Sybil contacted me about her blog tour a while ago, and I jumped at the chance. Priscilla the Great sounded hilarious. I knew it would totally make me nostalgic for junior high and all that 'lovely' drama (yes, that was sarcasm, although sadly some of it was actually nostalgic :P). Here's the blurb:
"Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.
Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner!"
See how I couldn't resist it?!
I thought, 'If the blurb is this funny, the book will be hilarious!' and boy was I right!
Priscilla was an awesome narrator and a pretty fierce superhero too! I loved her jokes, and her whole inner monologue, which was also packed with jokes. I was laughing throughout this book, and when I wasn't laughing I was thinking about being twelve, almost thirteen, and how awesome it would have been to have superpowers...which was another thing that I totally predicted would happen while I read this book, and I was so right. I mean it would've been scary too, not knowing why it was happening or how to control it, but it would've been beyond cool! Yup, she's even got me talking like I'm in grade 7 again. :P
The characters in this book were described simply and we got to know each of them through their interactions with Priscilla. I absolutely loved her friends, Tai and Kyle, and her Christina Aguilera-loving brother was pretty awesome too. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just talk about her parents a little bit. Her dad was described as a body-building secret service agent at one point...and he was trying to get jiggy with it. Oh how I miss using words like jiggy, I think my friends would look at me weird if I said jiggy, but I'd still do it anyways. Her mom's name is Quindolyn, which I think is such a cool name...totally long and a little crazy, but I still love it.
This book is middle grade, so it's not too complicated and it's easy to follow. It's also not too long, but it packs a huge punch. The paperback copy that I have has 271 pages, and in those pages it was probably one of the most exciting books I've read in a while. I forgot how dramatic being a pre-teen/early teen is, and how exciting everything feels. Reading this book helped me remember all that, and I was as caught up in it as Priscilla was herself. I would've loved to have read this when I was younger because I loved the story now, as a girl a few months shy of 20, but I would have loved it even more if I were Priscilla's age. That being said, I think this book is versatile for many ages. Sybil did an amazing job at making this book applicable to more than just those in the middle grade age group, she uses vocab and Priscilla's thoughts to help put you in Priscilla's shoes. I'm gonna be honest too, I really miss reading books where the writing it a nice font, it's easy to read, doesn't hurt my eyes, and it looks pretty. So many adult or YA books have tiny writing on big pages, so it was a relief to read a book that had really clear font, and that looked amazing too. I loved the texts that were used...I'm a sucker for aesthetics inside and outside of a book. :P
Priscilla the Great was an adorable and funny story. I'd recommend it to anyone, from the target middle grade age group, to fledgling adults like myself, to parents, or anyone looking for a fun story, which will make them remember their own childhood...and be slightly envious that they didn't have superpowers, or an ice cream machine in their school. :)
Here's the official trailer for Priscilla the Great if you wanna take a look:
And here are some links that you might wanna check out:
*I was provided with a copy of Priscilla the Great by the author, Sybil Nelson, for an honest review, I was not required to right a positive review, and all the opinions are my own.
I'd just like to thank Sybil for asking me to participate in her blog tour, and for sending me a copy of her book. I'm so glad to have gotten to read it. :)
So, am I the only one who would've loved superpowers in grade 7 or would you want them too? What powers would you have liked to have? I would've loved to have had telekinesis, I still wish I had it, then I would've have to get up just to grab things...yup, now you know how lazy I am sometimes. :P
Happy Reading!!!
♪♫ Ambur
Sibyl keep the good job, wonderful book young people need to read your book is awesome!
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