Nimona

Book talk: Lord Blackheart has been plotting the downfall of the self-righteous do-gooder Sir Goldenloin for years. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that he's a powerful and nefarious villain. Not the type to take a teenage girl under his wing. That's exactly why Nimona wants to become his sidekick. She only wants to work for the best, most evil, scientist and she's determined to land the job. She has a few tricks up her sleeves: her penchant for crime, her bantering skills, and oh yeah, she's a powerful shapeshifter. Together, they'll show the world who's really evil.

Rave: This comic had me laughing from the first page. Even the character names make me giggle. Ambrosious Goldenloin? Come on! Who wouldn't want to take him down a peg? Honestly I'd have been satisfied if it was just hilarious but it has a real heart underneath it all that makes me adore it. I can't recommend it enough.

Every book its reader: I'd give this to students 4th &; up looking for a funny take on the superhero/archenemy trope.

Extras: This is comes early on and I believe it's the precise moment I fell in love with this comic:



Source: school library

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson: buy it or check it out today!

Dangerous Review

Book talk:  When Maisie's father gave her the middle name 'Danger' he thought he was being funny. He didn't know how apt it would turn out to be. Maisie has wanted to go to astronaut camp ever since she was a little girl, so when she sees the contest on her cereal box she figures that it couldn't hurt to apply. She is shocked to win and even more so when she's selected to be part of an elite group that gets to visit the space elevator built by the eccentric genius who runs the camp. But what starts as a prize loses its luster when things go horribly wrong. All of their lives will be changed forever as they come to grips with new abilities and try to decide who, if anyone, they can trust.

Rave:  Aliens, superheroes, cool gadgets, and epic fight scenes: this book has it all.  This book breaks the mold in many ways.  The characters excel in science but spout off memorized lines of poetry.  They are multilingual and diverse and resist easy categorization into good and evil.  Maisie actually has a good relationship with her parents and they are willing to drop everything to help her (plus the Dad has a fondness of puns that won me over.)  There is a strong romantic element and a bit of a love triangle but the triangle is quickly dealt with instead of drawn out. Cheesy pick up lines are properly rebuffed (" Do girls usually respond to that kind of talk?"/"You'd be easier to woo if you were dumb.") in favor of emotional engagement and banter involving references to Greek mythology, poetry, and science.  Now that's a trend I can get behind!  ("You be Europa, and I'll be your Jupiter" is my favorite pick up since Eleanor & Park's Bobba Fett analogy)  Even the supporting characters show surprising sides like the muscle-bound head of security singing Opera in a faux soprano when he's alone.

Rant:  A few characters are still disappointingly two dimensional like the stereotypical greedy villain willing to go to any length for a profit.  There are some issues brought up that I wish Hale had spent more time with like the abuse in the back story of one of the supporting characters. There were moments where characters die or other horrific things happen that I felt should have had more of an impact and emotional weight than they did because we didn't get to know the characters well enough or the context was sped through.  These were probably sacrifices made to keep the plot moving quickly which plenty will appreciate but given the choice I'd have preferred a more thoughtful examination of these elements even if it meant a slower pace.

Every book its reader:  I'd give this to fans of science fiction and super heroes looking for a fast-paced thriller.

Extras:

Shannon Hale has her own website with more information on the book including a great post on neutral characters and relating to the specific and another on the book's history.

The publisher made a teaser trailer for the book with an endorsement from James Dashner that impressed several of my students:



Bonus Quotes:

"The afternoon was yellowing around the edges like old paper."

"I am looped in the loops of her hair."

"Cheddar is as gouda cheese as you can hope to try. But it’s nacho cheese, so leave my provolone."

"Poetry reminds me of looking at things through a microscope...I examined things I thought I knew--a strand of my hair, a feather, an onion peel. Seeing them up close, they changed."


Source: ebook from public library

Dangerous by Shannon Hale: buy it or check it out today!

Gum Girl Review

Book talk:  Have you ever had gum stuck in your hair? How did you get it out?  Gabby's mother uses peanut butter to do the trick, but she warns Gabby to stop her constant chewing.  But Gabby just can't resist and after all, how would her mother ever find out?  Then she blows a giant bubble that touches the telephone wires and electrocutes her.  This turns her into the gumazing gum girl!  At first Gabby just wants to get out of the sticky situation, but she soon realizes that being the gum girl has its advantages.  Will Gabby save the day--or will she just get busted?

Rocks my socks:  This quick read is packed full of laughs and classic super hero tropes.  There are ample illustrations in black, white, and bubblegum-pink that show off gum girl's special powers and crime-fighting action scenes.  The occasional Spanish word is used and introduced in ways that are easy to understand.  There aren't many early chapter books starring Latina characters, so I was excited to find this one.

Rocks in my socks:  The plot and characters are a bit cliche, but it makes the story easy to follow which makes sense for an early chapter book.  Especially considering that this is at the easier end of the early chapter spectrum with many pages only containing a few words in dialogue bubbles.

Every book its reader:  This is an excellent early chapter books for fans of superheroes and humor.  A fast, engaging read for those just diving into chapter books.

Extras:  

Rhode Montijo has a blog where you can find early sketches for the book:  http://rhodemontijo.blogspot.com/

Source: school library

The Gumazing Gum Girl by Rhode Montijo: buy it or check it out today!

H.I.V.E. Review

Book talk:  Otto is one of the chosen ones.  He is plucked out of his life as an orphan and taken to a school that few even know exists.  There he takes specialized classes different from any normal school curriculum with a group of kids with special abilities who are destined to change the planet.  But H.I.V.E. is no Hogwarts.  Though the school often seems magical, it is technology that runs it.  Otto and the others are being trained not to save the world, but to terrorize it.  The Higher Institute of Villainous Education is where the world's best evil masterminds and henchmen are trained.  Otto isn't just a student, he's also a prisoner.  You cannot refuse an invitation to H.I.V.E., and once you're in there's no escape or communication with the outside world.  But Otto isn't used to taking orders or doing what he's told.  Soon H.I.V.E. will realize that when they recruited Otto, they got more than they bargained for.

Rocks my socks:  I love the way the novel takes super hero and fantasy tropes and turns them on their head.  Otto and his friends are picked up because they have a potential for evil, but they aren't plain villains.  They're being held against their will in many cases and they struggle to fit in without allowing the darkness of the place overwhelm them.  Just like Harry Potter and his friends, they learn to trust each other and use their various strengths to work together; but they do it while fighting the evil tendencies that are being cultivated in each of them.  I love the computer intelligence of H.I.V.E. mind and the way the students recognize and value its emerging intelligence.  It reminded me of poor Dobby.  Hopefully H.I.V.E. mind fares better because I get overly attached to fictional artificial intelligences.  The book is fast-paced, humorous, morally complex, and still manages to drive home some positive messages about friendship and acceptance, which is no easy feat.

Rocks in my socks:  The book felt a bit formulaic at times with the headmaster giving an evil is just misunderstood ambition speech that I felt I had heard dozens of times.  Plenty of well-used tropes from magical boarding school fiction are trotted out.  It's meant to be a quick, fun read though so none of that bugged me that much.  What really annoyed me was all of the fat-shaming it did around the character Franz.  A lot of cheap jokes are made at his expense and in a narrative that otherwise makes a point about accepting others and not judging based on appearance, I found this particularly disappointing.

Every book its reader:  I'd give this to fans of superheroes or spies.  There's a lot of fast-paced action and high tech gadgets that are sure to attract readers.  Fans of Catherine Jinks's Evil Genius will enjoy this take on villainous education.  I'd give it to grades 5 and up.

Extras:

Mark Walden has website with more information about him and his books.

The series has its own official website with an oddly entertaining evil laugh generator, a grapple game, and a test to see which stream you'd be in.

It also has an unofficial wiki page

Bloomsbury also has a page for the books

There's a trailer for the book:


And a video interview with the author:


Bonus Quote:

“Life at H.I.V.E. may have its attractions after all, Otto thought. Friends, as they say, may come and go, but high-powered laser weapons are forever.”
Source: school library

H.I.V.E. The Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden: buy it or check it out today!