Three mini middle grade reviews: The Graveyard Book, The House of Hades and Skulduggery Pleasant

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 
Release date: 20th October 200
Publisher: Bloomsbury

Goodreads synopsis:

Nobody Owens, know to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Well, he would be perfectly normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead.

There are danger and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: The strange and terrible menace of The Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch, and so much more.

But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod's family.

A fascinating story of love and friendship realized in the most unlikely of place. 

My thoughts:

I never expected to love The Graveyard Book as much as I did. I bought it when it was the Kindle Daily Deal and then read it, probably about a year later, completely on a whim. I love how whimsical and unusual it is; how Bod growing up in a graveyard has made him both so unlike yet so like other kids his age. The whole cast of ghostly (and otherwise) characters were really brought to life (ha) by Gaiman’s writing: the characterisation was perfect and different enough that it was easy to distinguish. I loved the little asides of what was written on each of their gravestones.  The plot was clever; revealing enough of itself to allow you an idea what was going on and keeping enough back to retain your interest. Gaiman’s writing is completely different to anything I’ve experienced before and while it took a little getting used to I found myself really enjoying his unique way with words. I got a little choked up when reading the ending which, embarrassingly, was while I was on the tube. 

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The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan

Release date: 8th October 2013

Publisher: Puffin

Goodreads synopsis:

The stakes have never been higher. If Percy Jackson and Annabeth fail in their quest, there'll be hell on Earth. Literally.

Wandering the deadly realm of Tartarus, every step leads them further into danger. And, if by some miracle they do make it to the Doors of Death, there's a legion of bloodthirsty monsters waiting for them.

Meanwhile, Hazel and the crew of the Argo II have a choice: to stop a war or save their friends. Whichever road they take one thing is certain - in the Underworld, evil is inescapable.

My thoughts:

It took me a little while to get into House of Hades; partly because there were a lot of initial Leo chapters and he is my least favourite character and partly because I was reading it in dribs and drabs which is not how this book deserves to be read. Once I finally got into it, I loved it. I enjoyed the contrast between those still on the ship and Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus. It was so interesting to see more of Tartarus and how it and those in it operate. I loved seeing Bob. Whilst not my favourite book of the Heroes of Olympus series, House of Hades builds on already strong characters with an equally strong plotline that was extremely well paced. One of my favourite things about Rick Riordan’s writing is how inclusive it is: he is always keen to show that everyone, no matter what they think of themselves, has something to offer and is a valuable person to those around them. Anyone can be a hero. As far as messages in stories go, it’s a pretty good one. The main thing that came out  of this book for me was my love, my empathy, and my desire to see a happy ending, for Nico.

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Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant #1) by Derek Landy

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

Release date: 30th September 2007

Goodreads synopsis:

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant - ace detective, snappy dresser, razor–tongued wit, crackerjack sorcerer and walking, talking, fire-throwing skeleton — as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.

These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.

The end of the world?

Over his dead body.

My thoughts:

Skulduggery Pleasant is a book I have been aware of for a long time, but never had the particular desire to pick up and read. Since becoming a blogger and hearing more about it, I've wanted to read it more and just never gotten around to it until now. I was pleasantly surprised by Skulduggery Pleasant. Skulduggery and Valkyrie are both strong characters full of personality. I especially liked Valkyrie, who took everything that happened around her in her stride and is resilient, independent and yet very, very human. A fantastic role model. The dialogue is that snappy, humorous time that, while slightly unrealistic, is always enjoyable to read and I loved the clever and unusual names everyone gave themselves. There wasn't an overabundance of world-building or focus on details and the plot was engaging and well-paced, with a surprising amount of violence for a middle grade book. I enjoyed Skulduggery Pleasant enough to want to read the second one. 

Review: The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead
Release date: 12th June 2012
Publisher: Puffin Books
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she's been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don't die. But it's her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else—someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney's loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists—or her heart?

My thoughts:

I really liked Bloodlines so could not wait for the second installment of the series. I like Sydney more than I liked Rose, I find her more relatable which I think helps. It was great to see her grow, become more her own person and less of an alchemist clone, which is something we've seen happen slowly since she was first introduced; but I feel like she made some massive steps in this book. She's definitely tested a lot, emotionally, physically, intellectually and morally, but she always manages to do what she thinks is right, despite her struggles and she's fiercely loyal. I love how intelligent and smart she is, and it's nice to see her being less uptight.

I love all the other characters, but especially Adrian. He too grew a lot in this book and it was nice to see. He tried to change himself for Rose, but that always felt a bit forced, however this time it feels a lot more organic and I liked that. He was his usual quippy charming self, but he felt more in control,more responsible, less irrational than he could be in VA which was good. Like a better version of himself, in a way.  I was glad Dimitri didn't steal the show from him as I was always more of an Adrian fan. Sonia too I liked, though I wasn't completely enamoured with. I did love Angeline, I'm glad she was brought back because she's pretty cool. All the romantic elements were handled really well, I especially loved the blossoming romance between Sydney and Adrian. Adrian was so sweet and Sydney was so oblivious; it was just adorable to watch unfolding. All the little things he did for her, and she did for him, most of it without Sydney really noticing was just so cute. I think they're really good for each other; they both challenge each other in a good way, they lead each other to be better and they really get on well and understand each other.

Plotwise, I had similar issues with this as I did with Bloodlines; I really enjoyed the book and all the personal developments, but I felt the main mystery plot was a little lacking and a little obvious. I think part of this is down to the narrator; Sydney notices and mentions everything, yet seems not to have the ability to put everything she sees together. She makes the observations but never deduces anything from them. Whilst this style of narration might fit with her character, it leads to predictability and a slight feeling of weakness within the plot. I was a little disappointed by this. Having said that though, I love Richelle's writing style, I love the other aspects within the story and I love the characters, so I still enjoy reading the book, it just doesn't have that extra kick that I got from reading the Vampire Academy series.  


The ending was as big, if not bigger, than the ending of Bloodlines. I willed it to happen for the entire book and when it did I was like GASP but then what followed after made me go "nooooooo!!" I neeeeed the next book now, I need to see how this is resolved!!


I love Sydney and Adrian more than Rose and Dimitri, but in terms of plot and action, the Bloodlines series is a litle lacking in my opinion, which is why The Golden Lily lost a point on my rating.

Guest Review: My sister reviews Summer's Dream by Cathy Cassidy

Hello! I have something a little different for you today. My sister has written a review for Summer's Dream by Cathy Cassidy (on the grounds I would include her picture...) so here it is! She's a huuuuge fan of Cathy Cassidy and has been reading her books for a long time.

So, this is my sister Ellie:

As you can see, she got the pretty gene out of the two of us. And the naturally blonde hair. Ellie is 18, has the worst taste in tv shows, music and films EVER but this is balanced by the fact the ends of her hair are now purple. Ellie is just about to sit her final A Level exams, works much harder than I ever did and hopes to go to York Uni to study Sociology in September. Ellie's real name is Eleanor, but everyone calls her Ellie except me. I call her Eleanor. She calls me 'bitch'.





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Summer's Dream (The Chocolate Box Girls #3)
Release Date: 7th June 2012
Publisher: Puffin
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Description from Amazon:

The next scrumptious story in Cathy Cassidy's Chocolate Box Girls series.

Summer has always dreamed of dancing, and when a place at ballet school comes up, she wants it so badly it hurts.

Middle school ends and the holidays begin, but unlike her sisters, Summer has no time for lazy days and sunny beach parties. The audition becomes her obsession, and things start spiralling out of control . . .

The more Summer tries to find perfection, the more lost she becomes. Will she realise - with the help of the boy who wants more than friendship - that dreams come in all shapes and sizes?


Ellie's thoughts:

Summer’s Dream is the third in ‘The Chocolate Box Girls’ series written by Cathy Cassidy.

I have been reading Cathy’s books since I was 11 years old so to have the chance to review this was an honour. 

 After about 5 minutes of screaming ‘OHMYGOD’ at the book that had appeared on my pillow whilst I had been at college I got down to reading and finished the book that evening. For me being an astonishingly slow reader, that was quite an achievement.  [She really did this, my mum could hear her downstairs-C Also, she really is a slow reader. We're talking a book a month. And these aren't big books either.]

I felt that in this book Cathy has taken more of a risk, entwining issues that teenage girls face whilst going through their teenage years and how this can spiral out of control with her usual ‘girl meets boy’ style of writing.  It was nice to see a bit of a different and more serious focus in this book and I feel that it was portrayed very well. The book holds a deeper meaning, as if to raise awareness to girls reading it. 

The story itself was very good and I found myself relating to some of the issues in Summer’s life. Summer always felt as if she was always in the shadows of her sisters and their talents. I’m sure many teenage girls, including myself, feel like this occasionally. The way I can relate to characters makes the book so much better. It enables me to feel the emotion of the characters and experience anticipation at upcoming events.

However, I did find the story a little predictable. I was able to guess what was going to happen later on in the story at an early stage. This didn’t ruin the book for me, I still enjoyed reading every page. I'm not sure if this was just because I've read all Cathy's books over and over and am therefore so used to her writing style, or whether this book was just a little more predictable than usual. Either way, it did take away from my enjoyment of the book a little bit.

It was disappointing for me that I didn’t really connect with Alfie, the leading male character. Usually in Cathy’s books I find it easy to fall in love with the male character. I think he needed to be written about in a bit more depth so as a reader I could have got to know him a little better. Plus, I felt he wasn't always shown in a very good light, and I think this added to me not really falling for him as I usually would.

I like how the book links in with the previous stories in the series but at the same time how a reader wouldn’t necessarily have to read the previous books in the series to understand what was going on. Each book is about each sister and each sister has a story to tell, but the books still have the same theme and have the perfect balance of different perspectives of the same situation and the sister’s own story. 

Overall, it was an amazing story with a good twist at the end. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed but I would recommend it to anyone.  All of Cathy’s books have the ability to inspire, including this one.

I’d give it a 4/5.

And there we have it, Ellie's first ever review. Ellie hopes you enjoyed what she had to say and that it encourages you to pick up a Cathy Cassidy book no matter your age, but would like to remind you that all Cathy's male characters are HER book boyfriends, not yours.