Candy Bunny Reader

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicholl is a middle grade book about Addie, who is autistic. At school, she learns about how historically, in her small town in Scotland, they used to execute women they considered witches. They weren't actually witches--they were women who were "different". Probably autistic like Addie! She and her new friend Audrey (and with some help from Addie's older sister, Keedie, who is also autistic) all try to raise money to implement a memorial to the victims, but it isn't easy. Addie also has to deal with a bully teacher, a bully in her class named Emily (who is now friends with her ex-friend Jenna) and her other sister Nina, who actually has a good heart but frequently misunderstands Addie and Keedie.  It's a very short and simple story, but it had so many moments that made me emotional! If you didn't already know, I am autistic, too. Addie was so relatable. Overall, reading this was very cathartic to me.  I gave it 5 stars . I want ...

    Underrated middle grade contemporary fiction! Linus and Etta Could Use a Win by Caroline Huntoon is a dual POV book about two 13 year olds named Linus and Etta. Linus is a trans boy who just moved houses and starts going to a new school. Etta is an girl with an "alternative" fashion style who is rather cynical about everything, but especially middle school. Shortly after the two of them meet and befriend each other, student council elections are their school start up. Etta finds herself making a secret bet with her former best friend, Marigold, to get Linus to be student council president (they are mostly competing just to get into the same prestigious private high school). Etta really likes Linus and wants to be best friends with him, but she is worried that her ulterior motives as his campaign manager will ruin everything between them. She also genuinely thinks Linus could make the school a more inclusive, safe place. The whole secret bet is also a problem because Linu...

    This is the second book in the Deer Hill Anonymous series by Jodi Meadows . The first book was Bye Forever, I Guess , which I read earlier this year, You can read that review here .  Confessions from the Group Chat is about Virginia, an eighth grade girl who has a rather toxic group of friends. She often finds herself acting mean like the rest of her friends, but every time she acts like them she feels guilty. She also has a crush on Grayson: a guy in her grade who used to be quite popular when he was a football player.  One day in their friend group chat, Virginia accidentally sends them a picture of Grayson she secretly took. The other girls start teasing her about liking "a loser" like him. The next day at school during lunch, Virginia kind of gets revenge on them teasing her by admitting a rather private secret of the girls out loud, named Kat.  Humiliated, Kat and another one of the friends named Mary Heather decide to take screenshots of all of Virgi...

I can't believe I finally read the last book in this cozy sci fi series! You can read reviews for the first three books here: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet , A Closed and Common Orbit , and Record of a Spaceborn Few . The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers is set at a rest stop for space travelers. It is owned by a Laru named Ouloo. Her child, Tupo, helps her out around the place. An accident just happened that causes their communication lines and travel tunnels to become inaccessible. So everyone who stopped by when the accident happened is stuck there for several days. But they all try to make the best out of the situation. In this book, aside from Ouloo and Tupo, we also follow: Pei, an Aeuluon who is Ashby's girlfriend from the first Wayfarers book. Speaker and Tracker, two twin sister Akaraks (although we mostly follow Speaker she's she's the one in and out of their ship) Roveg, an Quilin who is on his way to see his children on his home plane...

      A kids' manga I found on a whim!   This first volume of Hikaru in the Light by Mai Matsuda is about a girl named Hikaru who likes singing at her family's bath house. She is a really good singer, and she dreams about becoming an idol just like her childhood friend, Ran.    One day Hikaru finds out about an audition to form a new girl idol band that will be hosted by popular and successful record producer M. Hayama. Hikaru signs up. Much to her surprise, Ran signs up, too. She just quit the girl group she was a part of, and decided to partake in this audition for a new girl group to improve on her dancing and singing skills. The two friends support each other through the audition process, and they end up making the cut!    Hikaru and Ran and a bunch of other girls end up going to a training camp for idols.    Throughout all of this, Hikaru finds out that becoming an idol isn't easy peasy. But it should be easier with Ran by her side...

    This graphic novel is not what you think (in a good way)! This first volume of Super Boba Cafe by Nidhi Chanani takes place over summer break in San Francisco. It follows 13 year old Aria helping her Nainai (grandmother) at her boba tea shop. The boba tea shop hasn't had a lot of customers lately, but when Nainai's pet cat Bao has kittens, it turns into an unofficial cat cafe, thus attracting more customers. Aria is glad that now her grandmother's boba tea shop is thriving, but Nainai also seems to be keeping a secret from Aria... Meanwhile Aria has trouble befriending a named Jay, who lives next door to her Nainai. Aria is anxious to make new friends because during the school year, she got cyberbullied by someone she thought she could trust. But Jay ends up becoming a big help for Aria and Nainai later on when they find out what Nainai has been hiding from everyone this whole time.  I can't tell you too much because it would get into spoilers, but it involves a lo...

    The thing is, I tried watching the anime for this series several years ago, but I couldn't get into it. But now I am reading another one of the author's manga Sakura Saku , and I really like it so far! I thought it was about time I go back and give Io Sakisaka's most popular manga another chance.  Ao Haru Ride (or Blue Spring Ride in English) is about Futaba, who is actively trying to change her image ever since she entered high school. In middle school, she was unpopular with the girls because she was too popular with the boys. There was only one boy she actually really liked, and his name is Kou. But Kou moved away before she could tell him how she felt. He does come back to her high school, but he's changed a lot, and he thinks he can't rekindle the friendship he had with Futaba back in middle school.    At the same time, another girl in Futaba's class named Yuri seems to be getting the same treatment Futaba did back in middle school. Tired of seeing he...

  My first Claire Kann book!  If It Makes You Happy follows 18 year old Winnie, who has her whole summer planned before she starts college in the fall: work at Goldeen's, her grandmother's old fashioned diner, and hang out with her ungirlfriend named Kara.  But then Winnie somehow accidentally becomes part of an annual matchmaking tradition the small town she is staying in has with the next small town over. She gets crowned queen, and a guy she's kind of secretly liked for a long time named Dallas steps up to become her king.  Now all of her plans are thrown out of whack as she and Dallas go around attending town events as Misty Haven's unofficial king and queen. Even worse--Winnie thinks the more she hangs out with Dallas, her queerplatonic relationship with Kara will be ruined. Winnie wonders if there is a way to make everyone happy while also prioritizing her own happiness.  This book got me hooked on from page one! I love the way the author writes, and Win...

  Another emotional Sharon Creech book! Saving Winslow is about Louie, who takes care of a sickly young donkey whom he names Winslow. He got the donkey from Uncle Pete, a family friend who lives on a farm. Everybody in Louie's social circle thinks Winslow won't survive, but with the right tools and care, Louie proves them wrong.  But taking care of a donkey isn't always easy! Luckily, Louie has a new friend name Nora who helps him out the most.  It is such a short book, but from page 1, it grabbed me with its themes! If you're in the mood for an emotional story of a kid and their pet with a happy ending, check this out! I gave it 4 stars , but that's just because some of the thematic matter might be heavy for some readers. But like all of Sharon Creech's books, they're written really well. 

  It's like this book was written just for me! Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao is about two first year students at Wellesey College in Wellesey, Massachusetts. One is named Sophie, the other is named Jo. Sophie runs an Instagram account called Dear Wendy where people at Wellesey send her questions (usually about relationships) and she answers them in posts. Jo runs a similar Instagram account called Sincerely Wanda, which is like Dear Wendy but instead of giving serious advice, they give much sillier answers. The two develop a huge rivalry online that the students at Wellesey can't get enough of. Both of them stay anonymous online, and no one else except for their respective roommates know each Instagram account's true identities.  Sophie and Jo end up becoming friends after they meet in their Women and Gender Studies class. They bond over the fact that both of them are aromantic and asexual. They start hanging out with each other more and more and grow close, but each worry about ...

A sweet (pun intended) graphic novel from the celebrity chef Kim-Joy .  Turtle Bread follows Yan, a 23 year old woman who has trouble finding a job, and generally she feels lonely. One day after a job interview she finds a flyer about a baking club in town. Yan loves to bake and although she is nervous about what other people think of her, she decides to go to the club to make new friends. Despite some awkward first introductions, she is able to form a bond with everyone there, especially the club leader, an elderly woman named Bea. Yan ends up having fun baking with her new friends everyday, and it leads to so many surprises, some nice and some heartbreaking.  This was another graphic novel I picked up on a whim, and it was so fascinating how much it reflected my own life, especially with Yan and her social awkwardness. I am not much of baker (I mostly prefer cooking), but I loved reading about all the thing the friends baked. Especially the fluffy turtle shaped bread. ...

  Here's the thing: today's poem is inspired by One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. And today is One Piece's 25th anniversary!!! Yay!!!  However, One Piece has sooo much music surrounding it, since it is a 25 year franchise. So instead of one of the openings or other random songs, I decided to share a video of the live-action actors having fun. Ironically, I haven't seen the live action version yet. I do follow the official page and most of the actors on Instagram, though. This will be one of the last poems I will post in a while. I will resume with more anime/manga poems in December.  Poem: Come with me to the colorful world Of colorful people Of colorful fruit And all things magic Doesn’t matter who you are You’re never too old To follow your dreams So start sailing! Pirate or marine Or…something else Go find the one thing You’re looking for You’ll run into some jerks—oh yes Jerks are everywhere, they say But with the found family that you found Y...

  Another great book by Margaret Peterson Haddix ! The Secret Letters follows two preteens, Colin and Navaeh. Colin's single mother works as a consultant to help people tidy up their homes and remove and sell clutter. Navaeh's dad is the total opposite: he is known as the "Junk King" in their small town and buys old junk from people and keeps all of it. Their parents are huge business rivals!  Navaeh's dad gets called to buy out the stuff in the storage unit for a guy named Arthur Mongold. But when Navaeh and her whole family get there, the storage unit is empty! Except for a single letter. Navaeh's dad assumes Colin's mother must've stolen everything. His family tells him not to jump to conclusions and they will try to figure out where the Mongold's stuff went, and who wrote the mysterious letter that was left. One day, Colin, his mother, and three teenagers she hired are cleaning out one house when Colin discovers a shoebox underneath the floorb...

(Pic was found on Google Images) This is my second Morgan Matson book! This first book I ever read from her was Since You've Been Gone back in 2021 or 2022, which I really liked. Did I like this book, too? Well... Take Me Home Tonight is about two best friends: Kat and Stevie. They are both passionate about theatre. Their school's theatre department will be putting on King Lear by William Shakespeare, but for some reason, their theatre director, Mr. Campbell, doesn't put the cast list up on Friday like he usually does. The girls can't understand why, but Kat finds out that down the road in New York City, he will be putting on a play that same Friday night that he wrote himself. Kat decides in order to show Mr. Campbell what a great student she is and to get the role of Cordelia in the play, she and Stevie will go watch his show.  The thing is, that Friday night, Kat gets called to babysit some kids. She decides to lie to her parents that she's going to go babysit ...

  This was awesome! I think Becky Chambers is now a new favorite author of mine. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers  is set on Panga--a distant moon that has been settled by humans. The humans on this moon are living in a new age where they are no longer dependent on technology, and things made during the "Factory Age" such as humanoid robots, have disappeared into the wild. The story follows a young monk named Dex. Their title as a monk is "Sibling Dex" since they are nonbinary. They've grown bored with their monastic living and decide to become a tea monk. Tea monks travel around and  listen to help people with their problems while sharing cups of teas. On their travels they encounter a humanoid robot named Mosscap, who wants to understand humans better by asking Dex "What do humans need?" From then on out, Mosscap and Dex travel together across Panga trying to understand humans--and each other--better.  The story gets very philosophical, b...

  Before I get into it, can I just say this is the second book from Beverly Cleary I read as an adult? The first was was Muggie Maggie , which I reviewed back in 2022. I did read a lot of Beverly Cleary's books as a kid, though! I read all of the Ramona books (those are my favorites from her, Ramona is so hilarious and relatable. She's basically Junie B. Jones before Junie B. was a thing), the trilogy about Ralph the Mouse , and the first Henry Huggins book. I also read Socks and some of Otis Spofford but I can barely remember those two. I need to reread them sometime. I also need to read the rest of the Henry Huggins books. And the rest of her standalones and maybe her memoirs.  Anyway. Ellen Tebbits is about Ellen, who has a rather embarrassing secret. When she meets a new girl named Austine in her ballet class, it turns out she has the same secret! So they become best friends. The rest of the chapters are about Ellen and Austine getting into all sorts of mishaps whi...

This series (both the manga and anime) has gained some popularity recently! I got around to starting it a while ago. As of writing this I read the first 4 volumes. They've all been 4 stars. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe is about an immortal female elf mage named Frieren. She and her group of traveling magical fighter companions defeated the Demon King a long time ago, and have gone their separate ways. The fellowship lasted 10 years, and for Frieren, being an long-living elf, it felt like a very short time for her, and she didn't develop much attachment to her peers. But then one day years and years later one of her peers in the group, named Himmel, dies of old age. Frieren feels sad that she didn't spend more time to know him better, and she plans a new journey with new friends Fern, Stark, and Sein to go to the land of souls to talk to Himmel's spirit. Along the way, they encounter and accomplish mini-missions, just like any ty...

  Have you ever had expectations for a book that were... just a little too high? Fun fact: I originally DNF'd (did not finish) this book a few years ago, but I decided to give it a second chance. Was it good the second time around? Well... The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall is a middle-grade novel about four sisters (oldest to youngest): Rosaline, Jane, Skye, and Batty, and their father, spending the summer in a cottage that is part of the grounds of a huge mansion. They become friends with the landlord's son, named Jeffery. They love each other's company, but Jeffery's mom thinks that the Penderwick sisters are a bad influence on him, and she has other plans for her son that he doesn't like. Along with their adventures with playing in nature, and playing with the pet rabbits of the groundskeeper named Cagney, the Penderwicks try to help Jeffery deal with his overbearing mother. This sounded like something right up my alley, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but ...

  Another perfect Sapphic romance book! If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So is about Elsie--an 18 year old young woman who gets the most unexpected summer of her life before college. She has a crush on a friend  that she met online  who is a fanfiction writer of her favorite comic series--Eden Recoiling. The friend's name is Ada, and Elsie wants to confess her feelings for her, but she doesn't know how.  Ada also tells Elsie a story of a woman named Theresa Bennett that her (Ada's) grandmother named Rebecca knew when she still lived in the UK. Apparently, the two women were really close friends, and Rebecca developed some romantic feelings for her, but then Rebecca moved to the US after getting married to Ada's grandfather. The two women still communicated through letters, but one day, the letters stopped coming. Rebecca still thinks about Theresa from time to time, and would like to reunite with her. Ada sends Elsie Rebecca's letters from Theresa, and decides ...

  I can't delve too deep into them since they are the 2nd and 3rd book of the series, but I will tell you right now that I loved them and I gave them both 5 stars! They are just as heartwarming, whimsical, magical, and sweet as the first one, and have both great LGBT and disability rep. I will tell you the 2nd book is a prequel to the first one. And in the third book the characters from both the 1st and 2nd book all come together for a perfect conclusion.  The Tea Dragon Society series is now an all-time favorite graphic novel series for me. It literally had everything I love in fictional storytelling. Thank you Kay O'Neill for your creation!