Middle Grade Review: The Trouble with Heroes

Finn is grieving the death of his father. He lashes out in the middle of a cemetery, kicking gravestones. Unfortunately for him, there's a camera in the cemetery and he's caught vandalizing the gravestones. Instead of paying for the replacement, the family decides that Finn should hike the 46 mountains of the Adirondacks.

Finn has the whole summer to complete the challenge, but there are some rules. The family dog has to go with him. Different volunteers will accompany him. Finn isn't thrilled with this ruling, but he has little choice.

He struggles with hiking, his grief, and his anger. 

My Thoughts: This novel in verse made me cry; I loved it. Finn struggles so much - both physically and mentally. I'm impressed with his hiking skills; those are some long hard hikes. I wanted to wrap him up in a hug. He's funny and sarcastic. I love how he started to enjoy the hikes and look more around him to appreciate nature. I love how everything tied together. I loved Finn's outlook on heroes. The dog is adorable. Another winner for Kate Messner! 

* There's a scary moment with the dog, but it turns out ok.

Why I Read This Book: I love Kate Messner's Books

Source: My Library

Cover Thoughts: Perfect

Library Recommendation: A Must have book for your school and public library collection

Board Books: Halloween (2)

A few more Halloween board books:

It's Halloween and five black cats are walking the streets. They find all sorts of mischief.

A delightful rhyming board book that's full of almost scary moments. 

Grumpkin is a pumpkin that DOES NOT like Halloween!

He's so grumpy, it's rather funny. Things you imagine aren't always better; the twist at the end is cute. 

This board book is a twist on If You're Happy and You Know it! And it's really fun. 

The zoo is ready for Halloween and all the animals are participating!

This is a cute book with great photos of zoo animals combined with Halloween moments. The rhymes are fun and there are SO many pumpkins!

* this book was sent for review

Author Event: Sarah Beth Durst

 Last evening, we had an author event at my library. It was lovely.

Sarah Beth Durst came to the library for an after-hours event. 

While she writes for several ages: kids, teens, and adults, we were celebrating her newest series:

Here we are talking:

We talked about so much - 

Community and Kindness

Writing every day or just finding out what works best for you as a writer

Everyone has a story to tell

Writings as an act of joy

Snacks

Unsuccessful hobbies

Book Recommendations

The Spellshop as a series and how it developed

Librarians

Upcoming books

It was a magical night! 

Not pictured: All the yummy cookies! 

Shoutout to my co-workers for taking these photos! 

Review: You with a View

 

Noelle is reeling from the loss of her grandmother. She's unemployed and living at home with her parents. She used to love taking pictures, but she's lost her confidence. When she learns that her grandmother had a secret life before her marriage, she's curious. She has a photograph. In a hail mary, she posts a video on TikTok.

To her surprise, she learns that the man in the photograph is the grandfather of her high school nemesis. She learns that her grandmother was engaged and planned a road trip honeymoon. With nothing on the horizon, she decides to follow the trail. The grandfather, Paul, and her nemesis Theo are all traveling together. What could go wrong?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. I felt for Noelle and for the loss of her grandmother. I was close to my grandmother too. I loved her conversations with Paul. The banter between Theo and Noelle. The social media aspects were fun. I loved the conversations about photography and how Noelle found her confidence again. I had heard great things about this book, and I wasn't disappointed. 

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Source: Purchased

Library Recommendation: A great romance for new adult readers. 

Review: Falling Like Leaves

 

Ellis has a lot of expectations for her senior year, but moving from Manhattan to Bramble Falls, Connecticut is not one of them. Yet in the wake of her parents' separation, that's exactly where she and her mother are headed.

Bramble Falls might be charming, but it's also full of distractions. Like local barista Cooper Barnett, Ellis's one-time best friend—and first kiss—who has not only majorly glowed up but wants nothing to do with Ellis.

Then there's the Falling Leaves Festival, a month-long tourist attraction run by Ellis's aunt—celebrating everything autumn. The festival seems nice and all, but Ellis doesn't have time to be roped into her aunt's enthusiastic planning. Dragged to each event, she can't stop bumping into Cooper, the one person she's hoping to avoid.

But the longer she stays in Bramble Falls, the harder it is to pretend she's not falling for this town and the people in it. As her return to Manhattan gets pushed further and further out, Ellis is forced to confront exactly what she wants for her future—and what that means for her present. - Summary from the publisher

My Thoughts: I adored this book. So many things to love:

Small town Charm

Second Chance Romance

Work/Life Balance

Great BFF (loved the dead body comments)

The cookies - it really made me want to bake

All the Fall Festival Activities

I didn't want this book to end; it's just magical.

Goodreads says it's the first in a series and I REALLY want that to be true.

Cover Thoughts: Charming

Why I Read This: First the cover and 2nd- Jessica Burkhart recommended it.

Source: My Library (but I did get an ARC for review the same week)

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your teen romance collection - especially since there aren't that many fall romance books.

Hand This To: Fans of PSL and Gilmore Girls 

I went to a Taylor Swift party at the local bookstore and bedazzled the leaves in the trees:

Cute right?

Picture Book Review: Halloween Books (3)

Just a few more Halloween books:

If you're a fan of the original book, you will enjoy this spin-off

I enjoyed how many of the letters have costumes. The ending was sweet.

A fresh spin on the Goldilocks story with a fun Halloween twist.

Beverley the bat is lonely. She's so happy when humans show up at the house. But they do not enjoy her welcome treats. 

* While this isn't technically a Halloween books, it does work.

The cars aren't sure about a ride through a haunted graveyard. Someone might be a little scared, but the message is great. 

It's Halloween and the monsters want to share their cake with the neighbors. They go door to door and learn about different holiday traditions (which are shared in the back of the book). A sweet community story

Top Ten Tuesday: Non-bookish Hobbies

 This week's topic is non-bookish hobbies.

We did this topic 5 years ago, I confess my answers haven't changed much since then...

Besides reading and blogging which to be honest takes up most of my free time, my hobbies include:

Painting:

I haven't done much lately.

Puzzles:

I haven't done much lately

Writing:

I wrote an article in SLJ about Teen Summer Romance books that came out this year.

Hiking

Another hiking year: Grand Canyon (rim to rim) and Acadia 

Traveling:

Nantucket

Bar Harbor, Maine

Grand Canyon

Snoqualmie, WA

Vermont

Florida

Hanging with Friends:

Lots of friendship moments this year. 

Hanging out with my dogs - on the porch or walking

Taking Pictures 

Baking:

Recent bakes: apple crisp, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and applesauce.

I love fall baking! 

Watching Movies/TV to relax 

I do a fair amount of knitting to keep my hands busy while watching TV.

What do you like to do outside of reading/talking about books?