Book Review: West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

 Book Review: West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think when I first heard about this book last year when someone suggested it for book club, it just called to me somehow. Even without knowing a whole lot about it. I just FELT something. And so, since it wasn't voted in for book club, I kept it on my radar, got a hold of my own copy, and suggested it as a readalong this year.

I only had a handful of people join me, but I think we all agreed that the book is awesome. And for me anyway, a sold five star read without a doubt. 

I loved the setting... during the terrible dust bowl and the depression. World War II is about to start. People are worried about so many things, but then this story about driving giraffes across the country to get them to the San Diego Zoo captures everyone's attention and brightens their lives.

I loved the characters... our boy Woody Nickel, who ends up as the driver of the truck these giraffes are on. The dude that is taking care of the giraffes. The girl who is following them trying to get pictures for Life Magazine. And the amazing giraffes themselves. They all blend to make such a unique found family. And as we learn their backstories, they all become even more real and more endearing.

I loved the writing... Woody has a voice that is so easy to read/love/become attached to. Our author captures him so well! I can tell she did a ton of research to make this story come to life and now I want to make this road trip myself and see all the things!

It's such a heart-warming and at times heart-breaking story. So, yes all the feels. And I loved it. So much. Please add it to your TBRs if you haven't already read it!

Book Review: Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Book: Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Genre: MG Historical Fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This was last month's book club book as part of our Utah Book Month. Does anyone remember when we used to have a whole month celebrating our Utah authors? And a bunch of us bloggers hosted it? Yeah, good times, those. Anyway, we like to give a nod to those memories and still read a Utah author in our book club. It's great!

One of our favorite Utah authors is Jennifer Nielsen. She's pretty awesome, both as an author AND a person. So she often ends up on our lists. There are so many books to choose from. Personally, I'm way behind in keeping up with her. 

She has a line of historical fiction books so we ended up choosing one of those. This one tells the stories of five different kids during WWI, from all their points of view and ends up weaving their stories together in a really interseting way. We have the boy who witnessed the Archduke's asscination, the girl who is trying to become a nurse like her mom, the girl who is the son of German military leader, and the Russian boy fighting on the front lines. I found all their stories to be quite compelling and hopeful.

I mostly had a problem feeling like, could kids really do these things? It was hard for me to imagine. I know others in our book club had issues with how sweetly and neatly everything was wrapped up and how it all worked out so well. Granted, this is for a MG audience, but I do agree that everything seemed a bit too perfect. 

That being said, I still enjoyed reading about all these kids and look forward to trying to catch up with all the other books of hers that I have yet to read! I do wish there were more like The False Prince though. That one still remains my favorite! 

Book Review: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Book: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Genre: historical fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

We read this book and another similar book (The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek) for book club this past month. We heard that there was a bit of a controversy between these two books, so we thought it would be fun to read them both and compare. 

I managed to read this one and quite enjoyed it. The other one I started, but never finished and sadly it went off my kindle and I don't think I'll worry about getting it back.

Anyway, they are both about a period in history when a bunch of brave and strong women rode on horses through the backwoods of Kentucky to deliver books and magazines to the mountain people. Great premise for a story and one that I am pretty sure both authors came up with on their own!

This one was specifically about an English lady who married a dude from this Kentucky town and came thinking she would have a great adventure. But things did not turn out quite like she imagined and the two of them ended up not really clicking. She ended up doing the job of riding books around the mountains and found her place that way. They other ladies were awesome and became her good friends and she truly become strong on her own. 

Getting to know all these ladies, and then all the other interesting characters was the best part of this story. Very fun. And I've pretty much decided that I'm quite good with the writing style of this author. She is a great storyteller and has a fantastic way of getting you into and engaged in the story. I felt compelled to keep reading this one when I needed to lay it down and that's a great sign, yeah?

Anyway, I guess her book came out a few months after the other one and she was accused of plagiarism, not necessarily because of the main subject, but because some very specific incidences are a bit similar. But after reading up on that and seeing the list... I think they are are so nitpicky that this whole claim was just crazy. And the other book had such a different feel and was more about racial issues and the interesting occurrence of the "blue people of Kentucky" that I really think they are totally different. 

So that's my take on that.

The other book I heard was harder to read and no romance (a big factor for me!) that I have decided not to keep going with it. At least for now. But I am glad to have added this to my have read list. I really enjoyed it!

Book Review: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

 Book: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

Genre: historical fiction-ish (man who thought naming a genre would be so hard lately?)

Rating: ★ ★ ★

We read this one for book club this past month and I must say, it's one of the weirdest books I've read in a long long time! I went in expecting absolutely nothing, but what I got was REALLY not expected. LOL!

It's about a girl in Ireland in the 1800s who appears to be starving herself, but staying alive. So people are starting to look at her like she is something divine, some sort of saint... a "wonder!" So a couple of nurses (well, our main character nurse and a nun) are sent in to watch her 24/7 to make sure that her family isn't sneaking her food and then claiming her to be this saint-like thing. 

Our main character girl goes in with a really bad attitude about it thinking she is going to figure it all out right away and that every one is really stupid and she is going to be in and out and yeah... she is just rolling her eyes over it all. 

Turns out things are much more complicated than she expected, and suddenly she finds herself  much more invested in this girl and everything that's going on than she planned!

The first half or so of this book was VERY slow... and it seriously was just us as readers going every day into this girl and watching her.... and absolutely nothing was happening. Our main character did A LOT of complaining and such... but yeah. I was like... please let something happen soon!

And yet I felt this weird draw to keep reading and to see what WOULD happen. And what was actually up with this girl. And in the end it started to get much more crazy and...like I said.. .so very weird, that the last bit I read nearly in one sitting until it was done. Such a crazy story!

Not based on a true story, but based on stuff like this that really happened, which makes it all even weirder. Anyway, I'm glad it showed up on our list this year and added some diversity to my reading for sure. Be warned though, reading this while you are hungry is not recommended! It will make you even hungrier!

Book Review: The Blue Jeans Rebellion by Joanna H. Kraus

 Book: The Blue Jeans Rebellion by Joanna H. Kraus

Genre: Early reader chapter book, historical fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Really cute story based on a true incident that happened in early Utah days. We meet a cute 11 year old boy who is sick of the pants he is made to wear every day. Homemade woolen pants. When he sees blue jeans for the first time, he wants a pair and he does something not quite okay to get money to buy some. 

Then all the boys want some, so when this kid gets in trouble, they all come together to figure out a way to make it possible that they can all get jeans!

Cute and fun with lessons learned without being too in your face. It was a fast little read, took me 20 minutes or so to get through it. 

Book Review: Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen

 Book: Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Genre: YA historical

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Another awesome book by a favorite author! This one is about resistance fighters during WWII. We follow the story of one girl who gets kicked out of her Jewish ghetto in Poland and ends up joining a resistance gang. They spent a lot of time sneaking food and news in the ghettos, and, in one instance anyway, sneaking out babies. And also sabotaging the supplies of the Nazis who were occupying their cities.

This story has our girl involved in one of the first (the first even?) armed attacks by Jewish people, and then later, she was part of the huge Warsaw ghetto uprising. So most of the book is her path to getting to this event. And then living through it. We see her bonding with her fellow resistance fighters and learning to trust and rely on them. We learn about some of the real life leaders of these cells, all of who were very young. We learn about the courage and tenacity of these people during this hard and terrible time in history. It's hard to read about the things they went through, but it's also uplifting to see the strength of people.

The book as an afterword that adds to the understanding of everything that happened, which I really appreciated. And the author mentions that the point of the book is not place judgment on how any one person acted during this time, which I also appreciated. People chose all sorts of ways to survive this terrible-ness, and we, reading from the future, have no idea how bad it was and what prompted any of them to do what they did. It's so very eye opening. 

So, yeah! Another great book club read!

Book Review: Her Quiet Revolution by Marianne Monson

Book: Her Quiet Revolution: A Novel of martha Hughes Cannon Frontier Doctor and First Female State Senate by Marianne Monson

Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

It's been awhile since I've read a biography of sorts. This one is a fictionalized (aka. novel form) of the life of Martha Hughes Cannon who made a name for herself becoming a doctor when women didn't do such things, and then fighting for women's right to vote and for the practice of polygamy in Utah back in the day, and on to become the first woman senator. Quite fascinating!

She crossed the plains as a Mormon pioneer, seeing both her baby sister and father die on the way. As she grew up, she was fascinated by science and excelled in all her classes where everyone was a boy. She wasn't fazed by that, but fought to keep going to school, even though her mom thought it was quite ridiculous. 

She ended up being able to go back east to get her education to become a medical doctor, then came back to Utah to practice it. It was there that she ended up in a polygamous marriage. This part made me crazy because even though she believed in the practice (sort of) she should have known better than to just jump right in and think it would all be different for her. (Like when he got married again...and again... she was all... dude... why? When she herself was the third wife! Like did you not think he'd go ahead and get more? Sigh.)

Anyway. Since it was against the law, now both she and her husband were in trouble, so she went back to England to hide and it wasn't the greatest. But she did end up in Wales, where her family was from and she meets a lady there that helps her and changes everything for the better.

When she finally gets home again, she is determined to help the world and that's when she starts in on the politics and giving speeches everywhere and everyone is blown away by her which leads eventually to her being asked to run for the Senate...against her husband in the end. Which seems crazy, but I guess really happened? Wow. 

And she wins and the rest is history!

I found it to be a very interesting life. There were some slow parts and some frustrating moments, but in the end, it was fun to learn about this person who I had no idea about before. 

Thanks to the publisher, Shadow Mountain, for sending me this copy to read and review!

Book Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Book: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


I chose this one for our latest kpop book club book because I wanted something historical and this one got rave reviews and was a finalist in the National Book Awards and etc. I wanted something a bit more farther back historically, but this one was interesting nonetheless.

It follows a Korean family from 1910 to 1989... starting with the Japanese occupation of Korea, through WWII and on to modern (ish) days. The main character is Sunja, who is born in Korea on an island just off the coast from Busan. Her dad dies when she is young and her and her mom run a quite successful boarding house. She ends up marrying one of the guys who boards there and they move to Japan to live with his brother and wife.

It was very hard to be a Korean living in Japan, which is the main theme of this book. It was hard then and it's hard now. And all of her family who was born there, her kids and their kids... are Korean ethnically, but basically Japanese, yet they truly have no country they can claim. It sounds like such craziness for them!

Anyway, we follow her story through all the the years. She had two boys and we see what happens to them. One of them ends up in the pachinko business (thus the name of the book) and I had to actually look it up on YouTube so I could visualize what a pachinko machine looks like. Vertical pinball basically. Loud and colorful. And you can win... a little with skill a little with chance. And then turn your prizes in for money... off site. I guess it's HUGE in Japan and makes a ton more money and rich people than everything going on Las Vegas.

So it's a great family sage, the type of which I love and haven't read for a long time. So I loved it. Became very attached to all the characters and either rejoiced or yelled at their choices. One of them I had to shut the book for  minute and go... ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??? WHY WHY WHY???

It's about family (and found family), and relationships and identity, Korean culture and Japanese culture, and hard work and love and struggles and life and death. So yeah, it's good! I'm so glad to have sort of randomly added this to my books read this year!

Stay tuned to find out what's up next for the kpop book club!

Book Review: Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

Book: Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★

This is pretty much what it says it is... the love story between Alex and Eliza.... as in Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Shuyler. And we know that these two have risen to massive fame these past few years so their love story is a hot commodity!

(Does the thought of people who lived years ago suddenly becoming so famous in our day and age fascinate you? Like who will be the Alex and Eliza of our day for the people living hundreds of years from now? And if those people knew that now would it creep them out or would they think... wow! Cool beans?)

Anyway. I enjoyed this story but it felt just a bit lacking to me. I don't know why exactly... I needed more emotion or feeling or something. For a love story there really wasn't much romance. Most of the stuff in this book is "filled in" or "made up" since there really isn't much to go on. But still, I guess the author had to stick with what mos likely could have happened, and most likely there really wasn't a whole lot of interaction between them!

(Though there was a great rescue scene involving a horse ride that I quite enjoyed!)

The historical backdrop for all of this is interesting for sure. Living during this time period must have been crazy to say the least. And thus, I think, all the fascination with it, and the reason why a crazy fun musical was made to spark everyone's interest anew.

So, I heartily recommend this one if you are in the Hamilton camp or have kids that are. It's a fun look at the people, the history and the love story.

Book Review: A Gentelman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Book: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This was our book club read this past month. I had only half of it read by the time we met, but I FINISHED NOW! Yay! It's a great book, but there are some slowish parts I must say... or parts that just basically go over my head. But not enough to make me too frustrated.

Anyway, it's about a dude.. a Count who has ties to the Russian Tsars? yes? I think... and he gets mixed up in the political upheaval that happens after the Russian Revolution and because of a poem he wrote, he is under house arrest for the rest of his life and big fancy hotel in Moscow.

Which doesn't seem so bad since he was basically living there anyway, but it turns out they kicked him out of his fancy suite and banned him to tiny attic room.

Well, he makes the best of it and lives his life over the years and this is his story... his life in this big fancy hotel in Moscow! (Guys, if I ever go to Moscow.. ha ha... this hotel will be something I will be wanting to see for sure now!)

The years fly by and it seems big events happen all the time on the 21st of June, since that's how many chapters start out. I loved that literary device. And I'm so slow that it took me nearly the whole book to realize all the chapter titles started with A.... I wonder what the significance of that is, cause nothing obvious is coming to mind. But it's cool anyway and another fun little device of the author's.

Our Count meets a little girl who becomes his close friend and they have all sorts of adventures in the hotel. We watch her grow up and then we watch HER girl grow up. The Count is very close buddies with the workers in the hotel and ends up being a waiter at the restaurant himself.

You'd think he was happy with all the lovely stuff that's going on there, and it seems there's plenty to do. He even has a girlfriend! But it appears not all is as it seems....

I loved the writing in this one. So snarky and funny and witty. I loved it. I loved learning about history as we flew through the years, though as I said some of it went over my head. I loved this Count character from the very first page. He's great!

It isn't an easy book to read, that's for sure and requires some brain power, but I'm happy to say I seemed to have found the power needed and even though it took a few weeks, I managed it just fine!

Book Review: A Taste for Monsters by Matthew Kirby

Book: A Taste for Monsters by Matthew Kirby 
Genre: YA Historical-ish ghostly 
Rating: ★★★★☆

This one takes place in the rough part of England right when Jack the Ripper lets loose. Our girl, who has been disfigured working in a match factory, gets a job as the maid of a guy named Joseph Merrick, in a nearby hospital. Turns out, this guy is the famous Elephant Man. He's come to live out his days in this hospital, and the matron thinks that our girl, due to her own facial issues, will be a good match.

Turns out she is right. And they form a fast and bonding friendship. But strange things start to happen when ghosts begin appearing in his room at night. And they, together, have to help these spirits find peace.

It's a heartwarming story. I really actually quite enjoyed it. It's written in a slow methodical dry style, which at times I liked and at times made me crazy. I think young people might find it boring. Unless they enjoy a sort of old style of writing. Which they might do, you know.

But if they like these two stories, this is a fun and interesting mash up. I'm not sure it was meant to be a creepy ghost-like tale, but if so, it wasn't. Like I said, it was more heartwarming. For the most part. I mean our girl had to deal with a few other things not part of these two stories, that wasn't so heartwarming.

So yeah. An interesting historical ghost story with a some unique twists and turns. I totally enjoyed it.

Book Review Thoughts: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Book: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating:★★★★☆


Wow. I read a book! And a big adult type one at that! And guess what? I liked it. I really really liked it!

So yeah, there's been a ton of buzz about this one. I'm glad to have finally managed to read it myself. Thank you book club!

It's about two kids during WWII. One is a blind French girl who gets displaced during the German occupation and ends up living in a village outside of Paris for the duration of the war with her great uncle who has PTSD from the first world war. She adapts to things very well and is living a fairly nice life, helping her uncle come out again and learning all about his radio hobby.

The other kid is a German boy who is extremely smart and gets recruited to work in the war as the guy who seeks out people doing illegal radio transmission. Yeah. Do you see the connection here?

Well, after much much time, their stories converse for a brief moment. But before that happens, we get completely invested in BOTH of them. Who cares that they are opposite sides of the war!? I truly love stories that can do this... make you realize that there are just people involved doing what they have to do to survive and that there is no good guys or bad guys. I mean, there are, but the people are just the people, know what I mean?

Anyway. There's also a bit of a strange element of the supernatural in this story... but it didn't really bother me that much. Some at book club could have done without it though. What made me crazy was I was DYING for their stories to converge and when they finally did, it was for such a short period of time. Ah. I wanted more there!!! I wanted a nice little romantic happy ending.

But, you know, you can't have it all I guess.

Still, I really enjoyed this book. The storytelling was awesome. The writing was beautiful. The characters were fascinating. And it held my wandering and unfocused attention unlike any book has done for a long time.

Ten Reasons To Read (or Skip) Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Book: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Genre: Historical Fiction with a fantasy element
Rating: ★★★☆ ☆

(Trying out another idea for book review/thoughts. What's your feedback?)


Short Synopsis: Ursula is born in 1911 and immediately dies. And then is immediately born again. This time she lives. Until she drowns at age 4. At which time, she is born again. And so on and so on and so on. Each time she is born again, she learns a little about how to get a bit further in life. Sometimes it takes several times. She survives the flu epidemic, WWI, WWII and many other interesting things. How many times will it take to get things right?


Five Reasons to Read This Book



1. You'll learn a lot about different time periods in history.
2. You'll feel like you are right there experiencing the bombs of WWII.
3. You'll see what it might have been like to know Hitler personally.
4. It will make you think about how you live you life and what you would do differently if you could start all over again.
5. Rich thoughtful writing.

Five Reasons to Skip This Book

1. No swoony romantic parts.
2. Lots and lots of detail. A bit on the wordy side.
3. Repetition as this character lives her life over and over again.
4. Not many likable characters.
5. A great hook in the beginning that failed to deliver.

Bottom Line: For me the reasons to read overpowered the reasons to skip. I enjoyed and loved getting immersed into this time and place (England/Germany between 1911 and 1960) in history.

Other Reviews:

Life After Life has everything I love in a book: interesting well developed characters, a well drawn historical setting, a magical element, and a macabre undertone. From RA for All

I am in the strange position of recommending this book while still kind of warning off traditional romance readers. From Dear Author

Life After Life is good, but it is repetitious in a way it needn’t have been, there is a great deal left unsaid, and the suggestion of intrigue at the beginning is nowhere to be found. From The Worm Hole

So, yeah, sorry but this books was slow, boring and repetitive. It was torture to pick it up and finish. From Alternate Readality

Book Review Discussion TWO-FER: This Night So Dark by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner AND Heir to Endenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

I'm trying to get my Goodreads number up! To help with that I've recently read a couple of short novellas. Besides which, I was dying to get a peek into both these worlds again.  Loved them both! Here are my mini reviews for them:


Book: This Night So Dark by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner 
Genre: YA SciFi
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Fun
From: ebook from Amazon

Short Synopsis: This is the story of what happened to Tarver before he came aboard the ship that crashes... you  know, the one where he meets Lilac. (aka. These Broken Stars) and why he has been promoted...much to his chagrin. It's a sad, violent story, but it's nice to know what happened, and what he's like before meeting Lilac.

My Response: Loved it of course. I love this character. I love this world. Love love love. Read it for sure if you are into this series.







Book: Heir to Endenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
Genre: Historical romance
Rating:★★★★★
For: Fun
From: ebook from Amazon

Short Synopsis: Similar to the above, this is the story of what happened to Philip before he meets Marianne... the frustration he feels having to take over the estate after his brother dies and being a reluctant eligible bachelor. And then we get to be in his head during the events of the inn when he meets Marianne, which is most awesome.

My Response: Um.. most awesome! :) Makes me want to pick up and re-read Edenbrooke in a most desperate way, but I have too many other things to read right now! If you are a fan, you know you have to get this one!



Let's Talk About: What are you feelings about these prequel and in between novellas? I used to be all turn-up-my-nose at them, but I'm finding they are quite enjoyable. As long as I can get them free or cheap! They are really fun!

Now... to find some more short fast books to read before the year is over!

Book Review Discussion: Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Book (s): Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang
Genre: Graphic Historical (these are shelved in the history section at the library. I found that interesting.)
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: the readathon
From: the library

Short Synopsis: This is the story of the Boxer Rebellion in China that took place right around 1900 between the Chinese and the Catholics. In Saints, we get the story from the POV of a girl who has been converted to the church and ends up wanting to fight in the cause. She never really gets a chance and is (SPOILER) killed defending her faith. In Boxers, we get the story from the POV of a kid who's brothers start a group that becomes a force in the rebellion and who hunts down the Catholics that are destroying their culture. Sadly, his story doesn't go to far either.

My Response: It's a pretty gruesome tale and so frustrating as you can see both sides. And it just makes you want to scream.. why can't people get along and let each other do their thing?? It's madness! It was fun to learn about this event, as I knew nothing at all before hand. Some of the stuff, especially in Boxers, was a bit mystical and complicated and went over my head (especially as I was trying to read fast for the readathon!) but the feeling came across in a huge way.

Bottom Line: Amazing medium to use for teaching us about this historical event. Brilliant even. I totally enjoyed it.

Let's Talk About: Do you know about this event in history? Would you read a graphic novel to learn stuff like this? (I guess most of the graphic novels I've read have actually been non-fiction historical. Interesting that.)

Other Reviews:

But taken together, these books are present an interesting, engaging read that brings up a lot of interesting ethical questions about the nature and cost of war. From Fyrefly's Book Blog

This is what makes Boxers and Saints really work - Yang manages to draw sympathies to each character without having to jeopardize the plot. He shows how there is right and wrong on both sides of the fences, just as it is with most wars, and it is never possible to look at this event and pinpoint who was to blame. From Reading on a Rainy Day

Yang is a master of employing visual and narrative techniques that bring the characters and their struggles to life. From Estella's Revenge

Highly recommended, this graphic novel duo has a place in every library collection. From Walking Brain Cells

Book Review Discussion: Unraveled by Julie Daines

Book: Unraveled by Julie Daines
Genre: YA Historical Romance
Rating★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Utah Book Month
From: Bought at Storymakers this past year

Short Synopsis: The book opens when Bronwen and her mom are visited by night witch/fairy. She gives a present for Bronwen... magic shoes. Bronwen was left lame after a sickness swept through her family, but when she puts these shoes on, her legs are made whole again. She and her mom decide this means Bronwen can finally present herself to the king. Preparations are made for the event. Well. When she sees the king, it's actually the prince, and the prince takes an instant liking to her. And now she has to keep the secret of her legs from him. Things get very very complicated. Not mention that the captain of the guard is a former worker at Bronwen's farm and knows all about her secret. Very very complicated indeed!

My Response: I really enjoyed this one! What a cute and fun romance. Also a sweet lesson to be learned about being who you really are, and embracing all your weaknesses. And trusting in old friends. The setting (old time Wales I think) was awesome. The whole thing has a wonderful romantic fairy tale, princes and princess feeling. Perfect for a quick summertime read!

Bottom Line: Yes, if you love fantasy and magic and princes and you enjoy romance hitting you from unexpected places, you'll love this one.

Let's Talk About: What is it about magical fairy tale stories that we love so much? Seriously, I don't think we'll ever get enough of them!


Other Reviews:

A fabulous read full of faerie legend and folklore. From LDS Women's Book Review

this was SOOO GOOD I didn't want it to end! I wasn't ready I wanted MORE, more story, more character development, more everything! I loved it all! From Awesome Book Nut

I’ll just say that I found myself smiling and re-reading different sections that reminded me what it feels like to be sixteen and falling in love. From Reading For Sanity

It reminds me of the fairy tales that I grew up with and loved. This is a story that I would love to revisit and share with my daughter. From Bookworm Lisa

Book Review Discussion: Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt

Book: Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Rating:★★★★★
For: Fun
From: probably Amazon a few years ago

Short Synopsis: This follows the story of Doug Swieteck, who was featured a bit in the book The Wednesday Wars, if you'll remember. This book opens when his family moves to a new city and he has to get used to everything all over again. He meets a cute girl, he gets a little delivery job at her dad's deli, he starts to make friends with people, but especially, he likes the librarian guy who shows him some cool bird pictures and teaches him how to draw them. These birds feature heavily in the book and are symbols for what's going on in Doug's life. He has to deal with his crazy brother, his abusive dad, his older brother who comes home injured from Vietnam (yes this is a 60s book) and some mean teachers at school. But in the end, he overcomes all and is basically, okay for now.

My Response: Once again, this author nails it, capturing perfectly a moment in time during the 60s and what one normal kid might have been experiencing then. The voice is spot on and I loved it. He (this character) reminded me a bit of a young and less bitter Holden Caulfield, always saying things like "I'm not lying" and "stupid this and stupid that" and "do you know how that feels?"  And yet, despite the edginess, he is as endearing as they come. You'll be rooting for this kid from page one.

Bottom Line: Not an earth shattering type of book, but all kinds of heart warming and feeling goodness and just so real. I loved it.

Let's Talk About: How are you with middle grade books? You know, some of them are pretty boring for me, but then again, some of the best books I've read are MG. They seem such a hit and miss. This one is a hit for sure. This author is a hit. If you haven't read one of his books, it's time to give him a try now!

Other Reviews:

Okay for Now is a coming of age story and a window into a pivotal time in US history. But more than that, Okay for Now is a flawless character study. From Jen Robinson's Book Page

I shed many a tear while reading about his life. I shed happy tears, too, over the grace extended to Doug by several compassionate adults. From Worthwhile Books

Okay For Now is a beautiful story about a boy, and it’s a story that will resonate with anyone, whether they remember what it was like to be 15 or not. From Attack of the Books

Dysfunctional family, war, conservation, small-town politics, love, and so much more: it’s all here. But Schmidt never lets it sound contrived or over-the-top. From The Reading Zone

Book Review Discussion: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Book: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Book Club and Beehive Awards
From: The library

Short Synopsis: It's just turned 1950 and Josie lives in New Orleans with her mom... her mom who happens to work at a brothel. Josie also works there... as a sort of cleaning maid. But she loves the madame, who doubles as a mother figure for Josie. That's because Josie's mom is so crazy and irresponsible and basically unable to mother Josie herself. In fact, the story opens with the mom running off with some shady guy and Josie is left alone, but then again, she is used to that. She lives above of the bookstore where the owner and his son are her other family. After Josie's mom leaves, some strange things happen and Josie ends up having to solve a murder mystery.

My Response: I loved the time period and setting of this one! I'm so glad to have got a glimpse in real life of New Orleans so I could easily picture this setting. (We walked around the French Quarter for a morning on July 4th a few years ago. I mostly remember how hot it was! But, I loved the place!) Josie was a fun character too, and someone who has to deal with some pretty adult things. I can't believe the stuff her mom puts her through. What a crappy mom! But luckily she has some people in her life that keep her going. She wants so bad to be a normal person and go to college and be smart and to forget her past.

Bottom Line: Great story and beautiful writing as we've come to expect from this author who knows how to do a fabulous historical fiction!

Let's Talk About: New Orleans some more! Have you been there? What did you think? What's your feeling setting a "kids" (YA is kids book right?) book in a brothel? Is New Orleans a perfect setting for such a thing? Or is it not fair? What other favorite books of yours are set here? Interview with a Vampire!? :)

Other Reviews:

Oh, I loved this book. As it's got the same combination of fantastically-rendered historical atmosphere—the dialogue is TO DIE FOR—and mystery elements, I highly, HIGHLY recommend it From Bookshelves of Doom

This is a wonderful book that encourages readers to go after their dreams! From BermudaoOion's Weblog

Josie is the best kind of heroine. She’s salty peanuts. It is extremely easy to imagine that she is a friend I know, or even fragments of myself. From Words on Paper
The story was so breath taking and touching, but it was also horrible. It was like my heart was ripped out, stomped on, and healed by love. From Kami's Library Thoughts

Book Review Discussion: Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

Book: Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: book club
From: bought on Kindle

Short Synopsis: Joan lives in the 800s during a time when it's majorly frowned upon for girls to learn. But all she wants to do is learn. Read, and write and learn. She manages to get accepted to a school and seems to be overcoming the problems with being a girl in school when one day, tragedy strikes. In the spur of the moment, she decides to "become" her brother which lets her into many doors previously closed to her. She rises through the ranks, and as the title suggests (so I don't think it's too much of a spoiler!) she ends up as Pope!

My Response: This was the second time I've read this book. I read it back years ago when it first had some buzz (which was also WAY before blogging thus I decided to add a review here!) and loved it. Sadly, I didn't love it quite as much this second go around. Why? Because wow, but there were a lot of slow boring parts! And so much shop talk that I totally didn't understand even given context. Dang, but have I gotten stupid over the years or what? That being said, I still love the story and am fascinated by the fact that there is much speculation and some pretty good evidence that this actually happened. How cool is that? If you do read this book, don't skip the author's note at the end. Just sayin'.

Bottom Line: A very interesting take on what might have happened if there had really been a woman pope.

Let's Talk About: So, do you care how much of stories such as this are based on truth or not? Does it matter to you? Or do you just enjoy the story for what it is...a story? How do you like your historical fiction?

Other Reviews:

Do I think Joan really existed? I don't know. It is interesting to think about though. There are some substantial things to support that there was a female Pope, but it still makes me wonder. From Kami's Library Thoughts

Simply put, the book was compelling and I did like it. I just didn’t love it. I would, however, give Cross another chance and read another one of her books. From Jenni Elyse

Full of twists and turns, and a bit of romance, Pope Joan will have you wondering if there ever really was woman who sat on the Papal throne. From Attack of the Books

I really enjoyed learning more about this time period. The utter brutality and injustice toward women that was described made me so mad, the corruption and politics discussed were very interesting, and the love story is heartfelt. From Good Clean Reads

Book Review Discussion: All The Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry

Book: All The Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ★
For: Beehive Awards
From: The Library

Short Synopsis: Judith was abducted when she was 14 years old. And now, two years later, she's come back.. a changed girl. But then she seeks out her abductor in order to save her Puritan village. She doesn't expect that this act will throw suspicion onto the boy she's loved her whole life.


My Response: This is the first book I've read as part of the Beehive Book Award project. (See my explanation here.)  I was so happy to get my hands on it and finally read it. And once I started, I could NOT put it down. Except for those moments where I started getting nervous for the characters and I had to stop to breathe and gear up to read what I knew. . .felt. . . thought. . . was coming next! Ah, I love books like that were you are scared and nervous and anxious for the characters and you are DYING for certain things to happen and certain things to NOT happen. So good. I loved it. It has some disturbing things and deals with a pretty painful subject, but it's ultimately a beautiful love story that will have you swooning.

I also loved that it was written in second person. I mean, it was also first person as the girl is narrating and is the "I." But she is talking to the boy she loves, Lucas. So everything is "you this and you that". It was so well done and so different and the perfect way to tell this story.

Bottom Line: Loved loved loved it! I'm pretty sure this book will be on my top ten year end list.

Let's Talk About: The second person point of view. Do like it when authors shake up the whole point of view thing? What other second person books have you read that were done really well? Does it worry you that this book is in the second person and might keep you away from it? (Please, I hope not!!)

Other Reviews:

It’s a dark story but within the intensity comes a beauty that you cannot help but want to see shine through. From Good Books and Good Wine

I loved this one. I thought the narrative was beautiful, haunting, memorable. The book was not what I expected at all, based on the cover. It was so much better. From Becky's Book Reviews

Is it a mystery? Yeah, kind of. Does it have way more going on? Definitely WAY more going on. From Lisa Likes Books

All the Truth That's In Me truly hit all the right notes, at least in my book. Not only did it take a myriad of challenging qualities (see above) and make them work, but it also took the essentials I look for in a good story - characters with depth, thriller plot lines, and emotional undertones - and excelled in those areas as well. From Ivy Book Binding

This story is masterfully constructed full of suspense and twists along the way, which all leads to a chilling conclusion that will stir many emotions. From Book Nerd Reviews