Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Reviewed by Milly (14)

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a  tragic book about the life of a pair of migrant workers and their dreams.

You see the pair of men first on their way to work. The bus driver dropped them off 14 miles from the barn so they spent the rest of the day walking when they finally rest at the side of a water bed. In the book the place they stopped is described in the book with very descriptive and almost poetically by Steinbeck. Here is an example of his style of writing: 'On one side of the river the golden foothill slops curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees-willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter's flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool.'

 After the text above it introduces Lennie and George as opposites but, they still manage to have a bond as tight as brothers. George, a realist, is smaller and weaker than Lennie, but he is the smarter one. Lennie, on the other hand, is a huge guy with a brain as big as a peanut and the strength of a lion. Lennie is a dreamer.

Lennie forgot everything he was ever told but always remembered the story about the rabbits. The story is dream that the pair shared to rise there hopes. It starts off by George saying that men like themselves are lonely as hell cause they got no one and have no home to go to. But not them cause, as Lennie said excitedly, "I've got you and you got me an were gonna get a house together with chickens and a cow and rabbits and I can tend to them and grow alfalfa for them!".

The book Of Mice and Men has the theme of belonging and people's rights. It shows this mainly through the characters Cooks, a dark-skinned man, and  Curly's Wife, who likes talking to the other workers.The time this book was based there were little to no rights for women and black people. For example, Cooks was to sleep in the stables cause he was black and he was so lonely because no one would talk to him. Curly's wife is also lonely because she is not allowed to talk to anyone other than her husband (who is not a nice guy). That is all because of how they look and their gender. They also show how unwelcome Curly's wife is--through the whole book no one mentions  her name because it didn't matter, all they needed to know was she's Curly's wife.

This book made me cry and cry (I still cry if anyone mentions the end) but it was worth it. Steinbeck is an amazing writer and  makes you create a bond with each character. When Mum told me I should read it I said ok, but I was not expecting this piece of art. If you haven't read this book yet then you NEED to read it.

I rate this book out of 5 paper dolls: 

I LOVE THIS BOOK! but I don't think I could read it again, too sad.

Graceling

Gracling by Kristin Cashore

Reviewed by Milly 14yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

Graceling by Kristin Cashore is an exciting and enticing fantasy that starts with a girl in a fantasy realm called The Seven Kingdoms. Katsa is almost like every other girl, except for the fact that she has a talent for killing things. This is an interesting trait, but she is left with the notion that it's every person for themselves. She is a Gracling. Graclings are just people who have a special gift, some more useful then others. You can tell a graced person by their eyes, they are different colours. One day Katsa meets a boy with the most spectacular eyes, one silver and one gold. The day she meets Po? That's the day her life changes. 

Katsa has always been an obedient assassin and thug for her greedy uncle, the Kind of her realm, but Po makes Katsa start to question her role. When Katsa disobeys the King for the first time, she now finds herself an outlaw on the run. She may as well follow Po on his mission to stop an evil Gracling. 

I liked Katsa, she is brave, strong and willing to do anything to protect her friends. She is really inspiring. All the characters in this novel were well developed, like Bitterblue, even though she's a little kid and traumatised, she has moments of strength. Po seems to be a lighthearted character, but he will be tested.

This thrilling action is so fast paced, you won't want to put the book down (I know I didn't). The thing that stood out about it compared to other fantasy stories is it's written from the point of view of not only a girl, but a girl who is a warrior at heart. I love this amazing book and I give it out of 5 paper dolls:

I will definitely be reading Fire and Bitterblue in this series!

M~Malice

Malice by Chris Wooding

Reviewed by Milly, 12yrs. old - Teen Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

Here is an old favourite i decided to re-blog!

Malice by Chris Wooding, is a horrifying book about a world that exsits inside a scary comic book. To get there you have to do the ritual and call on 'Tall Jake'. Two kids called Kady and Seth do not believe these rumours about this strange land until their friend goes missing.

This is the scariest book I have ever read, especially the first chapter when a boy performs the ritual, the lights go out and you just know 'Tall Jake' is coming. Even though I had nightmares about it, my friends are still fighting over who will read it next.

What I like most about this book is it is a great book for kids that don't like to read much and for the classroom. Even though it looks like a thick book it is half comic/half novel and both boys and girls will enjoy it.

The other really cool thing about this book is it has a 3D front cover. It looks like Tall Jake is coming out of the book to get you!

You'd think I wouldn't want to read any other scary books after having nightmares after readingMalice, but no, I can't wait to read another scary book!

I rate this book out of five:

iI am putting this recipe back up for those who loved it and for those who haven't seen them before I call them 'Uglies':

For this recipe you just use your favourite chocolate cupcake recipe (or you can use a packet mix) and add pink and white mini-marshmellows and white chocolate chips. Top with chocolate icing. They don't look very pretty, but boy do they taste good!

J~Jasper Jones

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

Reviewed by Milly 14 yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey is about a Charlie who is startled in the middle of the night by rebel, Jasper Jones.

Charlie is a smart boy, but he doesn't have many friends, so when Jasper comes to his house he is surprised that he knows Charlie's name, let alone where he lives. Jasper takes him out of town and he starts to worry this is a bad idea. It's too late to leave now, Charlie doesn't know his way back. They go through a clearing and Charlie is horrified to see a girl from his class hanging from a rope, cold dead! He is even more shocked to see it is... Ha! You really think i'd tell who the girl is? I guess you will just have to read the book. It takes Jasper to point out the surroundings for him to realise it isn't a suicide. It was Murder!

This scary murder mystery is a brilliant story but it is a little bit to crude for my taste. If you can overlook the constant bad language and rude bits, you'd enjoy it.

I rate it out of 5 paper dolls:

L~Looking Glass Wars

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Reviewed by Milly 13 yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

I have decided to go back in time and ether remind you or show you for the first time an exiting read. Enjoy!

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor is a book about a girl named Alice, who lives in Wonderland (Oh! I almost forgot, she isn't any ordinary girl, she's a princess!). But on her 7th birthday her aunt, Red, attacked the Queendom! In all the massacre, Red killed Alice's mum & dad and tried to kill Alice!

Luckily the Hatter got her safely to the pool of tears. She had been wishing for an adventure for her birthday, she certainly got what she wished for as she jumped into the pool of tears and came out to a whole new place called London. Meanwhile the Hatter was in a place called Paris. Not knowing were Alice was he searched the whole country for her and would search the hole world for her if he had to so she can fulfil her destiny and kill Red!

There are more problems - Alice is adopted and is told that what she says about Wonderland is nonsense, she finally believed her new family and forgot all about her aunt & Wonderland. Now she is 20 and going tho marry a prince! Will she remember who she is in time to go back and save Wonderland?

Sound slightly familiar? This story is like a reversal of Alice in Wonderland. But there are many differences - it's much darker. This excellent book is a book that was chosen by the book club I go to so I do have to thank them because otherwise I would have never read it!

This is a wonderful book and I give it out of 5 paper dolls :

This is a great book but a warning to my followers that are a bit squeamish this book has a lot of gore and is NOT a little kids book.

I~Imaginary Boys

Imaginary Boys by Carlos Lopez Bermudez

Reviewed by Milly 14 yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

Imaginary Boys by Carlos Lopez Bermudez is actually a comic that I bought of comiXology (an app for iPad or iPhone).

When you die, you go to a weird place called the Crossroads where you will find a guy who has been sentenced to write the directions to heaven and hell in his own blood.

When 9 year old Elise Dawn dies, she finds herself in another world. She is told she has a choice between Heaven and Hell, but, she decides to take a long dangerous road to another place all together. This is a hard road to take because it is full of demons who want to take her soul.

This is an awesome horror and i give it out of 5 paper dolls:

G~Glass Houses

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

Reviewed by Milly 14 yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine, "On the day Claire became a member of the Glass House, somebody stole her laundry".

It wasn't easy being smart for Claire. She's teased all the time. That's why she decided to move out of her school dorm and into the Glass House. But as soon as she moves in she knows they're hiding something. She never thought they would be hiding something as big as, well... VAMPIRES. Not wanna-be vampires, but real vampires with real fangs and real enemies. She has to try and save her friends from the evil after them.

This fast-paced horror is a good read. I rate this out of 5 paper dolls:

F~Fairy Bad Day

Fairy Bad Day By Amanda Ashby

Reviewed by Milly 14 yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby is about a world where elements (dragons, goblins, demons, etc.) exists and terrorize mankind.

Emma Jones has a dream, her dreams to get a position as a Dragon Slayer and follow in her mothers footsteps. But, annoying, sorta hot Curtis Green ruins all that by accepting the position as Dragon Slayer, leaving her with the very first person to be titled Fairy Slayer. As she has to face humiliation by her fellow classmates, now she nit only is a singed to be partners with her nemesis, but, because of her ingery from an explosion in the mall during a fairy hunt, she has to stay back with Curtis while the rest of the school goes on an excursion to defeat an army of d

emons. During this unfortunate occurrence, she and her new little buddy (hint of sarcasm inserted here) find out that something big is coming and it an't pretty.

One of the reasons I like this book is that it z I rate this book out of 5 paper dolls:

E~Early to Death Early to Rise

Early to Death Early to Rise by Kim Harrison

Reviewed by Milly 14 yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

Early to Death Early to Rise by Kim Harrison is actually the 2nd book to Once Dead Twice Shy which is about a young teen who has died and stolen the amulet of the Dark Time Keeper. Steeling the amulet makes her almost alive again, she just never eats. She has to work out a way to stop the angel from trying to kill her (again) and take back his amulet.

Early to Death Early to Rise continues on from that story. She is now the Dark Time Keeper and has to try to change her evil angel followers from the inside, with help of course from her friends, human, Josh, twice fallen angel, Barnabis and Dark Reaper, Nakita. These three unlikely friends help her to change the Dark Reapers ways and save people who make the wrong choice in life.

This exiting trilogy (yes I said trilogy, I'm saving the next book for later) is awesome and a hilarious read I rate this out of 5 paper dolls:

B ~ Beauty Queens

Beauty Queens By Libba Bray

Reviewed by Milly 14 yrs. old - Book Reviewer and Sometimes Baker

As my sister pointed out we are doing the A~Z challenge.

I'm reviewing today B for Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. When I read this book I actually listened to it on audible and found out something that rarely happens, it was read by Libba Bray!

Beauty Queens is about a, well, Bunch of beauty queens who are flying on their way to the next Pageant. But on the journey the plane crash lands into a deserted island. Everyone is dead except a handful of happy, beautiful, good hearted girls who wouldn't hurt a fly. After all, we are reminded at the beginning of the book that this is a happy book, filled with nice things, as all books for girls should be. Yeah right!

Follow these girls as they blow up snakes, make camp out of ball gowns, get food and SURVIVE (even without makeup!). And that's not all they have to face, there seems to be someone else on the island, what will they do when even their sponsors want them dead. This is a fun adventure with non stop comedy.

One of the things I really like about this book is the way it breaks down our society's expectations of what it means to be a girl and how girl's SHOULD behave. My favourite character is Tiara - read it, or better still let Libba Bray read it to you, she does an awesome job!

I rate this to of 5 paper dolls:

Today I'm making Warm milk. it's what every beauty queen needs for a good night's sleep.

Warm Milk

Ingredients:

Ground cinnamon

Vanilla essence

Milk

Sugar

Tea spoon

Mug

Step 1. pour the milk into a mug.

Step 2. add 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar (depending on your sweet tooth).

Step 3. pour in a tea spoon of vanilla essence.

Step 4. put in microwave for 30 sec. and stir.

Step 5. put in for a further 30 sec. or until warm.

Step 6. sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Step 7. drink and enjoy!