Lila Danisa

That was funny. I liked Brenda a lot. She was so real. However, the storylines were full of plot holes. Everything was explained lightly. The premises were actually good. But they didn't get delivered well enough. Still, it was entertaining to read. Light and amusingly funny. The illustrations were giving the right vibe of the 90s.

Thank you to Kiwi Smith, Kurt Lustgarten, BOOM! Studios, BOOM!Box, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am crying this is so beautiful 🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭

Another thanks to Instagram post recommending children books to celebrate Black History Month, specifically Black Muslim writers and books. ( https://www.instagram.com/p/DUn6I5qkp9D/?igsh=a21xM3dkYXNnaHNr )

And other luck of me finding the Read Aloud version of this book on YouTube by Miss Alivia. ( https://youtu.be/Bf_mswHNowI?si=yAcKJgvvXC6Sqqtf )

Miss Alivia read it beautifully. She got me goosebumps all over my body. I was tearing up when I heard her voice slightly trembling. Miss Alivia with her soothing voice made my (and my son) reading journey of this book another level of awesomeness. Thank you so much, Miss Alivia.

---

"Roam freely. You need no permission to be on this land."

This sentence hits hard, especially with 🧊 situations in the 🇺🇸. 🖕🏻🧊.

---

Since this is a children book, of course my son tagged along reading/watching/listening the Read Aloud of this book. He loved this book so much. He loved that there was Muslim woman with hijab. He loved to see his mother (me) was included in this book. Though I am Indonesian, he was just so excited to see a representative of hijabi woman in his book. See, representative matters!

The diversity in this book was so beautiful. Both the words used and the illustrations were so heartwarmingly beautiful. There was a silent moment between me and my son right after we finished this book. I didn't know what my son was thinking, but for me, this book hit the spot soft within my soul. I do think every child needs to read this book. The messages of this book are universally for everyone. Children and grown-ups.

LOL that was kinda ridiculous. Light, short, and still managed to have an unnecessary drama. Both main characters were immature. The hero was 28 years old but didn't act like mature man. He said he was obsessed with the heroine but still walked away when the slightest challenge (their parents caught them) arose. The FMC was fine. She was more mature than the MMC despite only 18 years old. She knew what she wanted and went for it.

Yet, still entertaining to read. Cringey as hell but fit my in need of reading something quick, light, and spicy.

Ah that was so sweet and funny!

The premises and the storylines were really good. But for me, the delivery was kinda missed. The first half of the book was really got me hooked but after that it went down and kinda flat in terms of story. I mostly understood why the author made the story like that, but I just wish there were more excitement in the story in the last half of the book. At some parts, I also wish there were more balance perspectives to support the plots that went on within the story.

I especially loved Iris, the FMC, in the first half of the book. She was strong and could stand up for herself. She also made a really great decision regarding her and Roman, the MMC, relationship. She was so level headed and I loved her so much for that.

Roman was also super sweet hero. He fell for Iris so hard and so fast, it was funny to see him changed 180° from a grumpy quarterback to smiley one

Though the found-family trope was light, but it was hit the spot for my found-family trope lover. The Maguires were so close-knitted and I hope all The Maguire brothers get their own books.

Overall, it was good and entertaining book to read. Little bit dragging but still enjoyable reading journey for me.

Thank you to Lauren Rowe, Hambright PR, and NetGalley for the ARC.

What the fck!!! What did I just read???

Dystopia, dark, and disturbing!!!

There were four sets of couples in this book and only one of them normal. Travis and Grace. The rest were unhinged. David, especially 🤮

I hated the characters but they were actually so real. These characters were the real life people's characters. Not the typical hero and good-to-god fiction books normally were.

A quick reading but left deep impact afterward. I still felt the uneasy feeling after reading this book. Not entirely thought provoking but definitely bothersome storyline.

Thank you to Garth Ennis, BOOM! Studios, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Ah this book was so good. Perfect for little ones who want to learn alphabet. Especially with a monster as your learning friend!!!

My son is currently showing interest in spelling and reading. He could read the words he remembered already. He surprised me with how fast he could recognize the words. I never teach him how to read and write, I just read him a book or ten everyday. I believe that's why he familiar with alphabet, words, and their spellings.

This book is not only about the alphabet, but there is a story connecting all the alphabet. The story was relatable with how kids (and monsters) like to venture. Their adventures in this book showed their honest feelings. So like I said, not only learning about alphabet, this book is also presenting the feelings for everyone who read this book.

The illustrations were so good. My son (and me!) loved it so much. The details were chef's kiss. Vibrant with colors. Amazingly eye-pleasing.

Thank you to Christianne Jones, Capstone, Capstone Editions, and NetGalley for the ARC.

That was so much fun! Though I was not a fan of its cliffhanger ending. My son too, so we made up our own version of the ending.

I needed to simplify the story and the words because when I simply read it to my son, he didn't understand completely. He is only 5 and I think this book is for middle-grade kids. Hence, after the simplified version by me, my son could enjoyed this book better. My son (and me!) laughed at the riddle and amazed by the code breaker. I am 31 years old and I couldn't figure them out 😅

Thanks to this book, my son now wants to be a spy 🫣 I said he needs to study hard because become a spy is not easy.

The illustrations were good and supported the storyline so much.

I planned to reread this book to my son as much as he wants, so I could see his development in comprehension.

Thank you to Bryan Patrick Avery, Capstone, Stone Arch Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

My son's 5th birthday theme was batman, his birthday cake was batman shaped. This book was perfect for him who currently obsessed with batman. I read this book to him the evening of his birthday. Batman birthday cake, batman decorations, and book with batman themed. That day (January 23rd) was hopefully perfect for him.

This book was amazingly good. Teaching the young readers to be brave like superheroes. Side by side with batman, the young boy prepared for school day. He felt nervous about his day but the story smoothly made him relax and be brave like batman.

My son loved the story and the illustrations so much. I didn't need to simplify the words because they were already easy to understand for my (newly) 5 y.o son.

Thank you to Benjamin Bird, Capstone, Capstone Editions, and NetGalley for the ARC.

So many colorful octopuses!!!

This book is about Octavio, a curious octopus, tagged along with divers. Along Octavio's adventures, we got the fun facts about octopuses. Smart and adaptable octopuses.

My son loved all animals, octopus included. He already knew the facts about octopuses mentioned in this book. But he still enjoyed this book because of Octavio was kinda silly, he said. He was also amazed when at the end of the book I told him that the author really experienced everything written in this book. He said he wants to be a marine researcher when he grows up. Or a diver.

Thank you to Dustin Resch, Capstone, Capstone Editions, and NetGalley for the ARC.

What a cute story! It's about a frog who wanted to be a rabbit. Frog's friends said frog was better as itself but because they supported frog, they tried to help frog to be a rabbit.

This book represented the messages of loving yourself in refreshing storyline. The tight friendship between characters was also heartwarming to read. My son could easily grasp those moral values. The lighthearted yet meaningful story was so perfect for the little ones.

My son especially loved the illustrations. They were so colorful and full of details. Each animal character represented themselves really good and made sense for the story. This book is currently on top of my son reread shelf.

Thank you to Katy Hudson, Capstone, Capstone Editions, and NetGalley for the ARC.

So cute yet educational!

As a boy who loved all kind of animals, my son automatically loved this book. Me, as an adult, also got enlightened by this book. I didn't know that in Indonesia, there is different kind of chipmunk and I have lived my whole life in Indonesia. I thought the one that running/flying around from tree to tree is a normal squirrel, but it turned out some of them might be a chipmunk. My son and I got so excited and already made a plan to really pay attention everything we go outside, in case we could spot the chipmunk mentioned in this book.

The photographs of the chipmunks in this book were so good. We could easily spot the details and the cuteness of them. The fun facts about the chipmunk were so educational and easy to understand. The words used were also simple and my son could comprehend it easily.

Thank you to Lieve Snellings, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for the ARC.

That was so cute! Cute and so freaking funny. Weirdly funny. Full of chaotic side characters. I have read few of this author's other books, and this book is definitely her kind of writing style. So truly May Alder and I enjoyed it so much.

Like the author's note in the beginning of the book, the story was kinda impossible to happen but since this is fiction, everything could happen. The storylines were definitely messy. Messily entertaining and amusing. The OW drama and the miscommunication arc were in good portion which was fine by me who don't love OW drama and miscommunication trope. Though I felt like Mirabeth, the FMC, was kinda dramatic and immature.

What I loved so much was the appearance of other characters from this author's other books. A good nostalgia and make me want to reread their books.

Overall I enjoyed this book so much. It was light and entertaining to read. Spicy, sweet, and funny at the same time.

Thank you to May Alder for the ARC.

February is Black History Month and I stumbled upon an Instagram post recommending Best Children's Books to Celebrate Black History Month ( https://www.instagram.com/p/DUVdF4clHAW/?igsh=MXByaHo3cjFrcHpxYQ== ). For me, that post was perfect since I want to read more about Black History. Both for me and for my son. Children's Books, so far, are the best medium for my son (and me!) to learn something new, that's why I choose Children's Books to Celebrate Black History Month.

---

"... nobody can ever cuff your beautiful and brilliant mind."

---

I found the Read Aloud video on YouTube ( https://youtu.be/OzBI0iYdoGA?feature=shared ). Tausha, the channel handles, read the book beautifully. My son and I loved her voice so much. It was clear and comforting. By the end of the reading, she delivered the value(s) of the story. My son and I enjoyed it so much.

The storyline of the book was really good. It reminded the readers that we could be anything we think of. We need to stand up for ourselves and be strong like people before us.

The used of "flying" as metaphor of doing what we want was really good. My son almost quickly caught the hidden messages of flying in the story. Flying as to using your imagination to explore more.

---

"... remember somebody somewhere at some point had to figure out they could fly."

---

This book was also mentioned a little bit of racism as the product of ignorant. This part of the book, my son was sad for the characters in the book and said to me that he would never do that. I am so proud of him. However, the ending was beautiful and inspiring.

---

"... somebody somewhere at some point had to figure out they were ready for any new thing coming their way."

---

What a beautiful book! I am so glad I stumbled upon the Instagram post recommending this book and Tausha's YouTube channel reading this book as beautiful.