Cricket Reads

I would love to have something like that... To be on a team with someone... and to be better together than you ever could be alone. - Hector  This graphic novel was just plain adorable. A quick feel-good read that has all the elements I love to give you warm feelings by the end of the story. Here is a quick run down of the book. Things that I loved: 1. Hector and his enthusiasm for baking. He had me looking up Greek and Samoan pastry recipes and pinning them to my Pinterest baking boards fasted than a microwave mug cake! 2. The beach-side family bakery. Reminded me of all those summers spent in Bethany Beach with my family. 3. Jake and Hanna - Ari's adorable friends! They were so full of life - passionate about the things they loved and unapologetic for their enthusiasm. I just loved them! Things I found annoying in this book: 1. Ari was a little immature during the book. Focused mainly on himself, his phone and his issues. It made him seem very egocentric. I understand he i...

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.  Which was a surprise to me because Nicholas Sparks and I have had a very hit or miss relationship. I think this book was very relatable to my particular life which led me to just adore it. It had a lot of elements that I identified with and I just loved it. Things that I loved about this book:  1. Set in North Carolina (as most of the books I have read by Sparks tend to be). I basically spent every summer of my childhood running around with my cousins and relatives in major cities of North Carolina. I have great love for that area and it made the story seem so homey and familiar. 2. Nana. They way she gave advice through nonsensical one-liners, how she couldn't be slowed down by anything, how she always knew before someone revealed information to her but she never brought it up first. Made me miss my own grandmothers a great deal. 3. Beth and Ben. Beth has Ben pretty early in life (pregnant senior year of high school). Yet she never once ha...

I was so excited for this read but it just fell flat for me.  The story was overly simplified and predictable to a fault.  This story promised witches, werewolves and demons.  It also has great representation with the two protagonists.  Nova is a hearing impaired gay witch and Tam is a non-binary werewolf. But they were so boring and not well developed at all.  The facts I just stated are really the only things that I even know about them by the end of the novel.  I expected a high fantasy graphic novel and got a fluffy romance instead. This book would have been so much better with a more fleshed out story line.  What is the deal with this witch cult?  Why were they casting demons into werewolves?  What was their end goal with these possession rituals?  Why are the grandmothers so flippant about taking care of the horse-demon?  It didn't seem like a priority at all.  Maybe because it was so easy to defeat because seriou...

This is the eighth book in the  Wizard of Oz  canon. It features a lot of characters introduced in previous novels: Tik-Tok  - a copper machine who was first introduced in  Ozma of Oz , actually one of my favorite characters in the series The Shaggy Man  - a wandering mortal man from the USA, first introduced in  The Road to Oz , who is the owner of The Love Magnet (yeah, I find this talisman's name and use a bit creepy too) Polychrome  - daughter of the rainbow who was first introduced in  The Road to Oz The Nome King (Ruggedo)  - a reoccurring villain first introduced in  Ozma of Oz  and who is also featured in  The Emerald City of Oz I didn't like this book as much as I have enjoyed the others in this series. It felt more like a wrapping up of loose ends novel more than anything else. Since most of the main characters where ones I didn't care that much about or were new (and not particularly memorable) I jus...

In this sequel to Real Friends , Shannon Hale explores the trials of adolescence and growing up.  Concentrating on her experiences as a sixth grader, she explores the topics of popularity, bullying, anxiety, and finding your true self. This book is geared towards late elementary/ early middle school children.  The storyline follows a young Shannon during her sixth grade year.  She is finally part of the popular group of kids and feels like her life is finally coming together.  Except for the fact that she feels like she never knows what is cool and what is not, how she should interact with boys, what adults expect of her and that she seems to always feel a little left out from the group. Things that I loved about this book: 1. How Shannon took her experiences with her friends and incorporated them into her own fantasy story that she was writing.  This is based from a real story that the writer wrote in sixth grade.  The illustrations fo...

What a cute and fun read to finish out my year of reading!  I am really hoping that this gets turned into a movie – it would make the perfect feel good rom-com.  But come on – can’t you see the trailer now? Olive and Ethan are on their dream honeymoon in Maui, Hawaii... Beautiful sunsets… Sandy beaches… Massages and mai tais… It is the perfect vacation except for one thing…   they aren’t married! So here is the story in a nutshell.   Olive’s sister Ami is getting married.   Ami won a dream ten-day vacation for her and her new husband in Maui, Hawaii.   Unfortunately, Ami and everyone at her wedding gets food poisoning from the reception buffet.   Everyone except for Olive and Ami’s new husband’s brother Ethan who end up going on the vacation because it is nonrefundable.   Olive and Ethan can not stand each other.   Craziness ensues. Just a few quick reasons why I loved this book so much... T...