Coleen

Interesting book. The saddest part is even though this is a fantasy book I could see people denying rights to a group just because they're scared. It's happened in the past it is happening now all over the world including the U.S. I can imagine a scenario which leads to what happens in this book because of fear.
In this book Delilah “Lilah” is visiting a cryptid menagerie when suddenly she transforms into an unknown cryptid. There are cryptids from succuabe, oracles, werewolves, minotaurs, griffins,berserker and ones you've heard less of like werecats, ifrits etc. When Delilah changes she is arrested and the local sherriff is looking to sell her. She has spent 25 years as a human and then suddenly she has no rights and can be bought or sold like property. The animals ie dogs, research monkeys and zoo animals actually have more protections then the cryptids. This is because in 1986 there was a “reaping” Spoiler where people all over the U.S. were dead because there was a compulsion where parents or other family members killed everyone in their whole family minus a child in the house who was exactly 6 years old. It is told like the adults were compelled by these cyptids which are never identified are the 6 year old survivors. So all cryptids including human like cryptids like oracles had their rights and protections taken away. Even if they were as intelligent as 100% humans.
She is sold to the menagerie which is a traveling zoo that displays cryptids. Of course the treatment of these cryptids is so deplorable that you wonder how people can live with themselves. However you're reminded humans do a lot of horrible things as a group or individually especially when they're scared.
Warning there is some violent scenes that are more detailed and rape and of course torture both physical and psychological. However I'd still recommend it to urban fantasy fans. Interesting read.

I really thought this book was so well written. I'd read Airborn ages ago when my son read the series but for some reason hadn't picked up Kenneth Oppel since. This book sounded so interesting I gave it a try and am very glad I did. It is magical realism. Steve has a new baby brother who isn't well. The doctors don't know what is wrong with the baby but they know there are hard times ahed for Steve's new brother. Steve thinks he is dreaming about magical beings that are going to fix his baby brother. [spoiler] These turn out to be magical wasps that invade his dreams and want to replace his brother with a “perfect” baby. [/spoiler] Steve is really well written with his OCD and anxities. This book gets creppier and creepier as it goes along so be warned if your getting this for a tween if they don't like creep factor this book might be one a parent wants to read first. However, there is a great lesson taught that I think every human needs to learn which is no one is perfect.

This was a good middle grade realistic fiction but not the best I've read. I did feel like the parents were written oddly. I know if it was my kid who accidentally caused the death of another child I would think the signs that the little bit of counseling he got wasn't working since my child was acting out the way Trent did in the book. I did think Trent was an interesting character and I liked Fallon. Although I do think a lot of middle graders who this book was written for would be annoyed by the fact that Fallon who hints at the terrible ways she got her facial scar,none of them true, finally goes to tell the real story and the audience doesn't find out. As an adult I can appreciate that knowing what caused someone to be scarred like Fallon is wouldn't change how I felt about her,but I'm betting some of the middle graders who read this book don't understand that and will be disappointed not to know.

Overall a decent book with well written main character.

Okay this book just throws you right in the deep end and expects you to swim in the weird. I'm liking it though and I'm a great swimmer. Review to come when I finish this, but so far this book is great!

And done! This book is not for the faint of heart. There is A LOT of violence and torture. Be warned.

I can't really explain this book. I've tried, while I was reading it, to explain it to my husband a VERY smart man and he was confused because I would try to add details from the book but he wouldn't get them because he hadn't read the book. The best I can come up with is it's a myth story and a human story. Carolyn and her fellow librarians are humans with all their flaws and foibles. At least that is how they used to be before Father. Now they're something else still human but they know so much more and have experienced so much more in their lives then any normal human wouldSpoilerPoor Margaret given the catalog of death and having to die herself many times would drive anyone mad. Not that the rest of the children who become adults get off much lighter but I really felt extraordinarly bad for that character.. I really enjoyed Steve and Erwin too who are 100% human but somehow get sucked in to this whole situation somehow.

I'm not going to try and explain it but say I enjoyed it. Will pick up the next thing by Mr. Hawkins if it sounds as interesting as this.

I did like the underlying story which I felt was about science to help humans ends up hurting humans. I did like that Tamaya felt true to herself and tried to be who she was but was confused because she is at that stage in life where you're not sure if being true to who you are as a person is for the best socially and it's confusing. I feel if Sachar had just focused more on Tamaya this would have been a better book for middle grade, but as it is I don't think the characters or the story are enough to REALLY grab that age range's attention. Over all it was an okay story but I'm not sure if I'd suggest it as a must read.

This was my first Naomi Novik book and I will be checking out her other works too after this because I really loved this story.

I loved the story of the Dragon, the Wood and of course Agnieszka. The magic was wonderful. Agnieszka was glorious in the discovery of herself and the Dragon (magician) as a real person not just some figure she has learned to love for the protection he brings to her village but also fear because he is so reclusive.

Spoiler The queen and Kasia's trial after they had been “corrupted” by The Wood. I get the Wood is evil and it leads to an exciting climax but just like Agnieszka in the story I was just waiting for something to happen and it was a tad too long of a wait.
Recommend to fantasy and magic lovers

All I want is to read the next book! So very good. I was very interested in Jess' story. I can only imagine living in a world like the one written here and it makes me sad. I love me my books. I was reading the black archive artifex (incendiary writings against the Library) and wondering how many author's works this world stifled and hid, or even destroyed outright. Shudder.

I love how Jess is written, interesting character, and now I'd like to know how he is going to change the Library when someone more connected to the Library's power couldn't, but I'm hopeful it will be an exciting journey in the next book to see him try. Recommend this to all!

Didn't like this as much as 14 the “side-quel” to The Fold. It was still an interesting book with great sci-fi aspects. I liked Mike but wished “the ants” were mentioned a bit less. I also felt supporting characters could have been a little better but it's a small qualm. I did like the ending few chapters especially. That of course is where everything hits the fan in an exciting way.

Where was this book when I was young? Excitement and mystery and magic! Loved it admittedly when I was 10 (1982) I wouldn't have understood anything about what Tyler (older brother character) was doing with the technology but otherwise I'm sticking with I would've loved this book when I was 10. So I'm giving it 5 stars from my inner 10 year old.

Not as good as Mr Mercedes I.M.O. Had some interesting parts and I did like how the story was resolved.

Miriam is a total bad as A crazy bad who is a walking Machine of Death. She touches someone and she sees how they're going to die. She accepts this as inevitable nothing to do about it. Then she finds someone who's future death haunts her. She doesn't want to care because fate has made it's choice, but she does in spite of herself. Part urban fantasy, part horror and all thrilling action. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Unfortunately I'm jumping on the review bandwagon and saying the second half of this story really drags the whole book down. A monster, isolation,snow screams The Thing which I actually enjoyed both the original and some of the “prequel”. So I was all in and then time jump different and much more boring story dragged the whole book down.

Very well written middle grade/young teen graphic novel. If you do have a sibling it is probably easier to relate to this story in the way it is told. Not sure why I didn't enjoy this as much as Smile by the same author, but it was still really good.

This book is not for the faint of heart. I'm a splatter punk fan and even some of the scenes gave me the willies. Well written great characters. I didn't like that one of the boys was wearing an obvious I am a bad seed sign.Other than that great book.

Loved it! Stan is so relatable and funny My favorite part is when he thinks he is having private thoughts and someone says the equivalent of you know I can hear you. Great fun book.,

Not as splatter punk as some other horror fiction I've read. You also get too many characters that we're supposed to care about so we worry for their safety. However maybe less characters focused on would make this book better. I'll still give it props for Grace though. Spooky kids are spooky.

Thinking I would get a fictionalized mystery story of the real life mystery of the infamous Mary Celeste I picked up this book eagerly. I did however found a book with a disjointed story and characters who weren't interesting. Even Arthur Conan Doyle famous author and Spiritualism couldn't make this an interesting story. I did finish this in hopes that at some point the story could turn around but in my opinion it never did.

This is such a fun beginning reader series for those young readers who want the “scary” stories but might be a little young for anything made for the middle grade audience. This one was even more exciting than the first in the series. I do like that the ending hints at more adventures for the trio of friends. Great for 1st to 3rd graders in my opinion.

There were some definite 4 star moments though. Mostly a fun ghostly mystery where Jack the Ripper's ghost is actually killing people or is he? Cue dramatic music. I found Rory
slightly annoying at times which was why I waffle between 3 and 4 stars. I did like the ending and am a little curious about where book 2 will go.

Oh Odd I'm a little sad these books are all over. Some of the best Dean Koontz's books in my opinion. I do admit to finding 5 and 6 in this series lacking for me personally, but I thik Koontz finished the series well and I enjoyed it.

This was a perfect book for beginning readers who want to read scary books but aren't ready for middle grade and higher scares. I thought the character Sam was relatable. He is charged with protecting his friends from the crazy school that is doing bad things to the students and teachers. As an adult I did want to know a little more about the janitor and why he picked Sam to be the school's newest protector,but I think most kids who read this won't fret about that they will just enjoy the cool scary story. Recommend to 1st to 3rd graders who like frightening fiction.

I hadn't read a Rizzoli and Isles book in a bit. I was starting to not like how Tess Gerritsen was writing Maura. I liked the character well enough but at times I was also disconnecting from the character. However,maybe time away helped because I liked the Rizzoli and Isles characters as much as I did when I first started reading this series.

I liked the double story of both Boston and Botswana. I actually enjoyed the safari gone wrong part a little more. Overall good mystery. I enjoyed the big cat angle too. A little graphic in the dead body description, as a warning for those who really don't like messy murder scenes. I personally didn't mind,but I read splatter punk a lot so gruesome details don't bother me.

Good mystery and can be mostly read as a stand alone exception of a few Jane and Maura sections.

This book annoyed me. The child is annoying, her parents are annoying the townspeople in the new town where the haunted house is are annoying.... So annoyed by this annoying book that now the word annoying has lost all meaning but still applies here.

Predictable ghost story and not well written in my opinion, obviously.

I'm erring towards 3 stars although I'd give it 3.5 if those darn half stars were available. So this isn't as fantasy based as I thought it was going to be. I don't know I was expecting lots more fantasy based characters. Don't know why.

The story is mostly well told. I'd have no problem recommending this to around 11 and up. There is some violence within the book but it isn't horrendous. I think a lot of parents I run into at work (I work at a library in the children's department) have problems with sex, or language compared to violence. So I don't think most parents would have problems with their older preteen picking this book up and reading it.

Sage,is exciting and self assured, but at some point his confidence annoyed me. I would've enjoyed more world building personally, but this book isn't lacking in the excitement department. As an adult, veteran fantasy reader I thought the big reveal was obvious but not hit you over the head obvious.

Mostly good overall but sticking with my 3 stars.

This book is wonderful or to kind of steal a Violet and Finch thing it is also wander-full. I've never read this author before but I am really impressed with How thoughtful she was when writing about things such as grief, survivors guilt, abuse, bullying, depression,suicide, and hiding yourself from yourself. The main characters are well written and you find yourself hoping for them.Poor Finch definitely got the short end of the parent stick. Anyway great book and great literary references with Virginia Woolf. Recommend to those who like realistic fiction and don't get upset with hard topics like mental illness.

Last but not least I feel spent after having been on this emotional ride of a book.