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Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party Review

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Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party by Edward Dolnick is, in a nutshell an informational book about how the discovery of dinosaur fossils during the Victorian era in England completely changed science as they knew it.  The book explores how over time, scientists came to discover fossils of ancient creatures and how they were able to determine what they were. It's not an easy process! For ages, people thought they were looking at fossils of mythological creatures (such as dragons), until they realized a lot of what they were looking at resembled skeletons of animals they already knew.  Also for a very long time, many scientists (including renowned ones) were actually people who worked for the Church. Religion and science were heavily intertwined because the goal of science back then was to see how did God create (a perfect) world. When they found out things such as extinction was a thing and the Earth was a lot older than they believed it was, it led to the schism of science and rel...
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Spells for Lost Things Review

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I am so glad I decided to try another book from this author! Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch is a dual POV book about two teenagers: Willow and Mason. Willow has felt disconnected from her mother ever since her parents got divorced. Mason has been from foster home to foster home and never felt a connection with anyone.  The two end up meeting on accident when Willow is whisked away with her mother to Salem, Massachusetts to look into and sell the childhood house that Willow's mother inherited, and Mason's new foster family lives nearby. The two teenagers end up going on a scavenger hunt to find out the truth about Willow's supposed family curse. At the same time, Mason tries to figure out where in the world his birth mother is.  It's such a lovely story about healing from generational trauma! I also loved all the real-life witchy things that are sprinkled throughout the story. I gave this book 5 stars .  
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Always a Catch! Review

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Glad to report that the first volume of this manga was 5 stars !   Always a Catch! by Mayo Momoyo and Kaki Nagato is set on a peninsula inspired by Italy, where there are several different kingdoms. The main character Maria (or Mimi as she is usually called) comes from a noble family of martial artists, and feels she'll never get a husband because of how "unladylike" she is.  One day, a misunderstanding happens between her, her cousin Aida, and Prince Renato of the kingdom they currently live in. As it turns out, Renato's younger brother actually wanted to marry Aida. After the misunderstanding clears up, Renato finds himself falling in love with Mimi and her fighting style, and he proposes to her, much to her surprise!  Now Mimi is learning how to be a princess. It isn't always easy, but it seems she that she is slowly winning over the hearts of Renato's family. This was so fun to read! It reminded me heavily of a lot of shojo manga from the 2000s, from the...
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Firefly Wedding (Rant Review)

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TW: Kidnapping mentioned.  My first two-star book review of the year?!   Firefly Wedding by Oreco Tachibana is set in the Meiji era of Japan. Our MC Satoko is living with a heart condition, and hopes to secure a good marriage. But one day while she is out in town she gets kidnapped, and in order to save her life, she proposes to marry the assassin holding her hostage, named Shinpei. They escape together, travel from place to place, meet unusual people, and even watch fireflies.  It sounds like an okay story on the surface but...ugh! There were a lot of things happening in the story that made me really uncomfortable. I especially did not like love interest Shinpei--he was so creepy and psychotic! Well, I am not sure what I expected from a character who was an assassin.  Yeah, this was disappointing. I won't be reading the rest of the series.  
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How to Talk to Your Succulent Review

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  TW: Loss of a parent How to Talk to Your Succulent by Zoe Presico is about Adara--a plant-loving preteen girl who just lost her mother. She and her father move from California to Michigan to live with her grandma. Adara is unhappy about the sudden move and she feels distant from her father. Luckily, she does manage to make one friend--a girl her age named Winnie who loves to draw. Winnie has been having problems with her family at home, too.  One day Adara's father tries to cheer her up by buying her a new plant. She ends up buying a succulent--which was her mother's favorite plant. She names the succulent Perle. From there she discovers she can actually talk to plants, just like her mom! Adara's new plant friends help her navigate this new chapter in her life, and it isn't always easy.  Even if you've never experienced what Adara experienced, I think everyone can relate in some way to this book. Growing pains, feeling alone, etc. are all present in this book. U...
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Fall in Love, You False Angels Review

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It's rather refreshing to read a shojo manga series where the MC is not a goody two-shoes all the time. Fall in Love, You False Angels by Coco Uzuki is about high schoolers Otogi and Toki, who are the leaders of their student council at school. They are very popular because everyone thinks they are like angels since they are so pretty and act nice all of the time. But they both have a a brasher, not-so-sweet side to them that they keep hidden. As you can imagine, both of them reveal their not-so-sweet side to each other in a moment of danger. From there, Otogi finds herself falling in love with Toki (she also has a nickname she accidentally made up for him, Ikkoku!). Toki seems to be falling for her, too. They both agree to keep their snippy sides hidden from everyone else at school, and only show those sides when they are alone together.  It's only the first volume, and I'm already hooked! I love romance manga like this where the characters are really sassy, which makes f...
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Almost American Girl Review

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  I finally got around to reading this graphic novel memoir!   Almost American Girl by Robin Ha is the story of the author growing up in 80s and 90s in South Korea, then in Alabama, then in Virginia. She faces family drama, language barriers, racism, and feeling like she fits in nowhere. One of the things that keeps her going is her love of art. In particular, her love of comics. She eventually comes to accept herself in her early college years as a Korean-American.   I don't know what else to say except that this memoir was great! I gave it 5 stars . I saw myself a lot in Robin, even though my background is slightly different from hers. I also moved twice when I was a kid to two different states, and had the same growing pains as her. I also loved (and still love) drawing and comics, and that also kept me afloat as I was growing up!
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