and as a child 'choose your own adventure' style books were my favorite, so I really expected to enjoy Hakuoki
597474
I've 'played' through several visual novels, and as a child 'choose your own adventure' style books were my favorite, so I really expected to enjoy Hakuoki...but I didn't. I got up to chapter 3 of my first play through before I had to return in. It's rare that I don't even bother ending a game or a book, but I was unable to get into the story of this little tale. It spent so much time focusing on politics and history that the actual character interactions seemed to be few and far between. On top of that the protagonist seemed a little...wishy washy to me. She was hard to enjoy.

Of course, this all may have improved down the line, but I simply couldn't go any farther. The game's art was very pretty though, and the voice acting was better than most I've heard.
3076222
Coming across this book was a bit of a blast from the past, I haven't read a Choose Your Own Ending book since I was in my tweens. Not adverse to a bit of nostalgia I thought I'd give it a go.

Leroy Sturlubok is the (acting) Vice Principal at a public elementary school. He has very lofty opinions of himself, not necessarily shared by other members of staff or his acquaintances. The blurb says the book offers 100 different choices and 46 possible endings to his story. I went through the book about 5 times and found him working on a reality TV show with Tony Danza (another blast from the past), teaming up with a telepathic elderly Japanese man to foil a crime, and destroying the life of a beautiful young woman, among other plots and subplots. The choices allowed me to basically make him a real pain in the proverbial or make him slightly less so, he really isn't much of a sympathetic character.

The navigation was easy and I have to say the best way to describe it was fun. I stumbled across hints of other plots more than once and can see myself going back to it in future to see where different choices take me.

The downside to this book was that the narrative in between each choice was pretty short, and it felt a bit too fast paced with little opportunity to set the scenes. Even completing 4 or 5 stories didn't take me very long, the work of an evening. I appreciate that to fully develop each plot with so many going on would result in an enormous tome but a little more in the way of description would have been nice.

I don't think I'll make choose your own ending books a regular event but I did have fun with this book.
1773363
I was very excited when I read the premise of this book.  I have always been a voracious reader, and like the author, I loved finding heroines I could related to in my books at a young age.  However, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this book.  It has nothing to do with quality at all, but rather with the author's own tastes in books, which seem to rarely have intersected with mine.

In How to Be a Heroine, Samantha Ellis reflects on the books and heroines she loved as a child, and how her perspective of them has changed during adult rereadings.  I enjoyed her perspectives on stories that almost everyone is familiar with, like fairy tales, Jane Austen's novels, and Anne of Green Gables.  Even though I didn't always share her opinions, it was fun to read about stories that are so familiar to me.

However, Ellis seems to have spent a great deal of her youth reading books that never held any appeal to me at all, like Wuthering Heights, Gone with the Wind, and Valley of the Dolls.  She admits that she was enamored with the idea of overwrought, often tragic love affairs, which frankly were the last thing I ever wanted to read.  I didn't share her opinions as a child, and as an adult I often couldn't relate to her new perspectives, though it was interesting to read about her gradually developing feminist lens.

Overall, this isn't a bad book.  But, I spent a lot of it thinking "I would never read that book; it sounds horrible.  I certainly don't want to read a 2 or 3 page summary of it, let alone someone's fond reminiscence about how it shaped her youth."  So I skimmed through some sections on books that were especially unappealing to me.  I think to enjoy this book, you have to have shared the author's interests at one point or another in your life.  If there has ever been a time when you've really enjoyed overblown, high-drama romance (and there's no shame in it), you will probably enjoy reading how Samantha Ellis found her perspectives changing as she aged.
609550
I remember reading these books when I was in school - I always loved them! Now that I'm an adult, I think it would be cool to read them again.  Let's face it, when we were young and forced to read a book, we didn't really that much attention to what we read (let along have our brains absorb it!) I wanna feel like a kid again, and I think this series will take me back to the years of my childhood!
2927788
I loved the choose your own adventure books when I was in junior high. This book was exactly like I remembered them to be. The way it is done on the kindle was one thing that I wondered about. On the kindle, you just select which page you wish to turn to. If you have never read a choose your own adventure book, it is a book that gives you options within the story. I found this story pretty entertaining. The individual story routes are quite short, but the key is to use the back button when you have died and take all of the alternate routes. There are many alternative routes if you do it that way. I also like to go back several times and take whole different routes. The only complaint I have is that it is way to short! I was having too much fun and did not want it to end. The stuffed bunny aspect was something that I thought was funny. I also thought it was a little expensive for how short it is. On the other hand, there are so many different stories that I have mixed thoughts on that aspect. All in all good for an afternoon, but you will get through it pretty quickly.

*edited 8/5/11* This story was 9.99 when this review was published. This story is today 2.99 which in my opinion is a good price. I felt at the time that I bought it that the amount was high for the little time spent reading the book.
704625
When I first got this book, through the Kindle First offer, I was extremely excited because I still enjoy books that use fairy tales as references. However, if you are looking for a retelling of the Snow White character, or more than just a few passing references to Snow White, then maybe the book is not for you. Sure, the main character, Lumikki, is named after Snow White, but that doesn't quite play any significant role in the book.

I was quite excited as I was reading the book because it hints that Lumikki is different than other people her age. She's hyper-sensitive to noises, can expertly read peoples' faces and emotions, has a nose for a wide-range of perfumes, and seemingly is pretty strong and athletic for a teenager. The reader does not find out until the very end why this is so, and it's a little disappointing. There are some silver linings though: it appears that more questions will be answered in future books, so it might be best to read the series when more books are released.

Other than a little disappointment with the story line, there are also some odd translation issues. This, of course, cannot be helped, but it does make reading it a little rocky. If you want to read a series that does really well at retelling the stories of fairy tale characters, then check out Cinder!
3829233
I enjoyed The Adventures of Jo Schmo: Dinos Are Forever, and I was pleasantly surprised to get the sequel: The Adventures of Jo Schmo: Wyatt Burp Rides Again as part of a double.  I think this is sort of a fun fantasy for kids.  Btw, I thought Wyatt Burp was funnier, but I loved the humor in both.  There was some repetition in both books, but they were still funny.  And I don't mean the deliberate repeating of phrases; they worked.  However, I didn't care for the art.  I understand that cartoons are a good idea for funny stories like these, but I guess I wanted something slicker.  Probably kids will like them more than I did.  And the dog's face reminded me of Barney Rubble from The Flintstones.  I think kids will like both of the books because of the characters, including the mean girls and the villains--and the humor.
782770
Personally I really liked this book; though it wasn't what I was expecting. Instead of heartwarming and uplifting like the manga and anime are, it felt tragic and rather depressing.

and that ending such a tease. :P
367436
I should say right away that I'm rating this book as a children's (middle grade) book, not young adult, which - I think - it's theoretically supposed to be.

It didn't read like YA. It read pure middle-grade to me, right down to Emilie, the heroine, coming off far more as a twelve- or thirteen-year-old - probably more towards twelve or even eleven, especially in the beginning, but I'm willing to put some of her childlike naivety down to the society she was a product of - than the sixteen years which she was supposed to be. The writing style, the plot, the occasionally unnecessary explanations to the reader - all that felt "young" to me (with the possible exception of occasional references to prostitutes).

That said, once I'd adjusted my mindset and read it like a children's adventure instead of young adult fantasy, I really liked it. It reminded me a lot (in the general sense of wonder and adventure, if not in the writing) of Jules Verne's work or Conan Doyle's Challenger books, although it was set in a fantasy world, not "our" world (one rather like ours / sort of 19th century feel, just with magic). The pacing was good (at least I didn't find it dragging), the adventures reasonably exciting, the heroine spunky and feisty and brave while not being superpowered, the supporting cast largely fairly good.

I'm not entirely keen on the hint of Emilie/Daniel we got from this book (I take it that there are more planned, although this works very well as a standalone), but, eh - it's a rare young adult fantasy these days that gets by without romance, at least when it's a book with a girl protagonist. (I wouldn't say "Emilie and the Hollow World" is aimed at girls, though - it should be very readable for any kids into adventure stories.)
3506601
I was a huge fan of the Harris Burdick pictures, so I was super excited for this book.  Then as I read the stories, I had a "duh" moment.  The reason I love the pictures is because I can create my own stories.  When I read someone else's stories, they mess up my version (like seeing the movie version of a beloved book).  Sure, the stories are far out and interesting as the pictures, and it's fun to see what writers you already know do with the pictures.  But the whole point of the original collection is to put your own spin on the pictures.  I'm glad to read the stories, but I think I'll go back to my own imagination now....
14584
I was a huge fan of the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. One small book could keep me enraptured for hours to days on end. It was so much fun to explore every possible outcome. I never thought that these would be made into an adult version! This book brought back how much I truly loved those books. This book made my inner child really, really happy!
4505642
I got this to read with my seven year old son who is really into Pokemon.  Its an okay read, I think young Pokemon fans will love it, but adults will be a bit bored.

In this first installment we meet Black and his friends.  Black has always dreamed about winning the Pokemon league, and now he is embarking on an adventure to fill his Pokedex and have his first trainer battle.

I am relatively new to the Pokemon universe.  It was popular after I was a kid and as far as deck-building games go I was more of a Magic the Gathering fan.  However, Pokemon is huge with elementary kids and when my son starting getting Pokemon cards the whole family started playing the Pokemon card game.

When my son saw this in the library he was super excited to get it.  Neither of us had played the video game that this Manga series is based off of but we do own it.  This was a cute story, but didn't have a ton of meat to it.

Basically we meet Black and watch as he fills his Pokedex and engages in his first trainer battle.  There is a lot of explaining about what you have to do to win a Pokemon tournament.  There are also stats on the various Pokemon he encounters.

I enjoyed that Black needs to put his Munna on his head, so that the Munna can eat his dream and allow space for him to think about strategy during a Pokemon battle.  That was kind of cute and creative.

The drawing is very typical Manga style, nothing special.  It is enough to tell who all of the characters are and whats going on so that is good.  This book is read in traditional Japanese manga style; so you read from back to front...right to left.  This was a bit confusing for my seven year old who is still somewhat new to reading, but he got the hang of it after a while.

I think kids and adults that are big Pokemon fans will enjoy this. If you aren't interested in the Pokemon universe than skip this, it spends quite a bit of time explaining things about how the Pokemon battles work, etc.

Overall an okay manga, meant more for young Pokemon fans than adults.  I think young Pokemon fans will enjoy this.  Adult Pokemon fans will probably enjoy it too.  Its a cohesive story that is fun and does a good job of introducing us to Black and his world.
149105
`The King of Slippery Falls' is about a boy named Lewis Hilton, living in the small town of Slippery Falls, Idaho. He is fascinated in catching a big trout that he saw for only a second in his life, and tries to catch it everyday unsuccessfully, making him the joke of the town's fishermen. He recently learns that he was adopted, and on his sixteenth birthday, reads a letter that was written for him from his biological mother. What follows are a series of incidents that he gets involved in, which somehow, very loosely, connects both the stories mentioned above.

The reason I picked this book was because I thought it was a story about finding oneself. Even when I initially started reading, the first few chapters still seemed intriguing since they involved a number of different storylines, such as Lewis trying to find the big fish, searching for his identity, learning about his birth mother etc. However, once I finished reading the entire book, I was somewhat disappointed. None of the storylines concluded with a satisfactory ending, and they just leave you hanging and thinking, `what was the point?' For instance, how did Lewis finding the fish represent any philosophical connection to his identity? Was there any significance to the `royal blood' incident in the middle of the story? One of the interesting things that I found in the book was the connection between Lewis and Amanda, and even that felt like a bummer towards the end of the story. In fact, the only character I found really exciting was Maple, and I wished she was the main character of this book, which would have made it more interesting and humorous to read.

This would have been a great book if it was a beginning of a book series, which consisted of continuing books of Lewis's adventures. However, being a single tale, it seems rather disappointing. It is just a series of incidents that happen in a boy's life that do not change his personality in anyway. The protagonist himself is confused about his identity at the end of this book, so imagine how the readers would feel!

I would suggest reading this book only if you have nothing else to do on a lazy afternoon, and would recommend taking it from the library, rather than purchasing it.
1157461
This is the fourteenth book in The American Adventure series. This series tells about the lives of children from many generations of a fictional family throughout American history, from the settling of Plymouth by the Pilgrims through the end of World War II.

It's the fall of 1811 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fourteen-year-old George Lankford is very excited about the New Orleans, the first steamship to travel on the Ohio River. He wants to build his own steam engine, perhaps to power a small boat, but his failed experiment only gets him in trouble with his parents, who forbid him to do any more experiments with steam. George decides to build a different kind of boat, with the help of another boy, Charles. George is hesitant to befriend Charles, because the other boy has terrible scars on his face after being burned as a young child. Although George doesn't judge Charles, some of the other boys at school do, and it makes him uncomfortable. And soon he has more worries, as a series of unexpected earthquakes shake Cincinnati.

This was a pretty good book from the American Adventure series. I was a little disappointed that the earthquakes didn't play more of a role in the story, however. Given the title of the book, I thought they'd be one of the main focuses, but the first one didn't show up until about halfway through the book. Still, I did enjoy this book, and would recommend it to other readers who enjoy the books in this series.
4641622
It was okay. I might have been disappointed because I had really high expectations from the guy who wrote Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World). That had much better twists and distopic themes IMO
3196120
This is the first Monkey World Adventure book my 5yr old son and I read. He certainly likes both the drawings and the story. The drawings are in a retro style that's quite enjoyable. From my point of view the storyline is so-so but perhaps I expect too much. Also, the title does not seem to relate to the story very well.
743068
Since this children's book had such great reviews and I love to encourage people to value their ideas and their creative inspirations, especially my 6-year-old great-niece, I bought this and expected to give it to her as a birthday gift. When I read it, though, I was disappointed because it didn't seem to actually have the substance I expected. A child's mind is open and ripe for development. Books, games and stories teach children about how life works and carve out patterns of emotion and logic in their minds as well as passing along wisdom and cultural expectations. So I'm particular about what I will give a child, making sure a teaching story will actually offer her developing mind some real guidance and insight along with entertainment. This story started out in a lovely way, but seemed rather unimaginative (for a story about what to do with ideas) and ended with everything just POOF! disappearing and "changing the world." Really?! It's as if the author just ran out of pages, ran out of time, ran out of ideas and quit. I felt cheated! I didn't want to leave a child with the same feeling, so I didn't give it to her!