Marshmallow’s reviews – Page 46

Marshmallow reviews Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Today Marshmallow reviews Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, published first in 2002 and awarded a Newberry Honor in 2003. Sprinkles read the book, too, and is asking questions to Marshmallow and taking notes as they go along.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, let us start with an overview of the book. What is the book about?

Marshmallow: It’s about this boy named Roy Eberhardt who has recently moved to Miami, Florida. One day while he is on the school bus, he sees a strange boy running outside without shoes. And the book is about him trying to find out who that boy is.

S: That sounds like the beginning of a good mystery. Would you say this is a mystery story?

M: Yes. It takes a while for Roy to figure out who that boy is and what is going on with him.

S: And then, the book is not yet over, though, right?

M: There is a second mystery in the book. There is a second narrator, besides Roy, who sees some other events happening, and he is also trying to figure out just what is going on. This one is a police officer named David Delinko.

S: And the two events end up being intertwined, right?

M: Yes. And things are tied in and resolved quite well at the end.

Marshmallow is reading Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. — Marshmallow is reading *Hoot* by Carl Hiaasen.

S: It sounds like you enjoyed reading this book Marshmallow.

M: Yes, I did. I thought the two mysteries being related was really neat, like a typical Nancy Drew story. Or like in the FunJungle series.

S: And I know you really liked both Nancy Drew stories and all the FunJungle books. So that is a compliment, coming from you!

M: Yes. I especially thought the plot was very interesting.

S: You wanted to add “bullying” to the tags for the post. Why is that?

M: Because there is an older boy at school who bullies Roy, and that is actually why Roy comes to notice the running boy. And then the bullying is related to how things evolve and are resolved, too.

S: The bully gets his comeuppance, right?

M: Yes, but I don’t want to give too much away.

S: I know. Okay, let us not say much more about that then. What else do you want to tell us about this book?

M: When you interview Caramel about books, you ask him for three words to describe the book. So I think three words that could describe this book are animal-friendly, fast-paced, and mystery. Or maybe I’d describe the book as “animal-friendly, fast-paced school mystery”. That’s not three words, but then again, I am not Caramel.

S: That makes sense to me, Marshmallow. And that is a good description of this book. We did not say much about the animal-friendly part but I suppose our readers might guess that from the title.

M: Yes, “hoot” is the sound owls make. So the readers might already guess there will be some owls somewhere.

S: Yes, I think that is quite reasonable. We rabbits may not like owls much, but the owls in this book are cute and lovable. Right?

M: Yes. They are nothing like Mr. Ocax in Poppy. They’re more like Rufus in Of a Feather.

S: Okay, Marshmallow, I think it is time for us to wrap up this review. What would you rate this book?

M: I’d rate it 95%. It is a good read and the two mysteries keep you wanting to read it fast.

Marshmallow rates Hoot by Carl Hiaasen 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Hoot* by Carl Hiaasen 95%.

Marshmallow reviews David Massie and the Quantum Flux by Andrew M. Nehring

Today Marshmallow is reviewing a recently published book by Andrew M. Nehring: David Massie and the Quantum Flux. She received this book as a review copy and appreciated the opportunity to read it.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about school, or if you enjoy science fiction and adventure stories, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): David Massie has been having the same dream for the last two months. In his dream, he is standing in the dark. A strange slithering sound comes from behind him, but in the distance there is a glow. A ghostlike girl reaches out for him, but then he falls down to Earth while everything around him shatters.

At school, a bully named Mike tells David that if David allows him to cheat during an upcoming test, he won’t “beat him up”. David gives him wrong answers and Mike punches him. The principal worries about Mike hurting David further and so asks David’s friend Rory to walk him home. On their way back home, a dark, armored figure presses some buttons, and a purple sphere of light envelops David, barely touching Rory; however neither of them notice.

The next morning, when David wakes up, he notices that the radio announcer is acting strangely, making many religious statements. His parents are dressed in priest-like robes. Everyone he meets is somehow different from how they used to be, and everyone is extremely religious. The only other person who notices this is strange is Rory.

David Massie’s brother Morgan, who had disappeared five years ago on a stormy night, had talked to David about different realities and had been working on a way to travel between them. David and Rory realize that they must have jumped through different realities. David promises he’ll fix it.

Marshmallow is reading David Massie and the Quantum Flux by Andrew M. Nehring. — Marshmallow is reading *David Massie and the Quantum Flux* by Andrew M. Nehring.

The next morning, everyone has to work in construction, including children. School is just labor now. The following morning, the radio announcer is speaking German. When the radio announcer stops in mid-sentence, David notices a man in his room who is wearing blue armor. When David talks to him, the man is surprised that David can see him because he had just stopped time. He tells David that he is a Time Cop David is glad that someone has come to fix the switching realities, and he asks the officer for his badge. The officer says he doesn’t have one but his ID is CP1399457. David decides to call him CP.

David and CP now have to try to find a way to fix the realities, but the mysterious, dark-armored figure is following them. Through his adventure, David uncovers more about his brother, both good and bad.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that David Massie and the Quantum Flux is a good science fiction book. It is the first book of a new series, The David Massie and the Corrupted Light Chronicles, and as a result, the ending is a bit of a cliff hanger, but the book is still satisfying on its own.

I think that the author created an interesting world with realistic characters. The way they travel through different realities reminded me of a classic I reviewed before: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. Also a missing brother is somewhat similar to the missing dad in that book and how Meg tries to save his brother is similar to how David Massie is looking for his brother. However this is definitely a different story and I am not sure how things will turn out (though I have some guesses). It will be interesting to see what David Massie does in the following books.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates David Massie and the Quantum Flux by Andrew M. Nehring 95%. — Marshmallow rates *David Massie and the Quantum Flux* by Andrew M. Nehring 95%.

Marshmallow reviews Nothing But The Truth by Avi

Marshmallow first read Avi’s Nothing But The Truth in school. Then this summer, during the book bunnies’ break, she had reason to get back to this documentary novel once more. Below she shares her thoughts on this book, first written in 1991 by Avi, the author of the Tales from Dimwood Forest series that Caramel reviewed several times times for this blog, and awarded a Newberry Honor in 1992.

Marshmallow reviews Nothing But The Truth: a documentary novel by Avi. — Marshmallow reviews *Nothing But The Truth*: a documentary novel by Avi.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about school or you like thinking about different perspectives on a particular event, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Philip Malloy is a high school student who loves running but dislikes his English teacher. He thinks that she is out to get him. When he learns that he needs to get a passing grade in every class to try out for the track team, he decides he needs to get moved out of his English class.

His teacher, Miss Narwin, thinks that Philip is smart, but that he does not work hard. During English class, Philip constantly makes rude comments and disrupts the class. Now that he has moved to Miss Narwin’s homeroom, he starts to hum or sing during the daily playing of the national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”. (It is unclear whether he hums or sings, as the characters believe different things happened.) The school’s rule is to stand in respectful silence while the anthem is played, so Miss Narwin tells him to stop doing what he is doing.

Philip hums or sings during the anthem a total of three times on three different days, hoping he’ll annoy his teacher enough to be moved to a different class. The third time he does it, Miss Narwin tells him to go to the office. There, the assistant principal asks him to apologize to Miss Narwin. Philip refuses, though he is threatened with suspension and a bad mark on his record. Eventually he is suspended and his mother is called to pick him up.

Philip tells his parents that Miss Narwin yelled at him for singing or humming. His parents tell their neighbor Ted Griffen about the event. Griffen is running for the school board, so when he hears about this story, he wants to have it published in the papers. He contacts a journalist to ask some questions about the event, and soon, the journalist writes an article about the event titled “Kicked Out Of School For Patriotism”. The article spreads the news about Philip’s suspension, and soon, people around the country have all heard about the event.

People start to send telegrams to the school, Miss Narwin, and Philip Malloy. The telegrams to the school say that they should fire Miss Narwin. The ones to Miss Narwin say things like, “Surely you have something better to do with your classroom authority than attacking kids who express their love of our country.” The telegrams sent to Philip support his “patriotism”. As the book progresses, it gets harder and harder to tell what really happened and who is telling the truth.

Marshmallow is reading Nothing But The Truth: a documentary novel by Avi. — Marshmallow is reading *Nothing But The Truth*: a documentary novel by Avi.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that Nothing But The Truth is a really interesting book. It is written like a play when there is dialogue (with minimal narration), but the author also shows us excerpts from Philip’s diary, memos, letters, and more. I can see why it is called a documentary novel: it seems to be documenting a real event with different kinds of documents that the reader needs to interpret to understand what really happened. I also found it interesting to read Avi’s explanation of how he ended up writing this book.

The characters themselves are really realistic, with normal hobbies and everything, though they are not always trustable (similar to books or movies with unreliable narrators). The author, Avi, does a great job in making you feel really annoyed by certain characters. And you also sympathize with some of them.

I really liked how Nothing But The Truth keeps you thinking about what really has happened and how you can’t always trust the information that you are given. Its central story has many different interpretations, and what is true, and what is right, is not always what it seems.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Nothing But The Truth by Avi 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Nothing But The Truth* by Avi 95%.

Marshmallow reviews Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Every year the book bunnies have been taking July off. In her last review before this year’s summer break, Marshmallow decided to review Starfish by Lisa Fipps.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about bullying, differences, school, or friends, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Eliana Elizabeth Montgomery-Hofstein hasn’t been called by her real name since she was five. The only people who call her by her real name are her parents, her best friend Viv, and her teachers. At school and at home, she is called Splash. This is because at her fifth birthday party, she jumped into her pool wearing a whale swimsuit and she made a large splash. Since then her classmates and even her siblings have been treating her terribly because she is larger than other kids. Her mother keeps trying to make her go on diets and even tries to make Ellie have bariatric surgery.

Sadly, Viv, Ellie’s best friend, has moved away. However, Ellie has found a new friend, Catalina, a girl who lives next to her but doesn’t go to her school. Ellie likes spending time with her new friend. She swims while Catalina plays her guitar. But her time at school is not so pleasant. When she walks in the hallways, everyone presses themselves against the wall because they are pretending that she is so big that she is squashing them against the wall. At home, her brother says mean things to her and her mother keeps telling her that she is too big.

Ellie tries to live by her “Fat Girl Rules”. Her “Fat Girl Rules” are stuff like, “You need to bully yourself as much as, if not more than, everyone bullies you.”, “You don’t deserve to be seen or heard, to take up room, to be noticed. Make yourself small.”, “When someone is laughing, they’re laughing at you.”, and “No making waves.”

Recently, Ellie has started to go to a therapist. Her therapist helps her deal with her emotions and process the events of her day. With her therapist, her father, and her friend, Ellie manages to brave through her life, even though it sometimes seems like everything is against her.

Marshmallow is reading Starfish by Lisa Fipps. — Marshmallow is reading *Starfish* by Lisa Fipps.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that Starfish is a very moving book. It reminded me of another book I reviewed before: Blubber by Judy Blume. There, too, there was a girl who was bullied because of her size, though Starfish is narrated by the person being bullied.

Starfish is written like a poem, but it is free verse. I have not read too many books written in verse like this, but I think that it worked really well for Starfish. The poetry reminded me of the book I reviewed two weeks ago: Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson.

After reading this book, I read the author’s note, which says that everything in Starfish happened to her in some version or another. Since the author went through these experiences, she did a great job making the characters realistic and relatable. My favorite character is Catalina because she is a great friend and she is wise. But not only did the author make likable characters, she also made characters who are very unlikable. Everyone at school is mean to Ellie, but the main people who bully her are two girls and one boy. Ellie and Viv called them, Enemy Number 1, Enemy Number 2, and Enemy Number 3 (not in front of them though).

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Starfish by Lisa Fipps 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Starfish* by Lisa Fipps 100%.