Category: Books

The Mint Girl Reads The Heath Cousins and The Moonstone Cave by Eileen Hobbs

Recently, I received a copy of the book, The Heath Cousins and the Moonstone Cave by Eileen Hobbs. This is the first book in a trilogy and I am really excited to read the other books.

Addie B. is a young girl who lives in London. She comes to her grandparent’s beach house in Maine. She is excited to meet her grandfather, but not at all excited to see her 3 cousins: Jack, Beanie, and Bodie. Addie’s grandfather gives her a treasure book, which her grandmother once owned. Inside it is a moonstone ring and a poem. These lead Addie and her cousins to a cave. The adventure that they go on is unlike any other.

My favorite part of the book was when Addie and Jack (and the other cousins) start to understand each other. This helps them get along better and work together to get out of the cave.

This book is perfect if you love mystery and fantasy. I was kept on the edge of my toes while following the story of Addie B., Bodie, Jack, and Beanie.

Mint Girl Recommends Reimagined Fairy Tales

In these uncertain times, I find myself wanting to read something familiar, but new and exciting at the same time. Reimagined fairy tales give me the exact mix of new, but old that I need. Here are 5 of my favorite reimagined fairy tales.

  1. The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer

This book is the first book that comes to my mind when I hear “fractured fairy tale”. This series is very imaginative and gives a whole new spin to the usual fairy tale. It tells the story of twins, Alex and Conner Bailey, who get sucked into their grandmother’s story tale book in the first book. This is just the start of their adventures. Soon, they find themselves traveling back and forth the 2 worlds in the other books. This is one of my favorite series.

2. Ella Enchanted and Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

I’ve read Ella Enchanted, but Ogre Enchanted is high on my TBR list. This book explains Cinderella’s true nature and why she’s so obedient. This had made no sense previously, but this book really explains it well. It is very detailed and I’m absolutely in love with this book.

3. Liesl Shurtliff’s (Fairly) True Tales

This book series is hilarious. Each book stands apart from each other and it tells of the characteristics and explanations never seen before. Ever wonder why the dwarf Grumpy was so grumpy? Or why Rumpelstiltskin choose to spin hay into gold? These books explain it all.

4. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

What were the true characteristics of The Princes Charming, Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White? This book gives a twist to them as they embark on the quest of a lifetime (Well, most of them). This is a 2 book adventure, but I’ve only read the 1st one.

5. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

This is definitely my favorite book and I’m so excited for the last book, One True King. The cover looks awesome, but of course, the cover is not the book! Sophie and Agatha, best friends and best enemies, figure out what it takes to survive in the school for Good and Evil while going through tough times that tests them and their friendship. Love this book so much!

6. The Fun in Devlok series by Devdutt Pattanaik

This isn’t exactly a fairy tale, but I love the new way of telling stories.

I love reading reimagined fairy tales and I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do. Tell me if you have any suggestions in the comments!

Mint Girl Reads A Galaxy Of Sea Stars

A Galaxy of Sea Stars is a middle grade book written by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo. It tells the story of 11-year old Izzy who is having friendship troubles.

Her dad is back from the war in Afghanistan, but he’s changed. Her mom is working at their aunt’s bakery in Block Island for the summer. But just summer turns into a longer time and Izzy starts to feel annoyed. Then Sitara and her family joins and Izzy starts to feel more left out by her dad. Quickly, though, Sitara and Izzy become friends. At school, Izzy has way more problems, like how will she go on her school’s news? and why is Zelda acting so mean to Sitara.

Slowly, Izzy begins to understand the meaning of friendship and loyalty and being yourself.

Mint Girl Meets Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi

On 3/13/2020, I attended Blue Willow’s Meet Jason Reynolds session. It was about his new book Stamped. The book is about racism and how it spread. The format was easy to read and understandable. It made talking/reading about race much easier.

Jason Reynolds answered many inspiring questions asked by Ibram X Kendi, kids, and adults. The whole topic of this meeting was what inspires race and how can we stop it.

The book Stamped is a shortened version of Stamped From The Beginning which is written by Ibram X Kendi. The Jason Reynolds version is much easier to read and makes more sense to kids.

I haven’t finished reading it yet but I hope to over this extended spring break. Stay Healthy!

Mint Girl Reads Stories For South Asian Super Girls by Raj Kaur Khaira

I have recently read Stories For South Asian Super Girls by Raj Kaur Khaira. This is a book where you learn about many south Asian wonder women in today’s world. This is a nonfiction book about strong Asian women from Jhansi Ki Rani (amazing warrior queen) to Hannah Simone ( an actor). This book is chock-full of interesting facts and it has the best illustrations.I love this book.

This book tells you about all the amazing things women can do. They fight for their rights and can become role-models. This book earns a big thumbs-up from me.

International Women’s Day is a day where we celebrate all the strong women in the world and think about how women have come a long way from where we begun.It’s a day where we remember how far we have to go and think about achieving our goal.Happy Woman’s Day! 😁

Mint Girl Sees The Diary Of Anne Frank Play

On February 16, 2020, I went to see the Diary Of Anne Frank play. It was a haunting story about two families forced to go into hiding as not to be killed and about the people who risked their lives to save them. We watched this play at Match Theater and it was presented by Main Street Theater.

As most people know, Anne was a real person and her diary is our connection to her. We now know about her life and her feelings. We know how she coped in rough times and how she felt in the good times. The Diary Of Anne Frank is a sad play about love, hope, and finding the beauty in things you think can’t be beautiful anymore.

It was very different from reading the book as the whole diary came alive. The characters came alive when they stepped on stage. They reacted as though they were really Anne and her friends and family .

I was impressed by the quality of the play. The actors knew their lines and reacted just as I thought the real families would. This play helps us see Anne’s life and how she felt. This play was very useful as I am a visual person and it helps me to understand the book.

Mint Girl Reads Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly

I recently read Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly and illustrated by Lian Cho. It was a book that has been high on my reading list for days. The cover is beautiful as it shows Lalani sitting in her small rowboat while the title, written in gold, is embedded on a tree. This clearly shows Lalani’s journey and the expression on her face shows her troubles.

This is one of my favorite books because of the genre. It’s a fiction/fantasy book. I love reading about magic and how it is used. Each story has its own use of magic in a different world and Lalani of the Distant Sea was no different. This was a lively story about a ghost,unique creatures,and humans who are very different than how we are today.

Lalani of the Distant Sea teaches us about hope, greed, selfishness, and love along with many other virtues. The amazing thing about this book is how Erin Entrada Kelly weaves so many different lessons, perspectives, and characteristics into one book. Lalani of the Distant Sea is truly a miracle book.

Mint Girl Reads: Shine! by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

One of the best books I’ve read this year is Shine! by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein. Shine! tells the story of a young girl named Piper Milly who is a new student at Chumley Prep, an fancy middle school. She makes fast friends with 3 of her classmates and learns from them. Then a mysterious source announces an award called the Excelsior Award. Piper feels that winning the award will help her fit in. Throughout this story, Piper learns about the importance of friends and that who you are is defined on the inside.

Shine is one of those books that makes you feel good about yourself. J.J. and Chris Grabenstein put a lot of detail into Shine! and I feel like I know a lot about Piper and who she is. The lesson here is to be yourself no matter what happens. The book also talks about how acadamics are important but they aren’t everything.

Mint Girl Reads: Count me In By Varsha Bajaj

Count Me In is a middle grade fiction book written by Varsa Bajaj.

The protagonists in this book are 12 year old Karina and Chris who live in Houston, Texas. They’re neighbors but they don’t know each other well until Karina’s grandfather gets attacked and things start spiraling out of control. What follows is that Chris, Karina, and their friends find the true meaning of belonging in America today.

This realistic fiction book is very relevant in today’s world, as kids like me figure out where we belong in present day America. I found this book very moving and emotional. I live in a community that is welcoming and accepting and I am shocked at how people can act. I knew hate crimes existed,  but I never gave it much thought until I read this book. I was shocked at how Karina’s grandfather was treated and how cruel people can be.

If you enjoy diverse reads and middle grade fiction then you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

The Tweens Read 2019

On Saturday, October 19, I attended the Tweens Read book event.
It was held at Pasadena Memorial High School.It was hosted by Blue Willow Bookshop. It was my second year attending and I always look forward to these events.

I really enjoy these events because I can learn more about the authors.I can learn about their inspiration, the writing process, and what you can do if you get stuck. These things are really important as I feel they help me with my writing.

This year I attended the Art on the Page panel (Which featured Lincoln Pierce, Matthew Holm, and Remy Lai)The authors talked about their books, read some of their books, and answered questions. Next I attended the creative writing workshop. Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson were the authors for this event. They taught us how to brainstorm and how to crowd-source when you’re stuck.Then I went to the Shelf Stuff workshop from Harper Collins. They taught us how to advertise our books. Then they asked us for our advice and which apps would be the best to advertise on.We gladly came up with a few suggestions.Finally, we went to the Do the Write Stuff workshop. Varsha Bajaj, James Riley,Robbi Behr, and Matthew Swanson were the speakers for this panel. The setup was the same as the first panel but the things they talked about were completely different!

Interacting with these authors inspire me to work harder on my writing and to go above and beyond with it. I always want to be a great writer and by going to these sessions, I am motivated to become one. Going to the tweens read and also exposes me the tons of new middle grade fiction. My pile of books to read always increases with each visit to the Tweens Read.I would love if in the future I could interact with these authors: Kelly Barnhill (author of The Girl who Drank the Moon), Colin Meloy(author of The Whiz Mob and The Grenadine Kid), and Christina Uss( author of The Adventures Of a Girl Called Bicycle).