A tween book review of the new middle-grade fiction novel The Super Life of Ben Braver—the first book of a funny new adventure series that combines superheroes, comic strips and an ordinary middle school boy. 

I tucked my 11-year-old into bed one night last week with Marcus Emerson’s brand new book The Super Life of Ben Braver. Since she’s big into superheroes, I had a feeling it was going to be a hit with her.

Filled with art and comic strips, The Super Life of Ben Braver is the story of an ordinary middle school boy. Ben loves TV and comic books and peanut butter cups. But when he hears a kid scream for help one day, he decides to be like his favorite heroes and tries to save the day. Things go really wrong—which leads Ben to a secret school where kids learn to control their superpowers.

Since it sounded similar to other books she loves (the NERDS series from Michael Buckley, for one), I was pretty confident she would devour this one—but even I was surprised when I woke up the next morning and asked her how it was. She had read the entire book!

Here’s what she had to say about it.

A tween book review of the new middle-grade fiction action-adventure book Legends of the Lost Causes—which stars zombie outlaws and a ragtag gang of orphans.

We love fantasy novels around here. Give us a little magic and adventure and we. are. there. Well, this week, a brand new middle-grade fantasy novel hit bookshelves. And this one has an interesting twist: it’s set in the Wild West! I was intrigued.

Legends of the Lost Causes is the first book in a new series by debut authors Brad McLelland and Louis Sylvester. Here’s a summary from the publisher:

“A band of orphan avengers. A cursed stone. A horde of zombie outlaws.

This is Keech Blackwood’s new life after Bad Whiskey Nelson descends upon the Home for Lost Causes and burns it to the ground.

With his home destroyed and his family lost, Keech will have to use the lessons he learned from Pa Abner to hunt down the powerful Char Stone. Luckily, he has the help of a ragtag team of orphans. Together, they’ll travel through treacherous forests, fight off the risen dead, and discover that they share mysterious bonds as they search for the legendary stone. Now it’s a race against the clock, because if Bad Whiskey finds the stone first… all is lost.”

Since my 11-year-old daughter has been deep into fantasy novels lately (Harry Potter and Percy Jackson are constantly battling it out to be her faves), I jumped at the chance to have her review this one when Macmillan offered to send us a copy. I was really interested to see how the Western aspect of it would work for her. Here’s what she had to say.

No, I’m not pregnant.

I am, however, a big fan of babies. I am completely incapable of resisting their soft tufts of hair, delicious wrist rolls and tiny, bird-like mouths. I’m no fool though. I also remember the long, sleepless nights, desperately trying to translate cries and nipples that felt like they were about to fall off.

New mamahood is the strangest mixture of pure bliss and torture. One minute your heart seems to have expanded into your throat. You are so filled with love and gratitude that you might actually burst. The next minute, you’re almost positive that if you don’t get five minutes of sleep you are going to completely lose your shit.

As I transition into a brand new stage of motherhood—my tween starts middle school in a couple of weeks—I wanted to give a little love to the new moms out there. The mommas who can’t see passed the mountain of dirty diapers to a time when life feels manageable again. Whether that’s you or you have a friend or family member in the throes of new parenthood (or some about to find themselves there), this giveaway is one you don’t want to miss.

Cuddles & Chaos’ ridiculously awesome Big, Fat Baby Giveaway

Before I tell you how you can enter, let’s take a look at the four awesome companies that are making this giveaway happen…

My husband is one of the trickiest people to shop for. Yes, I live with him. Yes, I know what he likes. But he doesn’t really need anything—and there are only so many kitchen gadgets you can get a guy who loves to cook before it gets old. Enter the RawSpiceBar monthly Flavor Kit, which includes unique freshly-ground spice blends and recipe ideas delivered to your loved one’s mailbox every month. Think spices like German Gingerbread, Indo-French Vadouvan and Peppercorn Chai. It’s an adventurous chef’s dream!

I love a good kids book. My girls love a good kids book. But let’s be honest. Not everyone feels the love as much as we do. There are plenty of reluctant readers out there and whether they struggle to read or struggle to find something they like to read, it can become a major issue.

Do you know what kids really like though? Stories about themselves.

Enter Lost My Name, a company that makes personalized kids books designed to inspire kids by making the story all about them. They sent us a copy of The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name for Ellie and both of my girls thought it was just about the coolest thing ever.