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caronpescatore's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this first story in the Sophie Washington series. It is engaging and realistic and teaches a lesson about using adversity to motivate hard work. Sophie's parents push her to sign up for the school spelling bee, the last thing she wants to do. However, once Sophie signs up, the class know-it-all tells her she's wasting her time because he intends to win. This boy's dig is just the impetus Sophie needs to push her to work hard to beat him. What ensues is a fun story about how Sophie ultimately reaches her goal.
The characters include Sophie's dentist dad, her mom, and her younger brother, Cole, who Sophie finds equally irritating and loveable, depending on the moment. LOL We even have a cameo visit from Sophie's grandmother on her father's side. I truly loved the family aspect of this story. This is an excellent book for children 8-12, and IMO, kids as young as 6 or 7 would enjoy reading it or having it read to them.
The characters include Sophie's dentist dad, her mom, and her younger brother, Cole, who Sophie finds equally irritating and loveable, depending on the moment. LOL We even have a cameo visit from Sophie's grandmother on her father's side. I truly loved the family aspect of this story. This is an excellent book for children 8-12, and IMO, kids as young as 6 or 7 would enjoy reading it or having it read to them.
msshonni's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this to be a great book for kids to read and learn how to handle bullies. I enjoyed how descriptive it is of the typical perception of how school age children relate to their day to day situations.
desantismt's review against another edition
3.0
Sophie Washington never fails to make me smile. She's a great kid protagonist, and her stories are full of fun and important lessons. Recommend for early chapter book readers.
desantismt's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read an excerpt and follow the Goddess Fish book tour here.
Tonya Ellis does it again with another adorable Sophie Washington story full of fun and heart and subtle lessons. Whether or not you observe Lent, we all know the difficulty of trying to give something up. Sophie and her brother acted exactly as I’d expect kids to act when faced with forty days without something they like. I’m continuously impressed with how effortlessly Ellis captures the mind of a kid.
This book felt more packed with lessons than the other Sophie Washington books I’ve read. Despite this, I at no point felt preached to. The lessons are delivered in a realistic way with concrete examples. Not only is there lots of learning going on, but Sophie does a decent amount of growing up in this book. It was nice to see her evolve, since at the beginning of the book, Sophie observes that she’s older and understands more things. I definitely saw the truth of her statement throughout.
I really felt like I got to know Sophie’s parents a little better in this book. THE GAMER is very family-centric. In keeping with Sophie feeling more grown-up, her parents seemed to treat her like she has matured. Very good consistency. I think my favorite part was actually family game night at the end. Without spoiling, it showed an exception to one of the lessons Sophie’s brother grappled with and supported the idea of “everything in moderation.” It was such a heartwarming scene of family time, too. Another great read from Ellis. Looking forward to more Sophie Washington.
Read an excerpt and follow the Goddess Fish book tour here.
Tonya Ellis does it again with another adorable Sophie Washington story full of fun and heart and subtle lessons. Whether or not you observe Lent, we all know the difficulty of trying to give something up. Sophie and her brother acted exactly as I’d expect kids to act when faced with forty days without something they like. I’m continuously impressed with how effortlessly Ellis captures the mind of a kid.
This book felt more packed with lessons than the other Sophie Washington books I’ve read. Despite this, I at no point felt preached to. The lessons are delivered in a realistic way with concrete examples. Not only is there lots of learning going on, but Sophie does a decent amount of growing up in this book. It was nice to see her evolve, since at the beginning of the book, Sophie observes that she’s older and understands more things. I definitely saw the truth of her statement throughout.
I really felt like I got to know Sophie’s parents a little better in this book. THE GAMER is very family-centric. In keeping with Sophie feeling more grown-up, her parents seemed to treat her like she has matured. Very good consistency. I think my favorite part was actually family game night at the end. Without spoiling, it showed an exception to one of the lessons Sophie’s brother grappled with and supported the idea of “everything in moderation.” It was such a heartwarming scene of family time, too. Another great read from Ellis. Looking forward to more Sophie Washington.
desantismt's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read an excerpt and follow the Goddess Fish book tour here.
This series just keeps getting better and better! Ellis captures the mindset of a preteen girl effortlessly. I love seeing what adventures Sophie and her friends get into, not to mention the great lessons they learn along the way.
With STEM such a big topic right now, this book’s focus on coding felt timely. Ellis explains the basics of coding in enough detail to spark interest but in simple enough terms for her target audience. I enjoyed the project Sophie and her friends came up with, and the outcome for their team fit the story well and added to the lessons being taught.
As always, the family dynamic between Sophie, her brother, and her parents was exquisitely drawn. Sophie and her friends also have great chemistry on the page. With their coding project, I felt like the diversity of Sophie’s group really shone in this book. The addition of a new friend to their group was also really nice. The girls all felt realistic in every way, especially when they decided to enter the coding competition to show-up the boys. So sixth grade right there.
In short, I really enjoyed this. I hope there’s more to come for this series, and I’ll definitely be first in line to read any future books.
Read an excerpt and follow the Goddess Fish book tour here.
This series just keeps getting better and better! Ellis captures the mindset of a preteen girl effortlessly. I love seeing what adventures Sophie and her friends get into, not to mention the great lessons they learn along the way.
With STEM such a big topic right now, this book’s focus on coding felt timely. Ellis explains the basics of coding in enough detail to spark interest but in simple enough terms for her target audience. I enjoyed the project Sophie and her friends came up with, and the outcome for their team fit the story well and added to the lessons being taught.
As always, the family dynamic between Sophie, her brother, and her parents was exquisitely drawn. Sophie and her friends also have great chemistry on the page. With their coding project, I felt like the diversity of Sophie’s group really shone in this book. The addition of a new friend to their group was also really nice. The girls all felt realistic in every way, especially when they decided to enter the coding competition to show-up the boys. So sixth grade right there.
In short, I really enjoyed this. I hope there’s more to come for this series, and I’ll definitely be first in line to read any future books.
desantismt's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read an excerpt and follow the Goddess Fish book tour here.
Yet another marvelous Sophie Washington story! I love how every book expands on Sophie’s life at school and at home. She’s already participated in a spelling bee and joined the cheerleading squad. Having her expand to Tennis was so great to watch. She’s a fantastic role model for kids everywhere that they don’t have to be just one thing and that it’s all right to get help and even not to be the best all the time. It’s doing and trying that count, not necessarily excelling.
One of my favorite things about this book was the older girls and how Sophie dealt with them. Like many kids do, Sophie gets caught up in wanting to be liked by people she deems as worthy. She slips up and is mean, but she realizes her mistake. By the end, she’s not afraid to do what she believes is right. The more I read about this girl, the more I just like who she is.
This book also introduced Diabetes in a way that kids could learn both by hearing information and seeing the disease in action. As always, Ellis presented information in an interesting and educational way without preaching. I am always blown away at how appropriate these books seem for the target audience. They are the kind of reads I would have gobbled up at that age and that I just think are wonderful as an adult. I look forward to more installments and adventures.
Read an excerpt and follow the Goddess Fish book tour here.
Yet another marvelous Sophie Washington story! I love how every book expands on Sophie’s life at school and at home. She’s already participated in a spelling bee and joined the cheerleading squad. Having her expand to Tennis was so great to watch. She’s a fantastic role model for kids everywhere that they don’t have to be just one thing and that it’s all right to get help and even not to be the best all the time. It’s doing and trying that count, not necessarily excelling.
One of my favorite things about this book was the older girls and how Sophie dealt with them. Like many kids do, Sophie gets caught up in wanting to be liked by people she deems as worthy. She slips up and is mean, but she realizes her mistake. By the end, she’s not afraid to do what she believes is right. The more I read about this girl, the more I just like who she is.
This book also introduced Diabetes in a way that kids could learn both by hearing information and seeing the disease in action. As always, Ellis presented information in an interesting and educational way without preaching. I am always blown away at how appropriate these books seem for the target audience. They are the kind of reads I would have gobbled up at that age and that I just think are wonderful as an adult. I look forward to more installments and adventures.
desantismt's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Read an excerpt and follow the book tour here.
I feel like I say this every time I read one of these books, but this series just keeps getting better. Sophie is a joy to read about. Her friends are so much fun, and the challenges the kids face are nothing short of perfect. I always learn something from Sophie and her friends, and I’m certainly well above the target age range for this series. Also, owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees. I may have read that somewhere in middle school, but if so, I forgot, and this book reminded me. Fun facts, great characters, and real-life issues make these books worth every minute.
For Class Retreat in particular, I loved the sense of friendship and teamwork. Seeing Sophie and her friends team up with the boys to take down a common threat was wonderful. No violence, just good, old-fashioned MG fun of dealing with the issue. Not to say the issue wasn’t real. Bullying and racism are serious, and should be addressed as such. Sophie and the gang show what’s really important—not giving bullies power, and it’s done in a way for kids to understand easily without being dark or too heavy.
Long story short, I enjoyed this a lot. As always, Ellis captures the preteen voice. I felt like I was back in sixth grade, getting excited for three days without class. I hope there are many more Sophie Washington books to come. I’ll read them all.
I feel like I say this every time I read one of these books, but this series just keeps getting better. Sophie is a joy to read about. Her friends are so much fun, and the challenges the kids face are nothing short of perfect. I always learn something from Sophie and her friends, and I’m certainly well above the target age range for this series. Also, owls can rotate their heads 270 degrees. I may have read that somewhere in middle school, but if so, I forgot, and this book reminded me. Fun facts, great characters, and real-life issues make these books worth every minute.
For Class Retreat in particular, I loved the sense of friendship and teamwork. Seeing Sophie and her friends team up with the boys to take down a common threat was wonderful. No violence, just good, old-fashioned MG fun of dealing with the issue. Not to say the issue wasn’t real. Bullying and racism are serious, and should be addressed as such. Sophie and the gang show what’s really important—not giving bullies power, and it’s done in a way for kids to understand easily without being dark or too heavy.
Long story short, I enjoyed this a lot. As always, Ellis captures the preteen voice. I felt like I was back in sixth grade, getting excited for three days without class. I hope there are many more Sophie Washington books to come. I’ll read them all.
hallamahamster's review against another edition
4.0
I won a giveaway! What a great book to win.
This is a great middle grade book about Sophie and her friends, just being kids. This book focuses on tennis and making a new friend, Mackenzie, and her illness, written in a kid-friendly, clear way. I'm glad there are so many Sophie books out already. She's a real, flawed, genuine character who learns from her mistakes and interacts with her brother and family in a believable way.
Picky side note: The copy editor needs to take another look at the content, I saw a few punctuation errors that slipped past. My editing services are available, Ms. Ellis!
This is a great middle grade book about Sophie and her friends, just being kids. This book focuses on tennis and making a new friend, Mackenzie, and her illness, written in a kid-friendly, clear way. I'm glad there are so many Sophie books out already. She's a real, flawed, genuine character who learns from her mistakes and interacts with her brother and family in a believable way.
Picky side note: The copy editor needs to take another look at the content, I saw a few punctuation errors that slipped past. My editing services are available, Ms. Ellis!
wadezone's review against another edition
5.0
This series is a great set of stories for young children to read. It covers topics that kids their ages are experiencing everyday. The book contains some great life stories the children can relate to. I look forward to sharing them with grandkids.
wadezone's review against another edition
3.0
This isn't my favorite Sophie Washington stories. The story is still part of a good series and it provides a generally good message. There were parts of the storyline that made me feel it was unrealistic.