greedy Gus. (I jest). Seriously though, Chirpy and the other chicks are having a BIG problem with one not-so-little chicken named Clucky. Can Chirpy (and a new friend, a duck) find a solution at school??? Perhaps! The school children are learning all about fractions and Chirpy has show more an idea that maybe just maybe she can apply her new knowledge to the coop.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. Both books in this series are fun. I do enjoy books about chickens. I don't love, love, love math (or science), but put it into a fun, illustrated story, and I'll give it a chance. I would recommend this one to elementary readers. show less

Jesse and Jen have just gotten married and are documenting their first year of marriage for the dating site they met through. There are plenty of ups and downs in their first year, including a separation. But this is a love story at heart, and older teens will be interested in the frank look at romance and marriage. This is a no-holds barred look including budgeting, cooking and lots of sex. The sex is romantic without being too graphic. I really think this would belong in some intermediary show more collection between teen and adult, but for now, even with the sex, it is still more teen than adult. This is definitely romantic – even with the separation Jesse and Jen ultimately belong together. And it does remind me of other teen romances, just with a little more adult theme. It was like candy – reading it was fun, but unmemorable. show less