Rachel Reads & Reviews

Sharing books for everyone

  • A Secret Princess Review

    Margaret Stohl and Melissa de La Cruz team up once again for a reimagining of beloved literary characters from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s canon. The choice of pairing Mary Lennox and Sara Crewe is perfect as they are just those two literary characters that you just picture like when one thinks of Wendy Darling, one also thinks of Alice in Wonderland because of their similar experiences in fictatious worlds. Or at least I do.

    Anyway, they bring a delightful new dynamic by bringing Sara and Mary to each other’s spheres. But that’s not all, there’s also Cedric Errol in the mix, better known as Little Lord Fauntleroy, and all it begins with a genie.

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  • Dangerous Secrets Review

    This prequel written by Mari Mancusi delves into the mysterious past of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna diving deeper into the magical alliance between Arendelle and Northuldra that would leave a lasting legacy on their daughters and the kingdom itself.

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  • 10 Things I Hate about Pinky Review

    Some might describe Pinky Kaur as “a temptuous bitch.”

    No, no one has.

    But she can be bull-headed, impulsive, and a provoker, always on a short fuse ready to fight for a worthy cause. And much like everyone’s favorite heroine, Kat from the movie 10 Things I Hate about You this has the case of everyone seeing Pinky as troublemaking outcast that won’t play by any rules, especially her mother.

    Despite the title and yes there’s a poem involved too, the plot isn’t an homage to the movie. Rather is a relationship of convenience that pushes Pinky and Samir together just like a Heath Ledger rom-com as Pinky’s cousin says.

    Menon brings her wonderful sense of romance once again as she brings these total opposites together for a summer of evolution and pushing past fears, so let’s get to it!

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  • Interview with Nancy Silberkleit

    Nancy Silberkleit is the daughter-in-law of Archie Comics founder, Louis H. Silberkleit and current co-CEO of the company. Here, she graciously took time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions on a passion dear to her heart and vision: comics in education and literacy.

    1. How have comics, especially Archie, been a viable tool in promoting literacy? 

    This particular question I treasure and identify as one of the most important questions of Archie Comics, as it has been posed to me many times.
    My response to this question is featured on various media platforms and educational forums around the globe. “Zam, wham, wow” is what my heart says in thinking about how Archie Comics is the brand not just associated with, but connected with learning, language, and reading. The phrases, “Archie Comics is how I learned English” or “Archie Comics is how I learned to read!” are often told to me by audience members at events I’ve been a speaker at.
    Further your question sparks personal emotions for me and has become the topic that flows through my veins. From my research on the subject matter, it seems to indicate illiteracy is still an issue both in the United States and globally. At a very young age I struggled with reading,and so I understand how that can affect one’s self-esteem and confidence and because of this I am very invested in the cause of literacy.  

     How the brain itself learns to read is a biological mystery, but studies have shown the earlier a child is given the gift of learning through books, it can help greatly with cognitive ability.   As many of us have experienced, we are taught or shown at a young age, picture books, the alphabet and words. All of that is to flow into our brains for processing and onto critical thinking. But what exactly has to occur in order to become a reader? No one exactly knows. My personal experience on becoming a reader has been a long  journey – a journey I never put much thought into – until I was asked “Can comics be a viable tool in promoting learning?”  That question is a golden buzzer moment, an absolute “Yes!” Engagement to learning is key and that is exactly what comics do!

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  • Princess Diaries #7-9 ReRead

    Well Party Princess started with a bang in my opinion revealing that the student government is in debt so there’s no way for Mia to implement any of her policy ideas like Cans or Bottles buckets so students will be more enviromentally responsible. Obviously, not the biggest priority for Mia’s family like Grandmere who is consumed with the faux island nation auction and stealing faux Genovia from the Reynolds-Abernathy bid.

    But before you can say blackmail (Grandmere is vicious in this novel), she ursurps the fundraising plans (it was candle-making. Yes, very lame. Grandmere’s idea is honestly better) by having Mia stage and star in a musical based on her ancestor, Rosagund. And she’s to star opposite J.P. who is handsome and kind enough to give Michael a run for his money.

    But that’s not all, Mia is still in a fierce internal war with her creative writing teacher who doesn’t see eye to eye in Mia’s efforts. Which is putting a big crimp into her self-esteem. Her teacher cannot be right. Mia’s writing isn’t so bad that its the reason her moving story with social commentary-No More Corn– is not getting picked by any magazine.

    But the biggest deal of all is that Mia’s boyfriend may think she’s a total party dud. Between her musical debut, the auction ball and trying to show off her party prowress at michael’s college, she’s sure she’ll prove him wrong.

    Now, the other books after this get serious so this one was pretty funny from start to finish. First off, Mia’s writing to the deceased Dr. Jung because she needs his advice with all the drama going on. Plus the usua lists like top 10 most beautiful women that they should be sent away and how horror movies have messed her up that’s very relatable.

    Then there’s Lana trying to shake down Mia while Grandmere is truly blackmailing her with the threat of Annabel Cheeseman (Apparently it’s a real name, and despite being ridiculous, doesn’t stop Annabel from being a brown belt) and Lily’s ridiculous literary magazine idea which. . . hahaha that among Lily’s growing jealousy of J.P. is nice forshadowing for the Lily-Mia blowup that’s to come. Also there is some reality check for Mia when her latest crisis over Michael’s attentions comes to a slamming halt that Michael has his own drama to deal with too.

    But honestly not as comparable to Mia’s as we read on to her junior year in Princess on the Brink (of a nervous breakdown).

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  • Catching Fire Review

    I’m back and so is Katniss, though she’s a lot worse off than I. Even though it’s been a few months since she ha sleft the Arena no one will let her forget the trauma she’s experienced. Starting with the Victory Tour which President Snow makes a surprise appearance to blackmail Katniss into submission. Her act of defiance as the girl on fire has ignited a revolution in the Districts and nothing she can do, no matter how in love with Peeta she is, will subdue the flame.

    And then she’s reaped for the Quarter Quell where previous Victors will fight to the death to show that even the Champions are not strong enough to fight the Capitol. the symbolism is clear but Collins keeps readers in suspense the whole time as Katniss veers between her two options die fighting or surviving to be face a worse death.

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  • Top 5 Dear Canada

    Just as Dear America and American Girl exposed me to US history, Dear Canada gave me an entryway to

    1. If I Die Before I Wake: While the U.S. celebrates their role in “rescuing the Allies” during the Great War, Canada sacrificed a lot more men in the war effort. They also lost a lot of people in the aftermath. The whole world did in the influenza epidemic that tends to be glossed over in history. This diary delves into the fear and celebration that comes with the ending of war. And the subsequent terror of this unknown virus as Fiona sees sibling after sibling succumb to it. It’s very relevant and ironic that we have a pandemic in the 20s, only this case was in 1919-1920 but the grief and fear is still the same.
    2. No Safe Harbour: I didn’t know about the Halifax Explosion when I read this book but the basics is that it is the largest man-made explosion in history (before the Atomic bomb, but this is 1917 so we’re a few years away from that). It flattened the Halifax harbor and killed millions. So it’s a pretty bad birthday for Charlotte as she’s suddenly orphaned and homeless. Her only family is her older brother who is to return from war, that is until the ensuing chaos reveals a family secret. It’s a great exploration of grief, family and PTSD in her brother’s case as Charlotte struggles to move forward in such senseless loss.
    3. Prisoners in the Promised Land: Know what happened in Canada during WW1, Ukrainian immigrants and citizens were rounded up into concentration camps out of fear of enemy aliens. I know, very shocking and little known even in Canada. The author utilizes fiction as well as her family’s personal history with this shameful past to create a moving diary about Anya and her family keeping faith in their new country and suriving together in their ramshackle barracks in the Canadian wilderness.
    4. An Ocean Apart: While reading this series, I was surprised by how many laws in U.S. history also occured in Canada like Japanese concetration and apparently the Chinese Exclusion Act. Mei-ling’s family is one of those who are diligently saving to bring over her mother and brother from China when the Act goes into affect, leaving their family status in limbo. It makes Mei-ling feel even more isolated as she’s bullied in schools by other gangs as her older employers. Chan does a great job in delving into early Chinatown, Canada from her father’s struggling resturaunt and his mistrust of Mei-ling’s white teachers to Mei-ling’s own wish to continue her education and not go into early marriage like her fellow co-workers.
    5. Orphan at My Door: If you’ve read Anne of Green Gables, you might recognize the term of Bernardo’s Home Children aka orphans from Britain and other areas who are sent to work and find families abroad. Victoria is a pretty wealthy young girl but her worldview turns upside down when Mary Anna comes to serve her family. At first, Victoria romanticizes Mary Anna’s life like it’s Oliver Twist before Mary Anna sets her straight and they come to form a real friendship. But it’s not all broadening horizons and interclass friendship. Not all home children are treated decently or evem like humans as the girls set out to find Mary Anna’s other siblings and save them from abusive homes.
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  • Top 5 Dear America

    Originally I was going to do a full ranking but then there’s 35 books and I don’t hate myself. Also the last time I read all 35 was in 2020 where I read the 35 books in 17 days (I was under self-pressure okay. It was a stupid idea) and got eye strain for a month. It was an awful idea. But it’s a lot and so I decided to choose the top 5 that always stand out to me.

    1. One Eye Laughing, The Other Weeping: This book is split into two parts describing Julie’s life under the beginning of Nazi persecution in Austria and her escape to America. The first part is harrowing describing how happy her life is which makes it all the more awful when it becomes more limited by the rules of Gestapo. It doesn’t help that they are all in denial of what is to come, but not for long. Kristalnacht is where it really sets in that people truly hate them for being Jews and older readers will be able to read in between the lines of what the Nazis did to Julie’s mother leading to her subsequent depression and suicide. I was just shocked when Julie’s servants turned on them calling her “the rich Jewish bitch.” It further isolates Julie as her former friends refuse to speak to her and her fellow Jews are disappearing, either to escape or have been rounded up already. With all this happening, Denenberg’s portrayal of Julie’s depression and PSTD when she comes to America is realistic as she cannot feel happy knowing what is happening to her father on the other side of the ocean and the cruelty people are capable of.
    1. With the Might of Angels: Dawn Rae’s life is turning upside down for the better and for the worse. She along with few others have been chosen to integrate her Virginia middle school. She is excited to get a better education that her parents remind her that she deserves, but the backlash is fierce and soon she is the only one attending as her other friends feel the hostility and threats aren’t worth it. The discrimination that Dawnie faces is intense and I’m mad on her behalf to see what she goes through from teachers and students alike but Pinkney gives Dawnie a great support system with her family and Church and inspiring figures like Jackie Robinson and a young unknown preacher with the initials of MLK to give her the courage to keep going.
    2. A Coal Miner’s Bride: Anetka is thrilled to finally be able to join her father in America especially as things in the motherland grow worse and worse with the military draft, hostile soldiers and general poverty. But when she comes to America, she finds out the full story of how her father afforded her passage. He had the help of her apprently new husband, a Pennsylvania miner with three daughters. It’s not what she envisioned in coming to America but she is determined to get the girls to love her and when her husband dies, fight for the rights of other workers against the exploitative managers.
    3. Dreams in the Golden Country: If you like Fiddler on the Roof, you’ll enjoy this story of 12 year old Zipporah and her family as the finally come to the city with street paved with gold. Not so much. Zipphorah is trying to catch up on her English when she’s placed in kindergarten classes at school and the rest of the family try deal with their low-paying jobs in factories. But what makes it very Fiddler on the Roof is the aspect surrounding family and tradition as Zipporah begins to long for life on the Yiddish stage while her older sister falls in love with a young Irish man, cementing her death in the eyes of their parents.
    4. Color Me Dark: African-Americans had thought things would get better after WW1 since they had sent soldiers to fight for democracy, proving that they deserved rights and citizenship just as any white man. Not so much as the Love family finds out when their returning uncle gets lynched and their newspaper offices gets destroyed. Worst of all, Nellie’s twin has gone mute since witnessing the attack. Though they are loathed to leave the only home they’ve known, the family moves to Chicago along with the rest of the Great Migration. McKissack does a great job in exploring Nellie’s sort of culture shock in the North, the variety of black Churches and preachers and the continuing racial tensions that simmer below the surface.
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  • Top 5 Royal Diaries

    1. Anacaona: Golden Flower: This one got number one because I loved the combination of amazing cover design and the unique storytelling choices combining visions, writing and symbols. Makes sense since the Taino didn’t have written language as we know it. Even so, Danticat is a mesmerizing author with lyrical languague as she introduces readers to Haiti’s indigenous culture while forshadowing the tragedy that will befall Anacaona when the conquistadors arrive.
    2. Catherine: The Great Journey: Anastasia may have captured the world’s interest as Russia’s most interesting princess but there’s a reason that Catherine got “The Great” as her moniker. This book takes readers through a journey of her origins when she was just a poor, pimply German nobless. It is her emotionally abusive mother that takes her from everything she knows to Russia’s cold vastness with a chance to impress the current Empress and marry Prince Peter. An interesting story showing how Catherine learns to navigate the unfamiliar Russian court, stand up for herself and begin to view the potential of Russia and her own power.
    3. Mary: Queen Without a Country: Like all the other books in the series, Mary’s diary takes place before her brief rule as Queen of Scotland. In fact she lives in France under the domineering eye of Catherine de’ Medici. This got on the top five because I enjoyed Mary’s close friendship with her fellow Marys (it’s a very popular name), a brief sexual assault plotline that is still relevant (and I still can’t believe they just allowed lower schoolers to read attempted molestation. Of course it makes sense it would happen then but still) and Mary learning to see from other points of view and there is a different way to accuulate power than through fear, but by taking the higher road.
    4. Jahanara: Princess of Princesses: Most people may not know Jahanara’s name but they may recognize her parents, Shah Jahan, the Mongul ruler who created the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife. As one can imagine she lives a life of luxury and opulance but her personal life is in a flux. Her brothers have returned from being hostages (court politics, its complicated, you have to read to understand), one is still pure and kind, the other is now bitter and brainwashed. And now she’s caught in the middle of the next potential generation of Mongul rulers, and her choice of ally may get her killed. Always exciting especially as choosing between beloved family members raises the stakes immensely.
    5. Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars: This story is surprsingly applicable to modern day as Sŏndŏk deals with family troubles of her father leaving her mother for a younger woman. Of course, her father is king and is leaving her mother for a younger woman that might give him a male heir and her mom has to become a nun as a result might not be exact same thing as modern day divorces but Sŏndŏk’s sadness for her mother and bargaining to keep them together is one that kids will connect to. That combined with Sŏndŏk’s fight against changing Korean values as shamnism is pushed aside for the Chinese neo-Confucianism which would incidentally give her less rights because she’s a woman adds another historical layer. Seeing the change in Korean society and how Sŏndŏk and others respond is super interesting to me and places it in the top 5.
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  • Ranking Girls from Many Lands

    Now the other series American Girl spun off was the Girls from Many lands series for older middle schoolers tackling historical periods from eight different lands and more intense in some senses. What I mean is that half of the series tackles serious topics like court intrigue, colonization and genocide. The other half is more typical coming of age adventures with cross-dressing as a boy to gain some independence or winning Irish dancing contests. So it feels a bit uneven. Noentheless, it’s an underrated series that delivers

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