Book Bunnies

Caramel reviews Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack

Recently Caramel discovered Cleopatra in Space, a series of graphic novels by Mike Maihack about the famed Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her futuristic adventures. Today he reviews the first book in the series: Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me about this book.

Caramel: This book is about Cleopatra who goes to the future.

S: Wait, the Cleopatra?

C: Yes the famous Egyptian queen. She is not a queen yet though. She is young, fifteen years old. And she touches a tablet, the Ata tablet, which transfers her to the future.

S: What kind of future? Cleopatra lived about two thousand years ago. Does she come to our time?

C: No, she goes into the far future. There are ray guns and stuff in this future.

S: Hmm, sounds science fiction-y…

C: Yes. It is quite science-fiction-y. She is supposed to save the galaxy, there is a prophesy, and she alone is supposed to save the galaxy. But it is not clear what she will need to do to save the galaxy in this first book. She will have to recover a sword, I think, but she also has to go to school in this future. In her own words, she says,

“Light years from my home planet, millennia in the future, and a supposed savior of the galaxy, and I still have to go to school?!”
Cleopatra

S: Hmm, she does not like school?

C: Yeah. She has to learn a lot of things, and she does not seem to like most of her classes. She is taking Algebra, Biology, Literature, Alien Languages, and Target Practice. But she likes Target Practice; it is her favorite class.

S: So what is she training to use in Target Practice?

C: She is learning to use the ray guns.

S: Hmm, so there are some galactic wars coming up in her future, I suppose.

C: I think so. But the war part has not started yet.

Caramel is reading Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack. — Caramel is reading *Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice* by Mike Maihack.

S: Hmm, so it seems like this book is just right up your alley. You like graphic novels, and the book is quite science fiction-y and …

C: And there are space ships! And I like space ships! Hers is shaped like a sphinx.

S: That sounds cool. So tell me three words you’d use to describe this book.

C: Colorful, exciting, historical.

S: So do you learn anything historical from the book?

C: Not much. But Cleopatra is from ancient history and it is fun to see her learn about the far future.

S: And the illustrations are pretty colorful, I agree. I saw that there is a TV series about these books. Did you know about that?

C: Not until now! Can we put in a trailer here?

S: Yes let us do that:

Cleopatra in Space | Official Trailer | Peacock.

C: This looks cool! But I think Akila does not look anything like she does in the book. In the book she looks like a normal person. In the TV series, she looks weird, with pink hair and weird eyes and blue skin.

S: Maybe they wanted to make her look more alien?

C: Yes, she is an alien but in the book she looks like a normal human.

S: Hmm, so I am thinking you don’t want to watch the show?

C: No I did not say that! Maybe we can watch an episode or two. Maybe even tonight?

S: Hmm, we will see about that. What about the book series? Apparently there are five more books about Cleopatra in space.

C: Well, I checked out the second book from my school library already. I will definitely read that one.

S: Sounds like a plan. If you like it, you might even review it for our blog.

C: Yep.

S: So this is probably a good time to wrap things up. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack, and is looking forward to reading and reviewing the next book in the series. — Caramel loved reading *Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice* by Mike Maihack, and is looking forward to reading and reviewing the next book in the series.

Marshmallow reviews The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Today Marshmallow reviews The Inheritance Games, a 2020 novel by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like young adult novels with mystery, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): High-schooler Avery Kylie Grambs has recently discovered that she has been included in the will of Tobias Hawthorne, a rich philanthropist who recently died. However, Avery has no idea why she is in the will. She is not related to him, as far as she knows, and has, in fact, never seen him in her life. She didn’t even know who he was until recently.

Eventually, she attends the reading of the will, which has been delayed until she can attend. Hawthorne’s two daughters and four grandsons are dismayed to learn that out of his forty-six point two billion dollars, they only receive a couple hundred thousand dollars each. Avery, on the other hand, receives the rest of his money, along with all of his possessions, including his house. The only term for this is that she must live in his house for a year. This clearly does not sit well with Hawthorne’s relatives, especially one of his daughters. Skye Hawthorne had hoped that her four sons would receive a majority of the money.

Now that everything is owned by Avery, the Hawthornes have different reactions. Nash Hawthorne, the eldest grandson of Tobias, doesn’t really show up too much. Grayson Hawthorne, the grandson that everyone thought would receive most of the inheritance, believes that Avery somehow conned Tobias into writing her into his will. Jameson, the second youngest, is intrigued by Avery. Xander, the youngest, doesn’t really have any grudges against Avery, as he never thought he was going to receive a large chunk of the money anyways. Skye, Tobias Hawthorne’s daughter and the mother of Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander, is furious, and together with her sister Zara, she starts to try and figure out a way to “reclaim” the inheritance.

With all this money at stake, the Hawthornes may resort to violence to sort out “the Avery issue”. But Jameson and Avery believe that she was selected for a reason. Tobias Hawthorne was very into puzzles, and Avery and Jameson believe that she is part of the last puzzle of Tobias Hawthorne. But even so, who are the players, and who will win?

Marshmallow is reading the beginning of Chapter 57 in The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. — Marshmallow is reading the beginning of Chapter 57 in *The Inheritance Games* by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that The Inheritance Games is a good book, but it is part of a series, which I did not know when I started reading. It was a surprise when I realized that the story would continue into a second book, which I have not read yet. So the mystery is not yet fully solved (even though we do figure out eventually why Avery was in the will).

The plot is very well thought out and thought-provoking. Also, the author and Tobias Hawthorne are very fond of word games, especially with names. (Cough, Avery, cough.)

The Inheritance Games has 370 pages, spilt into 91 short chapters. Avery is the narrator, and we meet each character through her eyes. Events unfold through her perspective as well, meaning that puzzles are only resolved when she figures things out. I was able to figure out some things ahead of time, but mostly the mystery kept me guessing.

In short, I found The Inheritance Games intriguing and very interesting. However, I believe that it is intended for older children, certainly a young adult novel. The plot is pretty complicated. And as the first book in a series, The Inheritance Games sets the scene really well for the second one to come. I’m looking forward to reading that, too.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 95%. — Marshmallow rates *The Inheritance Games* by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 95%.

Caramel reviews Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Today Caramel reviews the first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, published first in 2007. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Caramel, let us start with you telling us a bit about this book.

Caramel: This book is about Greg Heffley, who is just starting middle school. AS he writes, he is “stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons”.

S: Hmm, so Greg does not like his school friends much.

C: He does not like most of the other kids in school, that’s right. All except for his one friend, Rowley. Greg is not very happy at school.

S: Hmm, so this Greg does not sound like a very good role model for a little bunny.

C: Greg is definitely not a good role model.

S: But I think a lot of kids sometimes feel out of place and maybe they have some unpleasant feelings about other people. So maybe Greg is in some ways representing the unsatisfied and unhappy part of being a kid.

C: I guess so. He is kind of a jerk actually.

S: Hmm, how so?

C: He is mean to Rowley, and he does write a lot of mean things about people. Like would you ever say your school friends are all morons?

S: Well, moron is a pretty bad word.

C: Then again there are two bullies in the school and they are really really mean to Greg and Rowley.

S: So I can then understand Greg being upset and angry towards those kids, but no, we would not say all kids in our school are morons. Greg is pretty unfiltered that way.

C: Well, it is his diary after all. He uses some bad words in there too.

S: That is true, we can assume he is not planning to say any of the bad words in real life but uses this diary as an outlet for all his negative feelings.

C: Yes, but he calls it a journal, not a diary.

S: What is the difference?

C: I don’t know. I think he thinks diaries are for girls.

S: Hmm, not sure if I like that! You recently reviewed a book about a writer’s notebook, and there, too, we tried to make a distinction between a writer’s notebook and a journal. So maybe Greg thinks calling it a journal rather than a diary makes it sound more serious.

C: Yes, I think he wants to sound all grownup and mature.

Caramel is reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. — Caramel is reading *Diary of a Wimpy Kid* by Jeff Kinney.

S: But he is in middle school!

C: That is pretty old for me!

S: That is true. Then since you are so far away from middle school, did this book feel alien to you?

C: Well not quite. School is school, and Greg is trying to act big and mature, and he seems to think he is better than everyone else, and that can happen everywhere.

S: Do you really think he thinks he is better than everyone else? I have a sneaking suspicion that he is actually not that confident about himself.

C: I guess he is not happy with who he is, but he is really behaving like a jerk sometimes.

S: But through the course of the year, he does learn some things about being a good friend and finding a place for himself in the school, right?

C: I guess so.

S: Did you know that this is the first of a series and there are many more books about Greg and his friends?

C: Yes, but I might want to wait a bit before reaidng those. Middle school is a long way away.

S: I know. But maybe we will watch the animated version of this book?

C: Yes! I think I’d like that. Can we insert the trailer here?

S: Sure. Here you go:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Official Trailer | Disney+ (YouTube).

S: The pictures are straight out of the book itself.

C: Yes they really look like the book.

S: What did you think of the illustrations?

C: They are funny, I think the author wanted to make it look like Greg is drawing things in his diary. The book is like a notebook too, there are lines on each page, each page looks like a lined notebook page, and the writing is almost like handwriting.

S: Very neat handwriting though, because I can read it.

C: Yes. I can read my handwriting too but not everyone else can.

S: It is getting much better through the years though. Practice practice practice.

C: Yep.

S: So what three words would you use to describe this book?

C: Funny, multiple plots, funny drawings.

S: Hmm, you used “funny” twice but let’s let it pass. I agree with you, the word works in both places. So what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, and is thinking he might come back to it right before starting middle school. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Diary of a Wimpy Kid* by Jeff Kinney, and is thinking he might come back to it right before starting middle school.

Marshmallow reviews The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel

Today Marshmallow reviews the 2019 novel The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you enjoy reading books about school, friendship, and family, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Quijana is one-half Guatemalan and one-half American. However, when her Guatemalan cousins move in to the town she lives in, she feels like she is not living up to her Guatemalan part. A main reason for this is because she can’t speak Spanish very well, whereas her cousins speak Spanish as a first language, and they speak English perfectly. But she has other issues too. Her parents have been “Spanish-izing” their house, and trying to introduce Guatemalans culture to their children. Quijana thinks that she is too abnormal as it is and doesn’t want to be “Spanish-ized”.

In the meantime, Quijana’s grandmother is diagnosed with cancer and has to undergo treatment. Quijana loves her grandmother very much and is very worried about what will happen to her. Quijana is also having issues at school. Spanish-speaking children are very dismissive of Quijana. They seem disappointed by her lack of fluency in Spanish, and tease her for it. Another issue that Quijana has to deal with is the fact that her little brother is becoming remote and harder to reach. (Quijana has other issues too, involving a boy, who is a good friend, but she wants him to be more than that.)

On top of all this, Quijana’s parents want to go to Guatemala on vacation, but Quijana desperately doesn’t want to. She comes up with an escape plan, selling a huipil sent to her by her other grandmother. She plans to board a bus to Florida to avoid having to go to Guatemala.

Marshmallow is reading The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel. — Marshmallow is reading *The Other Half of Happy* by Rebecca Balcárcel.

Marshmallow’s Review: The Other Half of Happy is a beautiful book that really shows its main character’s internal conflicts and concerns. The author, Rebecca Balcárcel, invites the reader into Quijana’s world. The book is narrated by Quijana and she is very open about her thoughts and feelings. Quijana feels like she has disappointed her father and her Guatemalan family, because she doesn’t know how to speak Spanish well.

I think that Rebecca Balcárcel writes in a very poetic way. Here is an excerpt, from page 1, to show you what I mean:

“I live in a tilted house. A bowling ball on our living room floor would roll past the couch, past the dining table, all the way to the kitchen sink. And if the sink wasn’t there and the wall wasn’t there and the bathroom behind that wasn’t there, the ball would roll all the way to my room at the end of the house. That’s what it’s like being twelve. Everything rolling toward you.”
Rebecca Balcárcel, The Other Half of Happy, page 1.

I think that Balcárcel does a good job of creating unique characters. The characters have unique characteristics or quirks, which make them a lot more realistic. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew Quijana very well.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Other Half of Happy* by Rebecca Balcárcel 95%.