The Constellation of Moon

The Princess Who Flew With Dragons Review

Posted on August 23, 2019

The Girl who Flew with Dragons by Stephanie Burgis

Sofia isn’t the crown princess – that’s her perfect big sister, Katrin. Sofia is the other one. The disappointing one. So when disaster strikes, Sofia is certain she’s not a good enough princess to fix things. But she has to try. And maybe when you’re a failed princess with only a young dragon and a pack of rowdy goblins on your side, it’s time to try something wildly different…

Rating:

I love this book series so mcuh I kept pushing it to my friends and even insisted they borrow both books that were out rather than just the first one because I knew they’d want to read the next one once they finished the first one (I was right!).

You can read my review for The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart and The Girl with the Dragon Heart. They’re really good and help set the universe for this book (though technically you don’t need to read them beforehand but they will help understand this one better).

Anyway, I had eagerly preordered this one, and I do not regret it at all. I was very excited to read it and made sure to pace myself to make it last and enjoy it more (more or less how I’d have to have a cup of hot chocolate but that’s another story for another time).

It was so good and really warming. It as always has a way of telling you that who you are is important as you are, but also makes you think inwardly about things (in this case there’s a lot about family and learning and philosophy). I laughed and cheered and wanted to defend them and I really enjoyed it.

Highly recommend for reading out loud, or for reading to yourself. I mean, DRAGONS and riding dragons, and brave princesses and chocolate, and adventures! Plus there’s a cat that in my head is a mix of Pebbles, Stephanie’s cat, and Tomte, Asha’s cat. I know very few of you who read this will know what I am talking about, but in my head it is the cutest most perfect nursing loving caring cat with all the fluff and chill of Tomte.

I will stop with cats, and say you should go buy them all (the books, not the cats…)

Book Review, Books

Hair Love Review

Posted on August 21, 2019

Hair Love by Matthew A Cheery and Vashti Harrison

It’s up to Daddy to give his daughter an extra-special hair style in this story of self-confidence and the love between fathers and daughters.

Zuri knows her hair is beautiful, but it has a mind of its own!

It kinks, coils, and curls every which way. Mum always does Zuri’s hair just the way she likes it – so when Daddy steps in to style it for an extra special occasion, he has a lot to learn.

But he LOVES his Zuri, and he’ll do anything to make her – and her hair – happy.

Rating:

I got this book because I saw a mini trailer for the short film (?) that is being played before Angry Birds 2 (I have not seen any Angry Birds film and do not plan to). I thought it was cute and the animation was really sweet.

This is a short illustrated book but it packs a punch and it was just nice to read. I don’t have natural hair but I do have curly hair and some of this applies. Though I don’t think my dad ever really did my hair or not that I can remember.

But Zuri’s dad is ready to help and somehow get this special hair style just for the very special occasion.

Artwork is really cute and sweet, story is also lovely and makes me feel all cozy and warm inside. I just wish it was a bit longer. Because it felt too short (but I know it is a kids book and not meant to be long, so I am not demanding this or anything).

Book Review, Books

The Power of the Masses, and of the Internet …

Posted on August 19, 2019

Heartstream

Heartstream by Tom Pollock

Amy is trapped in the house in which her mother died, and from which she’s been streaming the progress of her illness for all the world to see and feel. Now she’s all alone, even with millions of followers, and she’s on the brink of an emotional breakdown when, on the day of her mother’s funeral, things take an unexpected turn; Amy suddenly finds herself sitting in the kitchen, and drinking tea with a stranger, who’s literally about to blow her whole existence into pieces.

Cat is a superfan of the boyband Everlasting, and she lives for the fandom, a community largely run by her older friend Evie, and built around the assumption that the front figures Nick and Ryan are secretly in love with each other. But when a large group of fans starts to believe differently, and Cat finds herself in a potentially life changing situation, things rapidly starts spinning out of hers, and Evie’s, control.

When Amy’s and Cat’s stories eventually intertwine, one thing becomes unpleasantly clear: the power of the masses, and the internet, should never be underestimated.

Rating: 🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖

Heartstream has been said to be a “psychological thriller about obsession, fame and betrayal, for fans of Black Mirror”, and to my utmost pleasure I found that depiction to be utterly true. I’ve always been a big fan of Black Mirror, and of other sci-fi stories focusing on how near-future technical solutions could be used to do both harm and good; often at the same time. This novel by Tom Pollock plays around the very same themes as many of the Black Mirror episodes, and it is as interesting as it is frightening.

Without spoiling anything, I can reveal that this is a fast paced and thrilling read that was very hard to put down (you all know that “just one more chapter”-feeling), and that I was shockingly surprised with the twists and turns it took at the end of every. single. chapter. If you’re in for a gripping story that keeps throwing surprises in your face, go read Heartstream at once. But if you’re looking for clear and easy distinctions between bad and good, this may not be for you. The moral is more grey than black and white, just as it is with life (and the power of the internet) in general.

Dr. Bea approves

If you liked this book but are yet to watch Black Mirror, than what are you waiting for? Go do it already! As for books, I think Warcross, though it’s a totally different kind of story, can be said to revolve around similar dilemmas. Or, if you’re here for the puzzling parallel stories, Before We Were Yours might be the next read for you.

Book Review, Books

The Housekeeper and the Professor Review

Posted on August 17, 2019

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

He is a brilliant maths professor with a peculiar problem – ever since a traumatic head injury seventeen years ago, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory.

She is a sensitive but astute young housekeeper who is entrusted to take care of him.

Each morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are reintroduced to one another, a strange, beautiful relationship blossoms between them. The Professor may not remember what he had for breakfast, but his mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. He devises clever maths riddles – based on her shoe size or her birthday – and the numbers reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her ten-year-old son. With each new equation, the three lost souls forge an affection more mysterious than imaginary numbers, and a bond that runs deeper than memory.

Rating:

I saw someone talking about this book on Twitter saying that the hours had gone by while reading it. And so I bought it (for those wondering if you talking about books on Twitter actually influences others, yes, it does).

Books like this one used ot be my bread and butter and I would indulge in them, but then I stopped reading them. I think I had a disenchantment with Kazuo Ishiguro that was a little too much.

Regardless, back to this book here. I really enjoyed it. It was a delight to read. Since I’ve read books like this one, I knew that setting expectations of grandeur wasn’t going to match it and instead it would be a book that stays with you and just ponders alongside.

The book is about ahousekeeper who gets sent to work at the home of a mathematics professor that had an accident and now can only remember up to 80 minutes. This makes other housekeepers leave, but our narrator doesn’t and she finds the professor fascinating, as he talks numbers and numbers to her.

There is no romance, there is only the exploration of humanity, of how we can establish friendships even through hardships and how we can connect with other human beings. I just genuinely felt that the book was gently taking you through a journey of finding out how to help others, how to accept better, while giving you lots of mathematical lessons (I was super happy about this bit because they never felt annoying or unnatural, instead they were perfectly part of the story, not to boast or distract or teach, just to talk for the professor).

If you want a soft book that is gentle and is about a housekeepr working for a professor who can only remember so long and how they connect despite this, this is the book to read.

Writing

Moon Writes: i only said i love you…

Posted on August 15, 2019

i only said i love you
at the end of us
but to me, it was the start
for i had not admitted
how i felt in my heart.

all the time we had together
i fought against falling for you
it was a scary thing to do
and i feared it’d
scare you away too.

now i’m looking
for a fresh new love
but every face i see
i’m hoping it’ll be
your own.

so i give up,
i can’t fight against love.
we both know that
you love me too

every time i find someone
else, i feel as if
i was betraying us,
going behind your back,
yet you say it’s alright…

but then you get jealous
and gulp the nerves of loosing
me back, never show your fear
or the hint of a tear,
you’re brave like that.

we play ping pong
never saying what we really mean
trying to live in-between
a hidden life from the rest of the world
that’s only for you and i.

but this can’t go on
for ever and without end
we’ll grow old, get bored
someone will love us more
or at least, they won’t deny
the feeling is there.

A poem for an infatuation and desperation or annoyance, or maybe a mix of both. But I like the fact that it points to a lost opportunity by the undecisive person rather by the one that moved on and got tired of being on a “yes then no then yes” mode.

Book Review, Books

Chinglish Review

Posted on August 13, 2019

Chinglish: An Almost Entirely True Story by Sue Cheung

Jo Kwan is a teenager growing up in 1980s Coventry with her annoying little sister, too-cool older brother, a series of very unlucky pets and utterly bonkers parents. But unlike the other kids at her new school or her posh cousins, Jo lives above her parents’ Chinese takeaway. And things can be tough – whether it’s unruly customers or the snotty popular girls who bully Jo for being different. Even when she does find a BFF who actually likes Jo for herself, she still has to contend with her erratic dad’s behaviour. All Jo dreams of is breaking free and forging a career as an artist.

Told in diary entries and doodles, Jo’s brilliantly funny observations about life, family and char siu make for a searingly honest portrayal of life on the other side of the takeaway counter.

Rating:

I can’t remember exactly how I heard of this book but it had been on my radar for a few months and I had preordered it. For some reason I didn’t clock in that it had doodles in it *facepalm* so that was a wonderful surprise (and explains the competition of doodling yourself). So this copy came from a competition (as said before) during YALC and I kept trying daily to win it because I had to.

The book is very very funny, and extremely honest. I was giggling at the antics of Jo’s family and the doodles also help make this even better (I found them really cute and they felt like the right type of doodles Jo would do, which is an odd comment but sometimes the doodles are too young or too mature and you struggle to believe the “narrator” made them, but in this book it felt very much like they were hers).

I just have to mention that this book requires a couple of trigger warnings (maybe more than a couple but I can’t remember it all). There is child abuse (non sexual) peppered throughout the story, minors smoking, and abuse/violence in general. It surprised me because I wasn’t sure what to expect but I didn’t feel like I needed the warnings (which I usually do want in other books). Maybe because of the way it was narrated that it didn’t feel like a punch in the gut to move the plot, but more as the title says “an almost entirely true story” and when those happen, it is easier in a way to see where it is going. Anyway, in case you needed them, there you go.

Oh, and also, you may become hungry. I kept wanting Chinese food when they talked about some of it (there’s a lot of talk about chicken’s feet, which reminded me of a shildren’s song in Mexico that talks about eating the beak and the tail of the chicken so yeah, not that far off).

I would recommend it as a quick read, with fun doodles, hope and a window into life in a Chinese takeaway in the 80s (not that this is all takeaways!). I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t want to put it down!

Books, Subscription Boxes

It’s a Kind of Magic Illumicrate Unboxing

Posted on August 11, 2019

I really like the vibe of this box, it feels very fitting to the book it featured. So let’s dive in, starting from the top left corner:

Discovery of Witches pin. I struggled to read this one due to the main love interest so I gifted my copies away. But the pin is cool
Uprooted Tote, which is a super dreamy eerie tote and I love it. It is perfect!
Magnetic coin (not bothered by it, as you may already know).
Theme booklet, I love the design is eerie, witchy, green.
Bellatrix promotional booklet.
Witchlands pin banner underneath the book (I like the size and that it is black).
Sanctuary, by Vic James. I have been really looking forward to it since I knew it was going to exist. (And I won a proof copy plus some extras at YALC so this is awesome!)
Wicked Saints Tiptych, love the artwork.
Second half of the bookends. I am a little bit disappointed by them as they are much too fragile and the pointy bits are bending even before I have used them just by moving them. But I do like the idea of the design.
A “book” Magic Spells ceramic pot. I am bad with plants but this makes me want to plant something in it and see it grow and be magic…

I was a bit of two hearts on this box. Some items are awesome, some I am not that crazy about but what definitely goes is that gorgeous totebag, favourite item for sure and I am very happy with the gorgeous green sprayed edges of the book.

Book Review, Books

Gods of Jade and Shadow Review

Posted on August 9, 2019

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-García

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

Rating:

I am going to do my best to not be a blubbering mess while writing this review. I received a review copy from Jo Fletcher books because I begged to be able to read before publication, but I have the Goldsboro edition ordered (hopefully it will arrive soon) and had preordered a finished copy too (nope, I wasn’t dying to read it, I promise).

So why did I want to read this book so much? Because it is a) own voices, b) México, c) Mayan gods. And it is set in the 1920’s, which is just after the Revolution so it is a country beaming with change and opportunities but also aching in some ways.

There are Latinx books showing more and more, but there are very few fantasy books like this one out there (or the ones I know of are in Spanish and for me, expensive to get unless I go to México).

From the very beginning, Casiopeia’s México is in a way my México, a slightly older and more frayed around the edges, but it is very much the one my greatgrandmother lived in (who was alive during the Revolution and told stories about living through it). Where it stops is that in this story, the Mayan gods are more than just words, they take flesh (I mean I have never seen this happen so I will leave this to fantasy but there are stories of different gods becoming human for a while).

It was an utter delight to read this, the way the mythology becomes reality blends with how México is in general, into the beautiful parts of it and also sometimes into the not so pretty ones too. I’ve been to most of the places Casiopeia goes (except her home town) so it was like taking a trip myself and reliving that, but almost at the same time as time travel.

One of the things this book does perfectly is to display Mexican culture in the way the characters interact. Casiopeia is 100% the real deal, and not a make believe of a Mexican. For example, in the quote above, she’s saying a “sorry” that doesn’t exist in English. In Spanish it is “lo siento mucho”, which is literally “I feel this so much” and it is to convey empathy to say “I am sad for you, I hurt with and for you”. Because at the core, we care. Family, friends, caring, food, they are central to who we are. And you can see that through the whole book.

And this book made me cry. I don’t cry much with books, but I was bawling my eyes out near the end, because it had just dug in deep into me.

I think if you are intrigued by Mayan mythology/gods, México and its culture, and fantastical stories, you should definitely read this. All the characters show different aspects of life in such a country and this is a wonderful representation of it.

I literally want everyone to read this book and then re-read it, and then talk about it and go visit México and each place Casiopeia and Kun-Kamé visit.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Tournaments & Trials Owlcrate Unboxing

Posted on August 7, 2019

I was eagerly awaiting this box and I am glad to have got it (and it made me decide to change form a monthly subscription to a 6 month one, since I have enjoyed most of the recent past Owlcrate boxes). So let’s unbox this one, starting from the book and going clockwise:

Spin the Dawn, this time the exclusive cover is a very subtle change (from silver title to gold) which I am glad for, as this is a gorgeous cover.
A jigswa puzzle in a carry pouch (300 pcs). This one made me super happy as I love jigsaws and it was in a handy pouch rather than a big box.
Theme card.
The collective pin to match the book, very gorgeous too.
A Cara Kozik mug for HP4, gorgeous as usual.
Playing cards set with each deck changed into one of the Londons from A Darker Shade of Magic. Love this idea.
A cute money purse, zippered.
Kingdom of souls promotional postcard.
The Selection inspired lankyard. I am not into this fanodm but I love the fact that this lankyard is perfect even if you don’t do the fandom and it is pretty neutral.
The print that is the puzzle which is a quote print too. Wow, that felt convoluted.

All in all full of gorgeous details and items, so very happy with this box.

Book Review, Books

Our Little Inventor Review

Posted on August 5, 2019

Our Little Inventor by Sher Rill Ng

A gorgeous and inspiring picture book about a young girl, Nell, who invents a machine to fix the pollution that is choking the city.

Rating:

I bought this after seeing (I may be wrong but probably not) Stephanie Burgis comment about it. It is a little on the pricey side, but it is good quality so it kinda balances it out.

We start with little Nell who is busy inventing something to help save the city from pollution and she insists she has to go show it to the people there (she lives far form the city).

When she arrives to the city, it isn’t as easy to be considered important. Nell is just a little girl and the adult men have things to discuss (like the pollution). But Nell doesn’t give up and she goes back to the drawing board (inventing) and works hard to help the city.

The artwork/illustrations are gorgeous and full of detail and I like the invention Nell does. And it encourages children to invent and to try to solve real problems.

What I didn’t like was that the ending was kinda left there without much. At the end I felt like there needed to be more, and there is a back pages illustration that hints at it, but story wise it feels a little incomplete.

Still, a cute book witha girl as the heroine and encouraging to invent and create.