First Paragraphs; The Narnia Chronicles #1-3

First Paragraphs is a weekly meme where I share the first paragraph, and some thoughts, from my current read or an upcoming book. 

I have recently been reading in my gorgeous copy of the Narnia chronicles, hopefully I'll read the third book, The Horse and His Boy, today! Which is why I'm bringing you the first paragraphs of The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe AND The Horse and His Boy. As usual I'm going to share a few thoughts on each of the stories (books?). I actually tried reading this last year because I had to use it for a school project and I managed to read the first 3 and a good portion of the 4th - hopefully I'll get all the way through this time!

I absolutely love that we get a summary in the first paragraph of each story, so far at least, it's such a great way to write a chrildrens book!

The Magician’s Nephew

In this edition The Magician's Nephew is the first book, since that's what C.S. Lewis wanted. It's actually published as the 6th book in the series, but if you read it in publication order I strongly advice you to read The Magician's Nephew first. It basically tells the story of how Narnia came to be and how to travel from our world to Narnia - I'm so happy to have read this!

It's definitely a bit slower than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but the last 30 pages is full of background information about Narnia which is the main reason that I loved it.

This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child. It is a very important story because it shows all the comings and goings between our world and the land of Narnia first began. 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
I think we've all read or seen this particular one. And to be honest, the movie is actually quite good when it comes to follow the storyline! It's definitely one of the best adaptations by far.
This time around I had to read it for our book club, which is the reason why I'm reading it now, and since I'm in charge of snacks I thought I'd take inspiration from the book. I therefore wrote down everything they ate and well, they drink a whole lot of tea! But that's perfect!

I've read this so many times now and it's still my favorite.

Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles from the nearest post office. He had no wife and he lived in a very large house with a housekeeper called Mrs. Macready and three servants. (Their names were Ivy, Margeret and Betty, but they do not come into the story much.)

The Horse and His Boy
And now we've reach the one I'll hopefully read today. It's similar to the story of Moses (he's the one who was laid in a basket and sent down the Nile, right?). It's actually a great story. 

This is the story of an adventure that happened in Narnia and Calormen and the lands between, in the Golden Age when Peter was High King in Narnia and his brother and his two sisters were King and Queens under him. 

Have you ever read Narnia? Which one is your favorite? 
Happy friday and happy reading!

Short and cute - Lily and the Christmas Wish by Keris Stainton

Series: N/A, Standalone

Publication date: November 5, 2015

Publisher: Piccadilly Press

Genres: Childrens literature, 

Format: Paperback, review copy

Source: The publisher in exchange for an honest review

Pages: 165
Rating: ★★★★★/5

Goodreads ⎜Amazon ⎜Book Depository

Can one little girl and her dog make a town's Christmas wishes come true? 

Christmas is fast approaching, and the town of Pinewood has decided to do something really special to celebrate. Each person will write down a secret wish and tie it to the town's Christmas tree!

Nine-year-old Lily isn't quite  convinced. She's not sure that she believes in wishes coming true - although she really wants to.

But then a strange storm blows in, scattering all the wishes. . . and Lily wakes up the next morning to find that her adorable pug puppy, Bug, can talk! It's a wish come true. . . only it isn't Lily's wish.

It seems the stor has sent the Christmas magic awry, and now it's down to Lily, her younger brother James and Bug to sort out the mixed-up wishes. But can they fix things before Christmas Eve? 

Last month I reviewed another book by Keris Stainton; Counting Stars. You can read my review here. 

I absolutely love Christmas, it's my favorite time of year so when I came across this book I knew I had to grab it! I'm definitely glad I did! It's one of the cutest Christmas reads I've ever read.
I've already talked my sister into reading it and she loved it too! It's definitely going to be cute a used copy!

In Lily and the Christmas Wish we meet Lily, a 9-year-old girl. We also meet her little brother Jimmy, or James, and her divorced parents. Lastly, we meet Esme, Lily's very best friend. Even though we don't really get to know anyone on a deeper level I quite liked what we got to know about all the characters. For this short a book I think it's amazing how well I actually know each character!

The story is about Christmas wishes; everyone in Pinewood has to write their wish on a gift tag and tie it to the town's Christmas tree. Something happens and the wishes start to come true - but for someone else than the person who actually made the wish. Lily therefore tries to sort out all these wishes.

I had expected to enjoy this book but I didn't expect to love it as much as I do, since it is for a younger audience. But I read it in a single sitting and I didn't want it to end. I love the values this book teaches and I love how important family is in the story!
I also love Lily as a character, she's just wonderful and I just admire that she don't know what to wish for - she want the wish to be an important one, so no toys and no childish wishes. I also love how sweet she is and how she cares for her younger brother. She's definitely mature but she's still quite believable and I wish more kids were like her!

I'd hoped to get some illustrations, but there's only a bit in the chapter headings. I still love the story and it can definitely stand on it's own!

If I should summarize this book in 3 words it would be; family, diversity and, of course, Christmas.

The Monkey's Secret by Gennifer Choldenko

Series: N/A, Standalone

Publication date: August 6, 2015

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Genres: Childrens, Historical Fiction

Format: Paperback, reviewcopy

Source: The publisher in exchange for an honest review

Pages: 249

Goodreads ⎜Amazon ⎜Book Depository

A segregated town, a hidden boy, a courageous girl - and a mystery in desperate need of solving.

San Francisco, 1900. Thirteen-year-old Lizzy Kennedy is not like the other girls in her town. She'd much rather be helping her doctor father with his patients than be stuck in frilly dresses and learn how to dance - but unfortunately for her, society (and her Aunt Hortense) has other ideas about what is 'proper' for a young lady. This includes not poking your nose in other's people's business - but then Jing, their beloved housekeeper, gets stuck in the Chinatown quarantine. Fear rules San Francisco - fear of the Chinese, and mostly fear of the plague rumours that circle them. Lizzie knows she has to help Jing, whatever the warnings. But what she doesn't expect to find is a strange boy hiding in Jing's room.

The boy is called Noah. He says he's Jing's son - although Lizzie's never heard of him - and although he's escaped the quarantine, he can't risk leaving the house in case he gets rounded-up too. Lizzie wants to investigate, but it seems her questions only get people riled up. Is there really plague in San Francisco? What have the Chinese got to do with it? Just what or who is the mysterious 'monkey' - and what has his secret got to do with anything? Lizzie will have to use all of her courage, instinct and cleverness to unravel the mystery of the monkey's secret, save Jing, Noah and Chinatown - and maybe even her change her own destiny.

The Monkey’s Secret takes place in San Francisco in 1900. Our narrator is the thirteen year old Lizzie, or rather Elizabeth, Kennedy.

Suddenly Chinatown is quarantined and their cook, Jing, is captured inside. They fear it’s the plague and no one is going in or out.

While Jing is gone she finds out that he has a son named Noah, Noah is hiding in Jing’s room during the quarantine and he and Lizzie quickly become friends.

Lizzie is a very peculiar girl, her dad’s a doctor and she likes to go on calls with him. She one day hopes to be a doctor herself and she knows a lot of stuff about illnesses and the human body in such a young age. Lizzie doesn’t like dressing up but she loves to read and write poems.

I think Lizzie is such a great character! I haven’t found a character in a childrens or middle grade book like her in a long time and she’s just how I like my characters in those books! She’s so nosy and she doesn’t take no for an answer!

Seeing this lonely little girl begin to make friends was great! She definitely grows after getting friends!

Noah is 12, the cook’s son and knows a lot more about life in general than Lizzie. He’s had a hard upbringing since he’s Chinese and he is therefore prejudiced. Noah and Lizzie’s friendship is such a cute one! Lizzie does everything she can to see him whenever the coast is clear, she makes sure he has food while Jing is gone and he’s her first friend!

Lizzie’s other friends are Gemma and Gus, you can clearly see why Gemma and Lizzie are good friends. They are both peculiar and up to no good - Gus too. They’re the perfect friends for each other and I think Gus’ crush on Lizzie is adorable!

The story didn’t impress me that much. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and I found myself liking all the characters in the end but I really don’t have that much to say about the story. Not a lot happens before the ending to be honest and I don’t want to spoil that for you – but it wrecked me!

I think my favourite part of the story was when Gus’ asked Lizzie to the cotillion and the actual cotillion – so cute!

I was really intrigued by the synopsis but for me the book fell a bit flat. Even though I enjoyed Lizzie and Noah, Lizzie and Gemma, Lizzie and Gus and just Lizzie basically, I wasn’t that impressed. I was really looking forward to reading it and I wish more of it was actually set in Chinatown. There’s a lot of talk about Chinatown but only a very small part of the book takes place there.

So, the characters are great but it’s basically the story that’s a let down! I enjoyed it though and gave it 3 berries out of 5!

The Rise and Rise of Tabitha Baird by Arabella Weir

Series: Tabitha Baird #1

Publication date: October 2, 2014

Publisher: Picadilly Press

Genres: Childrens

Format: Paperback - review copy

Source: Received from Picadilly Press in exchange for an honest review

Pages: 213

Goodreads ⎜Amazon ⎜Book Depository

When thirteen-year-old Tabitha Baird's parents split up, she moves with her mum and brother to live with Gran in London. (Gran who talks to - and, worse, FOR - her knitwear-adorned dog . . . Oh, the shame!)

And Tabitha has to start at a new school where she is determined to be the coolest, most popular girl, whatever it takes. But how will she keep her friends from finding out about her incredibly NOT-cool family?

I will keep this short to avoid spoilers

I just finished this this weekend and it was hilarious. I found Tabitha and her little brother, Luke, so weird and funny that this is a book you can't help but enjoy and, at times, laugh out loud - which means that this book is not bus- or train reading material, unless you like when people look at you funny.

This book is definitely targeted towards a younger age group but I found it funny nonetheless. Tabitha is this quirky character that have a hard time finding her place and ends up being the class clown and a real brat at her new school. I could definitely recognize myself in Tabitha sometimes, specifically about not fitting in and being bullied.
My favorite thing about this book is probably the relationship between Tab and Luke, it is so real and funny, it doesn't feel fake - which I generally think relationships between siblings often feel in books.
I also enjoyed the relationship between Tabitha and her two new friends Emz and A'isha. I liked that A'isha was a muslim, just to get some diversity in there, and I enjoyed that they were there for each other even though they're not that old. I also really liked the part where they befriend the 'nerd' Grace, she was really cool and I liked that they all thought she was a nerd and then at the end finds out that she's actually pretty cool. 
The ending is perfect - a real 'feel-good' ending. 

I flew through this book and I laughed quite a few times. All in all I think it was great, but at the same time it was missing something.

Little Miss #2: Tiny

Little Miss is a mini-series I've created because I wanted to do something different, but still something that has something to do with books and my blog. So I came up with "Little Miss Something". Last time I made Little Miss Shy, which was a list with underrated and under-read books (shy - unknown... get it?). This time I choose Little Miss Tiny, which is gonna be short books (under 200 pages) and short characters (well, character... I have 1)

This book is a bit over 200 pages BUT it consists of notes between a mother and a daughter and it's a really quick read since the notes are 10 lines long and takes up and entire page. I read the whole thing within an hour I think and I seriously loved it. I thought it was going to be a light read, but turned out to be deep and meaningful - I highly recommend it!

Goodreads | Review

I love the movie, and I love the book as well. It's about 50 pages but since it is a childrens book, there isn't that much writing on the pages - maybe 5 lines. I love how this teaches a kid to take care of the environment within those 50 pages and I love the Lorax and all the rhyming. It is a wonderful little book. 

Goodreads

This is a classic that consist of about a 100 pages I believe. This again is a childrens book and I really enjoy it. It goes on and on about how grown ups are strange and I totally loved it. It's about this Little Prince that goes on and adventure - he visits the other planets and meets strange grown-ups. I think it's sweet and I think it may be time for a re-read. 

Goodreads

I actually read this quite recently, and I enjoyed it! It is an autobiography about Susanna's life inside this mental hospital. I enjoyed reading about how things actually functioned inside an asylum and I loved getting to know Susanna's friends. At times it was a bit dense and boring, but it's still a really interesting read - especially for nonfiction.

Goodreads | Review

I didn't give this book a high rating (I think I gave it 1 or 2 hearts) but that was because I read the book at a bad time. If I had read it any other moment, I probably would have given it 4.. I think the theme is gruesome but I still thought it was interesting. I don't recommend everyone reading it - especially not delicate souls. 

Goodreads | Review

I adore this book! It took me a while to get into, but once I was, I couldn't put it down. I love that the story is written from a zombies perspective and that it's basically Romeo and Juliette in zombie version! I even think the movie was great! I know this book is a bit over 200 pages but it is so good that it feels small. 

Goodreads

I love Isaac Marion and all his little stories - and I think this one is his best work yet. You can probably read it in under 5 minutes - so why not just read it? 

It's set in the future where sleep is "cured"

Goodreads | The Story

This is an actual short story that I gave 4 hearts! I've not of those who love short stories, I just don't enjoy them as much as books. This is about a group of friends that have made this game called "apocalypse scenario" 

Goodreads

I recently read this novel and quite thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not the shortest novel, nor the longest - but at 250 pages with a tiny female character (everybody calls her small) I will count this book as a "Little Miss Tiny". 

This book was also my very first NA novel and it was great!

Goodreads | Review

I love the Harry Potter series and when I found out that she had written 3 extra books for the series I seriously sqealed! I adore the books and I think they are a magnificent topping for the sundae that is the Harry Potter world!

Goodreads

Again, I have to include this book - and I will keep doing it until somebody writes a biography of her! Or she chooses to write an autobiography - I can totally live with that. 

But I adore J.K. Rowling and every book she will ever write! 

Goodreads | Review

Which Little Miss shall I do next?

Who is J.K. Rowling by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso

Series: N/A, Standalone
Publication date: August 2, 2012

Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap

Genres: Non-fiction / Biography

Format: Paperback

Source: Book Depository
Pages: 105

Book Depository | Amazon| Goodreads  

Everyone loves Harry Potter. Now kids can learn about Harry's creator!



In 1995, on a four-hour-delayed train from Manchester to London, J. K. Rowling conceived of the idea of a boy wizard named Harry Potter. Upon arriving in London, she began immediately writing the first book in the saga. Rowling's true-life, rags-to-riches story is as compelling as the world of Hogwarts that she created. This biography details not only Rowling's life and her love of literature but the story behind the creation of a modern classic.

I love J.K. Rowling, and she will always be one of my favorite authors. 

This biography was funny, I guess it is written for kids, since there is a bunch of pictures, it is very easy to read and it takes about half an hour to read. 

Did you know that she got the idea for the books on a trainride? Did you know that Snape is based on one of her teachers from elementary school? I did not, I loved finding out about these kinds of things. It makes me love the books even more! 

Before she got published, she was actually poor, she had not enough money to feed both herself and her baby girl, Jessica. So she just fed Jessica, and when she was asleep, she pulled out her story and wrote. 

All I have to say about this book is that you seriously have to read it if you are a J.K. Rowling fan, because this is phenomenal! 

Since I love J.K. Rowling I have to give this book 5 hearts. Just read it!

Challenges: Full House: Nonfiction / TBR pile 

Resolutions: Read the books I already own / Venture out of my comfort zone / Review all the books I read