Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Remy Lai GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: January 14, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade graphic novel about a teen girl's chickenpox quarantine time with her younger siblings. Partly biographical. Great sibling dynamics and chickenpox info. 😉 Hit or miss on the other themes. A decent option for the target age group. Plot Preview: Once upon a time, Abby had wished for a younger sibling. But after her parents have given her FOUR younger siblings, the twelve-year-old has had enough! She's tired of being the responsible eldest child and fed up of her siblings’ immaturity. She tries to spend as much time away from home as possible, either at school or going out with her best friends. But when all five siblings get chickenpox, Abby faces a horrifying truth: she needs to stay quarantined in the house with those *animals*! How will she survive without losing her sanity? The story is written in Abby's first-person perspective. I have heard a lot abou...

AUTHOR: Percival Everett GENRE: Historical Fiction, Retelling PUBLICATION DATE: March 19, 2024 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fiction retelling the story of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn from another character’s point of view. Important to remember that this is satirical in nature, else some of the inclusions will feel farfetched. Other than the exaggerations, it is fairly truthful to history as well as to the historical classic. Dark humour at times; dark emotions more frequent. Triggering for several events related to human enslavement. Works well as a standalone, but you might appreciate it better if you are familiar with Huck’s story. Recommended, but not a must-read. Plot Preview: When Jim, an enslaved man, hears that he is to be sold and hence separated from his wife and his daughter, he runs away until he can come up with a plan to save them all. While in hiding, he bumps into young Huckleberry Finn, who has faked his own death to escape from the clutches of his ab...

AUTHOR: Raluca Sirbu GENRE: Children's Storybook. PUBLICATION DATE: October 7, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: An illustrated storybook about the power of storytelling and of dreaming. Enjoyed the thought and the moral, but the writing was way too lyrical for my reading preference. Perhaps kids (and parents) with a more poetic bent of mind might enjoy it better. The illustrations are stunning. Plot Preview: A young girl lives in a country filled with stories. However, when an evil king and his army of dragons invade the land, he forbids storytelling and cages all existing stories. But the little girl had three stories in her possession, and she uses these to provide hope to her people. Honestly, I love the intent and the deeper meaning of the story. There are so many layers to it that we can interpret them the way we want. The concept establishes the link between stories and dreams, hopes, action! It shows how tales from the past can spur rebellion in the present. It establish...

AUTHOR: Sumiko Yagawa ILLUSTRATOR: Suekichi Akaba TRANSLATOR: Katherine Paterson GENRE: Japanese Folktale PUBLICATION DATE: January 1, 1981 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: An English translation of a beloved Japanese folktale. A good story, as long as you keep in mind that it’s an old folktale and doesn’t necessarily fit into modern standards of propriety. Plot Preview: A poor peasant named Yohei lives in a faraway mountain village. One day, he comes across an injured crane and pulls out the arrow stuck in her wing. That night, a beautiful young woman knocks on his door, asking to be his wife. Yohei is overwhelmed by her beauty and welcomes her. They live a simple but impoverished life. One day, she asks Yohei for a loom, and making him promise not to take a peek, she weaves something behind closed doors. After three days, she comes out very skinny but holding a magnificent piece of cloth that Yohei is able to sell for a good price. This cycle continues two times more, each time result...

AUTHOR: Susan Verde ILLUSTRATOR: Peter H. Reynolds SERIES: I Am Books GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: September 15, 2020 RATING: 3 stars. A picture book that tackles a simple question: How can one person make a difference? "Beautiful things start with just one" - this is represented through the various examples presented at the start. As we all know, it does take one to make a difference, but in a world where the crazy seem to outnumber the sane, my pessimistic side struggles with such idealism. But for the sake of all little ones who are still innocent and still believe in humans and hope, I keep my fingers crossed that this book reinforces their strength and belief in themselves and their individual power. The illustrations are mostly cute, with lovely rainbow hues on every page. I wasn't a big fan of candle wax being dropped in a pond, but it was a trivial issue in an otherwise good book. A good option for the topic of positive action. Works for re...

AUTHOR: Hans Christian Andersen GENRE: Short Story, Classic. RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A classic short story written by fairy tale master Hans Christian Andersen. Good, not great. This story has been on my agenda since many years, but as one of my upcoming audiobooks turned out to be its retelling, I thought it the right time to give this a go. The plot is fairly simple, though its morals go deep. A vain king falls in love with a nightingale’s beautiful voice and keeps her caged in his court, until a toy nightingale that looks prettier comes his way and earns greater esteem from him. The real nightingale secretly returns to her home in the woods, but comes back after hearing about the king’s illness. I don’t know how I would have felt about this tale in my childhood. I sure wouldn’t have analysed it deeply. But reading a classic children’s story in adulthood often results in our finding hitherto undetected flaws. Of course, this was first written in 1844, so times are obviously v...

AUTHOR: Bree Harlow GENRE: Parody Romantasy PUBLICATION DATE: November 17, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A parody of a Sapphic romantasy with portal magic and an adventurous quest. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ with a twist. Works better if you keep the ‘parody’ angle in mind. Some stricter editing and some more fleshing-out of the quest would have helped this short novel deliver better. Still, it could work more for NA fantasy enthusiasts looking for some mindless entertainment. Plot Preview: Twenty-one-year old Liss loves reading but hates the romance genre for all its tropes. So when she is sucked into the pages of a romantasy book that she had been explicitly told not to touch, it is like her worst nightmare come alive. Foreverland seems strange and its denizens, even stranger. As Liss guessed correctly, she is expected to complete some trials – one each in the four kingdoms of Foreverland – if she wants to return home. The only people she has for help are the gorgeous guide Tarran,...

AUTHOR: D.A. Holdsworth GENRE: Poetry PUBLICATION DATE: December 5, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: An illustrated epic ballad aimed at children but better for adults. Innovative in concept and implementation. Great language and rhymes, good structure, quirky simian characters. Had I been a poetry person, I might have enjoyed this more. Recommended. I never knew epic ballads are still being written, that’s how much of an ignoramus I am when it comes to poetry. The only epic ballad I have read is Coleridge’s ‘The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’, and that too, with a lot of hesitation. As such, I was a bit apprehensive when this book came my way. Given my aversion towards anything poetic, I didn’t trust myself to be able to focus on a lengthy piece of poetry. Keep this in mind because the rest of my feedback is influenced heavily by this regrettable shortcoming. This ballad poem comes to us from a first-person narrator who bumps into an aging chimpanzee at a tavern. Nudged by the narra...

AUTHOR: Cherry Zong GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: January 13, 2026 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: An upper-YA graphic novel loosely derived from the fairytale of "Little Red Riding Hood." Not a retelling. Decent story but too meandering. Interesting characters, but not everyone is explored well. A good read, but could have been shorter and better. Plot Preview: Nineteen-year-old Red, a skilled hunter, has devoted her entire life to helping her grandmother, a witch trying to save the forest they live in from a strange rot that keeps spreading despite their efforts. Red's task is to locate the creatures known as ‘nawa’, kill them, and take their bodies to her grandmother for exorcism and deliverance. With no other humans still living in the forest, Red is quite lonely. But one day, she bumps into an injured wolf-girl named Sil. As the two of them move towards a hesitant friendship, Red uncovers some dark secrets about everything she's known. I'm not that f...

AUTHOR: Angie Cruz NARRATORS: Kimberly M. Wetherell & Rossmery Almonte GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: September 13, 2022 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary fiction presented in a creative interview-style structure. If you are tired of reading about Asian aunties, here’s a book with a South American "auntie". 😁 Interesting story and lead character, excellent OwnVoices authenticity (Dominican Republic). Starts off excellently, but gets a little bit repetitive and OTT after a while. If you want to read this, audio is the way to go. Plot Preview: Fifty-six-year-old Cara Romero, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, used to work at a factory but ever since its closure two years ago, she’s been jobless. Cara is now set up to meet with a job counsellor. Over a course of twelve sessions where the counsellor is supposed to evaluate Cara’s suitability as an employee and the industry where she might fit best, Cara ends up telling the counsellor abou...

AUTHOR: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie GENRE: Memoir PUBLICATION DATE: May 11, 2021 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A short collection of notes written by the author after her father’s sudden death. Quite intimate in tone. If you have experienced a personal loss, you will empathise with her feelings. Tough to decide whether and to whom to recommend this. From her home in the USA, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke to her father in Nigeria on 9th June 2020. On 10th June, he passed away. Though he was due for a hospital visit, there was no indication that his health issues were so severe. The lockdown was on, as were the covid travel restrictions. As you can imagine, coping with a parent’s sudden loss cannot be easy. Adichie uses this little memoir-of-sorts to share her experience with grief. At just 86 pages and with about thirty short notes, the book doesn’t take that long to read. But even within this limited time, it offers a powerful indication of the author’s sense of loss. As a self-...

AUTHOR: Patrick Ryan GENRE: Historical Epic Saga PUBLICATION DATE: September 2, 2025 RATING: 2.9 stars. In a Nutshell: A character-driven epic historical family saga about four people whose lives become intricately connected. Decent character development, lyrical writing. Straightforward plot. Too much telling, too much secret-keeping. I think this fits under “The Great American Novel” category, which isn't a favourite genre of mine. This is an outlier opinion. Plot Preview: Bonhomie, Ohio. 1920s onwards till the 1980s. Cal: Born with one leg shorter than the other; always self-conscious about not being serve during the war. Becky: Cal’s wife; has a gift that enables her to communicate with spirits, but many consider her a sham. Margaret: Trying her best to escape her painful past, but even a secure present isn't secure enough. Felix: Has his reasons for marrying Margaret; serving with the navy during the war. How are the two couples interconnected? What does fate have in stor...

AUTHOR: Kelly Fernandez GENRE: Middle-grade Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: November 2, 2021 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade graphic novel about some magical girls, some dangerous stunts, and some heroic nuns. (You read that right!) The story was entertaining, but some of the writing choices in the second half didn’t work for me. It also left a key mystery unresolved. Might be worth a read mainly for the atypical plot and the OwnVoices (Dominican Republic) factor. Plot Preview: Manuela, who prefers to be called Manu, and her best friend Josefina live at a magical girls’ school run by nuns. Josefina is a fairly diligent student while Manu is always getting into trouble, even when she means well. The headmistress genuinely believes that Manu has the potential to use her magic for public good, but the rest of the nuns feel otherwise. One day, when Manu’s prank goes terribly wrong, Josefina gets upset and wishes for Manu’s magic to disappear. Unfortunately, that wish comes t...

AUTHORS: Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin ILLUSTRATOR: Giovanni Rigano GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: April 11, 2023 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A teen graphic novel highlighting the impact of climate change on two opposite corners of the world. Alternating perspectives from one Canadian Inuit girl and one Bangladeshi/Indian boy. The former narrative is exaggerated; the latter is better but not perfect. Decent illustrations, though a bit too dark-tinged. The intent and the message are great, but the overall execution is just okay. Plot Preview: ‘Here’. Bay of Bengal. Twelve-year-old orphan Sami lives with his grandfather. They fish for their living, but because of the flash floods, intense storms, and rising water levels, the catch is dwindling. ‘There’. Northern Canada. Fourteen-year-old Yuki has noticed the struggles of the bears to find food. She is sure that the bears wandering into town aren’t polars but a new species named ‘grolars’ ( more on this below ), and is dete...

AUTHOR: Sheila Walsh ILLUSTRATOR: Marcin Piwowarski GENRE: Children's Picture Book, Christmas. PUBLICATION DATE: November 4, 2025 RATING: In a Nutshell: A Christmas picture book about a little girl who dreams of one thing and gets something else. A cute story with a nice Christmas message and lovely illustrations. But the rhymes were a bit off. I might have liked this better if it were written in simple prose. Could work better with those who aren’t particular about poetic meter while reading aloud to their kids. Plot Preview: Isabella has always dreamed of playing an angel in the annual Nativity play, so when she sees the call for auditions, she is quite excited and rehearses all her lines well. But when she gets selected to play the drummer girl – a role with no lines, she is heartbroken. Why is this Christmas so disappointing? Is there any way it will improve? The story comes to us in Isabella’s first-person POV. A few years ago, our Children’s Choir team was putting up a chora...

AUTHOR: Jen White GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 21, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about the connection between art and science and how the two can work in sync. A good concept, but I wanted more from the execution. This might click slightly better for older kids than the targeted age group. Art and Science have long been considered distinct fields. However, there is plenty of science in art ( think colour combinations, geometric arrangements, spatial utilisation, structural knowledge of materials, and so on ) and plenty of art in science ( think botanical sketches, chemical bonds, engineering structures, architectural designs, and so on .) The commonality between the two is a fascinating topic, and hence, I was thrilled when I saw the title of this book. Unfortunately, though it gets some things right, it skips some foundational information and aims at a higher level. The book begins with some generalised statements about how both art ...