3.5/5 » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

MINI-REVIEWS: Five Tomorrows, Wolf Brother, Fame Fatale

Posted by Anastasia on February 27, 2012 No Responses »

Feb 272012

031. Five Tomorrows by Sarah A. Hoyt
Publication: Goldport Press (January 4, 2012), ebook, approx. 119pp / ISBN none
Genre: Science Fiction, Short Stories

Read: February 13, 2012
Source: Freebie

Mini-Review

I have a really hard time remembering short stories, especially when I read a whole collection of them all at once. So I can’t exactly remember which story in this collection of five sci-fi shorts was my favorite– I think it was the first one, though. That one was about these genetically altered kids who were bred to be super-soldiers and lived underwater and stuff. It could totally be expanded into a full-sized YA book, and I think it’d even do pretty well if the ending was changed a bit.

The best thing about this set of stories is that they all take place in the same universe, just in different points in time. I like it when things like that happen, idk why. It’s more neat, I guess? Continue reading »

MINI-REVIEWS: Boy Meets Girl, The Wizard, the Witch and Two Girls from Jersey, Stupid Fast

Posted by Anastasia on February 7, 2012 4 Responses »

Feb 072012

020. Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot
Publication: Harpercollins (January 1, 2004), Paperback, 383pp / ISBN 0060085452
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Read: January 27-29, 2012
Source: Bought

Mini-Review

Sometimes you just want to read something fluffy and silly and easy on the brain, and Meg Cabot’s books are really good for that. I haven’t read many of her adult books, but I think they’re basically like her teen books, only with older characters who have slightly different goals (starting families rather than making prom queen, for instance). Boy Meets Girl is adorable, with adorable characters and an adorable plotline. And as a bonus, it’s written in an interesting way: through emails and phone calls and IMs instead of straight narrative stuff. Continue reading »

REVIEW: ttyl by Lauren Myracle

Posted by Anastasia on February 2, 2012 6 Responses »

Feb 022012

016. ttyl by Lauren Myracle
Publication: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (April 1, 2005), originally published 2004, Paperback, 234pp / ISBN 0810987880
Genre: YA Fiction

Read: January 25-26, 2012
Source: Bought

Review

I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that for much of my life I was a Book Snob. I’d see a book like this one, with its bright pink cover, written in IM format, full of pop culture stuff– and I’d think it wasn’t worth my time. That it was silly, or stupid, or most likely both. I’d write it off as a “no way am I reading that” kind of book and that’d be a big mistake. Because ttyl? Isn’t stupid or silly or a book you should ignore. Maybe the cover is a bit over-the-top and maybe some of the pop culture stuff is dated now, but actually it’s a great book in a really clever format. Continue reading »

REVIEW: Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

Posted by Anastasia on January 10, 2012 2 Responses »

Jan 102012

002. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
Publication: Tor Books (April 1, 2010), ebook, 333pp / ISBN 0765319519
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction sort of?, Alt. History as well!

Read: January 1-2, 2011
Source: Bought (Dec. 25, 2010)

Review

Like most books I buy, it’s been so long since I bought this one– over a year!– that all I could remember about Tooth and Claw was that it had dragons. And, well, yeah, it’s got dragons. But it’s got a lot of other stuff, as well! Continue reading »

REVIEW: A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar

Posted by Anastasia on December 16, 2011 2 Responses »

Dec 162011

161. A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar
Publication: Other Press (September 2, 2008), ebook, 303pp / ISBN 1590512723
Genre: Fiction (GLBTQ, too)

Read: December 4-7, 2011
Source: Bought

Summary from Amazon:

Nidali, the rebellious daughter of an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father, narrates the story of her childhood in Kuwait, her teenage years in Egypt (to where she and her family fled the 1990 Iraqi invasion), and her family’s last flight to Texas. Nidali mixes humor with a sharp, loving portrait of an eccentric middle-class family, and this perspective keeps her buoyant through the hardships she encounters: the humiliation of going through a checkpoint on a visit to her father’s home in the West Bank; the fights with her father, who wants her to become a famous professor and stay away from boys; the end of her childhood as Iraq invades Kuwait on her thirteenth birthday; and the scare she gives her family when she runs away from home.

Review

I was drawn towards buying this book mostly because of the cover. Isn’t it fab? And I think it fits the story well. This is a book that deals with things like parents who fight, being exiled from your country, coming of age, being half of one thing and half of another, remembering your family’s stories, and death and despair. But for all those sad things it’s still a very vibrant, exciting, and funny book. Not laugh-out-loud funny, necessarily, but funny in the way that life is funny if you have a sense of humor. Continue reading »

REVIEW: The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer

Posted by Anastasia on November 28, 2011 6 Responses »

Nov 282011

137. The Time Travelers (The Gideon Trilogy #1) by Linda Buckley-Archer
Publication: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (September 11, 2007), originally published 2006, Paperback, 416pp / ISBN 1416915265
Genre: YA Sci-fi, Historical Fiction

Read: October 31, 2011
Source: Bought

Summary from Amazon:

Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine — and Peter and Kate’s only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Peter, and Kate are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.

Review

For some reason, whenever I think about this book I can only remember the abysmal beginning, which is slow and boring and nearly caused me to get rid of The Time Travelers before I gave it a proper chance. I don’t know what it is about that beginning, but it throws a cloud over the rest of the book, which is MUCH better than that beginning would make it seem.

So, okay. Bad beginning. But after that bad beginning there is much joy to be found, and most of that joy is found in the characters. Though they were occasionally annoying and impotent, I thought that Peter and Kate were excellent kid leads. They had real kid emotions! Including crying! They didn’t have all the answers and they couldn’t fix things all by themselves. They had to connect with people and ask for help, and that’s kind of unusual in a YA action book, don’t you think? Continue reading »

The Sunday Salon (Nov. 13): Tiny reviews no. 2

Posted by Anastasia on November 13, 2011 2 Responses »

Nov 132011

I fell a bit behind in my reading this week. I got distracted by various things on Hulu, including– and this is exciting– the Magic Knight Rayearth anime! It’s dubbed, which is slightly unfortunate, but I’m just happy I found it for free. I’m planning on doing a review or something once I finish watching it; so far it’s almost exactly like the manga, both the good and bad.

Anyway, luckily I had a small surplus from last week’s reading which carried me over the days I didn’t finish a book, and so as long as I finish one today I’ll be back on track!

In other news: Thursday was my third blogoversary (woohoo!). I also went up a mountain that day. The Book Bloggers Holiday Card Exchange is still open for another two weeks or so. And…I’m really hungry, so I’m going to get breakfast now!

Here are this week’s tiny reviews. Continue reading »