Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Sangu Mandanna SERIES: Vanya #1 GENRE: Middle-Grade Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: March 11, 2025 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy with a neurodivergent lead and plenty of magic. Too many characters, not enough character development. Diverse mythical beings from global folklore, though they could have been used better. Great incorporation of the setting. Chosen One trope, which gets a bit annoying. First of a planned series. Cliffhanger ending. I liked it, but not as much as I had hoped. Plot Preview: Eleven-year-old Vanya, a British-Indian girl with ADHD, stays with her bookseller parents in a mostly-white part of England. She doesn’t know much about their past, nor does she know why some books in the alcove talk to her. When her family is attacked by a strange monster, Vanya discovers a couple of her parents’ secrets. For safety and protection, Vanya is whisked off to a magical school based in the Nilgiri mountains of South India. Named ‘Auramere’, this sc...

AUTHOR: The Amazing Theatre of Physics GENRE: Juvenile Nonfiction, Science. PUBLICATION DATE: June 18, 2024 RATING: 3.75 stars. A fully-illustrated nonfiction book for old middle-graders and teenagers about how we experience physics in our daily life. It covers the physics found in different rooms of the house such as the living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, outside in the garden and the garage, and even in the house structure such as the roof and the chimney. This is not a beginners’ book, so it presumes a certain familiarity with basic concepts such as inertia, centre of equilibrium, friction, infrared colours, and so on. So it will be a good option for those who already know the fundamentals of theoretical physics but do not understand how frequently we encounter it every single day in everything we do, even in common tasks like walking and sitting, riding a bicycle to school, boiling water in a microwave, draining a bathtub, changing a channel with the remote, and drying clothes....

AUTHOR: Alix E. Harrow NARRATORS: Moira Quirk and Sid Sagar GENRE: Fantasy-Romance. PUBLICATION DATE: October 28, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A standalone adult fantasy with an accurate tagline: ‘A Legend. A Lie. A Love Story’. Exceptional idea. Interesting but somewhat flat characters. An overly complex execution. Repetitive because of the POV choice. I adored the concept but wish the execution had worked better for me. Not my favourite Harrow novel, though I can see it working better for some readers, especially those who want more romance than fantasy. Plot Preview: Owen Mallory, a cowardly ex-soldier and a historian, has always been fascinated by the legend of Sir Una Everlasting, Dominion’s greatest knight whose legend lives on as one of the bravest servers of queen and country. Not much is known about her actual life except for what’s written in the ballads. When Owen finds a book that claims to know Una’s actual story, he doesn’t realise how much of her story is a part ...

AUTHOR: Núria Figueras ILLUSTRATOR: Anna Font TRANSLATOR: Lawrence Schimel GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: April 14, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a very special visit. I am so torn about my feelings for this! I loved certain things but I hated certain other things. 😬 The illustrations are cute but the story can go either way. I do love the allegory, though it might be a bit too complex for kids to understand. Better with adult discussion. Plot Preview: Just before Mother Fox leaves her den, she warns Little Fox not to open the door to anyone. Just as Little Fox prepares herself to spend some hours alone, she hears a knock at the door. After some deliberation and questioning, Little Fox is curious and opens the door to the big and strange being who calls itself “Silence”. The initial interaction is hesitant, but Little Fox soon realises that Silence can be her friend. This book was originally published in Catalan as ‘La visita’ in 2...

AUTHOR: Katie Cotugno ILLUSTRATOR: Amy Jindra Hodgson SERIES: Penelope Positano GENRE: Children's Chapter Book. PUBLICATION DATE: April 14, 2026 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A chapter book about a girl looking for the right dog to get as a pet. The cover is a bit misleading. The title is more indicative of the story. Good characters. Nice depiction of family closeness. Not as much canine content as expected. A decent option for early readers just transitioning to chapter books, as long as they want a story about a little girl and not one about a dog. Plot Preview: Ever since Penelope Positano turned seven, she has wanted a dog. Now after six long months, her parents have finally agreed to get her one from the shelter. Penelope’s best friend Gus also got a shelter dog some months ago, and he tells Penelope that she will know which dog is meant for her as soon as she sees it. But even after a couple of visits to the shelter, Penelope cannot find *her* dog. Now what? The story i...

AUTHOR: Sarah Beth Durst NARRATOR: Caitlin Davies SERIES: Spellshop #2 GENRE: Cozy Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: July 17, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A cozy fantasy linked to and continuing from the events in ‘The Spellshop’. Part of the same world, but works as a standalone. Despite being the same genre, the storyline isn't similar. The titular greenhouse is outstanding. The leads are nice, but the stars of the show are the talking plants. Though it has its flaws, I like this book better. A good option for those who enjoy cozy fantasies without much darkness. Plot Preview: Terlu Perna once worked as a junior librarian in the great Library of Alyssium. But when, in her loneliness, she broke the law and used magic to create a sentient spider plant for company, she was given a harsh punishment. Turned into a wooden statue, she has been tucked in a corner alcove of the library in her statue form since she doesn’t remember when. Then one day, Terlu suddenly wakes up, and finds her...

AUTHOR & NARRATOR: Cory Doctorow GENRE: Tech Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 7, 2025 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An engrossing exposé on the enshittification of the internet and all its components over the last few years. Well-researched with substantial and concrete examples. Informative without getting too techy. Don’t be fooled by the cover; this is a serious and scary book. Much recommended. Canadian author Cory Doctorow has been an internet activist for more than twenty-five years. He has worked on digital rights management, file sharing, and post-scarcity economics, among other themes, and has actively lobbied for liberalising copyright laws. Doctorow coined the term ‘enshittification’ in a blog post in 2022, to indicate the process by which online products and service gradually decay in quality until they are *shit*. While the concept was already being spoken of, his term caught on and became a widespread neologism, chosen as the ‘Word of the Year’ by The American...

AUTHOR: A.E. Chandler NARRATOR: Joel Benedict GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: April 21, 2021 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: The legendary story of Robinhood and his band in the Scarlet forest. True to the original ballads. Don’t expect a Hollywood experience full of swashbuckling flamboyance and charm. I liked the story (not a surprise as it’s about Robinhood), but found the writing style somewhat dry. The use of old English was also a little hurdle for me on audio, though I appreciate the authenticity of the language. With a little more literary flourish, this would have been a more memorable experience for me. But it might work better for those Robinhood fans who prefer authentic, frill-free narratives. This is an outlier review. If you are looking for a genuine story of Robinhood, not the one that you see in Hollywood but more faithful to the original legend and ballads, and if you aren’t fussy about anything other than the storyline, then this book does well. Sadly...

AUTHOR: Scott Goldie GENRE: Children's Illustrated Nonfiction, Science PUBLICATION DATE: January 6, 2026 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An illustrated book about the anatomical constituents of the human body. Presented in a humorous way. Quite elaborate, with fairly comprehensible explanations. A good option for older middle-graders. The book delivers exactly as promised by the title and the tagline. The content explores the components of the human body, beginning from the basics. So we get a detailed look at the skeleton, the muscles, the key (and not-so-key) organs, the senses, the constituents of cells and blood, and so on. As the content is organised in terms of role in the human body, the book is highly structured and hence easy to peruse through. Beyond the basic biological information, it also has several fun sections such as ‘Four Facts and a Fib’ and Breakthroughs. While the information does get science-heavy at times ( it cannot be avoided in such a topic after all ), ...

AUTHOR: Joan Turu TRANSLATOR: Anyeliz Pagan Munoz GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: April 7, 2026 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a boy who learns the wrong things about what it means to be a man. Excellent intent, but the execution needs a little more finetuning both in the plot and in the illustrations. Still, it ought to work when accompanied by discussions with an insightful adult. Plot Preview: Little Neil has been a bit worried of late. He can see clearly from his height chart that he is growing up, but when boys grow up, they become men, and no one has told Neil what men are supposed to do. Neil tries to observe and learn from everything around him, including his grandfather, his other male relatives, men passing by on the street, men in books and on TV. From this, Neil makes a comprehensive list of what men are supposed to do and not do. He implements this on the very next day in school. But despite his ‘macho’ endeavours, he doesn’t feel...

AUTHOR: Anna James ILLUSTRATOR: Matthew Land GENRE: Middle-grade Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: January 6, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy offering a continuation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, albeit with another *Alyce*. Interesting characters (some old, some new), fun adventures and zingy one-liners. Not as nonsensical as the original, but still quite absurd. Quite clever as an unofficial sequel, but most of the jokes will click better if you know the Lewis Carroll work. Recommended. Plot Preview: 1919. England. After having lost her father during the Great War, Alyce – with a Y – lives with her grandmother, the original Alice who still speaks about her visit to Wonderland even though no one takes her seriously. When a mysterious invitation to a tea party hits Alyce (literally), she assumes that it’s for her. After all, many people confuse the spellings, and why would anyone invite her grandma to a tea party anyway? But soon, Alyce realises that her gran...

AUTHOR: Patrick Nzabonimpa GENRE: Short Story Collection, OwnVoices. PUBLICATION DATE: April 14, 2026 RATING: 3.4 stars. In a Nutshell: An OwnVoices short story collection set in Rwanda. Focused on ordinary citizens caught in unusual circumstances. The writing quality differs across stories, but the plots and characters are distinct enough to hold attention. The endings were a mixed bag for me. Still, a good option for fans of slice-of-life storytelling. This collection contains fourteen stories, each set in Rwanda. Though the setting is visible in many stories, the content is primarily character-oriented, with every story focussing more on its people than on the place or prose. There is no author's note or foreword introducing any theme to this set of stories. The title, though poetic, also doesn’t offer a big clue about the content. The blurb though has a significant clue: “ordinary Rwandans pushed to extraordinary choices […] confront the moments that reshape them—moments where...