When Stars Are Scattered

Title:  When Stars Are Scattered

Author:  Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Publisher:  Dial Books

Date Published:  April 14, 2020

Genre:  Middle Grade, Memoir, Graphic Novel

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    Omar and his brother were forced to leave their home in Somalia and travel to a refugee camp in Kenya. They were separated from their mother, so they were assigned a mother figure at the camp. Life isn't easy for the two brothers, and they are unsure of their future. Omar makes the hard decision to leave his brother each day and go to school. It is the first step of many that leads Omar to the life he has today. 

-    I loved this story about refugees and their trials. It made me so grateful for what I have, and gave me a desire to help those who need it. It also helped me better understand what refugees go through. The book does a wonderful job at portraying the struggle to create a better future, and the struggle of day to day life in the camps.

-    The author's note was vital to fully understand Omar's story. I loved how Jamieson collaborated with Omar to help tell his story. 

-    The illustrations do a wonderful job at portraying the story. They add so much to the dialogue. 

-    My daughter (6th grader) also read the book, and she loved it. She is recommending it to her friends at school. 

-    This beautiful story is one that should be required reading in schools. It is informational, eye-opening, and a joy to read.

All's Faire in Middle School

Goodreads Synopsis:    The author of Roller Girl is back with a graphic novel about starting middle school, surviving your embarrassing family, and the Renaissance Faire.

Eleven-year-old Imogene (Impy) has grown up with two parents working at the Renaissance Faire, and she's eager to begin her own training as a squire. First, though, she'll need to prove her bravery. Luckily Impy has just the quest in mind--she'll go to public school after a life of being homeschooled! But it's not easy to act like a noble knight-in-training in middle school. Impy falls in with a group of girls who seem really nice (until they don't) and starts to be embarrassed of her thrift shop apparel, her family's unusual lifestyle, and their small, messy apartment. Impy has always thought of herself as a heroic knight, but when she does something really mean in order to fit in, she begins to wonder whether she might be more of a dragon after all.

My Thoughts:

-    This was such a great book! This is a must read for Telgemeier fans and Roller Girl fans.

-    I loved how much I related to Imogene. I've never been a part of a Renaissance Faire, but I've lived through middle school, and it is an awkward time of life. 

-    I loved Impy's struggles and character development. She makes not-so-good choices, and has to fix them and recover from the consequences. 

-    I really enjoyed all the side characters as well, especially the Faire people. 

-    I think this book has something for everyone. I loved it!

Of Mice and Magic

Goodreads Synopsis:    Princess Harriet is nobody’s hamster damsel in distress! Book two of this series for Babymouse and Princess in Black fans is filled with even more action and twisted fairy tale fun

Princess Harriet has absolutely no interest in brushing her hair, singing duets with woodland animals, or any other typical princess activities. So when a fairy tells a very bored Harriet about twelve mice princesses who are cursed to dance all night long, she happily accepts the quest and sets off with a poncho of invisibility and her trusty battle quail. But when she arrives at the Mouse Kingdom, she discovers there's more to the curse than meets the eye, and trying to help is dangerous business . . . even for a tough princess like Harriet. 

From the creator of Dragonbreath, comes a laugh-out-loud funny new comic-hybrid series, bursting with girl power and furry fairy tale retellings.

My Thoughts:

-    This was really fun and silly. I loved the different twists on an old fairy tale.

-    I love Harriet's snarky attitude, and I love that she takes charge and get things done. 

-    Gnome and I both had fun with this book, but Gnome wanted to read the rest of the series by herself. I won't continue the series on my own. 

Previous Book

Harriet the Invincible

From Goodreads:    Sleeping Beauty gets a feisty, furry twist in this hilarious new comic series from the creator of Dragonbreath

Harriet Hamsterbone is not your typical princess. She may be quite stunning in the rodent realm (you'll have to trust her on this one), but she is not so great at trailing around the palace looking ethereal or sighing a lot. She finds the royal life rather . . . dull. One day, though, Harriet's parents tell her of the curse that a rat placed on her at birth, dooming her to prick her finger on a hamster wheel when she's twelve and fall into a deep sleep. For Harriet, this is most wonderful news: It means she's invincible until she's twelve! After all, no good curse goes to waste. And so begins a grand life of adventure with her trusty riding quail, Mumfrey...until her twelfth birthday arrives and the curse manifests in a most unexpected way.

Perfect for fans of Babymouse and Chris Colfer's Land of Stories, this laugh-out-loud new comic hybrid series will turn everything you thought you knew about princesses on its head.

My Thoughts:

-    This was a fun and refreshing twist on an old fairy tale. Gnome and I both really enjoyed this one.

-    The book is unique. Some pages have illustrations and dialogue like a graphic novel, but most pages just have text like a regular novel. It was cool that they mixed the two. 

-    I like that Harriet just does whatever, and I love that she uses her curse to her advantage. 

-    I liked that this had a lot of twists on the Sleeping Beauty. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

-    There were a lot of funny moments. Gnome and I laughed throughout the book.

-    My only complaint is that the book is a little long. I think they could have shortened it a bit.

Wink Poppy Midnight

Goodreads Says:    Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.

Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee. Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.

What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.

My Thoughts:

-    I was so excited to read this book, but I was majorly disappointed. 

-    The characters were awful! I hated all of them. There was no redeeming factor at all.

-    The title is clever. I like that it is just the three main character's names. 

-    This was a quick read, but I it wasn't worth it. I almost quit several times.

Roller Girl

Goodreads Says:    For fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby. 

Twelve-year-old Astrid has always done everything with her best friend Nicole. So when Astrid signs up for roller derby camp, she assumes Nicole will too. But Nicole signs up for dance camp with a new friends instead, and so begins the toughest summer of Astrid's life. There are bumps and bruises as Astrid learns who she is without Nicole...and what it takes to be a strong, tough roller girl.

My Thoughts:

-    Very very very fun graphic novel!! Loved it!

-    Astrid was so easy to relate to. She is discovering who she is and what she wants, and she is making new friends along the way. 

-    Sometimes we outgrow friends, and it is hard to let them go. I liked that Astrid and her old friend were still on good terms in the end.

-    The illustrations were super fun! They reminded me A LOT of Raina Telgemeier's books. The facial expressions were awesome.

-    I love how the main character learned how to be a good friend. She was really selfish, and you have to give a little and take a little to be a friend. I also loved how she learned how to support her friends.

-    The book had some great messages. I liked how it talked about kindness being better than revenge and anger. 

-    Wonderful story! I recommend it to all ages!