Lemons by Melissa Savage

5^th Grade to 7^th Grade

BIGFOOT!

In the year 1975, Lemonade Liberty Witt is forced to start a new life in Willow Creek, California – the Bigfoot Capital of the World – with a grandfather she’s never met after her mother passes away.

Then she meets 11-year-old Tobin Sky, the CEO of Bigfoot Detectives Inc., who is the sole Bigfoot investigator for their small town. After he invites Lem to be his assistant for the summer, they set out on an epic adventure to capture a shot of the elusive beast on film. But along the way, Lem and Tobin end up discovering more than they ever could have imagined. 

Yet another book about a kid who lost their parents. I get that it’s a good plot conflict and I try to stay away from most books with that plot line but it’s hard because it’s the most common plot conflict in all of bookdom. The main plot is about Lemonade learning to deal with her new life without her mom, but the second part of the plot is what drew me to this book. BIGFOOT!

This book mentions the Paterson-Gimlin film, which according to Wikipedia is ‘a famous short motion picture of an unidentified subject that filmmakers have said was a Bigfoot. The footage was shot in 1967 and has since been subjected to many attempts to authenticate or debunk it.’ Here is the famous and iconic picture of Bigfoot:

Cryptozoology is the study of creatures whose existence has yet to be – or else cannot entirely be – proved or disproved by science. These creatures, known as cryptids, include creatures like the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and Chupacabra. I believe that if these creatures did exist, humans would have found them by now. Then again there are tons of animal species that we didn’t know about until recently. Check out the Monsters in American picture below:

If you’re interested in Bigfoot and cryptozoology, check out the following entertainment:

Harry and the Hendersons, a film about the Henderson family, who adopt a friendly Sasquatch but have a hard time trying to keep the legend of ‘Bigfoot’ a secret.

iCarly,episode iBelieve in Bigfoot. Carly tires to prove Bigfoot is real after Bigfoot fever hits Seattle. This is one of my favorite episodes of iCarly.

This weeks’ Weird but Ture Fact about Bigfoot

There is a trap designed to catch Bigfoot in a forest in Oregon, U.S.A.

The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson

2^nd Grade to 4^th Grade

Stephen Satlow is an eight-year-old boy living in Brooklyn, New York, which means he only cares about one thing-the Dodgers. Steve and his father spend hours reading the sports pages and listening to games on the radio. Aside from an occasional run-in with his teacher, life is pretty simple for Steve.

But then Steve hears a rumor that an African American family is moving to his all-Jewish neighborhood. It’s 1948 and some of his neighbors are against it. Steve knows this is wrong. His hero, Jackie Robinson, broke the color barrier in baseball the year before.

Then it happens—Steve’s new neighbor is none other than Jackie Robinson! Steve is beyond excited about living two doors down from the Robinson family. He can’t wait to meet Jackie. This is going to be the best baseball season yet! How many kids ever get to become friends with their hero?

This is probably going to be the one and only sport centered book I review on this blog. I’m just not into sports. I only read this book because I thought it was an interesting story. It wasn’t until I brought the book home that I realized it was based on a true story. I felt really dumb because it said so right on the book cover at the very bottom.

I liked baseball as a kid. I didn’t like to watch it on TV, but I liked playing in my front yard and at the park. I usually just played with my dad and he would throw me the ball and I would hit it and run the bases while my dad chased me with the ball. My parent signed me up to play baseball with a team for some reason I didn’t understand then and still don’t understand now. It was really boring. I don’t mean to insult baseball players and/or people who love baseball but it’s really boring waiting to be brought out to bat and standing out in the field. I played one time and never went back. My parents were happy because they were bored too.

Let’s talk about a serious topic: prejudice and discrimination. I’ve never understood how someone can hate another person based on the color of their skin or where they come from. Maybe that’s just because I was born in this time period and how I was raised. Sometimes I wonder what my opinion would be if I had been born in another time period. 

If you want to learn more about Jackie Robinson, check out Brad Meltzer’s book I Am Jackie Robinson.

On an ending note, here’s a Baby Blues comic featuring the ‘joys’ of baseball:

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Baseball

A study found that a 3-hour baseball game involves an average of just 18 minutes of actual play time.

What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World by Henry Clark

4^th Grade to 7^th Grade

When River, Freak, and Fiona discover a rare zucchini-colored crayon between the cushions of a mysterious sofa at their bus stop, they quickly find themselves in the middle of an evil plot to conquer the world! The plot’s mastermind, Edward Disin, is responsible for starting the underground coal seam fire that continually burns just beyond the kids’ backyards, a dastardly cover-up for an intergalactic portal that will soon transport an army of invaders to Earth.

Disin’s only weakness is his otherworldly obsession with the zucchini crayon—and he knows the kids have it. But with the help of an eccentric neighbor, an artificial intelligence in the form of a double-six domino, a DNA-analyzing tray, two hot air balloons, and a cat named Mucus, three kids from the middle of nowhere might be able to save the planet.

This book is crazy, made almost no sense but I kept reading because I wanted to know how it ended. I feel like the writer knew the story made no sense but was having too much fun writing it to stop. Kind of like in the Frazz comic below:

I’m not saying this was a bad book. I’ve read worse. But if you’re interested in reading a story with a lot of wacky details then this is the book for you. I will say one thing about this book, it never got boring.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Crayons

Macaroni and Cheese, Asparagus, and Cotton Candy are not only foods; they’re also crayon colors.

Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh

High School

No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better looking. The rarer the sphere, the more expensive – and the greater the improvement.

17-year-old Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much – Alex Holliday’s stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers – but it helps him and his mom make rent.

When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. One day they find a Gold – a color no one has ever seen. And when Alex Holliday learns what they have, he will go to any lengths, will use all of his wealth and power, to take it from them.

I wasn’t quite sure about this book until I turned the book over and saw a list of possible spheres. After reading the list I was hooked, I’m a sucker for lists.

These Spheres can heighten your natural abilities and seem to have no negative side effects. From what I can tell there are at least 48 or more different Spheres, but I could only find 35 and there were two that I couldn’t figure out what they did. Here’s a list of my personal favorite Spheres:

Teal

Effect: Fall asleep easily

Army Green

Effect: Resistance to the common cold

Burnt Orange

Effect: Speed-reading

Aquamarine

Effect: Quick healing

Mustard

Effect: High Intelligence

Canary Yellow

Effect: Perfect Memory

The thing I found really weird about the spheres is that you need two (a pair) spheres to get the improvement. They call it ‘burning a pair’. I spent the majority of this book wondering why it’s called ‘burning’ and why you need two to do it. I still don’t know.

This story takes place 9 years after the Spheres appeared on Earth. Personally, I would’ve liked hearing the story on how the human race reacted to the Spheres at first and how they discovered their powers.

I knew there had to be some sort of risk with the spheres. You can’t get something for nothing. A lot of people in the book thought that the Spheres were suspicious and would never use them. I would probably own books about Spheres but would never want to ‘burn’ them. Why risk it?

What makes this story so great is how real it is. This is what a world with magic spheres would be like. People using them to make a profit, athletes using them to up their game, people using them for their own personal gain, and people going to great lengths to get their hands on them. Exactly how you’d expect humans to act when handed magic.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Enhanced Abilities 

Some people can hear their eyeballs moving.

The Third Mushroom by Jennifer L. Holm

The story continues in the sequel to The Fourteenth Goldfish.

4^th Grade and Up

Ellie’s grandpa Melvin is a world-renowned scientist . . . in the body of a fourteen-year-old boy. His feet stink, and he eats everything in the refrigerator and Ellie is so happy to have him around. Grandpa may not exactly fit in at middle school, but he certainly keeps things interesting.

When he and Ellie team up for the county science fair, no one realizes just how groundbreaking their experiment will be. The formula for eternal youth may be within their reach! And when Ellie’s cat, Jonas Salk, gets sick, the stakes become even higher. But is the key to eternal life really the key to happiness? Sometimes even the most careful experiments yield unexpected and wonderful results.

I was so excited and surprised when I found out that The Fourteenth Goldfishwas going to have a follow-up story. I really didn’t think there would be one, but I would never pass up the chance to read more about my favorite teenaged grandpa. Like I said before, I would love to see this concept as a TV sitcom. I can see it now: 

Coming this Fall on ABC, Teenaged Grandpa, filmed before a live studio audience. 

I think the lesson to take away from this story is that it’s ok when things go wrong and to learn from your mistakes. It’s just like Ms. Frizzle said, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”

To be a scientist, I believe, you have to be a bit crazy. My evidence behind this: James Carroll and Jesse Lazear and Ellie’s grandfather Melvin who all tested their hypothesis on themselves. I guess we do need crazy/brave people working in science because we need these cures and when it comes to results you sometimes need to go extreme.

As a bonus, extra credit to whoever counts how many times the word “Puberty” pops up in this book and writes their results in the comment section below.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about a Science Discovery

Scientists have figured out how to turn rotten tomatoes into energy.

Squirm by Carl Hiaasen

After four long years, Carl Hiaasen is back!

4^th Grade and Up

Some facts about Billy Dickens: 
* He once saw a biker swerve across the road in order to run over a snake.
* Later, that motorcycle somehow ended up at the bottom of a canal.
* Billy isn't the type to let things go.

Some facts about Billy's family: 
* They've lived in six different Florida towns because Billy's mom insists on getting a house near a bald eagle nest.
* Billy's dad left when he was four and is a total mystery.
* Billy has just found his dad's address--in Montana.

This summer, Billy will fly across the country, hike a mountain, float a river, dodge a grizzly bear, shoot down a spy drone, save a neighbor's cat, save an endangered panther, and then try to save his own father.

Presenting the one and only Carl Hiaasen story that takes place outside of Florida. I’m glad I read I Survived the Attack of the Grizzles, 1967 before reading this book, it was nice to already be familiar with the Montana environment. Don’t worry, a good portion of the story still takes place in Florida. 

You spend the first third of the story thinking the worst of Billy’s dad. I mean, what kind of guy leaves his family and doesn’t get in contact with them for almost ten years? Trust me, you’re not going to be able to guess what the dad’s been up to, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.  Before and even after I found out what the dad was doing, I think Billy’s mom is the one with the problem. She repeatedly uproots her family to live near a bald eagle nest. The reason behind this obsession is never explained. 

I really like Billy’s character, he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t just stand by when someone hurts an animal or a person, he acts. We need more people like that in the world.

If you have a fear of snakes, I suggest not reading this book because Billy uses them throughout the story to make a point. If you are not afraid of snakes, here’s a picture of one wearing a sweater:

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Snakes

Diamondback rattlesnakes can strike in about half the time it takes you to blink.

I Survived the Attack of the Grizzles, 1967 by Lauren Tarshis

3^rd Grade and Up

No grizzly has ever killed a human in Glacier before . . . until tonight. 

11-year-old Melody Vega and her family come to Glacier National Park every year, and it's always been a place where she can forget her troubles. But this year is different. With Mom gone, every moment in the park is a heartbreaking reminder of the past.
Then Mel comes face-to-face with the mighty grizzly. Now her only thought is one of survival. Mel will soon be a part of one of the most tragic seasons in the history of America's national parks - a summer of terror that will forever change ideas about how grizzlies and humans can exist together in the wild.

I love all of the I Survivedbooks but this one is my favorite because, out of all the disasters featured so far, this one could’ve been prevented. 

(Heads up. Spoilers ahead)

In a nut shell, the bears weren’t the problem in Glacier, it was the trash that humans were leaving behind. After years of eating garbage and leftover food the bears had lost their fear of humans. The bears who attacked were not bloodthirsty monsters, they were sick animals in pain.

The thought of any harm coming to these beautiful creatures breaks my heart. See bear pictures below:

“The view is much better up here.”

“A Beary Cute Family”

“Hello!”

Don’t let those furry innocent faces fool you. These are still wild animals with teeth and claws and will attack a human if they feel threatened. And considering what humans have done to them in the past, they should be.

On an unrelated note, here is a little excerpt from the book that reminds you that this story takes place back in 1967: 

“Mel wished she could press a button and instantly send this story to people all over the world. But this was real life in 1967, not some science fiction story set a thousand years from now.” 

Turns out it took less then 50 years for this to become a reality. Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot longer for people to learn not to dump their trash everywhere and to leave the wildlife alone.

I found out what disaster is being featured next and I’m really looking forward to it.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Grizzly Bears

A grizzly bear can sniff out food 18 miles away.

The 'Killer Pizza' Series by Greg Taylor

Here is an especially horror filled series of books that will leave you shivering and hungry.

High School

Killer Pizza (Killer Pizza #1)

Pizza you’ll die for!

Toby McGill dreams of becoming a world-famous chef, but up until now, his only experience has been watching the Food Network. When Toby lands a summer job at Killer Pizza, where pies like The Monstrosity and The Frankensausage are on the menu, things seem perfect. His coworkers, Annabel and Strobe, are cool, and Toby loves being part of a team. But none of them are prepared for what’s really going on at Killer Pizza: It’s a front for a monster-hunting organization!

Learning to cook pizzas is one thing, but killing hideously terrifying monsters? That’s a whole other story. Still, if Toby quits Killer Pizza, will monsters take over his town?

The whole idea of a pizza place being the cover for a monster hunting organization is genius. I mean, who would expect that? And it’s a pretty good way to pay for all the equipment. 

The coolest thing about this book is that the monster isn’t the kind of monster you’re used to. It’s not a vampire or a zombie. But original monsters you’ve never heard of. And they are terrifying. The monsters in the first book are werewolf-like creatures but with no hair, are over eight feet tall and indestructible. Extremely terrifying.

“A monster is roaming the night in Hidden Hills, Ohio. But why worry about monsters when you can sink your teeth into a Killer Pizza? Greg Taylor serves up a hot slice of horror that I couldn’t put down!” – R.L. Stine

The Slice (Killer Pizza #2)

Four months after they discover that their new place of employment, Killer Pizza, was a front for an underground Monster Hunting Organization, Toby and his fellow rookie Monster Combat Officers, Annabel and Strobe, have been invited to New York City to tour KP Headquarters. But the exclusive tour is cut short when a monster emergency sends the trio off on a secret mission delivering Calanthe, a beautiful 14-year-old, a monster with serpent-like abilities, into the Monster Protection Program. It seems like an easy assignment until the teens realize Calanthe is the sacrificial offering in a ceremony set to happen in a few days and her people will stop at nothing to get her back!

Not much to say about this book except that I enjoyed this book just as much as the last one. Calanthe’s monster abilities made her an interesting character. 

Check out the back of this book and the first book for special pizza recipes created by Toby McGill.

Vampire Stakes (Killer Pizza #3)

When Toby McGill, now a veteran of Killer Pizza’s underground Monster Hunting Organization, makes the chilling discovery that vampires have invaded the small town of Raven’s Run, he and his fellow Monster Combat Officers, Annabel and Strobe, have no time to lose. They must defeat the undead creatures before their numbers spread. But in this action packed third Killer Pizza adventure, the KP teens find themselves up against a supernatural enemy far more dangerous than any they have faced so far.

The challenges — including a midnight battle in an unearthly cemetery, a creepy, abandoned mansion and a beautiful but very lethal young vampire — are many. Can the MCOs prevail? Or will their perilous mission prove to be their last? Anything is possible in the deadly monster universe of Killer Pizza!

It wasn’t easy to get my hands on this story because it doesn’t exist in physical book form. I had to buy it on iTunes as an eBook for $7.99 and read it on my computer. I don’t enjoy reading books like this. I’ll read fanfiction online, but I don’t enjoy reading whole books on a screen because I like to read books on paper. But I wanted to know how this story ends. I hope all of you out there appreciate all the work I put into making this blog great. 

The great thing about this book is that it gives me the chance to talk about vampires. Luckily the vampires in this book are nothing like the vampires in the Twilight books. The Twilight vampires are the worse vampires ever and the whole book series is awful. I tried reading the first book back in high school and I couldn’t do it. They are just horrible.

 ***

If you like stories about high school teens fighting monsters, check out the Nickelodeon show The Troop. The Troop is a live action television show about a trio of teenagers who fight and capture monsters and other supernatural phenomena that invade they hometown. Episodes are available on iTunes.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Pizza

A pizza shop in Oregon sold slices layered with more than 100 types of cheese.

Well, this is the last my spooky October book reviews. I hope you enjoyed it.

Afraid of Everything by Adam Tierney

HAPPY 150^THBOOK REVIEW

And to celebrate, here is a book of short horror stoires written specially for young readers.

5 to 95 (Suggested for all readers)

Featuring 26 terrifying short stories each based on a different A to Z phobia, this book is perfect for the young reader who wants a real scare.

I found this book of scary stories at a recent Long Beach Comic Con being sold by the author, Adam Tierney. He told me that when he was a growing up in the mid-80’s that he loved reading scary stories and watch scary movies and that now he has a kid of his own who also loves horror. But in this day and age, horror related stories for kids have gotten a lot tamer. So, he wrote this book. To learn the full story, click on the Kickstarter link below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adamctierney/afraid-of-everything-horror-stories-for-all-ages/description

I told him I liked his idea of using phobias and asked him if he had heard of the fear of long words; Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. He said no. I’m hoping if he writes a sequel he’ll include more weird phobias like Nomophobia (the fear of being without cellphones) and Sidonglobophobia (the fear of cotton balls).

I am happy to say that I’ve gone through this whole book and everything is just the right amount of scary. Scary enough to give you shivers but not scary enough to keep you from reading. 

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about an Abnormal Fear

Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.

Stained by Cheryl Rainfield

High School

16-year-old Sarah Meadows longs for ‘normal’. Born with a port-wine stain covering half her face, all her life she’s been plagued by stares, giggles, bullying, and disgust.

But when she’s abducted on the way home from school, Sarah must summon her personal strength to survive abduction and the horrific abuse at the hands of a deranged killer.

This girl is definitely the strongest female character ever. She had to go through so much more than any other female character I’ve talked about on this blog. And that’s saying something (Check out past April Henry posts). She was blindfolded for months. Only given peanut butter, bananas, and crackers to eat. And she had to go to the bathroom in a bucket while blindfolded. And that’s not mentioning the physical and psychological abuse. I know for a fact I would not have been able to do what she did to keep from breaking. 

The point of view switches between Sarah and her family; and on the top of the page showing how many days she’s been gone.

Now let’s talk about port-wine stains. According to kidhealth.org, a port-wine stain is a birthmark that literally looks like maroon wine was spilled or splashed on the skin. Though they often start out looking pink at birth, port-wine stains tend to become darker (usually reddish-purple or dark red) as kids grow. 

Personally, I’m fascinated by discoloration on the skin. It makes me think, “On a genetic level, how does that happen?” and “Why do some people have it and not others?” After reading this book, I decided to have one of my characters have a port-wine stain on their face too.  

You will be on the edge of your seat throughout this entire book. Trust me.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Skin

You lose about 500 million skin cells every 24 hours.

Hellworld by Tom Leveen

HAPPY OCTOBER!

To celebrate October, here’s a “hell-raising” story to get us in the Halloween mode.

Pun intended. 

High School

5 years ago, Abby Booth’s mom, co-host of a ghost hunting reality show, went missing while filming in a ‘haunted’ cave in Arizona.

Since then, Abby’s life has all but fallen to pieces, most notably because of her dad’s deep depression and how they’ve drifted further and further apart.

But now, at 17, Abby has decided that things will change. She plans to go to the same cave where her mom and the crew went missing and to find out, once and for all, what happened there.

With the help of the co-host’s son Charlie and two of his friends, Abby sets off on a quest for answers…but what the group ends up finding, what they stumble across in that dark, primordial cave in Arizona, is nothing they could have ever imagined.

Abby was investigating a possible haunting… she never expected that there could be something worse.

This book has a story-telling style that I’ve never seen before. The way each chapter switches between the Then and Now. You’re left in the dark for most of the story. 

I considered multiple times just reading the Then chapters first and the Now chapters next but I stuck with reading the story the way it was written.

Even though you feel lost, keep reading. The Then and Now element makes this story all the more suspenseful. 

That’s enough about the writing style, on to something else.

The biggest subject featured in this story is Religion vs. Science. There’s a whole Then chapter talking about different religions, how some religions have more than one god, and how science is involved. And I’m going to stop there because all of that chapters’ information kind of went over my head. Besides you can’t have a reasonable conversation about Religion vs. Science without hurting someone else’s feelings. 

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact an Odd Discovery

A man accidentally discovered a 49,000-year-old human settlement while taking a bathroom break in an Australian park.

The Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine

It’s the Last Saturday of September!

Everyone ready for a marathon of horror books for the mouth of October?

Let’s get started with a popular book series that is sure to give you goosebumps (pun intended).

 Elementary School

Readers beware! You’re in for a scare!

I’d be very surprised to hear about a child who hasn’t heard about this series. The Goosebumps book covers you see above are the book covers I grew up seeing at libraries and bookstores. Book companies change the cover art on older book series to make them seem more current but I prefer the originals. Goosebumps has many spin-off series but I’m just going to talk about the original series. Which, to me, are the best.

My favorite part about the Goosebumps stories is that the parents are never involved. They’re either not there, don’t believe the kid, are the problem or are completely useless. The thing I loved most about these book is that they never had an ending. They always left you with a twist.

I watched an interview with R.L. Stine, or as he’s been referred to as the “Stephen King of children’s literature”, on a Goosebumps DVD and had a lot of great information about the author and the whole series. Apparently, he wrote all of the Goosebumps books on an old typewriter using just one finger. If you want to learn more about R.L. Stine, check out his biography.

That’s right people! The great R.L. Stine originates from Ohio! This proves that the greatest people come from Ohio. Yay Ohio!

But the terror doesn’t stop at the books. When I was a kid, every October on Cartoon Network, they would have marathons of the show based on the books and I looked forward to it every year. I was scared of most stuff as a kid but this show was just the right amount of spooky that I was able to handle it. It was mostly because the special effects looked so fake, but to me, that’s what made it great. The show is now available on Netflixs for anyone who’s interested. 

I wish someone had made this movie sooner but I guess they wanted to wait for special effects to get better. I also wish that R.L. Stine had played himself in this movie. Don’t get me wrong; Jack Black was great but still. R.L. Stine did make a cameo at the end of the movie. He pulled a Stan Lee. Ha ha!

The reason why I’m posting about this series now is because Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is coming to theaters October 12. This movie will be taking place years after the first one and the R.L. Stine house has been abandoned. We’ll be getting a new cast of characters and Jack Black will be returning as R.L. Stine. I’m hoping the real R.L. Stine will make another cameo. 

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about R.L. Stine

Each book in R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series took about 8 days to write.

Gravity Falls: Lost Legends by Alex Hirsch

For Gravity Falls Fans, Young and Old

The strange adventures continue in this collection of 4 brand-new tales never before revealed!

Answering questions that were never asked!

Just when you thought the story was over…BAM! It comes back again! So far ‘Gravity Falls’ has made two comebacks. The first one was the Cipher Hunt. Remember that one second glimpse of an actual Bill Cipher statue in the series finale? Well, that was the first clue in the race to find the statue. The two links below will tell you the rest of this story. The first link is to a written-out description of the entire hunt. The second link is to Vailskibum94’s YouTube channel playlist of videos recording everything that happened during the Cipher hunt. 

Gravity Falls Wikia – Cipher Hunt

http://gravityfalls.wikia.com/wiki/Cipher_Hunt

Vailskibum94 – Mystery of the Bill Cipher 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkL_WVx8fpY&list=PLS7H4767w-aVmsWlK0d3z_XUIgy3x4NMb

I won’t give away too much info about the what happens in this book but I will say a few things: 

1) There are two references to the show ‘Rick and Morty’; one you have to look closely to see, the other is more obvious to those who’ve watch the show.

2) Prepare for various art styles.

3) This book reminds me of ‘Bottomless Pit’ and ‘Little Gift Shop of Horrors’. Instead of one long story, there are four mini ones.

4) BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL!

This book contains a secret code that leads to a secret site, which contains more information on various characters and small comics. I found this out when I was on the certain website that decoded all the coded messages on Gravity Falls (I know it’s cheating but not everyone is good at decoding messages). Below is a link to the secret site for anyone who couldn’t find the secret code. 

https://partners.disney.com/shmeb-you-unlocked

Including the shows ‘Kim Possible’ and ‘Phineas and Ferb’, ‘Gravity Falls’ is one of the best shows Disney Channel has ever had. Speaking of ‘Phineas and Ferb’, I always thought it was a shame that the two shows never had a crossover. I mean they both take place over summer vacation and the drawing styles were similar enough. There are so many reasons why Gravity Falls is such a great show; it’s clever, it’s fun, it has mysteries, it has depth, it’s not just a kid’s show. The action gets your heart racing and the tender moments get you right in the heart. It’s the kind of show that brings people together and teaches you without you knowing it. To prove my point, click below to see one of my favorite fan made videos sharing the 13 life lessons Gravity Falls has taught us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J04FQDKNvYA

Even though the show ended with everyone wanting more, at least it ended with everything being wrapped up and no questions left unanswered. That’s the one good things about Disney Channel shows, they always end a series with a solid ending. Unlike some shows where the series gets canceled on a cliffhanger.

There is a very high chance that we haven’t seen the last of Gravity Falls. Maybe Disney will make a live-action movie ten or so years from now like with the upcoming 2019 Kim Possible movie. And we definitely haven’t seen the last of Alex Hirsch, who recently signed a deal with Netflix. Whatever he has planned next I’m hoping he’ll be doing some voice acting. Before I end this review, I’d like to share with you one last video, the Gravity Falls cast reenacting the first episode. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o6XT8eA-4E

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Coded Messages

JuliusCaesar, leader of the Roman Empire, used codes to communicate with his generals. Each letter he wrote was actually the third letter after the correct one in the alphabet. For instance, to spell out “attack” he’s write “dwwdfn”.

NHHS JUDYLWB IDOOV ZHLUG