Review - The Amazing Adventure of Paddy Platypus by Tom de Paolo

The Amazing Adventure of Paddy Platypus by Tom de Paolo
Released: March 27, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Age Group: Childrens
Pages: 76 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
Rating: 5/5

This is a really cute story about a platypus who gains instant fame for being a ferociously fast swimmer. Paddy doesn't really welcome the fame though and would much rather stay home and swim in his "own" swimming spots over the hustle and bustle of the big swim competitions forced on him by Sir Hugh.

My kids and I enjoyed learning about the platypus which we didn't know anything about or how they lived and the book streamlines with our little girls reading level because it is a chapter book and she is just now getting on that school level where these are a must read. The cartoon illustrations kept our younger child interested in the story as well.

kudos to what Paddy did at the end of the story! I think that is exactly what I woud have done as well!

Review - Xor: The Shape of Darkness by Moshe Sipper

Xor: The Shape of Darkness by Moshe Sipper
Released: March 24, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 296 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
Rating: 3/5
Author Site: Moshe Sipper

On his twelfth birthday Lewis Nash comes home from school to find that his house has blown up to smithereens, killing his father. Having lost his mother in an accident four years earlier, Lewis realizes he is now an orphan — but he has no time to dwell on it. The moment he gets off the school bus a fearsome wolf-man tries to grab him. The boy is saved in the nick of time by Master Long, who reveals to him that he’s a Shaper from a place called Xor, which is being devoured by the Realm Pirates.

The preface and beginning lured me in quickly with lots of promise of a whirlwind of a tale but after my initial excitement, sadly the magic wore off for me. I was onboard up until the point that all the world building and training took place but it was just too descriptive for me and where I began to lose interest.

Lewis had been whisked away to Xor after coming home to find his adoptive parents home blown up and his father perished and told he now was the only person who could save this strange new world and his birth parents but nobody knew how to really train him so basically time was running out and the blind was leading the blind so to speak and Lewis's sadness over losing his adoptive parents was really interferring with what training he was getting but gosh I can't imagine having to save a planet and family I knew nothing about when my own world had just come crashing down around me either!

The story in itself was a good one and I do recommend to middle graders or anybody who loves fantasy to read it but I think it lacked the action I was craving and in need of.

Review - A Rose in the Desert by Chi Emerole

A Rose in the Desert by Chi Emerole
Released: November 3rd 2011
Publisher: CreateSpace
Age Group: Childrens
Pages: 32 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
Rating: 5/5
Author Site: Chi Emerole

Filled with beautifully illustrated pages and a message for young and old alike. Rose lives in a war stricken country and longs to be able to see her other aunts, uncles, and cousins but the war makes it so difficult for get togethers. Rose gets a surprise on her birthday that helps alot.

I can't imagine being away from family or having to live the life of Rose in a jungle but the story tells how Rose and her family overcomes and prevails and makes the most of life as they have it. They don't have all the cool things we have like air conditioning or electric stoves and television but yet the pages are filled with laughter and joy. Families actually sit down to eat together, kids actually have chores to do and everybody is your neighbor. Heck 50 - 100 years ago I may have been describing our way of life huh?

Review - Me and My Manny by M.A. MacAfee

Me and My Manny by M.A. MacAfee
Released: October 12, 2011
Publisher: CreateSpace
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 242 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
Rating: 3/5
Author Site: M.A. MacAfee

To ease her loneliness, Judy Mason orders a wooden replica of her husband, Harry, a sailor aboard ship at sea. Instead of Harry’s facsimile, the anatomically incorrect manny turns out to be a caricature of him. No matter. Her girlfriends are not only envious that she has found a friend and potential business partner in the dummy; they also want to borrow him and pay for his company by the hour.

Me and My Manny covers quite a few genre's at once and is one of the cutest, maybe weirdest stories I have read this year! It has romance, comedy, and even a tad of horror as Judy and her husband cope with her wooden replica of him.

I don't think I have ever been lonely enough to want a lifesize doll of my hubby hanging around and I sure wouldn't want to "rent" him out but alas the predicaments Judy gets herself into over this doll is amusing and heartbreaking as well because the underlying reasoning of the whole situation was she was very lonely with her husband away all the time and their marriage had suffered because of it. But Wolfgang (the doll) seemed to make her husband a bit jealous and he continued to say that he was afraid that Wolfgang was trying to take his place. Judy laughs his suspisions away but then strange things begin to happen and she starts to wonder just what she may have gotten into.

Review - Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan

Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan
Released: July 24, 2010
Publisher: CreateSpace
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 310 pages
Format: Kindle
Source: Amazon Freebie
Rating: 5/5
Author Site: J.L. Bryan

Jenny's touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague. She can't control her power, so she devotes her life to avoiding contact with other people in her small Southern town. Her senior year of high school, she meets the one boy she can touch...but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the "Jenny pox" inside her to survive his devious, manipulative girlfriend, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all.

Not recommended for readers under eighteen.

I heard of this book from Loretta over at Between the Pages and OMG I finally had the chance to read it and loved it! Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention Loretta!

Jenny was an amazing character with a deadly power to kill anything her skin came into contact with including her mother on the day she was born. Her and her father have lived in fear of Jenny's gift/curse becoming exposed and having her exploited by doctors and such and Jenny has had to live her entire life in gloves and full body suits just to be able to have some semblance of an ordinary life. It broke my heart because she had no friends and no hopes for a future especially of falling in love and having kids of her own until one tragic moment when she has to rely on the help of a fellow classmate, Seth and realizes she is able to touch him without him suffering any discomfort, only his girlfriend, Ashleigh pure hates Jenny with a passion and things begin to heat up and other folks with hidden powers begin to emerge.

I can't believe I waited so long to read this one! It was fantastic. The characters were great and I loathed Ashleigh and her possee. There were a few all knowing moments but for the most part I couldn't imagine what was gonna happen next which I love in a story! I love having surprises tossed at me and Jenny Pox was full of them.