Otis Dooda: Strange but True by Ellen Potter

Otis Dooda: Strange but True

Ellen Potter

Illustrated by David Heatley

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Publication: June 2013 from Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 240
Format: ARC
Acquisition: I received this book from the publisher for free in exchange for my review

Synopsis:

HARDY-HAR-HAR!

Meet Otis Dooda. Yes, that’s his name. Go on and have a good laugh. He’s heard it all before. He’s been called things like Otis Poopy Stink and Otis Toilet Twinkie. That’s right, yuck it up and get it out of your system. We’ll wait.

All right then. This is the story of Otis and the Dooda family (including their rat named Smoochie) moving to New York City, and the incredibly strange, but true, things that happened to them. It all started with Otis getting cursed by a guy in a potted plant in their apartment building lobby, and then meeting a bunch of their neighbors, including a farting pony named Peaches who was disguised as a dog. And that was just the first day.

(from Goodreads)

I love illustrated chapter books! I really wish there were more books like Otis Dooda when I was a kid. Now, I can't wait to share this one with my daughter.

Otis is a pretty typical kid - or a "sort of" kid in his own words. Sort of short, short of good at some things, sort of bad at others. He was a very believable and like able character.

Otis and his family, made even more 'sort of'' normal by the inclusion of an older bully brother, have just moved to New York City. Living on the 35th floor of a huge apartment building he soon makes friends. I love that Otis's family is a little odd but that the friends he makes are also a little odd. Everyone fit together really well.

Lots of laughs - lots of fart jokes - which even I found funny so you can imagine how kids will react :) Lots of love too in this one - Otis understanding his brother a bit better, learning not to judge people because they're a little weird, making new friends, working together to solve problems - there is a lot to like in this book!

If you have a young reader in your life, I highly recommend picking them up a copy of Otis Dooda Strange But True!

AND I just saw that there is going to be a book 2 - I can totally see this becoming a best selling series!

Rating

5 / 5 Stars

I've also read The Humming Room by Ellen Potter and loved it!

As They Slip Away by Beth Revis

E-novella / Short Story

Across the Universe #0.5

January 2013 from the author

online read

Scribd Link

Synopsis:

Taking place on the spaceship Godspeed before Amy Martin wakes up and Elder takes leadership, this novella describes life at the Hospital during Eldest's reign. Focusing primarily on background characters, readers will see fan-favorite characters Harley, Orion, Victria, and more.

This tragic tale explores the background of a previously unknown character, linking the history of the ship and its residents to Amy and Elder, giving depth to the world of Godspeed.

(from Goodreads)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A creepy tale about Selene, a girl we meet briefly in book one. I knew what ultimately happened to her but it was still a little heartbreaking learning more about her story. She could have been so many things but she never had a real chance.

Reading this short story really helped bring home the sense of wrongness that surrounds much of what happens on Godspeed.

Told with all the passion and pain that made Across The Universe so compelling to me, As They Slip Away was a fantastic read.

A great read for fans of the series - maybe not for you if you haven't read book one however.

Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

NetGalley Challenge: July Review Link-Up + Giveaway

Time to link up those June NetGalley reviews!

This is for those participating in my NetGalley Challenge - if you would like to join in, check out the sign up post.

Instructions:

1. Be sure you are signed up for the challenge
*If your blog isn't listed on the challenge sign up post your review(s) may be deleted and you will not be eligible for the monthly prize.

2. Link up 1 review of a NetGalley book you posted in July
*Use the 'Name' field in the linky for the book title and author.
*If your review did not post in July it may be deleted.
*All NetGalley books are fair game but I do ask if the review, or your blog, is NC-17 please make a note of such with the link.
UPDATE *If your review does not clearly state that you obtained and are reviewing the book via NetGalley your link may be deleted.
UPDATE *It doesn't have to be a book you read in July, simply a review you posted in July.

3. Visit other reviews!
*Discover some new to you blogs, read some reviews and leave some comment love!

4. Earn extra links / contest entries
*For every review you visit and comment on, you can post another one of your reviews in the linky.
*You can post up to 5 of your own reviews -- and therefor gain up to 5 entries in this month's contest.
(1 review for 'free' and 4 others IF you visited and commented on 4 other reviews)
*Please be honest and please leave actual thoughtful comments (the same type you yourself would like to receive)

You can post your June reviews until

August 12th

This month's prize is

A $20 Amazon Gift Card (for US participants)

OR

$20 worth of books from The Book Depository (for international folks)

To get us started, I've linked up a couple of my recent NetGalley reviews. If you're one of the first to visit, be sure to leave your link and check back later for others.

If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments or via email :)

Book Roundup (21) - July 7, 2013

Merriam-Webster defines 'roundup' as a gathering in of scattered persons or things (source)

Replace 'persons or things' with 'BOOKS!' and you'll have what happens in my house every week as I try to keep control of my hoard :)

Hey guys!

This is a couple of weeks worth!

Links are to Goodreads :)

 Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee

November 2013 from Henry Holt

(ARC/ for review)

 Altered (Crewel World #2) by Gennifer Albin 

October 2013 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

(ARC / for review)

 Serpent's Kiss (The Beauchamp Family #2) by Melissa de la Cruz

June 2012 from Hyperion

(hardcover / bought)

 Horde (Razorland #3) by Ann Aguirre 

October 2013 from Feiwel and Friends

(ARC / for review)

+patch

 Curse of the Ancients (Infinity Ring #4) by Matt de la Pena

June 2013 from Scholastic

(hardcover / bought)

 Witch & Wizard: The Manga, Vol. 3 (Witch & Wizard: The Manga #3) by James Patterson

March 2013 from Yen Press

(paperback / bought)

 The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed #1) by Page Morgan

May 2013 from Delacorte Books

(hardcover / bought)

SIGNED!

 Star Cursed (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #2) by Jessica Spotswood

June 2013 from Putnam 

(hardcover / bought)

 Birthmarked (Birthmarked #1) by Caragh M. O'Brien

October 2011 from Square Fish

(paperback / bought)

What have you added to your horde lately?

On My Reader (32) - July 6, 2013

On My Reader posts are were I highlight recent ebooks I've added to my digital collection :)

So...it's been FOR-EV-ER since I posed a OMR post!

Let's see what I've got here....

Links and info from Goodreads

For Review from NetGalley

Strikeforce (Skyship Academy #3) by Nick James

October 2013 from Flux

Young Adult Sci-fi

Loved books 1 and 2 so I'm really looking forward to this one!

Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes

July 2013 from Berkley Trade

Young Adult Dystopian

After a virus claimed nearly the entire global population, the world changed. The United States splintered into fifty walled cities where the surviving citizens clustered to start over. 

I met Shaunta briefly at BBC this year. She was supper nice and her book pitch got me really excited! I'm still in love with dystopian stories and I don't think I'm going to get tired of them any time soon.

The Companions (The Sundering #1) by R.A. Salvatore

August 2013 from Wizards of the Coast

Adult Fantasy

The Companions moves Salvatore's signature hero Drizzt into a new era of the Forgotten Realms.

Yes please! I LOVE Drizzt Do'Urden!

The Godborn (The Sundering #2) by Paul S. Kemp

October 2013 from Wizards of the Coast

Adult Fantasy

In the 2nd book of the multi-author Sundering series launched by New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, the shadow legacy of Erevis Cale lives on even as his old foe Mephistopheles seeks to stamp it out at any cost.

I just couldn't resist!


BOUGHT / FREE

Mind Games from Kiersten White

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

It was supper on sale and I've heard some good things about it.

Shadow (Paper Gods #0.5 by Amanda Sun

Meet two teens whose worlds are about to change forever in this paranormal Young Adult novella, a prequel to Ink by debut author Amanda Sun…

Free download - quick read and very good!

So, what did you guys add to your e-readers this week?