Thursday, January 6, 2011

Book Review- Emily the Strange: Dark Times (Book #3)


By Rob Reger
Illustrated by Buzz Parker
Published by Harper Collins
Released on January 1st, 2011
Source- The Publisher
Ages 12 & up
3 stars- It's A Good Read

Emily's uniquely strange homeschool syllabus includes:

1. Time Travel 101
2. Advanced Spy Photography
3. Bonnet Basics
4. Great Aunts Through the Ages
5. Intro to Germ Theory
6. Care and Feeding of 'Squito Fish
7. Fundamentals of Black Rock
8. Spiderweb Embroidery
9. Historical & Contemporary Felines
10. Pop Quizzes
11. Foodstuffs of the 1780s
12. Thwarting Ancestral Enemies
13. Techniques in Parallel
(quoted from Goodreads)

This is the third book in the Emily The Strange Novels, and my first book to read in the series. Emily is a fun character to read about, as her unique voice is witty, sassy and at times humorous which made for an enjoyable read.

This tween isn't a fan of school and decides to take on homeschooling by herself, as her mother isn't much of a help to her. To better understand her, take a look at her syllabus:

1. Time Travel 101

2. Advanced Spy Photography

3. Bonnet Basics

4. Great Aunts Through the Ages

5. Intro to Germ Theory

6. Care and Feeding of 'Squito Fish

7. Fundamentals of Black Rock

8. Spiderweb Embroidery

9. Historical & Contemporary Felines

10. Pop Quizzes

11. Foodstuffs of the 1780s

12. Thwarting Ancestral Enemies

13. Techniques in Parallel

In her class, "Great Aunts through the Ages," Emily time travels all the back to the 1790's. Emily is on a quest to stop the death of one of her great aunts, but she must do this with out changing history, and while finding out what exactly causes her death in the first place. Her quest is of course not one that is with out danger.

Emily's adventure is documented in her journal, via her unique blend of writing, drawings and notes on each page will engage fans and reluctant readers a like. Emily the Strange is a fun story that has the balance of supernatural, mystery, historical fiction and touched with a little of science fiction. I recommend picking it up. My only caution would be to read the first two books before reading this one, as I at times felt lost on what was happening, as it's explained in the previous two books in the series.

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~