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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%.

Marshmallow reviews Fearless by Lauren Roberts

Last year Marshmallow reviewed Powerless and Reckless by Lauren Roberts, the first two books of her Powerless trilogy. Then earlier this year, she reviewed Powerful, a novella that recounts events taking place in the same story world as the trilogy, involving some of the same characters that we met in those first two books. Today she is finally ready to talk about Fearless, the third and last book of the trilogy that was published just this April.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked Lauren Roberts’ previous books in her Powerless series, then this is definitely the book for you—though probably you had already been waiting for it!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): [For most of the background, readers should probably begin with my review of the first book, Powerless, and my review of the second book, Reckless.]

At the end of Reckless, Paedyn Gray returns to Ilya as a prisoner believing she is approaching her own execution. Her captor is none other than her beloved Kai, who is bound by duty to bring her to his brother Kitt. However, it turns out that Kitt wanted Paedyn brought back to Ilya so he could propose to her. This is a shocking turn of events since she had killed their father—the king of Ilya—in the first book. (She did have a valid justification of self-defense.) After a while though, Kai has forgiven her. Kitt, on the other hand, seems to be stuck somewhere entirely different from the spectrum of forgiveness and hate.

Paedyn accepts Kitt’s proposal because she believes it will help bring equality in Ilya between the Ordinaries and the Elites. But even though she is now engaged to Kitt, Paedyn finds herself still pining for Kai. Once again, their love seems impossible. But they separately start to realize two things: first, Kitt has changed and no longer seems like himself, and secondly, they cannot be apart. Luckily for them, Kitt has arranged new Trials for Paedyn in order for her to prove herself as an Ordinary to the Elites of Ilya. She must retrieve ancient artifacts, gain the trust of foreign kingdoms, and make the ultimate sacrifice.

I won’t spoil more. But if you thought Roberts’ plot was complex in the first two books, you will be happy to know that the story ends in a most satisfactory way, though with many twists and turns along the way that I never saw coming. Will Paedyn, Kai, and Kitt all make it to their happy ending? Or will one or more get lost along the way?

Marshmallow is reading Fearless by Lauren Roberts. — Marshmallow is reading *Fearless* by Lauren Roberts.

Marshmallow’s Review: Fearless is a really complicated book that adds a lot of depth to the original story, the fictional world, Ilya’s history, the characters, and the series. Ultimately, the ending is bittersweet, but I can say that things are resolved pretty well. I was not disappointed with the end and I felt like this is probably the best way for the series to end without leaving a majority of the readers bawling with tears in their eyes. That said, it is still touching and emotional. In Fearless, Roberts reveals many layers of Ilya and the entire world that had been previously unseen. These revelations make the end an even more satisfying one because the story becomes a lot richer with detail.

I will say though that I did notice some things were a little too similar to the Hunger Games series to be coincidental. The Purging Trials of Ilya are almost carbon copies of Panem’s Hunger Games, and Paedyn in many aspects seems like a reflection of Katniss. I know a lot of readers are disappointed by these striking parallels. Many have pointed to several other books that Roberts seems to have “taken inspiration from.” I haven’t read all of the books they list, but I can see why some say that some aspects of Roberts’ work are a little suspiciously close to other peoples’ work. However, I found the plot twists in this book unique and these make all the difference. The twists in this third installment were so unexpected yet so well-executed that I could not put the book down till it was done.

I’m a little sad the series is over, and I do wonder if this emotional journey with Paedyn has been beneficial to me. (The series is rough on the tear ducts!) But overall, this was a very well-done conclusion for a very well-done series! Not all fans will be happy, but when have we readers ever agreed on an ending? Overall, I would recommend this third book because I really appreciate how, despite all the darkness in the previous books, it ends on a hopeful note.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Fearless by Lauren Roberts 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Fearless* by Lauren Roberts 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston

Marshmallow had already reviewed Amari and the Night Brothers and Amari and the Great Game, the first two books of the Supernatural Investigations series by B.B. Alston. Today she reviews the third book, Amari and the Despicable Wonders, which was published in 2024.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about family, friends, and magic with a strong, smart female protagonist, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): The supernatural world is on the brink of war with their risk of being revealed to the human world increasing by the minute. The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, which functions as this world’s government and has been responsible for keeping the supernatural unseen by humans, has recently been taken over by Elaine Harlowe. Harlowe is a faun who has the ability to control others with her voice and now is the Director of the Bureau. The previous head of the Bureau was the one and only Merlin; unfortunately, he had to freeze himself along with all of the other leaders of the magical world in order to protect them from an unseen attack. Amari Peters, a Junior Agent training to work in the Bureau who is our protagonist, discovered this in the last book. However, the world’s leaders are still stuck in this time freeze, leaving Harlowe in charge. Unfortunately, Harlowe is very biased against magicians, which is not a great perspective to have during a time of great tension between the Bureau and the League of Magicians. The Bureau is the government of the supernatural world, but in this world, magicians and all their creations are viewed as UnWanteds. Unlike in the world of Harry Potter, being told “You’re a wizard, Harry” is something that would cause different reactions: first, self-loathing and fear of being discovered, and second, confusion at being called Harry.

Amari is a magician, but so far, she’s been sort of viewed as a good one, in comparison to the evil Night Brothers or Dylan Van Helsing. Unfortunately, the League of Magicians has been corrupted by Dylan, who wants to use foul magic to make magicians respected through fear and intimidation. Amari and her friends (Elsie, Jayden, and Lara) have been fighting against Dylan’s magician movement, but they also need to worry about what the Bureau is doing too. Magician-hating Harlowe fears that Amari will reveal to the public how she rose to power so quickly (with her mind-controlling powers), so Harlowe declares Amari an enemy of the Bureau which many believe because she is a magician.

In this book, Amari, Elsie (who is extraordinarily smart and can transform partly into a dragon), Jayden (a boy who can talk to animals, though I predict he will be talking to Amari a lot more soon 😉), Lara (Dylan’s non-magician sister who has recently allied herself with Amari), and Quinton (Amari’s famous Bureau Agent brother) are now working against the clock to prevent the Bureau and the League from going to full-on war—especially since the stakes have never been higher.

Amari learns that Dylan plans to use anti-magick to fight the Bureau and all those who oppose magicians. Just like anti-matter, anti-magick destroys all things with magic, which includes just about everything and everyone in the supernatural world. In order to utilize and then control this power, Dylan must find the Despicable Wonders: eight ancient items made long ago by the first magician. The only thing that can save the supernatural world from complete ruin is if Amari, her family, and friends can find the Wonders first and stop Dylan. The clock is ticking though, and he has a head start.

Can Amari catch up and should she? Perhaps this is all according to his plan… dun dun dun!!!

Marshmallow is reading Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston. — Marshmallow is reading *Amari and the Despicable Wonders* by B.B. Alston.

Marshmallow’s Review: This was a very good book. I will say there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between Amari’s world and that of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Throughout this series, I definitely felt a lot of nostalgia because of the similarities to previous fantasy books for young adults and children. However, I would like to focus on what makes this series unique.

The world is definitely Alston’s own and it is not in any means identical. The premise starts off similarly, with a young child being told they are part of a magical world, and that they are exceptional even there. But this story evolves in a different direction. It focuses a lot more on equality, and fighting bias and hate. Amari is a magician, a group of supernaturals who are looked down upon. There is a lot of mistrust towards all magicians, and most live in hiding their whole lives. Amari’s perspective sheds light on the inequities in both the supernatural and natural world. This is clearly a statement, shown by the not-so-stark contrast between our world and theirs. This makes the story of Amari a lot more compelling and connects the reader more to her magical world.

That said, the characters are also very compelling. They develop in very human ways, even though not all of them are human. Even the enemy is clearly a thinking, breathing, feeling person and doesn’t start off as the embodiment of evil. The progression of the plot is both calculated and unexpected. It never feels slow though it is always very thoughtful. B.B. Alston is definitely, undoubtedly a very good author.

I really enjoyed reading Amari and the Despicable Wonders, and I am waiting excitedly for the fourth book to come out. The ending was bittersweet (because all the characters were so well-developed!), and while there was not really a defined cliffhanger, there are still unanswered questions.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Amari and the Despicable Wonders* by B.B. Alston 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

As the first review of the book bunnies blog this new year, we present to you Marshmallow’s review of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. First published in 1958, Achebe’s novel is a modern classic, and Marshmallow has read it in school.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like historical fiction books about colonialism in Africa or books that make you think or feel, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Set in the Nigerian Ibo society during the 1890s, this book starts with the introduction of Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a highly-respected man in his village Umuofia. Through his victories in battle and his defeat of the Cat (a famous wrestler), Okonkwo is a powerful man. As a result (as is Ibo culture), he has three wives, many children, a successful farm, and on occasion drinks palm wine out of his first human skull. He is what is called a “strong man.” However, his success and strength is a result of fear. His drive to succeed is fueled by a fear of being similar to his father, who was a efulefu (or worthless man). Okonkwo’s father was lazy and debt-ridden; thus, Okonkwo compensates for his father’s failures by working obsessively. Luckily for Okonkwo, in Ibo society, a man is not judged by his father, but by his own merit. Eventually, his success seems cemented. Yet, he is still controlled by anxiety, fear, anger, and violence. His household, though it reflects the traditional Ibo setup of its time, is a model case of domestic abuse.

Meanwhile, a woman from Umuofia is killed in a neighboring village. To avoid war with the fear-inspiring Umuofia, this village sends a virgin girl and a young boy to compensate. For the purposes of the plot, the boy (named Ikemefuna) is most important. Umuofia doesn’t immediately decide what to do with the boy, taking several years to do so. During this, he is placed in Okonkwo’s household and soon becomes fast friends with Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye. Over time, Okonkwo starts to view Ikemefuna as a son.

But when tragedy strikes, Okonkwo finds himself in a situation that pits his “strong man” facade against his heart. And as the book progresses, Okonkwo continually finds himself at odds with the changing village. The question is, how much more can he take before he falls apart?

Marshmallow is reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. — Marshmallow is reading *Things Fall Apart* by Chinua Achebe.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think reading this book is an extremely important experience that all people and bunnies should have. Chinua Achebe–the author–wrote it in simple, easy to read English specifically so it would be accessible to all; this makes it a good book for all ages and levels of reading ability. But ultimately, this book is remarkably subtle and nuanced. The author’s tone is simple and unique, while startlingly complex at the same time. The plot evolves elegantly and the author creates compelling characters that make you need to see the storyline though. Additionally, Achebe successfully grapples with and portrays issues like colonialism, racism, and toxic masculinity. This book is incredible because of the insights it gives on such topics. It also shows the reader what (some) life and culture was like in Nigeria before colonialism.

Additionally, this book’s themes are philosophically, historically, psychologically, and culturally intriguing. Throughout, Achebe weaves in the concept of facades: facades of strength, of stability, of security, of trustworthiness, of happiness, of truth. Achebe’s work is remarkable, and the astute reader will recognize and appreciate the importance of such work.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to all because it’s imperative to understand what others in the world experience and experienced, especially in a world of such divided opinions and narrow perspectives.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Things Fall Apart* by Chinua Achebe 100%.