Month: March 2021

Lockwood & Co -The creeping shadow( Book-4).

On By KavyaIn book review, booksLeave a comment

This review is about the fourth book in the ‘Lockwood and Co.’ series, ‘The Creeping Shadow’. This is an amazing book in an awesome series, which is not well known enough. I love this series. Well, anyway, it all happened like this…..

Lucy Carlyle – a talented girl who can hear ghosts, formerly employed at Lockwood and Co. agency, is now a freelance agent after the incident in Aickmere Brothers department store. She is now working with any agency that needs her help – Rotwell, Grimble and all the rest. She lives in her own apartment with a skull in a jar. Yes, that’s right. She has a phantom in a jar – a ghost who can talk, which is rare for a ghost, and Lucy is the only living person who can hear and talk to it. One day, out of the blue, Lockwood turns up. He needs her help with an important job, an assignment given by Penelope Fittes, one of the most important people in London and head of the extremely prominent Fittes agency. An assignment involving the ghost of a murdering cannibal. Lucy agrees. After some considerable work, they manage to find the ghost’s source and safely dispose it off. Or so they think….

The next day, someone steals Lucy’s friend – the phantom in the jar. On top of it, she finds out that all the ghosts the agencies think are being safely disposed off, are actually being stolen and used in black market auctions. This going on for some months. Someone she used to trust, turned out to be a turncoat, and is part of the theft. After a narrow escape from attempted murder by the thieves, she goes to Lockwood and Co. Her true friends. They then find out; this whole thing is far more complex than it seems. They receive a distress call from the village of Aldbury Castle. The village is being plagued by ghosts, and they ask Lockwood and Co to help them. Can they rescue the skull, stop the auctions and help the village, all in time? They will fight against unsuspected enemies, and take the help of unexpected allies, and find out that this whole thing is interconnected somehow. Can Lockwood and Co. save the day?

This book is so good! I couldn’t put it down! This series is really underrated. It definitely deserves to be as famous as Harry Potter. With subtle, sarcastic humour and an intricate plot, this book keeps you hooked. The fantastic style of writing of this book is paired with an interesting story. All the scenes are really well described. It may seem a bit scary, but it’s more like mysteries, but with ghosts. The skull’s ghost is definitely one of the best characters. This is a one-of-a-kind series. All in all, this is one nice fat book that will keep you engrossed. This series is perfect for those who like creepy mysteries. It is original, imaginative but also quite realistic. You’ll see the plot taking place in a world that really isn’t that different from our own. I found it fun to see the book version of our world. You can reread these books, over and over, and not get tired of them. In short – I loved this book because everything is good about it! It is a captivating, beautifully written book, that is perfect for ages 9+. Everyone should read this series, it is amazing!

I give this book 5 stars!

Film Review: The Cat Returns By Studio Ghibli

On By KavyaIn anime, moviesLeave a comment

    This review is about the movie ‘The Cat Returns’ by Studio Ghibli. It’s directed by Hiroyuki Morita with music by Yuji Nomi. This is an intriguing, hilarious and superb film, and I really hope that you watch it. Well, it all began like this……

    17-yr-old Haru Yoshioka is a quiet, normal school girl, who hates her alarm clock and can never get up on time. One day, she and her best friend are walking home from school, when they see a strange black cat, with a gold collar and a ribbon wrapped gift in its mouth, crossing the road. However, a truck was coming and neither the cat nor the truck driver saw each other. Haru ran into the middle of the road, scooped the cat up and jumped to the other side. She saved the cat’s life! But then, to her immense shock, the cat started talking to her. It thanked her, and then said it was in a hurry and must go. It promised her that she would be properly thanked, then ran off. No one had seen her talk to the cat, so she thought she must have imagined it. However, in the night, a strangest procession of cats came down her street. They were carrying a wooden bed on which there was a cat with purple fur. You see, the cat whose life she saved that day, was the prince of cats, Prince Lune, and the purple cat was the king. He had come to thank Haru for saving his son’s life. From the next day, she would have eternal happiness and all cats will obey her. They give her a scroll too. However, the ‘eternal happiness’ she is given is a cat’s idea of it. So now, her locker is full of rats as a gift, and her garden is full of a plant called cattail. And to top it all off, the king wants her to come to The Kingdom of Cats and marry the prince. The horror! The only people who can save her are the people in the Cat Business Office – A grumpy, fat cat called Muta, a cat in a suit called Baron and a raven called Toto. Before they could think of a way out, she is kidnapped (catnapped?) by a group of cats from The Cat Kingdom. Now, she is in their Kingdom, she is slowly turning…. into a cat! If she doesn’t get out of there before dawn, she will turn into a cat, forever……

    Can Baron, Muta and Toto get her out of there before dawn? Can she escape from marrying a cat? Finding allies in unexpected places, they now have to escape – and fast…

    This delightful movie by Studio Ghibli is amazing. With its beautiful animation, comical and sweet plot, and the adorable characters, this movie is a must-watch. The huge world of ‘The Cat Returns’ is really imaginative, and it is really funny. This movie will make you laugh out loud, and the unexpected twists and turns in the plot keep you on the edge of your seats. The attention to detail is amazing in this film, with colourful, detailed backdrops. My favourite characters were Lune and Yuki, because they were so sweet and nice, and Muto, because he was so grumpily kind and adorable. Studio Ghibli gives us awesome movies. It is definitely one of the best films I have seen. You will get lost in the fantastical plot of the movie, and watching it is really fun. My only regret is that it had to end. This movie can be watched by both kids and adults. If you want sweet, light, comical fun, then this movie is for you. I recommend this movie for ages 6+.   I give this movie 5 stars!                                                                                                                                                                               

    Aru Shah and the End of Time By Roshani Chokshi

    On By KavyaIn book review, booksLeave a comment

    This review is about the first book in the Aru Shah series, Aru Shah and the End of Time. This was a fun and adventurous book following the adventures of a girl, her soul sister and a talking pigeon. It is really good, and now let me tell you more about it!

    One morning, in her school break, Aru’s classmates turn up to catch her in a lie (or rather, several lies), and start filming a video, catching her in the lie. It’s not Aru’s fault, she loves spinning tales, and lying about having a chauffeur and spending the break in Paris is the only way to fit in at her snobbish school. And now the only way to get out of her own stupid lie, is to light the museum’s cursed Lamp of Bharata. Something her mother has told her to never ever do. Her mother runs the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, and Aru lives there with her. The Lamp of Bharata is just a lamp, she thinks, what is so special about it? So……. she lights it. And her world officially turns upside down. To begin with, her classmates are frozen in time, and so is her dear mother. And to cap it all off, a sulky pigeon appears in the giant statue in the hall, who insists that Aru is the reincarnation of one of the historic Pandava brothers. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any weirder, a mystical door appears and another girl appears, who is also another Pandava. Her name is Mini, and the pigeon’s name is Boo. And now, they have to stop the world from ending, as a mysterious demon called the Sleeper has apparently been freed, after Aru lit the lamp. Now they have to go to the Otherworld, and go through a Claiming, to see whose daughters they are. Mini turns out to be the daughter of Dharma Raja, the god of Death and Justice, while Aru …… is the daughter of Indra, the god of thunder, sky, lightning and the King of the Heavens. Now they have nine days to stop the Sleeper, and to do that they have to find three things –

    • The spring of Youth,
    • The bite of Adulthood
    • The Sip of Old Age.

    And then they have to face the Sleeper… Piece of cake!!!!

     Aru and Mini battle through the Otherworld, the Land of Death, a mysterious forest, the Bridge of Forgetting, and many other amazing, magical places. It will be journey they’ll never forget. But, can they do all of this in time?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

    This book showcases some of the not-so-well known aspects of Hindu mythology, and makes it really fun and interesting to read. Even if you are an Indian, and know a lot about it, you will still find something new. Pair this with its quirky sense of humour, it is an instant favourite. For those who love Hindu mythology, this book is a must!! You’ll see the characters and their super cool abilities, and wish you had a superpower like that! Its storyline is kinda sad and happy at the same time, it has the perfect balance. The reader will get swept along in the enchanting, magical and dizzying world of Aru Shah, and with amazing characters and places like a talking pigeon, the reincarnation of the legendary Pandava brothers (reincarnated as girls!) and the fact that all villains are never fully evil. You will take great delight seeing the beautiful realm of Hindu mythology, written in a way that is both interesting and easy to understand, and meet great characters, and want to buy the next book immediately! The author paints out the scenes in vivid detail, and you will love Aru’s bravery and Mini’s smartness. This is definitely a remarkable book! I hope all the other books in the series are this good. I will try the other’s, and I urge you to read this book! This is perfect for those who love comical, fantastical books. I recommend this book for ages 9+.              

    I give this book 5 stars!!