Hallo-READS Round-up with Disney Hyperion, HarperCollins, and Simon Pulse!

HI there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

~~ HAPPY HALLOWEEN ~~

Here's hoping your day is filled with delightful scares, horribly memorable decorations, and truly gruesome costumes to write home about.  Perhaps your plans for the evening include throwing a party, attending one, or (like me) merely giving out treats in your neck of the woods...but whatever your poison, there's bound to be some down time when you need SOMETHING to do, ANYTHING to take your mind off things, or are practically BEGGING to be entertained.  Never fear, the Insatiable Reader is HERE and I've got a few last minute solutions that'll fit the bill rather nicely.

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For all ages...

Art of Coloring:

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

9781484789742

Disney Hyperion

A title that easily straddles the current holiday and the next (if you skip turkey day, that is) without even breaking a sweat...or a leg...this crafty coloring book may be aimed at adult level talents, but with the familiar images of Jack, Sally, and his pals, it easily invites the whole family to put their own personal artistic stamp on things.  

Think the trio of trouble should exchange colors?  

Go for it!  

Prefer orange, yellow, and green cats as opposed to black?

Be my guest!  

Between the full page images of your favorite characters to the mind-boggling patterns, there's a little something for everyone to enjoy, to indulge, and otherwise get their Halloween creative juices flowing!  So go ahead, pull up a chair, grab your favorite coloring medium (I used colored pencils, markers, and glitter pens!), and satisfy your inner artist this season!

For the Middle Grade set....

Monsters Unleashed

Monsters Unleashed, Book 1

by

John Kloepfer

Illustrated by

Mark Oliver

9780062290304

HarperCollins

Picture it...

...Middle School art class and you're stuck with all the people you never really want to see face to face because, well...let's face it, they're bullies.  You've got the hotshot jock, the runaway at the mouth princess, the evil nerd genius (not official, but might be soon)...and then there's you, or in this case, Freddie and Manny.  One of you is an artistically inclined "giant", while the other is a tad lacking in the height department, less than super genius in the smarts department, but an all around good friend.  Yep...they balance each other out, and that balance is gonna serve them well when all MONSTER breaks loose.  Oh, right...we skipped that part, did we?  You see, Manny and Freddie were planning on making a monster MOVIE and were REALLY excited about utilizing the teacher's 3D printer to make Freddie's illustrations COME TO LIFE.  Thing is they didn't actually expect it to breath life into them, and yet...it did.  Yep...and that's only the beginning because once MONSTERS are UNLEASHED there's no telling what they'll do next.  

I loved the quick nature of the story and how it took you on a fantastical type adventure with bigger meaning undertones.  I mean, the monsters were Freddie's way of dealing with the bullying tactics of the aforementioned trio of non-friends...non-violent (at least in reality) and a way to build on his artistic abilities...but when push comes to shove, he's forced to deal with their version of "evil" head on...as are the bullies themselves.  It sounds awful but it was great to see them get a taste of their own medicine...I mean, what better way to out a bully than to make them face themselves at gargantuan levels?  Am I right?  

A great read for Middle Grade Fiction fans and beyond filled with adventure, danger, monsters (both cute and decidedly not), and a dose of reality you weren't expecting.  Though excited about the sequel (coming April 2018), I might have to read it with only one eye open as it's gonna have a serious pest problem....

For the Young Adult set....

Trapped

Fear Street, Book 51

by

R.L. Stine

9780671015008

Simon Pulse

...and you thought your high school was scary...

This story brings to mind The Breakfast Club with a twist...YOU actually risk BECOMING the breakfast.  There are the obligatory HS stereotypes, the new principal cracking down on shenanigans, the Saturday in-school detention with the threat of more to come is EVERYONE doesn't behave.  HahahahahahahahahahahaHA!  Like THAT could ever happen with this bunch.  *smirk*  Needless to say, one thing leads to another and another and another and...then suddenly, there's no more leading as they are trapped (eureka, the title!) where they shouldn't be, in a place that's been long forgotten, with something that SHOULD NOT EXIST.  That last thing?  Yeah, it's out for blood too...and it's none too picky about who it comes from.

In typical R.L. Stine fashion, the book goes from zero to sixty in a heartbeat, good thing too considering the length of the story, and nothing is held back.  NO, really...nothing, as in when rats get in our leading lady's hair, you hear all the squeaky details, or when the mysterious red cloud decides to wring the life from one of our happy bunch, you hear all the bone crunching moments until none are left.  Did I mention this was my pick for the Young Adult set and beyond?  Yeah, definitely...and yet I enjoyed it, which was surprising to me because my previous exploration into his work yielded different results.  Did the author's game change over the years?  Who's to say...this title is back from 1997...but I CAN say that you won't forget this short and non-sweet tale ANYTIME soon.

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Special thanks to the folks at Disney Hyperion and HarperCollins for the copies of the first two titles for review.  The third came from the used bookstore at my local library, so my thanks to whomever donated it.  (THANKS!)  For more information on the titles featured above or the publishers, feel free to click through the links provided.

Until next time, remember...HAPPY HALLOWEEN...and if it looks good, READ IT!