Tag Archives: book review

Yummy: A History of Dessert by Victoria Grace Elliott

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This graphic novel is one smart cookie. This graphic novel was informative, but not boring and droning and was tasty to look at. I liked many things about this book, mainly its images and lessons.

The book is divided into different sections, or chapters, for different desserts. The desserts shown are

  • Ice cream
  • Cake
  • Brownies
  • Donuts
  • Pies
  • Gummies
  • Cookies 

And

  • Macaroons 

Something I liked about this book is how they presented the information. This book has three main characters who are called sprites. They are named Peri, Fee and Fada. I love their designs because the colors are really bubbly and the images are all really curved. Like bubble letters. Back to the information point, these characters talk all about the desserts. They do science labs, interviews with “famous bakers” (one of the sprites dress up in costumes), recipes and story times where they read legends of desserts. You would be surprised at how many dessert legends there are. 

Anyways, there are not many recipes for a dessert book, but I love how many things are included. The author added maps so you can find locations and a lot of different cultures! And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. Cultures from all over the world are represented which was quite refreshing compared to other books.

To return back to my design compliments, this book has a really perky design. The colors are bright and dessert-like. The sprites are tiny and cute and all of the desserts look positively amazing. The design is impressive because the ilustrador had to draw dozens of desserts in the same format, which can be difficult to do.

To wrap it all up, I love this graphic novel. I thought it would be a bit boring because I normally don’t like non-fiction books, but this one was good. If you like baking, are interested in baking or just like looking at pretty drawings of food, I recommend this graphic novel for you!

Yummy: A History of Dessert by Victoria Grace Elliott are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles

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Annie and the Old One is a Newbery Honor award-winning book by Miska Miles. Annie is a young Native American girl who is very close to her grandmother. Sometimes, when they are laughing together, Annie’s grandmother seems quite young. Other times, when her grandmother is quiet and still, Annie realizes that her grandmother is very old.

One day, Annie’s grandmother announces that she will “go to Mother Earth” when Annie’s mother finishes work on a new rug. Annie is deeply saddened at the thought of her grandmother passing away, so she decides that she must stop the rug from being completed. She does everything she can to delay her mother’s work on the rug. She even attempts to unweave the rug when her mother is not looking. Annie’s grandmother takes her to a quiet place in the desert, so that she can teach Annie about the meaning of life. Annie learns an important lesson from her wise grandmother that she will never forget.

This book is quite short, but I found it to be very poignant and meaningful. I especially liked the relationship between Annie and her grandmother. Annie’s behavior after learning that her grandmother would die seems understandable. I think most children would react in such a way to the death of a loved one. It was very touching to see how much Annie did not want to lose her grandmother. I was also impressed by the way Annie learned to cope with her feelings, out of respect for her grandmother’s teachings. I believe that this is an excellent book for children or anyone else to read about dealing with family death and finding purpose in life.

Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Book Review: Catcher in the Rye

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I first read Catcher in the Rye in my sophomore English class. I thought it was boring and that my teacher was making me analyze words that meant absolutely nothing. I re-read it about a week ago, and I have to admit, she was definitely onto something. While it’s not on my ‘favorites’ list, Catcher in the Rye is a book I would read again willingly, and that’s good enough for me.

I wasn’t a big fan of the writing style going into it, as the references to the time period and some of the language were just too far off from what I’m used to. However, I was immersed in the story itself, and I really enjoyed it. It follows the story of a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield as he narrates the months of his most recent winter, and I thought it was a very honest book with a very honest main character. Holden is definitely not the best person to narrate his life. He’s extremely biased in favor of himself and he enjoys hating on every other person he comes into contact with, but it’s something about his cynicism that makes the book such an interesting read.

For me, Holden’s inner monologue was a character that I feel most people could relate to, although not to the extent that he feels things. He’s a bit rude and that’s something most teenagers resonate with, especially going through high school and early adult life while figuring out who they are. I didn’t like Catcher in the Rye at first, but I recommend giving it a try if you’re also trying to figure yourself out.

– Tanvi G.

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Libby.

Book Review: Liquid Rules- The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik

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It isn’t common that I do a non-fiction book for a book review, but this might be one of the first times because this book felt so interesting to read. In this book, Mark Miodownik briefly explains why some liquids are dangerous, and why some aren’t, as well as why coffee and tea tastes bitter, all in the course of one flight.

The book starts with a brief introduction to all the liquids the author has had taken away from him during airport security. At the start, The author boards a plane to attend a conference in San Francisco, he begins to explain how jet fuel has more energy than nitroglycerin, an extremely volatile explosive substance. Here, he also introduces Susan, a woman sitting next to him. Throughout the flight, he goes on to explain how the TV he is watching works, how airplanes went from being made of plywood to being made partially using glue. The journey ends with Miodownik realizing that the person he sat next to the whole time was actually the whole reason why he came to the meeting in the first place, as she was the keynote speaker of the conference

In my opinion, this book was really interesting as it took usually mundane things we use in our everyday lives, and delves deeper into how they work. Miodownik makes all of these things very fascinating through his very thorough explanations of how each of these things work, as well as their chemical properties. I would 100% recommend this book for anybody who is very interested in science.

Liquid Rules by Mark Miodownik is available to download for free from Libby.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

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Many self-help books encourage complete changes in lifestyle. While these can be helpful for some, many find it overwhelming, and often do not know where to start.

The book Atomic Habits by James Clear defines atomic as “an extremely small amount of a thing.” Unlike other books, the author emphasizes small changes to make big differences.

In the opening of the book, James Clear describes how he overcame his extremely painful baseball injury by improving his habits. Eventually, he started publishing online articles and launched his “Habits Academy” training program. The combination of his extensive background and inspirational journey build his credibility.

Clear often explains the false assumptions made about habits. One of my favorite ideas he presented was the “Plateau of Latent Potential.” He explains that many expect progress to be linear, but in reality, results will not appear until a breakthrough occurs. He uses analogies and illustrations to better help the reader understand.

Another one of my favorite ideas presented was making habits easy. He explains that relying on motivation will make it difficult to complete your goals on harder days.

Explains that making habits easier will “reduce the friction”. Preparing your environment by laying out everything you need beforehand is a great way to make things simpler.

Other helpful techniques include habit stacking, making scorecards, and using habit trackers.

In addition, the author explains that you have to change and reinforce your identity. This way, habits will be less focused on what you want to do, and more on what you want to become. This also involves surrounding yourself with a culture/community with similar goals.

Not only does Clear explain how to build new habits, but also how to break bad ones. He uses many of the same ideas, but in the opposite manner. Some methods of breaking bad habits include increasing friction, reducing your exposure, and finding an accountability partner.

Moreover, the author includes a chart of the 4 Laws of Habits. The chart slowly fills up as you progress through the book. The final version of the chart is shown to the left.

Finally, Clear provides insightful summaries and key take aways at end of the chapter. This makes it easy to refresh on older concepts.

Overall, this book is much more accessible to a general audience and makes the process of building habits less overwhelming. Summaries, analogies, and graphs/illustrations, make the book more interesting,

Atomic Habits by James Clear is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

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Juliette Ferrars has been locked in an asylum for over 264 days by the Reestablishment due to her ability to kill anybody with a single touch. One day, she is suddenly introduced to her new cellmate, Adam Kent, who just happens to be an old friend from her past. With the Reestablishment planning to use her as a new torture weapon, Juliette must make a choice in order to preserve her newfound freedom.

Overall, I really liked this book. Each character was very unique with their own backstory and voice, which made it really easy to tell when the character POV switched from Juliette to Warner in the sequel, Destroy Me. The characters felt like real people that you could relate to and I loved how they all had their opinions and ideas on what Juliette should do. Plus, Juliette’s character development was really great as she went from unsure and scared to starting to become more confident and embracing her powers near the end.

Personally, I feel like Warner and Juliette have more chemistry together than Juliette and Adam, but I can’t wait to learn more about Warner and his backstory as the series continues. I’d definitely recommend this book to anybody who’s a fan of books like The Hunger Games or the Delirium Trilogy.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

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*this review may contain spoilers

Honestly, I have been a bit of a reading slump but I decided to check this book out in hopes to regain my love of reading again. It did its job. I have never been so fascinated and invested within a book than I have with this one.

The writing style that Hilderbrand uses is truly unique and constantly makes the readers wanting to read more. The book follows a WIDE amount of characters and their summer in beach town Nantucket, specifically their experiences within Hotel Nantucket. This hotel has been perceived negatively in the past due to the horror relations that have involved this hotel and how a ghost continually haunts the guests and anyone within the hotel. However, a rich-man, Xavier Darling, rebuilt the hotel to be one of the finest hotels and hopes to be critiqued positively by a numerous amount of hotel reviewers. Xavier’s main goal is to impress hotel reviewer, Shelly Carpenter, and allow Hotel Nantucket to become the first hotel to receive 5 keys (which has never been given to any hotel).

I think what I particularly like about this book is that is follows a plethora of characters like the staff, guests, and ghosts of the hotel. I love multiple POV book, the best!! The book is a bit long but that just means more time getting invested with the storyline and characters that Hilderbrand presents. I wish I had read this book during the summer since it is set in a beach town but honestly with Hilderbrand’s writing, I still found a great read.

I would recommend if you are interested in exploring outside your preferred genre and I would suggest those that are in reading slumps to read this book, to get you out!

-Madison C.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee has to now be one of my favorite books, up there with The Outsiders and The Institute. I never expected to like this book so much but it’s always the ones you look down on that come back to bite you when you least expect it. To Kill A Mockingbird was our fourth required reading for my English class this year and when my teacher said that it was a good book, I should have believed her more.

To Kill A Mockingbird is one huge flashback told by Scout Finch. It starts when Scout is six and she introduces her older brother Jem and her dad Atticus. They all live in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, set in the 1930s, The Great Depression. Scout begins the story talking about how Jem had broken his arm. As simple as it sounds, it’s such a long story to get to that point that you completely forget that that was how we started the story until Scout brings it up again. It may be a long story, but it included some of the most interesting and engaging stories I have ever read. 

Lee’s characters are so well written that they will have a special place in my heart. Atticus was definitely my favorite character in the book. He was an amazing single father, especially when so many parents in books are either dead or awful to their kids. Of course not all books have those kinds of parents, but this was a nice piece of fresh air. Atticus was a fantastic role model, person, and father. He is such a good person and healthy both physically and mentally. The way he fought discrimination and racism was admirable but he was even more admirable to teach his kids and those around him not to discriminate or be racist.

While Atticus was my favorite, there were so many good characters in the book. Starting with Scout, her mental capability and persistence was super fun to read about. To see everything happen through her eyes was very interesting. Jem was also really fun. His growth from boy to man was nice to see, even though Scout didn’t really understand it much. Jem being a good older brother to Scout and doing his best to do the right things at school to make Atticus proud was great. Atticus helped give both of his kids great morals and empathy and it is really apparent in the book. 

I really loved the characters in this book. I didn’t mention all of them but they were all very memorable to me. To Kill a Mockingbird was incredibly well written. Lee did a fantastic job making the story interesting and fun while having subtle themes to make this novel literature. This was a fantastic book that I would highly recommend for others to read. Despite some language that wouldn’t be allowed today, if you could look past the period-typical racism, this book can teach people a lot and can overall be very enjoyable. 

-Nicole R.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

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If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio is a murder mystery novel centered around a group of theatre students at a university in Illinois. The story is told from the perspective of Oliver, one of the members of the group. The novel starts off with him being released from prison and retelling an incident that put his entire group in jeopardy, and ultimately changed the trajectory of their lives.

While reading this book at first, I wasn’t entirely sure if I enjoyed it, mainly because the style of writing wasn’t my taste and the plot seemed rather slow. However, the story began to build up during the second half, and the plot twist left me shocked. Given that the events were told from the perspective of a student who wasn’t entirely involved with every member of the group, there were several loose ends in the plot that ultimately came together to create an ending that readers would never expect. Therefore, although the narrator could be seen as unreliable, he added a sense of suspense and mystery that the story would otherwise be bland without.

Overall, I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in mystery or dark academia genres. Although it didn’t fully live up to my expectations, I still enjoyed the plot in the end and could see it as something that many readers would be intrigued by.

-Aysha H.

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Book Review: The 99% Invisible City by Kurt Kohlstedt and Roman Mars

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Recently, I was looking for a new book to read and I found The 99% Invisible City by Kurt Kohlstedt and Roman Mars. I found this book about engineering in a city very interesting, as it specifically talks about how many elements of a city go unnoticed but help to lead our everyday lives in the background. I enjoyed how it expressed the complex concept of civil engineering in a more readable way, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in engineering.

One thing that is remarkable about this book is how well-researched that the entries in the book are, providing a detailed history of many different aspects in separate cities and how they have changed over time. The book also taught me a lot about design in cities that I thought was very interesting. I was also intrigued how the book showed how much design and effort has gone into designing the modern world.

One of my favorite sections from the book is about how the national highway system was built. I thought it was interesting how much we use this piece of infrastructure without noticing it much. I also enjoyed the detailed history and backstory of these highways. I also enjoyed how it talked about how different famous landmarks around the world were constructed, and how many of them have secondary purposes, as well as how many important functional pieces of the city are hidden away.

This book is also great to read if you are interested in engineering or design because it also elaborates on its detailed descriptions with many colorful drawings and schematics, helping break down the book into readable sections. It uses both technical and understandable language to describe different ideas, and not only is it an entertaining read, but in the end I actually learned many new things from this book as well, so I would say that overall this was an extremely good read.

In the end, The 99% Invisible City was one of the best reads that I’ve ever read so far, and it’s sure to be entertaining and interesting for you as well. I would especially recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about engineering, or is interested in civil or mechanical engineering. I would also recommend the 99% Invisible podcast if you enjoy this book. It is by the same authors of the book and is very interesting as well. And don’t forget to check out this book for yourself sometime!

The 99% Invisible City by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.