I'm learning sooo much!

I'm a new-ish Egg and I've been doing the 5 day kick-starter since Monday.  I've just learnt sooo much about what is needed for the tension point in my newest OMG novel (that was supposed to be my JanNo novel but wasn't, for an absolutely heart-breaking personal reason) that I'd never even thought of before.  I thought I'd planned out the next guaranteed best-seller but today's task has shown me that I've got a lot of research and thinking and planning to do before I even start the document, let alone write it!

Book Review: "What are Mondays good for anyway" by Nicole Frankel

Kindle:
Hardback:
Paperback:

⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews you'll know that I start them all off the same way, by saying that every book starts off with the full 5 stars and I'm always hopeful that they will all still be solidly stuck in place by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars but that i always give my reasons within the review.  I've also  replaced a star thanks to the author of that book putting a magic sentence at the back of the book and I'm totally willing to do that again if necessary.

Let's get on with the review.

I'm already confused about the age range for this book as 3 year olds can't read and 8 year olds are rapidly gaining confidence in their reading independently ability, so I'll hopefully be able to see who this book as I read it.  Based on there only being 35 pages, I'm thinking it's a picture book so I can't see a 6-8 year old wanting to read it.

The main character is at school and having a spelling test, so that's kinda 7-8 year olds and a 3 year old would be doing disgusting things with their fingers by now, so it seems like the author really doesn't know much about their audience, so the first star is coming off.

Brand names are being used, potentially without permission, so we're down to 3 stars.

Now the author is using words that are unsuitable for the UK market ("trash can") and even the most bookwormish of bookworms would have given up by now, so the third star comes off and we're down to 2 stars.

I hate to say it, but I'm sooo glad this book was only 35 pages long 'cos the author just made so many mistakes throughout it.

Book Review: "Little Camel's Extraordinary Journey" by Vicky Feng

Kindle:
Paperback:

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know I start 'em all off in the same way, right?  With a couple of sentences just explaining that all the books I read and review start off with the full shebang of stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  A recent addition to this first paragraph is that I am more than happy to replace a star that I've taken off if the book has a magic sentence that means that the author has taken the effort not to break the law.

Now that that's been said, let's get going with the reading and reviewing!

I'm loving the illustrations!  They are obviously computer generated, but they are sooo cute and adorable!

Oh boy.  It was good until the religious bit.  The first star is really wobbly at 70% - any more religion and off it comes.

At 90% the star plops off... young children don't need to be preached to in a story and they may not be being brought up Christian, so we're now down to 4 stars.

Just finished reading and it relied heavily on the illustrations throughout which is disappointing.

Book Review: "The Christmas Santa Lost His Magic!" Chad Currin

Kindle:
Paperback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know this first paragraph off by heart, right?  If this is the first review you've read of mine, I start them all off in the same way and that is by saying that every book starts off with the full shebang of stars and that I'm always hopefully that I don't have to take any off during my review.  You'll also know that if I *do* take any off, I always explain why within the review.

Let's get going with the review:

The first few pages have been good... the tension is building with the naughty elf!

Oooh!  Disaster strikes!  Will Santa be able to complete his mission in time?

This book was either written for the place mentioned in the last couple of pages, or it's been used without permission, so it's only fair that I take a star off, just like I've done with other books for the same reason.

Book Review: Just Shake It Off!" by Anh Sphabmixay

Kindle:
Paperback:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start each of 'em by saying that the book starts off with the full boatload of stars and that I'm always hopeful that none of the stars have gone overboard by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I'm not shy about removing stars and that I'm always hopeful that the stars will all be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  I've also replaced a star once and only once so far when the author said that they had used the brand names fictitiously and with permission.

Let's get going wih the review.

This is a great book that explains emotions in an easily accessible way... WTG and thank you to the author!

What a great, positive, worthy book and deserves every one of those 5 stars!

Book Review: "One in a trillion stars" by Anh Sphabmixay

Kindle:
Paperback:

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start 'em all off in the same way as this one - by saying that each book starts with the full whackamundy of stars and that I'm not shy about removing stars if necessary but that I always give my reason for doing so within the review.  I've also gladly replaced a star when the author said that trademarks had been used fictitiously and with permission - it's only happened once so far, but I'm more than happy to do it again if necessary.

Let's get on with the review shall we?

It's a good little picture book, but it's waaaay too heavily reliant on the pictures because there are only 11 sentences in total in the entire book and there are frequently at least 2 pages of just images, no text so the first and only star comes off for that reason and some of the vocabulary is too advanced for such a young audience to.

A good book, that's worth getting, but I reckon it would be better with more words and more appropriate language for the child listener.

Book Review: "Silence is Goldfish" by Annabel Pitcher

Kindle:
Hardcover:
Paperback:

⭐ out of 5

If you've read any of my other recent book reviews, you'll already know that I start 'em all off by saying that each book starts off with the full truck-load of stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.  You'll also know that I always give my reasons for knocking off any stars and that the usual reason for taking a star off a truly fantastic book is because of the use of trademarks or copyrights or whatever.  I've also replaced a star once so far because the author had taken the time and trouble to get permission to use the brand name and that one little sentence at the very end of the book was all it took for me to replace the well-deserved star and made the 4 star book back to the full 5 stars.  It's only happened once so far, but I'm more than willing to do it again each time it happens in future. 

Let's get on with the review, shall we? 

Oh deary me.  I'm only on the second page of the Kindle book and the first star is coming off for the use of a well-known film series... I seriously hope that's the only star lost and that it's replaced if there's that magical sentence right at the end, but for now, we're already down to 4 stars. 

Page 3 has brought another brand name but I've already knocked off a star for potential trademark infringement, so we're still at 4 stars.  It's a good book so far, written in the first person, but how the author managed to sneak two trademarks, in the first few pages of the book, through the production team before publication is beyond me! 

It's a good job that this is a teen book because of all the swearing so early on... not sure I'd want a 12 year old to read it though, so the second star is wobbly, but holding on by the skin of its teeth right now. 

More swearing in the second chapter but a good read despite that.  The second star is still very wobbly, but clinging on for dear life. 

Chapter 3 was good, but more un-necessary swearing that could have had the same effect without swearing, so we're down to 3 stars after 3 chapters, but I won't be taking off any more for trademark infringement or completely unnecessary swearing now, which is a relief. 

Chapter 4 was good... is this the start of the silence bit? 

It's very nearly lunchtime, so I'm gonna leave it there until I've finished eating then I'll crack on with it this afternoon. 

Back now, so lets carry on with the reading... I won't do chapter by chapter comments any more 'cos this review is already too long lol 

Oh dear, now there is talk about male bodies below the waistline... that's too much for 12 year olds so another star is, unfortunately, coming off.  If it was handled more sensitively then it would've been fine, but the more I read the less I think this author knows about her target audience unfortunately.  We're already down to 2 stars at only 10% of the way through, so it's not looking good that I'll even get to 25% and still be reading and reviewing, let alone finishing the book! 

And the final star comes off because of the way a character's name is written and pronounced several times that really isn't appropriate for the age group this book is aimed at, so at 17% I'm officially stopping reading 'cos I can't take any more stars off it now if I needed to.  I had high expectations for this book after all the positive reviews, but it's a huge disappointment to me unfortunately and I don't know how it was ever published.