Happy Monday, Everyone! As many of
you know, I’m a huge fan of Jennifer Nielsen. I’ve interviewed her when she was
a debut
author and when The Captive King was released. I’ve also reviewed
many of her books.
I’ve wanted to feature The Free State of Jax since it was released last fall and Magnitude, Jennifer’s newest release. I’m glad I could schedule my spotlight on these two awesome books today.
The Free State of Jax Review
Here’s a blurb of The Free State of
Jax from Goodreads:
From
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen, this
charmingly quirky coming-of-age story about a boy fighting for his freedom and
a place to call home is brimming with mystery and adventure.
Jaxon Averett has had some terrifically bad
luck. Because only the worst luck in the world can account for the fact that he
has to live with his Uncle Clive Grimmitz, Aunt Helga, and their six kids in
dead-end Walkonby, Kansas. Life with Jax's cousins isn't easy--they're all
bullies, and his aunt and uncle can't even remember his name.
Which is why, on the night before his twelfth
birthday, Jax sneaks over to the neighboring property, floats a raft out into
the middle of the hot springs lake, and drops anchor.
Jax is now the president and sole citizen of his
own micronation, the Free State of Jax.
With the help of new friends, a local lawyer,
and the property owner Owen O'Keefe, Jax's micronation begins to flourish. But
the Grimmitzes will do anything to get him back and they are not above
sabotage. On top of that, Jax is quickly embroiled in the mystery of Owen's
missing brother--and a lost windfall of the town's money.
Investigating puts everything Jax has built at
risk, and when long-buried family secrets are unearthed, he must find the
courage to do what's right, even if it means losing his only chance at freedom.
New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen weaves an
extraordinary mystery and a moving and hilariously zany story about family,
forgiveness, and the courage it takes to do what's right, no matter the cost.
The Free State of Jax is Jennifer’s Nelsen’s first contemporary story. I got the audiobook from my library and really enjoyed it. I think it shows how talented Jennifer is as a writer. She has already written fantastic middle grade fantasies and historical fiction, some on the New York Times bestseller list.
Here are some things I really enjoyed about The Free State of Jax:
·
Jax. I couldn’t help sympathizing with
Jax. He’s such a good, likeable kid thrust in a bad situation where he’s forced
to live with an aunt and uncle who don’t want him after his parents died.
·
The
Free State of Jax.
Jax’s solution to his living situation problems is so creative. He created his
own nation. I loved seeing how his free state evolves as he tries to get
permission to keep it on his neighbor, Owen’s, land, and as the story unfolds.
·
Mystery
of Owen O’Keefe. I
always enjoy stories with a mystery. Soon after the story starts, we’re sucked
into the mystery of what happened to Owen’s brother decades ago.
·
Humor. I couldn’t help laughing at
various parts of the story. Jennifer does a great job at adding humor to the
story.
·
Page-turner. Jennifer does an excellent job of
making the problems for her main characters escalate and creating real page-turners.
She continued this in The Free State of Jax.
Magnitude Review
Now onto my review of Magnitude.
Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:
From
the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Iceberg and The
Free State of Jax comes the harrowing story of one girl's fight for
survival during the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.
San Francisco, 1906.
When Cora leaves her house in the early morning
hours of April 18th, she expects trouble to find her, like it somehow always
does. But as she makes her way to the San Francisco docks to look for her
father, the earth begins to shake and suddenly, Cora realizes that she's not
just in trouble--she's in danger.
Soon after, the last thing Cora remembers seeing
is a tall building swaying overhead, before everything goes dark.
When Cora wakes up, she's trapped underground
with Zhi, whom she met by accident on the way to the docks. They're running
short on air and time, when miraculously, Cora's friend Oliver pulls them from
the rubble. Once she's above ground again, Cora is shocked to find herself in a
city that has been decimated by a massive earthquake.
Together, Cora, Zhi, and Oliver begin a
desperate search for their families, all the while trying to evade terrifying
fired that are tearing through the wreckage and a gang of thieves who are
pursuing Cora and a valuable secret she holds.
From beloved #1 New York Times bestselling
author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a thrilling, suspenseful story about courage,
friendship, and the strength it takes to survive one of the most terrible
natural disasters this country has ever seen.
I have really enjoyed Rescue, Lines
of Courage, and the other historical fiction stories that Jennifer has written.
I’ve become a huge fan of historical fiction—middle grade, young adult, and
adult—from reading her books. Magnitude is another thrilling historical fiction
story by her.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC for an honest review. Here are a few things I enjoyed:
·
San
Francisco earthquake.
While I knew that San Francisco had a terrible earthquake, I didn’t know much
about how devastating the earthquake of 1906. Jennifer does an excellent job of
weaving historical details into the story and providing a timeline of major
events at the beginning of each chapter.
·
Cora. Cora is another very sympathetic
character struggling to help provide for her family and being pursued by
bullies. She also must grapple with a lot of guilt about her secret.
·
Friendships. Cora makes a new friend, Zhi, at
the docks and then gets trapped with her in a ship after one of the
aftershocks. While they go their separate ways to search for their families,
they reconnect throughout the story. Cora also has a complicated friendship
with Oliver. I couldn’t help but sympathize with the challenges their
friendship faced due to disputes between their families.
·
Bigotry. While I didn’t enjoy seeing this,
I got a real sense of the discrimination the Chinese community experienced in
the early 1900s in San Francisco.
· Page-turner.
Jennifer has a talent for making things worse and worse for her main
characters. She mentioned this with a big grin on her face at an online book release party I attended. This was true for Magnitude, too. The story became a real
page-turner that I didn’t want to put down.
Giveaway Details
I’m offering a kindle e-book of The Free State of Jax or Magnitude, winner’s choice, for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment telling me which book you want by April 25th. If I do not have your email (I can no longer get it from your Google Profile), you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.
If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or Bluesky mention this in the comments, and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is International.
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is hosted by Greg Pattridge. You can find the participating blogs on his blog.
Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops
Thursday, April 16th, I’m participating in the Rain Drop on Roses Giveaway Hop
Monday, April 20th, I have an interview with Van Hoang and a giveaway of her MG Auntie Q’s Golden Claws Nail Salon
Monday, April 27th, I have an interview with Gareth P. Jones and a giveaway of his MG Solve Your Own Mysteries
Wednesday, April 29th, I have an agent spotlight interview with Erica Bauman and a query critique giveaway
Friday, May 1st, I’m participating in the Come What May Giveaway Hop
Wednesday, May 6th, I have an interview with Dana Mele and a giveaway of her YA The Beast You Let In and my IWSG post
Monday, May 11th, I have an interview with Sarah Marie Jette and a giveaway of her MG One Fair Share
I hope to see you on Thursday!
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