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Pretty fun, tapas-like stories about the built world in cities. I wish [a:Roman Mars|19916841|Roman Mars|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Kurt Kohlstedt|19916842|Kurt Kohlstedt|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] had put the book format to a bit more use, though; if you'd had Mars read this with some soft indie instrumentals in the background, the book would be indistinguishable from an episode of the podcast. A podcast which, to be clear, I very much enjoy; but I was hoping for some more depth, or photographs, or diagrams, or any of the other things that are easier to do in a book than in a podcast. Mars and Kohlstedt talked on the podcast recently about wanting to make the book accessible for the reader who started at any point in the book, but I wish there had been a greater attempt to weave a greater narrative through the story bits.

There is a lot to like about this book. It's really compellingly-written, impressively smooth in its prose and stunningly well-researched (seriously, 30% of the e-book version is bibliography). I'm really looking forward to the next 99pi book; hopefully it'll be more depth than breadth.

Like Nancy Drew and Scooby-Doo, but with an unfortunate shot of gross-out horror.

I loved the setting and the main character, and would be happy (no, ecstatic) to read more of Noemí Taboada's adventures and hijinks and supernatural mysteries.

But while the ending is probably fine for many, it's not my cup of tea. I also felt like the first half of so of the book was a bit too slow, leaving the last half to race by at breakneck pace in order to cover all the ground it needed to cover.

Still, the indefatigable, ingenious, and dangerously charming main character was more than worth my quibbles with the ending. I hope she returns.

An adorable just-so classic with real but relatable stakes, sightly fantastic but truly grounded story beats, and a setting that gets more "period" by the day. We ended up reading the last four chapters all at once because the kids were so gripped by the urgent quest Ralph must undertake. "We have to find out what happens!!"

A stunningly fresh take on the fantasy world (a fantasy version of pre-Columbian America, in line with the fantastic pre-diaspora Africa in Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone), full of interesting and sharply-written characters. The initial chapters were distracting in their time skips, and it was difficult to know what or who was important until part of the way through the book. Still, it was a compelling read with a window into a fascinating world and makes me excited for the sequel.

Gripping and moving but unfortunately lacking in context, I was hoping it would help make some more sense of the reality of Native American code talkers...but it really just told a few very similar and somewhat repetitive stories, very vaguely. Still, the stories of code talkers fighting for a country that doesn't appreciate them and won't even acknowledge their unique contributions for decades is compelling and thought-provoking.

Meticulously researched and compiled, Kobes Du Mez's work speaks for itself. I grew up in a world where "GOP" practically stood for "God's Own Politics." But after learning a bit of history, I'm sickened, infuriated, and startled to see how much of it was manufactured out of a cynical, racist, sexist, hypocritical, heretical cloth in an attempt to grab power for white men. Between "Jesus and John Wayne," "What is a Girl Worth?" by Rachael Denhollander, and "The Color of Compromise" by Jemar Tisby, I'm learning that a lot of what I took for granted about my faith isn't necessarily core to it at all; it's driving me back to the Scripture to examine what the truth really is for myself, and what the historical Church believed before the blatant power grabs of the American Church.

Even though I felt like she was a bit unfair to a couple of the people she mentioned, the sheer weight of evidence shines through to reveal deep wounds that we must apply the Gospel to; the real one, not the "gospel" of militant masculinity.

Highly recommended. You'll be gobsmacked by every page.

The kids were so excited to read this that we put a hold on it at the library before it even came out. I was looking forward to reading it to them, but about the time I realized the author had spent a couple dozen pages setting up a stealth joke about an H.G. Wells book—which no kids would possibly get, and few adults probably would—i found that I had something special and unique on my hands. Just as funny and madcap and surreal as the first, and I'm impressed at how well character depth and development is interwoven in this series.

This bear-out-of-water story had my kids laughing out loud. It's especially interesting how talking bears in this world are merely "somewhat unusual," which drives a good deal of unintentional comedy. Some of the stories in book 2 retread a few beats from book 1, but in total it's a nice advancement of the characters.

"Please look after this bear, thank you." I remember was a child watching a VHS cassette with several episodes of the old 1970s TV show, featuring a stuffed Paddington and an animated everyone else. While I was reading this to my kids, I tried to match the cadence and timbre of Michael Hordern (as best I could remember it). The book is a classic, harmless, gentle, but pleasant read; it feels comfortable and snappy, and it's an altogether delightful experience to read.