3.5/5 » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

REVIEW: Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Posted by Anastasia on May 17, 2012 2 Responses »

May 172012

043. Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Publication: , ebook, 256pp / ISBN
Genre: MG Fantasy

Read: March 2-3, 2012
Source: NetGalley (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an “Ord”—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society. The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her in a school that teaches ordinary kids how to get around in a magical world. But with treasure-hunting kidnappers and carnivorous goblins lurking around every corner, Abby’s biggest problem may not be learning how to be ordinary—it’s whether or not she’s going to survive the school year!

Review

This is one of those books that, immediately after finishing it, makes me think it’s the best book ever. While it’s pretty darned good, and while I enjoyed reading it (and liked it enough to rate it 3.5 birds), I can’t actually remember all that much about it. Usually, with books I adore, I have a few things I particularly like and those things stick in my mind until the next time I read it. Right now, several months after reading Ordinary Magic, all I can remember is that the family relationship(s) are adorable. Continue reading »

REVIEW: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Posted by Anastasia on April 30, 2012 3 Responses »

Apr 302012

061. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Publication: Scholastic Press (August 24, 2010), ebook, 404pp / ISBN 0439023513
Genre: YA Sci-fi,

Read: March 31-April 1, 2012
Source: Bought

Series: The Hunger Games | Catching Fire | Mockingjay (you’re here!)

Summary from Amazon:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Review

The ending of Catching Fire was so shocking and unexpected that it actually made me NOT want to read Mockingjay, just to show the series who was the boss. So when I actually DID read Mockingjay, I was prepared for basically anything. And a good thing I was prepared, too, because Mockingjay is almost a completely different book from the rest of the series. Continue reading »

REVIEW: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Posted by Anastasia on April 2, 2012 13 Responses »

Apr 022012

054. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Publication: Scholastic Paperbacks (September 1, 2009), ebook, 388pp / ISBN 0439023483
Genre: YA Sci-fi

Read: March 23, 2012
Source: Bought

Series: The Hunger Games (you’re here!) | Catching Fire | Mockingjay

Summary from Amazon:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Review

I put off reading the Hunger Games trilogy for YEARS, mainly because I’m one of those people who want to read a book in opposite proportion to how many other people love it. Everyone went NUTS over this series from the get-go, and for some reason that meant I didn’t want to read it. It’s almost like if I didn’t discover a thing first, I didn’t want to know about it! Which is hilarious, because usually when I DO finally read the thing I didn’t want to read because it was “too popular,” I end up loving it. So. Continue reading »

REVIEW: The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

Posted by Anastasia on March 30, 2012 No Responses »

Mar 302012

049. The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood and the duchess of Northumberland
Publication: Balzer + Bray (July 20, 2010), ebook, 309pp / ISBN 0061802387
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy, Romance

Read: March 12-13, 2012
Source: Bought

Summary from Amazon:

In the right dose, everything is a poison. Even love . . .

Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure — or kill.

When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined . . .

Review

This was on sale a few months ago and I snagged it, since I’ve got the second book packed and waiting for me to read it and I hate reading sequels before I read the first book.¹ I couldn’t remember exactly what either books were about, but I thought it’d have magic and possibly something tragic happening, based on the cover. Continue reading »

REVIEW: What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown

Posted by Anastasia on March 6, 2012 No Responses »

Mar 062012

040. What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown
Publication: Sourcebooks Casablanca (May 1, 2009), ebook, 355pp / ISBN 1402218311
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Read: February 26-27, 2012
Source: Freebie

Summary from Amazon:

When a modern woman goes back to Jane Austen’s time, she needs to know…

Everything! Eleanor agrees to travel back in time to prevent a deadly duel, but she doesn’t know how to behave, what to say, and most importantly…

How to tell a villain from a rake

The captivating, infuriating, and mysterious Lord Shermont is a renowned rake and womanizer—but is he also a dangerous cutthroat and spy? Eleanor has to get up close and personal to find out…

Otherwise, she could fall into a most shocking scandal…

Thankfully, Miss Jane Austen herself arrives on the scene, with sage guidance and a twinkle in her eye, to help Eleanor navigate countryhouse society and the dangerous terrain of her own heart…

From the author of Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake, a new time travel romance featuring a modern day career woman swept back in time to Regency England, where she thwarts a Napoleonic spy, chats with Jane Austen, and falls in love with a notorious rake.

Review

Apparently I was a Regency romance fan all along and never knew it! I mean, I knew I liked Jane Austen’s books, but I didn’t think I’d be a fan of modern Regency romances for some reason. After reading What Would Jane Austen Do?, however, I think I need to change my mind about that. Continue reading »

MINI-REVIEWS: Who What Wear, Goy Crazy, My Lunatic Life

Posted by Anastasia on February 29, 2012 No Responses »

Feb 292012

037. Who What Wear: The Allegra Biscotti Collection by Olivia Bennett
Publication: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (November 1, 2010), ebook, 258pp / ISBN 140224391X
Genre: MG Fiction

Read: February 25, 2012
Source: Freebie

Mini-Review

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this book at first, because the first chapter is kind of boring. But! It gets better, and by the end I thought it was really cute. Fashion is always a tricky subject to write about because it changes so rapidly, but Who What Wear was still current enough to not be completely distracting. Emma, the protagonist, reminds me of all those adorable teenage bloggers/fashion designers who have big dreams and aren’t afraid to make them happen, and since I know of a few teenage bloggers who’ve actually made some of those dreams happen I didn’t think the plot was all that implausible, either. And like I said: it’s just darned cute. Continue reading »

MINI-REVIEWS: Dust, My Fair Godmother, Wish

Posted by Anastasia on February 28, 2012 8 Responses »

Feb 282012

034. Dust by Arthur Slade
Publication: Dava Enterprises (February 5, 2011), originally published 2003, ebook, 192pp / ISBN 0385730047
Genre: MG Horror, Historical Fiction

Read: February 19-20, 2012
Source: Bought

Mini-Review

This was way scarier than I thought it’d be for some reason. It reminds me somewhat of The Boneshaker and how that was scary, how it deals with the power adults have over children physically, emotionally, and so on. I liked the writing in Dust a lot more than I did in The Hunchback Assignments, my first Arthur Slade book, and I liked the story more, too. It’s less of an action, kick-ass, “kid saves the world” kind of a book and more of a magical realism/”weird things happen in small towns” book, which I liked. Plus! There’s stuff about the importance of imagination and reading and thinking outside of the box! Defeating baddies through the power of your mind? Awesome! I love that, especially when it’s in a “boy” book. They don’t seem to get that sort of thing a lot in their books, to be honest. Continue reading »