Review: Like We Were in Paris

 

Ben is super excited for the school's French Trip in Paris. He's been wanting to go to Paris forever. It's the city where his parents fell in love. After the death of his father, it's more important than ever. He created a list of things to do in the City of Love - one of them is to get over his ex-boyfriend.

But Paris doesn't go as planned. On the first outing to the Louvre, his phone is stolen. He ends up chasing the phone with the chaperone missing the famous art museum - and the Mona Lisa. He can barely eat his dinner. When the free time rolls around for the evening, his teacher insists he stay with Tyler. 

Tyler used to be Ben's best friend before he moved away. Then he moved back and barely spoke to Ben. Ben doesn't understand. Did Tyler forget all the memories they made. Is Tyler mad at him? Either way, Ben is NOT spending his time in Paris with Tyler. He goes his separate ways, but without a phone, he loses track of time.

The hostel where they are staying lock the doors precisely at 10:00 pm. The boys are supposed to be back before. But he's one minute late and the doors are locked. No amount of knocking is working. Ben can't believe he has to spend the night on the streets and will most likely be kicked off of the trip. He's stunned to learn that Tyler is also locked out because he was looking for Ben.

Now they have the night to figure things out, cross off items from Ben's list, and to have the time of their lives.

My Thoughts: I really loved this book. I loved that we wandered through the streets of Paris with Ben and Tyler. I loved that it took place (mostly) within 24 hours. I loved how to relationship changed between the two boys and that we saw their friendship from the past. I really liked the other students on the trip. I loved the Ben had a list of all that he wanted to accomplish in Paris - and how even though most of them didn't turn out the way he imagined, he did check them off. I love that this book had me looking up item mentioned. I didn't want this book to end! 

Warning: the book make cause you to want to go wander the streets of Paris.

Cover Thoughts: Charming

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendations: A must have book for your school and public library. 

Graphic Novel Review: Lovely Recipe

Sofia's struggling with her future. It's her last year of high school and her friends are excited to leave home for college. Sofia doesn't have the grades for it. She's sad at the idea of missing her friends, especially since her mother works all the time and never has time for her. Ever since her grandmother died, Sofia and her mother haven't been close. 

Sofia comes up with the idea to cook something from the family cookbook. Maybe the memories will bring her mother back to her. The only problem? She can't cook. 

Sofia stumbles across her classmate working at restaurant and has a brilliant idea. Maybe Anna Marie can teach her how to cook. It's worth a try!

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I felt badly for Sofia as she struggled to find connections. I loved the cooking moments - the disasters, the successes, and the family recipes. I really liked Anna Marie's family - especially her grandfather. I appreciated how college wasn't an immediate conclusion for either Sofia or Anna Marie. It's hard to know what you want to do at such a young age. I think it's realistic not to know. I liked how the book included the senior year moments. I loved how the relationship between Sofia and Anna Marie evolved. And that ending was fantastic.

Cover Thoughts:
Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A great graphic novel that's perfect for those kids not sure of their future. 

Picture Book Wednesday: Dino Door

There's a to do list, but a little one isn't that excited about chores.  (Who can blame them really?). Will they get everything done or will play interrupt?

I'm always a fan of Josh Funk's books and this one is super cute. While this book doesn't have a lot of words, it does rhyme. The illustrations are bright and cheerful. The story is funny and charming. This is a great book to read again and again.

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR

 This week's topic is our Summer TBR list - which for me means books coming out in July and August

 

Middle Grade:

YA:

Graphic Novels:

Adult:

Already Read:

Have you read any of these? Which should I read first?

Middle Grade Review: Stealing the Score

Best friends Sasha and Ethan meet Mateo. All three kids are huge soccer fans. They're excited to participate in the contest to attend the Men's World Cup. Their favorite play is hosting a scavenger hunt. At first, Ethan and Mateo butt heads, but Sasha sees another side of Mateo and tells Ethan to give him a chance.

When their favorite soccer player's cleats are stolen, they're sad to see him play so poorly. He's devastated at the loss of his cleats - his magic touch. He can't believe it. In a series of videos, he's worse in each one - until the world believes he's been kidnapped.

Can the three kids come together and solve the mystery of the stolen cleats?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. I loved the sports element, the video games, the friendship moments, the family moments, and the moments with a superstar soccer player. There's something for everyone in this book. I liked how the two boys became friends because of Sasha. There were a lot of connections in this book that came together, which was fun to read. 

Cover Thoughts: Fantastic

Source: my Library

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

Picture Book Review: Love, Dad

This book is perfect for Father's Day!

A letter from a father to a child - filled with love, hopes, and dreams.

This is a such an emotional read - perfect for Father's Day or a gift for new dads. There are so many dads and kids in this book, it's adorable.

Author Event: Jenn McKinlay

 

Last week Jenn McKinlay visited my library for an after-hours event and it was awesomesauce.

Her newest book Summer Share just came out:

Which I reviewed for Fresh Fiction

"The Perfect Summer Read"

Jenn and I had a conversation where we talked about:

The Bat Scene

How the setting was influenced by her childhood memories

How the grandfathers were influenced by her uncle

The Dude and how she comes up with all the mischievous and cute animals in her books.

The Hallmark+ series for Paris is Always a Good Idea

Sadly, she does not have a cameo in the series

But she did talk about her visit to the set with her two sons

She shared how fast the timeline moved and how surprised she was having heard that Hollywood is VERY slow.

There's another work that has been optioned - this time by Acorn TV

The hat shop series starts with Cloche and Dagger. It's a seven-book series that takes place in England.

I loved this series

Jenn shared how the series idea struck her after watching William and Kate's wedding and seeing the hat Beatrice wore. 
I REALLY hope this happens. 

We talked about her writing habits and how they changed over time (and a little influence from her husband). 

We talked about switching genres (romance, cozies, romance, and fantasy)

We talked about the ending of series because of the end to printing mass market paperbacks (This is SO NOT FAIR! I want more cupcake bakery mystery series)

This ended on a cliffhanger of sorts and I want more.

Jenn signed books afterwards. 

Here I am getting my book signed

All in all, it was a great night! 

* thanks to my co-workers for taking the pictures