This story centers around a town, called Wakefield, that was hit by a monster apocalypse -- yes, there really is such a thing! The main character, Jack, is an orphan whose foster family took off without him. He is staying alive in his treehouse, getting by on Oreo cookies and Mountain Dew. Jack gets the help of his best friend Quint and Dirk, an oversized kid who used to pick on him, to try and save June del Torro, a girl who's stuck in the local school. It's an action-packed book with lots of zombies and monster. With his friends, Jack learns to defend the only house he really calls home, his treehouse, and discovers you don't need a family to find loyalty and support. Even if you're not usually drawn to books about monsters and zombies, I think you'll like this one. The illustrations are great, and the characters are kids you'd actually like to have as friends.

This is a fun story about a princess named Harriet Hamsterbone who is literally a hamster, and she's superb at fractions. She has a sidekick named Mumfrey, who is a quail. Together, they ride everywhere and have tremendous fun. But, unfortunately, Harriet has a terrible curse put on her by a wicked fairy god-mouse when she was just a baby. According to the curse, on her 12th birthday she will prick herself on a hamster wheel and fall asleep, until she is kissed by a prince. Harriet and Mumfrey enjoy escapades and adventures until her 12th birthday. Even then, as the curse looms, she has her own ideas about how to handle the dreaded wicked fairy god-mouse, and it isn't what you'd expect. The illustrations are almost like those out of a comic book, and I think they make the story even funnier.

This is a fun story about a princess named Harriet Hamsterbone who is literally a hamster, and she's superb at fractions. She has a sidekick named Mumfrey, who is a quail. Together, they ride everywhere and have tremendous fun. But, unfortunately, Harriet has a terrible curse put on her by a wicked fairy god-mouse when she was just a baby. According to the curse, on her 12th birthday she will prick herself on a hamster wheel and fall asleep, until she is kissed by a prince. Harriet and Mumfrey enjoy escapades and adventures until her 12th birthday. Even then, as the curse looms, she has her own ideas about how to handle the dreaded wicked fairy god-mouse, and it isn't what you'd expect. The illustrations are almost like those out of a comic book, and I think they make the story even funnier.

While this book was sad in a lot of ways, it was still really good and I liked it. I would recommend it to other readers. Based around a 5th grader named Auggie, who has some facial deformities, it shows his struggle with friends, in school, and in life. It was the type of sad in places that makes you say, "wow," and recognize how someone else's life differs from yours. But, there were lots of fun parts of the book, too. For instance, he has a great family and together they have a lot of fun, despite his medical issues. He is very brave and teaches those around him so much. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of this book until recently, but I'm glad I found it.