What If?

Hello everybody!
I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a really long time... but now I have an AWESOME book to review, called What If? by Randall Munroe.
The book answers all sorts of ridiculous questions in a scientific- but fun- way. Some examples of these questions include:
What if everyone actually had only one soul mate, a random person somewhere in the world?
If every person on Earth aimed a laser pointer at the moon at the same time, would it change color?
Is it possible to cry so much you dehydrate yourself?
There are many other questions like these.. and believe it or not, most actually have pretty logical answers! I really like this book because it's pretty funny and to be honest, it's fun, if a little depressing sometimes, to read about the thousands of ways Earth could be destroyed. The author even turned the question 'What would happen if everyone on Earth stood as close to each other as they could and jumped, everyone landing on the ground at the same instant?' into the near-extinction of the human species.
I found it to be an easily understandable and and enjoyable book. It's great to read over and over again, especially some of the funnier, stranger answers.
Randall Munroe is an American cartoonist, author, engineer and scientific theorist. He is the creator of the webcomic xkcd.
I recommend this book to ages 9 and above.

Send A Million Angels...

Hello guys!
Sorry I haven't posted a review in a while! Today I'll be reviewing A Million Angels, by Kate Maryon. A few years ago, I posted a review a review on 27 April 2014 about a book called Shine, by the same author. I absolutely loved Shine, and A Million Angels was written by the same author.
Jemima's father is in the army and he has to go to Afghanistan for half a year. Jemima loves her father and is devastated by this. She's so scared for him- will he ever come back?
To make things worse, her frenemy, Jess, can't stop talking about how happy she is her dad has gone off too- and she continuously insults Jemima about her horrible fashion sense, her dad, her family, her lack of real friends...
Jemima's off to a bad start at school. She has absolutely no friends and all the kids seem to hate her. Her only consolation are the angels she draws on her arm and sends off to her father every day. But when her class is assigned to do a project on a topic of their choice, she knows exactly what to do- and it involves uniting her grandmother with her long-lost love.
That's when everything goes haywire- Jemima sets off the fire alarm, wears her gas mask to school, and lands in major trouble. But that's not the worst of it. The worst is yet to come...
The book, while with a massive potential, with a strong story line and a good writer, was not as good as Shine. It did not cast the spell over me that Shine did, and Jemima as a character, had no other qualities or hobbies other than being scared for her father. The story also felt unfocused. There are too many side plots for a book of this size(getting a new sibling, bullies, class project, helping her grandmother, getting along with her mother, seriously hurting her enemy, Ned's grandfather dying, her father going to war, etc.), and only a few were handled well. It would be better if Jemima had other characteristics and the story had fewer plot points.
I liked the idea, though, and Jess was an interesting character that I would like to read more about. The book was well-written for the age group and easy to get through. The lessons taught were definitely awesome and I liked the way Jemima helped her grandmother and gradually became happy.
Kate Maryon is a British author who likes chocolate, films, reading, eating out and lying on sunny beaches. Other books she's written include Shine, Glitter, Invisible Girl and Sea of Stars.    

Show Your Inner Star!

Hey readers!
What if you could go to a boarding school with absolutely EVERYTHING- shopping, horse stables, a gigantic library, your own room, a greenhouse, a pet-care center, a lake? That sounds awesome- just really expensive! But that school does exist- in the Innerstar University books by American Girl!
In the Innerstar University books, you can imagine yourself as a girl in this special boarding school, taking parts in all sorts of activities. But there are problems too- will you be able to go to your friend's party when it's at the lake, which you're afraid of? Will you ride in a horse show months after the most humiliating horse show ever? Will you make the right decision to keep your favorite dog safe? Can you lead a troop of girls for a hike in the woods?
These books are similar to the Goosebumps 'You Choose the Scare' books because the reader is the one making the stories and controlling what happens.
One thing that I don't like about these books, however, is that sometimes the situations are hard to believe and the decisions made may not apply to everyone. For example, one of the books, Braving the Lake, is about you facing your fear of the lake. But if you're not afraid of the lake in real life, this problem seems a bit silly and isn't relatable. Also, some of the choices are ones that you wouldn't make yourself.
These books are written by different authors and are part of the American Girl books. There is also an online website for Innerstar University which you can access if you have the book or doll.
Some books in this series are Braving the Lake, A Girl's Best Friend, Project Friendship, Taking the Reins, Fork in the Trail, Into the Spotlight, Bound For Snow and many more.
I recommend these books for ages 9 and above.

It's Not Poisonous, Dear...

Hey guys!
Sorry I haven't posted a book review for a while! Well, I have one now, and it's about the Poison Apple series by Scholastic.
Each book is about a different girl, a different story, and a different creature...
Meet Zoe, the amateur film-maker who is cursed by a fortune-teller after joking about fortune-telling in the carnival. She's about to learn that fortune-telling is a very serious business indeed...but she might just be able to figure out how to save her nightmare of a life with her best friend Mia...('Miss Fortune')

There's Hannah, who's just moved in with mean girl Madison, and her new house is right next to the cemetery. But when Hannah's beloved cat disappears right before the move, and after hearing a spooky story about a dead girl's cat and after she gets lost in the woods because of a cat, she's starting to wonder whether the cat going around...is more than just a cat...('Curiosity Killed the Cat')
Emma-Rose is very different from her parents- in fact, she's a lot like a vampire. And once Great-aunt Margo, who's extremely similar to Emma-Rose, comes to visit from Romania... Emma-Rose may have to admit that she is indeed a vampire. ('This Totally Bites!')
And those are just a few of the many Poison Apple books available! These books are like a counterpart to the Candy Apple books. I haven't read the entire series and the books are written by different authors. The books aren't masterpieces, but they are a quick, refreshing, not-too-scary set of books that aren't really a serious read.
Some of the other books in the Poison Apple series are At First Bite, Now You See Me..., Her Evil Twin, The Dead End, and many, many more.
I recommend this series to ages 9 and above.

What Would YOU Wish For?

Hello everybody!
I'm pretty sure a lot of us have read books about genies- people finding genies, about genies, magic carpets and lamps...but this book, Genie Us!, is a little different from all the others!
When step-siblings Milly, Michael, Jess and Jason move to a house in the middle of nowhere, they certainly don't expect that their lives are going to change forever.. magically! So when they find a magical book that tells them how to become genies in just six steps, along with Skribble, a talking bookworm, they sure are surprised.
Following the book's steps to become genies, they enter the world of genies, lamps, magic and wishes, where anything can go wrong! But is becoming a genie really safe and worth it? Wishes soon become dangerous and goes wrong quickly, and everything becomes chaotic! And with a mysterious couple watching the siblings in a shadow wherever they go, things just become even more scarier!
Will the siblings ever adjust to their new life? Will they be able to find out what the mysterious couple want from them? And will they ever become genies and have their biggest wish granted?
Genie Us! is the first book of a series written by Steve Cole and Linda Chapman. Linda Chapman has written the My Secret Unicorn series and Steve Cole has written the Astrosaurs series.
Genie Us! is fast-paced and interesting. It has a good plot and I did not see the ending coming!
I recommend this book for ages 8 and above.

You Look As If You've Seen A Ghost!

Hey everyone!
Today I'll be reviewing Vicky Angel, another book by Jacqueline Wilson. It touches on a sensitive topic, death.
Vicky and Jade have been best friends since forever. They are as close as sisters, maybe even closer. They know what the other is thinking. Jade is used to being bossed around and doing whatever Vicky wants. So when Vicky passes away after a horrible accident while the two are quarreling and walking back from school, Jade feels terrible- she doesn't what to do. It feels like it's her fault- after all, if they hadn't been fighting, Vicky would have never been involved in an accident.
But barely an hour after her death, Vicky appears in front of Jade- except, she's not living- she's a ghost, and no one else can see her. At first, things are great. Jade feels like she's still with Vicky, and life will somehow go back to normal.
But then, things stop being so fun. People look at Jade like she's crazy when she talks with Vicky, she starts being mean to those who try to be kind to her and Vicky just won't leave her alone for more than a moment- she's always around. And worse, Vicky's not letting Jade move on in life- she doesn't allow Jade to make new friends, take up a new hobby and follow her dream. Vicky's presence isn't so fun anymore and sometimes it's even a bit oppressive!
Will Jade ever be able to move on? Will she make new friends and start thinking for herself? And will she finally accept what happened on that fateful day?
This is a touching book about, grief, death and moving on in life. The book is thoughtful and sad, but at the same time sometimes humourous and fun. It is really interesting to read about Jade and Vicky's adventures and what will happen to Vicky at the end.
The book is sad in the beginning and a little bit at the end.
Jacqueline Wilson is a British author. I have reviewed many of her books previously. Her writing style is fun and amusing.
Vicky Angel is an extremely touching and absorbing story. I recommend it to ages 11 and above.

The Misadventures of Greg Heffley

Happy New Year everyone!
This year my New Year Resolution is to do more book reviews than last year- that means I want to do at least 18 book reviews this year. And I'm starting 2017 with a book review on the bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Diary of a Wimpy Kid is written by Jeff Kinney.
Greg Heffley has a few problems. His mom gave him a diary- sorry, journal- to write in, he's in middle school, he has problems with his best friend Rowley Jefferson and his life is a mess in general.
How do you deal with the pressure of school, friends and a crazy family? These books portray a normal boy's life in a hilarious journal and cartoon format. The drawing are extremely funny and the things that happen to Greg Heffley are bound to keep you in stitches.
Although some of the incidents that happen to Greg are normal and have happened to all of us, and some are straight crazy and unthinkable, everything is funny and relatable, even if we don't have two brothers and a school that cuts down on playground equipment.
Although Diary of a Wimpy Kid is not exactly an example of great literature, it is funny and easy to read but at the same time is not absolutely ridiculous. Greg is a humorous character and even though he does some unlikable stuff (like making his friend carry all his books, and rewrite his homework for a peanut-butter cracker) he is somehow likable and also teaches us what NOT to do and the dire consequences of procrastinating and not thinking before acting.
I personally like Diary of  Wimpy Kid and think it is extremely funny and relatable.
Jeff Kinney is an online game developer and is the creator of Poptropica (poptropica.com) and is the author of Rodrick Rules, The Last Straw, Dog Days, The Ugly Truth, Cabin Fever, The Third Wheel, Hard Luck, The Long Haul, Old School and most recently, Double Down, all Diary of a Wimpy KId books.
I really enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I recommend it for ages 8 and above.
Did you read Diary of a Wimpy Kid? What are your thoughts on it? Write them in the comments section below, or give your own book review that I will publish in my blog. For more information, click on the 'Reviewed by friends' subheading near the top of the page.