Elise Allen

Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, a royal family ruled in fairness and light...until one day they were betrayed by the very magic they held dear, leaving them a scarred version of their former selves. To protect themselves from future attacks, declarations were made, rules created, and measures taken to remove all that could potentially hold the power to create chaos once again...or so they thought.

First, keeping the girls straight is actually more of a challenge than I at first thought...guess they were rather good at playing their particular "role"! Second, the surprise twist towards the end when things are unraveling...STUNNER! I mean don't get me wrong, there is much to get caught up in along the way, including the brambles, the spells, and hungry sections of earth that simply gobble up those standing above (*gulp*), but the twists really kept you guessing! Third, can I just say I loved Nitpick! I mean the others are great, people and animal wise, and seriously the horse in the Twists is awesome and totally merits mentioning, but he's more than he seems without being SO much more!

In the end, all I can say is BOY was that a rush! Really and truly, it's one of the good ones, and with messages of inclusion, the power of friendship, and with reminders to not always take things at face value, and always be yourself, it's a great addition to kiddos reading lists as well as those upward in years.

**copy received for review; opinions are my own… (altro)

This is the second Gabby Duran book and I would definitely recommend that you read the first one before this one. It sets the story up and having not read it, I was somewhat confused at the beginning of this book.
Gabby works for a group called A.L.I.E.N., babysitting “unsittable” children,. In this book she is hired to babysit a little troll boy whose parents despise humans. Trolls are also known for stealing things and if you want to get them back, you must answer a riddle. When Gabby's backpack is stolen with her thumbdrive containing her homework by Trymmy, she must risk seeing him outside a babysitting job to get it back. Whild all this is going on, her bitter frenemy Madison Murray is trying to strong-arm her into providing a big-ticket item for the school orchestra’s fundraiser which she is organizing. When her mother finds a rare autographed first edition cookbook, it looks like she is off the hook, but that is not the end of things going wrong for Gabby. Responsible, Gabby takes these unfair situations to heart, beating herself up about not fulfilling obligations before her instinctive knack for giving children what they need saves the day.

This book would be a good story for children in junior grades (late gr. 3 to 6).

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (altro)

So you think you've had some interesting baby sitting experiences? Well, I think Gabby Duran has you beat. After all, sitting for the "Unsittables" isn't a walk in the park. This story was absolutely adorable! A light, quick-moving, and grin inducing romp through the life of a very special baby sitter. I zipped through this, and I don't regret one minute of it.

Now, this is definitely a book targeted at Middle Grade readers. If you can't let go of reality long enough to accept the fact that Gabby is quite a popular baby sitter, and by that I mean movie stars fly her to their sets to watch their kids, then the sheer silliness of this story won't sit well with you. If you can, you're in for a treat! This book is the perfect MG no-brainer. It has the perfect amount of MG friendly tension and intrigue. There isn't anything too gross or too scary to address when deciding whether to put this in a readers hands. Best of all, there's an underlying message. One of understanding, patience, and acceptance.

If you aren't sold yet, let me tell you that Gabby Duran is a wonderful character. On top of being a compassionate and amazing baby sitter, she's also a very smart and resourceful young girl. Her affection for the children she worked with was infectious. It could very well be that I'm biased, seeing as how I worked with children for a huge portion of my life, but I loved seeing that kind of passion in a book character. There wasn't a single part of Gabby that I didn't feel connected to, and I'm not even the target audience.

Are you looking for a new book for that MG reader in your family? Consider putting this in their hands. Then sit back, and prepare for the giggles to start.… (altro)