Sleet, a review

Another teeny tiny review again today! I actually read this book and the last book that I reviewed on the same day in the same sitting. When they’re so small why not?! This one is slightly larger at 27 pages *gasp* but still a short and sweet translation from the original Swedish.

This is a sweet little story where we see through the eyes of a young boy as a family member who left to live in the USA comes back to visit. There are a lot of family tensions which the boy we’re following doesn’t quite understand, but can definitely feel. It’s a really interesting little dive into how children perceive tension and I really enjoyed it!

For my CAWPILE rating I gave Sleet:

Characters: 7

Atmosphere: 6

Writing: 7

Plot: 6

Intrigue: 6

Logic: 7

Enjoyment: 6

Which gives us an overall total of 6.43 which is a respectable 3 star rating!

I think this is such a sweet, short read, and I’m totally up for reading more from the author in the future! Have you read any books translated from Swedish?? (hint hint: Pippi Longstockings was writing by a Swedish woman!)

Apocalypse Kings – a Skulduggery Pleasant Review!

If you really want to know how far behind on reviews I am? I’ve re-read this before the review will be posted. Ffs why am I like this? Well, either way, let’s get into the review!

Apocalypse Kings by Derek Landy is a World Book Day Novella within the world of Skulduggery Pleasant, it slots into place after Mortal Coil, the fifth book in the series, and doesn’t have any spoilers for books afterwards so you can read it without worrying!

I read this after reading some of the second series, where Val is in her mid twenties, so it was so much fun to go back to the roots of the series and see something childish again! It’s actually what prompted me to take part in the Dead Famous Readalong to reread the entire series! (hence why I’ll have read it a second time by the point this is published, cause I’m reading the books chronologically)

I really enjoy the diversity that Landy added in here. He’s been developing over the span of the series but of course that means that the diversity is most present in the later, more serious books. It was really nice to see that diversity brought back into the more childish and fun parts of the series and that’s probably why Landy wrote the novella!

Highlight for trigger warnings: loss of a loved one, violence

This is around 100 pages long, so I read it in one short sitting and it was so much fun. Val and Skul-man undercover in a school is their worst possible environment and the evil they have to defeat is done so well! Such a fun read as always and writing this has made me even more excited to reread it!

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

Another WWII book, and one I’m really glad I picked up. This one is unique in that it follows a man and a girl wandering through the wilderness, avoiding the Nazis and trying to stay alive through the seasons.

Anna loses her father when he is taken by the Nazis, and at seven years old was left without anyone to help her. Until the swallow man. He happens to be around when she is sat around and takes a liking to Anna, letting her tag along with him.

This book elicited lots of different emotions from me, with some sections being incredibly sad, disturbing, and once Anna was older there were also some creepy and uncomfortable moments that I hadn’t been expecting when I started this book.

The ending of this book may seem unsatisfactory to some, as it is left very open. However, I surprisingly liked this as we are as knowledgeable as Anna is and what with our understanding of the past we can infer some of what will happen in the future.

Overall this was a very unique little book that I’m very glad I read, and I obviously gave it 5*. There are so many little nuances that I would’ve loved to mention but I didn’t want to spoil anything! So you’ll just have to go read this little gem for yourself to find out what they are 😉

Sending a review from My Padded Cell

This was a very quick read, being only 230 pages, and also an enjoyable one. An account of people lives and how various events and circumstances lead them to addiction. This book doesn’t just focus on drug addictions, but also on those of gambling and the need for attention.

We are given the life story of a selection of people. Their childhoods, which were normally not ideal whether due to abuse, poverty or something else, through to abusive of negative relationships, both romantic and otherwise, and then through to their struggle with “sobriety” and how they’ve dealt with the 12 Step Programme. There are some fresh successes, some who have failed and have come back again, and also some who have managed to stay “sober” and have decided to work with other addicts and help them to improve their lives.

It’s a very candid look at these peoples lives, and it very much made me feel connected with these individuals and feel more for their situation. All too often addicts are stigmatised within our society, but this stigma can prevent them from reaching the help that they need and deserve. Books like this one can help break down the walls of that stigma and in turn allow more people to recover and become active members of society.

I gave this book 3/5 stars, thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this book in return for an unbaised review.

Magnus and the Book that has Potential

First things first, thank you to NetGalley for providing a free eARC of this book in return for an unbiased review.

I picked this book up as the concept sounded cute and interesting, and as a Geography student, the environmental viewpoint was really inviting. Sadly, I was disappointed by this book. Although I went into this book knowing that it was intended for children aged 7-9, I still felt that it was too childish for this audience. The writing was also sub-par in quality, and I hate when this happens in children’s literature as it feels like the author believed their full efforts weren’t needed for “just” a kids book.

There were sections of this book which should have been great emotional moments, with the characters feeling confused, shocked, worried, excited or more. However, this never seemed to happen and emotions were very muted. One such example of this: ‘”Oh.” Magnus was very excited.’ … was he? Was he really? With various sectors like this, I feel like this book could have really benefited from further input from editors and the writer having more experience with writing, both in general and for children.

I feel like this book is more aimed at 4-6 year-olds, as there is almost no emotional depth and the language used (with an exception being dinosaur species)  being very simple. There were plot setups for future books which older children would likely be able to spot with ease and the character of Em has what feels like no development.

Moving onto the good points of this short read. The concept of this book is actually really good! As mentioned above, I love the environmental aspect of the book which pushes the use of renewable energy and challenges the consumer-driven world we live in. The concept of the series is also really good, with multiple (seemingly parallel) universes and a well fleshed-out villain who is perfect for a kids book. There were a few really interesting scenes, one involving the Jewelled Book of the Universe and Em, and another involving a clever deception of the bad guys at the end!

I feel like this book could have been so much better and had so much potential. Possibly the book was rushed, or it was the authors first work and the editorial team didn’t analyse the writing as well as they could. The plot line is there, and with a little more development the characters are also. Fingers crossed that as this series continues on the author will develop and improve and make this an interesting kids series that I would happily recommend to my friends with children. I hope S. L. Browne manages to pull this off and end up with a really unique, fun and interesting children’s series with a brilliant environmental message behind it.