Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver begs comparisons to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, mainly in that it centers around a teenage romance between a young woman and a storybook creature (in this case, a werewolf). Like Twilight, it’s also set in a small town, and clueless parents and adults facilitate these teens having much more independence than any real-life teens I know.
Beyond the obvious similarities, though, this book differs from Twilight in the most important ways.
The difficulty in writing this review will be trying to avoid hyperbole. How can you gush and go on about a book without sounding insincere (or a little bit goofy?) Oh, but I loved loved loved this book, hyperbole or not.
A few weeks ago I saw a preview for the movie version of Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux, and not knowing a bit about the storyline, thought the movie looked kinda cute. Beautiful colors and wonderful lines in the animation, a cute little mouse of a hero, and I do love Matthew Broderick. I felt excited about the movie and thought I’d finally read the book.
Marisa de los Santos’ Love Walked In owes its heritage to classic romantic movies, though it’s not, I assure you, a romance novel. It’s more a novel about love – how it happens, how it doesn’t, what it does to us, and what we do for it.
When one character accuses another of being a “horrible little…rodent…[a] nasty little vermin!” in Michael Hoeye’s Time Stops for No Mouse, on some level, there’s a bit of truth to it. That’s because this delightful middle-grade book is populated by mice, rats, moles, squirrels, minks, and other assorted furry creatures.
BOOK:30 