Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Silas Wood GENRE: Children's Picture Book RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: Seemed promising but was just okay. Denny and Penny are two little foxes. (Friends? Siblings?) One day, Denny runs out of food and runs to Penny for a bite. She seems to have only healthy dishes in her pantry, while Denny is desperate for junk food. Having no choice, he still wolfs down what she offers, loves it, but doesn’t tell her this so as to prove her claim wrong that healthy food can be tasty too. When she gets offended at his blatant lie, she sends him away but he later returns, “head hung low”. She forgives him and they share dessert together. As you can see, quite a lot happens in this little picture book. This is even more surprising if you keep in mind that there is just one single line of text on every page. The intention is good: eat healthy, don’t tell lies, forgive your friends,… But I am not too happy about the method in which these ideas were put ahead. 1. There was no apology. ...

AUTHOR: Anton Eine SERIES: Programagic, #1 GENRE: Science Fiction, Fantasy. RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A strange combination of fantasy, science fiction, action thriller and crime investigation. The result should have been a hodgepodge mess, but it isn’t! This indie work manages to hit most targets right in the bull’s eye. Story synopsis: Rik Northwood, best friend of Magister Sajar Randhar (whom we met in the prequel) and champion race driver, has just died. While his death initially seems like an accident, Rik’s family and colleagues aren’t convinced. The charge of checking this out comes to Sajar, who, with his accomplishments in technology, his expertise in magic, and his earlier experience as a combat pilot, is the right person to handle this intricate investigation. Of course, he has the indomitable Spirit, the world’s best AI, to help him out. Soon, it is very clear that the problems are much deeper than initially anticipated, and the net Sajar has cast keeps widening an...

AUTHOR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie SERIES: Black Stars, #1 GENRE: Speculative Satire, Short Story RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A speculative fiction short story with gender role reversal as the prime theme. Hilarious satire if you understand the point it is trying to make. Loved most of the story. The ending could have been better. Story Synopsis: It’s a matriarchal world. In Lagos, Obinna is a dutiful stay-at-home husband taking care of the house and the kids while his successful wife is at work. When he hears of his old school friend Eze coming from the US for a visit (that’s the visit in the title!), Obinna’s carefully planned life turns a little haywire as Eze is single and rebellious. Can Obinna truly let go and enjoy himself in a world where men are expected to live within the preset societal norms of decorum?   Where the story worked for me: 😍 As a satire, this story hits the nail on the head. It offers a superficially humorous look at what is, in reality, a serious probl...

PUBLISHER: National Geographic Kids GENRE: Children's Nonfiction RATING: 4.5 stars. An informative + entertaining collection for trivia lovers. Remember your childhood encyclopaedias? I always loved flipping through the pages looking at the photos and the captions. However, I hated the teeny font size and the overload of information in each paragraph. I also enjoyed picture books on animals and other topics from nature and science as these covered information in bite-sized nuggets. But many of these books had illustrations instead of actual photographs, thereby spoiling my experience. ‘Weird but true!’ solves these issues by taking the best of both worlds. The text is present in minimal words, keeping the focus firmly on the trivia itself instead of detailed explanations. The book also contains actual photographic evidence for almost every single fact and trivia it contains. This makes the book fun as well as easy-going. The book covers a wide range of topics such as animals, sport...

AUTHOR: Carlie Sorosiak GENRE: Middle-grade Fiction, Animals RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: Loved the cover! Liked the story. Disliked the writing format. Good for kids. Story Synopsis: Clementine is not your typical lab mouse; she is great at maths and astrophysics and loves showing off her intelligence to the scientists. When a sympathetic lab tech escapes with her (and one of her fellow lab mice) and delivers them to the mailbox of a local animal lover, Clementine isn’t sure what awaits her. She longs for the comfort of the lab, she is worried about what kind of person will find her, but most importantly, she misses her friend from the lab, Rosie the chimpanzee. Hence Clementine begins composing letters in her mind, all addressed to Rosie and talking about everything that’s happening to Clementine since her escape from their earlier confines. Most of the entire story comes to us through these mental epistles from Clementine’s first person point of view and addressed to Rosie. (T...

AUTHOR: Agatha Christie SERIES: Miss Marple, Short Story #4 GENRE: Cosy Mystery. RATING: 3.75 stars. Finally an interesting story in this collection! This edition of the Tuesday Night Club comes from Joyce Lemprière. She narrates an incident from five years back, where she saw unexplained blood stains on the pavement, and heard of a death just a few days later. Local superstition links the two events. Miss Marple explains the coincidence. The writing was a bit confusing in this one (partly because of Joyce being so haphazard in her narration of the events), but when you focus on it, the story is pretty enjoyable and also easy to deduce. In fact, I think that’s one reason why I enjoyed this tale because the resolution didn’t spring out of nowhere but came from the clues scattered within the earlier events. My guess was right, plus I couldn’t find any major unexplained logical gaps. The only negative other than Joyce’s choppy narration is that one element of the resolution is too farfet...

AUTHOR: Toño Malpica ILLUSTRATOR: Luis San Vicente GENRE: Children's Picture Book RATING: 4.25 stars. A lovely story about the repercussions of conflicts and the power of forgiveness. This story was first published as ‘Esa mañana’ in Spanish in 2016. This is the English translation. Mangrufo and Leuklaya are upset in their respective houses. They can’t concentrate on their books nor toys. Even their respective pets can’t make them feel better. The reason is clear: both had a fight the previous day and now both feel guilty and lonely. However, they don’t know what to do. How to take the first step towards a reunion? The narration comes from the perspectives of both Mangrufo and Leuklaya. We never get to see who was right and who was at fault. Both made mistakes, and both feel guilty. I simply loved this angle. Often, fights in picture books are portrayed as just one-sided with a single guilty party, but in reality, arguments between kids (especially siblings or best friends) are mor...

AUTHOR: Andy Seed ILLUSTRATOR: Sam Caldwell GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, History RATING: 4 stars. A fun look at some of the biggest “show-offs” in historical as well as modern times. This hilarious compilation takes a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the famous (and infamous) people throughout history. The content is divided as per the time period, beginning with the ancient and making its way through post-classical and early-modern to the modern era. The names range from well-known rulers (King Henry VIII, Alexander the Great) to inventors (Tesla, Edison) to scientists (Marie Curie, Lavoisier) to musicians (Maria Callas, Mozart) to artists (Dali, Kahlo) and many more. There are even some relatively unknown (at least to me) personalities. (For instance, Ynes Mexia and Isambard K. Brunel) The wide range of achievers and braggarts makes for an interesting and a comprehensive collection. While some of the more controversial trivia have been glossed over for a couple of the personaliti...

Author: Aimee Pokwatka Genre: Speculative Literary Fiction. Rating: 3.5 stars, rounding up for the audio version. In a Nutshell: Could have been brilliant but ends up as average. Innovative concept. But the execution transcends multiple genres and creates a mishmash of experiences. The choppy pacing doesn’t help. Debut work, so I will cut it some slack. Story Synopsis: Thirty-six year old Pepper Rafferty lives a happy average life. Abandoned as a baby, she was raised by the lesbian doctor couple who found her on their veterinary hospital’s doorstep. Pepper is married to Ike, an ordinary, easy-going man with excessive interest in historical journals. Pepper herself is a forensic anthropologist and loves her job. There’s one thing about Pepper that no one knows: when she was fifteen, she discovered the identity of her biological mother, who was none other than Ula Frost, a notoriously reclusive painter famous for her paintings that supposedly summoned the subject’s doppelgangers to this ...

Author: Anton Eine Series: Programagic, #0.5 Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy. Rating: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An amazing indie prequel novella that presents an intriguing introduction to the main story, ‘Beyond the Speed Limit’. A great combination of tech and magic and mystery, set in an alternate reality. Story Synopsis: Magister Sajar Randhar, a ‘programage’ of the highest talent, is in trouble. Someone has breached the supposedly impenetrable Fire Wall of the Pentagonal Citadel. As Sajar was in-charge of securing the Citadel, he finds himself the main accused. Who is the actual culprit? How will Sajar clear his name? Read this 50-page novella to find out the answer to some of the above questions, knowing that there’s more to come in the next volume. The story is written mostly in the first person perspective of Sajar. Where the book worked for me: I love technology-based content. I love magic-based content. This story combines the two into a powerful and mind-blowing experience. ...

Author: Lynette Creswell Genre: Children's Fiction Rating: 4 stars. A sweet story about two hoglets who help a witch make new friends and celebrate her birthday in a special way. We first met Primrose and Prickles, the little hoglet siblings in the first book of this series, Hoglets' Christmas Magic . In this second standalone story, as Prickles and Primrose walk in the woods, they encounter a strange new house made of desserts such as candy canes and heart-shaped biscuits. When they discover that it belongs to a witch, they almost bolt away in fear. To their surprise, the witch isn't just friendly but also lonely. Aside from making a mess of her attempts to reach out in friendship, she also has no one to celebrate her birthday with. Hoglet duo to the rescue! As in the first book, this story too covers some wonderful themes, the most important being how we should not jump to conclusions based on appearance. This is such a relevant lesson especially in today’s world, where p...

Author: Agatha Christie Series: Miss Marple #5 Genre: Cosy Mystery Rating: 3.5 stars. Finally a Marple mystery that worked for me…. somewhat! I can safely say that this is the best Marple story I have read (which isn’t saying much, considering that I have read exactly one full-length novel and three short stories featuring the iconic character.) By now, I have attuned myself to the format and was hence prepared for the huge infodump in the final 20%. (Not that I liked it; I tolerated it.) What clicked for me: 😍 Miss Marple doesn’t just make an appearance a lot earlier (around the 30% mark) but also gets an active role in the proceedings. I finally feel like I know the character to some extent. 😍 There are several complicated but memorable characters. They might not be layered (possible because there are too many of them to go in depth about) but the variety of persons adds to the interest factor. Mitzi the cook was my favourite of the lot, followed by Bunch the parson’s wife. 😍 The ...

Author: Pamela Holmes Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction inspired by the true story of Elizabeth Blackwell, a Scottish botanical illustrator from the 18th century. The story should have wowed me, but the writing was just okay. I appreciate the intent, not the content. Story Synopsis: 1730. Elizabeth Blachrie, who is the daughter of a wealthy trader, elopes with Alexander Blackwell as she is sure her family woint accept him. They settle in London and smart-talking Alexander lands up owning a printing press after some hiccups. However, when things don’t go as planned and Alexander is imprisoned for some breach of business laws and debts, Elizabeth has to make a living not just to survive but also to free her husband. She falls back on her drawing skills and with support from the team at the Chelsea Physic Garden, begins a series of engravings on exotic plants that could function as remedies. Will this skill save her husband and her? How will th...

AUTHOR: Agatha Christie SERIES: Miss Marple, Short Story #3 GENRE: Cosy Mystery. RATING: 2.5 stars. This time, it’s the turn of Miss Marple’s nephew, Raymond West, to narrate an unsolved mystery. Story Synopsis: Gold missing. One person supposedly guilty. As expected, the guilty isn't guilty. I went in with lower and better expectations this time around. I reminded myself not to look for fast thrills or detective work, to expect Miss Marple to pop in with the right solution only at the very end, not to look for a perfect resolution of the entire mystery but be happy with a “who did it” and a little of “how he did it”, and finally, to expect conversation to dominate over action. Despite all this prep, I still land up on 2.5 stars as my rating because the cue that helps Miss Marple ‘crack the case” is so silly, it borders on the ridiculous! I've always known that cosy mysteries aren't for me, and this anthology is confirming it with every subsequent story. Not giving up thoug...

Author: Courtney Sheinmel and Susan Verde Illustrator: Heather Ross Genre: Children's Picture Book Rating: 10 stars (Rounding down to 5 for practical reasons.) In a Nutshell: Awwwwwwwww!!! My cup of happy emotions overfloweth! Dear Courtney Sheinmel and Susan Verde, As you have so beautifully demonstrated the power of a ‘Thank You’ note with your story, allow me the chance of writing a ‘Thank You’ note to you in turn. Your protagonist Sallie Bee is an adorable child. Her excitement on getting the surprise gift from her grandma was almost contagious and I loved to see her pen a considerate note of thanks with such enthusiasm and care. Her decision to continue writing little notes of gratitude to one person daily warmed the cockles of my heart. Your story made me feel all gooey and fuzzy inside. In this day and age where good manners have all but gone for a toss and writing has been relegated only to screen messages, your story reminds children in a gentle way how good it feels to gi...

Author/Illustrator: Miles Hyman Original Author: Shirley Jackson Genre: Graphic Novel Rating: 1 star. In a Nutshell: Recommended ONLY if you wish to see great sketches. Reading the original short story is a must before you attempt this. If you have not read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, stop reading this review and go to it pronto! It is one heck of a horror short. Horror not with paranormal or scary elements but in a shocking ‘leaves-you-speechless’ kind of way. My daughter read the story and loved it. While looking up resources online, she happened to discover this book and got me to read it with her. That’s the only reason why I attempted this graphic novel. Having read it confirms my initial suspicion - this is NOT a story to be read in the graphic format. The visual artist – Miles Hyman – is author Shirley Jackson’s grandson. This book was published to coincide with Jackson’s centennial. The sentiment is great, the result isn’t. What you should know about this book: ☠ You nee...

AUTHOR: Agatha Christie SERIES: Miss Marple, Short Story #2 GENRE: Cosy Mystery. RATING: 2 stars. Shucks! Yet another bummer in this collection. The Tuesday Night Club meets at Dr. Pender’s house this time. The clergyman narrates a spooky mystery about a supposedly paranormal element in a murder that took place within a mysterious grove of trees. Once again, of the five club members who attempt to solve it, it is Miss Marple who hits the nail on the head. (I’m beginning to think I should stop writing this line; it is but obvious that every mystery in this anthology will be solved by Miss Marple! 😄) It took me a while to get into this short Marple story. The middle built up to some chilling paranormal suspense. The ending was a DUD. It leaves too many things unexplained. Moreover, as the entire story comes through conversations alone, it becomes a bit tricky to follow the story-within-a-story. Overall, I liked the proceedings better than the first story, as this had more of a mystery e...

Author: Nicolas Carter Series: Music Theory Mastery, #2 Genre: Nonfiction, Music Rating: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A much, much better experience this time around. A part of it could be because of my familiarity with the topic. But this book is much more reader-friendly than its partner volume. The reason why any trained musician from across the world can play a piece the exact same way is credit to the standard way of writing music. (This is specifically for Western music, though we can use the same ‘language’ to write any music.) Thus reading music is a skill that every musician (whether instrumentalist or cantor or conductor or composer) ought to have, and this in turn requires knowledge of both music theory and musical notations. These two topics are in turn co-dependent; you can't understand musical theory without knowing musical notations and vice versa. I had read the first book of this series, Music Theory: From Beginner to Expert , a few days ago and come away with mixed...

Author: Dawn Casey Illustrator: Domenique Serfontein Genre: Children's Picture Book, Non-fiction Rating: 4.5 stars. A must-read for every human being, nature lover or not. All of us know the desperate condition the planet is in. Forest fires, severe hurricanes, extreme rains and floods – weather patterns are changing like never before. The future looks scary the way it is right now, assuming there is a long-term future. But to avoid humans from giving up on the planet, there is a need for reports filled with a ray of hope than with overwhelming dread. That’s where such books make a world of difference. The eight stories contained in this book have one specialty. Unlike usual picture books based on nature, the stories aren’t entirely fictional and aren’t taken from folktales or mythical lore. Instead, every single story has a basis in reality – they are all real-life anecdotes written in a narrative format. From the return of grey wolves to the Yellowstone National Park to the resto...

Author: Agatha Christie Series: Miss Marple, #2 Genre: Crime Mystery Rating: 3 stars. First full-length novel of Miss Marple done. And it’s a mixed bag of opinions! Just so you know, this is the first full-length novel in which Miss Marple makes her appearance. However, her character was introduced to the world not through this novel but through a short story named "The Tuesday Night Club" , which is a part of "The Thirteen Problems" anthology. Now that I have read both, I feel you can begin with either of them, as both don't do a great job of *introducing* Miss Marple other than through indirect references. The information is obviously more detailed here as it is longer.  Story Synopsis: There is a ‘murder at the vicarage’. Everyone is trying to figure out who did it. *shrug!* On the positive side: 😍 I did get to know a lot about Miss Marple the character. I think I will like her, as long as she gets a greater role in the remaining books. 😍 The narrator is a ...

Author: Piya Bahadur Genre: Travelogue, Nonfiction. Rating: 2.5 stars, mainly for their riding than for the writing. In a Nutshell: Good but left me feeling disconnected, partly because of the writing and partly because of my relative disinterest in the topic. Travelogues aren’t really my preferred genre. I’d rather travel than read a travel book. But I won a copy of this book through an online reading challenge organised by the Brunch magazine published by Hindustan Times. Moreover, I have been on a 20-day motorcycle trip (as a pillion rider 😄) through one of the toughest terrains in India (the Leh-Ladakh highway, known to be the world’s highest motorable road at almost 20000 feet above sea level– ‘motorable’ being a very relative word, of course.) I felt like comparing biking experiences with these women. ‘Road to Mekong’ is a travelogue, detailing the motorcycle journey of four Indian women from Hyderabad (a city in the state of Telangana in South India), passing through North-East...