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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Dakota and the American Dream in Books
Apr 24, 2020
The fantasy world of Sameer Garach's Dakota and the American Dream is a satire of modern-day America. From a ten year old's perspective, the short story covers the corporate ladder, hierarchy, racism, discrimination, career success and an extreme love of coffee. Whilst all this is humorous to the adult mind, there is an alarming amount of truth that paints the "American Dream" as a corrupt society.
From the very start, Dakota's experience feels remarkably like Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and could almost be said to be a 21st-century version of the classic children's book. Most of Dakota's story will go over the heads of young readers, however, adults will enjoy the humour and childhood innocence as well as appreciate the connection with their favourite books as a child.
As a parody of both real life and fiction, Dakota and the American Dream is a clever story that entertains and makes you think. Although sometimes extreme, it is amusing to read about everyday life being acted out by squirrels, mice, rats, a cowardly lion, an 800-pound Gorilla and many more bizarre creatures. If the humour and satire was stripped away, we would be left with a child's confusion about the way America works with many things appearing stupid or unfair.
Jean Ritchie's Kentucky Mother Goose: Songs and Stories from My Childhood
Jean Ritchie and Susan Brumfield
Book
Jean Ritchie's Kentucky Mother Goose is a collection of songs, rhymes and stories recalled by Jean...
Little London: Child-friendly Days out and Fun Things to Do
Sunshine Jackson and Kate Hodges
Book
Little London is full of fun and fascinating things to do with little adventurers in the big city....
The Astonishing Color of After
Book
Life, loss, love and art explode in a kaleidoscope of emotions as one girl must learn the truth...
young adult
Are We There Yet?: Enid Blyton's Complete Family Series Collection
Book
Join, Enid Blyton, one of the world's best storytellers on six fun-filled family holiday adventures!...
Solar Flares: Science Fiction in the 1970s
Book
Science fiction produced in the 1970s has long been undervalued, dismissed by Bruce Sterling as...
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon (Npg Only)
Terence Pepper and Helen Trompeteler
Book
During her lifetime , the Belgian - born British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 93), star of such...
The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children--and the World
Book
"Your child can achieve great things." A few years ago, pregnant women in four corners of the world...
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Core Fulcrum in Books
Apr 6, 2020
Snowball and Goldie are two kittens that have just started the fifth grade. Like the school's humans are used to there are classes that everyone has to take an optional class. It is one of these optional classes that Snowball, Goldie, and some of their friends choose that sends them on an amazing and scary adventure. They all choose to take part in the class called “Curiosity Kills the Cat”, but so does their class bully Hisky.
In this class, after passing a test they learn of the Core Fulcrum. They learn that the Core Fulcrum is a powerful artifact that is responsible for all the cat’s extraordinary abilities. The problem is that the Core Fulcrum is missing and that could cause major issues for all cats unless it is found soon. Their solution is to enlist the help of kittens in school to join the dangerous search for this all-important item. Can they find it before it it's too late and the rats figure out how to use it?
I like how it acknowledges how cats essentially got their independence from humans (although I can’t help but wonder what happened to the people). It was also interesting how the casts and rats have created separate kingdoms from each other and even seem to war with each other to some extent. Honestly things like the snakes that bite their tails to function as seat belts just seemed a bit farfetched, along with busses that seem to be living animals at the same time (or maybe just created to mimic animal abilities, I am not sure). Then there was how the cats were in harnesses to practice for their version of the Olympics yet they were going through tunnels without getting tangled and finishing in around fifteen seconds seemed unrealistic even for cats.
This is a children's book all the way. I don’t think may people past middle school would be all that interested in it or find it very enjoyable. It may even be questionable for some middle school readers. It all depends on how well a reader can accept the strangeness of this book. I rate this book 2 out of 4. This is because the base story is good but the details just felt awkward. I just don’t think anyone but younger readers are going to be into it. I could be wrong though.
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