Picture Book Review: Dear Librarian

 

Lydia's family didn't have a home for a while and they moved in between relatives. But once they discovered the library, Lydia found a home there. She loved all the space but more importantly she loved the librarian. Lydia became friends with the librarian and it changed her life.

Such a sweet story that tugs at your heartstrings. It's sad but also hopeful. This story touches on homelessness and needing a place to belong. It touches on the kindness of others, especially family. But most importantly it touches on feeling safe and welcome and important. I loved how Lydia's librarian changed her life. Librarian friends are so important. This love letter to libraries and librarian made me tear up. It also made me proud to be a librarian. The illustrations are soft and inviting. This is one special picture book.

* Book sent for review

Picture Book Review: Ways to Welcome

I know it's not Wednesday, but this was a super awesome picture book that I wanted to share.

And even though it isn't about going back to school, the message still applies.

Small acts of kindness can go along way as shown here. 

This picture book has an amazing message that's perfect for any time of year. I love the idea of spreading love and friendship. And the art is also great with lots of bright colors and diversity. 

Review: Better Than the Best Plan

Ritzy can't believe her whole summer changed. One day her mom was talking about leaving and the next day...she was gone. Ritzy carries on like nothing's changed, but someone finds out.

When social services can't get a hold of her mother, Ritzy's placed into foster care. She uncovers the truth about her past - that she's been in the system before. Her former foster mother takes her in.

Kristin seems nice, so does her husband. She's trying really hard. But Ritzy's been taking care of herself for as long as she can remember; she's not used to rules.

How can you plan for the future when everything changes?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. My heart broke for Ritzy has her whole life was turned upside down. And then she learned about her past. I enjoyed Kristin and her husband - how they tried to help her. I liked the friendship and the romance. I enjoyed watching Ritzy navigate through a different social world. - that part reminded me of Rory Gilmore. I enjoyed the family dynamics here - because sometimes people do get to chose their families. I really liked seeing a book about foster families - especially in older YA. And of course right before all the really hard decisions about the characters future. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My library
Library Recommendation: Grab this one for your school and public libraries!

Debut Review: We Hunt the Flame

People lived because she killed.
People died because he lived.
Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.

Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.

When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine. - Summary from the publisher

My Thoughts: I've been wanting to read this book since Hafsah announced it! We've been social media friends for a long time and I was SO happy to see her book published. 

And of course, it's amazingly good. And it just became a NYT best seller! 

There's so much I love about this book. I love how the Hunter is a female and she takes care of her people. I love the newly formed friendships - even though they are tense at times. My heart broke for Nasir. So many pieces of the story are tropes and more I adore: assassins, enemies to lovers, feminism, banter and snark, high fantasy, magic, and fight scenes. I loved the plot twists and turns that I never saw coming. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Cover Thoughts:
Source: ARC sent for review
Library Recommendation: A must have for school and public libraries

Graphic Novel Review: Speak

I really enjoyed this adaptation of Speak. I felt that it captured the feelings I had when I first read the novel. I felt the horror, the helplessness, the anger, and the emptiness all over again. Most importantly I felt her braveness. I loved seeing the art that Melinda created with the trees.

I loved the art work. I love how it was black and white. I wish at the end, there had been a tiny bit of color to show her growth and healing and also to match the cover.

I hope this version of the book reaches a new generation of teens and touches their lives. And spurs conversations about consent, rape, and friendship. 

Blog Tour: In Search of Us

In Search of Us by Ava Dellaira

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux 

Publication Date: March 6, 2018

The author of the beloved Love Letters to the Dead returns with a parallel story of a mother and daughter each at age seventeen. Marilyn's tale recounts the summer she fell in love and set out on her own path. Angie's story is about her search for her unknown father.

This sweeping multi-generational love story introduces readers to mother-and-daughter pair Marilyn and Angie. To seventeen-year-old Angie, who is mixed-race, Marilyn is her hardworking, devoted white single mother. But Marilyn was once young, too. When Marilyn was seventeen, she fell in love with Angie's father, James, who was African-American. But Angie's never met him, and Marilyn has always told her he died before she was born. When Angie discovers evidence of an uncle she's never met she starts to wonder: What if her dad is still alive, too? So she sets off on a journey to find him, hitching a ride to LA from her home in New Mexico with her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Along the way, she uncovers some hard truths about herself, her mother, and what truly happened to her father.

My Thoughts: I really loved this book. I loved reading about both Angie and Marilyn. I felt terrible for both of them, especially on their emotional journeys. I loved how the stories wove together, unraveling both stories a little at a time. In some ways they were parallel and in some ways, wildly different. But I like how they came together in the end. This one tugged at my heartstrings something fierce! 

And you're in luck because it comes out next week, so grab a copy!!

Playlist: 

Here are the 10 songs that captured my feelings as I was reading

Summertime:

Vogue:

It's My Life:

California 

What is Love?

Sweet Sweet Fantasy:

Kiss:

Driftwood:

Ice Cream:

We are Family:

Hope that you enjoyed the playlist!

Review: In Some Other Life

Kennedy's hiding a deep dark secret: she turned down a place at the local private school because of a boy. Now three years later, she discovers her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend. She wonders what her life would have been life if she had chosen differently.

She goes to the school begging for admittance. After her disappointment, she falls down outside steps and hits her head. When she comes to, everything in her life is different.

She's able to see her alternative life. And everything is not as it seems. The grass isn't always greener and she's desperate to go back to the way things used to be.

My Thoughts: A Sliding Doors novel - what if my life were radically different. When thinking about how her life would be better at the private school, Ivy League almost guaranteed or being best friends with the people she stalks on instagram - Kennedy never considered her family life. And it's changed for the worse. (Except for her lovable younger brother - he's the same.) I loved seeing both sides of her life. I loved her moments with the outsider Dylan, especially their banter. I loved how she realizes that her life is worse in most aspects. I love the mystery and how it turned out. I really liked Kennedy's relationship with her family and how that changed her views on which path she wanted her life to follow. I also liked how it clearly showed the pressures of an elite school and how it changes your life (both good and bad). Very relatable as there seems to be a what-if question most people have.

Cover Thoughts: Cute and understandable with the book's premise, but neither Kennedy would wear those
Source ARC for review

Library Recommendation: Grab this one for your public schools and libraries. Hand it to students in need of a break (I would think it's perfect for students choosing their colleges). 

Picture Book Review: Barnum's Bones

A nonfiction picture book - perfect for dinosaur lovers.

Barnum's parents named him after a great man, hoping that he would do great things too.
Working as a paleontologist for the American Museum of Natural History, he had a knack for discovering bones - including the first remains of the T-Rex.

While this one is a longer picture book, it's great for older kids. Barnum's Bones captures the excitement of finding dinosaur bones - and their importance of understanding the past. 

Review: the Other F-Word

When Hollis get s a text from her half brother, everything changes, even though she  responds negatively. Milo wants to  find their sperm donor father- partly for medical reasons and partly out of sheer curiosity.

But after another meeting (their second), Hollis and Milo work out a plan.They contact the online system at the cryolab. What they learn will change their lives, themselves, and their futures.

My Thoughts: I loved this book - it's different than most family stories. I enjoyed the duel perspectives. I really liked JJ. I loved watching Hollis and Milo learn more about each other and become family. I loved the message about family this book sent. I admit I was a tiny bit surprised by the ending, but looking back it's perfect. Another winner for Friend - entertaining, touching, and all about relationships. 

Cover Thoughts: Funny
Source: ARC sent for review
Release Date: Out Today (grab it!)
Library Recommendation: Get this one for both school and public libraries.

Review: Week of Mondays

Ellie has a serious case of the Mondays! It's the worst day ever: she runs a red light by accident and gets a ticket, softball tryouts go poorly, her class election speech goes worse, and her boyfriend dumps her.

She wakes up the next day - only to do it all over again. She's stuck on an endless loop of Mondays trying to get the day right.

Ellie rushes around trying to make different choices that will change the outcome of the day - most important Tristan breaking up with her. 

How long will it take her to make things right?

My Thoughts: I adored this book. I'm so happy to be part of the tour because I love Jessica Brody. Her books are funny, sweet, and entertaining. I loved the book club. I love the music. I adored the yearbook photos. I enjoyed the moments between Owen and Ellie, I love her interactions with her sister and how it all works out. I love Ellie's real me and how she's brave enough to come out of her shell and doesn't fit into the mold anymore. I loved the crazy adventures, the desperate measure, and the in betweens. This book is the perfect summer reading novel, fun, flirty, light-hearted, and with a strong character who has the guts to just be herself.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: ARC sent for Review
Library Recommendation: A must buy for all YA collections, but read it first before it goes on the shelf.

Blog Tour: Introducing A Week of Mondays

BOOK SUMMARY

Ellie is having the worst Monday of her life. She messes up her school  speech for the class vice presidency position, she manages to take the world's  worst school picture, she bombs softball tryouts, and the icing on top  of this awful cake: her perfect boyfriend who is in a high school rock band dumps her. At the end of  the day, Ellie wishes she could redo everything. When she wakes up the  next morning, she discovers that it's Monday again! She has six more chances to redo the day in the hopes of having everything go exactly the way she wants. But in the process, she just may find out that what she really wants and what she actually needs are two very different things.

AUTHOR BIO

Jessica Brody is the author of several popular books for teens, including the Unremembered trilogy, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, and The Karma Club, as well as two adult novels. She splits her time between California and Colorado. Find out more at jessicabrody.com.

GUEST POST

ELLISON “ELLIE” SPARKS: An idealistic, ambitious sixteen-year-old junior with a lot on her plate.

Those were the first words I ever wrote about Ellie Sparks. They were written in a synopsis for my publisher when I was first trying to sell them on the idea for a book called A WEEK OF MONDAYS.

Of course, you can’t write an entire book about a one-sentence character. Just like you can’t live your entire life as a one-sentence person. But every character has to begin somewhere. And this is where Ellie began for me.

As an idealistic, ambitious sixteen-year-old junior with a lot on her plate.

In my mind, this is who she had to be. I thought, if you’re going to write about a girl who relives the same horrible Monday over and over again, trying to “get it right,” these are the adjectives that must describe her. She has to be idealistic enough to think she can fix everything in her life. Yet, she also has to be ambitious enough to try it. And how else are you going to fill seven Mondays with interesting storylines if the main character doesn’t have a lot on her plate.

So there was Ellie. And there was me, ready to write her, thinking I understood her. Thinking I knew everything I needed to know about her.  

This is the writing process for me. I start with an idea of who someone is. I draw a box around them, like an identity fence. I stuff them inside and I lock the gate. I tell them, “This is who you are. Don’t try to change that. Don’t try to be or do anything else. I don’t have time for detours. I’m on a deadline.”

I never learn.

A WEEK OF MONDAYS is my tenth published novel and I’m still trying to lock characters inside fences. Eventually, though, they always break free. They always get bigger than their boxes. And even though I try to adjust, I keep drawing bigger and bigger boxes around them, trying to contain them to the world I built, the world I envisioned, they never quite want to stay inside. Just like people. You can try to identify them, label them, build a fence around them that makes you feel safe, and yet they’ll always surprise you. Because no character—no human being—fits inside a box.   

One of my favorite reviews of A WEEK OF MONDAYS says, “Watching Ellie relive her horrible day is something like peeling an onion. Each Monday, a piece of her people-pleaser facade melts away, revealing more of her real self.”

I smiled when I read that because it wasn’t until then that I realized exactly what had happened in the writing of this book. I had done it again. I had tried to put yet another character in a box, and she had slowly, word by word, page by page, Monday by Monday broken free.

This book is ultimately a story of self-discovery.

Seven days. Seven chances to completely reinvent yourself. Wear different clothes, make different choices, explore different paths, say different things, be different people.

Because sometimes it takes a whole week of Mondays to figure out who you really are. And when you finally do, you may find yourself thinking 'Thank God It's Monday' after all.

For the next five Mondays, blogger friends across the internet will be sharing their best and worst Monday. Follow along with us online with #TGIM and #AWeekofMondays, because whether a Monday is memorable for good reasons or memorable for bad reasons, we stand to learn a lot about ourselves.

Review: Winner's Curse

* Out March 4th*

Kestrel's the General's daughter is in a land recently overthrown. She might live in a nice house, but she's different. She doesn't seem too interested in parties or fashion, and she plays her part reluctantly. Her father wants her to join the military, but Kestrel isn't keen on the idea.

One day, while in town, she comes across a slave auction. Without thinking, she bids on a boy and wins. As she comes to know him, she begins to rebel even more
against normal society. Could she possibly have feelings for him?
Then in a blink of an eye everything changes. Kestrel's world is turned upside down and her friendship with Arin might be the only thing that saves her life.

My Thoughts: I've heard a lot of buzz about this book and wasn't sure what to make of it and then I started reading it. It starts off a little slow but pulled me in fast. I liked how Kestrel was different - how she didn't play by society's rules (even thought that got her into trouble). There was horror, sadness, and disbelief in times of war.  The main pull of the book was the friendship and loyalty between Kestrel and Arin. Their friendship and further feelings were forbidden, but also visible to everyone - no matter how much they tried keeping their feelings hidden.  I enjoyed reading their dual perspectives. The plot twists kept surprising me until the very end. I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Cover Thoughts: Love the different perspective
Source: ARC sent for review (GREAT packaging)

Review: Unremembered

*** This book will be out March 5th ***

In the Pacific Ocean, Freedom Airlines Flight 121 crashes. The world is stunned to find an unharmed 16 year girl among the wreck. She has NO memories -not of boarding the plane, not of her name, and not of her life before the crash.

She's being held in a medical facility undergoing tests while the media waits for more news. Her tale is the hottest news story around the world. She's famous.

No one comes to claim her and because she's under age, she needs a foster family - a temporary home until a more permanent solution can be reached. One family takes her in and she spends a little time getting used to the world.

Then she spies a familiar face and all these questions pop into her head. How far is she willing to go to discover the truth of her identity?

My Thoughts: I adored Jessica Brody's previous novels: Karma Club, My Life Undecided, and 52 Reasons to Hate My Father. She's one of  my must read authors. So I confess, I didn't really look too deeply into her new book because I already knew that I was going to read it. I was unprepared for the genre switch.

It's no surprise that I loved this book, even though it through my for a loop.

At first it reminded me of LOST: the airplane crash and figuring out how to survive without knowledge. UNREMEMBERED is the story of Seraphina attempting to uncover her past while trying to understand her future. She's acclimating to pop culture and having a family watching over her. The more she digs into her past, the more layers we also uncover with her. Science and technology play an important role, changing the boundaries of the world. Science and technology are also responsible for the danger that Seraphina finds herself in. Plus, a romance is at the heart of the story. While there are several plot points, they come together naturally. They also unravel like onions, revealing more questions than answers at times. 

It's the first book of a trilogy and I can't wait to read more!

Cover Thoughts: I Love it - the blurriness of the girl's face matches her thoughts perfectly.
Source: ARC

Review: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father

Lexington Larrabee had the perfect life. On the eve on her 18th birthday, it all changed.

When she crashed her new car into a convenience store, her father decided it was the last straw.  She wasn't going to inherit her $25 million. Instead, he devised a plan for her. She was to work one job each week for a year.

At first Lexi balked at the idea. Her father refused to budge. He did however provide her with transportation. Luke, her father's college intern, made sure she got to her assignments on time. Luke was essentially, her babysitter.

Lexi isn't sure she wants to survive this year. Luke convinces her to show everyone what she's made of - show them that she can thrive on this year. She just might surprise them...and herself.

My Thoughts: I love Jessica Brody's books! They always funny, charming, witty, and have a fun romance. I really enjoyed watching Lexington attempt to talk, bribe, or beg her way out of the jobs. I loved the moments between her and Luke - the snarky ones and the sweet ones. I love watching Lexi grow and change with each job and ultimately figure out her life.

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: my Library

Come back to the blog tomorrow to see my stop on the 52 Reasons tour and to see the book trailer I created!

Tween Tuesday Reivew: My Fake Boyfriend's Better than Yours

Tori's worried about the first day of 7th grade. Usually, she and her best friend Sienna have planned their outfit for ages. Tori's not even sure if her BFF is talking to her.

Sienna's family suddenly turn wealthy. They went away on vacation for the summer. Sienna started writing Tori emails, but all of sudden, the emails stopped.

Tori's hesitant to go talk to Sienna when she spies her at school. Sienna's talking to a bunch of popular girls. Tori heads over to join their group.

She finds a huge surprise. Sienna's talking about her wonderful vacation and her new cute boyfriend. As time goes on, Tori's tired of hearing about Sienna's boyfriend. Before she realizes what happened, Tori's made up a boyfriend of her own. A boyfriend that manages to top whatever cute thing Sienna's boyfriend just did.

There's just one problem. A dance is coming up - one that both boyfriends have been invited to attend. What will happen when Tori's "boyfriend" doesn't appear?

My Thoughts: A cute book about middle school, first boyfriends, and the dramas of friendships. I liked the secondary girl characters - whom Tori great to become friends with. I liked the relationship that Tori has with her father. I love how the two girls grow apart but find a way to talk about their differences.

Cover Thoughts: I like the toy look. it's pretty funny.

Source: Inter-Library Loan