Book Review: Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publish Date: September 9, 2014
ISBN: 9780385744256
Pages: 355
Series: Nightmares! #1
Source: Gift

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sleeping has never been so scary. And now waking up is even worse!
 Charlie Laird has several problems.  1. His dad married a woman he is sure moonlights as a witch.2. He had to move into her purple mansion, which is NOT a place you want to find yourself after dark.3. He can’t remember the last time sleeping wasn’t a nightmarish prospect. Like even a nap.  What Charlie doesn’t know is that his problems are about to get a whole lot more real. Nightmares can ruin a good night’s sleep, but when they start slipping out of your dreams and into the waking world—that’s a line that should never be crossed. And when your worst nightmares start to come true . . . well, that’s something only Charlie can face. And he’s going to need all the help he can get, or it might just be lights-out for Charlie Laird. For good.

My Review:

What a fun book! This was a gift from my daughter seeing as she knows how much I love to read and how much I love Jason Segel (mostly from How I Met Your Mother). I don't know how much of this was written by him and not Kirsten Miller but it was a fun read no matter what.
Charlie is going through a rough patch in his life right now, and on top of dealing with all of that, he cannot sleep without falling into a terrifying nightmare that eventually becomes a living nightmare. What I really liked about this book is that as a 29 year old reading this, I was taken back to my best childhood memories. I felt like a kid again! I read this book with a smile on my face, and I seriously wanted to make a fort and read it late at night with a flashlight! I think this book would appeal to so many others. Young and old alike. And maybe even for younger kids, it may be a little frightening! It had great friendships and it overcame obstacles. I can't wait to read The Sleepwalk Tonic, Nightmares #2, and I just found out in late 2016, The Lost Lullaby, Nightmares #3 is due to be published! Get ready to be spooked!

Book Review: Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

Publish Date: March 8th, 2011
Publisher: Delacorte Press Books
ISBN: 978-0-3857-3935-1
Pages: 320
Series: None
Source: Bought

Goodreads Synopsis:

It's hard finding beauty in the badlands of Washokey, Wyoming, but 14-year-old Grace Carpenter knows it's not her mother's pageant obsessions, or the cowboy dances adored by her small-town classmates. True beauty is wild-girl Mandarin Ramey: 17, shameless and utterly carefree. Grace would give anything to be like Mandarin. When they're united for a project, they form an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town's animal-head trophies, and searching for someplace magic. Grace plays along when Mandarin suggests they run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds plaguing their Badlands town. Because all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin's unique beauty hides a girl who's troubled, broken, and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, no friendship can withstand betrayal.

My Review:

I really like Kirsten Hubbard! I've never met her personally, but we've swapped words over email and social media, I've followed her blog and such and she's sent me goodies in the mail before. What a lovely lady!
I've owned this book and Wanderlove for quite some time now, but just recently got around to reading Like Mandarin. It wasn't what I expected to be honest! I did enjoy reading it; it was light, easy and flowed nicely but I was expecting travels and adventure. What I got instead was a 14 year old who appeared older than she is and a secondary character that stole the spotlight, along with descriptive paragraphs like you couldn't imagine. I think based on Kirsten's own travel experiences and the mention of travel on the back of the book, I thought I would be whisked away to places I've never been. But once I realized that wouldn't happen, I was alright with it, and read the book anyways. 
Grace is the main character who is forced into partnership with Mandarin at school. She can't believe it at first. Grace has always been fascinated by Mandarin and her ways, almost to the point of obsession. She wants to be like Mandarin and act like her, though Grace is shy, quiet and sticks to herself. I did find Grace to be a bit plain. Nothing about her stood out to me, she was just a regular girl growing up in Wyoming, but I feel like that was slightly on purpose so that we focused on Mandarin and what made her the gossip of the town. Once we meet Mandarin I was drawn into her dark and mysterious ways. I wanted to figure her out. With the way everyone in town talked about her and how Grace idolized her, I couldn't wait to learn her secrets. 
What I really enjoyed about Like Mandarin was the descriptive narrative I mentioned earlier. At times it felt like I was there in the badlands hearing the wind whistle. Hubbard has such a magical voice in her writing and I cannot wait to see that come to life in Wanderlove.