Candy Bunny Reader

  These are all 5 star books! What great luck that I found new favorites this year. I hope you found new favorites too! 1. One Piece Volumes 17, 18, 20, and 21 by Eichiro Oda (I read these in the beginning of the year before switching over to the anime) 2. Avatar: The Rift Volume 1 by Gene Yang 3. Witch Hat Atelier 11 and 12 by Kamome Shirahama (I also reread all the volumes up to 12 this year) 4. Akane Banashi Volumes 2 and 3 by Yuki Suenaga (although I don't feel like continuing with this series) 5. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei 6. The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo 7. Avatar North and South Volumes 1-3 by Gene Yang and Michael DiMartino 8. Avatar Imbalance Volumes 1-3 by Faith Erin Hicks 9. If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia/Holden So 10. The Sprite and the Gardener by Rii Abrego 11. Toph's Metalbending Academy by Faith Erin Hicks 12. If You'll Have Me by Eunnie 13. Unfamiliar Volumes 1 and 2 by Haley Newsome 14. Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything by J...

  There weren't many books that I gave a low rating, but there are waaaay more books that I DNF (did not finish). I guess you can consider this an unpopular opinions post. Luckily tomorrow I will post the best books of the year which includes new favorites! Worst Books (all 2 stars): 1. Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch 2. To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han 3. Magic for Marigold by LM Montgomery I decided this year to split the DNF list into 3 categories. From books I thought were boring,  books I thought were bad, and nonfiction books that were actually pretty interesting, but made their points very early on and could've been shortened down.  Here are the books I DNF because I found them boring/couldn't get into them: 1. Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman 2. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 3. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 4. Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth 5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 6. Rickety Stitch Volume 1 by Ben Costa a...

  Of course I got more books to gush about! Here are the first 3 parts in case you missed them: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 Let's see if our reading tastes are still similar! 1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle 2. The Wayside School series by Louis Sachar 3. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa 4. The Mothkeeper by Kay O'Neill 5. The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill 6. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo 7. The Morrigan Crow series by Jessica Townsend 8. The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw 9. The Serafina series by Robert Beatty 10. My Life in France by Julia Child 11. She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick 12. Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

  Calling all Avatar fans! The Rise of Kyoshi by FC Yee and Michael DiMartino (Michael is one of the creators of the original Avatar TV show) is the story of Avatar Kyoshi (one of the avatars before Aang from the TV show), how she mastered all four elements, and her rise to fame.  Kyoshi was abandoned by her parents at a young age and found by Kelsang, a high-ranking Air Nomad, who gave her work as a servant of Yun, the alleged new Avatar. She becomes good friends with Yun and the daughter of his firebending teacher, a girl around her age named Rangi. But one day when trying to deal with a couple of pirates and it gets intense, Kyoshi accidentally discovers she is the actually the next Avatar, not Yun. It puts a strain on their friendship, and Jianzhu, the Earth Sage in charge of Yun, commits the unthinkable. Kyoshi's life is no longer the same, and she and Rangi run away to try to find the the group of daofei (outlaws) that her birth parents used to be the leaders of. Kyoshi...

Another great book by Adiba Jaigirdar ! Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating is about two Bangladeshi-Irish girls named Hani and Ishu who start fake dating for different reasons--the popular Hani because she wants to prove to her friends that she is bisexual since she's only dated guys, and the unpopular bookworm Ishu because she wants to be Head Girl and needs to make herself better known and better liked by the rest of her classmates. It's not easy at first because they are polar opposites in personality. But after a few incidents, they find that maybe they really do need each other after all.  I really liked how the author weaves so many great things into the story! From being queer, to being Muslim, to being a person of color in a predominantly white society, to family dynamics and friendship dynamics. Everything is so well done, relatable, and heartfelt! So I gave it 5 stars . I think Adiba is becoming a favorite author of mine! I'll read anything she puts out.

  Today's poem is inspired by the underrated 90s shojo anime, Oniisama e. Did you know the creator is the same as the Rose of Versailles? I also like the Rose of Versailles! I will write a poem for that anime too sometime.  Poem: Hey best friend I never thought that Coming to this prestigious school Would entail Joining a sorority I never thought that This school Was run by a mean girl Actually I take it back What that queen bee did to our student mentor Was the definition of evil No wonder our other student mentor Was trying to save Mentor 1 All while she had To battle demons of her own Even our new best friend  Was swimming in A void of darkness One day I wish All of us girls Will be equal

  Today's poem is inspired by Skip Beat!  Poem: I thought he was an angel He’s not He was some demon Using me for his own good Well, well, well. I will just enter showbiz And become popular More popular than him! Ha ha ha! But the boss Put me in The embarrassing Love Me group With this embarrassing pink jumper At least me and the other girl match I hope we can become good friends I never had any female friends before Okay, okay, okay Being an actress Is harder than I thought But at least you were there To cheer me on Now I feel like I am Doing something for myself Finally, finally, finally I think this is what My soul wanted all along Let’s both shine like stars!

  I'm in the mood to share more anime/manga poems! Here's one inspired by Gakuen Alice. The video above is the opening for the show. Poem: Best friend! Best friend! Don’t leave me! I will follow you To the ends of the earth To find you What is this place? A magical school? Do I even have Magic powers of my own? I wonder if I can make Any new friends I did! I did! Many! But of course You will always be My number-one friend Now let’s figure out what secrets This magic school is hiding

  It's been a while since I did one of these! Today's poem is inspired by Revolutionary Girl Utena! Above is the opening. Poem: "Let’s create A new world Where we girls Rule the world Aren’t you tired Of being tossed around From person to person? Or can the Rose Bride Have no thought or feelings Of her own Oh Goddess! Let me save you Or is it possible Only you can save yourself?"

  Welcome to part 12 of my series of more books that need more love! 1. Magical Boy duology by The Kao. Book one description from Goodreads here . Chronicles the adventures of Max, a trans boy who is tasked with saving the world with some help from his friends. 2. If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia/Holden So. Full Goodreads description here . A YA contemporary sapphic romance novel of two girls rekindling their friendship while helping another friend find her grandmother's long lost childhood friend.  3. My Life in France by Julia Child. Full Goodreads description here . Julia Child's memoir on how she became a celebrity chef. 4. Morrigan Crow series by Jessica Townsend. Full Goodreads description here . A middle grade mystery fantasy series of Morrigan Crow and her adventures in the Wunderous Society, and Nevermoor. 

 It's a short post today, but today we will talk about my experience with Raina Telgemeier's books! Her website is here:  https://goraina.com/ The first book I read from her years ago is her most popular book: Smile . It was great! I then right away picked up Sisters , which is kind of a sequel to Smile . It was really enjoyable, too!  I then picked up Drama , which, unlike the first two, is a fictional story and not a memoir about parts of her life. Again, it was really sweet! I have yet to read  Guts  (which is her third memoir) and  Ghosts , her second fictional story. They are on my TBR! I hope they are as good as the first three books I read from her. So why do I like Raina Telgemeier's books? She has a really cute art style and her stories are very funny and relatable! 

This will be the last of this series I will do in a while! Until I find more books I read in their entirety that I give one or two stars. The first four parts are here: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 1.  Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  Goodreads summary  here . It was cool learning about Nigerian culture, but I hated the main character. The story overall was too sad. 2 stars. 2. Magic for Marigold by LM Montgomery. Goodreads summary here . Okay. For real. This book does not feel like LM Montgomery wrote it. The tone overall was mean-spirited and there were a lot of unlikable characters. Very few characters were likable, and there were some sweet moments but they don't last for very long. 2 stars. 3.  Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury.   Goodreads summary   here . In general, I found the story to be boring. The only scenes I remember were when one of the characters didn't want to eat eggs for breakfast, another character was singing and dancing...

  Another great book by one of my favorite authors! Did you know around the time this book was released (October 2024), an actual flood happened in Asheville, NC, which is where this book also happens to take place? It was also because of a hurricane: Hurricane Helene. Robert Beatty decided that a portion of his sales from this book will go to help victims of the floods. i bought a copy of this book to help out the cause. Thank you, Mr. Beatty! Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood is a middle grade urban fantasy novel about 13 year old Sylvia Doe, who has run away from another foster family back to Highground Home for Children, where she feels she truly belongs. This is quite a problem for her social worker and the state, since she can't permanently live in the place like an orphanage from the old days (the book takes place in modern times). But on top of that, Hurricane Jessamine has passed through the area and has flooded the area, destroying a lot of things and hurting a lot of p...

  The first time I did this tag was last year! Here's the post if you missed it. This is a new version with updated questions. Like last time, @books.below.stars over on Instagram tagged me in this. And as usual, I don't tag anyone, so feel free to go ahead and do this tag! 1. heather (popular book you love) The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz 2. movies (book with an adaptation) The Neverending Story by Michael Ende 3. alley rose (book that made you cry this year) Willa of Dark Hallow by Robert Beatty 4. people watching (book you can relate to) Speak Up! By Rebecca Burgess 5. memories (non-bookish item on your shelf) A mini Funko pop of Nico Robin 6. never ending song (longest book you own) Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson 7. fainted love (fave book from this year so far) So many! A Little Princess, Bloomability, Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything, A Sign of Affection (series), Call the Name of the Night (series), The Dos and Donuts of Love, Mon...

 TW: D3ath My second book from Colleen Oakley ! The first book I read from her was Close Enough to Touch back in 2019.  The Invisible Husband of Frick Island  is an adult romance novel that follows two characters: Piper and Anders. Piper is a woman living on the eccentric Frick Island, which is a small island community in the Chesapeake Bay. Anders is a reporter working for a small newspaper and on the side, has his own podcast where he talks about random weird stuff, but he is struggling to get any listeners.  Piper recently lost her husband Tom, in a boating accident, but she continues to live on as if Tom were still there. In fact, sometimes she talks to him as if he was still there. The rest of the Frick Island community goes along with it so they don't hurt her feelings. When Anders arrives at the island to do a report on a Cake Walk Festival held there, he finds out all sorts of things about Frick Island: how the island is a victim of climate change, a new ce...

  Oh my, this was disappointing... Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour is a YA magical realism and character-driven book about a girl named Mila who just aged out of the foster system. She finds a job working as a teacher in a small remote farm somewhere in California. As she gets to know everybody there she finds out that the farm is haunted by ghosts, and these ghosts force her to confront her dark past. This sounds like a really interesting premise, right? Well, unfortunately this is one of those books where the first half is really good, and the second half is where it completely falls apart. I can't get too much into detail because it would go into spoiler territory, so I'll try to keep it as vague as much as possible. Here's what I liked: The themes of trauma, grief, and healing Mila's big sister-little brother dynamic with one of the younger kids on the farm named Lee. There is some queer representation Now what I didn't like: Ok. Seriously. The farm Mila goes to l...

  I think Rachael Lippincott is slowly becoming a new favorite author of mine! Before we start, the title of this book is quite misleading. It is not a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It has P&P in the title because the main character Audrey gets transported back in time to the Regency era, which is when P&P also happens to take place. So even if you weren't a fan of P&P like me, you might still like this book! But why does Audrey get transported back in time to the Regency era? Well, things haven't been working out so well for her recently. She just broke up with her boyfriend Charlie and has just been waitlisted in her dream art college. Audrey has had no inspiration to do any art, and has gotten bored working at her family's convenience store every day. Although, one frequent visitor to the store is a mysterious man named Mr. Montgomery. One day, to pay for his newspaper, Mr. Montgomery gives Audrey a quarter. It's a magical quarter that transports he...

  Something else Rebecca Burgess and I have in common: we are both autistic!  Speak Up! is a graphic novel about Mia, an autistic girl and her best friend, a nonbinary person named Charlie. Charlie likes to write songs and Mia likes to perform them under her persona: Elle-Q. She's become big on YouTube.  Despite being popular online, Mia is quite unpopular at school due to being misunderstood as an autistic person. The person who picks on her the most is a girl named Laura. But here's the thing: Laura is secretly a huge Elle-Q fan, and she had no idea Mia is actually Elle-Q. Well, no one does, because Mia tries to keep it a secret.  But one day things get out of hand when Charlie signs them and Mia up for the school talent show and get accepted, and so now they have their first live performance that their fans are counting on them to do. And another day Mia accidentally forgets her notebook at school that contains all of her Elle-Q songs. And the last person that sh...

 TW: The disease that shares its name with a zodiac sign, some ableism Stars in their Eyes by Jessica Walton and Aska is about Maisie, an amputee who goes to her first ever fan convention with her mother. She and her mother love to geek out on all sorts of shows, and Maisie is excited to see an actress from one of her favorite shows, Midnight Girls, who is an amputee just like her. While there Maisie and her mother meet Ollie and their dad, who are volunteers and the convention, and they immediately become friends. Ollie and Maisie find out they love a lot of the same things, especially when they see shows that have people who are like them (nonbinary, bi, and/or disabled).  Unfortunately, the panel Maisie wanted to go to gets cancelled because her favorite actress gets really sick. So she spends more time with Ollie, and they get really close. Maisie wonders how they will stay close when each one of them lives so far away. Everything I that I like in storytelling was presen...