This book took a little too long to get to the reveal which brought the vents together and explained why Sunny was spending the summer with her grandpa in his retirement community. Prior to that reveal, I had not really engaged with the narrative and even found myself a little confused by the flashbacks which, unfortunately, were not clearly delineated. After the reveal, I had so much empathy for Sunny. I do not think,
however, that I will add this to the classroom library.
These two books conclude the graphic memoir series by Shannon Hale. It could be annoying that Shannon kept learning similar lessons throughout these novels but that makes these more realistic and makes Shannon more relatable because unlike fictional characters, real people often struggle with the same things multiple times throughout their lives. I will definitely put the whole series on my classroom shelves.
I continue to love this series. I also love the way that Venable develops the story with each entry. Instead of making this a rinse and repeat sort of superhero story, each entry builds on the events of the previous entry, expanding the world (aka the number of people who know about the identity of the Moustress and Katie’s “job” as her sidekick.) Although I’m caught up with the series now, I eagerly anticipate the next entry and will definitely put this series and my classroom shelves.
I found another gem in this graphic novel. In this story, the main character finds herself overseas at a new school still grieving the tragic loss of her father to cancer four years earlier. Then she happens to find a dragon egg … which hatches for her and launches her and her new friends into a fantasy quest that connects all the way back to her father. I will definitely continue with the series and put this book and the sequels onto my classroom shelves.
I love Riordan’s books but they got the short end of the stick when it comes to the graphic novel adaptations. I really did not like the art style and definitely disliked the portrayals of the main characters – Jason, Piper, and Leo. Thus, I will not continue reading the graphic novel adaptations or put them on the shelves. I will put the originals instead.
I really enjoyed this book which tells the story of several students who live in Himawari House in Japan while they study Japanese, at least while three of them study. Of the five residents, two are Japanese and good friends. The other three are exchange students, one from South Korea, one from Singapore, and one from the United States. I will not, however, add this to my classroom library because this is a YA or NA novel not middle grade.
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