Reviews Written by B. and Toy Bookworms (Costa Rica)



My reviews
The Bewitching of Aveline Jones
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Review by Julie - Book & Toy (Posted on Monday, May 2, 2022)
This review gave 5 out of 5

Disclaimer - Books reviewed by Julie aim to help you know what the book is about and what ages and interests are best served. As we carefully research and love all the books we bring, the rating will always be a high one. This is why we encourage our readers to submit their own reviews and ratings. Read it - Live it - Share it ... and win new books to review.

I really enjoyed this title. Aveline is such a believable character, it could be the girl next door usually doing ordinary things, with ordinary family concerns, but she just happens to have an affinity for the supernatural and gets caught up in these strange sistuations. The plot is just right for the target age group to have them think about what’s going on and what could be about to happen as they read through. There is enough tension to keep them turning the pages and to not want to put the book down and this is present right to the end. A quick read for me, but a perfect book for late primary to early middle school ages.

Rebel Girls Mean Business
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Book Review by Julie - Book & Toy (Posted on Monday, May 2, 2022)
This review gave 5 out of 5

Disclaimer - Books reviewed by Julie aim to help you know what the book is about and what ages and interests are best served. As we carefully research and love all the books we bring, the rating will always be a high one. This is why we encourage our readers to submit their own reviews and ratings. Read it - Live it - Share it ... and win new books to review.

This is designed to inspire ordinary girls to be something extraordinary. It shows them that anyone can be an entrepreneur, but it does take perseverance, there are obstacles to overcome and it can take time. I however found that it also inspired me to do things differently and to be better. I very much like how women who were early pioneers have been included. I also like how women from careers usually underrepresented by females are showcased to demonstrate that girls can be engineers and scientists as well as very successful business owners. The range in ages is also well represented. You can be successful at a young age, or the idea may come later in life. There is no set moment to become an entrepreneur. However, I see it as being very USA centric with very few examples wholly outside of the United States. I would like to see more women from other countries. This is a book that expects to be sold in many territories and as such girls from all these other places need to see someone represented from their country. I do like the fact that I didn’t know many of the women featured, but it still included a few known names such as Rihanna.

Following Frankenstein
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Book Review by Julie - Book & Toy (Posted on Sunday, May 1, 2022)
This review gave 5 out of 5

Disclaimer - Books reviewed by Julie aim to help you know what the book is about and what ages and interests are best served. As we carefully research and love all the books we bring, the rating will always be a high one. This is why we encourage our readers to submit their own reviews and ratings. Read it - Live it - Share it ... and win new books to review.

I was so happy to be reviewing a book from Catherine Bruton and this was excellent. Good pace for middle school and enough clues to keep them guessing, but still with a nice twist at the end. The fact that one does not need to have read Frankenstein first is a real positive and I am sure that once children have read this book, they will be curious to read the actual Frankenstein book as a follow up. Following Frankenstein will work well as a set reading text for schools and I especially liked the subtle focus on diversity and not judging people by how they look. The way in which Maggie was determined to look out for her father despite his neglect of her due to his fanatical obsession with Frankenstein’s monster reflects the reality of many children and despite the nastiness of a number of characters, there was also kindness to be found. Another good discussion topic is of slavery and how awful and shameful this was (and still is with modern slavery still occurring).

Fledgling
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Book Review by Julie - Book & Toy (Posted on Sunday, May 1, 2022)
This review gave 4 out of 5

Disclaimer - Books reviewed by Julie aim to help you know what the book is about and what ages and interests are best served. As we carefully research and love all the books we bring, the rating will always be a high one. This is why we encourage our readers to submit their own reviews and ratings. Read it - Live it - Share it ... and win new books to review.

I enjoyed this book very much and tore through it. I loved the fact that is is different to all the other recently read titles. It’s also refreshing to have a plot that does not have a hidden message or is tackling some social issue. Whilst I’ve read some excellent books tackling social issues, it was just nice to read something completely different and let my mind and imagination roam freely within the text. I thought the plot level was just right for the age. Enough to have them guessing as they read but still with some surprises at the end. It’s a good book for school libraries and book clubs.

Love Radio
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Book Review by Julie - Book & Toy (Posted on Sunday, May 1, 2022)
This review gave 5 out of 5

Disclaimer - Books reviewed by Julie aim to help you know what the book is about and what ages and interests are best served. As we carefully research and love all the books we bring, the rating will always be a high one. This is why we encourage our readers to submit their own reviews and ratings. Read it - Live it - Share it ... and win new books to review.

So I LOVED this book. Where do I even start? It’s about Prince and Dani, two teens finishing high school and each with their own successes and struggles. Dani has a comfortable home life, although misses her military Dad when he’s away on operations. She is super focused on being a writer and inspired by a plethora of strong female characters who wrote, BUT has writer’s block and after an incident at a party has become a recluse shutting out even her best friends. Prince is a successful DJ who also gives out relationship advice and who dreams of making it big time. But the role he’s taken on to help run and finance the household and look after his younger brother for his MS stricken single mum is affecting his grades and prospects. But then again, what’s the point of being accepted at a great college if he can’t leave his mum to fend for herself? Prince has always fancied Dani, Dani has never given him a glance as she is too focused on her career, but maybe Prince is what she needs to get over her writer’s block and maybe Dani is what Prince needs to make him realise that his dreams and ambitions can be pursued. In the three dates that Dani gives Prince to win her over we get the chance to explore the lives of these two teens as they navigate the end of high school and taking the big step of independence by moving away to college. I liked the fact that both teens come from loving homes with parents who are supportive that we get to see the details of their lives, how they view their world and what is important to them. Both are decent well adjusted individuals struggling with challenges that a lot of young people can identify with. For us white people, we get some insights into frustrations of unintentional racism e.g. Prince can’t find picture books with children with dreadlocks in them. Dani’s friend is frustrated that white people have adopted certain looks with hair and nails which are now ‘cool’ although people of colour have used and dominated creativity in this area for years. I think that a lot of teens can identify with Dani and Prince and it is refreshing to see how there is a growing diversity in the backgrounds of authors currently being published. Well done Usborne for finding Ebony LaDelle. Definitely a brilliant read.