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    PLAY-DOH: Seek and Squish

    PLAY-DOH: Seek and Squish

    Book and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Close your eyes! It’s time for hide-and-go-seek, Play-Doh style! Play-Doh: Seek and Squish is an...

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Lilyn G - Sci-Fi & Scary (91 KP) rated The Sleeper in Books

Feb 1, 2018  
The Sleeper
The Sleeper
Steve Brezenoff | 2012 | Children, Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting elements for a kids book
The Sleeper is a 96-page science fiction mystery early chapter book. It comes with a few accompanying discussion questions at the back, as well as with some writing prompts and a basic glossary. These writing prompts encourage the reader to continue to interact with the story on their own terms. It plunges the reader right into a world that is theoretically just a few days away from getting destroyed by aliens. But the viewpoint the story is being told from is different than you might expect.

The illustrations in The Sleeper are black and white and surprisingly creepy. The illustrator, Tom Percival, does a solid job doing things like showing how even a smile can be rather disturbing. Nothing is graphic or outright scary at all, and yet readers can definitely experience an unease just looking at the pictures.

The Sleeper introduces the concept of a sleeper agent to young readers. I thought this was interesting and wasn't expecting it even though the title should have been a dead giveaway. In my defense, the cover for The Sleeper and the two line synopsis don't exactly tell you what to expect other than aliens!

While there are several good points to The Sleeper, I can't say I particularly liked it. It felt too brief and even though the discussion questions invite the reader to continue the story, it ends on a massive cliffhanger regarding one of the kids' fate. This may be deliberate, and for younger readers, it may actually work out well. It enables the child to feel a sense of accomplishment that they finished a book, and yet provides the impetus for them to pick up the next one. (Still made me twitch as it reeks too much of the chop-job that some authors like to do to a plot to sell more books.)

Overall, The Sleeper was an okay read. If it gets even a handful of kids interested enough to pick up another book, then it is has done its job. And, as always, it's nice to see a beginning chapter book that focuses on science fiction!
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Storm (The Rain, #2) in Books

Dec 17, 2018  
The Storm (The Rain, #2)
The Storm (The Rain, #2)
Virginia Bergin | 2015
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
My rating: 3.5

This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

What would happen if water became fatally harmful to humans? This is what Virginia Bergin continues to explore in the second novel in the young adult, dystopian series, The Storm. Fifteen year old Ruby Morris has been trying to survive by herself only getting through each day by telling herself "everything is going to be OK." With the belief that her Dad is still alive, she sets off to find him whilst trying to dodge violent people, the British army, and, of course, the rain.

As the story develops it is revealed that Ruby may be a key character in ending the global apocalypse, however she does not trust the scientists involved in finding a solution.

Since the first book it appears that Ruby has matured a lot. She is able to take more responsibility and even help other people. Like in the first book, The Rain, Ruby is narrating her experiences to the reader as well as her deceased mother. As her mother disapproved of swearing Ruby blocks out certain words with a symbol. In some ways this makes the story suitable for early teen readers, however it is fairly easy to work out what the missing words are and therefore may not be appropriate for some readers.

The Storm was much more exciting to read than the previous novel. Ruby was less annoying and was much more mature. It is interesting to discover how the situation develops. There is a lot of action to keep the reader on their toes.

One issue with this book is how the ending is written. It almost feels like Bergin tried to end the story quickly. The whole story was carefully planned out and narrated however the end was rushed.

Overall, The Storm is a great continuation of an interesting concept. It is much better than the first part of the story and keeps the reader interested. Although intended for young adults, there is nothing to stop adult readers from enjoying it too.