Ayan's Book Review
Mapmaker's Mistake

-by Meilani Schijvens

What a wonderful start to a series.

In Mapmaker’s Mistake, Asha is still struggling against her preordained fate of having an arranged marriage with a prince (to let her kingdom Zanzia use aristocracy to ward off attacking warlords) when she is confronted by King Dokar and his ruthless army. 

But as she wins a duel against King Dokar, his army begins to scour Zanzia for Asha, so she escapes to Pome for shelter. Still, King Dokar’s men ravage Zanzia, leaving Asha to choose between her kingdom or herself.

This book taught me a lot about medieval warfare—sword-fighting, longbows, spears, etc. What’s more, the author neatly weaves this into the main plot, so you’ll drown in the story without knowing that you are taking a history lesson. Cool!

I like how the plot of this book flashes by with incredible plot twists and fast-paced action. Besides, it was very suspenseful and kept me hooked from cover to cover.

I recommend this book to readers 9+ as the plot might be a little too complex for younger readers to understand.

I give this book 4.7/5 stars as it has some violence (but that was needed for the plot.) This is a unique story, and I haven't read anything like this one before. 

 

Ayan's Book Review
Tales of a Sixth-Grade Werecat

-by A.M. Deese

'Tales of a Sixth-Grade Werecat' is the story of Felix and his battle against his archenemy Ethan. When Ethan dares Felix to enter the house of the town witch, Felix takes the dare, hoping to defeat Ethan once and for all. But an unexpected move from Ethan tosses Felix into a series of challenging escapades. But will he be able to take them all? Join Felix as he finds his talisman, gains control of his powers, and takes his last chance to take down Ethan.

The themes in this book are friendship, perseverance, and sympathy.

The illustrations in this book are pretty detailed—great for younger readers to understand the context.

I recommend this book as a read-aloud for 4+ and as a reader for 5+.
I give this book 4.7/5 stars as there is some name-calling. (Even though I don’t like name-calling, it’s needed in the story.) I enjoyed reading this book and would love to read more by the author, A. M. Deese.

Keep reading!!

-Ayan 

Ayan's Book Review
Super Problems

-by Jason R. Lady

Have you ever imagined what would happen if you got a magic pen? A pen with which if you drew something, it would become real?

Super Problems is a highly engaging superhero book.

Scott, Barry, Joel, and Prudence very unprecedently turn from four very typical sixth-graders into four very normal superheroes complete with unique superpowers…all because Scott had drawn them as comic book superheroes, not knowing that he was using a magic pen. But it turns out that a super-villain also comes real as Scott had drawn the Stinky Sock as well!

Join Zapster, Hi-Tech, Snack-Man, and Blue Hood as they defend their demanding but magical alpaca Bruce and crusade against the Stinky Sock.

This book’s themes are friendship and never giving up. These are, coincidentally, my favorite themes in any book.

There aren’t any illustrations in this book. Pretty cool; the narrator of the story herself likes writing stories without drawings!

I haven't read many superhero books, so I can't compare this to any other books. 

I recommend this as a read-aloud or personal reader to superhero-loving kids aged 7+ as the plot might be a little complex for younger children.

I give this book 4.7/5 stars, and I would love to read more by the author, Jason R. Lady. 😊