Athena's Reading List 2015

[Athena]

Ann M. Martin - De BabySitter's Club 11: Gertie en de Snobs (Kristy and the Snobs) (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Rom-com

Age-range: Children, Young-Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 120

Date read: 03-08-2015

ISBN: 9789024342235

Synopsis (GoodReads): Kristy didn't want to move to "Millionaire's Row, " but when her mother married Watson, she had no choice. Now the snobby kids in her new neighborhood are making fun of Kristy, her ailing dog, Louie, and the club--and Kristy's fighting mad!

 

My thoughts:

 

I've been reading two BSC books for the read-a-thons lately, so after reading book 6 I went on to the next one, which is book 11 (see my review for book 6 for more detail). It features the same main character and continues on the story line of book 6. This is the story of Kristy trying to settle in in her new house and neighbourhood (book 6 was about the wedding).

 

It was really nice to re-read this book. It had some great scenes in it, and also dogs (always a bonus, at least if they're treated well!). I thought a certain part near the end was very moving (but I don't want to spoil it). It was nice to read about Gertie (Kristy) adjusting to her new environment. I really enjoyed re-reading this book.

 

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

[Athena]

A. C. Baantjer - Baantjer 49: De Cock en het Lijk op Drift

 

 

Genre: Detective

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 139

Date read: 03-08-2015

ISBN: 9789026109355

Synopsis (me): A body is found dead in the water. Is it suicide or murder?

 

My thoughts:

 

It was another read-a-thon, so I read another Baantjer book. This one was next.

 

This was a suspenseful story. It was interesting and I wanted to keep on reading it to find out 'whodunnit'. I liked the characters, though on occasion it dazzled me a bit how things were or weren't connected. I liked the plot twists and the writing style. The story involved collections, which reminded me of an earlier Baantjer book I read, Baantjer 35: De Cock en Danse Macabre. The two books don't have similar plot twists or anything, they just both involve a dead person who owned a collection of something. I really enjoyed reading this Baantjer book.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Disney - Donald Duck Dubbel Pocket 8 (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Disney

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 510

Date read: 04-08-2015

ISBN: 9789054286370

Synopsis (me): Comic strips of Donald Duck and his friends.

 

My thoughts:

 

It was another read-a-thon, so I re-read another Donald Duck book. I will briefly describe each story below.

 

Donald Duck: De Crimi-klonen

This was a nice story about Donald Duck and some clones. It was funny and entertaining.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Donald Duck als Luie Directeur

This was an interesting story about Donald Duck and Oom Dagobert. Donald gets to be a CEO.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Droomprins Donald

This story borrows elements from various fairy tales. I really enjoyed it.

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

 

Mickey Mouse in TV of Geen TV

This was a very entertaining story about Mickey Mouse, Goofy and watching TV.

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

 

Otto van Drakenstein en de Speciale Specialisatie

This is a nice story about Otto van Drakenstein and a specialisation he isn't yet proficient in, so he tries to rectify this. It was entertaining.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Donald Duck: De Sportieve Drinker

This was an enjoyable story about Donald Duck and sports. The colours and techniques used in this comic are different than the other comics in this book, it's quite nice to look at.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Oom Dagobert: In de Ban van de Steen

This was an enjoyable story about Oom Dagobert and a stone.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Donald Duck: Top of Flop!

This was an enjoyable story about Donald Duck, Oom Dagobert and music.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Eenden in de Ruimte: De Jacht in het Ruimteschip

This was a short story that takes place on a space ship. It was nice.

Rating: (****) (7/10)

 

De Verjaardag van Superdonald

This was a very good story about Superdonald's birthday. Donald has to wash the cape, and now his family suspects he's Superdonald (they saw the cape in the laundry).

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

 

Oom Dagobert: De Geheime Broederschap

This was an enjoyable story about a secret brotherhood and Oom Dagobert.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Mickey Mouse: Invasie uit de Ruimte

This was a nice story about Mickey Mouse, Goofy and an invasion from outer space.

Rating: (****) (8/10)

 

Donald Duck: De Bevrijding van Ludwig von Eendhoven

This is a historical story about Donald Duck and a famous musician.

Rating: (****) (8/10)

 

Diederik Vliegt voor het Eerst

This is a short story about Diederik and the first time he takes a flight. It was nice but I don't quite get the ending.

Rating: (**) (4/10)

 

Superdonald: De Superheld

This was an enjoyable story about Superdonald and thieves.

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

 

Donald Duck Terug naar Auralon

This was a very enjoyable story about Donald Duck and Aurelon. It maken references to an earlier story about Aurelon, that I don't believe I've read (at least not in the recent years). It was very good and involved both magical and technological elements.

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

 

Overall I quite enjoyed re-reading this Donald Duck book. Most of the stories in this book were quite enjoyble.

 

Overall Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Tais Teng - De Zoon van de Slang

 

 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Ex-Library Copy)

Pages: 35

Date read: 04-08-2015

ISBN: 9789027631879

Synopsis (me): This story takes place in South America, 1531. The indiginous tribe is treated by Spanish soldiers, they want to find El Dorado (but the tribe doesn't think it exists). Tun, a boy / young man, suggests he leads them to it. He has a plan...

 

My thoughts:

 

Because it's the read-a-thon and the BookTube-A-Thon, I read this book now. One of the challenges of the BookTube-A-Thon is to read the last book you acquired. This was one of the last books I acquired (I bought it together with two other books at the library sale). I've read other books in the Zoeklicht series when I was a child. This one is historical fiction. I don't know if I've read this book before or not.

 

This was an enjoyable story. It contains one fantastical element. I quite liked the story. The writing style is quite easy to read for children, so I read the book pretty quickly. It was a good story. I was not expecting the ending. Overall this was an enjoyable read.

 

Rating: (****) (7/10)

[Athena]

Bies van Ede - Het Duivelsbeeld

 

(note: the dashed lines are not actually on the cover, it's just a bad image, but I was unable to find any good images of this cover)

 

Genre: Horror

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Ex-Library Copy)

Pages: 104

Date read: 04-08-2015

ISBN: 9789024635778

Synopsis (me): An old shipwreck has been found. It's said that there's a huge statue of a god on board the ship. Laura and Alexander decide to take a look. Laura finds a strange metal disc, its dark powers have a strange influence on her.

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this book at the same time as Tais Teng - De Zoon van de Slang. Since I've read that one just now, for the read-a-thon, I decided to read this one too. I have read books in the Wachtwoord series before when I was a child, and I've also read books by this author before and liked them. I'm not sure if I've read this book before or not.

 

This was a suspenseful horror story, and it reminded me of the Dutch types of horror books I used to read when I was a child (by this author as well as other Dutch authors). The book reads pretty quickly. The story was interesting. It was scary but in a nice way, not as terrifying as some horror books for adutls that I'm not so keen on, but suspenseful in a good way. I'm not sure I can entirely explain why I liked and like these older Dutch horror books but why I'm less keen on some horror books for adults. Anyway, the book made me feel nostalgic. I don't know if I've read it before, or maybe it's just that the style of the book reminded me of books I read when I was a child. I really enjoyed reading this book.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Enid Blyton - De Dolle Tweeling 5: De Dolle Tweeling in Spanning (St. Clare 5: Claudine at St. Clare's)

(from: Enid Blyton - De Dolle Tweeling 5-6: De Dolle Tweeling in Spanning & De Dolle Tweeling Overwint (St Clare's 5-6: Claudine at St. Clare's & Fifth Formers of St. Clare's))

 

(for the omnibus edition)

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 168

Date read: 05-08-2015

ISBN: 9789085197256 (for the omnibus edition)

Synopsis (GoodReads): St. Clare's boarding-school has some interesting newcomers. Claudine, a French girl, causes great excitement by doing and saying exactly what she likes, and Eileen, whose mother is the new matron.

 

My thoughts:

 

Several people on the forum really like this author, and this series. I bought this Dutch omnibus a while ago, before I realised this author was so loved by many people on BCF. One of the BookTube-A-Thon challenges was to read someone else's favourite book and I chose this one to read for the read-a-thon because of that. The other options, out of the books I already owned, were mainly bigger books and I wasn't really in the mood for those titles. Immediately after picking this book though I was excited about reading it.

 

This was an enjoyable story, it takes place in the fourth year of the school (when the girls are in the fourth class). A couple of the names have been changed to sound more Dutch, such as the name of the school and a couple of the characters' names.

 

I quite liked this story. It takes place over one trimester (one third of the school year). Various things happen in this time. I liked the characters. At first it seemed like a lot of names to remember, but gradually I got to know the characters. This is book 5 in the series so if one starts with book 1, this might not be as much of a problem. I think the characters might be introduced more gradually in book 1.

 

Sometimes the story seemed a bit all over the place, I wasn't sure what it was focusing on or which characters were more important than others. I quite enjoyed reading this story though, I liked the plot twists. I guessed a few but I really enjoyed reading this book.

 

The omnibus also contains the next book in the series, book 6, and I'll be reading that one next. (I finally know what the 'midnight feast' thing is about!)

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Enid Blyton - De Dolle Tweeling 6: De Dolle Tweeling Overwint (St. Clare 6: Fifth Formers of St. Clare's)

(from: Enid Blyton - De Dolle Tweeling 5-6: De Dolle Tweeling in Spanning & De Dolle Tweeling Overwint (St Clare's 5-6: Claudine at St. Clare's & Fifth Formers of St. Clare's))

 

(for the omnibus edition)

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Young-Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 174

Date read: 05-08-2015

ISBN: 9789085197256 (for the omnibus edition)

Synopsis (GoodReads): The St. Clare's girls are now in the fifth form, shortly to go up into the sixth, but they are not too old for tricks and escapades, jokes and excitement. Especially amusing is French girl Antoinette who, like her sister Claudine, doesn't always understand the ways of St. Clare's.

 

My thoughts:

 

After reading book 5 in this series (the first book in this omnibus), I went on to read book 6 in the series (the second book in this omnibus). I'm reading them for the read-a-thon because one of the challenges for the BookTube-A-Thon is to read someone else's favourite book.

 

This book takes place a while after the other book, in the last trimester of the fifth year. I really liked this book. The series does have certain ideas about class, that nowadays we consider mean and oldfashioned, but it makes sense for the time this book was written in.

 

There was one particular scene, taking place at midnight, I thought was brilliant and hilarious. I liked the characters (minus some of their ideas of the class' thing).

 

Overall I quite enjoyed reading thi sbook. The translation seems to be well done overall and the story reads nicely. I'd like to read more of this series, and by the author.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Francine Oomen (ill. Philip Hopman) - De Computerheks 1: De Computerheks (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Ex-library Copy)

Pages: 80

Date read: 05-08-2015

ISBN: 9789026917325

Synopsis (me): A computer salesman steals the magic book of witch Ursula. Together with Lot they try to get it back.

 

My thoughts:

 

I found this book for sale at the library. A few pages are loose. I've read and liked some other books by the author, and I think I've read this book when I was younger, but I'm not 100% sure.

 

This was an entertaining story about a girl named Lot and a witch called Ursula. It involves both witchcraft and technology. I enjoyed reading the story, the writing style is nice and the illustrations were nice to look at. It seems there are more books in the series, I would like to read some more of them. The story is funny sometimes and nicely whymsical like a children's story can be.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Robert Jordan, Chuck Dixon, Mike Miller and Harvey Tolibao - The Wheel of Time Graphic Novels 0: New Spring

 

 

Genre: Fantasy

Age-range: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 126

Date read: 05-08-2015

ISBN: 9780765323804

Synopsis (GoodReads): In the last few years before his death, Robert Jordan worked closely with Chuck Dixon and Mike Miller on the graphic adaptation of New Spring.

 

The eight full-color issues of New Spring, released between 2005 and 2010, tell the story of the search for the infant Dragon Reborn and of the adventures of Moiraine Damodred, a young Aes Sedai, and Lan Mandragoran, the uncrowned king of a long-dead nation. Adapted by noted comics writer Chuck Dixon with the full cooperation of Robert Jordan, and illustrated by artists Mike Miller and Harvey Tolibao, New Spring will delight any of Robert Jordan’s millions of readers.

 

Tor is proud to collect all eight issues of New Spring in a single volume, which will also include developmental art, script pages, and correspondence between Jordan and Dixon.

 

My thoughts:

 

I love The Wheel of Time series, it's one of my favourite fantasy book series. When I found this graphic novel at the book fair (last time I was there), I was very happy. I do own the graphic novel of the first book, on the computer, which I bought in a Humble Bundle. I am not a fan of reading books on my computer screen though, so I haven't read it yet (it's about 30 volumes of 24 pages each). I do want to do so though. I'd been meaning to read this graphic novel of the prequel of the series, and now with the week-long read-a-thon it seemed like a good idea to read it.

 

The book contains some bonus material: some of Robert Jordan's notes on the graphic adaptation of his work and an illustrated guide to characters, locations and items (as said by the back of the book, I didn't make up those words).

 

The illustrations in this book were quite nice. The narrative font and design change near the end of the story, the drawing style changed a bit too. I'm unsure why this is, maybe they had another artist do that particular comic book issue or such. I found it a bit annoying at first as it pulled me out of the book.

 

It might be a little bit difficult to follow the story if you haven't read any of the books, but things are briefly explained. I would recommend though that you read the novels before reading this graphic novel as the novels explain things a lot better.

 

I really liked seeing what some of the characters and places looked like. I particularly liked the illustration of Tar Valon (the overview one).

 

It was nice to read this story in this manner. It's made me fondly remember the original books, which is a good thing. It also makes I really want to read the graphic novel of the first book, which I own, so I can see what a lot of the main characters look like.

 

After-note: I have read about half of the comic book issues now that make up the story of the first book. However, I found it so uncomfortable to read for a long amount of time on my computer screen, that I'll be spacing out the reading of the rest of the comic books. I will write a review of all of them when I've finished them all. Book-wise I really like the comic books, it's just the comfort of reading them on my computer screen is, well, uncomfortable, it gives me a headache. But my Kindle is only able to display black-and-white colours so I can't really read it on there.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Marie-José Balm, Jos van Hest and Marjolein Krijger - N46: Blauw: Mini-Informatie (re-read)

 

(I wasn't able to find a cover image)

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 16

Date read: 05-08-2015

ISBN: 900500245X

Synopsis (me): The book provides some information about the colour blue and various things that have a blue colour.

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this book at the library sale recently. I used to read this series when I was a child, all borrowed from the library. They are short books, giving some information about a certain subject. The later ones in the series contain more information and are for slightly older children. I mainly bought this book for nostalgic reasons, I loved this series when I was a child and when I saw them again at the library, memories came flooding back. I hadn't thought of these books in a long time (unfortunately I can't remember a lot of the books I used to read, sometimes I can remember a cover or a story detail but not authors or titles). Anyway, they had a lot of them for sale so I decided I'd buy one early one, and one later one (for younger and for older children). This one has the theme of 'blue' and since that's my favourite colour, it's what made me pick this book. It was the read-a-thon and I'd been meaning to read these short books.

 

The book contains illustrations and photos, and text. At the end there is a 'blue dictionary', explaining some Dutch expressions that use this word. The last page is a summary page.

 

It was great to read (probably re-read) this book. It was very nostalgic. I wouldn't recommend it to an adult to read (unless it was read to a young child by the adult), but I enjoyed the book for nostalgic reasons. I've got the other book in this series, that I bought, William van den Akker - N195: Voedsel Bewaren: Informatie, to read next.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

William van den Akker - N195: Voedsel Bewaren: Informatie (re-read)

 

(I wasn't able to find an image of this cover)

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 20

Date read: 05-08-2015

ISBN: 9005008385

Synopsis (me): The book provides some information about how to store food in a good way.

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this book in the library sale recently for nostalgic purposes. After reading Marie-José Balm, Jos van Hest and Marjolein Krijger - N46: Blauw: Mini-Informatie, I went on to read this book (see the review of the other book for a bit more information).

 

Thre is a glossary at the end of the book. I remember sometimes for school we had to use these later ones in the series for what we called 'dc'. I can't remember exactly what it stood for, something with documentary I think.

 

It was really nostalgic to read this book. I might have read it when I was a child. The book contains some nice information for children.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Kjartan Poskitt (ill. Daniel Postgate) - Waanzinnig om te Weten: Echt Gigantisch Dat Heelal (The Knowledge: The Gobsmacking Galaxy) (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 189

Date read: 05-08-2015 <-> 06-08-2015

ISBN: 9789020605082

Synopsis (GoodReads): This gobsmacking guide gives you mind-boggling information about our galaxy and beyond. Go on a grand tour of the solar system, where you can go skiing on Mars and meet the sad creature from Pluto. There are incredible facts about red giants, white dwarves and supernovas.

 

My thoughts:

 

I used to read the Waanzinnig om te Weten books when I was a child and young teenager. The Dutch series involves books from multiple English series (such as Horrible Histories). I really liked these books. I've been meaning to re-read them, and to read the ones I've bought from the library in the past year. This one was always my favourite, so I thought I'd start with re-reading this one. I thought it might make a good read-a-thon read.

 

It was really enjoyable to re-read this book. It's quite educational (especially for a children's book). I really liked the writing style. The illustrations are really nice to look at. The book is very humourous and I really enjoyed this. My favourite parts are the part about making a model of the solar system using a yellow painted washing machine, and the chapter where you take a trip around all the planets and such in our solar system. I really enjoyed re-reading this book, it was hilarious. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as an adult, as when I was a child, but I really enjoyed re-reading this book.

 

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

[Athena]

Paul Arnoldussen and Marja Baeten (ill. Joep Bertrams) - Die van Hiernaast en van de Overkant (re-read)

 

 

Genre: Information

Age-range: Children

Format: Paperback

Pages: 81

Date read: 06-08-2015

ISBN: 9789070066628

Synopsis (me): This book contains a lot of facts about various countries in Europe (in 1987).

 

My thoughts:

 

I really liked this book when I was a child. I thought it'd be fun to re-read it as an adult (I read it quite a few times as a child). This book was a gift to me from my mum. It's a non-fiction book for children, illustrated and with photos, containing information about European countries. Since it was published in 1987, obviously some of the information is outdated now. The book was for example written before the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, so in the map of the book current Germany is drawn as two countries.

 

I enjojyed re-reading this book. It was great to see the illustrations again and to read the text. Quite a few bits of information are probably outdated by now. It was all true in 1987 though, so the book is at least interesting to me for historical purposes. Life has changed a lot since 1987 (that's 28 years). Anyway, it was enjoyable for me to re-read this book and to learn about certain countries in Europe, or at least their history.

 

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

[Athena]

Geronimo Stilton - Geronimo Stilton 11: De Glimlach van Lisa (Il Sorriso Di Monna Topisa)

 

 

Genre: Detective

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Ex-library Copy)

Pages: 128

Date read: 06-08-2015

ISBN: 9789085920106

Synopsis (me): Geronimo and his family follow the clues left behind in a famous painting.

 

My thoughts:

 

I bought this book at the library a while ago. I relaly like most of the Stilton books and have read quite a few. There are lots more to read though . They make for good read-a-thon reads. An extra reason to read it, was that one of the challenges for the BookTube-A-Thon was to read a book of which the author shares the same letter as the first letter of your last name. Since Stilton starts with an 'S' and my last name starts with an 'S', I read this book for this challenge.

 

This was an allright story, it was enjoyable and nice but I didn't like ti as much as some of the other books I've read of this series. The fact that I'm feeling tired from reading on the computer for a few hours doesn't help (I read Volumes 1-16 + 1.5 of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Graphic Novels 1: The Eye of the World by several authors). I liked the illustrations of this book. Overall then the book was enjoyable, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.

 

Rating: (****) (7/10)

[Athena]

Geronimo Stilton - De Reis om de Wereld in 80 Dagen (Il Giro del Mondo in 80 Giorni)

 

 

Genre: Literature

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 224

Date read: 06-08-2015

ISBN: 9789085920854

Synopsis (me): A retelling by Geronimo Stilton of the classic book Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw this book at the library and borrowed it. I've enjoyed other Stilton retellings of classic books. I haven't read the original, yet, I do have it on my shelf.

 

This was an enjoyable story. I liked the characters and the writing style. The illustrations were pretty and colourful. I own the original book the retelling is based on (reprinted), I'll read it some day as I liked this story a lot. It was quite an adventure.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Geronimo Stilton - Superhelden 3: De Aanval van de Krekelwroeters (Supereroi 3: L'Assalto dei Grillitalpa)

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 192

Date read: 06-08-2015 <-> 07-08-2015

ISBN: 9789085921349

Synopsis (me): The superheroes have to fight against a villain and his army of bugs.

 

My thoughts:

 

I've read books 1, 2 and 4 in this series (in the order of 2, 1, 4), and I really liked those. So when I saw book 3 available at the library, I borrowed it.

 

Like the other books in the series, this book contains a few comic pages a couple of times. The rest of the pages contain text and illustrations.

 

This was an enjoyable story, but I have to say it wasn't as good as books 2 and 4 (I like those the best). I liked the characters and the illustrations. There were some plot twists in the book that I was expecting, so the story wasn't as surprising as books 2 and 4. It was still an enjoyable story though, it was entertaining.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Jeanne Willis (ill. Jim Field) - SuperCat 2: SuperCat vs the Party Pooper

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 201

Date read: 07-08-2015

ISBN: 9780007518654

Synopsis (GoodReads): Supercat is back in the second highly illustrated instalment of everybody’s favourite cat superhero series, from bestselling author and queen of comedy, Jeanne Willis.

 

Tiger was an ordinary pet, until the day he licked a toxic sock and was transformed into… SUPERCAT!

 

Now, the evil Count Backwards has kidnapped the Queen from her own birthday party and plans to take over the world! With his superpowers, his best friend James, and a few tricks in his party bag, can Supercat save the day?

 

It’s party time…

 

My thoughts:

 

I read book 1 recently and I really liked it. So when I found book 2 at the library, I borrowed it.

 

This book was enjoyable, but I liked it less than book 1. A few of the plot twists were predictable and I enjoyed the story less. The ilustrations are really nice to look at. The book is funny in places. Overall it wasn't as impressive as book 1 to me, it was more of the same (which makes sense though). The book was still an enjoyable read though. I would like to read book 3 if / when the library has it.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre - Cakes in Space

 

 

Genre: Science-fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 215

Date read: 07-08-2015

ISBN: 9780192734563

Synopsis (back of the book): Astra and her family are travelling through space to a new home on Nova Mundi, when their space ship is attacked!

 

Killer cupcakes, batty battenbergs, and marauding muffins - cakey fiends are on the loose! It's up to Astra and her robot friend, Pilbeam, to stop them before they destroy her ship... After all, people should eat cakes, not the other way round...

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw this book at the library, its cover attacted me. It looked like a fun book, so I borrowed it.

 

This was a very enjoyable book. I really liked the illustrations. The story is fun, and funny. I liked the plot twists. The authors have a lot of imagination and creativity. I quite enjoyed reading this whymsical space adventure.

 

Rating: (*****) (10/10)

[Athena]

Jeff Kinney - Het Leven van een Loser 7: Zwaar de Klos! (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7: The Third Wheel)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 224

Date read: 07-08-2015

ISBN: 9789026134074

Synopsis (GoodReads): Love is in the air--but what does that mean for Greg Heffley?

 

A Valentine’s Day dance at Greg’s middle school has turned his world upside down. As Greg scrambles to find a date, he’s worried he’ll be left out in the cold on the big night. His best friend, Rowley, doesn’t have any prospects either, but that’s a small consolation.

 

An unexpected twist gives Greg a partner for the dance and leaves Rowley the odd man out. But a lot can happen in one night, and in the end, you never know who’s going to be lucky in love.

 

My thoughts:

 

I've read books 3, 5, 1 and 9 in this series, in English, before and I enjoyed those. When I saw this one in Dutch, I borrowed it from the library.

 

The names of the characters have been changed to sound more Dutch and less English.

 

I kept having the feeling throughout this book that I'd read this book before. GoodReads tells me I didn't, though, as did my computer. Most of the story seemed so familiar to me. So either the book is very similar to another book I read or to another book in the series, or I did read it but I cannot find any record of it anywhere. I've only been a member of the library since December 2014 and I don't own this book so I don't know what is going on.

 

Anyway, the book was enjoyable but I kept having that 'deja-vu' feeling. Maybe the story is just similar to one of the other ones I read in the series or such. I'd like to read more of the series because I do enjoy them, even if this one wasn't as good as some of the other ones I've read.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Alice Pantermüller and Daniela Kohl - De Knotsgekke Wereld van Lotte Wirwar 1: Wat een Beestenboel! (Mein Lotta-Leben 1: Alles Voller Kaninchen)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 188

Date read: 07-08-2015

ISBN: 9789044735697

Synopsis (GoodReads): Lotte really wants to have a pet. She also has a flute that seems to be a bit magical.

 

My thoughts:

 

I found this book at the library, it looked like a book in a similar style as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (and others). Since I like those, as well as Dork Diaries and the Tom Gates books, I thought I'd give this book a go. It's originally written in German.

 

This was an enjoyable story. It was a good translation and I really liked the illustrations and the design of the book. The story was entertaining and I liked the characters. Lotte's world is indeed a bit crazy (the Dutch title of the series implies this). I liked the part about the rabbits / bunnies. I don't know if any other books in the series have been translated into Dutch, but I'd like to read them.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Tim Collins - Nurdius Maximus 1: Het Dagboek van Nurdius Maximus (Dorkius Maximus 1: Diary of Dorkius Maximus)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 192

Date read: 07-08-2015

ISBN: 9789021671574

Synopsis (GoodReads): Dorkius Maximus is a young boy growing up in ancient Rome. This hilarious diary recounts his exploits as, desperate to become a great Roman hero, Dorkius enlists the help of his father's friend, Stoutus, to teach him the noble art of fighting. But heroism doesn't come naturally to Dorkius. Plus, his dad doesn't listen to him, his friends pick on him, and his mum is more interested in her sacred chickens. Dorkius knows there's a mighty warrior inside him, just waiting to get out ... isn't there? Humorously illustrated by Andrew Pinder, this book will delight any child who would like to get a taste of life as an ancient geek.

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw this book, and books 2 and 3 of this series, at the library. They intrigued me and looked like fun raeds. A diary-style book taking place in ancient Rome sounded good to me. I find that time/place of history quite interesting.

 

This was an interesting story. There were some funny parts. I liked the illustrations. It was nice to read a book that takes place in ancient Rome. I haven't read a whole lot of books that take place there (I think there aren't that many? I only know of a few). I liked the writing style.

 

I've got books 2 and 3 left to read. I will continue on with book 2.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Tim Collins - Nurdius Maximus 2: Het Dagboek van Nurdius Maximus in Egypte (Dorkius Maximus 2: Diary of Dorkius Maximus in Egypt)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 192

Date read: 07-08-2015 <-> 08-08-2015

ISBN: 9789021672199

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series.)

 

My thoughts:

 

I found this book, and books 1 and 3, at the library. After reading book 1 and liking it a lot, I went on to read book 2.

 

This book was enjoyable and funny in places. It partially takes place in Egypt (most of the story takes place there). It was really nice to read this book. I found the culture of the ancient Egyptians, and also of ancient Romans, very interesting. I liked the writing style and the characters. Linos is an interesting one in particular (I don't know if he was renamed for the Dutch edition or not)! I will be continuing on with book 3 in the series.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Tim Collins - Nurdius Maximus 3: Het Dagboek van Nurdius Maximus in Pompeï (Dorkius Maximus 3: Diary of Dorkius Maximus in Pompeii)

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 192

Date read: 08-08-2015

ISBN: 9789021672960

Synopsis: (no synopsis because the book is part of a series.)

 

My thoughts:

 

I borrowed books 1-3 in this series from the library. After reading books 1 and 2, I went on to read book 3.

 

This was another nice book in the series. The story largely takes place in Pompeii this time. The story was funny sometimes and I liked the plot twists and the writing style. Overall I really enjoyed reading these three books in this series. I wonder if there are or will be any more. It says online there's a special one made for Dutch people, I'd really like to read that one. I would like to read more books by this author.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)

[Athena]

Kate Pankhurst - Mariella Mystery 5: Mariella Mystery Investigates the Spaghetti Yeti

 

 

Genre: Detective

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 176

Date read: 08-08-2015

ISBN: 9781444012309

Synopsis (GoodReads): Mariella Mystery (That's me!) - totally amazing girl detective, aged 9 and a bit. Able to solve the most mysterious mysteries and perplexing problems, even before breakfast.

 

Is there really a spaghetti-loving yeti stalking the woods next to Limpet Rocks Campsite? Mariella and the Mystery Girls are determined to find out.

 

My thoughts:

 

I saw this book at the library, it looked cute.

 

The story is in diary from with a lot of nice illustrations. I liked the design of the book. The story was quite enjoyable. I did find some of the plot twists a bit predictable. I liked the characters and the illustrations were really nice.

 

Rating: (****) (8/10)

[Athena]

Sally Gardner (ill. David Roberts) - Wings & Co 1: Operation Bunny

 

 

Genre: Detective, Fantasy

Age-range: Children

Format: Hardback (Library Copy)

Pages: 185

Date read: 08-08-2015

ISBN: 9781444003727

Synopsis (back of the book): When Emily Vole inherits an abandoned shop, she discovers a magical world she never knew existed. But a fairy-hating witch, a mischievous set of golden keys, and a train full of brightly coloured bunnies are just a few of the surprises that come with it.

 

With the help of a talking caat called Fidget and a grumpy fairy detective called Buster, it's up to Emily to get to the bottom of Operation Bunny.

 

My thoughts:

 

I found this book at the library, the synopsis interested me. I read it during this read-a-thon (August 2015).

 

This was a nice, whymsical story. I liked the creativity of the author. The book contains quite a few British slang words (I think that's what they are). I was able to follow the story allright enough though. I liked the illustrations. The book was funny in places. I liked the characters and the plot twists.

 

Rating: (*****) (9/10)