Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Katherine Applegate ILLUSTRATOR: Charles Santoso GENRE: Middle-Grade Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: September 9, 2025 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy featuring many toys full of heart and one cat full of ‘cattitude’. Lovely story and mostly loveable characters. Great balance of fun and seriousness. Highlights the pain associated with war then and now. Much recommended. Plot Preview: Pocket Bear “became” from a thimble during WWI, when he was created to fit into the pocket of a soldier’s jacket to offer comfort and love. Now, more than a century later, Pocket Bear is the unofficial head of the ‘Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured’, a place where its two humans – a mother-daughter pair who are refugees from Ukraine – refurbish discarded or unwanted soft toys and give them a fresh lease of life with a new owner. Accompanied by his best friend, a cat named Zephyrina who is the prime source of the toys, Pocket Bear ensures that everything in the Sec...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Cori Doerrfeld GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: February 20, 2018 RATING: 5 stars! In a Nutshell: A lovely picture book about the power of listening and being there. Great concept and outstanding execution. Many wonderful animals. Practical. Much recommended. Plot Preview: Little Taylor had built a wonderful structure using his toy bricks when something terrible makes the entire thing collapse. As expected, Taylor is upset about his efforts going to waste. Many animals come to him one by one offering him advice on what he should do next. But Taylor’s lack of response drives them all away. And then, the rabbit arrives. And sits next to Taylor. And listens. Which works perfectly for Taylor. Often, we find that in times of trouble, there is a lot of unwarranted advice. We are either at the receiving end of endless instructions on what we ought to do, or we ourselves make the mistake of instructing others on their response. But we forget that o...

AUTHOR: Laura Huie NARRATOR: Ethan Fifield GENRE: High Fantasy Novella PUBLICATION DATE: September 25, 2023 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: The story of a dragon and his connection with the people who want him dead. Unlike what the tagline suggests, the writing approach is more like a descriptive biography with flashbacks than like a memoir. Character-oriented, with only two complex main characters. Thought-provoking plot. High fantasy but will work even for non-fantasy readers. A nice read, as long as you don't expect a "memoir". Plot Preview: The dragon Vakandi has watched the people of Vakfored for centuries, seeing them grow from refugees to self-sufficient citizens with an affinity for magic. The people have long forgotten how they first came to settle in the place they call Vakfored. But the dragon remembers. So when an assassin named Sisal comes to kill the “threat”, Vakandi convinces her to listen to his life story. The story comes to us in the alternating thir...

AUTHOR: Sofi Stambo GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: June 9, 2026 RATING: 3.15 stars. In a Nutshell: An OwnVoices short story collection focusing on Bulgarian immigrant narratives. Too many stories for a single collection, but each is quite short. The immigrant vibe varies in quantity and quality, with some stories barely containing the theme. Minimal plot. Slice of life in style, which rarely works for me. This debut collection contains thirty-four stories. The number sounds quite high, but each story lasts barely 5-8 pages. Thus the page count of the book isn't that high at 312 pages. Some stories have minor linking elements in terms of place or characters but they still work as standalone narratives. There is no foreword introducing the collection or theme. Even the blurb is fairly vague in this regard. But on reading the stories, certain elements seem to come at regular intervals, the most common being the immigrant experience. However, the immigrant theme is qui...

AUTHOR: Korie Leigh ILLUSTRATOR: Mike Malbrough GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: April 4, 2023 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book exploring the concept of grief and what can be done in its shadow. A good way of getting kids to understand and handle their complicated feelings during times of loss. Interactive questions to help the process. A little repetitive, though this aspect might be helpful as well. Great information for adult caregivers at the end. “Someone I love died.” An apt start for a children’s book on grief. By not naming the “someone”, the book allows itself to be open to any kind of personal loss. It even clarifies how grief is a natural response in the face of a loved one’s death but it can also be felt in other situations. The information provided on tackling grief is simple yet effective for little ones. It explains what might feel changed in their mind as well as their body. For every point it makes, it also asks a related...

AUTHOR: T.I. Avens ILLUSTRATOR: Adrian DKC GENRE: Middle-grade Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: May 11, 2026 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy about two friends caught in big trouble. Interesting fantastical characters, but too many of them to remember easily. Nice plot, but develops slow. Creative world-building, though the sizes of the inhabitants were tough to judge. Not as comic as the title and cover seem to suggest. Slightly dark storyline that includes curses and zombies. Recommended but go in with the right expectations to enjoy this better. Plot Preview: (I have gone far beyond the initial 10-15% in my preview this time because the story is quite slow-moving at the start.) Oleander is a young slayer who feels the pressure of upholding his family legacy of killing monstrous beasts while protecting his guild. Once, he makes an error in judgement and opts for a shortcut solution by using a potion to kill a beast. This mistake turns out to be deadly [pun intended...

AUTHOR: Alice Franklin GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: February 11, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A whimsical contemporary fiction coming from a young neurodivergent protagonist. Quirky story with many humorous, heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. Excellent use of the second-person POV. Great portrayal of how a neurodivergent mind functions (At least as far as I could tell.) Nice incorporation of wordy-nerdy content such as linguistics, libraries, and manuscripts. The final quarter is a bit weak, but the rest makes up for it. Recommended. Plot Preview: (It’s a tricky plot to preview. This is an utterly barebones version.) Our lead character is a young girl who feels like an alien in this human world as she doesn’t fit in anywhere. So when a late-night TV special brings to her attention the mysterious Voynich Manuscript – an ancient manuscript written in an unknown language and undeciphered to date – our “Little Alien” feels like the manuscript is also like her:...

AUTHOR: Valeria Angela Pisi ILLUSTRATOR: Francesc Rovira GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: May 12, 2026 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a princess who doesn’t want to be rescued. Great concept, good execution, cute illustrations. A decent story that upturns gender stereotypes but has some problematic elements as well. Recommended to be read with discussion. Plot Preview: When the princess is in the dragon’s lair, the king calls all the knights in the land and makes a grand declaration: anyone who saves the princess will be rewarded with all the treasures of the kingdom. Several knights try their luck. But when they reach the dragon’s castle, the princess makes it clear that she doesn’t want to be rescued. Now what? The cover first caught my attention, and the blurb ensured that I would definitely read this book. It’s always nice to see stories where princesses don’t want to be or need to be rescued. Plus, this book is the winner of the ninth ...

AUTHOR: J.S. Helms GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A Christian novella about the power of faith and forgiveness. A contemporary retelling of the Book of Jonah from the Bible. I liked most of the story but the writing didn’t work for me. The ending was a disappointment. Not a light read. I wish I could have liked this better because it has a powerful message. Recommended, but not to everyone. Triggers for human and animal deaths. Plot Preview: Even after a family tragedy, Jonas continues in his pastoral work, ensuring the spiritual health of the locals as the Pastoral Care Coordinator at Grace Street Ministry. But while he has grace and forgiveness for those he serves in the community, he hasn’t found it in his heart to forgive certain people from his past. When he is asked to minister to death row inmates – one of whom is a man whose crime mirrors the tragedy that devastated Jonas – he refuses and runs. But God works in myst...

AUTHOR: Mara Rutherford NARRATOR: Anna Burnett GENRE: YA Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: October 21, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA Cozy Fantasy centring on the spunky young owner of a (fake) magic shop. This book took me by surprise! Whatever complaints I usually have about YA novels were mostly missing. I liked the characters, the storyline, the magic (though relatively minimal), the writing and the ending. Except for a few developments in the final quarter, I enjoyed this book. Definitely recommended, as long as you keep in mind that it is YA and has YA characters. Plot Preview: Seventeen-year-old orphan Willow Stokes has been running her father’s magical curiosity shop ever since his sudden death. So what if she too is a charlatan like her father and knows there’s nothing magical about their stock? A girl has to survive! When an outlander named Brianna Hargrave enters the shop, something about her makes Willow realise that there might be some magic in the Stokes stock after al...

AUTHOR: Colm Tóibín GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: March 31, 2026 RATING: 2.1 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary short-story collection by the acclaimed Irish writer. Interesting variety of characters and situations. A bit haphazard in plot development. Flat in character development. Bleak. Feels very lengthy because of the slow pacing and meandering structure. Disappointing endings at times. Didn’t work much for me. This collection comprises nine stories, a few of which have been published before in other publications. The stories are set across multiple countries, Ireland included. I had grabbed this collection mainly for two reasons. One, I have enjoyed a majority of the literary works written by contemporary Irish writers and want to explore more Irish fiction. Two, I liked one short story written by this author for Amazon Original Stories. ( ‘The Shortest Day’ ) However, this collection just wasn’t for me. For one, the 300 pages seem endless as each story is terribl...

AUTHOR: Jennifer Killick GENRE: Middle-grade Horror PUBLICATION DATE: June 4, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: An illustrated middle-grade horror novel about two boys facing a nightmarish reality. Interesting story and illustrations, but needs work on the execution. I adore the cover art, and like the inside illustrations. The concept had great potential, but certain writing choices didn’t work well for me. It might go decently for the target age group. Plot Preview: Caiden’s dad runs a house-clearing business, and during the vacations, Caiden and his best friend Sam often help him out. Their latest assignment seems like a challenge for all the wrong reasons. The house is filled with bizarre wall displays, deadly weapons, and a strange vibe. It is clear that something went drastically wrong for its owner, though there is no visible evidence of any struggle. When the boys are alone in the family business warehouse that night planning to sort through some of the things from the cr...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Clarice Tudor GENRE: Satire PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A humorous book about contemporary dating misadventures but worded and illustrated in medieval English style. Funny in content and illustrations, though the humour is also a painful reminder of the travails of dating (men in particular.) Recommended to readers with a funny bone and a frustrated love life. One look at that title, cover art, and blurb was enough to make me grab this book. I am long past my dating days, but no woman can resist a chance to empathise with other women’s dating mishaps. Reading this book is like a virtual gossipy session with a fellow woman, bitching about the male specimen of our species. While there might be many books with dating misadventures, what sets this one apart is the medieval style. The tagline calls this “A Modern Medieval Guide to Bad Dates and Worse Decisions”, and the content sticks to this agenda. The author says the content was...

AUTHOR: Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner GENRE: Historical Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 18, 2022 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A WWII historical fiction focussing on three nurses stationed in the Philippines. Based on the ‘Angels of Bataan’. Okay character development but good variety of perspectives. Steady plot development, but too complicated at times. Fair representation of the experience of nurses during war-time. Great use of the location. Too much telling. Despite the shortcomings, I found this better than Kristin Hannah’s ‘The Women’. Recommended. Plot Preview: 1941. Manila, Philippines. Eleanor Lindstrom (23, US navy nurse), Penny Franklin (26, US Army nurse), and Lita Capel (22, Filipina nurse) forge a friendship when they first meet at the Army Navy Club in Manila. Each has their secret reasons for enlisting with the military, but as the Philippines is just a stopover point and the war is mainly in Europe, they don’t think they will have trouble....