Review: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot

Title: From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess
Author: Meg Cabot
Source/Format: Won, Paperback
More Details: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher/Publication Date: Square Fish, May 19, 2015

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Return to the world of Meg Cabot's bestselling and beloved Princess Diaries series in From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess—this time through the illustrated diary of a spunky new heroine: Princess Mia's long lost half-sister, Olivia! Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is a completely average twelve-year-old: average height, average weight, average brown hair of average length, average brown skin and average hazel eyes. The only things about her that aren't average are her name (too long and princess themed), her ability to draw animals (useful for her future career as a wildlife illustrator), and the fact that she is a half-orphan who has never met her father and is forced to live with her aunt and uncle (who treat her almost like their own kids, so she doesn't want to complain). Then one completely average day, everything goes wrong: the most popular girl in school, Annabelle Jenkins, threatens to beat her up, the principal gives her a demerit, and she's knocked down at the bus stop.... Until a limo containing Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia pulls up to invite her to New York to finally meet her father, who promptly invites her to come live with him, Mia, Grandmère and her two fabulous poodles. Maybe Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison isn't so average after all!

I admit that I haven’t read the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, but I have seen the movies, so I’m not completely unfamiliar with the general plot. Anyway, I was really excited to receive From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess in the mail, and I ignored everything else to go ahead and read it. To sum it up, the story was short and cute.

Told from the perspective of Olivia, the story basically follows her as she discovers the truth about her family. The discovery isn’t much of a surprise, because the title and the synopsis are more than suggestive—and I was a little disappointed by that. However, that wasn’t too much of a fault since there were other things going on that were more of a surprise. I also liked how family ties and friendships were dealt with alongside the many changes happening to Olivia at once. The writing was done in a way that captured Olivia’s voice and really showed her as a character, which was great.

Overall, From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess was pretty good. Since I have the second book, I look forward to seeing what happens next and maybe I’ll finally go back and give The Princess Diaries series a try.

Musing Mondays (54) Random Weekly Question(s)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat, that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My Musings for the Week...

Since I took a couple of weeks off, I'm going to get caught up on the random weekly questions I missed.

Random weekly question from May 23rd: Name a book you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.

I try to keep an open mind about books and reserve judgment until after I've started reading—unless, of course, the subject isn't something I'm interested in. Anyway, the series' that I'm about to mention weren't ones I specifically thought I would dislike, but I was unfamiliar with the authors at the time.

So, to answer the question...

The first is the Elemental Trilogy by Sherry Thomas. And the second is The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken. Both trilogies were in the same boat. I'm glad I ended up giving them a chance, but at the time I hadn't read anything by Bracken or Thomas.

Question from May 30th: Name a book that disappointed you.

The Tapper Twin's go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey. This book had its high and low points. Originally, I was really excited to give it a try, but it ended up being just alright for me.

Question from June 6th:What is your most favorite book from your childhood?

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed the Amelia Bedieia series by Peggy Parish, illustrated by Fritz Siebel. I haven't picked them up in a long time, but I do remember enjoying them.

Other Musings...

This week, I'm going to read Need by Carrie Jones.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara...

What are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (65) From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Return to the world of Meg Cabot's bestselling and beloved Princess Diaries series in From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess—this time through the illustrated diary of a spunky new heroine: Princess Mia's long lost half-sister, Olivia! Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison is a completely average twelve-year-old: average height, average weight, average brown hair of average length, average brown skin and average hazel eyes. The only things about her that aren't average are her name (too long and princess themed), her ability to draw animals (useful for her future career as a wildlife illustrator), and the fact that she is a half-orphan who has never met her father and is forced to live with her aunt and uncle (who treat her almost like their own kids, so she doesn't want to complain). Then one completely average day, everything goes wrong: the most popular girl in school, Annabelle Jenkins, threatens to beat her up, the principal gives her a demerit, and she's knocked down at the bus stop.... Until a limo containing Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia pulls up to invite her to New York to finally meet her father, who promptly invites her to come live with him, Mia, Grandmère and her two fabulous poodles. Maybe Olivia Grace Clarisse Mignonette Harrison isn't so average after all!

"None of it's as easy as it looks, especially to people like Annabelle, who think all princesses do is sit around in nice clothes, which isn't true at all."From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess by Meg Cabot

Comments: I haven't read the original Princess Diaries series, but I have seen the movies. So, I'm pretty excited to read From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess. Have you read The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot?

Review: Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett

Title: Rain: A Natural and Cultural History
Author: Cynthia Barnett
Source/Format: Blogging for Books, Paperback Review Copy
More Details: Nonfiction, Science, History
Publisher/Publication Date: Crown Publishers, April 21, 2015

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Rain is elemental, mysterious, precious, destructive...

It is the subject of countless poems and paintings; the top of the weather report; the source of the world's water. Yet this is the first book to tell the story of rain. Cynthia Barnett's Rain begins four billion years ago with the torrents that filled the oceans, and builds to the storms of climate change. It weaves together science—the true shape of a raindrop, the mysteries of frog and fish rains—with the human story of our ambition to control rain, from ancient rain dances to the 2,203 miles of levees that attempt to straitjacket the Mississippi River. It offers a glimpse of our "founding forecaster," Thomas Jefferson, who measured every drizzle long before modern meteorology. Two centuries later, rainy skies would help inspire Morrissey’s mopes and Kurt Cobain’s grunge. Rain is also a travelogue, taking readers to Scotland to tell the surprising story of the mackintosh raincoat, and to India, where villagers extract the scent of rain from the monsoon-drenched earth and turn it into perfume.

Now, after thousands of years spent praying for rain or worshiping it; burning witches at the stake to stop rain or sacrificing small children to bring it; mocking rain with irrigated agriculture and cities built in floodplains; even trying to blast rain out of the sky with mortars meant for war, humanity has finally managed to change the rain. Only not in ways we intended. As climate change upends rainfall patterns and unleashes increasingly severe storms and drought, Barnett shows rain to be a unifying force in a fractured world. Too much and not nearly enough, rain is a conversation we share, and this is a book for everyone who has ever experienced it...

Of the books I’ve read this year, Rain: A natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett was one of the more fascinating ones. Of the nonfiction I’ve picked up in 2016, I haven’t read one specifically about rain. The subject matter was of interest to me, and ultimately my primary reason for choosing to review this book. I wasn’t disappointed. Barnett’s research comes through on the page, and provided a thoroughly engrossing look at something as common as rain—disasters, and advancements in clothing to windshield wipers, and even mistakes made in an attempt to curb flooding.

Like I said, Rain was a very interesting read. There was a lot I liked about this book, and to me, the chapters were organized well. Barnett’s writing clearly presented facts, thus, I found this book easy to get into.

This majority of this book was dedicated to, as the title suggests, rain. It covers how weather has helped not only shape the environment, but also break it down. Barnett also shows how rain had an effect on nature as well as culture throughout history. But it also covered such topics as disastrous storms, frogs falling from the sky, polluted rainfall, as well as relief provided by much needed showers to arid regions. It also highlighted how city expansion could have effects on weather patterns, when natural landscapes are changed to suit the needs of people.

In the end, I was thoroughly impressed with Rain. It was a fascinating look at the weather, and the effects modern advancements can have on the environment. This is the first book I’ve read by Barnett, but suffice to say, I would definitely consider picking up another one of her novels.

This copy of this book was provided by Blogging for Books (publisher) for this review, thank you!

About the Author...

Cynthia Barnett is an award-winning environmental journalist who has reported on water from the Suwannee River to Singapore. She is the author of two previous books, Mirage and Blue Revolution, a Boston Globe top 10 science book of 2011. She lives in Gainesville, Florida with her husband and children. Visit her website at cynthiabarnett.net.

Weekend Tidbits {#7} What I've Baked Recently

I haven't done a Weekend Tidbits since last year, and I figured I might as well write up a short post since I want to talk about a recipe I tried out on Monday. I'll throw in some pictures below.

Since Monday was Memorial Day, I wanted to try out something I haven't done before as long as it wasn't too hard or time consuming. And I wasn’t finding what I was looking dormitory in my old stack of recipes—that's what the internet is for. I decided to try rough puff pastry again, since puff pastry takes so long to make from scratch. The first recipe I tried for rough puff pastry was at least a year ago and it turned out just alright. However, my internet search paid off, and I found another recipe that I ended up being happy with.

The pastry was light, flaky, and buttery, which is how it should be. It paired nicely with the left over strawberry pie filling I had sitting in my refrigerator.  I didn't do many changes since the recipe was already simple. I just cut the butter instead of grating it, and chilled the dough in the freezer to reduce the cooling time. You can check out the recipe here: Rough Puff Pastry. Suffice to say, I will definitely be making this pastry dough again.

My choice today is sugar cookie sleigh ride (the straggler tea left over from the holiday season). I'm trying to watch how much of this tea I drink, since it won't be available again till later this the year.