2013 Winter Challenges

I can't believe it is almost 2013! We've made it! LOL

I'll be writing reviews regularly starting in January. I have been working on some tumblr blogs and this website writing and translating articles. Oh, and university of course. But finals are over and I have some more time to update this blog more! :)

Anyway, I just wanted to make a post to keep track of some winter reading challenges coming up.

Read-the-Season Dutch Edition: WINTER by Romance Readers Reading Challenge
Taking the word WINTER, read a book that's title or author's name (first or last) starts with each letter. For romance/romantic books only.
December 21, 2012 - March 19, 2013

W. Witemeyer, Karen - To Win Her Heart
I. Ines del Alma Mia - Isabel Allende
N. Night to Surrender, A - Tessa Dare
T. Tracy Bateman - Love Finds You in Wildrose, North Dakota
E. East of the Sun - Julia Gregson
R. Russian Concubine, The - Kate Furnivall

New, new and new! 2013 by Rated YA-MA
Read 6 Young Adult books that are 1st in a series by 6 new authors you've never read.
January 1, 2013 - March 31,2013

1. Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck
2. Breathe - Sarah Crossan
3. Tell Us We're Home - Marina Budhos
4. Stormdancer - Jay Kristoff
5. Wither - Lauren DeStefano
6. The Lost Girl - Sangu Mandanna

The Iron King Review

Title: The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa

The Iron King is about a young girl named Megan who finds out that she is half fey (fairy). When her baby brother is kidnapped and taken to the Fey's World, she has to go in after him and rescue her brother before it is too late.

Firstly, I am in love with this cover! Look at it! It is even more beautiful in person. I also like the little designs that got carried over from the book cover above each chapter heading. As an artist and designer, I just love these little artistic pieces in books. I need to get the whole series now just for this, haha. Bu really, I enjoyed this book a lot and I will be picking up the next one soon.

The Iron King was such a great read. I loved how Kagawa sets up the fey world. I want to go there! I also think she does a good job with the characters. I've even found myself laughing at some parts in The Iron King. My favorite character so far is Grimalkin the cat. He is awesome. Here is my favorite line from him:

"'I am a cat,' Grimalkin replied, as if that explained anything."

It explains everything. ;)

Robin "Puck" Goodfellow

The only thing that I did not care about in this book was the set up for the romantic love triangle between Megan, Ash and Puck. I did not like Ash when he first appeared in the book. Even later on I still didn't really care about him. Hopefully he gets better because right now I am just not invested in him. Also, I just don't feel like Puck is that great of a match for Megan either. It is really just the fact that he is A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck which to me is just..... yeah, I love Puck and A Midsummer Night's Dream but no thanks. That makes him really old too in relation to Megan. 

I love the story, I just don't care for the romance that's starting to happen right now. I just want to see Megan take on The Iron King and kick his butt!

Rating: 5/5 Chocolate Bars

Book Haul 4

Yay~ Books! :D

One of the things I love about my university is that they have an annual book sale. There are some nice treasures for only a dollar or two! This is the last year I'll be able to take advantage of it though. I also went to Barnes and Noble this week because I had a little extra cash.

See that tiny, flat book on top of the pile? It's an old cookbook/recipe book that I got at my uni's book sale. It has a bunch of old/traditional recipes from the Virgin Islands. I thought it was cute but the font on the cover is hard to read. :p Underneath it though is The Kit Runner! I have been meaning to get my hands on this book for a while now especially after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author.

The next two books are the ones I got from Barnes and Noble. They are Outliers and Tiger's Curse. A few weeks ago a guest speaker came to my uni and talked with us art students. He did mostly animation work and was involved in a start-up. He mentioned Outliers and I saw it on sale so I grabbed it. It is pretty interesting so far. Tiger's Curse has such a beautiful cover! I can stare at it for hours honestly lol. Actually, I was looking for a different book but couldn't find it and forgot the name of the author and title so I grabbed Tiger's Curse instead. A friend from goodreads is reading this whole series and I keep seeing her updates so I have hopes for this book.

The last three books are ones that I also got at my uni's book sale. They are The Red Tent which I have been kind of wanting to read for a while too but it wasn't a priority book, It Ate Billing on Christmas (lol) and some art book in German from 1988. o.O

Book Blogger Hop: Pretty Covers

Book Blogger Hop was created by Crazy For Books as a way to connect book bloggers and readers together. This week The Fake Steph is hosting the question.

Is there a book series that you're not totally into, but still keep buying new releases because you love the covers?

Not really. There are so many other books out there with beautiful covers that probably have more interesting stories and characters. A pretty cover can draw me to the book but if I don't like the story/characters then I'm not going to continue reading.

I almost considered getting the next book in the House of Night series because I really like those covers and want a good vampire story but I just really disliked the main character.

I am still trying to finish Alice in Zombieland. I put it down because I wasn't enjoying it at the time but hopefully the story picks up. But I brought the book because it was an Alice story and had such a beautiful cover. If I don't like the story though, I am not getting the next book in the series regardless of how pretty the cover might be.

Lol I didn't mean to turn this into a rant. :p

The Lucky Little Labrador: Haunted Halloween! Review

Title: The Lucky Little Labrador: Haunted Halloween!
Author: C. J. Smiles 

Lucky, the Labrador dog, returns in The Lucky Little Labrador: Haunted Halloween! to save Halloween. Lucky is a dog that is always getting into trouble somehow. In this “The Lucky Little Labrador” book, Lucky and Kevin go trick-or-treating but spooky things start happening around Kevin before and on Halloween. Kevin doesn’t have to worry though because Lucky is there to save him from all the scary things of Halloween.
 
This book is entertaining and funny. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing at the part when Lucky runs off while trick-or-treating with Kevin. He got distracted by a squirrel and that is why he ran off. I could just picture that happening for real! The really scary part of the story is when Kevin has to go to Mr. Jenkins’ scary “haunted” house in order to find his dog. Kevin gets scared at Mr. Jenkins’ house so it is a good thing Lucky is there to protect him! The whole story is adorable though, and the ending was nice. The ending gives children a message about loyalty and family.
 
There are plenty of cute pictures in this book as well. The author uses real pictures of the Labrador and some other characters throughout the book. My favorite photo was of Lucky dressed in his dragon Halloween costume. He looked so funny and adorable!
 
I also like the short vocabulary list at the front of the book. It is a great way for children to learn some new words.
 
There were some great moments in this book that made me laugh for real. The story is very entertaining and makes for a perfect Halloween read.
 
Rating: 5//5 Moons

 The Lucky Little Labrador: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN! A Bedtime Story with Puppy Pictures for  (Little Readers #5) is a children’s book by C. J. Smiles. The book is offered on Amazon as an ebook. The story is part of a series but can be read independently. This book is for children seven to ten years old. I was given this book in exchange for a review.

Fairy Tale Read-A-Thon Update 01

Ah, so, I guess I have not been too active with my blogging during this read-a-thon. I have been working on a lot of art (mostly for uni) and another blog project. I am still reading though.

I have already finished one book for the Fairy Tale Read-A-Thon. The book is Thresholds by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. It is a pretty good book for young readers. It was fun to read. I love the cover art too. Honestly, that and the price is why I picked this book up. I also started reading The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. This book is amazing in so many ways. I'm really enjoying it so far. I cannot believe that there are only two more days left of the read-a-thon!

Fairy Tale Read-A-Thon TBR and Updates

The fairy tale readathon hosted by Debz Book Shelf started yesterday! I have not had the chance to update this blog with my TBR pile or updates yet because of other commitments. Anyway, I am finally updating my goals and progress for the readathon now.

My goal is to read at least three books. One book will probably be The Iron King since I put it off specifically for this readathon. during my last readathon, I had planned to finish Alice in Zombieland but got a little frustrated with the story. I still have hopes for it though.

The Pile!

The Iron King
Alice In Zombieland
I, Coriandez
Thresholds
La Reina de La Laguna

24 Hour Read a Thong TBR

The 24 hour read-a-thon about to start! Only eight more hours. I stayed up all night so that I could stay up 24 hours and read, hehe.

So, I have a huge pile of books to get through. I know I won't be reading all day because I have some important work to get done, but I'll try to put in at least 6 hours. I will be updating my progress regularly on my goodreads so please feel free to follow me there if you want. Anyway, here's my TBR pile:

Alice in Zombirland
Juntos (Matched)
Breathe
Sea: A Novel
Some Dream For Fools
Cold Kiss
Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso
The Bungalow
A Woman's Asia
Bend Sinister
Escape From Camp 14

 

 

Mini Challenges

Introductory Questionnaire

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

East coast USA!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Oh, wow, I don't know. I'm kind of excited about all of them for different reasons.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Watermelon~

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I just started book blogging this year but I've been reading since I was a little girl. Aside from books, I like to draw. I'm actually trying to make it as an illustrator at the moment.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

This is my first time participating! I'm looking forward to everything since I don't know what to expect yet.

Mid-Event Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

I, unfortunately, opened up skype and have been neglecting my books in favor of talking with some friends. Ah, I probably needed a little break anyway. ;)

2) What have you finished reading?

So far I have finished two books! They are Sea and Some Dream For Fools. The second book was alright but I absolutely loved Sea.

3) What is your favorite read so far?

Sea! I could really connect to the main character's feelings and grieving too since my own mother sadly passed away earlier this year. I was afraid that I wouldn't like this book because of that but it was really good.

4) What about your favorite snacks?

Well... I went to the store and got some sour cream & onion potato chips. So much for the healthy snacking. I blame my brother for wanting soda and junk food! *shifty eyes*

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

I've was checking out and commenting on some blogs this morning. Yep, I've found a few new blogs to follow.

Readathon Snacks

Here's what I'll be snacking on throughout the day. Fruit and carrots! My dad is on a health kick so there is only healthy food in the house. I'll probably be going to the store later today though where I'll pick up some soda and chocopies. :p

Updates

Update #1

I finished the first book! I just finished reading Sea by Heidi R. Kling and absolutely loved it It was such a great book. This read-a-thon is making me forget about food though, haha. I almost forgot to grab something for breakfast. Also, I have decided to add the book Some Dream For Fools to my list because I feel like reading it right now. The book is sitting on my desk and I keep looking over to the cover like it is calling to me. It is short (156 pages) so I should be able to finish it today.

Book Haul 3

This is a combination of books that I've gotten over amazon and Job Lot recently. I had won a gift card for $100 at amazon and of course I used it to buy a few books for myself. ;) I mostly just got some more expensive language text books but I did get a couple of books for pleasure reading. Job Lot is a lot like Building 19 in that they have very cheaply priced books.

Amazon Books

All About Particles (Japanese grammar reference book)
Escape from Camp 14
A Woman's Asia
Intergrated Korean beginner I
Japanese for Busy people III
Business and Legal Forms for Illustrators


Job Lot Books

Grandma Calls Me Beautiful
Toss of a Lemon
Dreaming in Hindi (I've been wanting this one for so long. I was kind of surprised to find it to be honest.)
Some Dreams for Fools
Thresholds
Gamer Girl

A Surprise Delivery!

This came in the mail yesterday! I wasn't expecting it so I was really surprised and happy when I got the package. The book is Breathe by Sarah Crossan and I won it from Epic Reads. This is my first ARC Copy too! I mean, the book was published at the beginning of this month so that doesn't really matter now but I am still excited about it.

I really do have a huge TBR pile now. I need to make some time for all of these books!

FrightFall Read-a-Thon Last Day

Well, today is the last day of the FrightFall read-a-thon. It has been fun! I am going to try to get some more reading in today but I doubt I will have much time. I am so glad that I have tomorrow off since it is a holiday.

My goal for this read-a-thon was to read at least one book. The books I planned to read were Stolen: A Letter To My Captor and Alice in Zombieland. I also had some Edger Allen Poe ready just in case I managed to finish both books. I was only able to finish Stolen but it was a fantastic read. This is a book that I would recommend to everyone. My review for Stolen should be right under this post if anyone is curious. Now, as for Alice in Zombieland, I got to page 28. I like the set up for the story so I am going to continue reading this book.

Stolen Review

Title: Stolen: A Letter to my Captor
Author: Lucy Christopher
 

Gemma is a young woman who gets kidnapped at the Bangkok airport. She is taken away by Ty to the middle of Australia where no one lives. There Ty had already built a house where he intends to live forever with Gemma.


This is one roller-coaster of a book!


The descriptions of the setting, the Outback of Australia, were fantastic. I could really picture the beauty of Australia from Christopher's words. The way she had Ty describing his love for the land and living off of it was fantastic too. It made me feel like just taking off and living in the wild myself! There is a quote about nature and the land that fits perfectly with an art project that I am working on that I just loved.

"But without humans, the wild would take over (London). It would only take a hundred years or so for nature to win again."

This quote is a good example of Ty's love for the wilderness and disdain for the city which is a huge part of his reason for doing anything in the book. He talks a lot about nature, humans interacting with it, past stories involving the land and the need to learn to listen to the land.

Stolen takes you on an emotional ride with Gemma as she remembers her home in London, has conflicting feelings over Ty and tries to escape multiple times. The book is written as if Gemma is writing a letter to Ty after everything that had happened. Still, you don't know until the end of the book if Gemma managed to escape her captor or fell in love and decided to stay with him.

Am I the only one who did not completely fall in love with Ty? Even at the end of the book I still disliked him because I feel like he managed to break down part of Gemma. I feel like he played with her emotions to get her to love him. I did love Ty's dedication to the land and did feel a little sorry about what happened to him when he was younger, but a part of me still cannot trust him after everything that he put Gemma through.

Overall, Stolen is a very interesting book to read. It is one that is very well researched and also a bit chilling to read at times.

Rating: 5/5 Chocolate Bars

Destroy Me Released

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi is avaliable as an ebook now! The ebook was released yesterday. Destroy Me is a short novella taking place after Shatter Me. It is basically bad guy Warner's point of view on everything. This is great because I wanted to read more about Warner!

Flirting In Italian Review

Title: Flirting In Italian
Author: Lauren Henderson

I did it! I finally finished Flirting In Italian! This took me longer to read than I had initially expected and the reason why is because I started to get bored and annoyed with the story a little bit before the half way point. I have a problem though were I cannot put a book down once I start it with few exceptions.

Flirting In Italian is the story about Violet who travels to Italy after seeing a painting of an Italian girl that looks just like her. Violet just has to know more about this painting! She also starts to wonder if she was adopted and is really Italian because she looks nothing like her Scandinavian mother or Scottish father. Violet herself loves art history and uses this as a pretense to get her mother to agree to send her to an etiquette school in Italy. At the school she meets another British girl and two American girls. They sort of become friends and go to parties with Italian boys together.

I loved all of the art talk at the beginning which is why I was excited to read this book at first. I also loved the way that the author described Italy when Violet and the three other girls where being driven to the estate. It made me want to book a flight and go there myself!

I started to dislike the book when it became all about the boys and more specifically, all about Violet's crush, Luca. I knew that there was going to be a lot of flirting and making out with cute Italian guys but the actual plot of the story that was set up in the beginning (the mysterious painting) seemed to have been completely forgotten now.

The characters also became quickly irritating.

All of the Italian women were bitches! Seriously. Every single Italian woman that Violet and her friends met were perfectly beautiful and secretly made fun of the foreign girls in Italian. I don't know how Violet knew this since she doesn't exactly speak Italian but she does.

Speaking of the Italian language, I love how there is so much of it in the book! I have to wonder if enough of it was translated though. If you know some basic Italian like me you'll be able to get the gist of things but for someone who doesn't know any Italian, it might be more annoying.

There were a few other smaller things that annoyed me as I was reading the book. Mostly the stereotypes of the American girls and Italian boys, Violet being a mary sue and Violet's (fake) crying at Kelly being poor and having a tough life while Violet didn't even think about how much the trip to Italy cost. I don't feel bad for you Violet! 

By the end of the book I was starting to lose all hope of ever finding the plot again. Maybe Henderson was saving it for the next book. But then the plot showed up again when they finally visit the estate where the painting is. So, the girls go there and everyone comments on how much Violet looks like the girl in the painting. Then someone tried to kill Violet. Yep. We find out who attempted to kill her at the end of the book too and everything seems resolved but I am still lost as to why and what exactly happened. I don't feel like it was a good wrap up to the book. Also, what does that leave for the next book? Is the second book nothing but Violet misunderstanding Luca and then making out with him? I'll pass on that.

Rating: 2 Chocolate Bar

Matched & Crossed Read-A-Thon

This read-a-thon is hosted by The Non Reluctant Reader and Squeaky Books. It goes from October 2 to November 13. It is not too late to sign up though. I just did, hehe. Here's how it works:

10/2 Starting line! Begin reading Matched
10/9 Read to Chapter 12
10/16 Read to Chapter 22
10/22 Finish Matched, Start Crossed!
10/29 Read to Chapter 14
11/5 Read to Chapter 35
11/12 Finish Crossed, buy Reached!

I've been wanting to read Matched for a while now but it wasn't a top priority book. However, since there is a read-a-thon with people having weekly discussions, I think I'll try to join in. I am going to be reading at least the first book in Spanish because I already have an ebook version of Matched (Juntos) in Spanish. I also need to get back into my Spanish reading game!

FrightFall Read-a-Thon TBR Pile

The FrightFall Read-a-Thon is here! Actually it started yesterday but I didn't get around to writing this post until today. The FrightFall Read-A-Thon is hosted by Seasons Reading and you can check out their blog for more info.

The goal for this read-a-thon is to read at least one scary book. Not all of the books that you read have to be scary, but I wanted to try and stick to that scary theme as much as possible.

Here are the books I will be reading:

Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edger Allen Poe

Obviously I won't be able to read all of Edger Allen Poe's works, so which story/stories should I read? Any suggestions? I cannot read The Black Cat thought. That ones creeps me out too much. I figured that Stolen can also count as scary but in a different way. It is about a girl who gets kidnapped and is forced to live with her captor in the remote Australian outback. Other than these books, I did see Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters at Job Lot yesterday for like three dollars so I might go pick that up

Book Haul 2

I was at the grocery store recently and I ended up picking up The Bungalow: A Novel by Sarah Jio. I usually don't buy books from the grocery store but this one caught my eye. The cover is so pretty and the story sounds interesting. I have also read some good reviews on goodreads so I am looking forward to picking this book up hopefully soon.

I am still trying to finish Flirting In Italian but I am kind of losing the fun feeling with it. I will probably put that book down and continue reading Sea: A Novel that I got in last month's book haul.

Lakota Woman Review

Tittle: Lakota Woman
Author: Mary Crow Dog

Lakota Woman is an honest memoir that has a lot to offer a reader.

I learned so much from this book. Not only did I learn about important historical moments like the Wounded Knee incident in 1973 or the AIM (American Indian movement) but I also learned about Native American traditions and how important they were, and still are, to the native Americans. I did not learn any of this in public school, which is a little sad.

This book is the memoir of Mary Crow Dog (she also goes by Mary Brave Bird). In the book she talks about growing up and living on reservations, and the difficulties she faced as a Native American - the racism and unfairness that her and her people still deal with today, trying to keep native traditions alive despite crooked cops and laws against them, etc.

The only downside to this book is that the author doesn't write the story in a linear fashion. It can be a bit confusing trying to keep up with what is happening and when.

Still, Lakota Woman was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the struggles modern Native Americans go through. The book is not really all that depressing by the way. Mary Crow Dog writes a lot about the many native Americans embracing past traditions and finding some peace and hope through that, for example.

Rating: 5/5 Caffe Lattes

At the Foot of the Lighthouse Review

At the Foot of the Lighthouse is a short story that can be found for free at Tor.com. Even though it is free it is defiantly a story worth reading.

The story takes place during World War II at a time when the United States was at war with Japan which lead to internment camps in the USA to be made. The main character in At the Foot of the Lighthouse, Amy (also called Aki-san by her grandmother), is a young Japanese girl living in an internment camp during this time.

At the Foot of the Lighthouse takes a sensitive subject and, using rich descriptions, gives the reader a new take on what it meant to be an American and a patriot at that time. Some comparisons about patriotism today in the United States can also be made to how Amy was treated. This story has the ability to make one stop and think about these subjects.

The element that makes this short story pretty unique is the twist at the end. I won't say too much because I do not want to give away the ending but it speaks about sacrifice and makes you stop to think.

Rating: 4/5 Caffe Lattes

Book Haul 1

I love going out and then coming home with a huge pile of books. I had some extra cash one day so I was able to get a few new books. Sorry for the messy table in the picture. That's my art table so I tend to get paint on it. The paint is dry though. I wouldn't want to damage any books.

The first book in this pile is Stolen by Lucy Christophere. I actually won this in a give away from Pretty Deadly Reviews during the Summer Wrap-Up Read-A-Thon. I was so excited to get this book, so thank you for this! The book is about a young girl who gets kidnapped and held captive in rural Australia. I have started reading this book and so far it is very well written and interesting to read about.

The next two books are Figures in Silk and The Iron King. I got these two at Barnes and Noble for about fifteen dollars. I have been wanting to read The Iron King for a very long time now so I'm so happy that I now have a copy. I am waiting for the Fairy Tale Read A Thon though before I start on this book. Also, I just have to add that the cover for this book is beautiful. The theme of the cover is even carried on inside as a header design above each new chapter. I am so glad I have a physical copy of this book for that reason alone!

The last five books are the books I got at Building 19 for roughly the same amount of money that I spent at Barnes and Noble. There are so really cheap books at Building 19 and they are not all bad like one might assume. The books I got are Tell Us We're Home, Sea: A Novel, I, Cariandez (I will also be reading this for the Fairy Tale Read A Thon), Luis Barragan, and Tabaimo. The last two are art books and I've already spazzed out about getting a copy of Tabaimo at my art blog. Of the last five books I have only started reading Sea: A Novel and so far it is a pretty good book.

All of these books sound really interesting and I can't wait to read them! Has anyone else read any of these books? I would love to read some reviews and/or thoughts of other people who have read any of these books that I've recently gotten.

Tolkien Week

Thanks to She is too Fond of Books, I just learned that September 16 to September 22 is Tolkien week! And the 22nd of September is national Hobbits Day. I wanted to re-read The Hobbit before December when the new movie comes out and Tolkien Week seems like the perfect tiem to do it! I am going to try ot read the whole Lord of The Rings trilogy and then end it with The Hobbit on September 22. Even if I don't finish the LOTR books by the 22nd I am just going to start on The Hobbit. Oh! I should watch the movies too after I finish each book. Hello Orlando Bloom~

I read The Hobbit back in sixth grade but I don't remember a lot of what happened in the book. I do remember enjoying it for the most part though.

If anyone else is doing something like this for Tolkien Week please leave a comment with your blog! I would like to read it.

October Read-a-Thons

Fright Fall Read-A-Thon!
October 1st - October 7th

One whole week of reading scary/horror books. More in formation can be found here. This is perfect for getting ready for Halloween. Speaking of Halloween, is anyone dressing up this year? I know it is still more than a month away, but does anyone already have plans? I will probably be passing out candy this year. At the moment I don't have a costume though.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon!
October 13th

You can read more about this read-a-thon here. This sounds like such a fun challenge. I don't know if I can read for 24 hours straight though! I am going to try to participate in this one but it will depend on how much work I have at the time.

The Fairy Tale Read-A-Thon!
October 17th - October 22nd
Please check out Debz Bookshelf for more information about the Fairy Tale Read-A-Thon!

I'm pretty excited for this! I loved reading fairy tales when I was a child so this is going to be fun.

BBAW Day 4

One of the best parts about book blogging is the exposure to books and authors you might never have heard of before. Pimp the book you think needs more recognition on this day. Get creative! Maybe share snippets from other bloggers who have reviewed it or make some fun art to get your message across.

I'm going to share with everyone two of my favorite books that I feel are less known and under appreciated.

A Life Less Ordinary: A Memoir by Baby Halder is a personal memoir about a woman growing up poor in India. She gets married off to a man that does not love or appreciate her. Eventually she is able to leave her husband and finds work as a maid in Delhi but that does not end the hardships for Baby. Now she has to work a demanding job and take care of her own children on her own. Even though she faces a lot of challenges in life, Baby does not pity herself.

Mian Mian's Candy is another absolute favorite of mine. She could easily be one of my favorite authors if they would just translate more of her books! I even used her for one of my art projects, that's how much I liked this book. Well, I guess I'm just going to have to learn Chinese in order to read her other books.

Candy is somewhat based on the author's real life and experiences growing up in China in the eighties. In this book, the main character, Hong, drops out of school at 17 and runs away to Shenzen, China. There she falls in love with a musician. They live together and Hong starts drinking and doing drugs. However, Hong is still not happy with life.

This book ended up getting banned in China too. China during the eighties was an important time for China because things like art and music were beginning to break free again after being under government control for such a long time. I guess China does not want books portraying the country in a negative way out there. I might end up doing a full review of this book later but that's the gist of things.

Little Kitten's First Full Moon Review

Kitten's First Full Moon is about a little kitten who sees a full moon for the first time. She mistakes the moon for a big bowl of milk and tries to chase after it.

The whole book is done in grays, black and white. The softness of the grays add to the atmosphere of the night time and the illustrations work with the book overall.

The story is very cute and makes for a great children's book especially for any kitten lovers out there. Throughout the story the little kitten is chasing the moon but never seems to get close to it. Along the way though she ends up falling and eventually finds herself falling into a pond and getting soaking wet. After a long night of chasing the full moon she returns home to find her mother waiting for her with a bowl of milk to comfort her. This book teaches children that if they get hurt, they can always return home to feel safe and warm.

Kitten's First Full Moon is a very cute story for children aged four or older.

Rating: 5/5 Moons