Review: My Big Fat Heart-Shaped Fail

 

Ever since Paige and Jess spent their spring vacation together - Abby's been feeling left out. She invented a fake boyfriend to cover up the fact that her current crush is dating one of her best friends. She has all these secrets building up inside her. When she and her friends get five free balloons, she decides to write her secrets on paper and release them. She calculates that they will float away and she will feel better,

Abby doesn't expect them to land near the school. She doesn't expect her secrets to become public knowledge. She doesn't expect everyone to gossip about them and attempt to figure out the truth. What was supposed to be a fun day turns into Abby's worst nightmare...

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this middle grade book all about friendship drama, first romances, and being an outsider. I felt really bad for Abby - she had such a hard day and she made such terrible choices. I really did enjoy the I wanted to say vs What I did say moments. I wanted to wrap Abby up in a huge hug. But I do love the way everything turned out. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: ARC sent for review

Library Recommendations: A great middle grade book about friendship drama - grab this one for your school and public library collections

Christmas Book Review: The Girl Who Ruined Christmas

A picture taken at the wrong time has catastrophic results which leaves Brady stuck in a small holiday loving town to pay off her debt - where of course everyone hates her for ruining Christmas.

My Thoughts: This novella was super cute and I loved it. Of course I wanted it to be longer because I didn't want to let go of the characters or the setting. I loved how this took place in a holiday town (something you'd see in a Hallmark movie). I loved the Christmas Tree Farm setting. I enjoyed watching Brady try to fix her mistake and understand the town people's feelings. I admired her persistence. I enjoyed watching her try to mend fences with the three people her age.  Of course I loved reading about the holiday traditions in this one. So much fun. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: ARC sent for review  

Library Recommendation: A fantastic holiday read for your middle grade section - highly recommended.

On Your Radar: Saltwater Secrets (40)

Title: Saltwater Secrets

Author: Cindy Callaghan

Publisher: Aladdin

Publication Date: April 28, 2020

Why It Should Be On Your Radar:

* Fun Tagline (A story of two sisters, one summer vacation, and one big mystery for them to solve.)

* Half-Sisters

* Beach Town

* Smoothies

* Boardwalk

* Romance

*Growing Up - and things changing

* Summer Fun

* Environmental Issues

*Dual Persepctives

* Dual Timelines

*  That Cover!

* Police 

A totally fun middle grade for your school or public library collection

* ARC sent for review

Tween Tuesday Review: Lost in Hollywood

Ginger feels like the only normal person in her family. She's happy to have a BFF with her same goals - become a doctor and move to a big city to open a practice together. They're even getting started with this year's  Science Olympics.

But when her great aunt is having trouble, the whole family plus Payton flies to Hollywood to help out. Aunt Betty used to be a Hollywood actress, but now she sits at home waiting for the phone to ring.

Something happened to all her money and her Oscar statue. She asks Ginger to help her recover the missing money, giving her a map (of sorts) to help her out. Betty swears she hid the money from the bank. If Ginger can't find it, the bank will foreclose on her house.

My Thoughts: A really cute book. I love how the author explores cities in her novels. I loved trekking all over Hollywood with Ginger and Payton and Margot. I enjoyed the stunts the trio pulled trying to get a behind the scenes look at some of the places where they thought the money might be hidden. (I guessed the location very early on, but I realize I'm not the target audience for this book). Plus I loved the journey the girls took to get to their realization of the true potential location.  I loved Leo and his crazy burrito taxi. I loved Ginger's brother and how he thought he was an alien. He added some humor to the story. I loved the walkie talkies, I loved ABJ. Another fun novel from Cindy Callaghan. Can't wait to see where we get lost next!

Cover Thoughts: Adorable
Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Recommended purchase for public and school libraries

Tween Tuesday Review: Lost in Rome

Lucy and her sister can't wait to return to Rome during the summer. Lucy's excited to help out her grandmother is the family pizza joint. But when she arrives, she learns that business is down - way down. Lucy has some creative ideas that just might help bring business back to normal.

Unfortunately, some of the ideas go against her grandmother's wishes. She wants to play matchmaker to customers based on their favorite pizza toppings. When she first tries it, everything works out.

Soon a reporter comes by and wants to do a story. Lucy concocts a scheme to get her grandmother to leave the restaurant. When the article comes out, business picks up again. Could it be enough to save the business?

My Thoughts: I love Cindy Callaghan's Lost in books (Ireland, London, and Paris) and this book is no different. Super cute, super fun read. I loved the moments in the pizza shop, my mouth watered when reading about all the great pizza and sandwiches that were being made. I really liked Lucy's ideas on how to update and market the pizza joint. I loved learning about the matchmaking through pizza slices. I loved how she created stories and exaggerated history. I liked Lucy's sister Gianna and her fashion and DIY ideas. The secondary characters were fun. There's a small romance plot line.

Cover Thoughts: Fantastic
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: A wicked fun read filled with family, friends, great food, and matchmaking.

On My Hold List (100)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books on hold at the library. I usually have 20-40 items checked out at the library and another 20 items on hold. 

Tween Reads:

Lost in Paris: I love the author's books - and what sounds better than exploring Paris with a scavenger hunt?

Breaking the Ice: Love ice skating and this book sound super good.

Loch Ness Punster: I'm a huge fan of this series - but I'm sad this is the last book!

Tween Tuesday Review: Lucky Me

Meghan believes in luck - and now thanks to the forwarding of a chain letter through email, she's cursed. With bad luck following her around, she's determined to break it. Her BFF tells her the only way to break the bad luck is to explain what happened to everyone in the chain and ask their forgiveness. If they say it's no big deal, than a double handshake is in need. Once that's completed the curse will be lifted.

The chain letter came from Ireland - luckily Meghan and her family are headed there on a family vacation. While her family makes it, they're luggage doesn't.

Meghan can't wait to sneak away from her family and track down the people from the chain letter and change her luck. Could it all really be that easy?

My Thoughts: I loved Cindy's previous books (They're now on the Summer Reading List for the the 6th graders), so I wasn't surprised at devouring this book. While the bad luck that descended upon Meghan wouldn't be funny in real life, it was amusing in book life. The poor girl had too many things go wrong for just one day. I love how she and her family traveled to Ireland to visit newly discovered family members. I loved how Meghan took off with two guides to track down the senders of the chain letter - it was a great way to see Ireland. I loved the descriptions of the country-side and the people. It made me long for green mountains and close-knit communities. Travel, luck, family drama, friendship, and a little romance make this book hard to put down. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: Sent for Review

About the author: 

Cindy Callaghan is the author of the middle-grade novels Just Add Magic (2010) and 2013’s Lost in London (Simon & Schuster). She is a full-time writer, animal advocate, and supermom. A native of New Jersey, Cindy lives, works, and writes in Wilmington, Delaware, with her family and numerous rescued pets. She loves hearing from fans, speaking at schools and conferences, and zip-lining.

Connect with the Author:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindycallaghanauthor

Website: http://www.cindycallaghan.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CindyCallaghan

Tween Tuesday Review: Lost in London

Jordan's tired of being boring. So she's excited when her parents agree to a foreign exchange program in London. Finally she gets to leave her small town behind and have an adventure.

She does have to create school project when she gets back, but if she takes tons of videos and pictures, that won't be hard at all. And there's so much she wants to see in London. When she arrives, she's surprised that only a driver is there to meet her.

When she arrives at the house of her mother's friend, Caroline doesn't seem thrilled to host her. Caroline makes it clear that she'd rather hang out with her friends and go shopping like usual. She allows Jordan to tag along on the first day.

When a twist leaves Caroline and Jordan overnight in the store, it could lead to the two girls becoming friends. But fate has a different idea in mind when they're secret is discovered and things get a little out of hand.

My Thoughts: I loved this book - it made me want to travel to London so badly. I liked Caroline's friends -the smart and quirky Ellie, the sweet boy who loves food in Sam, and Gordo who alwaya seemed up for an adventure. I did grow to like Caroline as the book progresses. Mostly I envied Jordan at getting to see London. I've never been there, but this book captured a great city and great beginning of friendships. I didn't want this book to end.

Cover Thoughts: Love it!
Source: My library

What's on My Hold's List (62)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books we read from the library. These are some of the books that are on hold  for me at the library.

Secret Pizza Party: Loved Dragons Love Tacos, happy for a new book and who doesn't love pizza?

Lost in London: Looks super cute, plus love books in England

Eleanor and Park: I haven't read this because I don't want to have all the feels, but I think it might be time. I really want to read Fangirl, but I have to read this first!

What's on My Hold's List (60)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books we read from the library. These are all books that are on hold for me at the library.

Lost in London: I love books set in England and this tween title looks super cute!

Rebel Spring: I really enjoyed Falling Kingdom and can't wait to read more - especially after all those plot twists.

Pawn: I've seen this talked about at various webinars and it looks really good!

Review: Just Add Magic

While cleaning out the attic, Kelly Quinn discovers an old book. Normally, that might not catch her eye, but when she opens it, she discovers recipes. Kelly adores cooking and she can't wait to try out some new recipes.

Now that she and her two BFFs are starting seventh grade, it could be time to start their very own cooking club. as she reads the recipes, some of the ingredients are unfamiliar to her. She wanders into a store to gather the ingredients. After purchasing the items, the store owner tells her to beware of the laws of return.

Kelly, doesn't think much of this warning at first. It isn't until she witnesses the results of their cooking experiments to become suspicious. Did she make her brother stop talking? Did she hex her frenemy? Did she cause her cranky old neighbor to fall dangerously ill?

Kelly isn't sure if it's the book working it's magic or if these incidents are simply coincidences. Either way, the magic is ruining her life. She's forced into helping her frenemy. Her best friends aren't happy with her. Can she reverse all the spells she's cast through her cooking?

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this tween read - great novel about friendship, karma, and mistakes. I loved the magical elements combined with cooking. I enjoyed Kelly's pesky younger brother, the craziness that ensued due to the spells, the bits with Charlotte, and the friendship between the three girls. Plus, I'm now craving a thick milkshake.

Cover: Really cute

Source: My Library

Fun Fact: Cindy was sweet enough to send me bookmarks and they're fabulously cute!

Readalike: Meanicures by Catherine Clark