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saadamansayyed's reviews
34 reviews
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
4.0
Okay. So. This is a good book but has flaws dunked over it. Non spoilery speak, it's not predictable but the characters are meh. The execution is solid, but the concept is super generic. Regardless of my personal views on Joanne Rowling, it's a good book, but I've read far better.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
5.0
I'll shout this out loud - the most heartwarming book I've read is this. Yes, people seem to dislike the 'pity' factor that comes in, but I personally liked it for being really a very accurate description of middle school / fifth grade. Even though I don't look different or anything, I had similar experiences as the new, nerdy kid. Also - the povs are great. The only con is that the formatting of Justin's chapter is bad on purpose, kinda distracting.
NOW GO READ IT AS IT IS TIED FOR MY FAVOURITE BOOK.
NOW GO READ IT AS IT IS TIED FOR MY FAVOURITE BOOK.
Fish! Tales: Real-Life Stories to Help You Transform Your Workplace and Your Life by Harry Paul, John Christensen, Stephen C. Lundin
4.0
The book was good, and unlike the first book with a completely fictional company, they included brands like Sprint™ and major businesses (atleast in their areas) emulating the Famous Pike Fish Market people. But, it feels slightly off with the writing - some parts were dry interviews. But good for any business-y people who want to create a good workspace environment.
Champions of Science by John Hudson Tiner, Tiner John Huds
2.0
To be honest, it is pretty average. The descriptions are boring, the facts sometimes are inaccurate, and it's just a collection of boring Wikipedia articles.
Media Meltdown: A Graphic Guide Adventure by Liam O'Donnell
5.0
This was my first Book of 2021 and it was good. It follows a group of tech-savvy teenagers, which crackdown on the media using an alternative form of fandom.com - mediameltdown.net.
I agree with the positive representation of the internet, but .NET? Nobody uses that. But, that was probably because .COM was actually taken.
I like the fact there are not one POC characters, but multiple families of POCs and non-white characters. Good job, the representation of POCs are very good, inoffensive and feel non-forced.
All of this - I feel this is a good book which accurately depicts the paid, advertiser-held media of today.
Recommend this to kids with an extraordinary curiosity.
I agree with the positive representation of the internet, but .NET? Nobody uses that. But, that was probably because .COM was actually taken.
I like the fact there are not one POC characters, but multiple families of POCs and non-white characters. Good job, the representation of POCs are very good, inoffensive and feel non-forced.
All of this - I feel this is a good book which accurately depicts the paid, advertiser-held media of today.
Recommend this to kids with an extraordinary curiosity.
Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Grace Ellis, ND Stevenson, Shannon Watters
4.0
"The Lumberjanes" is one of the more popular comics of the mid and late 2010s. In fact, in 2015, it was picked up by FOX (pun intended, readers will get it.) to get a live-action adaptation. Disney cancelled it in 2019, and in late 2020, with the final issues of the comic being published, NBC's streaming service Peacock picked it up.
Firstly, would you let your kid read this? It depends. It has visible blood, fantasy violence, dark spooks and A LOT of swearing euphemisms - What in the Joan Jett, and ofcourse - WHAT THE JUNK? If you would let your child watch Gravity Falls and/or Adventure Time - then, yes, it is no biggie. If not, then this might be a little too violent for your taste.
Basically, it's a spooky summer camp (*cue Camp Wannaweep and Half-blood flashbacks*) where they fight a creepy bearwoman, punch foxes in the mouth (so hard that their mouth starts bleeding) and the foxes do something cult-like to light up the sky with "Beware the holy kitten", which is equally hilarious. A furry's worst nightmare.
The over-the-top humor paired with the visuals and the plot instantly reminds me of Cartoon Network, and before knowing about it getting picked up by NBC, I wanted this to be a CN show.
Nonetheless, good comic and I hope to love the next one.
Firstly, would you let your kid read this? It depends. It has visible blood, fantasy violence, dark spooks and A LOT of swearing euphemisms - What in the Joan Jett, and ofcourse - WHAT THE JUNK? If you would let your child watch Gravity Falls and/or Adventure Time - then, yes, it is no biggie. If not, then this might be a little too violent for your taste.
Basically, it's a spooky summer camp (*cue Camp Wannaweep and Half-blood flashbacks*) where they fight a creepy bearwoman, punch foxes in the mouth (so hard that their mouth starts bleeding) and the foxes do something cult-like to light up the sky with "Beware the holy kitten", which is equally hilarious. A furry's worst nightmare.
The over-the-top humor paired with the visuals and the plot instantly reminds me of Cartoon Network, and before knowing about it getting picked up by NBC, I wanted this to be a CN show.
Nonetheless, good comic and I hope to love the next one.
Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim
5.0
An adorable, immigrant story with a lot of humor and poignant moments, this story about comedy nerd Yumi is extremely amazing. Imagine, what if Hannah Montana became famous by stealing the name from an already-famous popstar and was a Korean parent with parents behaving as if they're stuck in Seoul.
This story deserves a five-star, go read.
This story deserves a five-star, go read.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
3.0
Artemis Fowl the Second is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind who sets out to revive his criminal family's fortune which his father lost in post-cold war situations. That is what the excerpts and the jackets tell you. Truth be told it did come true on the promise, just the thrilling part was a bit underwhelming and overshadowed by the fantasy element.
The story starts with the Ho Chi Minh expedition where Artemis and Butler (who I thoroughly enjoyed) try to get to the guy on the internet who offered them away to the fairy book, who led them to the rice-wine witch. That is the fun part. Holly Short and LEPrecon parts are the most boring per se.
The humans subvert expectations, while the fantasy characters are boring and could use some more dimension as to what their characters are. Especially Foaly and Root, who is sarcastic opposite-end-of-the-spectrums and that is a bit confusing. Especially with unmarked dialogue.
The book bashes humans aggressively, which I do not like the least bit. Human-hating was one of my pet peeves, and please stop calling our species "mud people".
The writing was good - and while going for eloquence, seemed just the teeny-weeny bit amateur, but not a recommendation stopper if I should say that. Overall, it was enjoyable to read, but it is not TOP 10 list material. Top 50 though.
METRIC RATINGS
In simple decimal out of 10, this would warrant around 7.89/10
CAWPILE - 6.8/3 stars
The story starts with the Ho Chi Minh expedition where Artemis and Butler (who I thoroughly enjoyed) try to get to the guy on the internet who offered them away to the fairy book, who led them to the rice-wine witch. That is the fun part. Holly Short and LEPrecon parts are the most boring per se.
The humans subvert expectations, while the fantasy characters are boring and could use some more dimension as to what their characters are. Especially Foaly and Root, who is sarcastic opposite-end-of-the-spectrums and that is a bit confusing. Especially with unmarked dialogue.
The book bashes humans aggressively, which I do not like the least bit. Human-hating was one of my pet peeves, and please stop calling our species "mud people".
The writing was good - and while going for eloquence, seemed just the teeny-weeny bit amateur, but not a recommendation stopper if I should say that. Overall, it was enjoyable to read, but it is not TOP 10 list material. Top 50 though.
METRIC RATINGS
In simple decimal out of 10, this would warrant around 7.89/10
CAWPILE - 6.8/3 stars
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
3.0
Artemis Fowl the Second is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind who sets out to revive his criminal family's fortune which his father lost in post-cold war situations. That is what the excerpts and the jackets tell you. Truth be told it did come true on the promise, just the thrilling part was a bit underwhelming and overshadowed by the fantasy element.
The story starts with the Ho Chi Minh expedition where Artemis and Butler (who I thoroughly enjoyed) try to get to the guy on the internet who offered them away to the fairy book, who led them to the rice-wine witch. That is the fun part. Holly Short and LEPrecon parts are the most boring per se.
The humans subvert expectations, while the fantasy characters are boring and could use some more dimension as to what their characters are. Especially Foaly and Root, who is sarcastic opposite-end-of-the-spectrums and that is a bit confusing. Especially with unmarked dialogue.
The book bashes humans aggressively, which I do not like the least bit. Human-hating was one of my pet peeves, and please stop calling our species "mud people".
The writing was good - and while going for eloquence, seemed just the teeny-weeny bit amateur, but not a recommendation stopper if I should say that. Overall, it was enjoyable to read, but it is not TOP 10 list material. Top 50 though.
METRIC RATINGS
In simple decimal out of 10, this would warrant around 7.89/10
CAWPILE - 6.8/3 stars
The story starts with the Ho Chi Minh expedition where Artemis and Butler (who I thoroughly enjoyed) try to get to the guy on the internet who offered them away to the fairy book, who led them to the rice-wine witch. That is the fun part. Holly Short and LEPrecon parts are the most boring per se.
The humans subvert expectations, while the fantasy characters are boring and could use some more dimension as to what their characters are. Especially Foaly and Root, who is sarcastic opposite-end-of-the-spectrums and that is a bit confusing. Especially with unmarked dialogue.
The book bashes humans aggressively, which I do not like the least bit. Human-hating was one of my pet peeves, and please stop calling our species "mud people".
The writing was good - and while going for eloquence, seemed just the teeny-weeny bit amateur, but not a recommendation stopper if I should say that. Overall, it was enjoyable to read, but it is not TOP 10 list material. Top 50 though.
METRIC RATINGS
In simple decimal out of 10, this would warrant around 7.89/10
CAWPILE - 6.8/3 stars