My Recent Reads

      Hey guys! For the many of you who don't know, I love reading. I pride myself on having read Tristan Strong Punches A Hole In the Sky in less than two days and one of my favorite books is Out of My Heart (the sequel to Out of My Mind) by Sharon M. Draper. Reading is one of my number one hobbies, which is why I'm going to share with you a list of books I got from the library that I recently read.

1. I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

     This was like the girl version of Hatchet. If you've read it, you know what I mean. Overall, I liked this book, but it was disappointing in the end. I won't spoil it for anyone who wants to read it. All I'll say is that the protagonist, Jess, had a goal in mind, but made an ultimately stupid choice for a kid stranded on an island.

2. Lost Boys by Darcey Rosenblatt

     Like the first one, this book became wearisome and mundane during certain parts, and the ending was good, but also a bit disappointing. It built up to be a story where everything works out, then it seemed the author wanted to add a last-minute twist and dropped the happily ever after. Lost boys is a book that, after reading it, I kind of sat there letting it all sink in. Not a "wow" book, but surprising none the least.
     It isn't a light and happy book from the beginning. The protagonist is trying to figure out where he stands and if he wants to lose his life for his country since he has nothing left. After some eye opening, and even depressing events, having been near to death, he starts to abandon his religion, and his hope in the promises of a good life after he dies fade.
     Writing this, I'm realizing how good a book Lost Boys actually was. If you are looking for something to read, I might recommend it.

3. Nowhere Better Than Here by Sarah Guillory

     I don't know what it is with these books and the disappointing endings. Nowhere Better Than Here is about a girl named Jillian Robichaux living in the marsh, losing her home to floods. Her hometown is literally sinking. When she learns this, she begins to discover a lot of history of her home. As reality sets in, people move away, and the Robichaux family finds that they need to make a choice.
     Jillian, while fighting the idea of moving, is also fighting being like her dad, who left the family years ago. She has mixed feelings of wanting to like and accept her dad and not wanting to be anything like him.
     In the end, it starts to sound too much like an American Girl book. At a certain point the ending just spiraled down. I honestly think it ruined the rest of the book. 

4. The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements

     Overall, I have to say, this book was just okay. Andrew Clements has written some great books in his time. More than anything, Id say the book is more sad than anything.
     Frindle Files is a sequel to Frindle. Nick is all grown up. As you might guess, he's a teacher. But no one knows about Frindle and the war with Mrs. Granger. However, a kid in his class finds out about it and puts the pieces together. His teacher started the frindle war. The kid was kinda dumb. Harsh, I know, but really he was just inspired by what his teacher had done years ago to cause trouble. It turns into a war, and eventually something bigger and better. Something with a cause. And a good one. 
     Like I said, this wasn't the best book Andrew Clements ever wrote. But then I found out, by reading the last few pages, Clements died six years ago in 2019. He had been working on this book, which only needed a few small revisions. The cool part is that Brian Selznick (haha! Sells Nick - Selz-nick. IDK?), the cover artist for Frindle also designed the cover for Clements' last book. He wrote note in the back of the book, which is how I found out about the author's death. RIP Andrew Clements.

5. Finally Seen by Kelly Yang

     This book was actually really good. It was about a girl trying to figure out her place in her family while struggling with the guilt of leaving her grandmother in Beijing and embarrassment due to her broken English. This story was written by the same author of New From Here, a phenominal book which I definitely recommend. This book was also pretty good. I liked it. There was a part that I appreciated was Lina Gao's Father worked for a guy who could seen like the villain, but was really confused himself. He wasn't portrayed as only villainous, but a guy who made a lot of bad choices and often disrespected others. There were good sides to this man, although he, like many people, was neither all good or all bad. 
     As a book lover, this story harped on the connection a person can feel through a book. Kids from different cultures were able to relate with one another through the books they read and the characters they found to be like themselves. I think in real life, in every book character there is resemblance of the author and the reader.

6. Peter Nimble by Jonathan Auxier

     Now, this book was recommended to me a by a friend. She was reading this book and I took a picture of it. About half a year later I found it on the shelf at a library we go to. I got it realizing that this was the same book my friend told me about. But I have to admit, I haven't finished it. Why? Well, it started off a bit too outlandish and silly for me. As I continued reading, I kind of lost interest. So this book will probably be returned unfinished. However, I plan to read it again when I do an R&IT on our channel where I force myself to read books I don't want to read.

     More book content coming along the road. Next up might be my TBR list or my favorites list. Either way...

     Thanks for reading and hanging out! Comment your favorite books and check out our channel Radikal Kids for a video about my recent reads, favorite books, and TBR list, coming soon. Bye!