Top Ten Tuesday

     

Created by The Broke and The Bookish in June 2010 and moved to The Artsy Reader Girl in Jan 2018

Top Ten Fifteen 21st Century Books I Think Will Become Classics

Very interesting prompt for today! Once I got going, I couldn't stop at ten. The list was much longer, and I was able to trim it down, but I couldn't leave any of these books off the list. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a beautiful day!

Happy reading!

Spy School the Graphic Novel

Title:  Spy School the Graphic Novel

Author:  Stuart Gibbs

Illustrator:  Anjan Sarkar

Publisher:  Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Date Published:  February 15, 2022

Genre:  Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Mystery

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

-    Ben Ripley loves James Bond, and he wants to become a spy just like him. Ben is really good at a video game that was produced by the CIA, and they have been monitoring Ben's skills. One day, Ben gets a surprise visit from an agent and recruited to spy school. Sadly, it isn't as fun as Ben thought it would be, and there is a mole amongst the students. Dun Dun Dun! 

-    This series has been on my radar for a while, but I haven't read any of the books, so when I received a copy of the graphic novel in the mail, I was elated. I wanted to read and review the book before it was released, but you know. . .too many books to read. 

-    I really enjoyed the story. Who hasn't wanted or pretended to be spy? I liked that there was a little bit of mystery, but also a lot of a middle schooler trying to fit in and figure out his strengths. 

-    The book is full of delightful humor. Gibbs is amazing when it comes to humor. 

-    The illustrations are fantastic. I loved all the facial expressions and action.

-    When Gnome and I are finished with the Whatever After series, I think we are going to start the spy school series.

My Thoughts in a GIF:

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

I haven't participated in Dewey's 24 hour readathon in a while, but I always have fun when I do, so I decided to sign up this time. I don't read for the full 24 hours, but I try to read as much as I possibly can throughout the day. I also like to participate in the Instagram hourly prompts. 

If you'd like to sign up, here is the link.  

Swag Giveaway

My friends and I had the pleasure of attending the Proper Romance panel hosted by our local library. They had all of the Proper Romance authors come and answer various questions. It was really cool. Afterwards, you could get books signed by all the authors; we only visited Josi Kilpack. 

 

At the event, there was a bunch of swag, and I thought it would be fun to grab one of everything and give it away on my blog. I'm not sure if giveaways are still a thing, but hopefully someone out there wants some swag. 

There are bookmarks from all the authors, buttons, and a tote bag. If you happen to meet any of these lovely authors, they will sign the tote bag. There were a lot of people collecting signatures. I probably should have gotten Josi to sign it at least. Whoops! 

To enter, just leave a comment below. I will assign all the comments numbers and randomly generate a number. Good luck everyone!

Top Ten Tuesday

    

Created by The Broke and The Bookish in June 2010 and moved to The Artsy Reader Girl in Jan 2018

Top Ten Books With an 

Adjective in the Title

I thought this prompt was going to be easy peasy, but it was tougher than I thought. I had fun making my list though. 

As always, thank you for stopping by.

You are amazing, and the world needs you!

Happy reading!

. . . and now Miguel

Title:  . . . and now Miguel

Author:  Joseph Krumgold

Publisher:  HarperCollins

Date Published:  1953

Genre:  Middle Grade, Coming of Age

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    Every summer, the men in Miguel's family go on a sheep drive through the mountains. Miguel wants to go on the sheep drive so bad, but he isn't old enough. Miguel is determined to make himself useful, so he helps where he can, and he learns what it takes to care for the sheep. 

-    Can you believe it is the 100th anniversary of The Newbery Medal Award!? Awesome! Miguel's story was the 33rd book to receive this honor. I have quite a ways to go to finish this ever growing list. 

-    I liked Miguel. I think a lot of young people can relate to his desire to be included with the older people and do cool things. 

-    I raised sheep when I was younger, and I was able to understand and relate to all the sheep care. While reading, memories of my own little lambs would come back to me. 

-    The story is slow going, but I enjoyed it.

My Thoughts in a GIF:

Daughter of the Deep

Title:  Daughter of the Deep

Author:  Rick Riordan

Publisher:  Disney-Hyperion

Date Published:  October 26, 2021

Genre:  Middle Grade, Young Adult, Sci-Fi

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    Harding-Pencroft is a specialized school for students who are gifted in ocean life, ocean exploration, military training, etc. Ana is a young student at HP, and her life is turned upside down when her school is suddenly attacked and falls into the ocean. The only survivors are her fellow classmates who were on a bus heading for a training. They are now being hunted by the people who attacked the school, and Ana learns that she is the primary target. 

-    I really enjoyed Riordan's take on a classic tale. This book isn't a retelling, but it is highly influenced by a couple of Jules Verne novels. It was really cool. 

-    I loved how diverse this book was! It was diverse in so many ways: race, religion, and disabilities. I feel like Riordan did an amazing job at including these topics in a very natural and realistic way. It wasn't shoved down the reader's throat, but it was mentioned and talked about in a real and respectful way. 

-    It was fun getting to know each character, especially through Ana's eyes. It was like meeting new friends, and it reminded me of my grade school days. 

-    My daughter wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up, and I hope she reads this soon. She is going to love it. 

My Thoughts in a GIF:

Top Ten Tuesday

   

Created by The Broke and The Bookish in June 2010 and moved to The Artsy Reader Girl in Jan 2018

Top Ten Books on My Spring 2022 TBR

I love easy prompts like this. I'm going to do my best to read all of these, but I'm such a mood reader, so no promises. 

I look forward to seeing your lists!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy reading!

Seeing Red

Title:  Seeing Red

Author:  Sarah Mlynowski

Series:  Whatever After #12

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Date Published:  October 30, 2018

Genre:  Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    I read this aloud to Gnome. We enjoy reading this series together. 

-    Abby and Jonah's Nana is visiting them. Their Nana loves telling them fairy tales for bedtime stories. When Abby gets invited to a sleepover, Nana says she can't go because she wants to spend time with family. Abby is upset and tries to get around the situation by going through the magic mirror. Of course it doesn't work, and Abby and Jonah end up in Little Red Riding Hood's story. 

-    I always love the twists Mlynowski comes up with. They are so clever and improve the original stories by making them more modern and forward thinking.

-    There aren't a lot of stories about grandkids and their relationship with their grandparents, so I really liked that aspect in this book.

-    I don't know if I'd enjoy these books as much if I read them myself. They are definitely too young for me, but they are perfect read-a-loud books. TBH, Gnome is probably outgrowing these books as well, but we still love reading them. 

My Thoughts in a GIF:

Previous Books in the Series: 

    
    

    

(Covers are linked)

p.s. I could not figure out how to fix the spacing issue on the last three book covers. If you have a solution, please let me know.