By Super Kitty
 
Pacy Lin is excited about the upcoming Year of the Dog—according to her parents, it’s a year to “find yourself” and make friends. As one of the only Taiwanese-American kids in her school, Pacy sometimes feels like she doesn’t fit in, and the Year of the Dog seems like a good time to figure out who she really is.

Sure enough, she becomes fast friends with Melody Ling, a new girl in school who has so much in common with Pacy that they’re practically twins! Pacy is hoping that the Year of the Dog is a sign that she’s going to discover a new talent and decide what she wants to be when she grows up, and as the year goes by she and Melody compete in a science fair, perform in the school play, enter a Halloween costume contest, and more. But as the end of the year gets closer and closer, Pacy begins to wonder: will she find something that she’s good at before the Year of the Dog is over? Or will she be stuck without a special talent forever? 

I read The Year of the Dog before Piranha T. and I started Rapunzel Reads, and we’ve been meaning to review it ever since! I loved it as second grader, and it was just as good when I re-read it recently—it’s one of those books that is impossible to grow out of, and while aimed for younger kids, older readers shouldn’t take that as a reason not to read it. There are some books which really capture what being a kid is like, and this is one of them. In an author’s note, Grace Lin, who based the story on her own childhood, says that when she was young her favorite books were about normal kids: “When I read those books, it was as if I was wrapped in a warm hug. I saw all the things that I loved and lived—my neighborhood, my friends, and my school. The only thing I didn’t see was me….I wrote [The Year of the Dog] because it was the book I wished I had had when I was growing up, a book that had someone like me in it.” Fun, believable, and engaging, I would highly recommend this book for ages eight and up. And if you enjoy it, I also loved both sequels: The Year of the Rat and Dumpling Days.

By Piranha T.

Once, the river was lively. It flowed beside the houses raised on stilts in a cascade of flashing water. A young water sprite known as Perdita splashed in the waves, waiting for the elders to finish building a portal to another world, where humans had not yet disrupted the delicate peace of the river.

But things are different now. Many years ago, the river was dammed with fallen trees and mud, and no one since has been able to get it to flow. Now, the houses have been raised much higher, to avoid the rising water. A marsh has formed where the river used to be. And anyone who swallows the marsh water gets a wasting sickness no one has a cure for.

Luna has grown up in the houses raised above the marsh, paddling through the still water with her little sister, Willow, on the prow of her ship. She doesn’t believe that the wasting sickness comes from a curse, or that magic exists at all.

But then Willow gets the wasting sickness. No one believes anything can be done to save her. But Luna is ready to do anything to make her better—even believe in magic.

A Nearer Moon was a beautifully written fantasy which read almost like a fairytale. The world of the river—in the times of both Luna and Perdita—felt real and unique. Melanie Crowder wove together the two stories of Luna and Perdita in an exciting, beautiful narrative. I would highly recommend A Nearer Moon to readers ages eight and up.

By Super Kitty
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When ten-year-old Fidge loses her temper, she expects some things to happen. Little things, like getting a scolding, and maybe being tortured by her maddening cousin Graham. Definitely not getting trapped in an alternate world, where she’s been mentioned in a strange prophecy and has to overthrow a villainous ruler in order to get home. But there’s more to the strange, colorful, cheerful world that Fidge is stuck in than she first thought: things seem oddly…familiar. And that connection might be the single thing which can save the peculiar world, and get her and Graham home…
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I liked Wed Wabbit for several reasons. It’s entertaining, exciting, and highly amusing, plus it has great characters and a very amusing and original setting—read it and you’ll see what I mean! I would recommend it to readers ages eight and up who like funny stories, clever puzzles, or have been forced to read an annoying picture book again (and again and again.)  

By Piranha T.

Marigold, Zinnia, and Lily Silver are looking forward to another summer spent in LA. Marigold, twelve, has recently been accepted by an acting agent and can’t wait to audition during the following months. Zinnia, age eleven, will likely spend her summer reading and going to the nearby seashore. And five-year-old Lily will play with her nanny and older sisters.

But this all changes when their parents have to travel for work and Marigold, Zinnia and Lily are sent to their Aunt Sunny’s house by the seashore town of Pruet on Cape Cod for several weeks. Although they are at first annoyed to go to Pruet, they are soon charmed by the small village, it’s beaches, and most of all, Aunt Sunny. Making friends with the villagers, the three sisters soon decide to organize a local talent show. Finding more excitement in the summer than previously expected, Marigold, Zinnia and Lily have lots of fun sailing, swimming, and waiting for the talent show that will come at the end of their visit.

The Forget-Me-Not Summer was an excellent book, and would be enjoyed by fans of The Penderwicks. It is a nice adventure about three sisters. They each have their own distinct personality—for example, Marigold loves to act, while it’s not Zinnia’s strong point—and they are realistic. I would recommend The Forget-Me-Not Summer to readers ages ten and up looking for a well-written and fun story about three sisters, a vacation, and the realistic adventures that come along with it.

- By Piranha T.

Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty are the Penderwick sisters. One summer, Rosalind goes to New Jersey and Sky, Jane and Batty go to Point Mouette, in Maine, with their aunt. The OAP, or Oldest Available Penderwick, usually Rosalind, is now Skye. Skye is not sure she will be able to do it. And when they arrive, Skye loses her carefully written list and is worried that Batty will be hurt!

The Penderwicks at Point Moutte is good for a large age range. One of my favorite parts was when Skye got mad at Jane for reasons I can't tell. It was my favorite of the three Penderwick books.

- By Super Kitty

This is a wonderful book about the four Penderwick Sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty, during their three week summer vacation at a beautiful estate called Arundel. Though Arundel has beautiful gardens, large open fields and friendly woods, the Penderwick sisters agree that the best thing of all is the estate owner's (Mrs. Tifton, that is) son, Jeffery. And even when they aren't playing with Jeffery, the sisters are still busy! Rosalind thinks she falls in love, Skye learns archery, Jane writes a new book, and Batty meets who new rabbits, who she adores.

The reason I like this book is because it's about four sisters. I also like how they are like real people, unlike some books in which, although they are wonderful, just doesn't happen; the timing is wrong, or the situation. But the Penderwick's seem real. I would recommend The Penderwick's to readers!

A note from Super Kitty's mamma: This really is a great book, with genuine characters for girls to look up to. Each has a unique talent - and not necessarily a girly-girl one, which is refreshing! They also pull together in a way that we'd always love to see our kids doing. However, the death of their mother some years before, from cancer shortly after the youngest was born, is a very strong theme in this book, and at times was heartbreaking to me (was it because I'm a mom?). This is a very real part of the story, and continues to be so in the second and third books... just a heads up for parents to be aware of! Both my daughter-reviewers's love this series.