Reviews – Page 39 – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate

Last week Caramel reviewed The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate, the third book about the motley crew of dear friends of silverback Ivan whose story started it all. Today he reviews the fourth and currently the last book in this series, The One and Only Family, which was released earlier this month. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, this is the fourth book in this series. What can you tell us about it?

Caramel: This is the newest book in the One and Only Ivan series. I can’t say it is the best but it is pretty good.

S: Do you have a favorite?

C: No, they are all so good. That is why I can’t say this is the best, because they are all the best.

S: I see. Okay, so the first three books had Ivan, Bob, and Ruby in their titles, and they were mainly narrated by Ivan, Bob, and Ruby, respectively. But this one does not have a name in the title. It is just “family”. So who is telling this story?

C: Ivan.

S: The one and only!

C: Yes! The OG!

S: So we are back at the beginning, kind of. Tell me what is going on with Ivan then.

C: He is going to be a daddy!

S: I remember he had a mate in the second book, but I don’t think they had babies together.

C: Yep. Ivan had a mate named Kinyani. And in this book they have twin babies!

S: That is so exciting! But wait, if there is a new book, there might be new problems to solve. Can you tell us a bit more? What is the book about then?

C: It is about the joys and challenges of parenthood.

S: That is such a lofty thing to say for such a tiny little bunny!

C: Well, I am sort of quoting Ivan.

S: Oh I see. I remember Ivan was a quite sophisticated gorilla.

Caramel is reading The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate. — Caramel is reading *The One and Only Family* by Katherine Applegate.

S: So tell me more about the book.

C: There are times when Ivan is sad because he remembers his original family, and there are a lot of funny and sweet things that happen, too. Just what you would expect from this series. It is always so good!

S: I see. I am guessing you liked the book then.

C: Obviously!

S: Okay, so if you were to describe it using three to five words ,what would you say?

C: Funny adventures with old friends, hard-to-put-down page-turner.

S: Hmm, again, that is a lot more than three to five words, but it will do. You said old friends. So do we see Bob the dog and Ruby the elephant in this book, too?

C: Yes. And the girl too, Julia.

S: I see. More or less the same main cast then.

C: Yes, but we get to see more of Kinyani, and then there are the twins, Raji and Tuma.

S: And they are all as likeable as the original crew?

C: Yes, I liked them!

S: So you would recommend this book to other bunnies?

C: Yes, but it would be best if they read the earlier books first. They would know the characters much better that way.

S: Makes sense to me Caramel. Okay, so maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate and will not forget these wonderful friends for a long while. — Caramel loved reading *The One and Only Family* by Katherine Applegate and will not forget these wonderful friends for a long while.

Marshmallow reviews The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Today Marshmallow reviews The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, first published in 2017.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you appreciate books about racial injustice, family, friendship, growing up against adversity, and police brutality, then this is the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Starr Carter attends a fancy prep school that is mostly White and wealthy but comes from a neighborhood (called “The Garden”) that is mostly Black and poor. These two distinct worlds create two distinct Starrs, one for Williamson Prep and one for Garden Heights. But she still feels like she doesn’t quite fit in in either place. So at a party, she finds comfort catching up with her childhood best friend Khalil whom she hasn’t seen for a while. But when a gun is fired at the party, she and Khalil leave and then get pulled over for no apparent reason. Khalil is instructed to get out. He does. He briefly leans over to check if Starr is okay. Then Khalil is shot by a police officer and everything changes forever. The police officer claims he thought Khalil was reaching for a weapon which turned out to be a hair brush. Khalil’s death becomes the center of attention. Starr faces a choice between staying silent or speaking out and placing herself and her family in danger.

Marshmallow is reading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. — Marshmallow is reading *The Hate U Give* by Angie Thomas.

Marshmallow’s Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is very well written, and though it is about very challenging themes (police brutality and racism), I could not stop reading it once I started. The story is told from Starr’s perspective and voice, and you get a first-hand look at her inner world as well as how she switches personalities and voices (see code-switching on Wikipedia) when she travels between her two worlds.

The title of the book is the beginning of the sentence whose initials spell THUG LIFE, an acronym created by Tupac Shakur and points to one of the important messages of the book: if you hate people from their birth just because they are black or poor or just different from you, if you give them hate from the time they are infants, it hurts everybody. Starr’s friend Khalil explains the quote right before his murder: “What society gives us as youth, it bites them in the [xxx] when we wild out.”

The book came out during the early years of the Black Lives Matter movement, and it was received well by critics and readers alike. There was even a movie adaptation (see the trailer here). The book also became controversial in some places, where people argued that the themes were too volatile and the language too vulgar. I did not find the language inappropriate given the context of the story, though it might be not acceptable for parents of very young bunnies.

But I think that more mature bunnies should definitely read the book. It is provocative, to say the least, but it tells a story that is unfortunately too familiar today from the inside, in the voice of one who was there when it happened.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates *The Hate U Give* by Angie Thomas 100%.

Caramel reviews The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate

Marshmallow was the first one who read and reviewed The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, but Caramel followed her soon after. Then he read and reviewed the sequel, The One and Only Bob. This week he finally got his paws on the third book in the series: The One and Only Ruby, published in 2023. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, here we are, talking about yet another book about the gorilla Ivan and his friends.

Caramel: Yes, but this one is not so much about Ivan. It’s more about Ruby, the baby elephant that we met in The One and Only Ivan.

S: Oh, is she still a baby in this book?

C: Yes. Or maybe she is a bit older, she is acting like seven or eight, but that would be still quite young for an elephant. Or maybe she is only two years old, because apparently that is around the time elephants start getting their tusks, and that is what is happening in this book.

S: That is interesting!

C: And what is also interesting is that apparently some female elephants lost their tusks by evolution in the second half of the twentieth century due to ivory poaching. It is very interesting but also very sad and angry-making. Why do people have to kill elephants for their tusks? It is theirs! Let them keep their own tusks!

S: I know Caramel, and I totally agree with you. It is not fair. But let us come back to Ruby and the book. So what is the book about? Is it all about her tusks?

C: Not quite. It is more generally about her story. She does not like tusks, and there is a sad reason for that.

S: Hmm, I am getting some ideas because of what we just talked about.

C: Yep. And that’s why I am glad we are not elephants. But I won’t tell you more.

Caramel is reading The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate. — Caramel is reading *The One and Only Ruby* by Katherine Applegate.

S: Okay, then, maybe we can move on. Tell me about the book in other ways. Is Ruby the narrator this time? The Ivan book was narrated by Ivan and the Bob book was narrated by Bob.

C: Yes, this is from Ruby’s voice though Ivan and Bob are still around.

S: Does she sound different from them?

C: A little. So it is the same style in some way but different enough to be convincing.

S: Okay. Is the book funny? Or just sad?

C: Both. So it is sometimes sad and sometimes funny.

S: I understand you are itching to read the next book, which just came out. So you must have liked this one.

C: Yes, I did. Very much.

S: Alright, so if you were to describe the book in three to five words–

C: I’d say: emotionally complicated, important topics with sweet old friends.

S: That is more than five words but I think they will work. I knew you had missed Ivan and Bob.

C: I did!

S: Okay, Caramel. Then let us wrap up this review so you can read the next book. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate and is keen to read and review the fourth book in the series; stay tuned! — Caramel loved reading *The One and Only Ruby* by Katherine Applegate and is keen to read and review the fourth book in the series; stay tuned!

Marshmallow reviews We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Today Marshmallow picked up a short little book from the book bunnies’ home library: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, first published in 2014. Below she shares some of her thoughts on this little book.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you are feeling up for a short, non-fiction book with an important message, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (without Spoilers): I’d like to start off by saying that this book is adapted from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDx talk which is also titled “We should all be feminists”. I would recommend watching the video of her talk before or after reading this book.

In this book, Ngozi Adichie covers her experiences as a feminist. She explores what it means to be a feminist, how we can raise feminist children of both genders, and how we can strive towards a future where we are all feminists.

The author starts off by talking about her first encounter with the word “feminist”. The first time she was called a feminist, the word “feminist” was something akin to terrorist, used as an insult and an accusation. However, as we follow her, we learn that feminism is nothing to be afraid of and that instead it should be something we all should strive for.

Ngozi Adichie points out something insightful in this book when she states that the word “feminist” is often associated with the idea of being un-feminine. Ngozi Adichie writes that she enjoys wearing high heels and shiny lip gloss, even though she is a feminist. The author emphasizes that being a feminist doesn’t mean that you are unfeminine; it simply means that you believe that men and women deserve equal rights and prospects in life. The author specifically examines the treatment of women and men in Nigeria, offering examples and anecdotes from her personal experience. Though her examples were mostly from Nigeria, she does allow us to recognize that many women around the world are often ignored and silenced.

The author also talks about how men fit into feminism. She says that being a feminist doesn’t mean believing in female superiority; it means believing in female equality. Ngozi Adichie writes that ideas of masculinity also feed into the unjust sexism that exists in all cultures. Ngozi Adichie talks about how we must change the perspectives on gender, for both genders, for the sake of women and men.

Marshmallow is reading We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. — Marshmallow is reading *We Should All Be Feminists* by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really liked this book. I completely agreed with practically everything in this book and felt verified by some of her statements. As a female bunny, I think books like this are important for change, especially this book. This book is very short and concise. The writing style is fresh and engaging, easy to follow and easy to understand. Yet the simplicity is most successful because of the way the author is so persuasive.

We Should All Be Feminists is a great book to give to someone who might not recognize the issues that women still face today. This is a very important message for everyone because feminism isn’t about pushing men down at all. It’s about focusing on what we have in our brains, rather than what sex chromosomes we have.

Overall, We Should All Be Feminists is very meaningful, easy to understand, and appropriate for all ages. I would recommend that everyone reads this book or at least watch the TEDx version of it.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 100%. — Marshmallow rates *We Should All Be Feminists* by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 100%.