Reviews and Comments

Clementine is a lab mouse with super intelligence. She was rescued by a junior researcher and placed in the mailbox of a nature tv show host, Pop, and his grandson. The lab is offering rewards for her capture so they devise a plan to have Clementine play chess on the show to save her life. Written in letter format from Clementine to a chimpanzee lab friend, Rosie, Always, Clementine is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once.

A dark fantasy with magic and a web of lies that’s almost impossible to detangle. There’s an air of mystery and intrigue and it’s captivating enough to keep the pages turning. A few weak points for me include the trope of falling in love with a stranger and a few minor editing issues but overall this was an entertaining YA read.

My loan concluded. I may pick up and finish later but honestly wasn’t that into it.

I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels but I did like this book. Shirley and Jamila are both signed up for different summer camps, but neither want to attend. After a chance meeting, they team up to create their own summer plans - solving mysteries. It’s a cute story and an easy read. I do think an element that is missing is the ability of the reader to solve the mystery on their own. Almost all of the information in the “big reveal” was new information that couldn’t be pieced together before. Fans of mysteries and the graphic novel format should enjoy the story

I was hooked from the first few pages and then could barely put it down. I’ve read Allegedly and Grown and loved both of them. Jackson writes stories that are raw and intense. The characters are believable (which makes them frustrating at times) and the plot is, sadly, all too real. I was a little lost at the timing at times and going back and forth between past and present, but it all adds up by the end. It definitely needs a content warning for abuse because it can be a little hard to read.

Fantasy can be a tricky genre, especially for middle grade fiction, but this just misses the mark. It’s overly complicated and moves through explanations quick (and never brings them up again) so it’s really easy to miss what’s happening. There’s definitely some lines that have charm and the familial bonds are nice throughout. But after finishing, I’m not rushing to pick up the sequel.

Characters are dull. Plot is empty. Books don’t always need to be exciting or have a great resolution but I just couldn’t get interested in this book. I didn’t care what happened next, and by the end of the book it didn’t matter because nothing happened.