Gold Star Review: In The Age of Love and Chocolate

In the Age of Love and Chocolate
by Gabrielle Zevin
Birthright trilogy, book three

Now eighteen, life has been more bitter than sweet for Anya. She has lost her parents and her grandmother, and has spent the better part of her high school years in trouble with the law. Perhaps hardest of all, her decision to open a nightclub with her old nemesis Charles Delacroix has cost Anya her relationship with Win.

Still, it is Anya’s nature to soldier on. She puts the loss of Win behind her and focuses on her work. Against the odds, the nightclub becomes an enormous success, and Anya feels like she is on her way and that nothing will ever go wrong for her again. But after a terrible misjudgment leaves Anya fighting for her life, she is forced to reckon with her choices and to let people help her for the first time in her life. (Description from Goodreads.com)

What a stellar ending to a great trilogy.  I really felt like Zevin stayed true to Anya's character. Her life isn't easy and she doesn't make easy choices, but she makes the right choices for herself, even when they aren't popular.  

Though Anya doesn't often show her emotion easily, she feels deeply, and this book really struck that point home.  The trials she must endure both emotionally and physically left me drained as I listened to the book and I found myself crying several times.  (The audio book narration is stellar, by the way - Highly recommended) For all that Anya's life is tough, and she truly endures some horrific moments along the way, there is hope there as well, and the knowledge that she loves and is loved by others in return... 

It's hard to tell you much more without spoiling the end of the series, but I will say that I was not at all disappointed.  I really loved this entire series and I was very, very happy with how things turned out in the end.  

Full disclosure: eBook purchased on my Nook, audio book borrowed from Library

Colin Fischer

Colin Fischer
by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz

Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions.

But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate's birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It's up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin's frequent tormenter, didn't bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn't have frosting on his hands, and there was white chocolate frosting found on the grip of the smoking gun... (description from Amazon.com)

I thought this was an interesting mystery. It's from the perspective of Colin, a boy with Asperger's Syndrome. His highly analytic mind, coupled with a separation from emotions, makes him a brilliant investigator. Like his idol, Sherlock Holmes, Colin knows that he can discover who actually brought the gun to school. Along the way, he makes a highly unlikely friend and learns to acclimate to school and being social with his peers, maybe even finding a girlfriend...

A quick read with a good mystery from a unique perspective.

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library

Picture Book Review: Candy and the Cankersaur

Candy and the Cankersaur *ebook*
by Jason Sandberg

This is the sweet and funny tale of a young girl named Candy and a Cankersaurus Rex! Candy receives a dinosaur as a gift and is determined to train him to be a good pet.

When Candy has a rough time dealing with a neighbor who teases her and a busy father who can't always play with her, Candy gets a crazy pet as a gift from her father.  A thought to be extinct dinosaur! Candy trains him to be a great pet and things are going well until her neighbor gets jealous and sells him to the circus. When he sees how upset Candy gets, the little boy confesses and Candy, her father, and he set off to rescue "Cank."  Everything works out happily in the end and Candy even becomes friends with the neighbor boy.

This was a quick and sweet little read that looked great on my brand-new tablet. The colors are bright and cheerful, and of course, there's a cool dinosaur pet! While the story is a little too lengthy for a regular story time book at a library program, this would be a cute book to read one on one with a child, at home or babysitting, etc. Since it features a very cute dinosaur, I think both boys and girls would happily settle in to read this book.  Done in a style similar to Syd Hoff's Danny and the Dinosaur, the illustrations are a little old fashioned, but are charming nonetheless.

Right now, this book is only available as an ebook, but as I said, it looks great on any kind of ereader or tablet that does color pictures.

Full disclosure: Electronic review copy received from author for review

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell

The Wishing Spell

by Chris Colfer

The Land of Stories, book one

Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.

The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I really enjoyed this tween-aged fairy tale adventure.  Though the twins started out feeling a little bit like stereotypes (the super smart girl and the troublemaker boy) they swiftly grew to have deeper personalities and they played really well off of one another.

 

I really enjoyed how Colfer delved into the afters of each fairy tale's "Happily Ever After." It was great to see a Goldilocks who was wanted across the kingdoms for theft, a Cinderella who was expecting her first child, and a Sleeping Beauty who wouldn't sleep until her kingdom recovered from her hundred years' repose. 

 

For a wild and whimsical adventure through all your favorite classic tales, try this one out!

 

Full disclosure: ARC received at BEA 2012



Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country

Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country
by Allan Richard Shickman

Well past the middle of the night Zan felt a shaking of his shoulder as he slept, and then an impatient foot kicking at him. Instinctively grabbing for his spear, he looked up and saw the orange glow of a torch, and as his eyes adjusted to the invading light he recognized his brother's ghastly face. Dael's dangerous brow was furrowed, and the vein of his forehead bulged under the old scar. His teeth were clenched, and his eyes darted nervously back and forth. His every motion expressed a profound agitation, and Zan knew that what he had been dreading had come.
"It is time, Zan. Let us go!"
"Where? It's dark!"
"I want to find where the river comes from."

The volcanic turbulence that shakes Dael's mind carries him to vicious extremes. It is Zan's task to calm his brother and lead him away from thoughts both destructive and self-destructive. But even the paradise of the Beautiful Country will not erase them. (taken from back cover copy)

Again Shickman draws readers into the turbulent prehistoric world of Zan-Gah and his Ba-Coro tribe. Since rescuing his brother, Zan-Gah has continued to be treated as a leader. After Dael's wife dies, his grief drives him almost to madness. As thoughts of revenge on all those who had previously wronged him, including his once beloved twin, Dael becomes another leader, causing those who follow him to question breaking their tribe apart for good.

This fast paced, easy to read book includes love, betrayal, jealousy, courage, inventiveness, and fanaticism, making for an exciting read. Each character grows in interesting ways and many concepts about right and wrong, good and evil, are explored.

A good pick for a middle school reader looking for some excitement! Readers do not even have to start with the first book. Enough is recapped in this one that it is not necessary, though it would be recommended.

Full disclosure: Received from publisher for review.