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Merissa (12351 KP) rated First Born: The Preevitt Chronicles in Books

Dec 17, 2018 (Updated Jun 7, 2023)  
First Born: The Preevitt Chronicles
First Born: The Preevitt Chronicles
Ross Butler | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
In this Urban Fantasy, we read the story from the perspective of a moody, disgruntled, and contrary fifteen-year-old. She was orphaned at an early age, and when the orphanages closed down, she lived with her elderly social worker. She is adopted by a family in New Jersey, far away from Michigan. She doesn't want to go but has no choice. Once she is there and meets her family, she settles down slightly. Starting a new school, she meets new friends and starts her new life.

With a very fast pace and a severe case of insta-love, this book tells the story of Preevits and Mugglers. Now Preevits may sound bad, but they have nothing on the Mugglers. And then, of course, you have bad Preevits thrown into the mix too.

Finishing on a high, with a possible link to a further book, this is a book for readers of the YOUNG adult genre, with a paranormal twist.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 30, 2016
  
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
Dr. Seuss | 1937 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
That’s Quite an Imagination You’ve Got There
In this book, we meet Marco, a young boy whose father is always encouraging him to observe the world around him to see what he can see. However, his trip home from school on Mulberry Street is rather boring. All he sees is a horse pulling a broken-down wagon. But what if, instead, he said he saw a new cart…drawn by a zebra. No, that’s not special enough. Where will Marco’s wild story stop?

I didn’t read this book too much as a kid, but even as an adult, it is easy to fall into the classic Seuss rhythm and rhyme. It does get a little repetitive since he repeats Mulberry Street so often, but that’s the only real complaint. Marco’s imagination is so much fun, although I appreciated that he told the truth in the end. The illustrations are classic Seuss as well, and the caricatures of everyone are so much fun. Fans will also enjoy seeing that the elephant looks remarkably like Horton. If you can track this book down, you and your kids will enjoy it.
  
Peter Rabbit (2018)
Peter Rabbit (2018)
2018 | Animation
An adaptation of Beatrix Potter's classic tale of a rebellious rabbit trying to sneak into a farmer's vegetable garden.



This was a pleasant way of starting my Saturday. There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't think I'd feel the urge to see it again.

Kids films always have those adult undertones to keep parents and films nerds entertained. But the ones in Peter Rabbit were frustrating in their fourth wall breaking. It felt like they were all saying, "you got that right?"

There were some laugh out loud moments, but writing this seven hours later I'm having trouble remembering any of them.

Before this one was released there was a lot of uproar about a food allergy scene. Those fluffy tailed little terrors deliberately set off Mr McGregor's food allergy and he ends up having to inject himself with his epi-pen. There were talks of a boycott because of this "food bullying" scene... okay, fine I can see your point... but do you take your family to see a Marvel/DC movie and tell them not to go around punching people and trying to wear pec-enhancing body armour? No you don't, because you bring them up to know right from wrong and how to make valid fashion choices. From a very young age you teach young children to be nice to other people, this isn't the first time they'll see a type of bullying in a film, it won't be the last. Use it as a teaching tool. I find it really difficult to be offended by content that should be counter balanced by common sense.
  
TC
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
8
8.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Actual rating: 3.5. Rounded to 4.

I don’t really tend to read a lot of vampire books anymore, especially when they’ve been labeled young adult. Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is definitely an exception to that habit. I needed a break from flipping pages and wanted to get in a little bit of time gaming. When I saw The Coldest Girl in Coldtown available for an immediate audio book borrow from OverDrive, I decided to give it a shot. I’d heard of Holly Black, even if I hadn’t read any of her work.
 
Black’s novel takes vampirism and spreads it in the same manner that most post-apocalyptic novels spread the infectious diseases that create zombies. Vampires are romanticized, as they often are, especially in young adult books, and in this case, they no longer live in the shadows; rather, they have taken up residence in government organized areas known as Coldtowns. Those that have been infected with the vampire virus are also holed up within the walls of this cities, and there’s no shortage of food, because people are dying to get in.
 
Waking up after passing out at a party, the main character, a young woman named Tana, finds herself amidst a massacre: people she knows have been slaughtered by vampires. The only survivors are her, an ex-boyfriend, and a strange boy. Her ex is infected, and the boy is a vampire. Deciding to turn him in for a bounty, and worried that her ex will become a vampire himself, the trio travel to Coldtown. It isn’t long before Tana finds herself caught up in what could loosely be described as vampire politics. Amongst betrayal, she must persevere in order to guarantee her own survival.
 
The majority of the story is told from Tana’s perspective, with a few chapters written in Gavriel, the vampire’s, and another one, maybe two, from her younger sister’s, Pearl’s, point-of-view. These changes exist solely to expound on certain events that have led the characters to where they are, such as Gavriel’s past — which is, undoubtedly, one of my favorite parts of the book. Each chapter also begins with an excerpt, usually from a poem that deals with death, the undead, or vampires.
 
Voices make a huge impact on listening to audio books, especially for me. If I can’t stand the voice, I will not finish the book more than likely. In the case of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the narrator, Christine Lakin, is absolutely amazing. Her voice is pleasant to listen to, and there is a clear difference between the way each of the characters speak.
 
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown isn’t among my favorite reads, perhaps because I prefer the more traditional approaches to vampires, but it is, undoubtedly, an fun journey. If you like your vampires a bit on the softer side of the spectrum, this one is definitely worth picking up.