When an evil magma demon and his minions steal the sun of a magical world, the new guardians of both the sun and the moon must embark on a quest to retrieve it and save their world from disaster as the moon faces destruction as well. (IMDB)

Alishia:
As soon as I started playing this film I was completely blown away by the stunning and creative imagery. I think it literally made my jaw drop. After ten minutes, I was totally engrossed in the beautiful art, story, and characters. It quickly became one of my favorite animated films. I recommend this movie to anyone who loves animated films because it is just such wonderful quality.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★10/10

Sarah:
I love when animated films use more than one art style, especially when one is high detail and the other more minimalistic. Both used in Mune are absolutely stunning.  I also adored how imaginative this film was, from the characters to the world itself. Mune is a wonderful and gorgeous movie that I definitely see myself rewatching over...and over...and over again.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8.5/10

The compelling, hidden story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the only woman to ever serve with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.

Though born into bondage on a “miserable tobacco farm” in Little Dixie, Missouri, Cathy Williams was never allowed to consider herself a slave. According to her mother, she was a captive, bound by her noble warrior blood to escape the enemy. Her means of deliverance is Union general Phillip Henry “Smash ‘em Up” Sheridan, the outcast of West Point who takes the rawboned, prideful young woman into service. At war’s end, having tasted freedom, Cathy refuses to return to servitude and makes the monumental decision to disguise herself as a man and join the Army’s legendary Buffalo Soldiers.

Alone now in the ultimate man’s world, Cathy must fight not only for her survival and freedom, but she vows to never give up on finding her mother, her little sister, and the love of the only man strong and noble enough to win her heart. Inspired by the stunning, true story of Private Williams, this American heroine comes to vivid life in a sweeping and magnificent tale about one woman’s fight for respect and independence. (Goodreads)

This was a wonderfully written book that managed to do the impossible; make me interested in the Civil War era. The descriptions of the South (while we are there) and the way Southerners speak is done in such a believable way that I had no trouble creating an image of the events in my head. While mostly a story of survival and the darkness that still, unfortunately, plagues the United States, it does have a few moments of humor that had me legitimately laughing out loud. With that being said, I did feel a little disconnected while reading (which could be partially due to being sick at the time) and unlike the majority of the amazing stories I read, it is not sticking with me. However, I do now have a great interest in learning more about Cathy and the former slaves that served in the U.S. Military.

*I won a free ARC copy of this book from Goodreads giveaways.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Book Information: Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Perry Teasdale is a dreamer.

She’s not the kind of dreamer who waltzes through fields of wildflowers, twirling her skirts in a starry-eyed daze; or the kind who aspires to be the biggest rock star the world has ever known (not that she’d complain if that accidentally happened). She’s the kind of dreamer who can’t get a decent night’s rest because her sleep is flooded with scenes from other worlds—ones that seem as real as life itself.

Mind-blowing dreams may sound like loads of fun, but when they start to bleed into Perry’s waking hours—confusing the line between dream and reality, and keeping her in a sleep-deprived fog no amount of caffeine can cure—Perry’s not exactly thrilled.

Try as she might to shake the dreams from her mind, they keep gaining speed, growing ever more vivid and intense…until that hazy boundary between real and imaginary fades away, and Perry is forced to consider the impossible: Her dreams seem real because they are.

When disaster strikes, sending Perry’s newfound normalcy into a tailspin, she takes the only logical path left: a whirlwind tour of the multiverse, scouring an ever-growing assortment of alternate realities for the missing piece—the missing person—to put her life together again.

Along the way, Perry enlists the help of an ancient wise woman (who may be a tad homicidal); a nerdy-in-all-the-right-ways mathematician (who knows all of Perry’s secrets, even before introducing himself); and a sword (because you can never go wrong with a sword).

At times hilarious—at times heartbreaking—Shift is sure to be, well, one of those two things. (Goodreads)

After having increasingly vivid and exhausting dreams, Peregrine “Perry” discovers that she is a Shifter who can exist in multiple versions of reality. With the assistance of her older brother Evan and his friend Max, Perry begins to learn how to control this newly discovered ability. Then, out of nowhere, tragedy strikes and Peregrine finds herself on a journey full of adventure, pain, and, of course, love.


Perry is stubborn, full of sarcasm, and definitely has a “flair for the dramatic”. Like many female leads in YA, she just doesn’t know what she has...until she loses it. However, she still comes off as very human instead of like a stereotype. Ezra however, is the stereotypical older sibling.  He’s super overprotective of his little sister and 100% enjoys teasing her pretty much whenever the opportunity arises. The banter between the two is remarkably realistic. Max came off as a bit of a cliché to me, unfortunately. He has a weird hero complex that is constantly competing with this “I’m a nobody” mentality thing that I found annoying. Secondary characters like Aunt Jess, Nalya, and Kellen were far more interesting to me than Max was. I did adore how nerdy he was though. (also a huge fan of the different types of nerdiness that most of the characters represented) That leaves Thaelia. Oh my goodness did I enjoy her. I would absolutely read a book just from her point of view. She is equally as stubborn as Perry and seems to be the only one who matches her snarkiness. Her apathetic way of caring makes it easy to believe that she is a very old creature.

The concept of this story was what attracted me to it and I still think it is one of the more interesting ideas I have come across this year. Unfortunately, it comes off as if this main idea for the book was not fully thought out. Whenever something pops up in the story that really needs explanation, all you (and Perry) get is “It’s complicated”. This was my biggest annoyance with this book. I also was not a fan of just how fast it moved (I know, a weird, rare complaint.) The characters are never given time to breathe and fully deal with what is going on. Something important happens and we just move on. For me, this took away from the impact that these events should have had.

(Background makes more sense if you read the book.)

Regardless of the multiple annoyances and flaws, I did enjoy Shift. The end left off in a way that, yeah, could totally be a standalone or could also become a series. I was also left with many questions (most of which had to deal with Kellen and Nalya) and how Ezra’s fate impacts other realities...but I’m guessing it’s complicated.

*I received a digital ARC of this book to review.

Rating: ★★★☆☆3.5/5

Book Information: Goodreads

 

America 2151. New York. Washington. Chicago. Los Angeles. All wiped out from nuclear blasts. The New United States of America is centered in Omaha, where the Leviathan Corporation provides a muted, controlled existence for its populace. Synthetic drugs keep them sane. The people are safe - for now - from the threats on the outside. Summoned to the president's office, unlikely hero Thomas Ignatius Stout receives an extraordinary mission: Hunt down and return, dead or alive, the vicious killer responsible for destroying the lives of millions and millions of Americans, Joe Ikowski, who remains a thorn in the government's side. Tom accepts his burden and leads an expedition past Omaha's protective barrier and into the great unknown. That's when Tom's journey really begins. Taking him from Kentucky to Arizona to Mexicali and the Rocky Mountains, Tom finds far more than he is searching for - and starts to learn the deeply complicated, disturbing truths of his own identity and a world in which he had only before scratched the surface. In this poignant page-turner, a novel that blends elements of science fiction, political thrillers, and an Orwellian-style future, rising novelist AM Wilson takes readers on a wild ride inside what could become the future of the United States, if we ruin ourselves from the inside. It's a novel that will make you think, no matter what you think of America. (Goodreads)

I practically devoured this book in one sitting, which has not happened recently due to the current state of my eyes. (I really need glasses...but keep putting it off.) Populace is a wonderfully written dystopian novel that borrows elements from many of the greats (ex. Brave New World, 1984) and successfully builds upon them to create a new, yet familiar world.

*I received a digital ARC of this book to review.

Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5

Book Information: Goodreads

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen-year-old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she's worked for. Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world. When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt's Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain. Sheets illustrates the determination of a young girl to fight, even when all parts of her world seem to be conspiring against her. (Goodreads)

Sheets is a heartwarming little ghost story with an art style that screams 90's nostalgia. Every ounce of me wants to describe Sheets as cute, but that is not the right word at all. The art style immediately caught the full attention of my eyes, which distracted me from the story a bit, and overall, I do think I enjoyed the art more than the tale that was being told. That is not to say that it was bad, it is actually very good, just that to me it felt like it was lacking something. I think that considering how much death is technically in the story, I was expecting a darker or more serious tone (because as usual, I did not check to see what genre this was from), but with the realization of it being a middle-grade book, I think the tone is just right.

I received a digital arc of this book thanks to Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley to review.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Book Information: Goodreads