5 Stars. Oh my goodness! I loved this book! I love the way the illustrations subvert the text. If I were only reading the words, I would expect a stereotypical princess playing tea with her dolls (I love those little girls but that doesn’t reflect every girl’s interests). For example […]
4 Stars. First of all, who can resist that cover? I just love it! This was a fun, quick read. It definitely starts off pretty dark. Morrigan’s father makes it clear that he finds her and her curse to be nuisances at best. Her stepmother couldn’t be less interested in Morrigan. Everyone else is happy to have a scapegoat for their […]
3 Stars. I can see the reason that this book is rated so highly on GoodReads. I understand why the author included some events, but my own history of grief led me to interpret them in a different way than intended. To explain further would give away some major plot points so I’ll have to leave it there. Part of me admires […]
4.5 Stars. If you look at all six of the genres I’ve placed this book in, you can tell that it defies description. The title sounds boring to me. I had to take a plant taxonomy class in college. While I enjoyed learning the names of things, I didn’t like learning about the plants themselves. Photosynthesis, xylem and phloem, or […]
3 Stars. The title and the official synopsis led me to believe that I was going to read a book centered on Queen Lakshmi of Jhansi, “India’s Joan of Arc.” Imagine my surprise when I started reading chapter after chapter describing Sita’s life in a small village. It was interesting enough but I honestly chose the book to meet the […]
4 Stars. What a cute little book! I read it in about an hour but I enjoyed myself immensely. Nathaniel is a fairly complex character. He’s a timid little thing but Aunt Phil pushes him to face his fears. He has a kind heart that leads him to befriend creatures that Aunt Phil dismisses as pests. Most living things will respond […]
4 Stars. I wasn’t quite sure to what to expect when I downloaded this book from the library but I liked it. It’s quirky and funny but there’s a lot of substance lurking beneath the exterior. won’t hazard a guess as to what might be “wrong” with Keiko but she really doesn’t think like most other people. But is that bad? She […]
5 Stars. Fatima is totally relatable. She feels overshadowed by her smart older sister and she doesn’t always feel like she fits in at school. She’s a little nervous about sleeping in a tent, especially when she and her sister spy a “monster” outside the tent in the night. They laugh the next morning when they see what it was [….]
4 Stars. I downloaded this book on a whim from the library, thinking that it would work for the 2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge “hobby” category since I can’t resist picking up seashells when I’m at the beach. As I read, I decided it would work better for the “oceanography” category but either way, I found the book captivating [….]
4 Stars. What an inspirational story! William and his family have almost nothing by Western standards but they do have each other and William has dreams and the willingness to teach himself and try. That takes him farther than he could even dream of. The part describing the famine was extremely difficult to read. People starve […]
When I first finished this book back in January, I rated it 3 stars. I roughly translate that to “good enough but forgettable.” Yet here I am in April, going for walks on the beach every morning, mesh bag over my shoulder, picking up every tiny piece of litter I see along the water line. I don’t want whales to accidentally eat […]