librarianryan's reviews
6656 reviews

Acception Volume One: A Webtoon Unscrolled Graphic Novel by Coco Ouwerkwerk

hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

 

This book! I was fully engrossed in this story. It does have its issues where it jumps from point to point and there’s no connection and it feels like there’s holes. But overall, this is an interesting and fascinating study. It’s about being different in a new school. It’s about the various people who will use you for what you have.  It’s also about true friends, family and hope and acceptance. Altogether the story was lovely, and I was not ready for it to end. I might have to go online to read the next part. 

The Sin Bin by Robbie Thompson

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 

This graphic novel merges monsters and hockey. We have a minor league enforcer and his teenage daughter who just wants her dad to make it to the big time. Her dad making the big time means she can stop moving and get a chance at the WPHL herself. But she found out her dad‘s got a funny little hobby called monster hunting. And that it runs in the family and that she is more special than she could ever have imagined. This is both fun and light horror. It has cheesy comedy, but the cheesiness works well with the story. The artwork is typical comic style, but the coloring is fantastic and brings the creatures to life both the in this world and the parallel world. Overall, this was a great and I would read something from this author and illustrator again. 

My First Book of Hiking by Stephanie Puglisi, Jeremy Puglisi

informative

2.0

 

Just like the first book of hiking this book is too long. Not only does it talk about different types of camping and where you go. It also gives sentences about real campsites. Too much in this type of book at one time. 

My First Book of Camping by Stephanie Puglisi, Jeremy Puglisi

informative slow-paced

2.0

 

This book is massively too long for a board book. I don’t even find it interesting and entertaining. The idea behind it is to get a kid ready for a hike by naming supplies and everything else but its book tries to do too much at once. 

Don't Disturb the Pirate!: A Bedtime Adventure by Rhiannon Findlay

lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

 

This book is fun. Its rhymes are contagious. The cadence is great and has a nice break where there needs to be, plus, that break is repetitive, so it makes sense. The illustrations are bright and colorful and are sure to grab any kids’ attention. 

Tripping Over You, Book 1 by Suzana Harcum, Owena White
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.

 

This book is a DNF at 97 pages. Two cute boys in boarding school like each other, but one is very uptight and the other is more lackadaisical and fun loving. There is something going on with the uptight one something about their father and needing to keep things on the down low. So Our fun loving guy who is an actor, keep things on the downlow for the other person even though it makes him a different person. This is just too much drama. I understand the serious boy wants to stay in the closet and has something to do with his father. There’s a section about consent. That is kind of nice. Nice is the wrong word but when you see it, you would get it. However, 97 pages felt like 300 pages. It felt like this was never ending and I have no desire to read the next 196 pages. 

On Guard! by Cassidy Wasserman

emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 

This story of fencing and family is one that I’ll have you in your feels. It’s a story out there for girls that don’t have the Gilmore Girls type of relationship with their mom. Its also about learning that not all friendships last forever but the best you can do is be you and try new things. This book was real and heartfelt and there will be girls out there that need this book, and it will be there lifeline while they are trying to figure out middle school. 

Lights at Night by Tasha Hilderman

informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

 

This is a look at a year and the lights that are seen in the night. Anything from headlights to porch lights to even the glow of the eyes of animals at night. What really sets this book apart is the illustrations. They’re colorful, but they’re also soft and nostalgic and have a dreamlike quality that is perfect to read right before bed. 

We Are the Scrappy Ones by Rebekah Taussig

inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

 

This is a book for all those children out there with anything considered a disability. It’s a book to let them know that they’re not alone that they are special and unique just the way they are and that there is community for them. The illustrator did a fantastic job including multiple variations of so-called disabilities, medical equipment, etc. Overall, this book was fantastic and a perfect addition to any Library collection. 

Orson and the World's Loudest Library by Laura Gehl

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There’s still this idea that Library should be quiet and a stereotype that Librarians shush. But in modern times a quiet library is usually a dead library. Libraries need activity and people to thrive. They need open discussions and chances to learn new things. This book celebrates a modern library and it’s about time more books about libraries made this the new stereotype.