More Complications

Aren't there always? Of course, Whatever After is not complicated for me!  I love this series and was thrilled to see the second Super Special Abby in Oz.  I see that it listed as Whatever after 13.5 on goodreads.  The first Super Special was Abby in Wonderland.  The Super Specials seem to be books, whereas the "regular" Whatever After books are fairy tale-based and while the regular WA books feature Abby and her brother traveling into a story, it seems that the Super Specials feature Abby heading into fiction with her friends.
That is not complicated for me either, I love both kinds!
BUT what is complicated is the whole Wizard of Oz thing...I know it is a book, but I am thinking of the movie.  And I know that because of TWOOZ, Judy will indeed, as Frank said, never be forgotten BUT she was so abused as a child actress.  Not just by her mother but also by that rotten Louie B. and so it is hard. 
I guess I am thankful for Oz because it can serve as a gateway to finding out more about Judy.  But it pains me to think of her time at MGM. 
So the book was great!  It is just Oz that is complicated. 

Snow White Again!

And this was so good!  Seeing Red is the twelfth book in the Whatever After series and Mlynowski is still going super strong.  This was hilarious and it made me think about the very first one, when I feel in love with this series!

So while the adults get it...

I don't think that tweens will get that when the Upside-Down Magic kids talk about magic fluidity, they are drawing a subtle comparison to gender fluidity, this won't be weird or preachy for them.  I really liked it, actually.  Weather or Not is the fifth in the series and is still as fresh and the first!

Four and Still Going Strong!

Upside-Down Magic #4, Dragon Overnight hasn't lost any of the magic of the first three in the series.  I love this series and bought the new one right away.  I simply love the messages in this book that don't hit you over the head, but are there, just as part of the story.  A male school nurse, women scientists, people of different colors, people who have magic that works in a way different from others, fathers who are trying their best, not all good or all bad.  And this is a lot of fun, too!  Love it!

Super Special!

Personally, I find all of Sarah Mlynowski's books to be super special.  Especially the Whatever After ones.  So Abby in Wonderland was TWICE as super special, being that it was an "official" Super Special edition from the Whatever After series!  I loved this book, I love Abby.  I love the way that she is.  I love Sarah Mlynowski!

If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium

The movie shows my age.  And admittedly, my age shows in my 4 of 5 stars instead of my typical 5 of 5 for anything written by Sarah Mlynowski, whom I love, love, love!  I See London, I See France is not for everyone.  Yes, yes we all behaved this way when were in college, I know that, but maybe that is why it made me so uncomfortable, I was embarrassed!  To be young and wild again!  Ah!  Of course, I wouldn't want to be free, I love being taken.  :)  But I could use a little more wild and young!  And Sydney and Leela are college students, and there are really good messages here.  Really good ones.  And I am most certainly going to read the next one, so glad it is a series.  For me this was a 4.9, just because it reminded me a little too much of my wild and reckless younger days.

Non-Preachy Way to Share a Message

The Upside Down Magic series has some wonderful messages.  Acceptance, diversity, radical hospitality are just a few.  And all of these messages are subtle and packed into a these funny, magical books.  This is a great addition to the series.  Even as the UDM class gets better at controlling their "wonkiness" they are learning that their "wonkiness" isn't a bad thing at all.   Great series.  Showing Off really handled the dad issue in a very realistic way, I thought.  And I was so thankful for that.  Just really, really good.  Plus I LOVE the dritten covers!!!!!!!!

FINALLY

The tenth book in the Whatever After Series is finally out!  Sugar and Spice is a remix of Hansel and Gretel and it is fabulous!  Fans of the series, like I, will LOVE it!  So much fun!

I Wish I Could-- MAYBE

Reading minds.  I don't know.  At first I think OH YES!  I would LOVE to be able to do that.  And then I think, no way!  Think Twice is the sequel to Don't Even Think About It, by Sarah Mlynowski, one of my favorite authors.
A lot of the kids are losing their telepathy and reacting to the loss in a variety of ways.  Good stuff.  Very enjoyable and funny and great as always, from Sarah M.  Read the first one, first though!

Wonky

Upside Down Magic is a great new series.  Sticks and Stones is the second one.  I think that the books show tremendous diversity and inclusion without being preachy, like the Flower Friends.  And here is another thought about the Flower Friends, which I see now is called Flower Power!  Sorry!
This morning while I was getting dressed I was thinking about a couple of years ago when our local library association started lending American Girl dolls.  I got a call from a local newspaper and the reporter asked me what I thought of this.  I am NOT an American Girl fan and I will explain why.  At the library where I work, we do an American Girl program and it is quite popular, but we don't really stick with the books.  I like the program a lot.  I used to do it, but scheduling has had me hand it over to people who are much more capable!  But it was fun because we didn't stick to the American Girl company produced stuff.  Because American Girl doesn't really show American Girls.  There is no Muslim girl.  There is a new African American Girl now, as one was discontinued.  But for a long time, the only African American American Girl was a slave.  There are no more Asian American Girls, the only one being discontinued.  There is one girl who has divorced parents but there are no American Girls who have one parent and have always had one parent.  There is no American Girl who is being raised by her grandparents.  There is no Latino American Girl.  There is no Indian American Girl.  There is a Native American Girl, though, so wow and big credit you.  There is one Jewish American Girl.  So again, wow and big credit to you.  But is that the best you can do, American Girl?
I explained all of that to the reporter.  Oddly my comments were not included in the article, which was just a piece about how great the program is.  Is the program really great?  Not in my opinion, and so I won't link anything about it here.
That is all just to say that Upside Down Magic and Flower Power show a much more realistic picture of American Girls and Boys than American Girl does, even with the magical element of UDM!

I am a Genie

This is probably no surprise to anyone and probably true for most of you who are reading this blog at this very moment.  Larry Hagman has been on my mind.

Genie in a Bottle is the ninth book in the Whatever After series that I can't recommend enough.

I like how once again, it isn't ignored that most kids are only going to know Disney's Aladdin and not the original.  I loved the Disney movie, it is my favorite one, actually.  And I didn't know much about the original except that it was from Arabian Nights.  But I didn't know anything else!  But even what little I thought I knew, it turns out wasn't right!

It STILL has it!

Once again, Sarah Mlynowski has brought a new twist on an old tale and made it awesome!  Once Upon a Frog is the eighth book in the Whatever After series and it is just as good as the first!  This one uses the Frog Prince as a basis and it is awesome!  Keep 'em comin'!

Diana Ross

Upside Down is an old Diana Ross song.  Upside Down Magic is not.  It is, however, a really fantastic start to a series I think I am going to love and I know a lot of kids who will want to read it.  It is kinda like Hex Hall, Jr.

Love this series!

Again Sarah Mlynowski has written a very funny little book, one that fans of Whatever After will love.  Cold as Ice is the story of the Snow Queen, but also mentions that one movie, it was a minor hit, Disney did it, a take on the Snow Queen...Frozen or something?
A great, great addition to the series!

A Much Needed Pick Me Up

I read Crazy Dangerous and was so down and miserable that I had to pick something that I knew would be funny for my next listen.  The final book in the Magic in Manhattan series by Sarah Mlynowski, Parties and Potions came to mind right away.  I am so glad that I still had this one to read.  I knew it would pick me up and it really did.  I enjoyed this series so much.  Rachel is a huge weenie, but a lovable one!  And honestly, I didn't know what she would decide to do about Raf and Adam.  I could see it going either way.  So this was a wonderful story, although I am sad to see it end, it did end really well.  What a great, great series!  Thank you for the laughter!

Forgot!

And it is probably not necessary now, but I have no idea how I missed Dream On, the fourth book in the Whatever After series. Obviously this series is one that I love and recommend often.  It is based on the story of Sleeping Beauty and this time Abby and Jonah take a friend with them into the tale, but no worries, she sleeps through the whole thing!  

Somebody Lied

Is a great song.  Man, it is.  Someone on goodreads said that this series is getting old, but Bad Hair Day was a great addition, I thought. 
Abby and Jonah are great kids.  Normal siblings in a very abnormal and very funny situation.  Rapunzel is a rock star in this one.  Highly recommended series. 

If You Could Read My Mind...

 

There have been characters in other books and movies that could read the thoughts the thoughts of others.  I show my age when I think about What Women Want, the movie with Mel Gibson, as an example.  There's also the book Others See Us by William Sleator, which gives a darker twist to the idea of reading the minds of others.  Don't Even Think about It by Sarah Mlynowski is a hilarious and thought-provoking take on the whole telepathy deal.  A group of high schoolers, all from the same homeroom, are given the flu vaccine.  Unfortunately, along with protection from the flu, they now have the ability to hear what everyone is thinking.  This makes for some funny moments and also some miserable ones.  As usual, Mlynowski has created real and funny characters and a book that you just can't put down.  It will be so easy to recommend this book!  Very quick read and very satisfying! 

Under the Sea

I've never seen Disney's The Little Mermaid, I am sad to say. I know the characters and the songs and it looks awesome but I'm not much of a movie watcher. Still I know that the Disney versions of The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, etc. aren't very true to the original tales.  

Sink or Swim points that out. Abby has to explain to her brother that in the REAL Little Mermaid, there is no happy ending. 

So this time, when Abby and her brother are sucked through the Magic Mirror into the land of fairy tales, they set out to mess up the fairy tale on purpose.  

This one was hilarious and I so love this series. I've recommended it to so many and when I've heard back, it has been loved by all!  Abby and her brother, as I've pointed out before, are just a great pair of siblings. I love Sarah M., no matter what she is writing!  Can't wait for the next one!

A Memory

About part way through this HarperTeen Impulse from Mlynowski I realized I had read it before in a book of short stories.  In some ways I felt cheated, but then I thought, what the heck, I know how it is going to end but it was a good short story then and it is a good short story now.  Cruisin' makes me wonder if the other Impulse short stories are available elsewhere, too.  Now I will be more cautious about buying them. Still a good little story that could make a good, whole book.  I do love Mlynowski.