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nooralshanti's reviews
161 reviews
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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? No
5.0
Amari and the Night Brothers is an excellent middle-grade fantasy book that can be read and enjoyed by adults. It follows the adventures of a young girl named Amari who discovers that there is a supernatural world that exists right alongside and within the normal world she's so used to. Her brother, who is now missing, has left her a nomination for a tryout at the Department of Supernatural Affairs, so she has the opportunity to go to a summer camp and try out for a position in the Bureau. This not only opens up a whole new world for her, it also allows her to find out more about why he's missing and to look for him.
What follows is an excellent adventure where Amari learns to deal with an navigate her role in the supernatural world while at the same time learning to deal with and understand the racism and prejudice she faces in the real world. From the very beginning of the book the author shines a light on the prejudice that Black children face in their schools and daily lives in America and honestly portrays the struggles they have to go through. It's so refreshing to read a book that does this so well and at the same time weaves an excellent story full of magic and adventure.
There are some great sibling relationships and friendships in the book that develop in interesting ways over the course of the book. And, of course, the book explores rivalries as well as bullying. Amari is learning a lot about herself and about human nature as she learns about this supernatural world.
I love the way the author is able to weave his world-building in with very brief mentions of well-known myths and stories from our world that deftly explain how the supernatural world connects with the real one. It's very effective and flows well within the story while focusing on Amari's goals and interests.
This book is the first in a series, but it stands alone very well and tells a complete story from beginning to end. You won't be disappointed by cliffhangers or anything like that.
I didn't know if I should mention Harry Potter or not, but I think the comparison will be at the top of your mind even if I don't. I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter books and I think Amari and the Night Brothers does what the HP books did so well in terms of giving a sense of the magical and showing a young protagonist discovering a magical world. At the same time, Amari's story is unique and completely independent of HP, it does it's own thing, but I think it stands shoulder to shoulder with HP in terms of impact and I love that we get to see that type of story, the kid-discovers-magical-world story, from the POV of a young Black girl and see how different and unique this same set-up can be when looked at through a different lens. As others have mentioned, while this book deals with magical/supernatural things it feels a lot like an action/sci-fi story with the Bureau of Supernatural Investigations and agents, and all the rest of it.
Overall, I would highly recommend Amari and the Night Brothers to readers of all ages, whether you're already a fan of the genre or not. I think it would make a great entry point into speculative fiction - and into reading in general - for a lot of people young and old.
Child of the Daystar by Bryce O'Connor
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Kingfisher by Patricia A. McKillip
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Randomly found this on my library's overdrive. Chapter 1 was fine and I was thinking maybe I would finally get out of this reading slump. And then chapter 2 happened and it became pretty incomprehensible. There'll be one sentence that progresses the story and then an entire paragraph of momentum-killing description.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I recently watched "Anne with an E" on Netflix and realized that although I read this years and years ago I really didn't remember much about it. Not enough to compare to the show, anyway. So I decided to re-read the book. It was a good cozy, enjoyable read and I'm glad I re-read it. I particularly enjoyed Marilla's sarcastic tone and the way the book gradually shows the characters slowly changing as a result of their relationships.
Heartscale by Lola Ford
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Heartscale is an excellent book exploring the relationships between dragons and humans in various different kingdoms. I had picked up and put down several books before reading this one, unable to find one that caught my interest. Then I picked up Heartscale and I was into it from the start.
It follows the story of two main characters who discover and form bonds with dragons. One of them, Graith, is a farmer living in a land where dragons are feared and killed on sight - a land where dragons were hunted down and killed off years ago. He finds an injured dragon in his barn one night. The second character is a girl, Nerie, who find a way to go see the hatching of the dragon egg in the royal palace. In her kingdom, the dragons choose the next ruler and give them legitimacy.
Both storylines are gripping right from the start. Around the 20% mark I found the story dragged a little bit because it was following the minute details of their lives, but a couple of chapters later it became very interesting again.
The ending was a little bit less conclusive than I would have hoped, but it was a satisfying enough conclusion for the first in a series without me feeling cheated. The characters are well-written, the plot progresses well, there is plenty of interesting backstory to uncover throughout the story. There were a couple of points in the middle when I really wanted a map and a couple of little spelling mistakes that I was too interested in the story to care about, but other than it was an excellent read that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an easy to read, well-written dragon story!
Check it out!
It follows the story of two main characters who discover and form bonds with dragons. One of them, Graith, is a farmer living in a land where dragons are feared and killed on sight - a land where dragons were hunted down and killed off years ago. He finds an injured dragon in his barn one night. The second character is a girl, Nerie, who find a way to go see the hatching of the dragon egg in the royal palace. In her kingdom, the dragons choose the next ruler and give them legitimacy.
Both storylines are gripping right from the start. Around the 20% mark I found the story dragged a little bit because it was following the minute details of their lives, but a couple of chapters later it became very interesting again.
The ending was a little bit less conclusive than I would have hoped, but it was a satisfying enough conclusion for the first in a series without me feeling cheated. The characters are well-written, the plot progresses well, there is plenty of interesting backstory to uncover throughout the story. There were a couple of points in the middle when I really wanted a map and a couple of little spelling mistakes that I was too interested in the story to care about, but other than it was an excellent read that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an easy to read, well-written dragon story!
Check it out!
Windward by S. Kaeth
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
It had some interesting ideas, but it was moving too slowly for my current mood... I've been unable to finish a book for the past couple of months so... may come back to it when I'm in a better reading mood.