Thanks to the publisher for my copy of Me and Banksy in exchange for my honest review. MY view on this book is very positive although, while others have called it Young Adult, I believe it is Middle Grade Fiction.
I liked the use of the graffiti artist, Banksy as well as the characters created by Ms Kyi. It's well written, interesting and I will recommend it to my grandkids.

First the negative - The copy I received was not bound properly as I had to almost break the spine as words tended to drift into it. I hope the finished product wasn't that way. That's the only negative. It was a good thing that it was worth the struggle.
Thanks to Fabled Films Press for sending me the ARC of this wonderful book. I much enjoyed the story of Pippa Park and her trying to fit in at a private school. Author Erin Yun has written a marvelous tale of Park's adventures. If there is more Pippa adventures I would surely read them.

I will share this book with my grandchildren but will buy a more readable copy for them.

I received an Advanced Reading Copy from Candlewick Press and a special thank you to them.
This is a middle grade read that will be released in April 2020. It is set in Fort Lee, NJ which predates Hollywood as the capital of the moving pictures industry using both fictional and real characters in a fictional setting. It is well written and the author is an expert on the period.
While the story concerns Daring Darleen, a fictional heroine of the old serial adventures I enjoyed growing up to at Pops Theater in Chicago's South Side. While I never saw those put out by Ft. Lee in the early days (pre world war 1) I saw the likes of Buck Rogers and Nyoka the Jungle girl. This read brought back those memories. Highly recommended for middle school readers and up, especially if they want to know how movies got started.

Thanks to Candlewick Press for providing the copy for my review. When I first received it, I thought, "Oh no, it's a graphic novel (Not my style). However it's just a middle school novel with doodles. And I got to like the doodles which Liz Pichon, the author, is very good at. It has an amazing cover (doodle art of course) and the story of Tom's quest for a Star Pupil badge is well written. It has a great cast of characters that included his nemisis, Marcus, his sister, Delia, his parents of course, Mr. Fullerman (his teacher), his grandparents (The Fossils) and his cousins. I will now forward this novel on to my grandson who I'm sure will like it as he enjoys these diary type stories. Well done, Liz!

Thanks to Candlewick Press for the Advance Reading copy thru Library Thing.
I liked the book and it was well written. My only complaint was it seemed to depend on you knowing what happened in previous books which I had not read. I felt it was annoying for the Aauthor to keep pointing out previous happenings as if it was an effort to get me to go back and read those books. Not being a fan of stage plays it was also a little annoying for her t talk about Les Miserables et all as if everyone knew what they were about. While these were a mite of a distraction, they didn't take away from me enjoying this book.

Thanks to Greenleaf Book Group for a copy of this book through a LibraryThing giveaway. It was a pleasant read and a very action oriented book about a boy attending school on the moon. I found the author stuck to the future and kept away from things that could reflect our society. Well thought out and fun. I plan on forwarding this to my 13 year old grandchild who is always eager for a book where the hero is a boy.
Check the book synopsis for a more detailed view of the plot. That's not my job.

I was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful artwork in this book. I can't keep my eyes off of it since I received it. Have read through it multiple times and was delighted to see that she had supplied all the cats names in a picture in the back, of them on a cruise ship. This would make a great gift for the cat lover. My sincere thanks to Tundra Books for the advance copy. I'll probably look at it daily for awhile.

First of all a huge thank you to Orca Book Publishers for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this middle aged novel by Michelle Mulder and I am recommending it to my grandchildren. I don't reveal the plot of a novel in my reviews, that is what the synopsis on the back of the book does. It has much to do with making the best of your situation, making friends and connecting with long lost relatives. Since it is about vegetables and planting (gardening) that should appeal to this age group as something different. There is a mystery to be solved and our 13 year old main character must deal with the loss of a relative.
Nice story, well told. The author has a nice writing style.

I received this book from Library Books (Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review, which is what you will get.
The Mort Ziff Is Not Dead synopsis reads:
Battling obxious (should be obnoxious) siblings, sunburns, and a corporate millionaire, Norman is determined to help an old comedian save his career in 1960s Florida.

It’s the winter of 1965. Norman Fishbein is enduring not only a cold winter but also the usual torments and annoyances from his two older brothers. When Norman wins a thousand dollars in the “Count-the-Doozy-Dots Contest” his parents let him choose how to spend it, strongly suggesting a new car is what the family needs. But Norman decides what his family really needs is their first vacation that doesn’t mean camping in a tent—a trip to Miami Beach.

A snowstorm almost wrecks their plans, but in the end Norman gets his first plane ride (with both brothers air-sick on either side of him). Miami strikes him as a paradise—warm weather, palm trees, beaches, and ocean. They stay in luxury at the Royal Palm Hotel, owned by the mysterious millionaire Herbert Spitzer.

One day at the pool Norman spots an old man in a black suit, who his father tells him is a once-famous comedian named Mort Ziff. (Norman’s father thought that Mort Ziff had died years ago.) Holding onto the remains of his career, Mort Ziff is performing every night in the hotel dining room. A chance meeting begins an unusual friendship between Norman and the old comedian. But after show more hearing that Mort Ziff has been fired, to be replaced by “The Centipedes,” a pop group imitating the Beatles, Norman takes matters into his own hands, resolving to save Mort’s job and in the process, coming to realize an inner strength he didn’t know he had.

I rated this book 5 Stars – I liked the author’s background creation for the story (Snowy winter in a big city and Norman’s decision process and making. What I liked most was it was written from a young boy’s POV. Most books today are by and about girls which is understandable because they are the bigger readers but boys have little to choose from. The three girls are not mentioned in the summary but they added much to the story. Having little Amy who mirrored Norman’s problems was great Norman’s brothers gradually grew to accept him and stopped his bullying which was also true to life.
I’d read anything by this author and recommended this book to my grandson.
I read it as quick as I could (two nights) as I hated to put it down. 5 Stars. show less

I received this book from Random House Canada (Tundra Books) in exchange for an honest review, which is what they will get.

The Ghost Road synopsis reads:

For the first time, Ruth is heading to Newfoundland to stay with family she's never met instead of spending the summer traveling with her dad. When she arrives, she finds Newfoundland is very different from her life in Toronto--people there are much more friendly, but also superstitious, believing in ghosts and The Sight and family curses. Ruth's cousin Ruby is also staying for the summer, and the two discover they have a lot in common: they both lost their moms when they were two years old, they're the same age and they even like the same food. But while Ruby believes in spirits and fairies, Ruth believes in science and cold, hard facts.

When they find ominous information on some tombstones in the local cemetery, Ruth and Ruby start investigating their family's past and discover that twin girls are born in every generation, and every set of twins dies young, leaving their children without mothers. What's more, one of the twins always has The Sight and can see the Ghost Road that leads to the mysterious lost settlement of Slippers Cove. What happened there? What does it have to do with their family? And who is the ghostly presence that keeps visiting Ruth late at night?

The answers lie somewhere along the Ghost Road . . . if they can only find it.

Simply put, I was hooked from the opening chapter. The story takes place in show more Newfoundland where the author lived. She has captured the essence of the island well. Ms Cotter has also created characters you want to see succeed.
What happened in Slippers Cove?
What does it have to do with Ruth and Ruby?
Who is the ghostly presence haunting Ruth?

You'll have to read this well-crafted book to find out. I read it as quick as I could as I hated to put it down. show less

More adventures with Timmy Failure. I was not sure the prologue connected to the rest of the book. However, my grandson is a a huge Timmy fan and I'm sure he'll get it. It's a bit too violent for my tastes, but has some funny moments. I'd give it three stars.

I entered a GiveAway for this novel, and although I did not win, was so intrigued by the synopsis that I bought it anyway. I'm very glad I did. I thought this was one amazing novel which, although it was Historical Fiction, read like non-fiction. Kudos to the author for that.
While I am a student of the era (WWII - hey I can remember a lot about those days even though I was a toddler), I never really thought or knew anything about Eva Braun. All I knew was that she was Hitler's girlfriend. I never even knew that in the end they married. Today, most of what you read about Hitler and Eva Braun, is did they actually survive and escape to South America? I personally think that is gibberish but unfortunately, Russia did the world no favors with their actions involving their remains.
Back to this story however, my main complaints are too much German language in the book and too much of a contrived ending involving the families. The book was over when the last of Eva's story became known but the author seemed to want to keep it going and came out with many outlandish details to keep us interested. Otherwise I would have given it 5 stars.

What can I say, it's Elizabeth von Arnim, one of my favorite writers. Love her wriitng and this book was no exception.

Okay, I'm not going over the premise as that's done in every review and shouldn't be. I really was disappointed in this read for several reasons. I thought the author was trying to impress the reader with his knowledge of French streets and train stops. The constant intro of new street names was numbing. I mean who cares? I thought many little'instances' were staged for the book and irrelevant to the story, like Tariq taking money back for someone in Algeria. That entire scene's purpose is never explained and seemed inserted to take up space. The entire story seemed contrived and meant to draw parallels between France's actions in WWII and their colonialism in Algeria. I was very disappointed in the ending. Others may enjoy this book, in the end I did not.

I received this in the Giveaway. I found it extremely preachy and biased toward Hinduism. I don't think you have to be Hindu to believe in reincarnation. It is VERY repetitive and I just gave up reading it. Not what I expected. Poorly written and organized.

Fascinating book by someone who has lived his life among trees. I gained a much greater understanding of tree life from Mr. Wohlleben's observations. I've always believed that plants and animals have a greater awareness than'science' gives them credit for. Recent writings seem to bare this out. Highly recommended to anyone who has an open mind.

Great story, great writing. Full review late.

Wow, I'm only giving 3 stars to a Pendergast novel. Why? It did not strike me as the best work of my favorite authors. There was a little preaching by Pendergast at the conclusion and did we really need that Epilogue regarding Constance? It started off with a bang with all the beheadings, but the ending and the 'killer' were unsatisfying. I've been reading these guys since Relic, and that's when it was released, not afterward. While Relic was made into a movie, changing the museum from New York to Chicago ruined having any of the other books made into movies. It became a good stand alone movie (that I watch every now and then) but there was no continuation. As I'm not a Gideon fan, I hope Douglas & Lincoln go back to Pendergast fresh next time. Maybe tell us about how he got into the FBI. However -PLEASE! No political stories. I'd stay far away from any such novels mixing politics and the FBI.

This book was a great undertaking I'm sure but was well researched and written. Fills holes in on Washington's life. Best book I read all year. Don't know why I waited so long, my copy was getting yellow pages. We can sure use a Washington today!

Well written and helped to catch me up on something I've followed since I saw the headline in a Chicago newspaper, 70 years ago.

Well done, but a bit repetitive and a little too much of other stuff besides the tigers. I didn't read it to find out about their religion.

Well researched and written.

Great story, well told.

Had I known this book was written backwards I would have never read it. It's a gimmick to cover up a story that has no surprises if written in a traditional way. This ploy failed to cover up the transparent ending for me. I thought it a waste of time. Only my self-enforced pledge to finish what I start kept me reading.

I don't often comment on books but here I must. Since I am old enough to actually REMEMBER WWII, its not surprising that I no longer find books that I can honestly say 'I couldn't put it down,' or 'I wanted to read it cover to cover in one sitting.' But, Ally Carter's books still do that for me. She is one fabulous writer. And this one, Not If I Save You First, is no exception.

A little spoiler alert here.

No, this is not revealing the story, but my only negative is there was a little too much repetition about how dangerous Alaska was. It didn't bother me that Maddie, Cammie, Katarina, and Grace (all of Ally's heroines), were pretty much the same girl, in fact, that's a plus!

Posted was okay but not as good as I had thought when I picked it. Interesting premise that got sidelined somewhere with relationships. Not that its bad, just that it made the whole 'Postes' premise second.

Interesting and Enlightening.

HUGE, huge disappointment. I expected a book about the Liberator and it's missions, not a life of George McGovern. Who cares about him? First time I didn't finish a book and I blame it on poor research. I should have read people's reviews. Stephen Ambrose's worst book.

Well done and the only book by someone who actually seen the blue tiger in China in the 1920s. Warning to those who are upset at killing of animals. This book primarily covers the authors experience killing man-eating tigers and his dealings with bandits in that period of China. He did not hunt for sport. This is a re-release of an old book by Chad Arment of Coachwhip Publications.

I liked this book, but I don't recommend it for younger children. Hawkins is a gifted writer and I'll look to see if she continued this book. While many people summarize the plots in a review, I don't think it's my job, it's the writer's job. The fact that I'm looking for a sequel gives you an idea that I liked the protagonist and the story plot.