Showing posts with label Middle Grade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle Grade. Show all posts

Friday, August 14, 2015

TROLLHUNTERS by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus





"You are food. Those muscles you flex to walk, lift, and talk? They're patties of meat topped with chewy tendon. That skin you've paid so much attention to in mirrors? It's delicious to the right tongues, a casserole of succulent tissue. And those bones that give you the strength to make your way in the world? They rattle between teeth as the marrow is sucked down slobbering throats. These facts are unpleasant but useful. There are things out there, you see, that don't cower in holes to be captured by us and cooked over our fires. These things have their own ways of trapping their kills, their own fires, their own appetites."

Jim Sturges is your typical teen in suburban San Bernardino— one with an embarrassingly overprotective dad, a best friend named "Tubby" who shares his hatred of all things torturous (like gym class), and a crush on a girl who doesn't know he exists. But everything changes for Jim when a 45-year old mystery resurfaces, threatening the lives of everyone in his seemingly sleepy town. Soon Jim has to team up with a band of unlikely (and some un-human) heroes to battle the monsters he never knew existed.

From the minds of horror geniuses Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus comes a new illustrated novel about the fears that move in unseen places.


Guillermo del Toro is known for his critically acclaimed feature films, such as Pan's LabyrinthHelllboyThe Hobbit, and Pacific Rim, as well as his best-selling Strain Trilogy.

Daniel Kraus is the award-winning author of Scowler and Rotters, and is the director of six feature films. He lives with his wife in Chicago. 

LEARN MORE
Learn more at Un-RequiredReading.com
Follow Disney-Hyperion on Twitter & Tumblr

#Trollhunters

**We want to thank the publisher, Hyperion and Brittany at Big Honcho Promos for gifting us both with hard copies of this beautifully crafted book in exchange for our honest opinions.***


Don't fall over, guys, but this might be my shortest review EVER. We all know I'm a bit wordy with the feels, so I backspaced and deleted more lines than I care to admit. And herein lies my problem; I really, really enjoyed this modern horror story. So much so I'm been telling all of my friends with YA readers at home. I might be getting on their nerves. But as I attempt to write my review I find myself wanting to give away too much. There's just so much to this tale. And you should experience it all on your own with no expectations or influence- other than us telling you to PICK IT UP, of course.
Now, TROLLHUNTERS  had a somewhat slow, heavily detailed start but this proved to be a strong and entertaining read. Great characters, crazy twists, teenage angst and terror. What more could you want, right?
The plot was great- full of excitement and surprises. It's powerful in metaphors and symbolism. Packed with action and plenty of fright, and yet fun and lighthearted, and heartwarming.
The character development was fantastic. A wonderful mix of misfits and dysfunction. Our MC, Jim Sturgis Jr, is uber smart- yet naïve, funny, absolutely awkward, and the perfect unexpected hero. Fold in the best friend, the dream girl, the archrival, and add in your not so garden-variety trolls and you've got a cast meant for more than the written page.  Seriously, these characters deserve to be on a screen. Dive in and you'll see what I mean. You might actually find yourself endeared by a couple of trolls.
TROLLHUNTERS was a well rounded, intelligent, supernatural fantasy that left me fully satisfied. I set the bar high for Mr. Del Toro, and he and his partner exceeded my expectations.
I recommend it for mature YA readers for mild language and graphic descriptives.



How do I start?? I was so excited to be able to get a chance to read this book...
Trolls...tackling this supernatural entity in which is something that I haven't really read many books about was intriguing and quite exhilarating to see what Del Toro and Mr. Kraus would do.
And guess what?? I was not disappointed.  
Trollhunters was a fantastical fun story all the while dipping in to the darkness with an action-packed tale in a creatively imaginative world.
Following along with our multi layered characters and intense journey, you get so wrapped up, eager to see what is going to happen next....
Although it started a little slow, once the pace picks up it is non stop with witty humor and a riveting plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Highly captivating and definitely set for the YA genre, although be mindful that there is some mild language and with its dark undertones it may be too much for some sensitive readers, a definite must read!!!


Saturday, August 1, 2015

TROLLHUNTERS by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus #giveaway

TROLLHUNTERS
By Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus
Illustrated by Sean Murray
In stores July 7



"You are food. Those muscles you flex to walk, lift, and talk? They're patties of meat topped with chewy tendon. That skin you've paid so much attention to in mirrors? It's delicious to the right tongues, a casserole of succulent tissue. And those bones that give you the strength to make your way in the world? They rattle between teeth as the marrow is sucked down slobbering throats. These facts are unpleasant but useful. There are things out there, you see, that don't cower in holes to be captured by us and cooked over our fires. These things have their own ways of trapping their kills, their own fires, their own appetites."

Jim Sturges is your typical teen in suburban San Bernardino— one with an embarrassingly overprotective dad, a best friend named "Tubby" who shares his hatred of all things torturous (like gym class), and a crush on a girl who doesn't know he exists. But everything changes for Jim when a 45-year old mystery resurfaces, threatening the lives of everyone in his seemingly sleepy town. Soon Jim has to team up with a band of unlikely (and some un-human) heroes to battle the monsters he never knew existed.

From the minds of horror geniuses Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus comes a new illustrated novel about the fears that move in unseen places.


Guillermo del Toro is known for his critically acclaimed feature films, such as Pan's Labyrinth, Helllboy, The Hobbit, and Pacific Rim, as well as his best-selling Strain Trilogy.

Daniel Kraus is the award-winning author of Scowler and Rotters, and is the director of six feature films. He lives with his wife in Chicago. 

LEARN MORE
Learn more at Un-RequiredReading.com
Follow Disney-Hyperion on Twitter & Tumblr

#Trollhunters


PRIZING FOR YOUR SITE
TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN prize pack

Avoid becoming a monster’s next meal! 
One (1) winner will receive:

** Branded Trollhunters zip-up hoodie and pins;
** Candy bones and a copy of Trollhunters.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

RELEASE DAY BLAST: Omega City by Diana Peterfreund

  





Diana’s first book for readers eight and up is a thrilling adventure story, perfect for people who like their books with a side of rocketships and hidden treasure. Find out what secrets are hidden beneath the Maryland countryside in...



OmegaCity
Gillian Seagret doesn’t listen to people who say her father’s a crackpot. His conspiracy theories about the lost technology of Cold War-era rocket scientist Dr. Aloysius Underberg may have cost him his job and forced the family to move to a cottage in the sticks, but Gillian knows he’s right, and plans to prove it.
When she discovers a missing page from Dr. Unerberg’s diary in her father’s mess of an office, she thinks she’s found a big piece of the puzzle–a space-themed riddle promising to lead to Dr. Underberg’s greatest invention. Enlisting the help of her skeptical younger brother, Eric, her best friend, Savannah, and Howard, their NASA-obsessed schoolmate, Gillian sets off into the ruins of a vast doomsday bunker, deep within the earth.
But they aren’t alone inside its dark and flooded halls. Now Gillian and her friends must race to explore OMEGA CITY and find the answers they need. For while Gillian wants to save her dad’s reputation by bringing Dr. Underberg’s secrets to light, there are others who will stop at nothing to make sure they stay buried...forever.
 

GoodReads | IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks


WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“With seamless writing, a thrilling plot, lots of engaging science puzzles, and remarkable characterization, Peterfreund's exciting tale keeps the adventure solidly in the foreground. Young readers looking for a page turning quest should get into this planned series on the ground floor." — Booklist *Starred* Review 

"Peterfreund's focus on character development is complemented by the equal attention she gives to the vast underground city itself. Gillian’s instincts to protect her friends and clear her historian father’s tarnished name are admirable, but Peterfreund gives every character the opportunity to grow, revealing themselves for who they really are."Publishers Weekly 

“With nonstop action, sly humor, and nothing short of the end of the world at stake, Omega City is the alpha book in a new series that mashes up mystery, scifi, and action/adventure into a thrilling novel you’ll want to devour in one sitting. I did, and I can’t wait to read what comes next!”Peter Lerangis, New York Times Bestselling author of the Seven Wonders series 

“Peterfreund’s boundless imagination takes on a new and exciting adventure!”Jessica Day George, New York Times Bestselling author of Tuesdays at the Castle” 

“Diana Peterfreund takes us to an underground city that’s utterly mind-blowing, yet disturbingly possible. A knockout of a story that will have readers cheering straight through to the final, shocking, twist.” — #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman


DPeterfreund-smallpic Diana Peterfreund has published ten novels for adults, teens, and kids, including the four-book Secret Society Girl series (Bantam Dell), the “killer unicorn novels” Rampantand Ascendant (Harper Teen), For Darkness Shows the Stars (a post-apocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen’sPersuasion), and Across a Star-Swept Sea (inspired by the classic series The Scarlet Pimpernel). Her newest novel, OMEGA CITY, is a contemporary adventure novel for younger readers set in a secret bunker city somewhere under modern Maryland. Her works have been named to the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age list, the Capitol Choices (metro DC-area) reading list, and the Texas Lonestar List, as well as having been named to Amazon’s Best Books of the Year. In addition, she’s written several critically acclaimed short stories and a variety of non-fiction essays about popular children’s literature. Diana lives outside Washington D.C., with her family.