Children's Fiction ~

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark

Review by: Bluninja29

Opening Thoughts:

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark is a collection of stories based off the TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2003 TV series.) It has 11 Short Stories all based off episodes from the TV show. with more view points that we didn't get to see in the show. One of the Short stories im are gonna look at is about Count Dooku.

Story:

Count Dooku was surprised attacked by the Republic.

Presentation:

I do like how these are in the characters point of view like Count Dooku. I also like how all the stories are based off the show. What I didn't like is how these are short stories, but it is a nitpick so I won't get crazy over it. I honestly liked this book.

If you are a star wars nerd or want to give your kid a star wars book to read. then this is the book for you!

4/5

Title: This World We Live In

Series: Last Survivors #3

Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer

Published Date: April 1, 2010

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Format: Kindle

Page Count: 261 pages

Source: Library via OverDrive

Date Read: May 29-30, 2020

Review

Meh; it wasn't too bad and it was a quick read, but it didn't grab me the way the first two did. So we get a look at how the two families (or what remains of them) from the previous books come together a year after THE EVENT. The story tied up loose ends and gave us a couple of mini-disasters, but it didn't move the story forward. It felt like reading more of a novella with an extended epilogue. I did read the excerpt from the fourth and final book and it left me feeling like I am good ending the series here. The excerpt did answer my questions about how the camps work and that is enough for me. 

As for the romances, I didn't buy one of them. Miranda and Alex seemed to come out of nowhere- I flipped back to the last chapter and re-read the paragraphs trying to find where the spark was that started these two together. Nada. As for Miranda's older brother and his wife - yeah, the less said the better. Honestly, I was hoping the tornado would have taken care of those two. Then there is Carlos, who did nothing for the storyline and died in a fat-shaming way, so again the less said the better.

I felt more compassion for the secondary character in this book than the main character. At first, I thought perhaps Kit was imaginary but then as the story progressed, I wanted to know more about Kit’s situation as it seemed she had no one, except the rock.

Caleb’s best friend is now into sports, leaving all the things they used to do together behind. Caleb feels like he lives in the shadow of his perfect, older brother Patrick.  To escape his brother, Caleb heads off into the woods by their house.  Spying some crawfish, Caleb stops to try to catch them.  He thought she was an angel the way the sun surrounded her face, but it was only Kit, the new girl who was now telling Caleb how to fish.

This was where she hung out at.  This area inside the woods. She invited him to return the next day and he definitely would!  Finally, he had someone to hang out with and a special place that no one knew about. 

I liked reading about the friendship these two started and how things progressed. They both had issues that they were trying to hide/avoid.  Kit was doing a great job of hiding hers and then, there was Caleb, who couldn’t get away from his.  Caleb had a father who was unpredictable, a mother who was over-protective, and a brother who thought he could do no wrong.

Caleb starts to question Kit about her carefree life and her responses were short and matter-of-fact. I felt there was some kind of jealousy at times, as Caleb watched Kit.  I wanted and needed to know about Kit, as there’s something going on there.  Yet, Kit remains silent, not questioning Caleb about his life.  Caleb wonders if she notices that he’s different than other kids.

It’s a great book that covers a lot of different topics. Caleb has cystic fibrosis and Kit is being abused and neglected but these issues don’t take center stage.  It’s quite an adventure.

Not a lot to say other than my heart goes out to the Floyd family and the protestors in MN. Kansas' governor is sick and tired of everyone complaining about stay at home orders, so she is now leaving it up to the counties and city government to set limits for re-opening. I'm parking my ass at home for the summer regardless of how "safe" it is to venture to places that can amass a crowd. 

So for this last Friday in May, I am continuing my read stories 5-7 in Because He's Perfect, then onto my book for BL-opoly turn This World We Live In. Finally I hope to get through Sisters By Choice, which I had a hold on and it came through on Tuesday. 

COYER hosts are hosting read-a-thons within the greater COYER, and this next read-a-thon is the Diversity Read-a-thon. So for the next two weeks I will be knocking out the novellas on my summer list that fit the theme. 

I will be back on Monday. Taking a break from social media this weekend.

 I am Finished!

Nine rolls.

Eight prompts filled.

Five books off my physical reading shelf read.

No ladders, yet also no snakes. 

Previous Rolls

1. Space 1: Author is a Woman

A Distant Melody (Wings of Glory #1) by Sarah Sundin, 355 pages (worth 2 rolls) - Finished 4/9/2020

2 You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-10 00:43:11 UTC

Space 11

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-10 00:44:57 UTC

Space 19: Set in UK

The Scandalous Suffragette by Eliza Redgold, 234 pages, set in London, Manchester, and the Kent countryside (worth 2 rolls). Read April 9th-14th. 

3. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-15 13:56:05 UTC

Space 24

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-15 13:57:14 UTC

Space 28: Written between 1900 and 1999

The Final Days: The Classic, Behind-the-Scenes Account of Richard Nixon's Dramatic Last Days in the White House by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, originally published in 1976 (456 pages without the index). Worth 2 rolls when completed. Read 4/16-4/22.

 4. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-23 00:31:33 UTC

Space 32

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-23 00:32:04 UTC

Space 41 - Characters involved in politics

Eisenhower 1956: The President's Year of Crisis - Suez and the Brink of War by David A. Nichols (286 pages without notes or index). Worth 2 rolls when completed. Read 4/17-May 11.

 5. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-12 21:04:28 UTC

Space 48

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-12 21:04:48 UTC

Space 59 - Book published more than 10 years ago

I am using a book that I read during the game. The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby (285 pages without notes and index). Read 4/25-4/27. Worth two rolls.

6. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-15 01:35:41 UTC

Space 70

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-15 01:36:02 UTC

Space 73 - Categorized as YA

Another book I read during the game is Beauty Queens by Libby Bray (396 pages; I listened to the unabridged audiobook). Read 4/25-26th. Worth 2 rolls.

7. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-16 14:56:03 UTC

Space 78

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-16 14:56:24 UTC

Space 82 - Urban Fantasy

The Dead & the Gone - 309 pages.  Read 5/15-16. Worth one roll.

8. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-19 00:27:52 UTC

Space 94 - Nonfiction

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh. Read 5/13-14. Worth 2 Rolls.

9. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-19 00:41:19 UTC

Space 100 - Right on the nose, how 'bout that?

1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire by Rebecca Rideal (234 pages of reading material).