Meg Cabot

Black Canary Ignite Review

| Ardin Patterson

Title: Black Canary Ignite.

Author: Meg Cabot

Age Group: Middle Grade, 9-12 years old.

When I heard that the author of The Princess Diaries was writing a comic book, and said comic book was about Black Canary, I knew I had to read it!

This book was definitely a fun read. I instantly recommended it to my niece once I was finished. It’s age appropriate, the characters are fun and Dinah is in a rock band. How cool is that?

The artwork, done by Cara McGee, who creates these charming images of Dinah and her friends. I loved the movement in the images as well. Plus everything was super warm and colourful (aside from the villains of course).

The story itself was fun. Honestly, I wish it had been a little longer…or perhaps split up into a series. I did however appreciate that the comic remained age appropriate as say…for example shows like Young Justice which were originally rated Y7 are now very clearly PG 13. In cases like this show I don’t mind as much, simply because the original target audience has grown up along with the characters. However when it comes to comic books I think it’s important to be very clear who the target age group is for. Which is why I always read books before giving them to my niece.

My niece really, really liked the comic. She found Dinah and her friends hilarious. She also wanted to help Dinah kick some Joker butt (who doesn’t wanna be a superhero right?).

We had so much fun reading it together and because of that it’s getting 4.5 stars!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Who is your favourite superhero and if you could have one super power, what would it be?

Parked – Review

About Jeanne Ann is smart, stubborn, living in an orange van, and determined to find a permanent address before the start of seventh grade. Cal…

by Ardin Patterson

I Bought Some New Books!

| Ardin Patterson

I picked up a couple books today that I am looking forward to reading in the very near feature.

The first was Mexican Gothic, which I also found out was by a Canadian while I was buying it today. Hello Silvia! It is a pleasure! I look forward to reading your book.

Haha…Who knows she may read this post someday. You never know?

I really am excited to read this. I read the synopsis while browsing for books online and I instantly wanted to read it.

The other’s I got were one that I ordered forever ago Chocolat, which was a series I was really into when I was 14. I only managed to get book 1 but I’ll keep my eye out for the others. I know the series was discontinued…which sucks because we got left with this big cliff hanger. I like to imagine my own endings when that sort of thing happens with a series.

Lastly I got Black Canary Ignite, which is about DC’s Black Canary (one of my faves btw) when she’s 13 years old. Bonus Meg Cabot is the author. That’s right, the author of Princess Diaries! What a stellar combo!

I’m stoked to read all three of these and if I like the Black Canary one I will definitely be passing it onto my niece. I personally prefer to read books before I give them to her. Mainly just to gauge the maturity level.

Middle Grade fiction (9-12 books) are a little tricky. I’d say YA (teen) is diffificult in the same way. I know from experience that although a book says it is meant for readers 9-12, it may be more for a 12 year old audience. 12 year old’s and 9 year old’s may seem close in age (and sometimes height…at least in my case), but the reality is that some books I got when I was 9 I absolutely hated because they were “boring.” When in reality I just wasn’t mature enough for the content. When I turned 11/12 I adored those same books I once hated.

As I mentioned YA is very similar. Books I enjoyed at 17, I might have hated at 13. Simply because I couldn’t relate to the character’s or found it “boring.”

This is why for example after reading Best Babysitters Ever, I decided to not give it to my niece until she’s about 10. I think she’ll enjoy the book but it is a bit longer than what she’s currently reading and I don’t want her to feel intimidated by all this vocabulary that she hasn’t grown accustom to yet. I think when she’s in 5th or 6th grade she will also relate to these character’s a lot more than as a 4th grader.

Another thing to note is it depends on the individual kid. Understanding their sense of humour, their level of maturity, what genres they like etc…so if you are choosing a book for a 9-12 or 13-18 year old, keep that in mind.

I’m used to recommending books as I work and spend most of my free time in bookstores…along with being an author and studying books…so uh…yah. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert or anything but I’ve come to learn what to think about when you are buying a book for someone else. It hasn’t failed me yet! So hopefully that gives me some credibility.

That aside, I’m really excited about all the books I’m reading going into September! I can’t wait. Sure my list keeps growing, but there are just so many wonderful things to be read!