
Becky's Book Reviews
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Becky is a book blogger associated with Becky's Book Reviews, Young Readers, and Operation Actually Read Bible. Here she reviews all sorts of fiction, from classics to science fiction to young adult fiction. Read insightful commentary and critique of amazing new releases as well as classics in archived posts.
Becky's Book Reviews
4h ago
I read six books this week.
14. First State of Being. Erin Entrada Kelly. 2024. 272 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, Newbery Medal, MG Speculative Fiction, MG Fiction, Time Travel]
Read this book if....
You like keeping up with the Newbery Medals and Hnor books
You enjoy so called "historical" fiction set in 1999
You enjoy time travel elements
You enjoy coming of age stories
15. Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life. James Curtis. 2022. 810 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, adult nonfiction, biography]
Read this book if....
You are curious to learn more about Buster Keaton--his life and f ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
1d ago
15. Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life. James Curtis. 2022. 810 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, adult nonfiction, biography]
First sentence: The man in the pork pie hat is unhappy. His head down, arms akimbo, he paces grimly as a documentary crew captures him on film.
Premise/plot: What you see is what you get: James Curtis' delivers a biography of the legendary 'larger than life' film star Buster Keaton. In some ways, there was not a hat Buster Keaton didn't wear. He did all the jobs--quite literally--in the film business. And, of course, he's quite famous FOR his hats. It IS ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
4d ago
14. First State of Being. Erin Entrada Kelly. 2024. 272 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, Newbery Medal, MG Speculative Fiction, MG Fiction, Time Travel]
First sentence: Peaches, Michael Rosario thought. That's what we need. His mother loved peaches. If the world came to a standstill at midnight on January 1, 2000, at least she would have two things she cherished: peaches and Michael.
Premise/plot: The year is 1999. Michael Rosario, the narrator, struggles with worry and anxiety. His biggest anxiety at the moment is the end of the world, aka Y2K. He is secretly hoarding foo ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
1w ago
I read nine books this week.
11. Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All. Chanel Miller. 2024. 160 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, Newbery Honor, mg realistic, family, friendship, light mystery]
Read this book if...
You enjoy coming of age novels with strong friendship themes
You enjoy books set in New York City
You enjoy books about race/racism
You enjoy books with LIGHT mysteries (missing socks)
You enjoy reading Newbery Honors
12. Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains. Anita Yasuda. Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. 2024. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [nonfiction picture book, 3 stars]
R ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
1w ago
13. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance. Jennifer Armstrong. 1998. Random House. 144 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, nonfiction, history, biography, adventure, South Pole, survival]
Just imagine yourself in the most hostile place on earth. It's not the Sahara or the Gobi Desert. It's not the Arctic. The most hostile place on earth is the Antarctic, the location of the South Pole--what's the difference? The Arctic is mostly water--with ice on top, of course--and that ice is never more than a few feet thick. But unde ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
1w ago
12. Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains. Anita Yasuda. Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. 2024. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [nonfiction picture book, 3 stars]
First sentence: Junko's hill was her entire world.
Premise/plot: Up, Up Ever Up! is a picture book biography of mountain climber and activist Junko Tabei. It recently earned a Caldecott Honor.
My thoughts: I liked this one. I did. Books about mountain climbing aren't really "my thing" if you will. But I do try to keep up with the Newbery and Caldecott winners and honors. And I do enjoy a good nonfiction p ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
1w ago
11. Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All. Chanel Miller. 2024. 160 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, Newbery Honor, mg realistic, family, friendship, light mystery]
First sentence: Magnolia Wu was almost ten. She was eager to turn ten, because the number 9 looked like a sprout coming out of the ground, small and easily stomped. Ten was a strong, two-digit number that looked like a sword and a shield that belonged to someone who was about to conquer the world.
Premise/plot: Magnolia Wu, whose parents own a laundromat, finds a new friend in this coming of age mystery that has Magnolia and fr ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
2w ago
Century of Viewing Challenge
I was able to watch 70 things. (Things = movies, shorts, cartoons, television seasons, etc.) Thirty-one I rated four stars and above. It was relatively-relatively easy to determine five star ratings. These went above and beyond. The line between four and four and a half star ratings were BLURRY, BLURRED, EVER SHIFTING. I changed the rating on some of these half a dozen times. There were some three and a half star movies that I was almost tempted to raise as well.
Two things became clear within the first two weeks of the challenge
1) I had seriously underes ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
2w ago
The fifth week of the year, I reviewed six books.
What I read:
9. Lost in the Empire City. Avi. 2024. [October 29] 304 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, j fiction, mg fiction, j historical, mg historical, immigration/emigration]
Read this one if...
You are looking to read a book IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN
You are looking for a fast-paced, compelling, action-packed read
You enjoy historical fiction; this one is set in the 1910s in New York City
You enjoy immigrant stories
10. Three Men in a Boat. Jerome K. Jerome. 1889. 174 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, adult classic, travel, h ..read more
Becky's Book Reviews
2w ago
In January, I read and reviewed thirty books. OF the thirty books, seven books were five-star reads. Ten were four-star reads. So clearly it was a great month for reading great books.
Books reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews
1. A Queen's Game. Katharine McGee. 2024 [November]. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Historical, YA Romance, YA Fiction] [3 stars]
2. We Are Wolves. Katrina Nannestad. 2020. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [historical fiction, mg historical fiction, world at war, 4 stars]
3. The Oarsmen: Chasing Embers. Glenn Beck with Mikayla G. Hedrick. 2024. 288 pages ..read more