Kathleen and Joyce are both living on Cape Ann. When they meet, they’re both a little lonely and going through some tough times in their lives. Kathleen is facing a breast cancer diagnosis and Joyce has a terrible teenager at home and a mostly-absent husband. They immediately click and become confidantes. I think it says […]
Will Robie is a sanctioned assassin for the US government. Needless to say, if he screws up he’s officially on his own. He gets an odd assignment amidst the cartel bosses and terrorists that are his usual hits. He’s assigned to take out a woman who works for the Department of Defense. The official story […]
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. I went to Malaprop’s for the book launch of The League of Seven by Alan Gratz on Friday. It’s a middle-grade steampunk adventure. I had a great time and the book sounds like it’s “full of awesome,” which is what the author […]
In this graphic novel memoir, Alison Bechdel explores her relationship with her father, who later admitted to being homosexual; his suicide; her childhood; and her early years after coming out as a lesbian. I really kind of hate reviewing these kinds of books. They’re so intensely personal. Who am I to judge the work of […]
Linda, an overweight girl in fifth grade, gives a report about whales one day. Someone passes around a note that “Blubber is a good name for her” and Linda has a new nickname. The other kids start to tease and harass her and just generally make her life miserable. Our narrator, Jill, watches all this […]
Anytime kids gather together in the dark, scary stories are inevitably told. Alvin Schwartz gathered a good selection of the most popular and published them in this anthology. I kind of think this scared me when I was little but I don’t actually remember ever checking it out from the library. My theory is that […]
Our young British protagonist and his Norwegian grandmother know something that we don’t: Witches are real and they live among us. They look like sweet neighbor ladies but they’re keeping a lot of secrets. Chief among them? They want to wipe out the children of the world. When Grandmamma and Grandson (do we ever learn […]
Young Mickey hears a noise deep in the night and finds himself falling into the Night Kitchen, where he has to help the cooks get the milk into the batter. What a fun little book! I never read much Sendak when I was little for some reason, so this was completely new to me. The […]
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Posted: Review: The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka, read by Samantha Quan and Carrington MacDuffie–3 Stars Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, read by Joshua Swanson–4 Stars Review: Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik–4 Stars Welcom to Banned […]
The last week in September is always dedicated to bringing awareness to banned or challenged books. The American Library Association explains the difference more succinctly than I can: A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. […]
Captain Will Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire–or is it the other way around?–are in something of a bind. Temeraire was meant to be a gift from the Chinese emperor to Emperor Napoleon. The Chinese people are not happy when they find out that Temeraire is a mere captain’s pet and he’s being used to wage […]