True...(Sort of) by Katherine Hannigan

True... Sort of by Katherine Hannigan

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


11-year old Delly is considered a bad kid by her family and teachers because of her behavior--but she doesn't really understand what is so bad about what she does. For example, if the weather is too nice to miss during the day, she simply skips school; when she sees a canoe on the river that she wants to ride in, she just takes it. Is that so wrong? She just understand doesn't why everyone calls her a bad kid...and hearing it over and over again starts to make her think she is a bad person through and through.

Things change when a new girl named Ferris Boyd arrives in town--she doesn't speak and won't let anyone touch her. Delly takes an immediate interest in her and decides that she wants to be her friend. She, Ferris, and Delly's younger brother R.B. end up spending a lot of time together in a tree house in the woods near Ferris's house. Being around timid Ferris and sweet R.B. help to make Delly more aware of her actions and the effects her actions have on others, and she starts to be not as much as a trouble kid as she was before.

I have to say that I didn't enjoy this book at all. As I listened to it, I knew that this was going to make it onto a list somewhere (themes of: 'bad kid' main character on a road to self-discovery, sibling rivalry/sibling love, making new friends/learning to get along with others, troubled friend with a troubled homelife, etc.)...but it's not that good! The first thing that struck me was Delly's ridiculous made-up vocabulary--some might find it charming, but I found it extremely irritating. I also didn't find Delly all that likable; she's bossy, acts before she thinks, and is wild. Finally, the fact that Ferris doesn't speak and the fact that animals seem to magically flock to her might appear to be related to an unsuspecting young reader. Even the ending of the book is unrealistic! I haven't read anything else by Katherine Hannigan, but I think I'll stay away from the rest of her books.



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Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt

Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Fredle lives between the walls of the Davis’ kitchen until he is cast out and left to fend for himself. Luckily, when Mister and Missus find him on the kitchen floor, she places him outdoors rather than using a mousetrap. Never having been outside the house in his life, Fredle is both terrified and fascinated.



Fredle has never seen such things as the sky, dirt, or other types of animals (besides cats and dogs). In fact, he has never even heard many of these words until a mischievous field mouse teaches him. Fredle builds a nest under the porch, near where Missus set him down. He learns about the compost pile (he gets delicious food from there!), he meets raccoons (who, luckily, don’t eat him), and much more! When he finally returns home after traveling through the cellar—and meeting the cellar mice—he’s quite a changed mouse, and he can’t wait to tell everyone about his adventures in the place they call “outside.”



The companion book to Angus and Sadie (Voigt), this is a good book full of adventure. Readers will enjoy trying to figure out what Fredle sees for the first time using his descriptions (of a peppermint patty, flowers, grass, etc.). Those who enjoyed this book might also enjoy The Tale of Despereaux (DiCamillo) and The Borrowers books (Norton).





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How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Hiccup and his fellow warriors-in-training must capture a sleeping baby dragon as part of the process of becoming true vikings.  After successfully capturing one, the boys have a limited amount of time to train it to obey their commands.  Hiccup does manage to catch a dragon—although he finds that the one he has is the smallest of all the dragons caught!  To make things worse, his dragon is completely toothless!—which leads Hiccup to name him Toothless.

Toothless won’t follow any of the commands Hiccup gives him.  Hiccup even seeks out a book written specifically for dragon training, but the only advice it provides is: “Yell at it.”  When a huge water dragon emerges from the bottom of the sea, Hiccup and the boys must get their dragons to obey them so that they can rid themselves of the huge, evil dragon once and for all.

This is a funny book that boys especially will enjoy; the characters’ and dragons’ funny names will make readers laugh, along with the woefully un-vikinglike Hiccup.  This is the first book in the Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup the Viking.

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My Rotten Life by David Lubar

My Rotten Life by David Lubar


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Nathan thinks he has a rotten life...but things get much worse after he gets some experimental liquid called “Hurt-Be-Gone accidentally spilled on him!  After that, parts of his body start losing feeling, he stops digesting food, and he doesn’t need to go to the bathroom!

His friends Mookie and Abigail help him get the ingredients for the mixture that will stop him from becoming a total zombie—ingredients that include a scale from a rare breed of fish and a strange mushroom.  The problem is, he must have at least a little bit of feeling somewhere on his body for the mixture to work.  The more time that passes, the more he losses feeling everywhere!  Will the mixture be ready in time for him to use before he become a walking dead boy?

This is a funny story with very likable characters.  Nathan’s friend Mookie was probably my favorite with his laid-back attitude.  Even Nathan, who is very unhappy about becoming a walking dead boy, deals with his zombie-ness as best as he can.  It appears as though a sequel is on its way.  Recommend this book to those who enjoy the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (Kinney) and the Captain Underpants books (Pilkey).

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