Blog Tour: Mira's Diary: Home Sweet Rome

Hey everyone! Welcome to the blog tour for, Mira's Diary: Home Sweet Rome! Today Danna will be reviewing the second book in this series. Be sure to check it out and also check out her review of Mira's Diary: Lost in Paris!

Title: Mira's Diary: Home Sweet Rome
Author: Marissa Moss
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: April 2013
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardback
Pages: 208

As if traveling to a new country in search of her missing mother weren't difficult enough, Mira has to do it dressed as a boy. In a different century.

A new postcard from her time-traveling mother points Mira to the 16th century Rome. But before she can rescue her mom, she must follow the clues left around the city to find Giordano Bruno, a famous thinker and mathematician, who discovered something so shocking that important Italian officials don't want it revealed. All the while avoiding the Watchers--time-traveling police who want Mira back in her own time.

It's another whirlwind adventure for Mira, and this time she is determined to bring her mother out of the past.

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Who is Marissa Moss anyway?

I’ve been making children’s books for a looooong time. I sent my first picture book to publishers when I was nine, but it wasn’t very good and they didn’t publish it. I didn’t try again until I was a grown-up and then it took five years of sending out stories, getting them rejected, revising them and sending them back over and over until I got my first book. Now I’ve published more than forty books and each new one is still hard in its own way. Each one takes a lot of revising because I never get things right the first time. That used to frustrate me. Now I expect it. And I don’t mind, because that gives me permission to make mistakes. It means I can take risks and try new things because I don’t have to be perfect - I can always make changes.

A sequel to Mira's Diary: Home Sweet Rome, Mira has now found that she is a time traveler and also knows where her mother is. Following her mothers clues, she is lead to Rome with her bigger brother Malcolm and her photo snapping dad, and already they fine a clue! Following her mothers path, Mira touches another touchstone and gets whisked back into 16th century Rome! Now, Mira has to follow clues and use her wits to find the famous thinker and mathematician Giordano Bruno, who has discovered a shocking secret? Can Mira save Giordano and return to 2012 with her mom?

This was a very cute read.  It's a historical fiction/fantasy book written in first person. Mira has a dorky side that tends to appear when talking to boys she deems as "cute", so many girls would be able to relate to that. Any girl who has ever had a crush that they act dorky around would be able to relate to her embarrassment when attempting to chat with boys. 

The only thing that annoyed me was that Mira kept returning to her present time just when the story gets good in the 16th century. Other than that, Home Sweet Rome wasn't annoying. The very beginning was slightly boring, but not by a lot. It was just interesting enough to keep you reading, but you could stop any time you wanted.

I'm guessing there will be a third book, because the 2nd one doesn't end the story in a satisfying way. If there isn't a third book, I would be kinda upset, because the book doesn't tell you about the happy ending. It just kinda ends. I think reading a different sequel by this author would be cool, so any other books by Marissa Moss are something I would read in the summer.
Home Sweet Rome has a very good flow and it doesn't go by to fast or to slow. It also has a very clear and easy to understand plot line, so that is very helpful to people who have trouble reading books and understanding the story. I recommend this book for kids ages 9-13, and I'm pretty sure they would love it.