Reviews Week 49

 Reviews Week 49

December 5th-11th

Book 170: We Wish You a Merry Christmas 

and Other Festive Poems

by Chris Riddell 

Read on December 3rd-5th

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I picked up this collection because I love Christmas, poetry, and Chris Riddell’s illustrations. It was a great little collection, and I enjoyed most of the poems. Many of them were ones that I had heard before. Like the titular poem, many are now known as Christmas songs. For instance: “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “We Three Kings,” and “Deck the Halls.” My favorite Christmas poem is “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore. Neil Gaiman’s poem “Nicholas Was…” was my favorite poem from this collection. I haven’t read any of Neil’s poems before, and this one was wonderful. 

Book 171: Urbanshee 

by Siaara Freeman

Read on December 5th

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Going into this poetry collection, I expected the poems to be urbanized/modernized versions of fairy tales, myths, and fables. It is the first thing mentioned in the description. There were references and allusions to Zeus, Athena, and many other mythological and fantastical beings, but many do not have these aspects. I know I went in expecting more of that because of the description, but Siaara’s poetry is some of the best I have ever read or heard. I highly recommend reading this collection of poetry.

I really enjoyed how Siaara discussed such raw topics for her, such as race, religion, and the loss of her father. The poems that she wrote about him were my favorites. I looked up her slam poetry, and I completely recommend watching her perform these poems. They are incredible. She does an excellent job evoking emotions into her poetry that the reader can feel the entire time reading or watching her perform.

Siaara is an incredible poet, and I look forward to picking up Urbanshee for my poetry collection. Along with the powerful messages Siaara conveys, I thoroughly love how she formatted each of her poems. As a poet and a lover of poetry, I enjoy seeing how others decide to present their poetry to their readers. I highly recommend this to the poetry lovers out there. 

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of the collection. All opinions are my own. *

Book 172: The Famously Funny Parrott  

by Eric Daniel Weiner

Read on December 5th

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This book was a fun collection of four humorous little stories for children. Freddie Parrott was a character with the right amount of ridiculousness that children would love to read about. He continued throughout the collection to cause trouble because he thought he knew more than he did instead of listening to his butler and friend, Peccary. 

I enjoyed the first two stories the most out of the collection. They, in my opinion, were the funniest parts. This book reminded me a bit of the Wayside Books by Louis Sachar, especially with his brand of humor that I know I loved when I was younger. It would be a great book for children, and I know that the little girl I watch would especially love the first story with the knock-knock jokes. 

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 173: The Sheperd's Crown

by Terry Pratchett

Read on December 8th

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I started the Discworld series in March 2017 and have loved my time there. My favorite characters from the series are Granny Weatherwax, Death, Sam Vimes, Susan Sto Helit, Nanny Ogg, and Tiffany Aching. It has been a joy to see where the series has come since the beginning, and I'm sad to say that I have finished it. 

In his afterward for this book, Rob Wilkins explains that there is a beginning, middle, and end for this book, but that Terry was unable to finish it in the way he would have liked before his death. I can see what he is talking about, but that did not ruin my enjoyment of this book. It was great to have one last adventure in this world, and it felt like a fitting end to the series. 

Tiffany is one of my favorite characters from the series, and I enjoyed seeing where she ended up in this book. I won't spoil any of the plot points here. The entire book hit me hard and had me crying for many reasons. I'm sad to see it end, but I will revisit these characters again and again for the rest of my life. 

Thank you to Terry for such a fantastic series with which I have had such a great time. You'll forever be one of the best writers, at least to me. And I'll end this review with some very powerful words from the book:

“FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT. . . .”

Book 174: Lost Legends of Nothing

by Alejandra Green and Fanny Rodriguez

Read on December 8th

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The world of Nothing is so such an immersive one that I enjoyed even more this time around. I love how much more information we got about the world's past, and I cannot wait to see what else we learn if the authors return to it again. Found family stories are always my favorite, and Nathan, Haven, Sina, and Bardou are such a great group. I love their dynamic, and I hope we get more of them soon. 

The art style was stunning, just like the last volume, especially the bright coloring. It's beautiful to look at, along with a fantastic storyline. I highly recommend picking up this volume along with the first if you have not. They are great reads with interesting world-building, fleshed-out characters, and unique mythology. Overall, it's a fun read that I believe fantasy lovers will enjoy. I preordered my copy as soon as I heard about it, and I love that I was given the opportunity to read it early. 

*Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 175: The Middle Age- Sword Troubles: A Sir Quimp Fantasy Graphic Novel

by Steve Conley

Read on December 9th

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This short book was a fun little story that I enjoyed reading. I remember this book was recommended to me a while back because I enjoyed the Groo graphic novel series. The comparison makes sense to me though I enjoyed Groo's adventures better than Quimp's. This did have one of my favorite fantasy tropes, which is the sarcastic talking sword. I can't get enough of that trope in books, and I love whenever I can find it. 

Book 176: The Middle Age- Better Than Nothing: A Sir Quimp Fantasy Graphic Novel

by Steve Conley

Read on December 9th-10th

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Like the first volume, I really enjoyed this book too. I hope that Steve Conley will continue with this series because I will pick up the next one. I like how he plays on fantasy tropes throughout this book and the first one. 

Book 177: William Shakespeare's Christmas Carol 

by Ian Doescher 

Read on December 11th

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Two of my favorite things in literature are A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and many of Shakespeare's plays. This is a book that I have wanted to pick up for quite some time, and I am happy to say that I finally have. Ian is famous for his Shakespearean versions of the Star Wars movies that I have yet to read. I had a lot of fun reading this and seeing the references to many of Shakespeare's plays throughout, along with the story. My favorite parts were Puck as The Ghost of Christmas Past and The Witches as the thieves.