The Wild Robot Escapes

I recently read The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and was excited to finally get the sequel, The Wild Robot Escapes, off the hold list at the library. I won't put in a summary of the sequel here since that would give away the happenings of book 1, so click here to read about The Wild Robot.

This was such a fun read. I loved how everything happened and turned out, and the characters were so lovable. The book had adventure and stressful things happen, but it was never so much that I got too stressed out by it. I just felt like the story was perfectly balanced with a great ending. I kind of hope there is a third book. Maybe it could be The Wild Robot Returns or something. :)

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Mustaches for Maddie

My sister Molly recommended Mustaches for Maddie. It is the story of Maddie, a sixth grader who loves to wear fake mustaches to be funny, and the book follows the friendship drama and happenings at school. Then when Maddie gets diagnosed with a brain tumor, she faces a scary new life. The book is based on the authors' daughter's real experience.

This was a great read. Maddie was such a great character, and the book was very addicting from the start--I just wanted to keep reading. I loved how realistic the friendship issues were with the girls at school. It totally reminded me of how it was when I was a kid with a kind of popular, controlling girl making everyone desperate to be her friend haha. I liked how Maddie learned and grew and figured out what it means to be kind and to a friend.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Underwater

My sister recommended Underwater by Marisa Reichardt to me, so I got it from the library. This is one of those books that I would ruin by trying to summarize, so I will just quote from the inside cover: "Morgan didn't mean to do anything wrong that day. Actually, she meant to do something right. But her kind act inadvertently played a role in a deadly tragedy. In order to move on, Morgan must learn to forgive--first someone who did something that might be unforgivable and then herself." There is so much more to the book, but sometimes I think it's better to know less going into a book and just enjoy reading it as it happens....so just read it.

This was a great book. It was one of those addicting books that I could not stop reading, so I kept trying to get Oliver entertained playing something for a few minutes so I could quickly pick it up and read some more. It was just completely engaging. I loved Morgan's character and felt like the author did a great job making her real and believable, and all the side characters were well-developed and great as well. I liked how the author built up certain things and dropped new things as the book went on. I felt like the romance side of the book was a little mushy, but I guess that's young adult literature. :) My only disclaimer to others is that there is a little bit of bad language in the book. But overall this was a great read. Because it's so addicting, it's a pretty quick read as well.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Hello, Universe

I saw Hello, Universe by Erin Estrada Kelly on the New York Times bestsellers list for children's books, and it caught my eye. It wasn't until after I read it that I realized it also won the Newbery Medal this year! (How did I miss the 2018 awards announcement a few months ago??) The book follows four kids in the same neighborhood--Virgil, Valencia, Kaori, and Chet. The inside of the dust jacket reads, "When Chet pulls an unthinkable prank on Virgil and Virgil's pet guinea pig, Gulliver, the lives of these four middle schoolers collide in surprising and unexpected ways. Just a coincidence? Or are some things meant to be?"

I really enjoyed this book. The book switched among three characters' points of view, which was I really liked. The characters were all so endearing, and I think the author did a great job developing each character and engaging me as a reader. I loved the conflicts and how things tied together in the end. I read the book mostly in one day since I kept wanting to pick it up, so that's always the sign of a great read. I think it's a well-deserved Newbery winner.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Refugee

I saw Refugee by Alan Gratz on the New York Times bestseller list for children's books. It tells the story of three fictional (but could be real) refugee children--a Jewish boy in 1940s Germany, a girl in Cuba in the 1990s, and a boy in Syria in 2015--and their journeys to escape the danger their families are facing.

This was an amazing book. It had me hooked from the beginning and was just heart-wrenching. I liked the quote on the cover that said, "Some novels are engaging and some novels are important. Refugee is both." I think that is completely true. This book really opened my eyes to the reality of the plight of refugees. Some parts were just painful to read, but it's because it's real and this is what refugees really have to go through. This was a very meaningful book and one I probably want to own. Highly recommended!

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)