Reviews written by Angela Blount

A fictional travelogue of sorts, this steady-driving journey began a bit blandly but picked up steam and endearment as it went. Phileas Fogg is an unlikely hero—a stoic British gentleman with no family or friends and an OCD-level obsession with timeliness and routine. We are introduced...

This book attempts to serve as a non-exhaustive world history primer, with an eye-catching cover and plenty of threaded imagery to enhance the experience. Disclaimer: This reviewer’s grasp on history is fairly weak. After reading The Literature Book from this same topic-encompassing series and finding it...

The sarcasm is strong with this one. This format will likely hold the most appeal for young video game fans. The character verses character concept is straightforward—presenting readers with a paragraph worth of whimsical and sometimes pun-laden bio info about each character, along with a 1-10 Stat...

A quick, whimsical companion guide to the Magnus Chase world; this book presents Norse mythos on a middle-grade level, yet proves palatable for nearly all ages. Rather than a single tale, what we have here is a compilation of bite-sized biographies and illuminating short stories, all intended...

Featuring mystery, history, and puzzles, this steady-paced Middle Grade work takes off near the end and sprints full-tilt. When 12-year-old Ted Gerson has his first conversation with his namesake—his mother’s beloved Uncle Ted—it’s on the man’s deathbed. And it’s there that Ted receives what turns out...

In this informative introductory guide, LEGO borrows heavily from NASA images and taps a comic-style to walk kids through our solar system—and beyond. Planet stats include: Material composition, Distance from the sun, number of probe missions, and notation on any existing moons or rings. Most...

An action-dense sci-fi full of politics and intrigue—with strong crossover appeal for fantasy fans, especially those who enjoy works along the same lines as The Queen Of The Tearling trilogy. Set nearly two millennia into the future, the story is told in first-person past-tense entirely from...

Once again LEGO and DC deliver with this simple-yet-valuable storyline, featuring beloved characters and stylized artwork. The Teen Titans are having some trouble working together as a team, so Batman decides to drop them off at a mysterious new Carnival in town and let them do some...

This book is a light dystopian YA, with a persistently Urban Fantasy feel. An unmentioned number of years after a plague of unknown origins has decimated humanity, the human genome is in shambles. People continue dying off starting in their late teens, and those...

An enchantingly vibrant storybook combined with a range of arts and activities. Emily Jones is called out of her world and into Elvendale, to the aid of The Dragon Queen. The Elf Witch, Ragana, has captured the queen and is after her clutch of dragon eggs....

After an opportunistic revolt on an English farm proves successful, the animals who've managed to run off their human oppressors immediately establish their own society—complete with rules of conduct they initially refer to as the “seven commandments.” The rules are, of course, meant to keep the animals free, civil, and...

Packed with techno-medieval adventure and LEGO-memorable characters, this book is perfect for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-graders who may still feel a bit intimidated by heftier chapter books. Teamwork is the central theme of this particular Knights tale. The book holds 32 pages of story and still-shot...

Aiming for the magically inclined, this Middle Grade urban fantasy feels like the start of a series while standing well on its own. Wandmaker is told in third-person from multiple viewpoints, though readers spend the majority of time in the head of the primary young protagonist: Henry...

The monstrous narrative of an evil book, with all the techno-medieval flair you’d expect from LEGO NEXO Knights. This is a sort of exceedingly and unabashedly non-objective guide to the NEXO Knights universe—depicted almost entirely from the primary bad guy(er…book?)’s point of view. Its primary function...

A sweet romance featuring a showy villain, a troublesome language barrier, a vengeful hero (who may be impaired in more ways than just his fashion sense), and a heroine who isn’t afraid to wield blunt objects in defense of those she loves. Running almost concurrent...