Entries Tagged 'Advance Reader Copy Review' ↓

by First Mate Keira, guest reviewer

Title: I Learned a New Word Today… Genocide
Author: Elizabeth Hankins
Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 150 pages
Grade Reading Level: 5^th – 8^th grade

Summary: Javier Mendoza is a 5^th grade student at Franklin D. Roosevelt Elementary. As part of an assignment for social studies he must keep a journal and tell what he learns about the new unit being taught by Mr. Steinberg, his social studies teacher. The unit is about genocide and specifically six genocides that happened in the last 100 years. It’s a fictional story filled with factual information.

Why I Read This Book:

This book was given to LYAF as an ARC. My sixth grade sister was going to read it but she found the subject too sad to really get into it for pleasure reading. I picked it up after that and read it over a couple of days.

Likes:

• Elizabeth Hankins keeps everything age appropriate. There are no gory details. When things are tough she keeps it light by having Javier boil the topic down to its basic components: genocide is sad, evil, terrible, and devastating.
• A lot of factual information is condensed into this 150 page book and through Javier’s definitions, reiterations, lists, and commentary one learns a lot. It will be easy for kids from 5^th grade to 8^th grade to understand.
• Two of the things gone over in the book are how genocide starts and how it is hidden or glossed over by others.
• It is a thinking book. Young and older readers will think about what genocide is and figure out how to spot it even when it’s not being labeled as genocide.

Dislikes:

I have only one dislike. Javier begins to question God’s presence in a world where genocide exists and He doesn’t stop it. Javier also questions whether or not God is good (page 58-59).

I was hoping at the end of the book Javier would come to a conclusion about both, but it was left unresolved and that really bothered me. I couldn’t tell why it was left that way even after Javier came to the conclusion he wanted to be a doer and not a watcher. What was the purpose?

One of the reasons for genocide listed in the book is religion and how people worshipped God. The book does say religion by itself does not cause genocide and Javier thinks if God is good and fair He would hate people fighting over Him. In my opinion genocide doesn’t happen because of God. It happens because there is a lack of Him, even and especially if people are using God as an excuse to do what they do.

In addition, faith groups are mentioned as great sources for good in the fight against genocide.

Still, I really wish once it had been brought up it had been dealt with more thoroughly. It is my only concern about the book because the message is unclear.

Last Minute Thoughts: Genocide is a sad topic and while the book a little heavy it is not overwhelmingly so for young kids. I think it would be a great companion for a unit study or in a literary group. I also think it would be a good book for adults looking to learn more about the subject without getting too wrapped up in the horrors involved. You can fill in the blanks well enough.

Buy: I Learned a New Word Today ... Genocide

Book Rating: 4 Treasure Chests

Keira runs a book review blog for readers by readers on romance novels entitled Love Romance Passion. She’s been reading romance since she was in her teens and began blogging about romance so she could share her passion for her favorite genre. She loves reading paranormal, Regency, historical America, and highlander most of all and completely adores blind and wounded heroes.

by First Mate Keira, guest reviewer.

Title: Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse
Author: Kaleb Nation
Page Count: 464 pages
Format: Hardback
Grade Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Summary: Bran Hambric is different from other boys and doesn’t even know the true extent of it. He was found as impossible as it might sound in a locked bank vault. Sewey Wilomas, the man who found him takes him home as he must under the Finders Keepers law. Eight years have passed and Bran still doesn’t know who his mother is or how he came to be in the city of Dunce’s third bank. All he has for a clue is a scrap of paper with his name on it directing him “To Clarence.”

Why I Started This Book:

I began this book for a number of reasons. The first is that I have been off and on watching Kaleb on youtube and twitter because of his Twilight involvement and he's just plain fun, his novel was sure to be too. Second, he’s approximately my age and wrote a fantasy story with a very interesting concept, how could I not support that by picking up the book? Third – who doesn’t crave a Harry Potter fix? Bran Hambric promised to be one and fulfilled it.

Note: While receiving this book early as a reader copy from the publisher, it is the final consumer version of the book.

Likes:

• Bran Hambric is set in the city of Dunce, a place that outlawed mages and gnomes and all things etcetera. Who couldn’t like something as silly sounding as that? Plus it’s the perfect setup to include all three!
• Sewey’s cursing: “Great Rot!” and “Great Moby!” Sewey is excellent for humor and spouting off the town’s ideology. He blames everything bad on gnomes.
• Polland the gnome. He’s a good character. I hope to see more of him in future Bran Hambric novels.
• The five kinds of magic: mental, physical, mortal, illusions, and natural.
• Shambles. Guessed his importance right off the bat and then doubted it until I got to the ending of the story.
• The bad guy #1 and in particular the Farfield curse. Very spooky.
• The cover! It's gorgeous! The illustrator was obviously influenced by Harry Potter but it still reads as it's own universe. Love.

Dislikes:

• The first 20-100 pages are really tough. Mainly because of the grammar issues that cropped up repeatedly. Most particularly the improper use of ‘and’ and ‘but’ in several long sentences. The author should have reversed the choice or gone with a smaller two letter transition word instead.
• Another issue was the occasional switching mid sentences between characters. For instance – Shambles would do something then the second part would be about Joris' actions however the subjective personal pronouns would still be reflecting back on Shambles.
• Mabel’s hypochondria. For some, I see this being humorous and fun, for me not so much. I was over it by the third time it was mentioned and she went crazy trying to ingest her body weight in them. Figuratively of course.
• The #1 bad guy didn’t seem to understand how to convince Bran to join the dark side as it were. He had 'compelling' arguments but they weren’t really tailored to what Bran truly desired which the bad guy should have known having been in Bran’s head.

Last minute thoughts: There are quite a few parallels to Harry Potter. I will be listing some in bullet format below, so for those not wishing to be spoiled I expect you to click away immediately.

1. Harry and Bran are in the care of families who don’t acknowledge them and both take the place as a sort of house elf. Bran however is treated much better by the Wilomas family than Harry by the Dursley’s.
2. Harry and Bran were vessels for the bad guy’s soul.
3. Their mothers were instrumental in saving them once from the baddies.
4. The major bad guys, Voldemort and Baslyn, do what they can to control the magical world and to defy death. Baslyn’s main magical power is concentrated on mortal magics.
5. Shambles while more similar to Golem than Dobby is of equal importance to Bran Hambric as they were to their stories.

Buy: Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse (Hardback), Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse (Audio Book)

Book Rating: 3.5 Treasure Chests

Keira runs a book review blog for readers by readers on romance novels entitled Love Romance Passion. She’s been reading romance since she was in her teens and began blogging about romance so she could share her passion for her favorite genre. She loves reading paranormal, Regency, historical America, and highlander most of all and completely adores blind and wounded heroes.

Originally posted 2009-09-15 03:09:21.