Book Review - Skyfall by Michael Dahl

Skyfall by Michael Dahl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In Zion Falls it is the night of the biggest meteor shower of the century, the Draconids. For fourteen year-old Pablo and his friends, Thora and Zak, it is also the night that is going to change their lives forever. Pablo, Thora and Zak are pulled into a real-life fairy tale of the Grimm variety. They find themselves battling trolls, or "gathool", for their lives. And this is only the beginning.
The premise for this books is very interesting. Giant trolls known as gathools are emerging to wreck havoc on the town of Zion Falls. The name "gathool" is reminiscent of Lovecraft's greatest short story, The Call of Cthulhu, about a giant kraken like creature. The illustrations in the book also run along these lines, with the multi-armed trolls appearing to have heads that resemble octupi. While this story is much, much milder than Lovecraft's, I would not recommend it to be read as a bedtime story. The information about the trolls and the characters is somewhat sketchy. The trolls are coming but it is not really said where they are coming from. There is something special about Pablo, Thora and Zak but you are not really sure what. However, as this is the first book in a series, I would assume the information will be coming in the next installments of the series.
I would recommend this book for children ages 10+, especially those readers who want an alternative to Goosebumps or Beast Quest.

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Book Review - It's a Big World Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi

It's a Big World, Little Pig! by Kristi Yamaguchi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Poppy the litte pig who dreams big is finally an ice skating star. Now she follows her dream to Paris, France to compete in the World Games. While in Paris, Poppy must overcome her fears of being so far from home in a new place. But she soon learns that although we may not speak the same, we all smile in the same language.
This is a sequel to the book "Dream Big Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi. It is very nice with cute illustrations. Who doesn't love a pig in a bow? It was a little light and fluffy for my personal taste, but the message of being accepting of new people and places is a good one.

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Happy New Year Ramblings

I am hoping to have a great year in 2012. I have set myself up with some reading challenges which will take me out of my comfort zone. I have decided on a goal of 250 books in the year 2012. Yes Melissa - that is 250!!!! I am also going to be participating in the Why Buy the Cow and several other blogging/reading challenges. So my reviews will change somewhat. I am going to be adding adult fiction to my blog so it will not just be children's/young adult books, although these will still be the mainstay of my blog. Just look at it as I am adding a little more variety. Hope everyone has a great year ahead of them!