Another Guest Review - His Majesty's Dragon - (PG) - and My First Page

If you're interested in reading or critiquing the first page of my YA sci-fi novel, check out this blog contest:
Miss Snark's First Victim: January Secret Agent #4

Tomorrow marks the start of the Kickstarter campaign for my eBook editing app, but today I'm excited to post a review by a new Guest Surgeon.

Dr. Burdsal is Executive Editor and Co-founder of Wordshop Editing. Here's her SSG review of His Majesty's Dragon:

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - PG

His Majesty's Dragon is the first installment in the 9-book Temeraire Series.  The characters were well-rounded, and there are some unique and lovable aspects of the world (specifically the relationships between the captains and their dragons). The setting was excellent, complete with historic realism in dialogue.

Language - None

Sexuality - Mild

Violence - Mild

Adult Themes - A few

Since it is set in the British military during the Napoleonic Wars, some sections read like a war report. Discussions on battle can get a little heavy and hard to follow. This makes the book ill-suited to younger readers. 

Swearing in the book is limited to antiquated British slurs, like "blast." There is no explicit sexual content, but there are adult themes like illegitimacy, as well as some innuendo that leads to a relationship of "sleepovers." The author tastefully skips over any nighttime scenes.

His Majesty's Dragon gets a (PG) rating for content.  

Four stars. 

The Star Ratings on this site are inversely based on amount of mature material found in the books. 

The less objectionable, the content, the more stars it earns.

Special Thanks to Dr. Burdsal for her review. You can follow her on Twitter or Goodreads.

Guest Post - The Book Thief - (PG-13)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - PG-13

With the recent release of the movie, The Book Thief is receiving a lot of attention. Although I only made it halfway through, (not a huge fan of literary fiction) my blogger friend was awesome enough to share her review. Here is Dr. Bradford's review:

Language - Moderate

Sexuality - None

Violence - Mild

Adult Themes - Some

I avoided reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Whenever it came up, all I heard was “…a book set in Nazi Germany…” and I tuned out. Like most of the world, I want to forget such times of pain and suffering. Choosing to believe in a world where people are kind and loving, I shy away from the tales of ugliness and heartless humanity. However, I also understand that to forget is a disservice to those who suffered, died and survived. They deserve to be remembered, and in remembering we have a greater chance to prevent such atrocities from happening again. 

My book group chose this book for our February discussion, so I dutifully picked it up at the library and commenced reading. It only took three days, and I enjoyed it. All of it. The suffering, the pain and ugliness was there, but it took second seat to the love that filled the main character’s lives. Liesel, Rudy, Hans, Rosa, Max. I knew what was coming, but Zusak allows you to feel the little joys, hopes and small acts of kindness that allowed people to continue living. A snowman in a basement, accordion music, silver eyes, a boy with yellow hair, and the power of words. Yes, my heart was broken in the end, but I shared something larger than myself, and hopefully came away with a small piece of the hard learned lessons of those dark years. 

Although tyranny can force you to behave in certain ways to prolong your life or that of your loved ones, there are ways to stay true to the moral fibers that burn in your soul. Small acts of kindness often mean the most. When death finally comes, will you be one of the souls that sit up and come lightly because “more of [you] has already found [its] way to other places”?

Go HERE to see the rest of the review

 (including a clip of Mark Zusak)

The Book Thief gets an (PG-13) rating for content.  

Three stars. 

The Star Ratings on this site are inversely based on amount of mature material found in the books. 

The less objectionable, the content, the more stars it earns.

Thank our Guest Surgeon by following her blog
and checking out her very own books!

Charity Bradford
The Magic Wakes (WiDo Publishing, 2013)

Stellar Cloud: A Collection of Short Stories (September 2013)
Website-charitybradford.com
Blog-My Writing Journey
Facebook Page

Guest Post - Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food - (PG)

SURGEON GENERAL RATING - PG

For our first guest post, I'm pleased to welcome Surgeon J. Brown. Her review of BERENSTAIN BEARS AND TOO MUCH JUNK FOOD reminds us that there are other things we need to watch out for in kid's books besides sex, violence, and language. Although Dr. Brown appreciates books that teach healthy eating habits, she points out how well-meaning adults (or authors) can inadvertently cause food issues, which can lead to complexes, low self-esteem, and eating disorders. Thank you, Dr. Brown, for sending in your review! We still need many more guest bloggers. There are a lot of books out there and only one (now two) of us. Email your reviews to storysurgeongeneral (at) gmail (dot) com!

Language - None

Sexuality - None

Violence - None

Adult Themes - One Big One

Surgeon J. Brown's Review:

Well, let me just start out by saying that I wish I could give this book 0 stars, and then burn it. I do not even know where to begin... I am just so very, VERY disappointed. 

The Berenstain Bears books have been more or less popular for a few decades. This fact is part of what troubles me so much. I've read some of the other Berenstain books recently to my children, and they've been ok, but when I found this little gem (sarcasm), I was stunned.

When I was in nutrition school, and even more so since then, I have come to realize how many food issues people have, and how many of those issues are surrounded by feelings of guilt. That guilt almost inevitably leads to compulsion, and from there the cycle continues.

I understand that Stan Berenstain was attempting to help children to make better food choices, but he did it in all the wrong ways. 

Example #1
This is what inspires Mama to put the kids on a diet.

So, basically Mama bear wants her kids to stop eating junk food because they're getting "chubbier", not because she cares about their health. 


Example #2

 Papa's snack habits had caught up with him so he splits his pants?

Again, with the body shaming! Am I advocating unhealthy eating? Of course not. The problem I have here is with the idea that skinny = healthy. Health comes in all different sizes and shapes. This book should have focused more on how if we treat our bodies with care, they will be able to do amazing things. We will be able to run faster, live longer, and feel great! Not just look good in our clothes, or fail to "split the seat of our overalls wide open". 

If you'd like to learn more about the damage of body shaming, you should check out Beauty Redefined.

Too Much Junk Food gets a (PG) rating for content.  

Four stars. 

(The Star Ratings on this site are based solely on the amount of mature material. The less objectionable the content is, the higher the rating.)