Room by Emma Donoghue The Movie

Room by Emma Donoghue is being made into a movie. The author, Donoghue, herself will be joining in on writing the script while Lenny Abrahamson will be the director. The book is very powerful with a disturbing plot based on real life events. Still no word on the actors yet because writing and everything else for the movie is still underway. You can read a little more information about the upcoming movie here.

The Iron Daughter Review

Title: The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2)
Author: Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter is the second book in The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. I absolutely loved the first book in this series so I was excited to finally get the second book and start reading it.

The first book ended with the defeat and death of the Iron King. So what else could go wrong? Well, it seems like that even thought the Iron King was defeated, the Iron Fey are still around and they have a new leader! Before the iron fey come back though, there is some court drama between Meghan and Mab, the Queen of the Winter court. The drama basically revolves around Winter-Summer fey drama and Meghan's feelings for Prince Ash. It is forbidden for a fey from the Winter Court to be with a fey from the Summer Court so this gives us a little tragic Romeo-Juliet esque story.

In this book, Meghan and the gang have to leave the fey world and make a trip to Earth. To be honest, while this was a nice break from fey world drama, I found myself skipping some parts here; namely the prom scene.

Really though, the fey court drama and the fight with the new foe, iron fey, are my favorite parts of this series. I don't care about Meghan's school drama. :p

Another interesting thing that happened in The Iron Daughter is that we learn about Puck's feelings and thus the love triangle is introduced! I have to say though, although the love triangle plot device is overused in YA literature, I think it works with the Iron Fey series. It makes sense and I do not feel like Puck's feelings are so out of place that they are completely unrealistic. They were friends for a while and he spent enough time around her to maybe develop feelings.

I am still not a fan of Ash and would much rather see Meghan with Puck or no one. Ash treated her like crap throughout the whole book until the end and even in the end he is not that nice and loving. He gets jealous over some guy at Meghan's high school trying to flirt with her. I just don't see the appeal in a guy who is a jerk to you then gets jealous at everything. He's not worth it, Meghan!

Ironhorse and Grim are still the best characters though. but I think Ironhorse needs to go to a day spa and learn to relax! He keeps yelling (ALL CAPS).

Over all, I loved this book and was not disappointed. The writing flows together nicely and there was no part in the book where I felt like things were dragging on so much that it made me want to put the book down. Also, the cover art is still so beautiful.

Rating: 5/5 Chocolate Bars

Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone Review

Title: Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone
Author: Sam Lyons

Matthew Chumsley is a typical kid. He enjoys playing video games like minecraft and hanging out on the computer. When Matthew starts going to a new private school everything about his new school life is scary and intimidating for him. He would much rather go back to his video games than try to fit in at the new school. But when the tech loving Matthew decides to start a blog about his life and school and a gamer club, he finds that making new friends and school is not so difficult or scary after all.

This is a very good book for any video game loving kid. Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone is a great book for a kid who prefers spending time on the computer compared to reading because it makes a fun connection between writing/reading and gaming/the computer for kids. Matthew, the main character, decides to start a blog about his experiences at his new private school and soon finds that his classmates enjoy reading and commenting on his blog. Through his blog he is able to make friends at his new school. This is a great way to help kids learn how to make friends and have fun at a new school through blogging and video games.

Also, I love the idea of having a class minecraft game-time every week. Some schools really have this too and I've only heard positive things minecraft classes. If anyone is interested in this, there is a pretty interesting blog by a teacher who uses minecraft in his classroom.

The drawings throughout the book are nice too and dfiently give off a Diary of a Wimpy Kid vibe. If you or your kid are a fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid then you will love Private School Blogger. Instead of a diary though, Private School Blogger is written in the style of a blog by Matthew and you get to read 'blog comments' from other kids. I thought that interaction between the characters was a very nice touch.

Another thing I liked about this book is that sometimes riddles were included in some of the blog posts. I think that is great for kids because it will get them to think by trying to figure out the riddle and also because riddles are just fun. ;)

The description of the Gamestop employee was spot on. Ha!

Lyson is able to write a relatable book for kids, Any kid reading Private School Blogger will be able to instantly relate to everything from Matthew's love of video games to bad school cafeteria food. Even I as an adult loved reading Private School Blogger. There are a lot of funny moments in the book too. This is a great book that the more dorky and tech loving kids will really enjoy reading.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Glasses of Strawberry Milk

Reading Update

I have finally got around to starting Iron Daughter, the second book in the Iron Fey series. I'm a bit behind on this series. :p I have to say though, I don't know why I put this book off for so long. Once I started reading I did not want to put it down. The book itself is pretty easy to read because it is not boring and the writing flows nicely.

I also started reading the second book in the Chemical Garden series. This one has not been as easy to get back into though. I just don't really care about this circus thing that is happening now.

Also, I was given a review copy of the book Private School Blogger: I need my iPhone so I will be typing up a review for that this afternoon.This book is said to have a Diary of a Wimpy Kid series style to it so fans of that series, check this book out.

The Lavender Herbal Review

Title: The Lavender Herbal: An Introduction Into Basic Herbal Medicine for the Budding Herbalist
Author: Sandra Glenn

This is a very good book for beginner herbalists or anyone who has an interest in herbalism and does not know how to get started. I'm already a bit of a gardener but now my interest in this area has grown and I'm excited to keep reading more about herbalism.

This book was a great introduction. It provides an overview and tips on choosing herbs, how to store herbs, the different types of remedies used among herbalists, safety concerns and more. I'm especially happy that there were warnings and safety tips throughout the book.

I decided to get the paperback version of the book, and I was worried at first because it felt thin but there is a lot of useful information in the book. I'm a bit disappointed in B&N though because when I got the book, the cover was slightly bent.

This book won't tell you everything there is to know about herbalism but it can provide you with a starting point. There's also a helpful list in the back of books and website to check out for farther information.