The Ivory Rose

Hi! I hope you enjoy this book review on The Ivory Rose!

Author- Belinda Murrel

Genre- Fiction, Time Travel

Theme- Be brave 

Target audience- 10+

I chose be brave for the theme because the main character, Jemma, kept being brave even in the strange, new land of the 1890's. She kept pushing on waking up at the crack of dawn and adjusting to the amount of chores and work as a house maid. I really admire Jemma for adapting to her "new life" so quickly.

I chose 10+ for the target audience because for these type of books having the main character a similar age to you is beneficial to understand what is happening. I also feel that a young child won't grasp the concept of time travel nor the completely different time that the 1890's were either.

This book is about Jemma, going back in time to the 1890's in Sydney. Jemma landed her first job babysitting Sammy, a little 7 year old girl who just moved into town with her mother. During a babysitting session with Sammy, Jemma finds a locket of an Ivory Rose (hence the title) and falls down the stairs, going back in time.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars because it was extremely predictable, even I knew who it was halfway through the book, killing all the suspense the book might of held. I will admit the ending was satisfying, making the book come nicely together. The beginning was quite good, establishing dynamic relationships that grow throughout the story. The second half just dragged on a bit too much for my liking.

The question of the post is: do you enjoy learning about the Victorian times? I certainly do. I find it one of the most fascinating time periods ever! It's really interesting how much our world has changed in all aspects in a generally short period of time. As well as our "normal" during Covid-19 compared to upperclass or lowerclasses "normal" during the 1890's.

I hope you enjoy this book review on The Ivory Rose by Belinda Murrel! Love-bookworm blog  

To Be Mona

Hi! This is book review on To Be Mona!

Author- Kelly Easton
Genre- Fiction

Theme- Be you
Target audience- 12+

I chose 'be you' for the theme because Sage was trying to make herself into a different person. Sage was trying to be someone else, trying to be Mona. I think Sage would have been better off just being herself. This way she would've found friends who love her by being herself and not having friends that like her "fake" self. 

I chose 12+ for the target audience because this book needs you to think past the surface and deeper. Otherwise, you don't get the plot or the characters well enough to understand this book well and enjoy it.

In this book Sage Priestly wants to reinvent herself. Get rid of the extra fat, unpaid bills and the crazy Mum. Sage has a teenage crush on Roger Willis, but him being "Mona's boyfriend" adds another reason to hate and be jealous of Mona. Sage gets an lucky ending but it wasn't how she thought it would be. Vern, Sage's "best friend" starts a fight with Sage. Mona and Sage have a school project together and Mona invites Sage over and some secrets are revealed...

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. At the beginning of the book, it was really well written and the characters were muti-dimensional and had depth. I loved the beginning and if it kept going that way I definitely would've given a rating of 5 stars. Unfortunately, the ending was horrible. I found it to be really rushed and it was really anti-climatic. Mona was really dry and we barely knew anything about her even though she's one of the main characters.

The question of the post is- do you like school projects? I don't mind them, but sometimes they take a long time to do and can be a bit annoying. It also depends on the topic and how we need to display them e.g dioramas, posters etc. What about you? 

I hope you enjoyed this book review on To Be Mona by Kelly Easton. Love-bookworm blog 

The Truth Cookies

Hi! I hope you enjoy this book review on The Truth Cookies!

Author- Fiona Dunbar
Genre- Fiction, Mystery
Theme- Be who you are I will explain why later in the post
Target audience- 10+ I will know explain why later in the post

I chose the main theme as be who you are because in The Truth Cookie Lulu Baker stays true to herself despite her dad wanting to marry someone cruel (Varaminta Le Bone).

This book is about Lulu trying to stop Varaminta Le Bone marrying her dad. Her mother died when she was just starting school. To make matters worse Torquil and Varaminta move in to their house and Varaminta wants her dad to be skinnier so she puts him on a boiled eggs diet. Then when her dad goes on a long New York city trip Varaminta puts in a closet going into Lulu's room. Then later Lulu gets the Apple Star book. It has recipes that are magic. They can make you silent, say the truth or even make you hear what the other person is thinking. Lulu got this amazing book from Cassandra. She thinks she got it from her mum. Then, more trouble. Varaminta fires Aileen (their cook/ maid) and replaces her with Grodmila. Grodmila is somewhat evil, too. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 ⛦ stars because sometimes it got confusing as too much was happening. Then, other times nothing was happening. Otherwise it was great!

The question of the blog is would you want a model as a mum? I personally think I wouldn't because then, your mum would probably want to make you skinny and look beautiful like her. We are all beautiful in our own way!

The other books in this series are, Cupid Cupcakes and Chocolate Wishes. If you want tell me in the comments and I can review them if wanted.

I hope you enjoy this book review on The Truth Cookies! Love-bookworm blog
 

Dancing shoes

Hi! l hope you enjoy this book review on Dancing shoes!

Author- Noel Streatfeild
Genre- Fiction
Theme- Follow YOUR passion l will explain why later in the post
Target audience- 10+ l will explain why later in the post

I said follow YOUR passion for the theme. I chose it because Rachel kept saying to Hilary that she should just do ballet but I think that Hilary did the right thing by doing acrobatics and things like that because Hilary didn't really like ballet that much anyway.

I chose 10+ for the target audience because the words for ballet are quite hard to say if, you're reading it out loud but otherwise you can read Dancing Shoes! Unless, you can read Frech of course!

This book is about Rachel and her Mother and they adopted Hilary but her father died quite soon after he started to act. And Rachel and Hilarys Mother died when they were around 10 years old. Then their aunt Cora (Mrs Wintle) came and took the girls to Londen to where their uncle (Tom Lennox) and cousin (Dulcie) lived. Mrs Wintle ran a dancing school and Hilary soon settled in but Rachel had a harder time because she had never danced before. During the book Rachel kept trying to persuade Hilary to give up that dancing and go to the Royal Ballet School. But everyone else thought that Rachel has gone crazy...

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars ⛦ because it got boring sometimes because events just kept happening and they never stayed at one event and focused on it. Instead it was just a lot of events and not enough detail.

The question of the blog is would you like to do ballet? I would because I think it would be very fun and good for your legs muscles. It would also strengthen them to become more stronger and not have weak legs. You would also have to be quite flexible!

Also there is a film based on this book called Dancing Shoes. Though, it is quite diferent. I hope you enjoyed this book review on Dancing shoes! Love-bookworm blog

Link to the Dancing Shoes movie- (Ballet Shoes) Ballet Shoes PREVIEW

When Good Geeks go Bad

Hi! I hope you enjoy this book review on When Good Geeks Go Bad.

Author-Catherine Wilkins
Genre- Fiction, Everyday life
Theme- Be unique l will explain why later in the post
Target audience-  10+ l will explain why later in the post

I chose be unique for the theme because Ella decides being good has not led her anywhere, so she turns into a rebel. Ella finds out that copying everyone else is not as good as being yourself.

I chose 10+ for the target audience because the ideas are hard to follow. The ideas are hard to follow because sometimes nothing is happening and sometimes you get a giant load of information.

This book is about Ella deciding being good has not been getting her anywhere so why not try being bad?  Ella starts hanging out with the naughty/bad people. To make matters worse her parents recently divorced. Ella still remembers her parents constantly fighting.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars ⛦ because l personally thought that the plot was quite bland and boring. Also sometimes during the book it was uneventful.

The question of the blog is are you compassionate? I personally think I am compassionate because I am kind and helpful whenever l can be. I definitely hope you are compassionate too!

Look forward to seeing new posts! Love-bookworm blog 😙

Olive of Groves

Hi! I hope you enjoy this book review on Olive of Groves!

Author- Katrina Nannestad
Illustrated- Lucia Masciullo (Olive of Groves is not a pictute book)
Genre- Fiction
Theme- Be optimistic I will explain why later in the post
Target audience- 9+ l will explain why later in the post

I chose be optimistic for the theme because while she was at, Mrs Grove's Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus performers she ALWAYS looked on the bright side.

I chose 9+ for this book because some of it is hard to understand. Also because there are lots of characters to keep track of.

This book is about a girl named Olive, who lived with her grandparents. Olive's life changed when a letter came in the post but they had a lizard in their  mail box that ate the the name of the school. When Olive arrived she had to pretend to be an acrobat but was put on probation. Read Olive of Groves to see if Olive passes her probation.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars ⛦ because  there was barely any description at all. Also the author kept introducing new characters and never used them again. So there was a lot of characters to keep track of.

The question of the blog is would you stay positive throughout your time at Mrs Grove's Boarding School for Naughty Boys, Talking Animals and Circus performers? Well l would defiently at least try to but l probably would not be able to keep, being positive the whole way through because, a the school bully Pig McKenzie kept being mean to EVERYONE.

I hope you enjoyed this book review on Olive of Groves. Love-bookworm blog 😘