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Full of Beans. Jennifer L. Holm. 2016. Random House. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Look here, Mac. I'm gonna give it to you straight: grown-ups lie. Sure, they like to say that kids make things up and that we don't tell the truth. But they're the lying liars.

Premise/plot: Full of Beans is the prequel to Jennifer L. Holm's Turtle in Paradise. Both books are set in Key West, Florida. Full of Beans is set in 1934, and Turtle in Paradise is set in 1935. Bean, a character first introduced in Turtle in Paradise, narrates the book. And WHAT A CHARACTER Holm has given us!!! I wish Bean starred in a dozen books! That is how much I love and adore him.

So what is it about? It's the Great Depression and Bean and his family--the whole community, the whole nation--is in need. Bean does what he can to help his family out while his Dad is off crossing the country looking for any job he can get. But it isn't until the end of the book that Bean's inspiration pays off. Until then, he too is prone to trying anything and everything to bring home what nickels and dimes he can.

Bean has two brothers: Kermit and Buddy. He has a very hard-working mother and a MEANIE of a grandmother.

The book opens with Bean trying to determine if the government's visitor to Key West is good news or bad news....

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. I'm not sure the plot is wow-worthy on its own. But. Because it's BEAN I was engaged start to finish. The characters make this novel well worth reading. Even if you don't love, love, love historical fiction.


© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Home Sweet Motel (Welcome to Wonderland #1). Chris Granbenstein. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Like I told my friends at school, living in a motel is always exciting--especially during an alligator attack.

Premise/plot: P.T. Wilkie loves the attention that storytelling brings him. The wilder, the crazier, the better--in his opinion. Some of the adults in his life--namely his teachers--have little tolerance for P.T.'s obvious lies. But P.T. may come by all of it--his love of stories, his wacky sense of humor--honestly. He's just like his grandpa in many, many ways. Essentially, the whole book chronicles one family's fight to keep their motel from closing. They have ONE month and only one month to raise $100,000 to pay back the bank.

My thoughts: The plot is over-the-top ridiculous. There is not one believable thing that happens in this one from start to finish. The characters? Well they fit right in with the plot. I didn't believe in them for a minute. That being said, though I spent the first half of the book rolling my eyes and predicting exactly how it would all end, I spent the second half going with the flow and almost, almost enjoying it. I think it depends on what you value in a book. There is very little--if anything--real about this book. It's no window into anyone's soul. But there is a lot that is comical in an elementary way. And with hundreds of SAD books being published and pushed on this audience, you almost have to like a book that doesn't even try to be remotely SERIOUS.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Pretty Minnie in Hollywood. Danielle Steel. Illustrated by Kristi Valiant. 2016. Random House. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Minnie is a white, long-haired, teacup-size Chihuahua.

Premise/plot: Minnie and her owner live in Paris, France. Francoise (the child owner) and Minnie travel with the Mom to Hollywood to hand deliver a beautiful, glamorous dress to an actress for a movie. Most of the 'plot' of this one focuses on the trip there and back. While in Hollywood, Minnie gets her big break and stars in a movie of her own.

My thoughts: Could the cover of this book possibly have even more glitter? I didn't think so. The plot is what it is. It isn't horribly creative or clever or new or unique or compelling. More frivolous and predictable and obnoxious in a cutie-sweetie-pie way. Now, if the book had been a super-sweet story about a cat instead of a dog, would I feel differently? Maybe. But I don't see a cat dressing up and following directions. That would have been a whole different story. Several pages might have even been spent on trying to get the cat into traveling bag.

I was unimpressed with the writing of this one. But what slightly saves it are the illustrations.

Text: 2 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews