Maybe I listed my likes and dislikes, had a little short paragraph, or a few sentences to convey my feelings on the book, but whatever the "review" is, all of them are short and simple. (hence the clever name)
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Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
Review
I listened to this book fully on audiobook and, while I missed out on the wonderful illustrations, I absolutely loved this book. The audiobook was wonderfully narrated and through the narration, I could clearly tell how wonderfully written the book is. It gave a voice to Ivan. I loved hearing about his love for painting, and I loved hearing his story, even though it was heart-wrenching at times. This is not the happiest of stories, but I loved all the animals at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade (and Julie), and I felt such a connection to them. This is the first book I've read by Katherine Applegate alone (I've previously read Eve & Adam , which she wrote with her husband, Michael Grant). I own Crenshaw and Wishtree and they have definitely moved up on my TBR list. Overall, this was a fantastic book, and I recommend it to all ages.
I hereby give this book
5 Stars
Meaning: A new favorite!
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A heartrending and hopeful debut novel about a nonverbal girl and her passion for space
exploration, for fans of See You in the Cosmos, Mockingbird, and The Thing About Jellyfish.
Twelve-year-old Nova is eagerly awaiting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger--it's the first time a teacher is going into space, and kids across America will watch the event on live TV in their classrooms. Nova and her big sister, Bridget, share a love of astronomy and the space program. They planned to watch the launch together. But Bridget has disappeared, and Nova is in a new foster home.
While foster families and teachers dismiss Nova as severely autistic and nonverbal, Bridget understands how intelligent and special Nova is, and all that she can't express. As the liftoff draws closer, Nova's new foster family and teachers begin to see her potential, and for the first time, she is making friends without Bridget. But every day, she's counting down to the launch, and to the moment when she'll see Bridget again. Because Bridget said, "No matter what, I'll be there. I promise."
To decode the list and find the Big One, June and Indigo enlist the help of some new friends in Red Bank and turn the town upside down in their search. But the most surprising mystery of all may be what brought June to Red Bank in the first place—and what is most valuable to her in the end.
Review
This is such a wonderfully written book, but also a very hard book to read. I've never read a book that takes place during the Challenger tragedy. Reading this book, it hurt to see Nova counting down to the Challenger launch because we all know now what happened to Challenger and I did not want Nova's heart to break. This book does have so much more to it. There's the fact that the main character is autistic and nonverbal, something I've never seen in MG/YA, but I was glad to see it because we need the representation! The copy I had included a note that mentioned that the author wanted to show a positive foster home. That was one of the few happy things about this book. Nova and her older sister have been in not-so-great foster homes, but now Nova is in a foster home by herself. Her foster family does their best to include Nova and they don't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. Besides her sister, they are some of the first people to recognize that just because she doesn't speak, doesn't mean that she's not smart. I also loved Nova and her classmates. This book overall is a heartwrenching read, but you do get those bittersweet moments.
I hereby give this book
4 Stars
Meaning: It was amazing!
A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she's left behind. And an ending you won't be able to stop talking about.
Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.
But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.
When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.
Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.
Review
When this book first came out, I kind of ignored the hype, but now that I've gotten a chance to read it, I'm glad that I picked it up. This is not an easy story, it discusses a lot of difficult subjects, but it discusses subjects that aren't always discussed. Namely, this book focuses on a missing girl, but it's more than a story about a missing girl, and the girl is not just "another runaway". Sadie's story is intertwined with a podcast that is trying to find out what happened to Sadie. This was such an interesting narrative style and it worked perfectly for the book. The ending is very open-ended, but that also worked with this particular story. We don't always get answers and don't always find out what happened. Overall, this was a great book and fantastically written.
I hereby give this book
4 Stars
Meaning: It was amazing!
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