Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Peter H. Reynolds SERIES: Creatrilogy GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: September 15, 2003 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A cute little picture book about taking the first step. Lovely story, morals, and illustrations. Recommended! Plot Preview: Vashti believes she can't draw, but a teacher puts a blank page in front of her and says, ‘Just make a mark and see where it takes you.’ The resultant dot from the jab Vashti makes on the paper begins Vashti’s journey of exploring and perfect art through dots. I initially thought Vashti would be annoying, but she develops really well as the story progresses. I loved her imagination, enthusiasm, and determination. And as someone who adores polka dots, I also loved her artwork. As with all great picture books, the moral is simple yet practical and essential. The story is successful in making the point without going over the top. The ending enhances the effect. The illustrations are perfect for ...

AUTHOR: Russell Kane ILLUSTRATOR: Erica Salcedo GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book about a cat whose cosy life is upturned with the arrival of a new pet. Great comic potential with a cute dog and a nefarious cat. Too many scatological inclusions for my taste. More focus on the problem than on the solution, which is a major negative. This plot doesn’t capitalise fully on its potential, but it might work better for kids. Plot Preview: Terry is a Burmese cat who lives the purrfect life with his three human servants: Minna and her parents. Terry loves being worshipped (his words, not mine), and as the other cat in the house is asleep almost the whole time, Terry gets his way with his humans. Everything changes when they bring home a chihuahua pup named Brian, who is Terry’s opposite in every way. He immediately captivates everyone with his laser-love heart eyes. But Terry is immune to the pup’s devious attempt...

AUTHOR: Samantha Mills GENRE: Speculative Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: April 21, 2026 RATING: 3.65 stars. In a Nutshell: A speculative fiction collection containing some truly imaginative stories. Introspective and dystopian – a strangely effective combination. I love the creativity but the random back-and-forth in some stories was a bit challenging. A great option for those who enjoy speculative SFF tales. This story collection contains thirteen stories from the speculative genre. The stories come from varied speculative set-ups such as dystopian, fantasy, science fiction and paranormal. The collection begins with an enthusiastic introduction by Meg Elison. I had no clue who she was, but her writing in this foreword impressed me so much! It's one of the most lyrical and heartfelt introductions I've read. I was happy to discover that she too is an author because it means that this single collection has given me the names of two talented writers I need to keep an eye...

AUTHOR: Mimi May ILLUSTRATOR: Aniek Bartels GENRE: Children's Nonfiction Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: June 23, 2026 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book depicting one adventurous day in the life of a slug. Nonfiction that reads like fiction. Informative and funny. Needed a bit of tweaking in some textual portions. Some content might be tough to explain to the target age group. Could work for slightly older children who are interested in animals. Parents advised to read it first. This informative picture book begins by introducing us to Simon the Slug and with a labelled diagram explaining his anatomical features – very useful. I like how there’s a pronunciation key for the tough body parts. The main content covers one day in the life of Simon. Luckily (or unluckily) for us, Simon is having one heck of a day where he eats a lot, narrowly escapes being eaten, almost loses his head, meets another lovely slug to mate, nearly dries out, and so on, all within the timeframe of...

AUTHOR: Patricia Forde ILLUSTRATOR: Sarah Warburton GENRE: Children's Epistolary Picture Book. PUBLICATION DATE: June 4, 2026 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A cute epistolary picture book with a lot of humour and life lessons. Gorgeous illustrations as well. A bit too reminiscent of Roald Dahl’s “The BFG”, but a fun read nonetheless. Recommended. Plot Preview: When young Sophie is sitting in her tree house and writing invitations for her birthday party, one of the invites flies out on a gust of wind and lands a long way away in the hands of a giant. Imagine Sophie’s horror when the giant happily accepts her invite. What if he turns up and eats all her guests? So she writes a polite letter back, trying to dissuade him from attending her *boring* party. But Harry the Hairy Giant is sure he will enjoy himself. How does Sophie get out of this accidental mess? There are three reasons why I picked up this book, and all of these are present on the cover: 1. The adorable artwork. Who...

AUTHOR: Laura Shovan GENRE: Middle-Grade Novel-in-verse. PUBLICATION DATE: April 12, 2016 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade novel-in-verse, focussing on poems written by kids for their class time capsule. Brilliant in conception and execution, so much so that I thought it was a true-life story. Excellent characterisation visible even through poems. Much recommended. Try the audio version if possible. Plot Preview: Emerson Elementary is in its last school year. At the end of this year, it will be demolished to make way for a shopping mall. As such, one English teacher has asked her class to write poems that will go into the time capsule of their class – the last fifth grade batch at the school. The entire novel-in-verse is a compilation of these poems from the whole school year. I am not one for poetry, but when I read the blurb of this book, I couldn’t resist the concept. Novels-in-verse work better for me in audio form, so that’s what I opted for. And it worked brillian...

AUTHOR: Silvia Moreno-Garcia GENRE: Horror-Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: July 15, 2025 RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A multi-generational horror-suspense focussing on three women and their dark experiences with witchcraft. Good historical atmosphere and a couple of compelling characters. Needlessly intricate, guessable antagonists, dragged pacing. One incestual relationship (not sure if it’s culturally/historically accurate). The horror comes only in bits and spurts. I liked some parts of this novel but wasn’t too impressed. Not sure if this was because of the audio version. Plot Preview: 1998. Minerva is a graduate student who wants to write her dissertation on the life of Beatrice Tremblay, a talented but relatively obscure horror author with one famous novel and who had been a student at the same college in the 1930s. As Minerva tries to find more information on Beatrice, she finds herself grappling with the same dark forces that Beatrice once did and referred to in her novel, which...

AUTHOR: Erin Morgenstern GENRE: Historical Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: September 13, 2011 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A historical fantasy that is far more intricate than the title suggests. Excellent character-driven storytelling, strong characters, fabulous descriptions. A solid jigsaw of a plot that comes together neatly at the end. Slightly low on action-based fantasy if that’s your jam. Else, this offers one beautiful and soulful magical ride. Much recommended. Not for those who prefer plot-driven or fast-paced books. Don’t expect a typical circus story. Plot Preview: 1890s Europe and USA. One captivating circus with several uniquely talented performers. Two young magicians, Celia and Marco, have spent their whole lives training for a mysterious competition against each other, though they know neither their opponent’s identity nor the purpose or time of their challenge. Their benefactors have prepared them well in their talent, but there is one event they didn’t foresee, and ...

AUTHOR: Tiffany Crum NARRATORS: Sean Patrick Hopkins & Julia Whelan GENRE: Domestic Thriller PUBLICATION DATE: March 10, 2026 RATING: 2.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A domestic mystery-thriller involving a missing couple, one of whom is a famous podcaster. A mostly typical book for its genre, with plenty of twists, miscommunications, secrets, and about-turns in stance. Too many subtopics. One character has narcolepsy – an interesting addition that could have been utilised better. The first half is stronger than the second. Suspension of disbelief mandatory. Fans of the thriller genre might enjoy this more but I again stand as an outlier. The audio version is outstanding. Plot Preview: Benny and Joy, best friends since ages, are the hosts of a successful comedy podcast titled ‘This Story Might Save Your Life’, which focusses on one wild survival story each week. Thanks to the financial expertise of Joy’s husband Xander, their podcast business has been quite lucrative. But in the recent p...

AUTHOR: Rocío Bonilla SERIES: Babymoni GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: April 21, 2026 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A lovely picture book containing a story-within-a-story and raising some pertinent questions. Adorable characters and illustrations in two styles. Might be a bit tricky plot for younger kids to comprehend independently, but it can be an excellent resource for discussions. Definitely recommended. Plot Preview: Minimoni’s class is putting up a year-end school play on the story of “St. George and the Dragon”. However, as Minimoni and her friends read the story, they realise that it contains several problematic elements. Is there any point in enacting these old stories that don’t fit into modern values? This story was originally published in Catalan/Spanish under the title “Quina animalada d’història, Minimoni?” in 2025. This English translation was published in 2026. This is the second book I’ve read featuring Minimoni, and it ended up much better t...

AUTHOR: Sally Nicholls GENRE: Middle-grade Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: September 24, 2026 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A contemporary teen fiction about a girl who's tired of being the subject of her influencer mom's videos. A serious topic, made slightly darker by some of the included topics. A good discussion from both sides of the argument, though obviously tilted towards the daughter. Plenty of themes. An interesting book that lends itself to thought and discussion. Recommended. Plot Preview: Thirteen-year-old Anna, along with her elder sister Josie, has been featured in her mother's vlogs ever since she was a toddler. Though Josie seems to enjoy her online exposure, Anna is not happy with the extra attention and the teasing, nor with her private moments being available for public viewing. But when a serious issue comes up, both girls decide that enough is enough. How do they convince their mom to stop, especially as vlogging brings in her only income? The story come...

AUTHOR: Rosie Hewlett GENRE: Mythological Retelling PUBLICATION DATE: March 17, 2026 RATING: 1.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A Greek-mythology retelling loosely inspired by the story of Penelope (the wife of Odysseus) and narrated via a minor character. Not faithful to the original myth – this could go either way with readers. Lyrical writing, flawed characters, too much of romance and attraction, too much of feminine rage. Plenty of triggering content. I usually love this author’s works, but this one didn’t end up impressing me. My review is more bitter than sweet, but it is an outlier opinion. Plot Preview: The worlds of Melantho and Penelope have always intersected, even though the girls live in different social circles. Melantho is an enslaved girl in the palace of Sparta while Penelope is a princess. When a friendship blooms between them, the royals don’t approve and Penelope is sent away after being made to witness Melantho’s punishment for dreaming beyond her station. When their paths...

AUTHOR: Aubrey Hartman GENRE: Middle-grade Fantasy PUBLICATION DATE: February 25, 2025 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade fantasy with an undead fox guiding souls towards the next phase of their “lives”. Good anthropomorphic animal characters, interesting concept, atmospheric writing. Dark in themes and tone. Somewhat ableist in a few scenes. Has some life lessons, though these might be more relevant to adults. I am not sure about its appeal to kids. Plot Preview: Clare the fox is the only resident of Deadwood Forest. That is to say, the only *undead* resident. The forest, which is in a perpetual state of autumn, is where souls come to be guided to their final resting place in one of the four realms of the afterlife. Clare is their guide, making sure they reach the realm most suited to them. He has been doing this ever since his own death, and has almost always sent the souls to the right realm. But when a new badger soul named Gingersnipes comes to his door, Clare’s day...