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Favorite Childhood Online Games

Did you play any of these as a kid? I don't play on any of the ones that require an account anymore (plus Club Penguin no longer exists and my Webkinz account expired a long time ago), but the other ones I still play once in a while! 1. Webkinz-   I still have all 50 of my Webkinz (the stuffed animals in real life, I mean)!  Webkinz was everything to me all throughout elementary school.  2. Club Penguin- I played this one mostly in fourth and fifth grade (ages 9-10). It was a lot of fun! Although it was way more fun if you were a member (which I wasn't).  3. Poptropica- I always made my character look like me. Did you know the creator of this game is also the author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid ? 4. Funbrain- My favorites on here were the swinging game, the one where a guy runs on logs, Mighty Girl/Guy, and the Star Climber. They also had some online books, like Tess's Tree and the earliest draft of Wimpy Kid . 5. AddictingGames- well, I mostly played Red Remover on here. At one

Favorite Books of All Time Part 2

  Here's Part 1 if you missed it! Let's see how much more we have in common... 1. Ramona series by Beverly Cleary 2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney 3. The Cupcake Diaries series by Coco Simon 4. Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix 5. The Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix 6. Running out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix 7. Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Johanneau 8. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon 9. I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee 10. Where the Mountain meets the Moon by Grace Lin 11. Mandy by Julie Andrews 12. Loveless by Alice Oseman

Love and Gelato Rant Review

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TW: Parent dying, toxic relationships   Another huge disappointment... Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch is about Lina, who just lost her single mother. Her mother's final wish was for Lina to visit the country she went to college, which was Italy. Apparently Lina's birth father is in Italy, too, and Lina can't believe she's finally meeting him. His name is Howard and he lives and works in a cemetery, much to Lina's surprise. Howard's coworker Sonia gives Lina her mother's journal when she lived and studied in Italy. Lina decides to read through it, as her mother didn't talk much about Italy and her father. One thing that stands out to her is her mother wrote down on one of the pages "I made a terrible mistake". Line tries to figure out what mistake her mother made living in Italy that made her go back to the US. While this is all happening, Lina then meets and starts hanging out with a guy her age who lives down the street from Howard, who

Favorite Authors Part 4: Kate DiCamillo

  Welcome back! Today we will talk about bestselling author Kate DiCamillo! The first book I read from her was The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane , way back when I was in third grade. This book was sooo beautiful, it instantly became an all time favorite, and it's still my favorite DiCamillo book. The second book I read from her when I was in fourth grade was the popular Because of Winn-Dixie . I actually watched the movie years earlier and enjoyed it, and I liked the book, too.  But I didn't pick up another DiCamillo book until I became an adult. The book I picked up was The Magician's Elephant, which I reviewed back in 2023 (link here ). I loved it, too! I plan on watching the movie sometime. I then read The Puppets of Spelhorst , which was also fun (link to review here ). A sequel for it came out recently, and I have it on my TBR. Unfortunately, I DNF The Tiger Rising . It was too sad for me. Now the rest of her books are on my TBR. I did actually watch the movie fo

September Wrap Up!

  All of the books I read in September!  I read a total of 17 books . Most were short books or graphic novels. It was mostly a good reading month. Except for that one book I gave 2 stars.  Links to Goodreads descriptions will be provided. Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix -4.5 stars To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han -2 stars Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson -4 stars Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour -4 stars A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard -4 stars The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz -5 stars A Psalm for the Wild Built, and it's sequel, A Prayer for the Crown Shy , both by Becky Chambers , A Psalm got 4.5 stars, A Prayer got 5 stars.  Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar -5 stars Yotsuba&! Volumes 1-3 by Kiyohiko Azuma -all 5 stars! Seance Tea Party by Remina Yee -4.5 stars Huda F Are You by Huda Fahmy -5 stars Gigi Shin is not a Nerd by Lyla Lee -5 stars Homebody by Theo Parish -5 stars Mamo by Sas Milledge

Homebody Review

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  Another memoir everyone needs to read! Homebody by Theo Parish is a graphic novel memoir of the author on their journey on how they discovered they are nonbinary. They use an extended metaphor of a house to explain their story, on how discovering they were nonbinary was liking coming home to themselves. They also highlight realities on being nonbinary that not everyone will understand you and that is okay--surround yourself with people who support you. And questioning yourself and coming out is a continuous process.  I loved how uplifting and heartfelt this memoir was! I also love the author's illustrations. I also liked their cats and the fact they were a nerd who likes cosplaying and roleplaying games. So this book got a pure 5 stars from me!

Popular Books I Didn't Like Part 2

  Yup, here we go again! Let's see if you can relate to any of these. Or if I ruffle your feathers. Here's Part 1 in case you missed it. 1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  Goodreads summary here . The subject matter was too heavy for me in this book. 1 star. 2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Goodreads summary here . I actually do understand why people like this book and its series as a whole, as it is well written and has good messages, but I personally did not enjoy it. I do not like reading about teenagers fighting and dying on live tv, especially if it's something their corrupt government has them do. Too morbid for me. 2 stars.  3. Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Goodreads summary here . The pacing of the story is so bad. There were also many parts in the worldbuilding that didn't make any sense. 1 star. 4. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson.  Goodreads summary here . Even as a kid I remember this book being really boring. The only parts I reme