Posted in Book Nerd Stuff

Blind Date with a book.

If you’re a book lover, you know having a good book to read on vacation is super important. I had a beach vacation coming up and put several beach-themed books on hold at the local Library. As vacation approached, I misread the Library’s open hours and never had the opportunity to get my books.

I was so upset. Almost depressed. I had a beautiful vacation planned, plenty to do, people I love to spend time with, but no book planned. I had carefully selected the books I wanted to bring and put them on hold weeks ago. I was waiting for them all to be ready for pick up. I stopped by the day before I left only to find the Library was closed for Good Friday. The remorse I felt from this was genuine. Please tell me some of you have felt the same.

Continue reading “Blind Date with a book.”
Posted in Book Reviews, Middle Grade Book Reviews

The Lost Frost Girl – a review

By Amy Wilson
Fantasy – Fairy Tales / Middle-Grade

Well, hello, hello. My first book review in who knows how long? Of course, I’m the only one who noticed I neglected my blog for all of 2021. Blogs, journals, manuscripts, health, housework – yeah, many things got pushed aside last year. No one cares why and I don’t care to share my reasons; let us pretend they were good reasons and leave it at that. Let us also hope I don’t do it again this year. If anyone is reading this, feel free to drop a comment below about the first book you completed in 2022, what your goals are this year, or what your dog’s name is. You can also just read my short little book review; that’s fine as well.

My Synopsis.
Owl is a young girl who finds out her father is Jack Frost. Finding out the truth led to other mysteries and trouble. If she’s not careful with her new powers, she could ruin a lot more than her friendship with her best friend Malory and her mother’s trust.

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Posted in Book Reviews, Middle Grade Book Reviews

The Way Past Winter

by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Magical Realism – Middle-Grade

My Synopsis:

Mila lives in the dark cold, woods with her brother and two sisters in a small cabin. Their mother is dead, and their father left them for unknown reasons five years ago. Since then, the forest has become perpetual winter, and memories of Springtime and happiness are fading. One evening a stranger and his fellow travelers come to their home asking for food and shelter, but the next day when they are gone, Mila’s brother is missing. The sisters debate whether he left them to join the traveling men or was he taken against his will. Mila insists on going after their brother and so begins a daring adventure north through fierce winter landscapes mixed with magic and folklore that she and her sisters are afraid may actually be true.

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Posted in Book Reviews, Middle Grade Book Reviews

Little Bird Flies (book review)

by Karen McCombie
Historical Fiction – Middle Grade (book 1) 

My Synopsis:

12-year-old Bridie lives with her family on a remote island of Scotland in 1861. As much as she loves her island, her family, and her best friend, she fears being “stuck” on the island forever. She’d never admit this to her hardworking family or anyone else for that matter, but when change comes to the island in a bad way, they are all forced to think about options beyond their island home. It’s not exactly the adventure Bridie had hoped for but she must face life’s challenges and make the best of some very difficult situations.

Why I Picked This Book:

This was a no-brainer for me. I love middle-grade books, I love historical fiction, and I love Scotland. I bought this before I traveled to Scotland last year as something to have upon my return to sort of “keep me in Scotland”.

What Was Disappointing: 

Me. I was disappointing. I have such a difficult time committing to books, it’s in almost every book review I write; “slow start”. I know it’s me, but I also know I can’t be the only person out there to have a form of ADD, possible dyslexia, and/or simply be bogged down with so much in life that concentration is difficult. So yes, this book had a very slow start for me. So much so that I’ve started and stopped reading it more times than I’d like to admit. I guess the first chapter didn’t draw me in enough. It was a bit too much internal dialogue from a character I didn’t know enough about or care about yet. But by all means, DO NOT let that stop you if you are a reader like me who struggles with getting attached to books. I IMPLORE you to continue reading!

Why I Kept Reading:

I can’t say I kept reading because the adventure kicked in and the paced quickened. I mean, it picks up and I sped read through the entire second half, but this is definitly more of a “quiet” book. What made me keep reading was how the writer made me fall in love. I fell in love with the island, with Bridie, and fell deeply into the entire isle setting of 1861. Karen McCombie is a time travler and made me one too. She made me fall in love with Bridie’s home as much as her characters did. I became and islander. I was one of them. I was there. When a writer can make me love a character, that’s always great. But when a writer can make me love a place, that’s amazing to me. So when that place is threatened by the new Laird of the island, I was absolutley emotionally invested.

Take Away: 

Admittingly, I don’t believe my younger self would have read this book. It’s a slow book along the lines of “The Secret Garden” or even “Treasure Island”. Stories I loved as a child in movie versions, but could not hold still long enough to read them. There were points in my reading that I thought “how is this a kid’s book?” but had to remember loads of kids (my sister and all four of her children included) who read ferociously without any troubles at all. And beyond taking one to 1861 island life in Scotland, this book deals with family, death, being ‘different’, responsibilities, cultural barriers, class wars, and of course, history.  And all of this is brought to you from a 12-year-old girl’s perspective as she deals with her own grief, guilt, and hopes as she watches her world change in ways she never could imagine. She’s a powerful young character that would do anyone well to get to know.

Final Thoughts:

This book was such a nice surprise. I thought it would be interesting, I didn’t know it would grip me in such a way that I would be crying a bit while writing it’s review. Good tears and sad tears, because that’s just how life is right? The writing in this book does everything I hope to acheive as a writer. Yes, I finished this book last week or so and I am STILL emotional over it. Every synopsis I have read makes it seem as though there isn’t much to it: She lives and an island and you know she gets off because there’s already a sequel that takes place in America so really, what’s left to find out? Do not deprive yourself of reading about Bridie’s adventures. Even if you start slow like me, dive deep into this story because it has much to tell.

Post-Script:

To the author – thank you for Patch the dog!

 

Posted in Book Reviews, YA Book Reviews

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

By Ben Philippe
YA novel

My Synopsis:
Teenaged Black French Canadian Norris Kaplan has to move to Austin Texas after his parents’ divorce. He hates everyone and everything until he kinda doesn’t maybe? Cheerleaders, jocks, romance, the whole high school shebang you see in every teen movie only without the lame-o soundtrack trying to make you sing along. (Or vomit)

Why I picked up this book:

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