Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Childhood Books & Series

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Thoughts on Tomes and created by Lainey @ Ginger Reads Lainey. You can check out the group’s Goodreads page for this month’s topics!

Of course I want to desperately throw in Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but everyone needs to think outside the box a little bit and it was harder than I thought it would be! Mostly I’m sticking with Middle Grade here so let’s get ready for some nostalgia!

5.) Nancy Drew Mystery Stories by Carolyn Keene

This is probably one of the #1 series I was obsessed with when I was a kid, absolutely obsessed! It pretty much all started when I was in the third grade and my mom bought me one of the Nancy Drew computer games, of course I couldn’t get enough of it and read the books soon after. I feel Nancy Drew is one of those timeless classics that kids can read no matter how old the books get…….I’m feeling nostalgic now and want to go read/play Nancy Drew…….

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4.) The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne

Okay so I’d honestly like to know how many of you didn’t read this series as a kid? Because it was super popular and I feel like everyone did! It’s fantastic and I feel like if I even re-read them now I’d still love them. How can you go wrong with a magic time and space traveling tree house (it’s all very Doctor Who isn’t it)? I actually had a hefty collection of these before handing them over to my younger cousins and now I’m slightly regretting that……

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3.) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia #1) by C.S. Lewis

This might be cheating a little bit since it’s one of those classic, popular books/series just like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but since it wasn’t specifically stated in the topic for today I decided I’d use it! Who doesn’t love The Chronicles of Narnia? My mom had all of the books from when she was a kid and I’ve only read the first book (I know it’s blasphemy) and when I did I honestly had so many emotions! It usually takes a lot to make me cry while reading a book and I balled my eyes out with this one…..my parents had to make sure I was okay……

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2.) Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice #1) by Joseph Delaney

I think a lot of people might consider this YA but to me with the main character and the style of writing it feels a lot more like Middle Grade. I didn’t start reading these books until I was a little older but I think I can still consider it “my childhood”….kind of…..

Anyways it’s pretty creepy and full of monsters and the world building is actually really fantastic.

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1.) The Inkworld Trilogy

I think it’s safe to say this series was one of my #1 obsessions as a child alongside Nancy Drew since it was one of the first times I was exposed to high fantasy. Man, this series was addictive and actually full of some pretty dark stuff which makes me think I’d really enjoy re-reading it now as well. There are just so many wonderful, complex characters and the world building is seriously A+!

Although I will say I really didn’t enjoy Inkheart as much as the other two so if you didn’t enjoy Inkheart I highly suggest continuing on anyways since they get so much better!

Did you read any of these books when you were younger? Or later?

What are some of your favorite childhood books?

Let me know in the comments!

Mini Book Review: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

 

Dear Reader,

I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

I never read this series when I was a kid, I was too busy with Harry Potter to give this one any thought. My library had the ebook so I just shrugged my shoulders and read it for fun.

I actually watched the movie long before I even considered reading this book or this series and I loved it, it’s still a great movie. That being said I think the books are on par with it but they are aimed at younger children. Where Harry Potter can be read by all ages I think A Series of Unfortunate Events is a little too childish for my taste.

I liked this book though, it was entertaining enough. Just not enough to want to read 12 more books of it, but who knows? Maybe I will one day.

The writing is simple to understand, it is for children after all. It’s just a little too simple for me to enjoy it however.

I really loved the characters: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are some exceptional kids who get put through some really awful shit. Do they let that stop them? No. They’re brave and loyal to each other, they’re also very creative and clever. The things and inventions they come up with to get themselves out of situations are fantastic and made for some of the most interesting reading. Count Olaf also makes for a despicable villain, I of course never rooted for him but I can’t help but admire how villainously clever he was.

The plot was short, sweet, and easy to understand. I think what made it most interesting to read was the fact that my mind doesn’t comprehend these horrible events the kids go through. I’m thinking “But they’re just kids! That can’t happen!”. It can happen though, which makes this book fun to read.

Also even though it’s a children’s series the storyline isn’t all that easy to predict, who could predict horrible things happen to a bunch of orphaned children?

Another pretty drawing point of the plot is the mystery of their parent’s death and the mysterious eyes that inhabit Count Olaf’s home decor. If I continue reading it will be to figure that all out.

So why don’t I give it more than 3 stars you might ask? Because I didn’t really like how simple the writing was and I just think it’s a bit too Middle Grade for me. I read the entire Percy Jackson series and loved it, I’ve read other Middle Grade books and loved them. This one? Not so much. Maybe I would’ve liked this book and series more if I had actually read them when I was a kid.

Links: Goodreads / Amazon

 

Book Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

 

Coraline’s often wondered what’s behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her “other” parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.

This is going to be a shorter review than I’d like but the story itself is under 200 pages so I don’t have too many opinions about it.

Let’s start!

I loved everything about this book, it’s practically flawless just like the rest of Gaiman’s work. I don’t know if I can count myself a true Gaiman fan yet though since I’ve read 3 books but I’ll definitely be working my way up there!

Trust me when I say it’s creepy because it most definitely is, but in a very simple way. I don’t think the goal was to scare you or creepy you out, but to just simply tell Coraline’s story. Well, and if we get scared and creeped out along the way that’s just a bonus isn’t it?

The plot line is very straight forward and it excels at delivering an overall eerie atmosphere at the same time. Coraline has moved into a new flat where her parents work all the time and ignore her a lot. She wants to explore and wants things to be more…..interesting.

Remember how people always tell you to be careful what you wish for?

Well that’s pretty much the whole plot because Coraline’s life does indeed get quite a bit more interesting. She decides to open up a tiny door that’s supposed to be bricked up, but imagine that, when she opens it there’s a tunnel. Of course she walks through it and appears in a copy of her flat where she meets her other mother and other father.

They have black buttons for eyes and they’re scary as fuck. But Coraline doesn’t mind because she’s suddenly in a new world that’s so much more fun than the other one she lives in. She gets to do whatever she wants and everything’s perfect.

Or is it?

The other mother wants Coraline for herself, however, and that’s really where the story begins. When everything starts to go bad.

Gaimain’s writing is, as always, beautiful and easy to read along with. You’ll be at the end of the story before you know it!

Coraline is wonderful. She’s curious, clever, and courageous. “C” what I did there? I’m not lame. I enjoyed her character so much, she’s everything I love in a heroine! Coraline is determined and not easily fooled, which makes things all the more interesting.

And the cat was an awesome addition to the story! Who doesn’t love a good, sarcastic cat character? He pretty much talked and acted how I’d expect a real cat to, you know…if real cats could talk.

The other mother made for a great villain as well, she was actually very terrifying. If she just sat across from me and stared I’d be paralyzed with fear and if that doesn’t make for a great villain I don’t know what does.

Coraline is a great read for all ages, she’s a brave character that’s a lot of fun to read about. Plus everyone likes a good, creepy book once in a while right? Oh come on now, it’s not that scary.

I can’t wait to get my hands on more of Gaiman’s books!

Definitely, like I said it’s for all ages! If you’re a Gaiman fan and haven’t read this you’ll love it and if you haven’t read any of his books before this it’s absolutely one I’d start with!

 Links: Goodreads / Amazon