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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Musical Mayhem (Totally Twins, #1) in Books

Dec 14, 2018

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Musical Mayhem is the first book in the Totally Twins series aimed at ten-year-old girls. Subtitled The Fabulous Diary of Persephone Pinchgut, the series is about the life of identical sisters from one twin’s point of view. Portia and Persephone may look the same, share friends and borrow each other’s clothes, but inside they are polar opposites. Starting a diary is the only way Persephone can have something that is entirely her own, where she can write about how she really feels.

The main storyline revolves around the upcoming end of term musical at the twins’ school. Persephone only joined the drama class at Portia’s insistence, whereas in reality she is a shy girl with absolutely no singing ability. Persephone writes about her dread of the auditions and the hurtful teasing from her perfect sister.

Many young girls (and boys), like the author herself, wish at some point to have a twin. Portia and Persephone may have a special connection that other siblings do not, but as this diary reveals, having a twin is not all sunshine and rainbows. Persephone also writes about her parents’ divorce, her alternate therapy obsessed Mum and her hopes and dreams for the future. There are many things for young girls to relate to.

Illustrator Serena Geddes completes the book with her simple drawings. Musical Mayhem is not a children’s’ picture book; it is a step between child and teenager novels. For an adult reader the storyline is uninspiring, however a child of ten would enjoy the characters, humour and the issues expressed.

Totally Twins: Musical Mayhem is a great start to a unique series of short books for girls. It is something that junior school children will love to collect to build up their own personal library. The book jackets are attractive and will look great when all together as a set. If you are looking for a present for a young girl, I recommend considering this book.

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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Elora of Stone (Legend of Rhyme, #1) in Books

Dec 17, 2018

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

Elora of Stone is the first in an exciting fantasy series, Legend of Rhyme, for young readers. Set in a magical kingdom, an evil magician steals one child of every pair of twins born. In order to protect their children, Asher and Ariana’s parents move to live near Elora – a good witch turned to stone by the sorcerer. Despite the protection, four-year-old Asher goes missing. The night of her thirteenth birthday Ariana learns of Asher’s whereabouts but only has until midnight to save him.

Full of magical creatures such as witches, fairies, pixies and goblins, Elora of Stone is the start of a sensational story for eight to twelve year olds. Heart stopping moments will urge the young readers to see the book through to the end to discover whether the twins succeed in being reunited and learn the truth about who is good and who is evil.

Although Asher and Ariana are the main characters of the series, they are not born until exactly half way through the book. As Elora of Stone is only one hundred pages, there are a bit too many chapters focused on setting the scene, resulting in the main story line and climax becoming rather rushed and crammed together.

Now that the preliminary introductions to characters and settings have been made, the following books in the series will hopefully flow better. Legend of Rhyme promises to be a unique fairytale to enthrall pre-teens of all reading levels. The narrative is clear and easy to follow with a limit on tricky words. To break up the text there is the occasional beautiful illustration depicting the author’s visual impressions of a handful of characters.

Ending on a slight cliffhanger, Elora of Stone will leave readers wanting more, thus making the Legend of Rhyme series a great set of books to collect; a wonderful start to your own personal library.