All 4 Stars

Title: All 4 Stars

Author: Tara Dairman

Summary: Gladys Gatsby is a prodigy of a cook with a very sophisticated taste. However, she has to cook in secret and never gets to eat the delicious, gourmet foods she craves; all because her parents are fast-food overs and don't believe that anything can be cooked without a microwave.

Gladys secret cooking ends after she sets half the kitchen on fire and her parents are anything but understanding of her amazing talents and desire.

However, Gladys gets a chance to write about her future and to have it published in the newspaper, and Gladys writes about how she wants to be a food critic. The paper does not win, but Gladys is given the chance to be a critic for the newspaper's column. Gladys cannot tell her parents that she has been invited to be a critic for a restaurant, so she takes matters into her own hands so that she can reach her dreams, but she is having trouble finding a way.

Comments: I loved this book. There is a lot more to it than I put in the summary, because she meets friends and in the end, she does find a way to reach her dreams and continue on.

This book is just so interesting that I couldn't put it down. It was interesting to kind of see the tables turned (usually, in the stereotypical family, the adults would be like Gladys and the kids would be obsessed with fast food).

This book is totally appropriate and can be enjoyed by everyone!

Complaints: None.

Rating: 5 stars (well, in following with the book, would it be appropriate to say that it got ALL 4 STARS?! XD)

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky

Title: The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky

Author: Holly Schindler

Summary: Auggie Jones lives with her Grandpa Gus, a trash hauler, in an interesting poorer neighborhood. On the first day of school, Auggie loses her best friend, Lexie, to Victoria Cole, the rich girl at their new school. Lexie becomes mean towards Auggie, and Auggie is left the only other 2 friends that she has; Harold (called "Weird Harold") and Irma Jean.

Victoria's father starts a "House Beautification" project for Auggie's neighborhood which is supposedly in violation of certain codes and "run-down". Auggie and her neighbors do not agree with taking the character out of their houses and Auggie begins to make sculptures out of the junk that Grandpa Gus picks up. The sculptures are of kids and adults doing various activities and some are even run by old motors. They look very artsy and creative, but the House Beautification team doesn't think so.

When all the neighbors and Auggie begin to rack up fines for their creative additions, Auggie sets out to get her best friend Lexie back and to show that her neighborhood is creative and beautiful. However, to do this, she thinks she will have to reach out to her mom, until she learns a tragic secret.

 

Comments: I loved this book. It was such a fun and uplifting read and I felt myself rooting for Auggie the whole time, and Victoria was just such an unlikeable little brat!XD

It wrapped together so nicely at the end and I think that it was wonderful.

The book is appropriate for all ages and many will be able to relate to many aspects of it (such as losing a friend to another girl). This book can be enjoyed by all readers and I suggest that everyone read it!

Complaints: I think it would've been nice to go into more detail with Victoria and why she was like that and to maybe have more confrontation between Lexie and Auggie, but otherwise, the book was perfect!

Rating: 5 stars!

 

Dash

Title: Dash

Author: Kirby Larson

Summary: Mitsi is living with her grandmother and her parents and brother Ted, and most importantly, her beloved dog Dash. When Mitsi and her family are forced to leave for a Japanese camp during World War II, Misti learns that she cannot bring Dash with her.

Life at the camp is very boring and sometimes very hard. After some time, Mitsi meets friends and begins to feel a little bit at home, and finds comfort in sending letters to "Dash" (really it is writing to the lady, Mrs. Bowker, that Dash is staying with).

Mitsi fears that she will never be reunited with Dash again, but towards the end of the book, she finds that there might just be some hope.

Comments: I LOVED this book so much. Mitsi is so likeable and personal with you, the way a friend would be, and being a lover of dogs, I enjoyed a character that found love in dogs just the way I do.

This book is great for learning some history and enjoying a book at the same time and seems completely appropriate for everyone, and would be especially good if you were to happen to be learning about this era during social studies/history!

Complaints: NONE! I want a sequel to find out how long she stayed at the camp and everything else!

Ratings: 5 stars!

 

Nest

Title: Nest

Author: Esther Ehrlich

Summary: Naomi "Chirp" is living with her sister Rachel, Mom, and Dad, by the shores of Cape Cod. Life isn't hard, with her nice but sometimes mean older sister, her exciting, dancing mother. But things quickly take a turn for the worst when her mother is diagnosed with MS and then is sent to a psych ward/facility away from home for months.

While her mom is away, things go on, but nothing is the same until she comes home. When they think she is finally home for good, tragedy strikes right when Chirp and her family are least expecting it.

Comments: This was a great book. I loved it (I'm 13). Chirp is extremely likeable and the details described in the book are so good that I felt I was actually there. Rachel is likeable too; in fact, the whole family really is.

While it is a great read, it is also extremely sad and the mother is obviously not mentally stable which results in a lot of tragic things happening (I don't want to ruin the book, so don't look at this if you plan to read the book, but the mother does die in the end and it is very tragic and sudden). Because of this, I do not think that the book would really be considered completely suitable for a child under the age of 12-13. (And they must be mature) 

There are also mild themes in the book including some very mild language (crap, sucks, etc., nothing horrible for an older reader book, yet something to probably keep in mind). There are also some mild older child themes, so it really depends on the maturity of the person reading it.

I loved the book very much and I think it would be appropriate for someone mature and above the age of 12.

Complaints: While they aren't bad words really, I don't think that the mild language needed to be included in the book.

Rating: 5 stars!

Every Day After

Title: Every Day After

Author: Laura Golden

Summary; Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hawkins is living with her mother in the Depression. Her father left home a few months ago and Lizzie is trying to fend for herself while taking care of her mother who has gone into such a depressed state upon the leaving of Lizzie's father, that she no longer speaks and can barely take care of herself without the help of her daughter.

On top of all of this, Lizzie is dealing with constant bullying from the new school bully, Erin Sawyer who also seems to be "stealing" here friend Ben who is nice to everybody.

Lizzie is determined to win and make Erin lose and to keep the fact that her mother is nearly non-functional a secret.

However, when the secret about her mother gets out, Lizzie knows it is up to her to figure out a plan to keep them together and to keep Erin from getting what she wants.

Comments: On the first few pages of the book, I wasn't completely sold, but when I really read further, I couldn't believe that it took me this long to find the book! It was amazing. Lizzie was so real and so was Ben and Erin was a little over-the-top, but then we all find out, in the end, why she is like that. Everything is so real, from the people to the struggles and challenges they go through. Lizzie is so likeable and it is so easy to hate Erin that you can really find yourself cheering on Lizzie and hoping and turning the next page to see if Erin gets taken down. It was such a fun read and I'm glad that I found it. This book has no inappropriate content and can be enjoyed by many ages of readers*!

Complaints: None! The way everything shaped together at the end was beautiful.

Rating: 5 stars!

*While I have rated this suitable for all readers of all ages, I believe that due to some more "mature" themes, it would probably be best enjoyed by those around 10.
 

Nancy Drew Diaries: Secret at Mystic Lake

Series: Nancy Drew Diaries

Title: Secret at Mystic Lake

Author: Carolyn Keene

Summary: Nancy and her two friends, Bess & George are all embarking on a biking/hiking trip for George's birthday. Things start out alright, but quickly go downhill when things begin to go missing; including the hike leader!

There is nothing else to think except that someone in the group (the three girls are going with a group of different strangers) is to blame. With a few suspicious seeming characters in the group, everyone is quick to point fingers at who is doing it. However, it takes a while for even Nancy to figure just what is going on.

Comments: I stumbled upon this book in the "Mysteries" section. I realized it was by the actual Nancy Drew author and it seemed to be shorted and different and, on the cover, it seemed that Nancy Drew herself was dressed in very modern clothes! Could it be?

Yes! The Nancy Drew Diaries showcases a modern-day Nancy Drew.

It is a little strange, especially if you go from reading the 40/50s', Nancy Drew books, to reading about modern Nancy who is surviving the wilderness without *gasp* her smartphone.

I personally like the old, original Nancy Drew books and while these books were great and close replicas to the old ones, I can't help but feel that Nancy here felt a little forced. The books just seemed a little forced to me, even though I liked them, which sounds strange, but it is truly how I felt.

While the new approach is not necessarily my favorite, I do enjoy a good mystery and this one truly surprised me, so it was all good. I also think that it is good to recreate them for modern times because kids who prefer to read about modern kids like themselves can do so and still enjoy a classic Nancy Drew mystery. These are also suitable for younger children because they are much shorter than a formal classic.

The themes in the book were a tiny bit scary, like any mystery, but it was all very minor, so it would be suitable for early readers and up.

Complaints: None!

Rating: 5 stars