Review: Starry Eyes

Zorie and Lennon haven't been the same since the disaster of the homecoming dance. When Zorie agrees to go glam camping with her friend, she has no idea that Lennon (or boys) will be there. And she's not thrilled at the idea either. Her father hates his family and he's not shy about it.

Zorie and Lennon never really hashed out what happened the night that broke their relationship. But when the rest of the party ditches them in the middle of nowhere - they have more than enough time to address it. That is if they can make it out of the woods alive - after storms, wild animals, and getting lost.

Could their relationship be on the mend?

My Thoughts: I adored this book. I loved Lennon's moms. I loved the banter between Zorie and Lennon. I felt terrible for Zorie and learning about her father. I also hated her friends; they were terrible to leave her in the middle of nowhere. But I did love the adventure that came out of it. This book made me long to go hiking and see more of the outdoors, despite all the disasters that happened to them along the way. I loved that Zorie had a passion for the stars. Her astronomy friends were great. I didn't want this to end. I loved the romance, the stars, and the family dynamics. Another fantastic book by Jenn Bennett. I can't wait to read what she writes next!

Cover Thoughts: Love it
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: A must have for public libraries!

Review: Why We March

Signs from the January 17th Women's March around the world.

Signs of hope, justice, equality for everyone.

Reading the signs of this book gave me so much hope for the world. And I'm not going to lie, I teared a few times over it and had to put the book down. With everything going on in our country right now, it was a great reminder of the good in people. 

There are so many great photos. I bought this one for the teen section at the library, hoping that they will learn from our mistakes and be the change the world desperately needs. Yes, I'm pushing my feminist agenda on them, but in reality, the library has something to offend everyone. And if this book offends you, that tells me all I need to know about you as a person.

Also keep up the good fight!

Picture Book Review: Super Manny Stands Up

What's Manny going to do when someone is mean at lunch?

Will he have the courage to say something?

A really important book with a great message about being brave and determined. Bullies won't stand a chance. Plus everyone can be both a sidekick and a hero. I loved the part about the invisible cape. 

Perfect for school and public libraries.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Pool Side Books

This week's topic is pool side books. I have two minds here: historical romance and contemporary romance books. So I'll share five of each I'll be reading this summer (not by a pool because sadly we don't have one).

I'll pretend this is my pool:

photo credit: www.sangopoolandspa.com

- meme from That Artsy Reader Girl

Contemporary Romance

Historical Romance

What types of books to you read by the pool?

Review: Elle of the Ball

Elle's in the seventh grade but a recent growth spurt has made her life miserable. She's nearly six feet tall already. Her basketball game's suffering because of her new height.

She's also forced into a dance - a school tradition. She's so tall that she has a hard time dancing with the boys. She also can't find her rhythm. She's dreading the dance - from her lack of skills to her terrible partner to the dress she's forced to wear.

Why can't life be easy?

My Thoughts: A fun middle grade - about sports, fitting in, and trying to be yourself. I really enjoyed the first book of this series and I'm looking forward to more. I felt terrible for Elle - being at that awkward stage in her life and being so tall. While I was never that tall, I was also tall for my age. Plus of course, I loved the basketball parts of the book. And who didn't hate being told what to do by the school. I love how that worked out.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My library

Library Recommendation: Grab this one for your public and school libraries; it's perfect for your sporty readers

Movie Review: Solo

A few weeks back we went to see Solo.

And while I liked it, I had some thoughts.

The Good:

Lots of action and danger

Humor

Witty

Coming up with the name Han Solo

The Heist

The elaborate plans

Hope

The Bad:

Solo didn't have his swagger

My Thoughts:

I was talking with my husband afterwards and we thought that it's better to create movies based off other characters than the original ones. I loved the other spin-offs with Rey because I enjoyed getting to know her character. But it's really hard to replace Harrison Ford. It just didn't have the same feel.

But I would love seeing a movie about Qi'ra. She fascinated me. I think she stole the movie.

On Your Radar: (12)

Title: Princess in Black and the Science Fair Scare

Author:  Shannon and Dean Hale

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: September 25th 

Why it Should be on Your Radar:

Science and STEM 

Monsters

Friendship

Secret Identities

Team Work

Problem Solving

Pure fun!

Source: BEA book 2018

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Library Recommendation: A must have for school and public libraries