Marshmallow’s reviews – Page 12

Marshmallow reviews Beautiful News by David McCandless

Today Marshmallow chose to review a beautiful book of infographics by David McCandless published in 2022, aptly named Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions.

Marshmallow reviews Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions by David McCandless. — Marshmallow reviews *Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions* by David McCandless.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you want hope (or if you simply like pretty pictures displaying lots of cool information), then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): In today’s status quo, things are looking grim. Everyday everyone looks at the news and sees only darkness. Every headline promises impending doom, but each one is terrifying in its own separate way. Isn’t it great!?! More seriously though, this is a daily occurrence that everyone, regardless of the news and media type they consume (CNBC, CNN, Fox, New York Times… they are all extremely depressing), experiences. This is mostly due to a phenomenon known as negativity bias. But no matter how natural, the end result is universal hopelessness and—quite frankly—rampant depression. Birth rates are falling as youth start to equate having children to condemning them to a horrific future. But amidst this barrage of fear, sadness, and anger (all of which is undeniably present and must be recognized), there is also hope. Hope may initially feel like a fragile concept, but this book helps back it up with statistics and data.

The author David McCandless has compiled exactly what is written on the first page: “positive trends, uplifting stats, creative solutions.” After the table of contents, each page or two is a spread of data, with brilliant colors and clear infographics (a portmanteau word smashing together “information” and “graphics”). The book is divided into sections based on what topic the information is about. The sections are titled as follows: health, cleaner energy, progress, climate, money, nice!, nature, mixed, freedom and rights, women and girls, what to do?, and cool tech.

Every page in this book is bright and cheery and truly provides reasons to stay hopeful. For example, one beautiful graph shows that “Far More Unites Us Than Divides Us.” Apparently, between countries, 84% is the percent average similarity in common values between groups. Between religions, it’s 91%; between rich and poor, and between education levels, and between age groups, it’s 96%. Between genders, it’s 97%. This is just one example from the more-than-200 pages in this book! At the end, there is also a map of the world and each country is labeled with something that makes it special and good. This book truly is a candle—like the author’s name—in the dark.

Marshmallow is reading Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions by David McCandless. — Marshmallow is reading *Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions* by David McCandless.

Marshmallow’s Review: I love this book! I have read so many amazing books, but this is my favorite one because it really embodies hope. I think I will definitely return to this book over and over again. If you can’t tell, I would highly recommend this book. I think it is great to read for oneself, but I think it could also make an amazing gift to a worried friend or source material to comfort them with facts to prove that there is always hope. (Here is one of my other favorite books about hope: I have already reviewed it for this blog. That was more of a narrative of hope however. This book just gives you proof! Colorful visuals and data! What more could one ask for?)

I was very small when I decided that hope is something one should always have, even when it seems false. What’s the point in giving up? Nothing is ever absolute. I think this book is really good because it shows that you don’t even need to follow that stubborn logic. There are reasons to have hope already.

I think everyone should be given a copy of this book. The only problem is that, being written 2022, the data is not the most recent. But the fact that most show trends of even longer periods of time is still encouraging. This can’t fix all existential dread or depression, but it can spark a bit of hope that can be nursed into a flame.

On this topic, if you cannot read this book for any reason, try visiting the Good News Network—an American online newspaper that focuses on good news only. So, in summary, I would highly recommend reading this book and treasuring it forever… but I would recommend keeping hope even more.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 150%. Yes, I am that excited about this book!

Marshmallow rates Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions by David McCandless 150%! — Marshmallow rates *Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions* by David McCandless 150%!

Marshmallow reviews Sweet Valley Twins: The Graphic Novel (Best Friends and Teacher’s Pet) by Nicole Andelfinger and Claudia Aguirre

A few years ago, Marshmallow read and reviewed Kristy’s Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #1) written by Ann M. Martin in the 1980s and 1990s and adapted into a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier in 2006. Today she is reviewing Sweet Valley Twins: The Graphic Novel by Nicole Andelfinger and Claudia Aguirre, another book whose origins lie in a beloved book series from the 1980s written by Francine Pascal. The edition she is writing about combines the first two books, Best Friends and Teacher’s Pet, in one volume and was published just this year, in 2025. Other artists who contributed to the book include Sara Hagstrom, Andrea Bell, and Warren Montgomery.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about friendship, sisters, family, and drama, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are identical twins. In Best Friends, they start off as each other’s best friend. But like all middle-school aged girls and all book characters of that age, the two have started changing. In my opinion though, the one who is changing more is Jessica. Jessica has become increasingly more interested in boys and popularity, which is natural to an extent. Unfortunately, she has been recruited to join the Unicorns (which is a lot like the Plastics from Mean Girls). In order to get in, Jessica has to prove herself by completing three dares. Elizabeth is more interested in the Sweet Valley Sixers, the school newspaper she founded with her other friends Amy Sutton and Julie Porter. Both Elizabeth and Jessica thought they would be closer than ever in middle school, but they are growing apart instead.

In Teacher’s Pet, the focus is on their shared ballet classes. Jessica dresses to impress the first day, only to discover that their strict teacher Madame André is not a fan of her style. It is on that day that Jessica decides the teacher hates her. On the other hand, Elizabeth has no problem with the teacher, who actually really likes her. Jessica—who believes she is the best ballet dancer in the class—decides that Madame André picks favorites and that Elizabeth is a teacher’s pet. So when Elizabeth gets the solo for the rehearsal, Jessica is pretty jealous. Can the sisters overcome their differences? (Spoiler: The answer is predictably yes, but in a way that I was not too pleased with.)

Marshmallow is reading Sweet Valley Twins: The Graphic Novel (Best Friends and Teacher’s Pet) by Nicole Andelfinger and Claudia Aguirre. — Marshmallow is reading *Sweet Valley Twins: The Graphic Novel* (Best Friends and Teacher’s Pet) by Nicole Andelfinger and Claudia Aguirre.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think these books are really good, especially for young girls in middle school who are noticing behavioral changes in themselves or others. This book is a graphic novel and has two of the Sweet Valley Twins books in one. The Sweet Valley Twins books were originally written in 1986. I think it’s worth noting that there are no discussions about changing bodies in these books so the focus is more on how people’s personalities and interests change. That said, I was a little unhappy with the dynamic between Elizabeth and Jessica. I’ll preface this by saying I liked Elizabeth more due to her sweet, smart personality. I think the way Jessica changes is definitely normal and understandable too. But Jessica also changes in ways that are less excusable: she bullies other girls, pulls pranks on others, and is extremely self-centered. Jessica literally says she is the best dancer to her sister’s face—several times. I think this shows that she is a worse person, or at least doesn’t care so much about others. Yet, at the end of the second book (SPOILER), Jessica is the one given the solo lead role because Elizabeth fakes being injured. Why does Elizabeth give Jessica the role? Because Jessica complains about how she deserves it more and how she is better at ballet than everyone else until Elizabeth gives in and starts thinking she doesn’t deserve it either. I think it’s really good to have an accurate representation of sibling relationships in books, but I don’t like how the authors had the book end in a way that shows one of the sisters giving something they really wanted to the other just because the other one is jealous. I think that was a pretty messed-up ending and I don’t find that fair. I think Jessica definitely needs support, especially since she is so desperate to be viewed as popular and get validation. But the fact that she consistently bullies others and tears her sister down to get that is not okay. I think Jessica is portrayed too well in the book. So I definitely think this book is good to read for young girls. But I think parents and the readers should have a discussion about what a healthy relationship should be like, because Jessica’s behavior is not what should be normalized or idealized.

After I wrote the paragraphs above, I read this review of the second book in its original, which seems to imply that Jessica is clearly the better dancer and the teacher is really playing favorites and has poor judgment. That is not quite the impression one gets in the graphic novel version. Even if Jessica is more naturally inclined, Elizabeth is just as good though possibly with more instruction and practice. So to me, the teacher choosing one over the other does not seem like a big unfair thing. Jessica on the other hand does not handle things well and really comes across as a spoiled brat.

The graphic novel is otherwise a lot of fun to read. The colors and the characters’ depictions work really well. I did keep thinking back to all my favorite books by Raina Telgemeier, especially Drama. If you are up for a solid couple hours of fun reading about middle school blues, this book can be a good choice.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 92%.

Marshmallow rates Sweet Valley Twins: The Graphic Novel (Best Friends and Teacher’s Pet) by Nicole Andelfinger and Claudia Aguirre 92%. — Marshmallow rates *Sweet Valley Twins: The Graphic Novel* (Best Friends and Teacher’s Pet) by Nicole Andelfinger and Claudia Aguirre 92%.

Marshmallow reviews The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

This week, Marshmallow decided to take on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Originally published in 1985, this book is about a dystopian near-future where women’s lives are extremely constrained and their rights are almost nonexistent, and it might be a bit more challenging for some of our young readers than our usual fare.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about terrifying dystopian futures, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Offred is a handmaiden in Gilead who has been given to a Commander to conceive his child. Gilead is set in the north east of what used to be the United States and was established after the President, Congress, and the U.S. government were violently overthrown by the Sons of Jacob, a radical political group. The rebels set up a system that puts women as second-class citizens with no rights. This happens gradually. Early on, the Sons and the army say some of the measures are for security purposes, such as closing down roads and increasing surveillance. But eventually, women’s bank accounts are shut off and they are let go from their jobs.

Reading the signs, Offred (who had an unknown name before), her husband Luke, and her daughter attempt to flee to Canada. But Luke’s divorce with a previous wife is not valid according to Gilead’s new laws, making Offred an adulteress. They try to run away, but Offred is caught and taken away from her family. Her husband’s fate remains unknown, but her daughter is confirmed to be given to parents that firmly believe in Gilead’s ideals. Offred is taken to the Rachel and Leah Re-education Center or Red Center, in which she is taught to be a handmaiden. Amidst declining birth rates, increased infertility, and climate disasters, Gilead’s new system of birth is forcing fertile women to conceive. Handmaidens are forcibly impregnated by the leading elite—Commanders—in Ceremonies.

More generally, all people in Gilead are sorted into a structure, and power is concentrated solely at the top in the hands of certain white men. (The fate of non-white people is not described in the book.) Women are sorted into several categories: Wives who wear blue (who are married to the Commanders but have no physical or emotional bond with them), Aunts who wear brown (who re-educate Handmaids), Handmaids who wear red (who are forced to procreate with their assigned Commander, but have no relationship with anyone), Marthas who wear green (cooks, servants, etc.), Econowives who wear striped clothing (wives of lower ranking men), and so on.

The government watches its people with Eyes, who are like a secret police so that no one knows who to trust. Everyone lives in fear, but some truly believe that this is an improvement.

Offred is assigned to a Commander to bear him a child, and she is renamed Offred presumably because his name is Fred (Of Fred; all the Handmaids are named like that, like Ofwarren, Ofglen, etc.) The Commander’s Wife is Serena Joy, a former televangelist who pushed for Gilead’s extreme take of the Bible—which is used to justify the new way of life. Now, confined to home with a husband who does not love her, she realizes that the whole thing might have been a bad idea.

This Commander feels that Serena Joy does not understand him, so he invites Offred to play Scrabble with him. In this manner, they develop a peculiar bond, a sort of mutated friendship. However, Offred knows that she can never truly be friends with the man who literally has the power of life or death over her.

The Commander argues that life is much better now, and tries to convince Offred of this. At the same time, Offred’s assigned partner (for getting groceries in a very formal, terse manner) Ofglen reveals herself to be a member of a resistance group. Offred yearns for a way out, but at the same time finds herself becoming attached to the Commander’s personal servant.

What will happen to Offred? And what about Gilead?

Marshmallow is reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. — Marshmallow is reading *The Handmaid’s Tale* by Margaret Atwood.

Marshmallow’s Review: The Handmaid’s Tale is a hard book to read, especially for a female bunny. It is definitely not appropriate for young bunnies. The book progresses in a very disturbing way. The ending is not definite, but it leaves a mark.

I read this book initially because I’d started hearing a lot more about it recently. Many people have begun to compare Gilead to the present United States of America, especially after the recent TV series adaptation of it. Some parallels do exist and are becoming more apparent, which is very saddening and truly terrifying. This book shows a distorted version of the United States, one which will hopefully never come to pass. But the geography certainly makes the book feel more urgent and too close for comfort. (Other books that depict possible dystopian futures for the United States, like Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng and The Hunger Games series, come to mind.)

I must say that The Handmaid’s Tale is definitely not a children’s book. Sex and sexual activity are frequently discussed—especially since Offred’s very existence is due to her fertility and ability to conceive. The world of Gilead is also in itself extremely harrowing. Political prisoners are killed by mobs at Prayvaganzas, hangings are regularly showcased at the Wall, women are ceremoniously raped, and there’s a lot of discourse about suicide. It’s a very dark book.

However, reading The Handmaid’s Tale makes one more motivated to fight for equal rights. While books like We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie make clear-eyed arguments, this book depicts the chilling effects of what a world with no rights for women could be like. Offred’s mother was an activist who fought for those rights, which Offred remembers during several flashbacks. Those flashbacks are instrumental to the nuance of this book. They show the subtle ways in which the world changed, until it had transformed into a monstrous beast that couldn’t be cured.

The Handmaid’s Tale should also serve as a warning and as a reminder that democracy must be protected. Once again, as I mentioned in my review of On Tyranny: Graphic Edition by Timothy Snyder and Nora Krug, freedom is not free. This is a resounding message that has been echoed by so many people, in so many books, throughout so many different times.

It is interesting that the author does say that other countries have not changed like Gilead. In fact, it is implied that some of the states did not submit to the Sons of Jacob. There are references to war every now and then. But the way in which the narrative flows is really a testament to the author’s prowess. It leaves the reader with an understanding of how Offred feels because of how confused and disturbed and angry and anxious and traumatized the plot leaves one.

I would definitely recommend The Handmaid’s Tale to everyone, but once they can handle it and they can understand the reason for reading such a book: to understand why equal rights for all are so important.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%

Marshmallow rates The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Handmaid’s Tale* by Margaret Atwood 100%.

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%.