Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT – Aesop’s Secret by Claudia White

Today we have a review from eleven year old Rachel who has joined our book review team to read a book in her age bracket. This is her very first book review.

Aesop’s Secret, Claudia White.

Over the past few days I have been reading Aesop’s Secret by Claudia White. The book is about a ten year old girl named Melinda with a normal life up until the day she turned into a horse.

   This isn’t the kind of book I would normally read however, Aesop’s Secret has an interesting story line, amazing characterization and description and I loved the twists and turns. The interesting bits were amazing but in between those parts it didn’t encourage me to keep reading.

   I would say that this book is for younger, yet advanced, readers maybe aged 9 or 10.

One comment I would make is that while the cover artwork is beautiful it IS quite creepy and it might put some people off. Overall I would rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT – Melissa reviews Aesop’s Secret by Claudia White

Today we have a review from Melissa. She blogs at http://mllegette.com/

Melissa chose to read and review Aesop’s Secret by Claudia White.

Here is her review.

My Review:

Let’s take a moment to talk about the cover. Just look at it. Adorable, creepy, simplistic — it grabbed me right from the get go. (Though cover Melinda and book Melinda look a good bit different, it still hooked me.)

Now let’s talk about the story. Cute, charming and fun. I love it when writers give their characters unique, quirky names and White did fabulous here. Melinda, Felix, Aesop, Stumpworthy — White clearly thinks the same as me. If you’re going to name a character, make it fun! I loved Melinda’s awkward transformations. Showing up for breakfast with rabbit ears — wonderful.

My only wish was that there was more depth to the story. It’s a short one — just a little over 100 pages. Nothing wrong with that. There have been many a book I’ve read that needed a major trim, but Aesop’s Secret needed expansion. I wanted more details. I wanted a fuller experience. I wanted more dialog. I wanted to get inside the characters’ skin. The story moved so quickly that I felt I was more skating over the surface rather than diving deep. For instance, I expected Melinda to explore and experiment with transforming into animals. Think about it. If you were ten (or really, any age) and suddenly realized you could become ANY animal what would you do? Try out a lion? Zebra? Alligator? Peacock? Heck, python? Melinda only tries to become a horse, a rabbit, a squirrel, a mouse, and a very large frog. So, to be fair, she does experiment. I just wanted something a bit more bold. There was so much potential to really have some crazy, outrageous fun. Why not rhino! Having said that, White has made the book a series, so it’s likely that the characters will continue to develop and there will be more opportunities for some fun animal transformations.

In conclusion, Aesop’s Secret is a fun read for both children and adults.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Good Deeds Challenge, Year 2 Week 14

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I an into my second year.

During my week I’ll also being updating you on My Kindness Challenge which I’m also doing. I read about a new challenge to make the world a better place to live in. “Speak Kind Words, Receive Kind Echoes” see the inspiration on  The Kindness blog . During my learning process I’m donating money to charity for my slip-ups to make me work harder to achieve results. I earn no money from any of my book reviews, so having little to spare should focus my mind.

This week I’ve been doing the following;

July 20th – Had a lovely day at home, catching up with all my reading and writing reviews. Today I was reading Wild Water by Jan Ruth

July 21st – My last morning of the school year, volunteering. I wished all the children good luck in their new classes and Good Deeds received: Had some lovely gifts from the appreciative teachers.

July 22nd – Launched my side of the Romancing September Across The World Tour, a tour I co-host with Stephanie Hurt who is based in the US. We will be promoting Romance books throughout September. This evening had a long walk and picked up litter.

July 23rd – Donated money to a charity working to prevent hunger, who were cycling for charity. Had a really lovely comment today, my Good Deeds have making people aware of the Good Deed opportunities around, so much so that this wonderful human being said he felt I would be disappointed if he passed by a chance to do a Good Deed. Just one Good Deed a day will make our world a better place, let’s hear some more of your Good Deed tales.

July 24th – Romancing September bookings have been slow today, so e-mailed a few authors to ask if they would be interested. Delighted to hear that a  copy of Aesop’s Secret by Claudia White has arrived for a young reviewer who is going to read and review the book for us. Helped out a friend with cricket tea advice.

July 25th – Have finished reading Round and Round by Terry Tyler which was released this week.

Ok, what just happened? Romancing September in now completely booked! It was utter madness this afternoon, bookings were coming at me thick and fast. Authors from The Harper Impulse range found out about the tour and wham! It was fully booked. Great to have all the support ladies and gentlemen, yes we have a guy who’s promoting his book too! Day 21 Nic Tatano will be promoting his book It Girl

July 26th – The Kindness challenge has been up and down this week. I did have a good chat with both my Mum and Dad about concerns they have for my nephews. One has a girlfriend which they disapprove of, and my suggestions to leave it be and let it work itself out are falling on deaf ears. Another nephew has fallen in to a worrying depression, I don’t think my parents live near enough or have a close enough relationship with him, to throw in strong advice and accusations. These were some difficult conversations and left me mulling over possibilities and being very aware of the need to listen well.

This evening I felt in need of a de-clutter, school has finished for the summer and the house is cluttered with school uniform and school books that need sorting for next year. I discovered some Christmas presents which I’m grateful for, but will never use, so I will pass them to the charity shop when I next go. I even filed my tax return, lifting a weight from my shoulders.

So that is my week. What Good Deeds have you done this week? Do tell me below, I’m sure if you think about it you have. Being aware of your deeds will bring more to the forefront.

Rosie.