Book Review: Grimm's Fairy Tales

Review: #108
Title: Grimm's Fairy Tales
Series: Puffin Classics
Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Read Before: no
My Comments: A compilation of a lot of fairy tales that the Brothers Grimm collected, in their original form (well, translated into English), which is surprisingly really different to the stories as they are now. Most of the ones were really short and I had never heard of before, while others, like Hansel and Grettel and The Frog Prince were very different. It was an insightful read, and the latter (longer) stories were more interesting but a lot of things did not make sense. About halfway you tend to see the common structure and elements in most of the stories, such as singing the same rhyme multiple times, princes finding princesses (always the younger prince is the one that will succeed) and how the protagonist meets another person who helps them on their way. Some stories were quite weird and didn't make much sense, so overall, it wasn't particularly great or bad, but it was nice reading the original fairy tales.
Rating: 5/10

Book Review: The Gorgon's Gaze

Review: #107
Title: The Gorgon's Gaze
Series: The Companion's Quartet - 2nd book
Author: Julia Golding
Read Before: yes
My Comments: A fun book to read and is better than I had anticipated. I like the structure and background that the plot is based on although I guess its something that is a bit overdone. Mythological monsters are still surviving but are in hiding and there is a society that devotes to hiding them, with an opponent that sets out to reveal them. Anyway this book is really good and was interesting enough for the whole way although the plot was a bit weak and straightforward, so there isn’t much here that can surprise you. It gets more exciting towards the end and you tend to end up rushing to finish it, the title wasn't really relevant to the content, it was just more of a passing event than something that the book revolves around in, so I would have liked a better title (very nitpicky here). It would have been nice to see more mythological creatures and their powers, but it is a series worth reading.
Rating: 7.5/10

Book Review: The Fish in Room 11

Review: #106
Title: The Fish in Room 11
Series: N/A
Author: Heather Dyer
Read Before: no
My Comments: A book with a simple plot, yet it has its charms. I found myself quite enjoying the story, and it has a classic fairy tale feel to it. It was really fun reading it, and I had a pretty good time, the illustrations here and there add to the quality of the book. Although, judging from the title, I had expected something else, more like the mermaids hiding in a room in the hotel rather than going in there in full view (albeit in wheelchairs), so at least it’s not as predictable. I admit that the book assumes the world is perfect, but it’s a children’s book that can be enjoyed by adults as well due to its relaxed feel of the plot.
Rating: 6/10

Book Review: Beyond the Grave

Review: #105
Title: Beyond the Grave
Series: The 39 Clues - 4th book
Author: Jude Watson
Read Before: no
My Comments: Not a bad book, and it does have its charm, and definitely one of the better books in the series as it wasn't as boring. The biggest flaw of this book was that it didn't seem to really go anywhere, sure, the two protagonists are heading towards finding a specific clue, but it doesn't seem to add anything to the overall story. At many points in the book (but especially towards the end) I found myself thinking that I’ve read so much already, yet it felt like nothing has really happened, just one event after another that are stringed together. I guess it does build up a bit of a mystery for a hidden faction, the Madrigals, the style of writing isn’t bad either, and it was a fairly pleasant read, just a bit, ‘aimless’.
Rating: 6/10

Book Review: Artemis Fowl

Book: #104
Title: Artemis Fowl
Series: Artemis Fowl - 1st book
Author: Eoin Colfer
Read Before: yes
My Comments: A really good book to read, and is one of the best book in the series (I tend to find the odd number books are the better ones). It presents the key features of the series, an ingenious plot (that you see unfold perfectly), awesome advanced technology and a lot of good humour. I had a lot of fun reading this book, for like the seventh time or something. The sarcasm and jokes in the book didn't get old, even though I knew it was coming, and I couldn't put the book down. There wasn't even a boring part, everything was exciting, building up to the final encounter, and I didn't even want it to end so early. Although the last part may be a bit hard to understand (and I still don't quite understand) and confusing, but that’s a very very minor gripe.
Rating: 8.5/10

Book Review: Zombie Bums from Uranus

Review: #103
Title: Zombie Bums from Uranus
Series: Bum Trilogy - 2nd book
Author: Andy Griffiths
Read Before: no
My Comments: Either this is a better book, or I have gotten used to the stupid and annoying lame puns that began with The Day My Bum Went Psycho. I hope it’s the former; otherwise my tastes are going downhill. Anyway, a nice sequel, and the story is much more interesting, very contrived and impossible and out of reality in a lot of places. I wouldn't exactly describe it as being fun to read, but it wasn't a chore either. I admit a few (and it’s a very low number) of the jokes are ok, but most of them are overused, even when they weren’t funny in the first usage. Compared with some of my other recent readings, it is of a very poor quality.
Rating: 6/10

Book Review: Just Tricking!

Review: #102
Title: Just Tricking!
Series: Just!
Author: Andy Griffiths
Read Before: yes
My Comments: I really like the “Just!” series by Andy Griffiths, most of the story and content is great fun and interesting to read. I like how he can relate them to the theme of the book, very awesome. The little ‘scribbles’ along the sides of the text are very imaginative, and is very good, elevating the book experience. That said, there are some stories where it is just a major miss and is not funny at all. Even though most of the stories is quite simple, the content is good enough to keep you going, so at no point in the book you are bored.
Rating: 6.5/10