alizontheamazon's reviews
1350 reviews

Odessa is not happy about having to move to a new house with her brother and mother. She is also not too pleased about her father's upcoming marriage to his girlfriend.

But when Odessa finally convinces her mom to let her have the attic as her bedroom she realizes that if she jumps on a certain part of the floor she travels back in time 24 hours. Then 23. Then 22. Each time she decides to go back she loses an hour and when she realizes this she starts being more careful about why she is going back. The problems she tries to fix start becoming greater and greater and soon Odessa learns that there are some things you can't fix no matter how many times you try.

This book deals with family dynamics in a gentle way. Odessa is in 4th grade and this book is great for that age level.

SPOILERS

I really don't know how I feel about this book. I felt consistently throughout that Sierra was being treated unfairly since she clearly tried to do the right thing by turning the knife in, but I didn't like Sierra's path as the book progressed. The fact that she didn't get in trouble for writing the email in Ms. Lin's name was ridiculous and I didn't like that she kind of ended up on the trouble maker side of the line.

This book needs a lot of discussion to go along with it because it addresses a lot of grey areas, but I don't think I'd put this into the hands of anyone below 7th grade without the surrounding context of a book discussion group to follow up with some of the ideas.

This was a great graphic novel about a town monster who is lacking the confidence to be as scary as his town wants him to be. With the help of two human friends and one monster friend he comes to find his confidence.

Has a good balance of action, humor and warmth.

This is a cute Santa origin story. Not super unique but not horrible either. It makes a good addition to the Christmas shelf.

Cute first part of a series about weird monsters that are found in this town. It would be a good book for 3rd graders. Boy main characters. Suspenseful.

Girl who likes to chew gum gets shocked when her bubble blows up on a powerline and realizes that she has super powers. Ends with a cliff hanger so there will be more in the series. Features a Hispanic family and a few basic Spanish words thrown in, which is a cool twist.

Boy has powers of a superhero transfered to him when a villian's attempt to steal said powers goes wrong. Ends on a cliff hanger so there will be follow up. It was hard to tell at first if the superhero was real or a television character. Has potential for being a strong series.

Pretty basic book about a little girl who is shy at school and has an imaginary friend in her dreams. By the end of the book she makes a new friend and they have a sleepover together and hang out with the dream friend. Cute illustrations.

Basic bedtime book. The different woodland critters suggest different ways to help mouse go to sleep, but none of them work until bat comes up with the magical remedy.