I am playing a bit of catch-up in several areas. First off, I am chatting about books from last week as there were books I want to share and then trying something new with picture books.
I have recently discovered author Kate Quinn, and I devouried all of her books via audiobooks. Saskia Maardelveld has become a new favourite narrator, and I will also be looking to more titles where she is the narrator. So yes, I have been a bit occupied reading and finishing her latest The Rose Code. If you are a historical fiction fan, enjoy strong independent women characters and want to experience Bletchley Park and deciphering the Nazi’s Enigma codes, I highly recommend this book. Kate Quinn manages to seamlessly weave multiple storylines into one, empowering females in male-dominated roles, which perhaps is part of the appeal to me.
Angeline Boulley’s debut book, Firekeeper’s Daughter, is a mystery that explores so many relevant topics and is well written – it was a masterful storytelling experience. Daunis Fontaine, the main character, is known for her passion for learning and sharing traditional knowledge and readers learn a great deal about the Ojibwe community and its teachings. Isabella Star LaBlanc, the narrator, does a masterful job providing different voices for the many characters readers encounter and the pronunciation of the Ojibwe language. Hearing the correct pronunciation let me have a richer experience as I learned more about the Ojibwe language and culture. She put a distinctive spin on each of the characters that bought their personalities to life. This one had many twists and turns that I was not expecting and highly recommend for Young Adult readers.
Alice Fleck’s Recipe for Disaster, written by Rachelle Delaney, is a middle-grade novel that I read in preparation for the #MGLitbc I participate in once a month. Alice and her father have a passion for cooking and all things related to the Victorian period of history. When her father’s new girlfriend enters them in a non-competitive cooking program highlighting food from that era, it seems to be the perfect activity. That is until the show changes the format; the meanest judge on current reality shows like this one, replaces the original and kindest judge. In addition, someone appears to be sabotaging the show itself. A great little cooking mystery read.
THIS WEEK…
Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly. Oh my, what a marvellous addition to our chapter books! I loved loved loved meeting Marisol, and perhaps Maybe, Maybe I still see myself in Marisol. I appreciate how Erin Entrada Kelly shares herself openly through Marisol sharing her love of naming objects used every day, like Buster Keaton, the fridge and Peppina, the marigold tree. She introduces readers to things of the past; silent films, the philosopher Socrates and stories from her parents as children, so they are not forgotten. Seamlessly, she provides readers with words from other languages as it is what Marisol does with her best friend, Jada. It is so much more than this though, – it’s the character of Marisol, sharing her fears, her thoughts and her feelings with herself and her best friend Jada knowing no matter what, Jada has her back. When spreading the word about this book, I won’t be able to say it any better than Marisol’s best friend Jada, “Kiváló!” which means “excellent” in Hungarian. I, for one, cannot wait to see what Marisol will do next.
Taking Up Space by Alyson Gerber was a phenomenal read, and I will be doing a more in-depth review of this must-read for our middle-grade readers. Sarah loves basketball, but lately, her game has been off. She attests this to her eating and now sets up rules about what she can eat based on what she thinks she hears from her coach and her mother’s views of what it means to be healthy. So many of our readers have conflicting and confusing information about what healthy means and distorted thoughts about body image. This story is timely and critical to read and will share more later but in the meantime, purchase it for your middle-grade readers.
An Occasionally Happy Family by Cliff Burke, narrated by Micheal Couch, was the perfect light-hearted read I needed this week. Theo and his older sister Laura are not looking forward to the traditional family vacation with their father to the Big Bend, the least popular National Park. It is the first vacation without their mother after dying from cancer, and unbeknownst to Theo and Laura, the trip is when their dad wants to introduce them to his new female friend. All are attempting to come to terms with their grief, and surprisingly is a funny story as the three work against and with one another to open up and support each other’s needs.
Winterborne House of Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter, narrated by Laura Knight Keating, has been on my Options pile for a while. When I discovered it was available as an audiobook, I am always willing to go for that option. A tale of orphans solving a mystery, this story had a City Spies feel to it, in the sense that orphaned children are selected to stay at the Winterborne home as are the individuals are to become spies. April, the main character, is an orphan who is patiently waiting for her mother to return. Until then, she wears a mysterious-looking key around her neck left by her mother with the Winterborne emblem on it. When she is on a field trip to the Winterborne Museum, she discovers a unique locked box that perhaps her key would open. She decides to come back in the evening and check. When she returns in the evening, trying to check the lock, she accidentally sets the museum on fire. She remembers falling and the key skidding out of her hand. When she awakes, the key is around her neck, and Ms. Nelson is covering for her being in the museum at night and whisks her off to live at the Winterborne Mansion where other orphans are living. Now in the home, she is determined to find out what the key unlocks and instead discovers the missing heir to the fortune living in the cellars. Readers who love mysteries will enjoy this new series, and Laura Knight Keating does a good job narrating, using different voices so readers can easily distinguish between the orphans.
I did not quite get around to reading Josephine Cameron’s Not All Heroes, so I am looking forward to reading this one this week and will continue you with the Winterborne series by listening to the second in the series.
The picture books I received from my public library have been P H E N O M E N A L ! My new goal is to highlight them here and then but a blurb on my Instagram account (@hnatiukl_turningthepage) with more images, so you can see more of the book, and then I can highlight five new picture books every week. So because I missed last week, I will do two each day. Here are ten for this week.
Highlights for me this week were:
I want to acknowledge the two that started this all. It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? changed from becoming a meme for adults but also to including children’s lit. This idea came from Unleashing Reader blogger Kellee Moye and Jen Vincent from the Teach Mentor Texts blog. They thought there should be a children’s lit focus too, and hence a version for #kidlit began! So join in on the fun every Monday by sharing what you just finished reading, currently are reading, or are anticipating reading. Use the hashtag #IMWAYR on your social media sites to share, follow what others are reading, and show support for #kidlit bloggers by reading and commenting.
Laurie
Bit About Books 