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Showing posts with label Lauren Wolk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lauren Wolk. Show all posts
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Lyrical and Lovely, Echo Mountain An Enjoyable MG Historical
7:13 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
The Great Depression has wreaked havoc all over the country, forcing people into strange, new circumstances. For 12-year-old Ellie, that means moving out of her comfortable home in town and into a cramped cabin on remote Echo Mountain. Although her family's reduced circumstances are far from ideal, Ellie loves the freedom she now has to roam about exploring the wonders of the natural world. The mountain is full of surprises and mysteries and she's determined to discover them all!
When a terrible accident leaves her father in a coma, Ellie's whole family is devastated. Unfairly blamed for causing his injury, Ellie feels responsible for saving him. She sets out to find a mystical mountain hag who is said to have otherworldly powers capable of curing any ailment. Can the witch bring Ellie's dad back to life? As Ellie separates Echo Mountain's fabled myths from its true magic, she'll discover the power of her own pluck, resiliency, and strength of character. Using her own unique talents she just might be able to save them all.
I love finely-wrought historical fiction that brings a unique time and place to life. Echo Mountain, the newest middle-grade offering from Lauren Wolk, certainly does that. Her descriptions of mountain life are vivid and compelling. Ellie is an easy-to-admire heroine who cares more about other people than herself. She and her fellow cast members are likable, although flawed. Plot-wise, there's enough going on in Echo Mountain to keep the story moving along at a steady pace. Because of its old-fashioned feel, I'm not sure how much kid appeal this novel has. Hopefully some since it teaches valuable lessons about listening to your instincts, respecting nature, not making assumptions about people, and using your unique skills and resources to help other people. Lovely and lyrical, Echo Mountain is also moving, hopeful, and engaging. I enjoyed it.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a little of Where the Watermelons Grow by Cindy Baldwin, also of The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little)
Grade:
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Top Ten Tuesday: It's Summertime and the Reading is Fine, Part Two
1:00 AM
My favorite Top Ten Tuesday prompts are those dealing with seasonal TBR lists. I enjoy them so much that I started my Summer 2020 list early. To see the adult books I'm hoping to read this summer, click here. Today's Part Two list will deal just with children's books, including YA and MG. I'm going to feature new and upcoming titles because I've discovered some intriguing-looking ones that I really, really want to read.
Before we get to that, I want to mention two things. First, TTT is hosted every week by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over to her blog to get all the deets on this fun weekly meme, as well as reviews, giveaways, etc. Second, after this TTT discussion about how different readers use Goodreads, I decided to revamp my TBR lists on the site. I deleted the 5000 books on my main TBR shelf and started over from scratch! Then, I sorted all of the books I want to read into lists according to genre, setting, topic, etc. I put the titles I'm most excited about in want-to-read order on a "Top 100" list, in the hopes that I can keep the list manageable. If you want to check out my new and improved TBR lists on Goodreads, feel free. The link is on the left sidebar.
Okay, here we go with Top Ten Books on My Summer 2020 TBR List (Part Two):
1. Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy (available July 21, 2020)—I was blown away by Murphy's inventive debut, The Disappearances when I read it back in 2018. I've been waiting and waiting for her sophomore novel and it's finally (almost) here. I can't wait to dive into this book about magic and a mystery.
2. Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte—Inspired by the real deaf community that thrived on Martha's Vineyard in the early 19th Century, this MG novel is about Mary, a deaf girl who has grown up feeling secure in a community where nearly everyone is deaf and knows sign language. When an ambitious scientist arrives on the island determined to get to the root of its prevalent deafness, Mary becomes a science experiment in the hands of a cruel captor. What will happen to her and her unique community? Sounds like a fascinating book.
3. Orphan Eleven by Gennifer Choldenko—I enjoy Choldenko's books, especially her Alcatraz series, so I'm always excited when she comes out with a new book. Her newest concerns a mute orphan who joins the circus, where she has to find her voice again in order to work with the animals.
4. On the Horizon by Lois Lowry—I love historical fiction, so I'm definitely intrigued by Lowry's newest. The MG novel concerns two infamous events—the bombings of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Based on Lowry's personal experience growing up in Hawaii and historical research, the book takes an intimate look at how both events changed the lives of those who experienced them firsthand.
5. Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk—Another historical, this MG novel is set during the Great Depression. Because of economic hardship, Ellie and her family have to sell everything they have and move to a remote mountain location. As if things aren't bad enough already, her father drifts into a coma after an accident for which Ellie is blamed. To heal her father and soothe her guilt-ridden soul, she goes in search of a magical hag who can mend all kinds of hurts.
6. The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte—This YA underwater dystopian sounds compelling. It concerns Tempe, a teenage girl who dives deep into the water that covers her world to search for treasures in the remains of the drowned cities of old. She needs to earn enough to pay scientists to bring her dead sister back to life. Her sister took a secret to her grave and Tempe is desperate for answers. I'm in!
7. All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker—This MG novel features a young artist whose father, an art restorer, goes missing leaving behind only a cryptic note. There's no one she can turn to for help, so she sets about solving the mystery of her missing father and the painting that seems to be linked to his disappearance.
8. Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz—Greg over at Book Haven featured this YA survival novel on his blog last week. You better believe any book billed as LOST meets Stranger Things is going to get my immediate attention! Naturally, it concerns a group of shipwrecked survivors and monsters both human and not.
9. Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams—I don't know why, but I find cults super fascinating, so the premise of this YA novel caught my attention. Admittedly, the main plot (a teen girl comes to realize she lives in a cult run by a megalomaniac and wants to escape with the Outsider boy she's fallen in love with) sounds fairly generic, but as a Type 1 diabetic, I'm intrigued by the book's subplot involving the heroine's diabetic brother. In a community where medical intervention is outlawed, is it a sin for the MC to secretly break the rules in order to procure insulin for her sibling?
10. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson—The murder of a teenage girl by her boyfriend still haunts the town in which it happened. Pip knew the killer as a kind guy who would never do something so heinous. For her senior project, she decides to investigate the murder. In doing so, she finds new information that could exonerate the boyfriend. Her digging has unearthed some dark secrets, however, secrets someone would kill to keep buried forever. I can't resist an intriguing mystery and this one sounds like just that.
There you have it, ten MG and YA books I'm hoping to read this summer. Which are you hoping to get to in the next few months? Do we have any in common? I'd truly love to know. Leave a comment on this post and I will return the favor on yours.
Happy TTT!
Before we get to that, I want to mention two things. First, TTT is hosted every week by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over to her blog to get all the deets on this fun weekly meme, as well as reviews, giveaways, etc. Second, after this TTT discussion about how different readers use Goodreads, I decided to revamp my TBR lists on the site. I deleted the 5000 books on my main TBR shelf and started over from scratch! Then, I sorted all of the books I want to read into lists according to genre, setting, topic, etc. I put the titles I'm most excited about in want-to-read order on a "Top 100" list, in the hopes that I can keep the list manageable. If you want to check out my new and improved TBR lists on Goodreads, feel free. The link is on the left sidebar.
Okay, here we go with Top Ten Books on My Summer 2020 TBR List (Part Two):
1. Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy (available July 21, 2020)—I was blown away by Murphy's inventive debut, The Disappearances when I read it back in 2018. I've been waiting and waiting for her sophomore novel and it's finally (almost) here. I can't wait to dive into this book about magic and a mystery.
2. Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte—Inspired by the real deaf community that thrived on Martha's Vineyard in the early 19th Century, this MG novel is about Mary, a deaf girl who has grown up feeling secure in a community where nearly everyone is deaf and knows sign language. When an ambitious scientist arrives on the island determined to get to the root of its prevalent deafness, Mary becomes a science experiment in the hands of a cruel captor. What will happen to her and her unique community? Sounds like a fascinating book.
3. Orphan Eleven by Gennifer Choldenko—I enjoy Choldenko's books, especially her Alcatraz series, so I'm always excited when she comes out with a new book. Her newest concerns a mute orphan who joins the circus, where she has to find her voice again in order to work with the animals.
4. On the Horizon by Lois Lowry—I love historical fiction, so I'm definitely intrigued by Lowry's newest. The MG novel concerns two infamous events—the bombings of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Based on Lowry's personal experience growing up in Hawaii and historical research, the book takes an intimate look at how both events changed the lives of those who experienced them firsthand.
5. Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk—Another historical, this MG novel is set during the Great Depression. Because of economic hardship, Ellie and her family have to sell everything they have and move to a remote mountain location. As if things aren't bad enough already, her father drifts into a coma after an accident for which Ellie is blamed. To heal her father and soothe her guilt-ridden soul, she goes in search of a magical hag who can mend all kinds of hurts.
6. The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte—This YA underwater dystopian sounds compelling. It concerns Tempe, a teenage girl who dives deep into the water that covers her world to search for treasures in the remains of the drowned cities of old. She needs to earn enough to pay scientists to bring her dead sister back to life. Her sister took a secret to her grave and Tempe is desperate for answers. I'm in!
7. All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker—This MG novel features a young artist whose father, an art restorer, goes missing leaving behind only a cryptic note. There's no one she can turn to for help, so she sets about solving the mystery of her missing father and the painting that seems to be linked to his disappearance.
8. Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz—Greg over at Book Haven featured this YA survival novel on his blog last week. You better believe any book billed as LOST meets Stranger Things is going to get my immediate attention! Naturally, it concerns a group of shipwrecked survivors and monsters both human and not.
9. Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams—I don't know why, but I find cults super fascinating, so the premise of this YA novel caught my attention. Admittedly, the main plot (a teen girl comes to realize she lives in a cult run by a megalomaniac and wants to escape with the Outsider boy she's fallen in love with) sounds fairly generic, but as a Type 1 diabetic, I'm intrigued by the book's subplot involving the heroine's diabetic brother. In a community where medical intervention is outlawed, is it a sin for the MC to secretly break the rules in order to procure insulin for her sibling?
10. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson—The murder of a teenage girl by her boyfriend still haunts the town in which it happened. Pip knew the killer as a kind guy who would never do something so heinous. For her senior project, she decides to investigate the murder. In doing so, she finds new information that could exonerate the boyfriend. Her digging has unearthed some dark secrets, however, secrets someone would kill to keep buried forever. I can't resist an intriguing mystery and this one sounds like just that.
There you have it, ten MG and YA books I'm hoping to read this summer. Which are you hoping to get to in the next few months? Do we have any in common? I'd truly love to know. Leave a comment on this post and I will return the favor on yours.
Happy TTT!
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