noraquinn's reviews
51 reviews

Sweet Valley Twins: Best Friends by Nicole Andelfinger, Francine Pascal

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

I liked the message that people can have different interests as they get older and still be close

The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Did not finish book. Stopped at 98%.

Was kind of questioning sexism stuff throughout, decided I thought the ending was a little too sexist and some of the "respect your parents no matter what" at the start is also not ideal 

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Being inside the crazy lady's head & perhaps nobody in the story being framed as like the innocent perfect "good guy" made this super engaging. Certain aspects of characters made me wonder if any of this is based on the authors perception of someone around her. Pondering the futures of various characters. 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Started listening because my mom wanted to start it on our drive back from my uncle's house, it's my towns "read together" book this year. The half point off is because the octopus should have been allowed to talk more. Best character his opening is probably the best part of the book. Look at that guy! 

Billionaire Boy by David Walliams
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.

Weird jokes abt fat people that aren't needed. I don't think I'm going to put this or the last one in my classroom

The World's Worst Children by David Walliams

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I did not like this book. A child might. 

The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Full star off for being British

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.

Slur that wasn't a slur like that in 1999 + some things I think I might not put in my classroom given certain students background and the way some things are phrased. Might reconsider next school year because I really love these books. 

The Cosmic Beyond by Max Brallier

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

The .25 off is for the Harry Potter reference. These books are really good I like that they cover some more serious themes (belonging/foster care) while also being fun and unserious. 

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Super super interesting to listen to this after the book about the FLDS. A lot of the themes of isolation from family as punishment and of course sexual assault overlapped between the two even though this is about a LDS family not an FLDS family. I also find it very impressive Shari is able to have a (seemingly) healthy relationship with God and religion after her experiences. Hopefully this book & story will help get legislation passed around children as internet content. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault