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Lindsay (1717 KP) rated The Red Fence in Books

Jul 17, 2021  
The Red Fence
The Red Fence
Ed Damiano | 2021 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I found an excellent book that gives off the vibe of Dr. Seuss. The town in this book reminds me of Whoville in the sense of what is on the cover. Children will love this book as it is funny and enjoyable. I have a feeling that the author has got his inspiration from Dr. Seuss.

There is a message about community. It also teaches moments like colors and the same and different. This book will have you chuckling when you read this to your child. If your child or children are reading this, you may hear some chuckles.

The story is about a message of a community but also learning to accept who you are. The way this book goes about it is fun. It also will teach children colors, or at least they can learn about different colors, not how they get created.

We meet Little Todd, Ned, and Astred, when they come to live at Vanderloo; what will happen when they decide to change their white fence to red. This book also teaches about creativity. What will happen when Vanderloo town folks see a different color fence? Will they succeed in having to go back, or will Ned and his family have success?

Sometimes doing something different does not mean that it will affect someone else; I believe this does not matter as long as it does not harm someone. The pictures are colorful; the images tell the story.
  
17 Marigold Lane (Prudence Penderhaus #1)
17 Marigold Lane (Prudence Penderhaus #1)
R.M. Gilmore | 2015 | Mystery, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book starts with a seventeen-year-old girl coming to terms with the fact she's dying. Now going on from that, you would expect this book to full of doom and gloom. Instead, it is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Prudence makes a decision to do something that she has never dared to before, based on the fact of 'what does it matter now anyway?' What follows on is a mystery story that will keep you intrigued and engrossed as you turn the pages. The slowly developing relationship between our two main characters was fantastic to read about.

One of the things that makes this book so superb is that our Main Male is on the spectrum. Now it's not clearly defined in there, but you do know he is highly functioning and his life could have been 'normal' if he'd been given the right circumstances. I loved Cass and his 'quirks' and definitely want to read more about him.

Well written and with a smooth pace, and well-rounded, developed characters. There were no grammatical errors that I found. This is the first book in a series and it does come with a cliffhanger ending. I honestly can't wait to read more. Highly recommended!

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oct 18, 2015
  
Spelled (The Storymakers, #1)
Spelled (The Storymakers, #1)
Betsy Schow | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
6
8.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
Pun intended in that post title.

As the crown princess of Emerald who may be cursed to set the world on fire, Dorthea has been locked in the Emerald Palace since she was born and kept away from anything that could potentially catch fire. When she gets a wishing star, she decides to use it, only to have it completely backfire on her.

<i>Spelled</i> is filled with bits of humor throughout, particularly from the side characters who have quickly become my favorite characters. The main character, on the other hand...
<blockquote>But I really, <i>really</i> don't want to.</blockquote>
Dorthea pretty much annoyed me for a good part of the book. She's snotty, stuck-up, spoiled – gosh, I'm turning that into a tongue twister with so many s-words. She's also whiny – Dorthea spends her time whining and complaining for quite literally a quarter of the book before someone snarks at her and tells her to shut up, grow up, and act like a proper princess (she even had the nerve to say no one else had manners – manners? *flips hair* Ha! Nope!) She's funny at some points, but the majority of her sarcasm seemed more like an attempt at sounding funny rather than actually being as funny as Rexi's use of sarcasm and snark.
<blockquote><b>Bob:</b> No, Priestess. When all his nails are broken, he will die.
<b>Rexi:</b> You can't get a haircut, and he can't get a manicure. Death by salon visit.</blockquote>
I even started wondering if <i>Spelled,</i> as pretty as the cover the book and premise is, would even last. The book isn't strictly a retelling of <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> – there are other fairy tale characters as well. Throwing in other fairy tale characters aren't exactly bothersome in my case, but Schow throws in King Midas and chimeras – both of whom are from <i>Greek mythology</i>, NOT from a fairy tale. Someone please tell me I'm wrong and those two actually appear in a fairy tale, because if they do appear in one, I obviously haven't read enough of the non-gruesome original fairy tales. Or do they actually appear in the gruesome ones? I would love to know.

<i>Spelled</i> could be considered a fun read, if you put aside all of the problems – there's humor, a good premise, and an amazing cast of side characters. But if you don't have the patience to handle a spoiled and stuck-up princess who whines a lot for approximately a quarter of the book, <i>Spelled</i> might not be a book on your radar.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-spelled-by-betsy-schow/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
Raising Steam: (Discworld Novel 40)
Raising Steam: (Discworld Novel 40)
Terry Pratchett | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
7
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good but probably the weakest of the 3
Moist Von Lipwig is one of my favourite Discworld characters. I loved him in Going Postal, as he's a scoundrel and a bit of a rogue, but a charmingly funny and loveable one. My issue mainly with this is that despite stating numerous times throughout this book, Moist is no longer much of a scoundrel and is now pretty much domesticised, which is very disappointing.

However that said, it's still a fun, enjoyable read and take on the railway. I loved the addition of the goblins although i did still miss Gladys and Mr Pump.
  
Captain Underpants (2017)
Captain Underpants (2017)
2017 | Animation, Comedy
Funny when I was a kid
The story of two best buds who like to make practical jokes and write a comic book about their principal which they named him captain underpants. The end up hypnotizing their principal into believing he is this rather dumb superhero. He can be un hypnotized by getting hit with water or put back in hypnotized for by one of the two boys snapping their fingers. The reason they want to keep him in this hypnotized form is so that they dont get split up at school cause together they just make trouble.
  
Jaine usually gets along well with her neighbors, but no one gets along well with Cryptessa Muldoon the star of an old one season sitcom. But when someone kills Cryptessa during a Halloween party while wearing Jaine's costume, she leaps to the top of the suspect list. Can she clear her name? As always, this is a fun and funny mystery. I was laughing at some of the sub-plots while wondering what secret and twist Jaine would uncover next.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-review-death-of-neighborhood-witch.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Rachel Joyce | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.9 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was a book club pick. As a whole, I really enjoyed the story. It was funny, sad, sentimental, frustrating, thoughtful, and hopeful, all in one. However, I didn't like the part with the "pilgrims". That was non-stop irritation for me, and I was thrilled to see that the story quickly moved forward after a couple of chapters. Honestly, I don't think the story would've lacked without that part. I don't think it added anything of true importance, either. Past that, I thought it was a good story that is worth reading.