Amy Gumm can’t wait to get out of Kansas. A smart girl who doesn’t fit in with her classmates, she’s always the butt of their jokes. Her mom disconnected years ago, leaving Amy to take care of both of them. Still, she doesn’t expect to leave Kansas like this. When a tornado blows through Amy’s […]
How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer: Book Review
Okay, this was weird. But it was a weird that I liked. Astronomer Irene Sparks decides to move back to Toledo on the day that she almost simultaneously creates a mini black hole in her lab and learns that her alcoholic mother has died. She’s always wanted to go back home and work for the […]
Weekly Update for August 2, 2015
Welcome to my weekly update for August 2, 2015! It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. She’s taking a bit of personal leave so I’m also linking to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. We took it pretty easy this week. My family had a cookout yesterday for the July and August birthdays, so that […]
Fairest by Marissa Meyer: Book Review
3.5 Stars. I’m finding this hard to rate. On the one hand, it is well-written and exciting and everything that I expect from this series. On the other hand, it’s Levana. Oh my gosh! I despise this character! I tried hard to find something to like and to see her as more of a victim than a victimizer and that worked for maybe the […]
The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith: Book Review
The Story of Land and Sea opens with young Tabitha contracting yellow fever on her tenth birthday. Her father and grandfather, having already lost her mother in childbirth, are desperate to save her despite the limitations of 18th century medicine. Her father takes to the sea with her in tow, thinking that the sea air […]
Weekly Update for July 27, 2015
Welcome to my weekly update for July 27, 2015! It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. She’s taking a bit of personal leave so I’m also linking to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. We didn’t go out of town this time but we did have a long weekend at home […]
Habibi by Craig Thompson: Book Review
I don’t even really know what I read here, but I do know that liked it. Part love story, part coming-of-age novel, part environmental warning, Habibi covers a lot of ground. Dodola and Zam meet as children when they’re up for sale in a slave market in what appears to be the Middle East. Events […]
When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi: Book Review
Fereiba lived a lonely childhood in Afghanistan. Her mother died in childbirth and her stepmother never treated her like a real member of the family. Her stepmother does eventually arrange a marriage for her and it becomes a love match. Three children later, the Taliban are in power, Fereiba has had to give up the […]
Weekly Update for July 20, 2015
Welcome to my weekly update for July 20, 2015! It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. She’s taking a bit of personal leave so I’m also linking to Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. So yesterday was my birthday. Number 37. Where on earth does the time go? I swear it feels like I just […]
Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier: Book Review
Caitrin is on the run from a bad situation at home. With only the clothes on her back, a few coins, and her box of scribing tools, she just wants to get away. Her money runs out late one evening in the middle of nowhere. She finds her way to a village called Whistling Tor. […]
All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg: Book Review
4.5 Stars. Mostly what I took away from this book is humor and grace. Somehow Rick Bragg’s first memoir is the last one I’ve read and I have literally laughed ’til I cried in every one. I’ve read my family members bits here and there and retold stories I remember and made everyone listening to me laugh too. Maybe they’re just […]