Hello dear readers! This is Miss A. Misra here after quite a while. (I really need to change that intro) I have read a good number of books while I was offline, and one of them includes The Midnight Gang by David Walliams. (please note that I did not buy this book though I have read it. How? I borrowed it from a friend)
I started reading it yesterday and it ended today.
Basically, I had just finished watching the first of “Attack on Titans” and decided that, well. Since I have nothing else to do, I’ll just finish the book real quick.
Firstly, the book is illustrated almost every few pages, which makes it easier to read and more fun for children. The drawings are quite decent and given in just the right places.
Second of all, the plot is very wholesome and sweet. It’s about a gang of children who are admitted in the children’s ward in Lord Funt’s hospital. They set about, fulfilling each other’s dreams in the most creative methods possible. For example. one boy wanted to fly. The children took all the helium balloons in the hospital and tied it to him so that he could float safely up the stairs and after popping a few balloons, float down again. There’s George, who loves eating and had his tonsils removed. Amber, who broke all her limbs because she fell off her bunk (don’t ask me how, I don’t know how.) Then there’s sarcastic Robin, who got some operation on his eyes and has to wear a bandage around them and can’t see. There’s Sally, who is so ill she almost always sleeps and has the tiniest amount of hair left. (I’m serious, almost all the hair on her head has fallen off) Then the new patient, Tom, who got hit by a cricket ball on the head. Together they form the midnight gang who set about at midnight (which is why they are called the midnight gang, as you probably have guessed by this time, it’s pretty obvious to me, but anyway-) And there is also last but not the least Porter, whose real name is unknown, who helps the children in their work. He has a lopsided face and one leg which is shorter than the other, however is very kind and generous even though he has no home of his own. Of course, there HAS to be an evil antagonist in a plot like this, who in this case is the matron, who hates children but takes care of the children’s ward. (???, I’m sorry, that makes no sense to me either, but it is what it is.)
Well, Tom’s parents live abroad and he feels lonely and unwanted because they hardly ever write to him in boarding school. He settles in the children’s ward quite well and even gets entry to the midnight gang (on the condition that he should always push Amber around on her wheelchair because no one else wanted to do so, on account of her being so terribly bossy. But that’s hardly the point, is it?) They have three main missions left to accomplish, Ambers’ (visiting the South Pole) George’s (flying) and Sally’s (living a wonderful life because she feels that since she’s always so ill, it would be a change for her to finally experience something else rather than lying in bed all day). The mean matron keeps trying to spoil their fun, so George puts a sleeping pill in the chocolates she eats at night, causing her to sleep all the time. That leaves the three children free to do whatever.
But they don’t include Sally in these adventures, since she is too ill and fragile. Tom, however, has no major problem with him, so he could join, as I mentioned before. The whole book is basically run on this whole plot.
The third thing I really liked about this story is that there is a whole lot of humour. Sarcasm, irony, simple jokes, or just random circumstances that appear funny to me for no reason,the full deal is packed into the book. However, the ending was rather too sudden, and I felt sad that (spoiler here) Tom just had to leave all his new friends .The reason you will find out when you read the book.Its unfair that everything just ends right when it was getting interesting. But if you think about it, no one can stay in a hospital forever and ever, no matter how ill you are.Atleast it’s not a good thing then.But since I am not discussing serious issues here this book review ends here.
Well, that was “The Midnight Gang” By David Walliams. I hope you liked this article. See you in the next one! Goodbye, signing off~
Book Review
Enid Blyton The Biography by Barbara Stoney Book Review
Name of the Book:Enid Blyton The Biography. Its an interesting biography. But I felt it’s not a full one because it doesn’t answer the question about the writing process behind Enid Blyton’s success .Saying that it still is the most lucid,interesting and fast paced book I have read on an author’s life and work.
There appears to be,no end to controversies about Enids work .While we thought children’s books were supposed to be simple and feel good ,her critiques feel they are too simple and dumb down kids literature.
For someone like me whose mother tongue wasn’t English ,I thank God her language was that simple .It helped me fall in love with reading and made me a life long booklover .Her popularity and book sales have few competitions.I feel the only thing that’s keeping her down nowadays (somewhat) are the sanitized new version of her work and the new illustrations which don’t do justice to her vision and that of her original illustrators.But every day her fans keep on increasing as kids who grew up reading her books introduce their kids to those treasures, like I did.
Why I picked up the book?
I was looking for a book to know more about how Enid Blyton wrote.Her books have been the greatest inspiration for me , both as a reader and an author.
My daughter too inaugurated her bookworm life,during COVID lockdown with a stash of Famous Five the complete series which I had gifted her two years back.That marked the beginning of re-reading repeatedly those Enid Blyton stories.
When someone has influenced your life so deeply ,it’s a call of the gut to find out more about her.Someone wise once said -you will find your best teachers in the libraries.People who are no longer there continue to inspire from the world beyond and Enid Blyton continues to make children grow up better,stronger,kinder and more willing to make friends with the world.
The book is about Enid Blyton’s childhood,adult life ,author life and the relationships and influences which shaped her writings .
While it’s difficult to write about authors who are as famous as Enid Blyton, it’s even more difficult to write it in a balanced way.
Barbara Stoney does justice to this while retaining the magic of Enids work.While humans are all shades of black, white and other colors. Some influences are the strongest.That of childhood, seems to determine our course in life.
Will the book give an idea about how Enid wrote?
Not in step by step manner but an overview.She was a visual thinker,interested in children and teaching them.She was sincere with keeping a diary ,her ability to draw and her love for nature, all were behind her famous creativity .She was also an extremely hard worker.
Will the book give an idea about Enid Blyton the person?
Yes .Again to some extent as I haven’t found any other Enid Blyton biography, as kind and empathetic to compare against.It’s a well researched and nonsense free look at the life ,work and inspiration behind Enid Blyton the person,author,entrepreneur,and a woman before her time who was self-made before that word became trending.
Who will love the book?
An Enid Blyton fan who grew up reading her books and remembers the happy days curled up with a Famous Five and wants to know more about her.
Enid Blyton’s childhood,her father’s influence,encouragement,complex relationship with her mother,her friends,estrangements,and the lies she had to tell in her childhood were all part of the great magic known as Enid Blyton.She did more in her time than many people do in 100 life times.A woman before her time and a timeless children’s author .Her influence has shaped and saved many a child’s life ,including my own.
But it doesn’t answer the question about the writing process behind Enid Blyton’s success .Why is that?To know the reason behind that you must pick up the book.
Happy birthday Enid Blyton plus my favorites
Sharing is good Karma!
Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods: Book Review
Hello dear readers! This is Miss A. Misra here with another book review! ( that intro is getting too old..) This time, it’s quite a recent one. It’s “The Chalice of the Gods” by Rick Riordan, published in mid-September or October last year. I bought it at the airport along with the “Ordeal by Innocence” book I wrote about before. It is a smaller novel than the original Percy Jackson series but is connected to the series. The text print is bigger and easier to read (much to Mom’s approval). The book is left at a part where Percy STILL has a quest to finish, and it’s just my luck that the next book in the series has not even been published up to now! The release date is some three or four months away.
So, this time, Percy is going to another university, but it needs three recommendation letters from three different gods or goddesses. His councilor, a water nymph helps him search out a task. Ganymede, the cupbearer in Olympus, has lost his magical chalice ( If you didn’t know, it’s a type of fancy goblet with lots of designs and gold-rimmed edges and all those totally necessary jewels.) that grants anyone immortality. And of course, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover set off to investigate at once. According to Ganymede, everyone on Olympus, except for Zeus, hates him. Eventually, he points out that Hebe ( the Greek goddess of eternal youth, if I remember right. It’s pronounced like: “Hee-bee”, not “hey-bey” or anything else!) and Iris (the Greek goddess of the rainbow, and yeah, it’s pronounced as you see it, okay?) would be the most plausible suspects. Grover mentions that he THINKS he knows what Hebe’s secret lair is. And wouldn’t you be surprised? The name of the place was literally-
“Hebe Jeebies”
(insert “jungshook” face here)
How ironically obvious. But Hebe must have just taken one look at that word in the dictionary and been like: “Heebie” is pronounced like my name, so I’ll just go and (*steals*)Anyways, it was a sort of jumbo, massive, disco, karaoke, and arcade place rolled into one. There were candy types that existed AGES ago, arcade games no one remembered since their childhoods, and songs playing that were unheard of for years. So, it’s a place meant to cause nostalgia to be young again, which I guess does make sense since Hebe was the goddess of youth, anyway! Hebe was the manager and had taken her human form as a girl of around 14 or 15, with a paisley minidress and also some white boots along with them. Which, is not a very good style to go with, but from Percy’s POV, it looks okay. So, let’s let it pass the time.
When the trio reached, they met the manager of the place, Sparky, and she was nine years old. But do you know what? Well, she was 90-SOMETHING years old but after working in Hebe’s place she got her blessing and wished to be young again. Odd, but whatever. After some strolling around, they find Hebe in the karaoke bar and when they try to inquire about Ganymede’s cup, she gets angry and turns them all into eight years old again! When they try to go to Sparky, Sparky sets a flock of flesh-eating chickens on their trail!
( phew)
So now they are stuck as primary schoolers, need to find Ganymede’s chalice, not offend other goddesses, and get back to their original ages. That’s a whole load of work for a trio of teens. Did I mention that on the way Iris ( goddess of the rainbow) gives them ANOTHER quest that requires Percy to go to a river full of snakes? I did not. Now you know.
Will they be able to find the chalice? Not get killed by some snakes? And will they make it in time before Zeus finds out Ganymede lost the magic cup and blasts some people with his scary lightning bolts?
Well, this book was quite good and entertaining, but the plot just failed the point in my case. Why even? To get a college application he needs THREE QUESTS. I thought the mortal people didn’t even know of the gods-so how? I read that part so many times and it still did not make sense.
Otherwise, it’s really good. Though Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are all 17 now, the story is still written in the same sarcastic and humorous way I like. Some parts were so hilarious I almost fell off my chair. The humor is so spot on, it feels like it is Percy who is writing the book. Sometimes I have to remind myself that the narrator himself is fictional. The book ends without Percy getting his last quests, which is sad. But as it IS smaller than the rest of the original series that’s expected.
One thing to keep in mind is that to enjoy this book is to read some of the original series because there are so many inside jokes and lines that only fans of the series will get. If you haven’t yet read the original series, most of the jokes will make no sense to you!
Sharing is good Karma!
Ordeal by innocence: Agatha Christie novel review
Hello dear readers! This is Miss A. Misra. I am here to suggest another book you can read. Today’s book is Ordeal by Innocence, written by Agatha Christie.
I bought this book very recently at the airport bookshop, along with two others (namely, “partners in crime,” and “the chalice of the Gods.” They’re pretty amazing, too) The name intrigued me very much. Ordeal? By Innocence? How? So of COURSE I had to buy it. Also, there were not many other science fiction books I liked in stock there.
Also, even the short blurb was interesting, and I liked that this was a cold-case murder book, and I hadn’t heard of this one before. Only a few copies of the book left so I had to buy it quickly. The storyline is deep and about a murder case around a year ago. I liked how the author aired everyone’s opinions about the case through different chapters. While reading I felt I was very close to the truth, but I could not exactly grasp who murdered who in the story.
I’m giving you a summary before I dive into the details.
A year ago, Mrs Argyle was killed through blunt force trauma, in her own house, by one of her currently grown up step children (she adopted 5 kids since she could not have any of her own) or her husband, or her husband’s secretary, or even her old nurse.
Mrs Argyle controlled her children and provided EVERYTHING for them, making them resent her constant and consistent presence. It could have been any of them. Or maybe even her husband, since she was so ignorant of him. Anyone could have killed her really. But Jack was condemned, because he was the most aggressive, and also since he was found with some money which seemed to have been stolen from his mother’s desk.
The other family members were quite satisfied when Jack was arrested since it seemed obvious that no one else was suspected. However, later, Dr Calgary turns up with evidence that Jack is innocent and has a strong alibi. But Jack has died of pneumonia in prison by then. Now the family begin suspecting each other.
There is Hester, Tina, Mickey, and Mary Argyle among the stepchildren, any of whom could have murdered their foster mother. That narrows it down to around 0% which must have been extremely helpful to the investigators. ( that was sarcasm, okay?)
Who committed the crime? Will they get away with it? Will they stop him or her before the murderer strikes again?
The novel was awesome and I enjoyed reading it. It was not humorous, though and I could not find any jokes in the story, except for some hint traces of irony, mainly spoken by Phillip, husband of Mary Durrant. While I loved the book as a whole, more humour would certainly have improved the whole book quite a few notches. It would have immediately gone up as my current favorite book. ( note: I wrote the word”currently” because my “favorite book” can change every day. so it’s best not to claim this is the only favorite book I will ever mention. Like, I said “The Girl Who Drank the moon” is the best book ever a few posts ago. And later on, I mentioned “Percy Jackson” is my favorite.)
Anyways, I am logging off now, see you in another review!
Cheerio! – 🙂
Sharing is good Karma!
Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike Book 3)by Robert Galbraith :Book Review
Cormoron Strike is not easy on the eye. He has all the charm of a porcupine and his assistant,come girl-Friday Robin is forever confused and messed up in her love life .
Name of Book:Career of Evil
Author :Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym of J.K Rowlings)
It all starts when a mysterious package arrives for Robin from a serial killer who has a personal score to settle with Strike .Robin becomes the pawn in the game she never wanted to play.But her grit, dedication and luck saves her from ending up like the other victim.While the story unravels, so does Robin’s love life when she grapples with her choices,present and future.
This is a book which takes an unpopular look into people who are truly evil .Those who when given a chance will never reform and repeat their evil ways ,over and over again with victims who are picked carefully.Psychotic killers who are fiendishly clever have a way of trapping victims like the spider traps the fly and there in lies the lesson interspersed with the story.
Official Blurb
The Strike seriesWhen a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.
What I thought about the book
The author is a master storyteller but her weaving of possible romance in these thrillers are frustrating. It has the problems of teenage romance and does nothing for the story.Perry Mason and Della Street relationship is not easy to emulate .Saying that there’s still opportunity for things to get better or may be worse.But that’s something time will tell.
The mystery though is perfectly woven and the intricacies of the plot makes one feel miss having a whos- who section to these books .Recommended for fans of thrillers and Psychological thrillers who like catching the bad guy no matter what.
A fast paced racy read,which leaves you feeling a little sad ,a little angry but still hopeful that Robin and Strike will both find a way to meet in the middle inspite of the crazy stuff happening all around.
Please note :This is a Psychological thriller with rape,mutilation,stalking,serial killing in the story line and not recommended if you have any mental health issues that may be triggered by these.
This is part of Bookchatter by @blogchatter.
Sharing is good Karma!
Murder in the Jungle:A Mystery Hounder Adventure by Sutapa Basu
Hello dear readers! It’s your one and only Miss A. Misra!! I am here to tell you my opinions about a book. I recently read it because my mom got it to review for Blogchatter s It’s called The Mystery Hounders: Murder in the Jungle, written by Sutapa Basu. The blurb at the back of the cover mentions FOUR children’s names, but almost immediately later says: “JOIN THE FIVE MYSTERY HOUNDERS”. And that made me go like Four kids, five mystery hound-OH WAIT WHAT?
But, actually, the fifth person is A MOUSE. A pet mouse that belongs to one of the kids, is called Vicky. The other kids are Tara, Kabir, and Ishi.
Basically, it’s about four children who work together to solve a mystery, about disappearing tigers from the Nargarhole forest reserve. Vicky and Tara’s father, the DFO Vinay Misra, and his team are confused, because there are OVER 100 cameras secured everywhere in the forest! And, none of them appear to have caught any sight of the mysterious activity. The story starts off with an author’s perspective from the jungle. No one about, the animals are in peace. Suddenly, the hyena senses something and cries out. All animals run away fearfully and hide, There is a great banging noise and the sounds of an animal thrashing about.
After a while the hyena creeps out of his hiding place and finds sticky blood on the grass and leaves. Scared, he dashes off lest he be killed too.
DFO and his team investigate, and are surprisingly encountered by the Nawab who lives nearby. He takes too much of an interest in the matter and even suggests they leave the case be. That’s enough to make the mystery hounders suspicious! While the DFO warns the kids not to interfere, they can not help but take an interest. Also, the manager of all the security tapes and hacking in Nagarhole reserve is strangely distant and avoids all questions by yelling in people’s faces.
A park ranger is turning up everywhere.
Their kitchen maid is nervous for some reason.
A young child comes up and claims he knows where the tigers are gone.
Will the mystery hounders be able to solve the case? Will they be in time? Will the tigers be saved?
Honestly? This book was interesting to read. The plotline is one such where I HAVE NEVER read or encountered before. Most “mystery” Y/A fiction stories are of-
1. Robbery.
2. Kidnapping.
3. Paranormal stuff.
4. Occasionally murder, which can be found in books like Agatha Chrisitie’s but not that of Enid Blyton’s.
This was the first book I read about animal poaching and awareness to that matter. As I said, it was interesting. I cannot say it was extremely exciting, ( except for some parts, like when Vicky disappears.), nor can I say it was boring, or humorous. There is 0% funny side of the story, except for just the common sibling bickering. The plotline and the hacking stuff made me hooked on to book. The Nawab’s character is an interesting one, but I liked Ruby’s ( The kitchen maid) better because it was well hidden and rather surprising.
Something that made me smile was when the children are invited to tea at the Nawab’s mansion and they get super bored because the tea is too strong, the Nawab too strange, and topic of discussion too boring! This seems so common to all children when you and your family members are invited to someone’s house for a “tea and chat”, the discussion generally ends up being about children and their studies, or politics.
Some places in the book are just- “meh” where nothing really happens, the children just argue and the adults keep telling them to not interfere in the mystery. One thing I did not understand was the illustrations. Considering it was a medium-sized book, there were probably ONLY 5 pictures. And in the most unnecessary places. Where we might WANT a picture to better visualize, there is none. But for example, a cup of tea is mentioned somewhere and a HUGE picture of a cup is given. Seriously?
Anyhow, my rating is a 4 out of 5. Because it was actually well written , I rather approved of it!
This is part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program.
