ellornaslibrary's reviews
538 reviews

Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

Honestly, I find myself really struggling with the poetry holding my interest when I'm reading it and I lost interest in picking it up. I'm not quite sure why though, but this is definitely a DNF for me. Maybe someday I'll change my mind and try again, but for now that seems highly unlikely.

Fall Into You by Georgina Kiersten

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challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

Sparking Peace by Hannah Rose Martin, Teresa Kim Pecinovsky

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me pre-face this by saying that the overall message of this book is so, so important given the world today, and the fear that accompanies every parent, child, and teacher whenever they go to school. Lockdown drills are known to cause so much harm to mental health on top of the experience of an actual school shooting itself that we really need more books that encourage discussion on this topic. However, I will say that I lowered my rating from 5 stars to 4 stars cause if not for stuff at the end of the book, and the blurb, I wouldn't have understood this book was supposed to be about the topic of gun violence. Being this vague in a book meant to help? Is not helpful.

The overall story is still a good one, and the art does well at conveying emotions that it really adds to the weight of things. The concept of turning trauma and violence and anger, etc. into tools for good - for peace - is wonderful. I just wish they'd done it in a way that was more straightforward and clear to the reader. Vagueness hinders discussions and in a book meant to encourage discussion that isn't useful. Hopefully in future, if more books continue to be written on this topic for children this age, it's handled more directly.

Kai and the Kappas by Stefanie Gamarra

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an adorable, if a little dark, book and I enjoyed it. The art was stunning and did great work in helping the text to tell the story. While I knew going in that the messaging was a Japanese folklore version of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, I definitely would've recognized the similarities even without that knowledge and that's a good sign as it'll mean children will too. Telling stories is one thing, but lying is another and it's an age-old lesson that's good for children - and adults! - to learn, of course. I really enjoyed the way the story ended. I also have to say that I loved the spooky vibes and how the art accompanied them so well. Honestly, I spent a ton of time just staring at the artwork. It was gorgeous. Definitely a book I'd recommend.

Far, Far Away by Molly Beth Griffin

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adventurous emotional informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I struggled a little with this book. While well-written, and accompanied by beautiful art, I struggled with the way the message seemed to override the child's feelings in the book. I get the importance of the message that there are going to be challenges in life - and I understand that very well from my own life - and that learning to push through when things get tough is important. Yet, I also think that's a detrimental outlook. One we already see has left a damaging impact on society for generations upon generations.

There were so many moments where this child was having totally understandable feelings about things yet it felt like the two adults in his life - his mothers who are supposed to bring comfort - are just pushing aside his feelings in the name of "you'll like this, we promise" and having experienced stuff like that as a kid myself, it did not make me like it. There were moments where recognizing he is a child they could have let him rest after a little bit while they finished the rest of the work and still the lessons could've been taught just in a better way. Also, like, this trip is what they chose as a first camping trip to introduce this child - who is still learning how to handle big emotions - and still couldn't be easier on him throughout it all.

I don't know, I think the main message here overshadows a more important one, and I don't really like that choice. This isn't a book I'd choose to read to a child given that factor, and I'd say that if a parent does choose to read this book to their child, I hope that they take the time to recognize this issue and handle it better than the book did itself.

A swing for Samara by Nancy Carlson

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hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story is touching, and accompanied by cute art(though I do wish the people had been left as people in this particular story), and was a lovely read. I do wish there was a little more to it such as maybe some discussion about accessibility and inclusiveness at the end, but I recognize that the author was going for a gentle message. One that I hope does work.

As a disabled adult who was once a disabled child, I am too familiar with the inaccessibility of children's playground equipment both at schools and parks. It's yet another way that we're made to be aware of how different and separate we are from those children able to play on it. The efforts that the students at Glen Lake Elementary School went through to see that their friend was not left out and made to feel included, and writing a book to bring more awareness to this story - and the issue that brought about it in the first place - is important. Not just to show the kindness and importance of community, but to show that everyone deserves the same treatment.

However, I will also add that from a disabled perspective, it's also sad this type of inspiration rhetoric - what I'm choosing to use instead of the other term - needs to be shared at all when wheelchair users, and disabled people in general, have existed as part of society for a loooooong time and should be thought of when designing things like school layouts and playground equipment. And while inspiration rhetoric can also be harmful, I'm hoping that this book will have the intended impact for once.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings