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100pagesaday's review against another edition
3.0
Twelve Year Old Angela Ashby is dealing with a lot at the moment. Her parents are divorced and neither her mom or her dad seem to have time for her anymore. At school, there is a bully that loves to pick on Angela and her best friend, Mallory. Things begin to change, however when Angela and Mallory attend their school's carnival. A mysterious fortune teller gives each of the girls a gift, a necklace for Mallory and a journal for Angela. The journal comes with a warning though, "With great power comes great responsibility." It takes Angela a while to figure out what the warning means as the hopes and dreams that she writes down in her journal begin to come true in her life.
The Journal of Angela Ashby is an exciting and magical middle grade drama. Angela and Mallory were wonderful main characters and the inclusion of fairies, gnomes and unicorns helps to keep the book entertaining. The characters were realistic as pre-teens in their actions and motives. I enjoyed that the journal was not only a source of fun, but also responsibility that helped Angela to realize the impacts of her actions on those around her as well as help her grow into a caring person. There are also many good lessons on friendship, family and bullying. As an adult reader, the middle of the book got a little boring for me as Angela continued to test out journal entries to see what would happen, although this is also where many of the fun characters come in, so middle grade readers may be more entertained. Overall, an entertaining, supernatural adventure for middle grade readers.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
The Journal of Angela Ashby is an exciting and magical middle grade drama. Angela and Mallory were wonderful main characters and the inclusion of fairies, gnomes and unicorns helps to keep the book entertaining. The characters were realistic as pre-teens in their actions and motives. I enjoyed that the journal was not only a source of fun, but also responsibility that helped Angela to realize the impacts of her actions on those around her as well as help her grow into a caring person. There are also many good lessons on friendship, family and bullying. As an adult reader, the middle of the book got a little boring for me as Angela continued to test out journal entries to see what would happen, although this is also where many of the fun characters come in, so middle grade readers may be more entertained. Overall, an entertaining, supernatural adventure for middle grade readers.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
bethmitcham's review
4.0
I personally give this book a three, but that's because I have an aversion to books giving children responsibility for their parents' happiness in a divorce, even if it's the children's meddling that causes the immediate problem. But that's on me, not the book or the writing, and I think kids actually prefer books that emphasize their agency.
There were some dropped signals in this book, and a shift from an emphasis on the magic to the emphasis on solving real world problems that felt a bit clunky, but it was a fast read with an engaging narrator and a book I will give to a lucky winner at my book club with pleasure.
There were some dropped signals in this book, and a shift from an emphasis on the magic to the emphasis on solving real world problems that felt a bit clunky, but it was a fast read with an engaging narrator and a book I will give to a lucky winner at my book club with pleasure.
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