Elli

Hahaha how is this a kid's book? I mean, it doesn't have anything inappropriate in it but it's soooo dull. What kid wants to read about the settlement of a will? Nothing much really happens in this book really, it's just Nancy finding a will. Fun? Well I'm gonna chalk it up to how old this book is, entertainment was different back then after all. Thing is, I don't regret reading this because I really love Nancy Drew as a character and this is her first case. I imagine the cases will only get bigger and crazier from here. It's actually fitting that she starts out small since she's such an amateur in the first book. I guess I can forgive her first case for being lack-luster. I look forward to book 2!

P.S. I love the yellow hardcover copies I have of these books, they just feel and look really nice. Plus, the retro covers are really beautiful.

This book was really fascinating and some parts were close to mind blowing but in the end I feel like it just reiterated the obvious fact that if you want to be successful you have to work hard. Still, I feel that I've learned a lot and definitely have gained a comprehensive knowledge of how success works. My favorite bit of the book was the “10,000 hour rule” chapter because I am currently studying Japanese and it's motivating to know that if I just keep studying and working hard for 10,000 hours, I could become an expert. Thanks Malcolm Gladwell! :D

P.S. The chapter on plane crashes COMPLETELY reminded me of Cabin Pressure

Whelp, that was a decent YA novel. I find Cassandra Clare's work very formulaic and predictable but at the same time books like these are my favorite guilty pleasure. What can I say, I'm a supernatural/fantasy fan at heart. It's certainly not Twilight levels of terrible at least. Anyway, my favorite part of City of Bones was the interactions between the characters. I especially liked the surrogate family of the institution. I liked how everyone kinda hated and loved each other at the same time. Magnus Bane was, obviously, my favorite character and Clary was an okay heroine if not a little generic. I'm still shocked by the plot twist towards the end, it was kinda a risky move for a Young Adult novel. I'm really curious to see who the main love interest will be in this series now? I look forward to seeing the movie and reading book 2. :)

I loved this book! Why didn't I read this as a kid? My favorite thing about this series so far are the designs of the aliens and Tobias. Tobias is my favorite character and the Andalites have such a creative design. I can't wait to read the rest of these books they're pretty well written for kid's books. I feel like they do a good job taking their audiences seriously and even have scenes that could be disturbing for some ages. The characters aren't just like “animal powers sweet!” they all kinda have mental breakdowns and there are many parts that demonstrate psychological trauma very well. Some parts are very 90s which is my only critique. But it gives the series a kind of narm charm. Like the characters talk about video games and make stupid pop culture references a lot. Also, their names are kinda dumb (Jake, Rachel, Cassie etc.). I unfortunately got spoiled about what happens to Tobias :( I'll try to keep out of the animorphs tumblr tag til I'm a little further into the series. I can't wait to get more volumes out of the library!

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I have too many thoughts so I'm gonna use bullet points:

-I adored all the 80s references. They made me nostalgic even though I was born in the 90s. They made me: A. Want to read/watch/play all the things B. Realize that if they make a movie out of this properly they'd have to pay like 9 billion dollars to get the rights to things.

-Wil Wheaton did an excellent job reading and it was pretty hilarious to hear him read about himself in Wade's voice

-Awesome use of the “real self” trope you see in MMORPG stories. Interesting commentary on sexism and racism. Loved the reveals for everyone's real self and loved that Wade was mature about said reveals.

-I, of course, wish The Oasis was real. Loved how it was not just an RPG thing but a world kinda like Second Life that even non-geeks participated in. Found the idea of the accessories that allowed you to smell and feel you surroundings super cool and creative.

-The HUGE access to every pop culture thing ever Wade had made me extremely jealous

-I was surprised to hear stuff about masturbation and simulated sex in a book for younger readers but approved of the author not talking down to his readers

-Good to see it wasn't “YOU DIE IN THE GAME YOU DIE FOR REAL” but rather real life murder (which was aptly disturbing).

-Though it was hard to hear (lol I'm an escapist) the “real world is the only place you can find happiness” bit was an important message and the last sentence of the book was the perfect ending

-I liked the Japanese character but found them to be a little stereotypical, always talking about what is “honorable.” Maybe the fact that they're nerds justifies it but I've got mixed feelings.

-LGBT AND black character automatically makes this book awesome. Also enjoyed the port wine stain thing.

I'm off to look into all the allusions mentioned in this book!