Book Review: Meet Yasmin! By Saadia Faruqi.

Book Synopsis

Meet Yasmin! Yasmin Ahmad is a spirited second-grader who’s always on the lookout for those “aha” moments to help her solve life’s little problems. Taking inspiration from her surroundings and her big imagination, she boldly faces any situation, assuming her imagination doesn’t get too big, of course! A creative thinker and curious explorer, Yasmin and her multi-generational Pakistani American family will delight and inspire readers.

Book Review

This book is about Yasmin, she’s a creative Pakistani American girl with a natural curiosity and an amazing family who loves her and supports her.

It was great to read a story that shows diversity in their characters and I love the fact that includes some words in Urdu (a language from Pakistan) with their English translation and also some interesting facts about that Country (it’s a good way to learn more about other cultures).

This book tells a story that is fresh and fun to read, in addition it has beautiful illustrations that make it even more engaging for younger readers.

As an adult I loved this book, will definitely recommend it and look forward to read more books from Saadia Faruqi in the future.

 

* I received an ARC of this book trough NetGalley*

Book Review: Enginerds by Jarrett Lerner.

Book Review:

Ever since I saw the cover of this book I knew I needed to read it and when I won a personalized signed copy in a Twitter Giveaway organized by the author I was really excited.

Not being someone to limit myself to the “adults” genres, I enjoy reading all kind of books (from Children’s books, to YA, Fiction, New Adult, Fantasy, etc.) and this one proved to be really a great choice.

Greeeg is a robot that Kennedy (a kid part of a school group called Enginerds) receives in a box that someone left in his doorstep, Greeeg eats everything (except radishes for some reason) and he has an “interesting” way to dispose of food.

love learning and tech and I guess that’s one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much and why I could relate easily to the wonderful characters created by Jarrett Lerner.

Nerdy and with geeky heart is a way to describe the members of Enginerds, kids that pursue knowledge, learning science and tech while having fun.

Every character has something interesting, but for some reason I liked John Henry the most, with his predilection for “scientifically sound” statements (even if Kennedy is not a fan of him).

Robots, science, tech, friendship, action and teamwork, this book has a lot of elements that

Definitely make it worth to read, share with someone, gift to kids and add to a library collection.

Surprises and twists are present in this fun book that will keep you really entertained and hopefully by the end, also excited about the sequel (the author told me it will be release next year).

Book Signing Event: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at Amazon Books.

One of the perks of living near an Amazon Books Retail Store (besides been able to go any time I want to get a book quickly) is that occasionally they have Book Signing’s Events.

Last week I was going for some McDonald’s with my husband when we saw a line of people outside Amazon Books, after looking at the door we saw that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was going to be signing his books that day and I didn’t want to miss the chance to meet this NBA legend and of course get a book signed.

I was impresed to notice that he indeed is really really tall and also he seemed to be very patient (considering there was a lot of people waiting to get their books signed).

Here is one of the pictures of him I was able to take with my iPhone and also a picture of the book he signed for me.

 

 

Book Review: Lucas. A Preston Brothers Novel by Jay McLean.

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Book Description:

In a sprint, every millisecond counts.
When you’re waiting for love, those milliseconds can feel like eons.

High school senior Lucas Preston has it all: star of the track team, a scholarship waiting for him, an apartment to himself and a revolving door of girlfriends. He also has an older sister, five younger brothers and a father who relies on him to make sure those brothers don’t kill each other.
His saving grace? Lois “Laney” Sanders, a girl he started to fall in like with when he was just eleven.
A girl who became his best friend, his confidant, his courage.

It took only sixteen clicks and eight seconds for Lucas to realize that his like for Laney had turned into love.
Eight life-changing seconds.
It’s also the exact length of time it took to lose her.

 

Book Review:

 

I opened this book one night around 11:00 PM just to look at it quickly and see how it began but after reading the first pages I felt instantly drawn to the story and I just knew that if I didn’t stop reading at that moment I wouldn’t be able to stop until I finished it… it was with difficulty that I put my Kindle aside and decided that it would be better if I read the book another day when I was able to do it without interruptions and well…. it prove to be the best decision because when I picked up the book again I just couldn’t put it down.

Lucas (Luke) and Lois (Laney) met when they’re eleven and there seems to be an instant connection between them, they become best friends and are inseparable.

The book shifts between Luke’s and Lois’s POV, and past and present time easily which helps to get a better context and make the reading more engaging.

This book has wonderful characters and it’s really hard for me to choose only one among them, but I can say with certainty that Luke became my favorite male character from all the books I’ve read (he’s far from perfect, he makes mistakes but I think that was the reason I liked him even more). Another character I loved was Lachlan, who is Luke’s younger brother and the cutest kid ever (he deserves his own book).

The Logan (another member of the Preston Family) references of “He’s so Logan”  made me curious about this character and I was happy to find out that there is a book about him, so I’m definitely going to read it.

There are many beautiful, awkwardly cute, heartwarming, funny but also heartbreaking moments in this book; reading was an emotional roller coaster but I loved every moment of it (and yes there moments when I cried a lot).

I really recommend this book and I look forward to reading more about the Preston Family in other books from Jay McLean.

 

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review *

Books: Review of Fábulas de Nuestra Tierra para contar en un Día de Muertos.


Written by the Mexican author Nora Girón-Dolce and divided into 6 short stories, this book is full of magic that takes you on a wonderful journey through Mexican customs and traditions that revolve around the Day of the Dead.

Reading this book was like sitting in front of the fire, drinking coffee and eating bread while someone told old legends in such a detailed way that it was as if I was there looking at the fields and the altars, smelling the rich food, listening to the wise words of a woman who enjoyed helping others and even understanding the incredible relationship between a dog and its owner.

The author has a style that allows you to easily connect with the characters, lose yourself between the pages and ultimately find you satisfied with the experience.

With a total of 56 pages the book is a quick read that is worthwhile and I highly recommend.

* The book reviews written on this Blog reflect my personal opinion and I do not perceive any kind of compensation for them.