Author Archives: Brandon D.

About Brandon D.

I do book reviews.

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid by Jeff Kinney

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To be completely honest, I didn’t know what to expect with this book. I have two other book review on Jeff Kinney books, but those were Diary of a Wimpy Kid. This book is about Rowley Jeffen, Greg’s best “friend”. But after reading Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid in one day, it had realized this was a great addition to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise.

Many would think that this book is just the stories from Diary of a Wimpy Kid in Rowley’s perspective, but you are wrong! In Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid, Rowley tells you different things that happened between him and Greg, like Rowley and Greg’s first sleepover, and the time they made their own superhero! Some of the stories were so dumb, they were actually funny!

You may think that the drawings in this book will be very good like Diary of a Wimpy Kid‘s, right? No! This book features Rowley Jefferson’s drawing. So everyone has an oval face and no nose! Which makes this book even funnier.

Overall, this book exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed a lot! It will forever stand as one of my favorite Jeff Kinney books.

-Brandon D.

Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid by Jeff Kinney is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

The Adventure Zone: Here There be Gerblins By The McElroy Family

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The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is truly the definition of a good graphic novel. This graphic novel is written by Dungeons and Dragon’s loving family, the McElroys. This graphic novel features three very well developed characters. Taako the elf wizard, Merle the dwarf cleric, and Magnus the human fighter. Join these three lovable dummies and their dungeon master, Griffin McElroy as they go on an amazing, absolutely hilarious fantasy journey! Just be aware though, this is an adult fiction graphic novel, so there will some swearing in it. Even though there is swearing in this graphic novel, it doesn’t make any less funnier.

This novel very much excited me when I first saw it. I had just finished the library’s monthly Dungeons and Dragons game, and was hyped when I gazed open this magnificent D&D novel. I had never thought there would be a D&D book, even better a graphic novel! For all D&D fans, this is an essential to read. The story sucks you in and doesn’t let go until you finish reading! To bad the book is pretty short. But make sure to look out for the sequel, Murder on the Rockport Limited! Thanks for reading.

-Brandon D.

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Earthrise: My Adventures as an Apollo 14 Astronaut by Edgar Mitchell

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When I first looked at Earthrise, I did not not want read it. My mom got it for me for a Boy Scout merit badge and I was not excited to read. I did not read it for at least 2 weeks, and then I was out of other things to read. So I decided I would try it out and see what happened. It was one of the best books I have ever read.

Earthrise is about astronaut Edgar Mitchell. In the book, our astronaut friend tells us his adventures as an Apollo 14 astronaut. The Apollo 14 was the 3rd spacecraft to visit the moon! Edgar Mitchell tells us about his early days as a kid living on a farm, his life in the navy, his training to become an astronaut, and his amazing experiences in space! The narrative in this book took me away. When he would describe what the moon looked like, or what Earth looked like from space, I could easily imagine I was there with him. This book did not disappoint me. When you first look at it, it looks like some boring old biography on some astronaut no one knows about. But trust me, you’ll like it,

-Brandon D.

Earthrise: My Adventures as an Apollo 14 Astronaut by Edgar Mitchell is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Meltdown by Jeff Kinney

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Whenever a new Diary of Wimpy Kid comes out, I am super excited to get and to read it. This one did not fail to disappoint me, I ended up finishing this book in a day! Jeff Kinney/Greg Heffley does a good job fluently jumping from subject to subject. When you start reading the beginning of the book, Greg talks about the wacky weather in winter, then he talks about his school about 10 pages later. Jeff Kinney makes these transitions so natural, so you will barely notice it.

Another great thing about this book is you  don’t have to read the books before it to understand what is going on. You can get this book, which is book 13, and not have read the other books in the series and you won’t get confused! This book keeps many of the original characters from the first book, but there are many side characters in the book, but I don’t want to spoil anymore. Personally, this was one of my favorite Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. My sister thought that Jeff Kinney was running out of ideas, but disagree. I think there could be many more books. But known shall be greater than this one. Thanks for reading this review.

-Brandon D.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Meltdown by Jeff Kinney is available for checkout form the Mission Viejo Library.

Titanfall 2 by Respawn Entertainment

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Titanfall was a great game, winning over 60 rewards at its 2013 reveal, but Titanfall 2 was definitely was a step up. Titanfall 2 was nominated  for multiple year-end accolades including Game of the Year and Best Shooter awards, by several gaming publications. Just talking about Respawn’s success with Titanfall makes it sound like a good game! Trust me, it gets better.

Titanfall 2’s high success was due to its captivating campaign mode and its various online multiplayer modes. Titanfall 2’s many online modes put it above its first game. You can play Free for all, capture the flag, and attrition just to name a few. You play as a pilot, being a pilot gives you a massive variety of guns and abilities. You have sniper rifles, shotguns, and automatic guns. You can also grapple buildings, run on walls, and turn invisible!

Running and jumping around as a pilot is only half of the game, the other half you play in a titan. Titans are giant mecha-style exoskeletions that will crush the battlefield.  If you played the original Titanfall, you would know that there was only one titan you could play as. In Titanfall 2, you have seven different titans to chose from! But I’ll say no more, so I don’t spoil the game for you.

One final thing that separated Titanfall 2 from Titanfall was its single player campaign mode. In campaign, you play as rifleman Jack Cooper. He hopes to one day become a pilot of a titan. And he becomes a pilot of titan BT-7274, but in a way he did not expect. Together you switch between Jack Cooper and BT-7274 as you try to stop the IMC. I enjoyed the campaign adventure a lot. It has great a great back round and has great storytelling. Plus you get to do things that you would never be able to do in multiplayer.(E.g. traveling in time!) But I’ll let you play the game to find out on your own. This is definitely an FPS you should consider getting. Five star game.

-Brandon D.

Minecraft Guide to the Nether and the End by Mojang

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Any real Minecraft fan should have this book. The Minecraft Guide to the Nether and the End is the ultimate survival guide that you should be sure to pack before stepping through that portal.

The book is full of juicy facts and tips that will increase your chances of surviving in these two perilous dimensions. It includes all of the Nether and End mobs, the blocks you find in the two dimensions and their uses, and much, much more! Want to learn how make a Nether portal? You’ll find it in here! How to locate a stronghold? You will find that on page 52 and 53!

I am definitely a fan of Minecraft and I have read this book multiple times! If you liked this book, make sure to check out other Minecraft survival guides, such as the Guide To Creative PVP Minigames, and the Guide To Farming. I am not sure if this book is available at the library, but you can get your own copy at the nearest Barn’s and Noble. Good luck bold adventurers, clever crafters, and worldly wanderers! Stay safe out there and don’t die!

-Brandon D.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

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The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is a very great first book to a very interesting book series. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is about a bunch of 6th grade middle school kids who make case file trying to decode the mysterious origami Yoda and the kids who makes Yoda, Dwight. Tom Angleberger’s book is a masterpiece of humor, storytelling, and funny drawings. The book even contains a little middle school romance.

Two things that make this book unique is the way it tells the story and drawings. The way this book story is told is through many different peoples perspective. This book is case file, so a lot of different people tell different funny stories in the book. The drawings all over the book really makes the book stand out. You got give Tom Angleberger and Jason Rosenstock, the two people who drew all over the books. The drawings inside the book make the book more teen-friendly. And, an added bonus to this epic case file, there are instructions on the last page on how to fold a legit origami Yoda! This book is a book I would recommend to all ages. Make sure to get it!

-Brandon D.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Alex Rider Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

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The first Alex Rider book is defiantly one to remember. Stormbreaker is about a boy named Alex Rider whose uncle was supposedly a banker. But when Alex discovers his uncle didn’t die from a car crash, and his uncle actually worked for a spy agency, his life gets flipped upside down!

The Alex Rider series is consists of 12 lengthy novels plus a prequel, so Alex Rider will keep you entertained for hours every day! These books will keep you on your toes through every page. Every once in a while, I had to flip the page to check what was going to happen because the suspense was killing me! Anthony Horowitz does an amazing job creating a protagonist that we can love and crazy adventures for our hero to do. If you thought that the bad guy in Stormbreaker was scary, you will be surprised how escalated the villain’s get. Alex Rider has all of the true qualities of a hero, bravery, courage, being smart, and of course, sarcasm. If you didn’t like Stormbreaker (I doubt you won’t like it) Anthony Horowitz has written many other book series, so make sure to check those out!

-Brandon D.

Shark Wars by E.J. Altbacker

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Shark Wars is a very interesting book and I enjoyed it very much. The story is similar to the book Warriors. Instead of clans, the sharks are divided by shivers. Gray and his friend Barkley live with the coral shiver. But Gray gets banned from the coral shiver and becomes an outcast, and then things get interesting. I will leave the rest of the story for you to read.

E.J. Altbacker did a good job making this book interesting, with lots of good twists and a nice cliffhanger leaves you hungry for the next book. This book is based on the heroic quest base genre. The Shark Wars series is a lengthy six novels total, so try to read them all! Shark Wars features a nice balance of dialogue and fighting, and it also has at least 200 pages, it might take a while to finish the book! Shark Wars has a nice variety of characters, and it has an obvious protagonist and antagonist. Every character in Shark Wars in unique and special, you care for some and dislike others.

E.J. Altbacker did a nice job incorporating as many shark types as possible, which I love! A very great book that you should totally read. Don’t miss out on the amazing book, known as Shark Wars!

-Brandon D.

The Shark Wars series by E. J. Altbacker is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

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Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods is a very interesting and funny book. Rick Riordan did a great job incorporating Percy Jackson’s sarcastic comments with the historical knowledge we know about the Greek gods. This book includes stories from all of the 12 main Greek gods, and what happened before the gods. This book is a very great book to out loud to your friends or family. This book was probably the funniest Rick Riordan book I have ever read! This book really shows how much humorous Percy Jackson really is, and how much thought Rick Riordan put in his character.

Another interesting thing about this book it is Percy Jackson telling the story, no one else. All of Rick Riordan’s books are the characters telling the story, but this book I think just stands out the most from all the other ones I’ve read.

There are actually another book similar to Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, it is called Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes. They are both very similar in the story telling, but different subjects. So if you have read Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, you should read the other one. If you are a big fan of Percy Jackson, make sure to check this book out!

-Brandon D.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.