Showing posts with label 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2011. Show all posts

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Review: Trapped by Michael Northrop

TrappedTitle: Trapped
Author: Michael Northrop
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publishing Date: February 1st, 2011
Pages: 232
Audio Length: 5 Hours and 48 Minutes
Genre: YA Survival Contemporary
TW: N/A
Series: Standalone
Source: Audio
 

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. . . .
Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision

What made me pick this book up:
I needed a book about winter and this was the best I could find.

What did I like about the cover:

I like the snow. I feel like it fits the book well.

What made me read this book:
I needed a book about winter for my January reading challenge and this one looked really good.


What did I like the most:
I really liked the idea. The premise was good. Teens stuck in a school. Alone with no adults. The idea that they have to survive presumably without electricity, food, or warmth. 

I felt like it could have been a really good survival story, it had so much potential. 

That's about it as far as what I like goes to be honest.

What didn't I like:

This wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was expecting a crazy edge of your seat survival thriller. With things at least kind of happening. 
But instead this was a very slow more contemporary book. Nothing REALLY happened until the end and then the end was just... not really much of an ending. At all. There was no resolution. 

I kept getting the characters mixed up and it didn't even feel very realistic to me. It was just kind of a clipped story. 

I was just very disappointed in this book. I expected a lot more.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this

author?
Probably. I'd give him one more chance. The writing wasn't bad per say. Just not what I was expecting.


Disappointing. Not really a survival book.








“I was thinking: Is this what love is, feeling like you've been spun around underwater? Forgetting how cold you are, until she looks up and you look down and you're embarrassed and the world comes rushing back in? Or is love not being able to get that image out of your head, the image of the moment right before she looked up?”
― Michael Northrop, Trapped


When We Were LostDark Inside (Dark Inside, #1)The Loners (Quarantine, #1)


Michael Northrop is the New York Times bestselling author of Scholastic's new multi-platform series, TombQuest. His first young adult novel, Gentlemen, earned him a Publishers Weekly Flying Start citation, and his second, Trapped, was an Indie Next List selection. His first middle-grade novel, Plunked, was named one of the best children's books of the year by the New York Public Library and was selected for NPR's Backseat Book Club. He is originally from Salisbury, Connecticut, a small town in the foothills of the Berkshire mountains, where he mastered the arts of BB gun shooting, tree climbing, and field goal kicking with only moderate injuries. After graduating from NYU, he worked at Sports Illustrated Kids magazine for 12 years, the last five of those as baseball editor.

Friday, January 24, 2020

Mini Reviews: Canterville Ghost, Lullaby, and Everything Alice



The Canterville Ghost
Title: The Canterville Ghost
Author: Oscar Wilde
Publisher: Unknown
Publishing Date: February 23rd, 1887
Pages: 126
Audio Length: 1 Hour and 12 Minutes
Genre: Classic Short Stories
TW: N/A
Series: Standalone
Source: Audio
 

This is Oscar Wilde's tale of the American family moved into a British mansion, Canterville Chase, much to the annoyance of its tired ghost. The family -- which refuses to believe in him -- is in Wilde's way a commentary on the British nobility of the day -- and on the Americans, too. The tale, like many of Wilde's, is rich with allusion, but ends as sentimental romance...
Mini Review:
I in general do not like Classics. There's very few I enjoy. I saw that this was a short book and decided that I wouldn't be wasting a ton of time if I didn't like it.
But I really liked it! The ghost was sassy and funny. The family was like "whatever we have a ghost" and it was all just like "Yepp this is my life now." And I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh and I for some reason really related to this ghost. I kept saying "Same!" whenever he got frustrated or what not. 


LullabyTitle: Lullaby
Author: Jonathan Maberry
Publishing Date: October 4th, 2018
Pages: 14
Audio Length: 37 Minutes
Genre: Horror
TW: Death of an infant
Series: Standalone
Source: Audio
 
The fears and horrors of being a new parent take on a shocking dimension in in this heart-stopping original story, only from Audible. A young married couple, Matt and Gillian have just bought a gorgeous house located next to a lake in the Catskills. They want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city to raise their baby girl, Hope, in relative peace and quiet. When night falls, however, their dream home becomes a house of nightmares. Matt and Gillian soon learn that darkness takes many forms. And sometimes, darkness is hungry.
New York Times best-selling author and Bram Stoker Award winner Jonathan Maberry delivers a haunting Audible Original that will give listeners the Halloween creeps all year round. Scott Brick, the man with the golden voice, perfectly captures the experience of hearing a classic ghost story told around the campfire.
Mini Review:
I was super excited when I heard about this book. I wasn't expecting it to be so short so that was a shock. 
I had a hard time listening to this, because of losing my boys. I felt like it was a good short story though. There wasn't any reason to be any longer. It was kind of creepy still.


Everything Alice: The Wonderland Book of Makes and Bakes
Title: Everything Alice: The Wonderland Book of Makes and Bakes
Author: Hannah Read-Baldrey, Christine Leeach
Publishing Date: January 1st, 2011
Pages: 143
Audio Length: N/A
Genre: Arts and Crafts/ Recipe book
TW: N/A
Series: Standalone
Source: Book
 

Welcome to Wonderland
Enter the magical world of "Everything Alice," where nothing is quite as it seems! The tales of Alice in Wonderland provide the inspiration for a charming and original collection of 50 makes, ranging from a hand-sewn rabbit toy and pompom-decorated slippers to a papercraft party invitation tea set and cut-out-and-keep dress-up dolls. Who wouldn't be seduced by a red polka dot frilly apron to wear while baking cupcakes fit for a king or a heart-shaped pinboard to house precious keepsakes, all designed and made by Christine Leech and Hannah Read-Baldrey. This book is the creative must-have for any Alice lover, whatever their age.
Mini Review:
Oh my goodness I freaked out when I got this for Christmas. Forget everything else I got that day, this was the best. I thought it was going to be just recipes. NO! It has crafts and recipes and everything and I love it. It's easy to follow, has patterns you can follow. And pictures! I love pictures. 




 
Imagination Designs