Lucky Brat by Christophe Cazenove

Another delightful book with Maureen and Wendy showing the highs and lows of sisterhood. Whether it's Maureen trying to read Wendy's diary or driving Wendy nuts as she searches for the perfect four leaf clover. We again get to see glimpses of the two of them all grown up as well as time with their parents. A fast read and an enjoyable one.

Four stars

This book came out January 19, 2021

Follows Hurricane Maureen

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity

Haley is obsessed with gothic novels (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, etc.) It's to the point where she dresses like she's a princess and has been banned from using the gothic novels for book reports. If she lived in a castle, life would probably be just fine. 

One night, when she's walking home from school, she sees a man drowning. She doesn't quite mean to fall in the river but she does manage to rescue him. But the other side of the river isn't the town she left. It's another reality. One that she knows immediately from all of her reading down to and including guessing that there are three brothers who live there.

But in this alternate universe, life is not as easy as it would be in some of Haley's books. It is threatened by a neighboring universe of bile that wants to take over the small universe and then Cecily's own. 

This book is amazing in the fact that it builds an entire world while trying to adhere to many of the tropes of the gothic novels. Oldest brother Laurence is the steadfast heir. Cuthbert, the youngest, is feckless having debts despite never having gambled. Montague, the one Haley rescued, is... a middle child. 

This book is charming, self-referential in the best ways, and often funny. I love that the prototypical heroine umbrella came in useful and that this adventure Haley figured out which role she truly would play in a gothic novel.

Four and a half stars

This book comes out July 20th, 2021

ARC kindly provided by Simon and Schuster's Children Publishing, and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Cubicles That Make You Envy the Dead by Scott Adams

I hadn't read a Dilbert book in quite some time and had a chance to borrow this for free so I thought, "Why not?" 
Not much has changed. All of the characters are fairly one-dimensional. Nobody likes their job. Management is incompetent. Not much, other than the technology has changed.

Two and a half stars

This book came out November 6th, 2018

ebook borrowed from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Unicorn Bowling by Dana Simpson

We get to see our favorite characters in the Phoebe and Marigold series: Dakota, Max, and the others. This time Phoebe is signed up for her school's talent show and works on several songs. She also goes to Max's birthday. They also get to go... bowling.

Four and a half stars
This book comes out April 23rd
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

The Mutts Summer Diaries by Patrick McDonnell

I got the 22 page sample from NetGalley but even that was enough to know that this is going to delight regular readers and those new to the series alike. Mooch and Earl are not very excited about summer starting so they're figuring out ways to exist whether being in the pool, enjoying a can of cool whip cream, or (somewhat accidentally) sleeping on a popsicle.

Four stars
This book will come out April 9
ARC sample kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Lucy: Speak Out! by Charles M. Schulz

Charlie Brown: Do you know exactly what you're going to be when you grow up?

Lucy: Of course, a smart cookie!

That one interaction gives a pretty good glimpse into the character of Lucy Van Pelt. She is a hard headed young lady who knows who she is and what she wants out of life. Whether she's in the psychiatrist booth, writing a biography of Beethoven, or playing ball, she knows what she wants.

We also get to see Snoopy and his bird troop, a glimpse of the WWI flying ace, and other favorite characters like Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and, of course, Charlie Brown.

Four stars
This book book came out March 12
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
All opinions expressed are my own

The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson

Fifth-grader Faith is astonished when popular eighth grader Amanda asks her to join the soccer team. She is even more surprised to find out she will be on the 'C' team. Rather than playing with pretty, popular Amanda, she will be playing with people who have nicknames like Bulldog and Warthog. As the season rolls on, Faith realizes that the coach is, at best, apathetic and the players care even less. She starts to make friends with a wide variety of people. Their team may not be the best but they are going to be friends in the end.
There are a lot of big themes in this book especially in terms of how you make friends in later grades, accepting people for who they are, and sometimes letting go of the people who are no longer your friends.

Three stars
This book comes out March 5
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

Drawn to Sex by Erika Moen, Matthew Nolan

Erika Moen is not only a wonderful artist, she and her husband are great, sex positive people. They test various sex toys and she publishes their reviews  as a coming on her website Oh Joy Sex Toy. This book covers all sorts of topics including gender fluidity, condoms, and sex toys.
IT took me a little to get through it but otherwise an entirely enjoyable book.

Four stars
This book came out November 2
ARC provided by NetGalley; Opinion is my own

The Unsinkable Walker Bean and the Knights of the Waxing Moon by Aaron Renier

Walker Bean is back with his friends for more adventures. This time, he's looking for treasure and dealing with pirates. With a tough riddle to solve, can he figure out where the treasure is before the bad guys? And why does his friend Genoa seem so involved?
I have to admit that I thought this was a part of a different series when I requested it from NetGalley. But I thought I would read it anyway. It took some time to figure out what was going on as I hadn't read the book before this one. It was okay but took some time to wade through which I wasn't expecting from a comic. Would definitely be a lot of bang for your buck.

This book came out October 23
Four stars
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley; Opinion is my own

Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson

Phoebe goes to drama camp while Marigold visits her sister. The two don't really get to spend a lot of time together because Marigold is so busy trying to repair the relationship with her sister.
This book seems shorter than the others in the Heavenly Nostrils series. There was really only one story line which was good but, again, short.

Three stars
This book comes out October 23
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Snoopy: Boogie Down! by Charles M. Schulz

I did not know there were so many strips where the cat next door took swipes at Snoopy's dog house. There are also touches of baseball, Lucy and Schroeder, and all of the favorite Peanuts characters. A lovely series of strips.

Four stars
This book comes out October 16
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Big Nate Goes Bananas! by Lincoln Peirce

This summer, a question for the ages is answered, when is the best time to eat a banana? Nate certainly has an opinion in this book. He also interacts with many of our favorite characters; Kim, Chester, School Picture Guy, and Artur. One person who is out for a bit is social studies teacher Mrs. Godfrey. Nate is delighted until he finds out who the substitute teacher is...

This book comes out September 18
Four and a half stars
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Geeky Fab 5 vol. 1: It's Not Rocket Science by Liz Lareau; Lucy Lareau

The book starts with Lucy preparing for a new day at school. It starts off okay, meeting her friend Zara "Zeke" Kumar in line and then discovering that they are in the same pod (desks grouped together). Unfortunately, a monkey bar breaks, Lucy is injured, and it leads the principal to completely shut down the playground during recess. With the help of her new friends, Lucy decides to raise the funds to get a new playground. But the sixth graders don't want the team to succeed; they like having the playground to themselves.
It's a bit cheesy and the "Girl Power" is a little ... unsubtle, but overall an enjoyable read.

Three stars
This book came out July 31
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Peanut Butter and Jelly by Ben Clanton

I really enjoy the Narwhal and Jelly books and think that people will like this one as well. You definitely don't have to have read the other two books in the series to enjoy this one but it would help. Narwhal discovers that there is food other than waffles and becomes obsessed with peanut butter. Very cute but I felt like it was a lot shorter than previous Narwhal books.

Four stars

This book comes out March 27

Follows Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt

Ménage à 3 Volume 1 by David Lumsdon, Gisele Lagace

I read Ménage à 3 online and love it there. It is even better gathered all in one place. This is a body-positive, sexuality-positive comic that is easy to read and has entertained people for years. Starting when Gary's roommates falling in love and moving out leaving room for Zii and Didi and a whole series of antics. We find out that Gary is a virgin and Zii starts to make it her life mission to get him laid.
I can't wait for the next volume.

Five stars
This book came out March 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Big Nate: Silent But Deadly by Lincoln Peirce

Another great entry to the Big Nate canon. We get a little bit more story about Gina with a brief crush as well as a trivia competition between her and Francis. We also get a little Christmas time that I don't remember seeing in previous Big Nate books.

Four stars
This book comes out March 20
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

I'm Not Your Sweet Babboo! by Charles M. Schulz

A good dose of nostalgia, this book introduced me to a few Peanuts storylines that I didn't know including Linus' potential girlfriend who lives in the country. When she and Sally come face-to-face, Linus is left hanging in the wind on the roof. We also see Snoopy on the verge of marriage and in long-running feud with the cat next door.
Not my favorite Peanuts book but fills that nostalgia-need.

Three stars
This book comes out March 13
ARC kindly provided by NetGalley

Chloe #3: "Frenemies" by Greg Tessier

Chloe is a freshman who has to do an internship because... I'm not sure why? But the original one she has set up falls through but there is an opening at the same place as her frenemy (though I don't see how the two are actually friends). At first, it seems that Chloe and a rather slovenly boy named Yanni aren't going to do well at the internship but Chloe helps to guide him. Too bad she won't be happy for long since she's going to hear some bad news about her boyfriend, Alex.
The cover of this book was interesting and so I requested it from NetGalley. This isn't a series you can jump into the middle of. And it was incredibly short. A fine story that would be worth buying if it were in a volume with others in the series.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out March 6

The Mutts Spring Diaries by Patrick McDonnell

Spring is here (at least in the Mutts universe)! The birds are back and even the turtles. Easter is just around the corner and there are lots of bunnies to ask about eggs. Of course, there are also spring showers to contend with. Earl and Mooch also meet a caterpillar and hang out waiting for him to turn into a butterfly. A series of animal sounds puns ensue and the various animals take their turns trying to write their own comics.
Regular Mutts readers will not be disappointed.

This book comes out January 16
Four stars
ARC provided by NetGalley

Fowl Language: The Struggle Is Real by Brian Gordon

This was an interesting read as an ebook in that a lot of the punchlines would be on the next page-- an extra swipe and some processing time really disrupted some of the flow of the book. I would definitely get this as a paper book. Those who love Brian Gordon though will still enjoy this book.

Three stars
This book comes out October 10