Title: The Unwanteds
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Aladdin, 390 Pages (August 30th 2011)
From: the Publisher & Amazon Vine, Thank You!

Synopsis: Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret—behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.

But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

Review: 3 Stars - The Unwanteds by author Lisa McMann is a middle grade book about a society who fears creativity in any way, shape or form. With a controlling government, a drab society and a hidden colorful and magical place where anything is possible, McMann has taken the idea of cutting out all creative programs to new heights.

When the Purge comes, the Unwanteds are cast out and sent to their death. The Wanteds remain behind to learn, follow rules and never step out of line. Alex and his twin Aaron will both face a different fate. One Wanted and one Unwanted.

The story takes place in drab, colorless and more than harsh Quill. Alex and his brother knew the day was coming when they would be separated. Alex, the Unwanted of the two is purged from society and taken away from everything he knows, while Aaron, the Wanted brother stays behind to go to school and learn ways to better Quill and the controlling people in charge. Quill doesn’t sound like a place I’d want to live; I can’t imagine anyone wanting to stay there for long. Barbed wire covering the sky, shared buckets of water for washing… yeah, not fun, no art or being creative in anyway... yeah, no thanks!

So, Alex, on his way to his death gets a shock when he, along with all other Unwanteds from his purge are saved and taken to a colorful, artistic and magical place called Artime. The best part of the story was watching the characters change as they learned that expressing yourself through art isn’t a bad thing and it should be encouraged instead of taken away. Taking a persons creativity away takes away too much of who they are, what they are and what they will become.

The whole idea for the story was great… being punished, taken away and killed because of being creative in any way; I couldn’t wait to read where McMann would take the idea. And yeah, she did run with it. However, I felt it was a tad flat. I didn’t connect with the characters at all. I tried throughout the whole story to find something to grasp onto, but... just couldn’t. And no, I’m not saying this is a bad book in any way, it was a great idea and a pretty entertaining story.

This is my first time reading anything by McMann, and I know it won’t be my last. I have heard nothing but amazing things about her YA series. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

"Just Picked" is a feature here at A Life Bound By Books. This is a place where I'll be spotlighting new (and old) childrens book or picture books for parents and new readers. It's a place to talk about books for a younger group and to try to help create a new generation of readers.

Title: Fairly Fairy Tales
Author: Esme Raji Codell
Illustrator: Elisa Chavarri
Publisher: Aladdin, 32 Pages (January 4th 2011)
Age Range: 4-8
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: Parents and children love to play "question" games; Would you eat spaghetti made with gummy worms? Would you wear your clothes backwards all day? Sometimes the answer is "yes" and sometimes it's "no"--but the fun is in the asking. Gifted writer and educator Esme Raji Codell has writtten a book that incorporates fractured fairy tales with this kind of parent-child interplay to create a pitch-perfect combination of bedtime read-aloud and fairytales that will delight children and parents!

Review: 4 Stars - Fairly Fair Tales by Esma Raji Codell is a cute book that puts a new twist on some classic stories. With few words, it’s the illustrations by Elisa Chavarri that make the book entertaining and will without a doubt have kid’s imaginations running.

From page to page the visuals have high impact because with each reading there’s always something new to see. I love illustrations such as this, especially when kids tend to latch on to a favorite book and like to read it over and over again. My niece loves this book, she thinks it’s funny that Cinderella ends up dancing at a disco and that Jack and the Bean Stalk characters end up at an Italian restaurant eating spaghetti and meatballs.

All in all, this is a super cute book that I’ll be looking forward to reading with the girls over and over again, always looking for something new to see in the amazing illustrations. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

"Just Picked" is a feature here at A Life Bound By Books. This is a place where I'll be spotlighting new (and old) childrens book or picture books for parents and new readers. It's a place to talk about books for a younger group and to try to help create a new generation of readers.


Title: Trauma Queen
Author: Barbara Dee
Publisher: Aladdin, 272 Pages (April 19th 2011)
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: Every tween girl knows what it's like to have a mom who can be a little embarrasing at times. But for Marigold, it goes way beyond embarrassing. Marigold's single mom is a performance artist, meaning she stages dramatic, wacky performances to express her personal beliefs. Things like wrapping herself in saran wrap for a piece on plastic surgery, or inviting people over in the middle of the night to videotape her sleeping. In fact, Marigold's mom's performances caused such a ruckus in their last town that the two of them, along with Marigold's little sister, have just had to move. Now Marigold's starting a new school, missing her best friend like crazy, and trying to fit in all over again in the shadow of a mom who's famous for all the wrong reasons. As if that's not bad enough, Marigold's mom takes on a new job--teaching drama at Marigold's school! Now all the kids know instantly just how weird her mom is, and Marigold's worried she'll never be able to have a friendship that can survive her mother.

Review: 3 Stars - Middle grade title – Trauma Queen by Barbara Dee was a cute story about a tween girl growing up extremely embarrassed by her mother – shocking right? Being embarrassed by your parents is something most everyone can relate to; even as we get older they can still manage to find a way to make us cringe. If you ask me, I think it’s in their DNA. For Marigold she doesn't think she’ll ever have a normal teen life. Her mom is a performance artist and does things such as wrapping herself in saran wrap for a piece on plastic surgery.

Marigold is more than hurt when her moms dramatic performances hit close to home and affect her relationship with her best friend. It’s so bad that her mother moves them away.

Being a teen girl is rough and Marigold goes through a lot in a short period of time. Moving away from her best friend, starting a new school while trying to keep everyone from finding out about her moms art, just to name a few things.

Marigold has lessons to learn at both home and from the new friends she makes. Dee was able to express and portray the feelings and issues of being a teen pretty spot on. It was easy to see through Mari’s eyes, while dealing with the crazy things life threw at her.

Her grandmother was just as a grandmother should be. She listened, was supportive, explained things in ways Mari’s mother couldn’t and talked about the past to give Mari a better understanding of just who her mother was. Mari’s little sister had her own wacky side – she liked to “Prairie Speak”. Yes, you read that correctly. I had to smile each time her little sister talked. It’s just something you weren’t expecting but became endeared to.

Dee made Marigold likeable and easy to relate to as we were a fly on the wall to Mari as she grew and changed from the first page to the last. If you ask me, the ending was perfect. I haven’t read many middle grade books, but this one was a quick read that flew by, with great characters, an entertaining and sometimes off the wall story.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

"Just Picked" is a feature here at A Life Bound By Books. This is a place where I'll be spotlighting new (and old) childrens book or picture books for parents and new readers. It's a place to talk about books for a younger group and to maybe help create a new generation of readers.

Title: Presenting... Tallulah
Author: Tori Spelling
Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley Newtwon
Publisher: Aladdin, 32 Pages (September 21st 2010)
Age Range: 4-8
Order Online: Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: All her life, Tallulah has heard what she’s not supposed to do: Don’t get dirty…don’t talk loudly… don’t wear jeans like all the other kids. “You’re not that kind of girl,” everybody keeps telling her. Tallulah knows plenty about what she can’t do and what she shouldn’t do, about what kind of girl she isn’t. But it’s up to her to figure out what kind of girl she is. New York Times bestselling author Tori Spelling and illustrator Vanessa Newton bring us the story of a spunky little girl who, with the help of some special friends, is able to discover exactly who she is.

Review: 4 Stars - Presenting… Tallulah is a cute story with fabulous illustrations about a little girl who is told everything that she’s not supposed to do because she’s “Special” or “Not that kind of girl”. It’s as she makes her way through life at home and school that she starts to come out from behind all those “don’ts. She doesn’t want to be special; she just wants to be like all the other kids. It’s then that she makes a new friend, rescues a little pug puppy and changes the views of everyone around her.

I can see many parts of this story ringing true to Tori’s life and while most kids don’t go to school in a limo it’s fair to say that every kid can relate to being told to be quiet and even at times not get dirty.

I more than loved the illustrations. I felt that the combination of the message in the story and the art that I believe kids will love reading this book over and over again. I’m looking forward to sharing this with my niece soon, I know she’ll love it and it’ll become a favorite.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

"Just Picked" is a new Feature here at A Life Bound By Books. Each month I'll be sharing with you various picture books or younger kids books that I've come across that I think everyone with kids, or even adults will love to read or would even make a great coffee table book.

Title: Chocolate Dreams (Candy Fairies, #1)

Author: Helen Perelman
Illustrator: Erica-Jane Waters
Publisher: Aladdin
Age Range: 4-8
Order Online: Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: Cocoa the Chocolate Fairy is so excited. The fairy princess picked her to watch over the special chocolate eggs for the spring Egg Parade. But right before the parade, the eggs are missing from the nest! Can Cocoa and her friends solve the egg mystery before the big day?

Review: 4 Stars - Chocolate Dreams is the first in this Middle Grade series from author Helen Perelman. With cute characters and Illustrations, the story teaches friendship, team work, courage and more. The story was perfectly relevant for its target age group and had some good lessons for such readers.

Each of the Fairies is more then sweet, no pun intended. I enjoyed the imaginative illustrations throughout the book allowing everyone a sneak peek into the candy world and the fairies that live, and take care of and grow every type of candy you could ever dream of.

It’s not often that I’ll read a middle grade book, but the covers for these and being that there is candy involved I thought I’d give them a try. I’m glad I did and am looking forward to reading and sharing them with my niece soon.

Title: Rainbow Swirl (Candy Fairies, #2)
Author: Helen Perelman
Illustrator: Erica-Jane Waters
Publisher: Aladdin
Age Range: 4-8
Order Online: Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: Life in Sugar Valley is deliciously fun!

Candy Fair is one of the biggest candy events in Sugar Valley. Raina the Gummy Fairy is serious about winning fi rst prize. She follows all the rules to make the perfect new candy. Then a terrible storm blows through Gummy Forest, and all of Raina's dreams are washed away....

Review: 4 Stars - Rainbow Swirl is the second book in the Candy Fairies series from author Helen Perelman. In this book there are more lessons through that kids will easily pick up on. This time, the cute fairies are excited that they are able to take part in this years Candy Fair. They show not only now creative you can be but also how to all pull together to help one another out after a storm makes a mess in Gummy Forest.

The illustrations also continue throughout and show more of the fairies and the sugar land they live in. I was happy to be able to continue reading right through to this next book and again I’m more than looking forward to reading these with my niece. I know she’ll love them and I can see her reading each over and over again for awhile to come.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this page.
*Please note that this is feature here that I have created specifically for my blog. Should you wish to have a feature like this, please be sure to make it all your own.

Title: The Light - Morpheus Road (Book 1)
Author: D.J. MacHale
Publisher: Aladdin, 352 Pages (April 20, 2010)
From: The Pubisher

Synopsis: Marshall Seaver is being haunted. In the first installment of this chillingly compelling trilogy, sixteen-year-old Marshall discovers that something beyond our world is after him. The eerie clues pile up quickly, and when people start dying, it’s clear whatever this isit’s huge.

Marshall has no idea what’s happening to him, but he’s soon convinced that it has something to do with his best friend Cooper, who’s been missing for over a week. Together with Coop’s sister, Marsh searches for the truth about what happened to his friend, ultimately uncovering something bigger than he could ever have imagined.

Review: 4 Stars - When I first started reading this book I soon learned that I wouldn't be reading it in the dark. It had such a high creep factor for me that I almost didn't pick it back up again. What can I say; this book was scary and well… I'm a big chicken. lol I did in the end finish it... and was a little bit confused while reading, but I liked the story and the build up for what's to come in the rest of the series.

Our main character Marshall finds himself being haunted by a character he's dreamed up in his head. It's this character that adds the creepy factor to this book. I mean even his name – Gravedigger wouldn’t give anyone the warm and fuzzies. While Marshall thinks he's going crazy and well, running for his life - he finds himself in a much bigger mystery when his best friend Cooper goes missing.

With the help of Coopers icy sister Sydney, who somewhat thaws throughout the story they embark on a journey that really the two of them only know about. Yeah, there are other's who are swept up into the story and have trouble due to Gravedigger and all, but really it's Marshall and Sydney who are deeper into things then they want to be.

It's a thrilling book that had a bunch of twists and turns. It answered some of the many questions I had from the beginning, but left me asking more questions after finishing.

Sometimes I felt the story was a bit long and that maybe there was just a bit too much going on. Sometimes we see that in first books in a series, so it wasn't anything that I wasn't really use to. I mean we all need some back story to our characters and some details and explanations and such, right? I can see how this might put some people off, especially because it’s a long read and for those who are about to start reading this one or have picked it up and put it back down again…. Give it another try. I mean I thought it was worth it. Not to mention MacHale does well in describing things. Often I felt like I was watching a movie more so then reading a book.

All in all, I'm glad that I pushed through and finished this one, creep factor and all. There's a bigger picture here behind all that's going on and I'm looking forward to finding out just what's next for Marshall, Sydney and Cooper in the books to come.

Check out the books Trailer here:



FTC Disclaimer: I did not pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this review.