Waiting on Wednesday #59

This week I'm waiting on Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan and The Hollow City by Ransom Riggs. I love everything that David writes so that's a no brainer. Ransom Riggs nailed it with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and I can't wait to see what's next.

David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are

about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.

 While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.



Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it “an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.” 

This second novel begins in 1940, right after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends flee to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they encounter a dangerous madman named Caul, who also happens to be Miss Peregrine’s brother. Caul has discovered a way to rob Peculiars of their abilities and steal them for himself—and it will take all of Jacob’s efforts to save his friends from certain extinction. 

 Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly creepy) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten beginnings and endings...

Beginnings...

Every Day - David Levithan
"I wake up. 
     Immediately I have to figure out who I am."

Under the Light - Laura Whitcomb
"I used to practice leaving my body." 

Nothing - Janne Teller
"Nothing matters.
I have know that for a long time.
So nothing is worth doing.
I just realized that."

Beauty Queens - Libba Bray
A WORD FROM YOUR SPONSER
"This book begins with a plane crash. We do not want you to worry about this. According to the U.S. Department of Unnecessary Statistics, your chance of dying in a plane crash are one in half a million. Whereas your chances of losing your bathing suit bottoms to a strong tide are two to one. So, all in all, it's safer to fly than to go to the beach."

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone - Kat Rosenfield
"The night before Amelia Anne Richardson bled her life away on the parched dirt road outside of town, I bled out my dignity in the back of a pickup truck under a starpricked sky."

Endings...

Looking for Alaska - John Green
"So I know she forgives me, just as I forgive her. Thomas Edison's last words were: 'It's very beautiful over there.' I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful."

Imaginary Girls - Nova Ren Suma
"It sounded impossible, something no one would believe, Yet I was so sure that at any moment I'd open my eyes and see her. I'd open my eyes and see."

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone - Kat Rosenfield
"That the windows are empty, and the dust has settled. 
That there is nobody left to remember that summer.
That Amelia Anne Richardson is dead and gone.
And that the only thing left, heavy and sweet in the violet twilight, is the scent of wild roses."

This is Not a Test - Courtney Summers
"The dead girl presses her face against the glass. She waits for me to tell her what's next."

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
"I don't know how the heart withstands it.
 I kiss the ring, put it back into the cabinet next to the notebook, and close the door with the bird on it. Then I reach into my pack and take out the houseplant. It's so decrepit, just a few blackened leaves left. I walk over to the edge of the cliff, so I'm right over the falls. I take the plant out of its pot, shake the dirt off the roots, get a good grip, reach my arm back, take one deep breath before I pitch my arm forward, and let go."

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Stuff I Got This Week

Review:

Unbreakable - Kami Garcia

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night. 

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

These Broken Stars - Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. 

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Reality Boy - A.S. King

Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school. 

Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.

If Unbreakable is even half as good as Icons it will be great. I haven't read anything by the authors of These Broken Stars, but is sounds good. Somehow I have still not read anything by A.S. King. Clearly there is something wrong with me that I need to resolve. 

That's what I got this week, what did you all get?

Review: Under the Light - Laura Whitcomb

Where I got it: ARC from AmazonVine
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (Love how it matches the first one. I don't entirely get it though.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page Count: 237 p.
Add it: Goodreads
Companion novel to A Certain Slant of Light

Jenny has been out of her body for awhile. She didn't really expect it to happen, but it did. When she returns to it she realizes that someone else had lived in it while she was away. She was gone for quite awhile and things are very different in her world. She sort of wishes she could just go back to how it was before she returned to her body.

I read A Certain Slant of Light ages ago, but I apparently remembered enough to make some of the connections between this novel and that one. Because of the fact that I had read the first novel, albeit a long time ago, I can't really tell if this novel stands alone. It was a really beautiful and interesting read. I just love the whole concept of souls and life after death that Laura Whitcomb has created with these books.

This story was very interesting because it alternated viewpoints between Jenny and Helen. Helen was the main character in the first novel and also the ghost that takes over Jenny's body while she isn't in it. It was nice to see both sides of a haunting. It's not really something that gets written about a lot.

The story was a bit predictable, but that didn't make it any less beautiful. Whitcomb just has a nice way of writing about things that makes you feel as though you are in a dream. I felt just as aloof as Jenny as she tried to piece together what had happened.

I would love to be able to experience what Jenny did in the beginning when she was in the field and out of her body. It seems lovely to have that kind of freedom and power. I don't know if it would be fun forever, but it would be amazing for at least some length of time.

This is exactly the kind of novel I always wish that authors would write. A different viewpoint that lets you deeper inside a character that you didn't get to know in the first novel. There were some really great characters in these novels. I love Billy and James (of course). I would love to get to know Billy better.

After reading this one I wish I had reread the first one again, because I found myself missing James. I will probably reread it soon. If you haven't checked out these books yet, I recommend you do. They are an interesting perspective on bodies, souls and what happens when we die.

First Line:
"I used to practice leaving my body."

Favorite Line:
"I was a bad soap opera."

Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed - Page Morgan

Where I got it: ARC from AmazonVine
Rating: 5 stars  
Cover Rating: 4.5 stars (Very lovely.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 352 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Ingrid is happy to get out of England. After she had a bit of a scandal, she's ready to move on to a place where no one knows of the accident. Gabby is bit sad to leave the bustle of London, especially when she sees the run down place they are meant to inhabit. On top of all the other mishaps, they find that their brother, Grayson, has been missing. The police hadn't been called and no one in the family can quite understand why. The two sisters know that they will not sit idly by while they wait for people to start looking for him. As they take matters into their own hands however, they discover way more than the bargained for. Now they can realize the full danger that they are in and they understand why the police can't help them.

Loved it. Love, love, LOVE IT! I'm not sure I can even pinpoint what makes me love this book so much. I had started reading it before and put it down after a couple of chapters. This time I didn't stop and found myself sucked into the amazing world of Paris in 1899. This is a bit of an alternate Paris, magic and gargoyles and demons, still lovely though.

I love that this book has gargoyles in it. They aren't represented in novels all that often (or at least not ones I've read) and it was a great change. They are also very fascinating and Page Morgan did a fantastic job crafting this reality with them. The whole setting is eerie and beautiful. I really enjoyed that the creepy parts had creepy buildings to accompany them.

I loved each of the characters in this novel. I only wished we could have spent more time with each of them. Today I saw that there is a novella for Marcus out and I'll have to snatch that up soon.

Ingrid is a really intricate character. Her and her sister are both very strong women and I thought that was great for this book. They are on the cusp of the modern age and it shows. They both have strong ideas and opinions and have a hard time letting anyone get in the way. This sometimes can prove to be disastrous for them though.

I also want more on Luc. I want more about the Dispossessed, and The Order and The Alliance. I didn't feel like the book was lacking. I think we got as much description as necessary, more would have been an info dump. I still crave more about all of these aspects though, because they are wholly fascinating. Luc was a nice, suffering, character. He's cursed and that is his burden. It's an interesting contrast to the sisters who have it all.

This novel had so much awesome in it, without having too much in it. I'm excited that it's a series, but disappointed that the next book isn't out next. You definitely have to check this one out soon. It's just totally awesome.

First Line:
"The boy was late."

Favorite Line:
"If knowledge and curiosity had a scent, it was this."

Review: Another Little Piece - Kate Karyus Quinn

Where I got it: ARC from AmazonVine
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 5 stars (Love it.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 422 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Annaliese has been missing for a year when she stumbles into someone's lawn. She doesn't remember anything about herself but her parents are glad to have her back. Something is a bit different about Annaliese though. It isn't just her memories that are missing. She's not sure why she feels so strange, but the bits and pieces coming back to her don't help at all. The things she starts to remember make her wish she could forget all over again. Everyone is trying to find the monster that did this to her, but  maybe they are looking for the wrong beast...

So the one bad thing I have to say about this novel is that it wasn't nearly scary enough. All the promotion made it out to be really terrifying but mostly it was just mysterious. It was a really great mystery though. It wasn't just a regular whodunit either. It was far more complicated than that. It was a bit like The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Annaliese had no memories and so no idea who she was or what had happened to her. The things that she did know didn't really make any sense to her.

I really enjoyed the new Annaliese. She was very interesting to watch. She's in a strange situation that few people will ever experience in part. Being missing for a year and then having no memories is tricky. People didn't really believe that she didn't remember anything. That has to be hard. Except, you don't know any of the people, so you don't probably care too much about what they think of you.

I really liked when the novel started to take a huge turn to the strange. As soon as more details and memories came back to Annaliese I had a great time trying to piece them all together for her.

I liked the other characters too and they kind of made me wonder if there will be a sequel, or a sort of companion novel. I would be very interested to a prequel to these events too. We are briefly introduced to the past, but I could totally have gone for more.

Lately I guess I've just been wanting more details about all aspects of the novels I've been reading. They are good and so I just don't want to let them go. I want to stay inside the story forever exploring other places within it.

This book kept me guessing about some things until the end and I would really recommend it if you are looking for a great mystery. There's plenty of strangeness to make it a bit different from your average mystery.

First Line:
"The field didn't end so much as trail off, beaten back by the rusted-out trailer and circle of junked vehicles surrounding it. "

Favorite Line:
"'Sometimes it really is just someone's time and it can be quiet and peaceful and...it still makes your heart ache, but the way it does when you see the sun rising on a cold winter morning, pushing its way up above the bare tree branches, and you try to capture it on camera, but it's not the same, it doesn't—it can never—do it justice.'"

Middle Grade Monday

Middle Grade Monday is a feature started right here at Reading Nook. It's a way to share news or reviews of middle grade novels on a blog that doesn't exclusively post middle grade content. Feel free to join any time and link up. 

This week I want to share with you a book that looks like a lot of fun: Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson. I mean, Pirates...girl pirates! I'm in.

Hilary Westfield has always dreamed of being a pirate. She can tread water for thirty-seven minutes. She can tie a knot faster than a fleet of sailors, and she already owns a rather pointy sword. 

There's only one problem: The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates refuses to let any girl join their ranks of scourges and scallywags. 

But Hilary is not the kind of girl to take no for answer. To escape a life of petticoats and politeness at her stuffy finishing school, Hilary sets out in search of her own seaworthy adventure, where she gets swept up in a madcap quest involving a map without an X, a magical treasure that likely doesn't exist, a talking gargoyle, a crew of misfit scallywags, and the most treacherous—and unexpected—villain on the High Seas.

This is a Middle Grade Monday Post feel free to link your middle grade reviews/news below :) 

(doesn't have to be posted on a Monday)

Let's Talk: Books I wish were movies or shows

Let's Talk is a weekly feature at i swim for oceans.


Question: What books do you wish would be made into TV shows or movies?

I would love to see the Georgia Nicolson series be turned into a television show. I know that there is already a movie for it, but that was simply not enough for me. I want all the little thing in the books to be in the tv show. I want more Dave the laugh and more Angus. There's traveling and a lot of really awesome stuff in those novels. I think they would make for a fab show with lots of laughs.

I'd also love Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi to be a television show or movie. The whole series really. They would be a lot of fun. Action, adventure, sad sulky teen angst at being kept like a caged animal. LOVE <3 It has all the makings of something I would love to watch. 

Review: The Tragedy Paper - Elizabeth Laban

Where I got it: ARC from AmazonVine
Rating: 3 stars  
Cover Rating: 3.5 stars (I like the colors and such, but it's not totally fitting.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Page Count: 304 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Duncan is sort of excited to find his Senior dorm room and the treasure left behind by the previous occupant. Unfortunately he finds out that he gets the smallest, darkest room. The room that the albino kid, Tim, had. His "treasure" is some CDs. Duncan is pretty disappointed, but pops in the first CD. Tim's voice comes on over the speakers and says that he's going to help Duncan write his tragedy paper. The tragedy paper is pretty much THE paper that the seniors have to write. It's the culmination of everything they'll learn in Senior English. Tim is not telling Duncan a new story, just filling in some of the details that Duncan didn't know.

I was a bit disappointed in the "tragedy". I sort of expected it to be a bit more...tragic. Not that terrible things didn't happen, I just felt like it was built up to be significantly worse.

I liked the CD aspect, switching between perspectives. It was a bit like 13 Reasons Why except Tim wasn't blaming anyone else for his troubles. It's an interesting way to tell a story and I really enjoy it. I don't want every book to be written this way, but it really worked out for this story.

I didn't like how little there was about Duncan though. I know that the book would have to be really long to include two full length stories, but I felt like the amount of Duncan that we see is off. It should have been more or less, but not the amount given. It made Duncan seem unintentionally underdeveloped. He starts a relationship, seemingly out of the blue, and it doesn't really seem to add to the story.

I was definitely intrigued enough to keep turning pages to see the conclusion, but it was a bit disappointing when I go there. Maybe this would have been better as just Tim's story.

First Line:
"As Duncan walked through the stone archway leading into the senior dorm, he had two things on his mind: what 'treasure' had been left behind for him and his Tragedy Paper."

Favorite Line:
"It almost felt to him like he was reentering a bad dream, but he couldn't help himself."

Review: Forever - Judy Blume

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 3 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (It's cute.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: April 24, 2007 (1975)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page Count: 192 p.
Add it: Goodreads

Katherine and Michael are in high school, and in love. Michael wants to have sex with Katherine. He feels like it would be a good move in their relationship. Katherine resists at first, but then decides to give in. It changes their relationship a little bit, but the bigger change comes that summer when they are forced apart by camp and work. Can their love really survive forever?

Despite the fact that this book was first published about forty years ago I didn't feel like it was all that dated. Katherine just seemed calmer than the girls of today. I think this book totally works for kids today and is still completely relevant.

I had expected this book to be a bit more...a bit more scandalous, a bit more insightful, just a bit more. It wasn't really that graphic or insightful. It was moderate. This is where I can see it being a bit dated. It was scandalous in the 1970's, but fairly tame now. I'm not saying that we need graphic sex in YA, but I think that through Katherine's feeling and maybe a bit of dialogue it would help girls know a bit of what to expect.

It seemed strange to me that there was so much focus on the guy aspects of sex. Blume seemed to go into a lot of the experience that Michael had whereas I didn't feel like there was much from Katherine. It would be nice to get a little more perspective from her angle since I imagine it's mostly girls who would read this. Instead, we have Michael's penis problems. Maybe that would have been pushing it too far in the 70's to add a girl's perspective about sex in this book.

I really liked how realistic the relationship was. They fell in love fast, had sex, it didn't change their lives in some earth-shattering way and then things didn't totally work out for them and neither of them felt the same way. That's how relationships work. There doesn't have to be some big drama surrounding these things either. Life happens and things don't always work out. Especially when you are young, you fall in and out of love.

I read this because it's kind of a classic and thought it would be a good idea. Maybe if I was younger I would have found it more scandalous or something. It's a short read, so definitely check it out if you haven't. I would love to know what you guys thought of it. So if you read it, leave me your thoughts in the comments!

First Line:
"Sybil Davison has a genius I.Q. and has been laid by at least six different guys."

Favorite Line:
"Then I went to the bathroom, sat down on the toilet, and cried."

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten authors who deserve more recognition...

Phoebe Kitanidis author of Whisper (aka where is the sequel?)

Anastasia Hopcus  author of Shadow Hills (aka where is this sequel?!)

Laura Nowlin author of If He Had Been With Me

Arlaina Tibensky author of And Then Things Fall Apart

Jody Gehrman author of Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, Triple Shot Bettys in Love and Babe in Boyland

Jandy Nelson author of The Sky is Everywhere

Pete Hautman author of a ton of books including Godless, How to Steal a Car, The Big Crunch and Invisible.

Natalie Standiford author of How to Say Goodbye in Robot, The Dating Game (series), Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters and The Secret Tree

E. Lockhart  author of  Ruby Oliver (series), Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and some other great titles

Etgar Keret author of The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God, The Nimrod Flipout, The Girl on the Fridge and some other titles which are probably also amazing.  

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Stuff I Got This Week

Bought:

Book of Spells - Kate Brian

Lost Voices - Sarah Porter

Frost - Marianna Baer

I Know What You Did Last Summer - Lois Duncan

Crazy - Amy Reed

Island of Silence - Lisa McMann

These were on the bargain shelves at BAM! and  they were buy two get one free. How could I resist?

That's what I got this week, what did you all get?

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is:

Top Ten most intimidating Books

The ones I haven't read yet...

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - This one is intimidating because of it's size (the whole series size too) and the fact that the series is not finished. It seems like an awful lot to have to remember while waiting for the next books to come out.

Divergent by Veronica Roth - I'm sure this series will be great, but it's been hyped up a lot so I'm nervous. I think I'll read it in October when the third book comes out.

Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan - I just don't want this to be bad. I've heard very mixed things about it and am nervous.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter was amazing and I've not heard very good things about this.

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl - I really enjoyed Beautiful Creatures these books are so big so I was waiting for them to all come out first. Now I don't want to read them, because what if they aren't as good?

The ones that I have read...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - This was so hyped up, but my boyfriend said it was really good and he's hard to please.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I knew I would cry and I just didn't want to feel all the things.

The Diviners by Libba Bray - What a giant book. That was the only thing that was intimidating  It sounded amazing!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Another big book. I was also under some weird impression that I didn't like fantasy novels. Sometimes I'm done.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - This one was talked up a lot. People were falling over themselves to talk about how amazing it was. It's also a big one, so I was uncertain if I should read it.

The Broke and the Bookish is a group of college aged and twenty somethings that have an unhealthy obsession with reading and would spend every last penny on books even if it meant skipping a few meals. We are the people  who lurk in the library, buy handbags based on how many books can be stashed in them, and who refer to characters in books as if they are personal friends.

We sought after other bookish college students to share in our love for reading and were brought together by the College Students group on Goodreads that was created in September 2008. Our desire to share great books with each other in and our tendency to be opinionated and passionate about all things book related naturally led to the birth of The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010.

Middle Grade Monday | Review: Wednesdays in the Tower- Jessica Day George

Middle Grade Monday is a feature started right here at Reading Nook. It's a way to share news or reviews of middle grade novels on a blog that doesn't exclusively post middle grade content. Feel free to join any time and link up.

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4 stars  
Cover Rating: 4 stars (I want my own griffin.)
Genre: Middle Grade
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Page Count: 235 p.
Buy it: Book Depository | Indie | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads

Now that everything is back to relative normality at the Castle Glower everyone starts to settle back into their routines. That means lessons for Celie. The Castle starts acting strange though and Celie finds herself late to lessons and in a tower she has never seen before. In this tower she finds an egg. A large strange egg. Celie isn't sure what's inside, but with the help of the Castle she's going to find out and take care of it. Something is happening with the Castle and this egg might just help Celie decode what it is.

Another lovely tale of Castle Glower. This one was a lot of fun too. I just really love all the personality that the castle has. Also, I love Celie. She's very in-tune with the castle and very adventurous.

I loved how the Castle prevented her from telling people things. It made the Castle seem much more alive than in the first novel. It was nice to get to know some of the characters that weren't really in Tuesdays at the Castle. Celie's eldest brother and parents were some that we got to see more of in this novel.

The ending of this kills me though. When I turned the last page I couldn't even believe it. I want more. I need more. When's the next book coming out!?

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fun adventure novel with a hint of mystery. 

First Line:
"There are a lot of things that can hatch out of an egg."

Favorite Line:
"His face was white, bordering on green, and there was a small thread of blood oozing from his head wound."

This is a Middle Grade Monday Post feel free to link your middle grade reviews/news below :) 

(doesn't have to be posted on a Monday)