Book Review: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

-
Image
The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker  was published on March 17, 2025. It opens with Detective Declan Shaw at a closed subway station trying to work up the nerve to commit suicide when he receives a call from his partner about a break in and homicide at the home of a true crime author. Shaw makes his way to the crime scene to work the case, and in a turn of events, Declan comes under scrutiny in another case loosely connected to this new case. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Writer  from NetGalley and Little , Brown, and Company for free in exchange for my honest review. I'm appreciative that my request for this book was approved. With this story opening with the main character trying to commit suicide, I almost didn't go any further with the book. However, I am glad I stuck with it as it took me on a fantastic ride and had my emotions all over the place. There were so many twists and turns that just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was ...
Post a Comment

Book Review: The Worst Witch (Worst Witch, #1) by Jill Murphy

-
In 1986, a movie called The Worst Witch was aired on television, and as a seven year old child, I absolutely fell in love with it. A few months ago, I thought about how much I loved it and decided to see if it was available on Netflix. It was not available, but it had been made into a television series back in 2017 and that was available. I did watch a few of the episodes and thought they had been done well. It made me research the original movie, and I found out that it was based on a book series from the 1970's. How I did not know this I'll never know, but I decided to buy a used copy from ThriftBooks.com. 

When I received the book The Worst Witch (Worst Witch, #1) by Jill Murphy, I couldn't wait to read it and see how closely the original television movie compared to the book. I wasn't disappointed. The 1986 movie did a phenomenal job in adapting the book for television.

The Worst Witch (Worst Witch, #1) by Jill Murphy is about twelve year old Mildred Hubble attending a boarding school for witches, and she is the worst student in her class. Everything she attempts to do, Mildred fails miserably and is often called into the headmistresses office to be reprimanded. She decides to run away after her latest failure in a school production.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even as an adult. It is very similar to the Harry Potter book series and is perfect for children who are too young to read that series. Some might even argue that J.K. Rowling took a few ideas from this book for her series. Even though The Worst Witch is targeted towards children between the ages of eight and twelve, I think it is more appropriate for kids between the ages of five and eight. It has great black and white illustrations throughout each chapter to help children visualize the story.

As a young child, I was very reluctant to read chapter books as I've mentioned in other posts, and it was until I was nine or ten that I became an avid reader when I discovered the Sweet Valley Twins book series at a garage sale. Had a librarian suggested the Worst Witch book series when I was six, seven, or eight years old, I would have become a bookworm that much sooner. So, if you're a librarian, take note of this!!! I gave The Worst Witch (Worst Witch, #1) by Jill Murphy five out of five stars.


Follow Us On Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/runningbibliophile/https://www.instagram.com/therunningbibliophile/https://www.pinterest.com/therunningbibliophile/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Dare by Natasha Preston

-
Image
The Dare by Natasha Preston is a young adult horror novel about Marley and her friends Atlas, Lucia, and Jesse are seniors in high school.  The senior pranks are fun and lighthearted until Rhett starts doling out dares that are more serious.  Will Marley and her friends survive? A huge thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of The Dare  by Natasha Preston.  The last book I read by this author was so well written, I knew I wanted to give her latest story a try. The first thing I noticed about the story is it's reminiscent of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series, which brought back all the feels from my childhood.  Pretty quickly, the storyline shifts and is eerily similar to the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer .  It's at this point that I became disappointed with the book and almost stopped reading it.   Additionally, there were other parts t hat reminded me of The Secret Diaries by Janice Harrell.  So, overall, The Dare wasn't ...
Read more

Product Review: Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist - Gain Scent

-
Image
One particular weekend night, I was watching television, and a commercial came on advertising Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist. In the ad, it mentioned that it would take off grime and dirt after spraying it on the surface and wiping it off with a simple swipe. It went on to mention that it could be used in the bathroom, and I thought, "I really need to try this product on my bathtub." Excited, I couldn't wait to buy it and looked for it at the grocery store the next day while I was getting my weekly groceries. I wasn't expecting to actually find it in stores yet because it usually takes the stores in my area a few weeks to get products in stock after I see it advertised on television. Much to my surprise and delight, my local Kroger Grocery Store actually had the Mr. Clean: Clean Freak Deep Cleaning Mist in stock and in no less than two scents. I grabbed the Gain Scent bottle and stuck it in my grocery cart. Eventually, I decided to use it to cle...
Read more

Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich

-
Image
Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich  is the latest installment in the Stephanie Plum book series and opens with Joe Morelli asking Stephanie to dog sit his dog Bob while he is out of town testifying at a trial.  The typical chaos ensues when Stephanie has to bring Bob along to apprehend all of her FTAs and has her asking herself if she wants to be married. Each book in this series typically follows the same formula and is wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow at the end.  It's because of this that I enjoy the series . . . I always know that Stephanie is going to get herself into some sort of trouble and need Ranger or Morelli to help her, and the bad guy is always caught.  Sometimes, I just need something familiar and predictable to read.  And, I don't mean that in a bad way either because it allows me to escape reality and gives me a few chuckles along the way.  It's like the ...
Read more