Reviews – Page 18 – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews All Ears by Stuart Gibbs

It must be obvious to the book bunnies blog readers that the book bunnies are huge fans of Stuart Gibbs and his books. While Caramel has read and reviewed all his Spy School books, Marshmallow has mostly read and reviewed his FunJungle books. Gibbs is a prolific author, and the most recent FunJungle book, All Ears, just came out a couple weeks ago on May 13. This week, Marshmallow was finally able to read this ninth book in the series and is ready to share her thoughts with our readers today.

Before starting reading this review, you might like to check out Marshmallow’s reviews of the first eight books of FunJungle: Belly Up, Poached, Big Game, Panda-monium, Lion Down, Tyrannosaurus Wrecks, Bear Bottom, and Whale Done.

Marshmallow reviews All Ears by Stuart Gibbs. — Marshmallow reviews *All Ears* by Stuart Gibbs.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked the previous FunJungle books, like animals, reading about mysteries, or want to read a really entertaining novel, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Teddy Fitzroy has proven himself as a remarkable detective. His parents both work at FunJungle, the largest zoo in America (if not the world). During his time living next to it, he has solved several high-profile and low-profile cases regarding the zoo or related to the surrounding Texan area. Since the first book in the series, Teddy has been good friends with Summer McCracken—the daughter of billionaire J.J. McCracken who owns FunJungle—and the two recently started dating . Teddy is also good friends with Xavier Gonzalez, a fellow animal-lover and student at his high school.

Sadly, Xavier gets arrested! He normally likes to look around for reptiles he can capture and examine (ethically and caringly, of course) but is found at a crime scene under suspicious circumstances. Being an ardent advocate for the environment, him being in an area that seemingly was vandalized by “eco-warriors” makes him look pretty guilty. So Xavier’s best course of action is to call in Teddy to prove him innocent.

Unfortunately, the call comes at a very inconvenient time. Teddy has been hired to solve another crime regarding a lost elephant. In Texas (and many other places), some ranch owners have taken to raising exotic animals either with the purpose of sheltering them or creating an area in which hunters can kill unusual creatures for an extravagant price. The Sinclairs have created a sanctuary for elephants that they aptly named The Sanctuary. But during a massive power outage in Texas, their herd escapes or is led out of their ranch. This causes some mayhem on a football field later, but eventually Tanzy, the sole African elephant (the rest are Asian), is discovered to be missing. Aside from the fact that rural Texas is not the native habitat of an African elephant, Tanzy could also be under threat from whomever took her.

Teddy now faces two mysteries to solve: where is Tanzy and who took her, and who really committed the crime Xavier’s accused of? Can he find the answer before time runs out … for Tanzy and Xavier?

Marshmallow is reading All Ears by Stuart Gibbs. — Marshmallow is reading *All Ears* by Stuart Gibbs.

Marshmallow’s Review: All Ears is a really good book! I’ve been waiting for the new FunJungle book to come out and for Stuart Gibbs to continue this series! I really, really, really love this series! All of the books have fascinating, interesting, and most importantly confounding mysteries that are perfect for readers of all ages. The characters are lively, intelligent, funny, and lovable—and the lack of cursing (except possibly in Tyrannosaurus Wrecks) makes them appropriate for everyone. And this book is no exception!

I really like how the FunJungle books tackle environmental issues and address the nuance of every topic. Even though he clearly finds these issues very important and harshly critiques greedy corporations, Gibbs never portrays them as completely evil. In particular, we often learn about a CEO’s perspective through a more human lens via J.J.’s character. Gibbs also doesn’t make the activists seem like saints. He explains how many hunters are good people too and really humanizes everyone. However, he does show the facts, many of which are truly disturbing. Gibbs doesn’t omit nuance; rather, he conveys a wide range of conflicting perspectives in a way that is palatable, comprehensive, and comprehensible to a wide audience, while still sending the message that action must be taken to protect the environment. All this makes All Ears worth reading: its message and its explanation and dialogue about the environment and the battle about how we should treat it.

But you should also read this book for fun! It is really funny and entertaining; there are so many twists and turns! Once I picked up this book, I could not put it down—literally. The emotional tension is also really well done throughout, and one can really feel the realness in Teddy’s situation, in which he is caught between a rock and a hard place as he tries to solve two mysteries at the same time.

I love the FunJungle series, the characters and the plot and the writing and everything about these books! They are really special to me! But I think they can be great for many new readers too! I would recommend reading the first couple of books in the series first, but honestly, one could just start here with All Ears, too. Whatever your age or background knowledge though, this book is definitely an amazing one to read for its message, style, and content! I can’t recommend it enough!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 101%.

Marshmallow rates All Ears by Stuart Gibbs 101%. — Marshmallow rates *All Ears* by Stuart Gibbs 101%.

Caramel reviews Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette! by Nathan Hale

Caramel loves history and he loves graphic novels. So Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are perhaps the ultimate series for him. (Except there are no dragons or robots in these books! Oh well…) So as you might expect, he has already read several of these quirky books and reviewed them for the book bunnies blog. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about Lafayette, the eighth book in the series, first published in 2018.

Sprinkles: So here we are, with yet another Nathan Hale book. This is called Lafayette! And it is book eight, right?

Caramel: Yep, and what a good eighth book it is!y

S: Glad you have enjoyed this one too!

C: Yep, so am I.

S: So Lafayette is a French man from the American Revolution days. His full name was apparently Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, but in the United States people called him Lafayette. Wikipedia tells us that he volunteered to help the Continental Army led by George Washington and commanded the troops “in the decisive Siege of Yorktown in 1781, the Revolutionary War’s final major battle, which secured American independence.” And then he went back to France and got involved with the French Revolution. As a result he “continues to be celebrated as a hero in both France and the United States.”

C: Yeah, he was a really good fighter, wasn’t he?

S: It seems like it. What part of the story does Nathan Hale tell us?

C: The part of him helping the Americans by coming from France and fighting alongside the American colonists rebelling against the British Crown.

S: That’s cool! You remember the song from Hamilton about Lafayette and the Battle of Yorktown?

C: Yep, it was good. Marshmallow really liked it!

S: Yeah, it says “Everyone give it up for America’s favorite fighting Frenchman: Lafayette!” That’s where I first learned about the details of the role he played in the American Revolutionary War. But I bet you knew about Lafayette before that, no?

C: Well, not really. I was really small when Hamilton came out, remember?

S: That’s true. But at least you knew of him before you began to read this book.

C: Yep, and it helped a lot. Because, you know, a lot was happening in the book, and knowing a bit about who was who helped me keep track of things.

Caramel is reading Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette! by Nathan Hale. — Caramel is reading *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette!* by Nathan Hale.

S: Okay, so who besides Lafayette is in the book then?

C: All the other big names from those times. George Washington, of course. Then, Alexander Hamilton, William Howe, Benedict Arnold, and some others.

S: And you are right, there are so many things to remember about each of these people and each of the different battles and such, I can see how knowing a bit of something before you start reading could be helpful. But it is after all a graphic novel. You would probably still get something out of reading it even if you had known nothing about any of these people.

C: Yeah, it explains some of the lives of the other characters. And yes, I would have still learned a lot.

S: So given that you did know a bunch already, did you still learn something new?

C: Yep, some things about what Lafayette did came as new to me. For example, I did not know that he joined the war as a young man of around twenty. They were all really young men. Hamilton was in his early twenties too.

S: That sounds incredible.

C: Washington was in his forties though. Much older.

S: As the adult in this conversation, and of some considerable age, I should remind you that the forties are still not too old!

C: Don’t get touchy Sprinkles!! I know you are always young, at heart at least!!

S: Okay play, I know you are still so young… Anyways, the book worked! You liked it!

C: Yes! These books are good! And I am ready for book nine!

S: Okay, that sounds reasonable to me. But it will have to wait till next week.

C: I can still start reading it!

S: Sure you can! So this might be a good time to wrap this up then. What would you like to tell our readers Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading and talking about Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette! by Nathan Hale, and is now ready for the next book! — Caramel enjoyed reading and talking about *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette!* by Nathan Hale, and is now ready for the next book!

Marshmallow reviews Night by Elie Wiesel

Today Marshmallow reviews Night by Elie Wiesel, first published in Yiddish in 1956 and in English in 1960. Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 “for being a messenger to mankind: his message is one of peace, atonement and dignity”.

A small caveat: The book as well as the review below involve historical events that depict harsh realities. They may not be appropriate for younger readers.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you are a person of reasonable maturity and ability to process and handle important historical events, then this is the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Elie Wiesel was a young Jewish boy in Romania during the Second World War. The book is more or less a memoir of his youth.

Elie is a young boy, extraordinarily devout at a remarkably young age, seeking out a religious mentor in Moishe the Beadle. It is from him that the town of Sighet—located in Transylvania—first hears of the Nazis’ proximity. Since Moishe is a foreign Jew, he is forced to leave first. But he luckily escapes the Nazis who leave him for dead due to his bleeding, shot leg. Moishe walks on foot an unbelievably long journey back to Sighet to warn the very people who look down on him of how dangerous the Nazis are. None of the residents believe him. Elie worries for his mentor, as many adults around him say the Beadle is mad.

Many of the Jews of Sighet do not believe that the Germans could reach them. Others believe that the war would end before Germany’s reach expanded far enough to affect them. It is heartbreaking to say that they are wrong. The Nazis show up on Sighet’s streets within a matter of days.

The Jews are first forced into ghettos, condemned to smaller slums as though they are not deserving of being able to choose where to live. Soon they are forced out of their homes, able to take only what they could carry. They are made to wait on scorching sidewalks and soon after chased towards cattle carts that take them to the concentration camps. Elie and his family, which includes his father Shloma, his mother Sarah, his two older sisters, and his seven-year-old younger sister Tzipora, are taken to Auschwitz. He loses his mother Sarah and Tzipora to the gas chambers and the Nazis on the first day, though he does not know it for certain until later. He and his father are forced into labor camps and the horror continues.

Wiesel’s suffering is conveyed through his own testimony in Night. He and so many others, millions of Jews, Gypsies, and other undesirables in the Nazis’ eyes, suffered so much as the hands of humans who were in all aspects but one the same. This story is one that everyone must read.

Marshmallow is reading Night by Elie Wiesel. — Marshmallow is reading *Night* by Elie Wiesel.

Marshmallow’s Review: This book is simply vital. I think everyone must read it once they are old enough to understand why we must remember. Elie Wiesel is one of the strongest humans to walk this Earth and he is also one of the wisest. Through this book, he passes on the story of the Nazi camps and their horrors designed to exterminate the Jews. He describes things that provoke a deep silence after reading, a deep silence that necessitates thought and great gratitude that one is not in such a situation. Wiesel is a hero by the virtue that he survived. But there are so many who did not and, for their sake and Wiesel’s, this story cannot be forgotten.

Night was assigned as reading in my English class and that is one of the best decisions a teacher can make. This story has impacted so many and Wiesel is truly one of the few people who can be described as a master of prose and a witness of humanity. In words, Wiesel has described the indescribable.

Thanks to Wiesel’s wife Marion who translated it into English for a larger audience, Night is written in simple and clear language, with few ornate embellishments. The horrific events make it seem so already, so Wiesel says things in a way that never makes the story seem unreal.

It is really remarkable and heartbreaking that Wiesel never viewed himself as exceptional. He wonders several times why he survived. He says he was never special or had any sort of skills or attributes that made him deserving of life. But everyone is deserving of life and yet so many were robbed of it. It is truly heartbreaking. Yet, his thoughts and perseverance, his selflessness and his determination (though these words have lost much of their weight and meaning through superfluous use) make him one of the most admirable human beings. He cared unwaveringly for his father though they were both suffering. He never stopped looking after him, even though Wiesel himself thought he failed in this. Wiesel was truly, indescribably a remarkable person with a profound impact. His book Night must be read.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 200%.

Marshmallow rates Night by Elie Wiesel 200%. — Marshmallow rates *Night* by Elie Wiesel 200%.

Caramel reviews Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale

Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale, published first in 2017. This is the seventh book in Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series.

For Caramel’s reviews of the six earlier books, please check out: One Dead Spy, Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood, The Underground Abductor, Big Bad Ironclad, Donner Dinner Party, and Alamo All-Stars.

Caramel reviews Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale. — Caramel reviews *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return* by Nathan Hale.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, you are back this week with a new Nathan Hale book!

Caramel: Yep! This one is a WW2 one.

S: It is about the second world war, you mean?

C: Yep, it is about the U.S. bombing campaign on Tokyo, which is apparently called the Doolittle Raid today. It starts with a summary of how the second world war began and then the Pearl Harbor attack.

S: That is interesting. Most of the earlier books in the series were about earlier parts of American history. So this is getting a bit closer to today.

C: Sprinkles, it is not that close! The Pearl Harbor attack was in 1941. That is still the last century.

S: You are right of course. It is also the last millennium!

C: Yeah, see, I was right! It is still quite ancient history, especially for a little bunny like me.

S: True, for older bunnies like me who were born in the last century, maybe it feels closer. Anyways, so the book is about the battle in the Pacific Ocean then.

C: It is even more specific than that. There is a little bit about how people viewed the Pearl Harbor attack, from both sides (American and Japanese), and then the rest of the book, we focus on the experiences of the pilots who flew the U.S. bombers over Tokyo.

S: I see. I had of course heard about the Pearl Harbor event, but I had not read about this retaliation. From the Wikipedia article it looks like this was a very outrageous plan, not terribly likely to succeed–

C: Yes, but it somehow worked. They did manage to bomb some important military targets, I think.

S: And the war escalated from then on of course.

C: Yes.

Caramel is reading Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale. — Caramel is reading *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return* by Nathan Hale.

S: Okay, so I am guessing that you were excited to read this book. It has been a few months since you last read a new Nathan Hale book.

C: Yeah! And this one came in a box of three, like the other books I read from this series, and I loved all three!

S: Hmm, maybe you will review the others in the coming weeks.

C: Maybe. If I do that, can we get the next three books? These were really good!

S: Sounds like a good deal to me.

C: Okay, good. I know what I will be reviewing next week then!

S: Alright. Let us get back to this week though. So this is the seventh book in the series. Does the same framing story continue? I mean, the other books are all narrated by Nathan Hale, that famous spy who is about to get hanged. Is this one continuing the same thing?

C: Yeah, it is.

S: I am a bit curious about how they will finish the series. I mean Hale did get hanged in the end. But maybe since this is for young bunnies, and there are so many other interesting historical tales to tell, maybe we will not ever get to those bits.

C: Yeah, I hope that it never ends.

S: I know you love graphic novels and you love history and you love facts. This is just the right book series for you!

C: Yep, it is.

S: So then is it fair to say that you would recommend it to other young bunnies?

C: Yes! Any bunny who loves books or history or graphic novels would like these too! And you know, they don’t have to read them in order, so they can just jump right into any of them after the first one.

S: Great! Maybe this is a good place to wrap up this review. What do you think?

C: Sure. Then I can go back to reading and rereading the next book!

S: Sounds good to me. What do you want to tell our readers then?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale and is eager to read the next book in the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return* by Nathan Hale and is eager to read the next book in the series.