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Friday, September 21, 2018
Light, Funny MG Story Not Without a Lesson or Two
5:42 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Living like a pioneer is not quite what 13-year-old Genevieve Welsh had in mind for her summer break. Trudging around the prairie in a long dress (and petticoats!), growing her own food, slaving away at chores that can easily be done by machine, living with her family in a tiny, rustic cabin—nothing about Frontier Family History Camp sounds like a vacation at all. What are her parents thinking? Living without modern distractions might bring her family closer, but it's also going to make Gen completely insane.
Camp isn't completely awful, especially considering there's a cute boy to practice her flirting skills on. Still, Gen finds plenty of drama to rant about in the texts she sends to her friends on the forbidden cell phone she snuck into camp. When Gen's pals turn her messages into a blog and that blog goes viral, attracting national media attention to her plight in the Wyoming wilderness, Gen starts to wonder just what she's done. Has she managed to ruin what's turning out to be the best worst summer she's ever experienced?
Little Blog on the Prairie, a middle grade novel by Cathleen Davitt Bell, tells a cute, uplifting story about learning to appreciate the simpler things in life. It's an easy read that's funny, upbeat, and entertaining, albeit totally predictable. While it feels contrived and far-fetched at times, it's still a fast, fun read that will appeal to anyone looking for a light, laugh-filled story that's not without a lesson or two. I enjoyed it.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for violence and scary images
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
TTT: FALLing for Autumn Reads
5:58 PM
It's been some time since I've participated in Top Ten Tuesday, my favorite weekly meme, but I couldn't resist this week's topic. The seasonal TBR posts are the ones I look forward to most, so I couldn't miss out. You shouldn't either. Join in the fun by heading over to That Artsy Reader Girl to read a few guidelines then making and sharing a list of your own. After that, all you have to do is hop around the book blogosphere and load up your TBR list with even more great recommendations. It's a good time, I promise!
Here we go with the Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR List:
1. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult (available October 2)—I'm a big Picoult fan and I'm excited to read her newest, even though it deals with a subject on which I have strong opinions: abortion. The novel begins when a shooter walks through the doors of a women's reproductive health services clinic and goes from there. Should be a compelling read that will no doubt be interesting and discussion-worthy.
2. The Winters by Lisa Gabriele (available October 16)—This haunting thriller about a recently married woman whose posh new lifestyle is not all it appears to be sounds intriguing.
3. Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia (available now)—This novel, about a boy who's been raised in the Minnesota wilderness and the therapist who's trying to help him, sounds intriguing.
4. Love Unscripted by Tiffany Odekirk (available now)—On the lighter side, this is the sophomore novel by a delightful author whom I've had the privilege to meet. I enjoyed her debut, so I'm excited to see what Odekirk does with this romance about a woman who meets a Hollywood heartthrob in need of her help.
5. Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown (available October 2)—I loved Mustaches for Maddie, so I'm excited to read the duo's newest, Squint. The middle grade book is about a young comic book artist who's frantically trying to finish a piece he wants to enter in a big competition before he completely loses his eyesight due to a damaged cornea. He's bullied at school, but one girl reaches inside of herself to find the courage to get to know him ...
6. The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason (available now)—This historical novel, about a young medical student who enlists in WWI and finds himself trying to make a difference at a frozen, forgotten makeshift hospital in the Carpathian Mountains, sounds intriguing.
7. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (available now)—Another historical, this one is based on the true story of a captured Jew who is put to work tattooing numbers on the arms of his fellow prisoners. A love story and a survival story, it sounds excellent.
8. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (available November 6)—After loving several of Moriarty's novels, I found her last one to be a big flop. I'm hoping Nine Perfect Strangers, a novel about a group of women stuck together at a resort that may be more damaging than healing, is as entertaining as some of her earlier books.
9. Go To My Grave by Catriona McPherson (available October 23)—I love a mystery/thriller featuring an old house hiding juicy secrets. This one, about a group that gathers at a bed and breakfast where something horrible happened years before, sounds like a perfect Fall read!
10. The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White (available now)—This dual-timeline novel features a dramatic story set on the doomed ocean liner RMS Lusitania. I'm in.
There you have it, ten of my most anticipated reads for Fall. Do we have any in common? What are you looking forward to reading in the months ahead? I'd love to know. Please leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor.
Happy TTT!
Here we go with the Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR List:
1. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult (available October 2)—I'm a big Picoult fan and I'm excited to read her newest, even though it deals with a subject on which I have strong opinions: abortion. The novel begins when a shooter walks through the doors of a women's reproductive health services clinic and goes from there. Should be a compelling read that will no doubt be interesting and discussion-worthy.
2. The Winters by Lisa Gabriele (available October 16)—This haunting thriller about a recently married woman whose posh new lifestyle is not all it appears to be sounds intriguing.
3. Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia (available now)—This novel, about a boy who's been raised in the Minnesota wilderness and the therapist who's trying to help him, sounds intriguing.
4. Love Unscripted by Tiffany Odekirk (available now)—On the lighter side, this is the sophomore novel by a delightful author whom I've had the privilege to meet. I enjoyed her debut, so I'm excited to see what Odekirk does with this romance about a woman who meets a Hollywood heartthrob in need of her help.
5. Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown (available October 2)—I loved Mustaches for Maddie, so I'm excited to read the duo's newest, Squint. The middle grade book is about a young comic book artist who's frantically trying to finish a piece he wants to enter in a big competition before he completely loses his eyesight due to a damaged cornea. He's bullied at school, but one girl reaches inside of herself to find the courage to get to know him ...
6. The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason (available now)—This historical novel, about a young medical student who enlists in WWI and finds himself trying to make a difference at a frozen, forgotten makeshift hospital in the Carpathian Mountains, sounds intriguing.
7. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (available now)—Another historical, this one is based on the true story of a captured Jew who is put to work tattooing numbers on the arms of his fellow prisoners. A love story and a survival story, it sounds excellent.
8. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (available November 6)—After loving several of Moriarty's novels, I found her last one to be a big flop. I'm hoping Nine Perfect Strangers, a novel about a group of women stuck together at a resort that may be more damaging than healing, is as entertaining as some of her earlier books.
9. Go To My Grave by Catriona McPherson (available October 23)—I love a mystery/thriller featuring an old house hiding juicy secrets. This one, about a group that gathers at a bed and breakfast where something horrible happened years before, sounds like a perfect Fall read!
10. The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White (available now)—This dual-timeline novel features a dramatic story set on the doomed ocean liner RMS Lusitania. I'm in.
There you have it, ten of my most anticipated reads for Fall. Do we have any in common? What are you looking forward to reading in the months ahead? I'd love to know. Please leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor.
Happy TTT!
Monday, September 17, 2018
Easy Copycat Recipes Bring Favorite Restaurant Dishes Home
3:09 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
I've long been a fan of Six Sisters' Stuff, a website that features family-friendly recipes, crafts, product reviews, and more. Maintained by—you guessed it!—six sisters, the site offers a lot of great, free content. Because I love SSS so much, I get especially excited every time they come out with a new cookbook. I own most of these glossy, colorful treasure troves, and have enjoyed everything I've made from them. No lie. I've never made a SSS recipe that didn't turn out well.
Their newest offering, Copycat Cooking, just might be their best. It contains over 100 recipes for popular dishes from restaurants like Cafe Rio, The Cheesecake Factory, Panera, and Applebee's (even Disneyland) that you can make at home, including many of my personal favorites. With only a couple exceptions, the recipes require fewer than ten ingredients and don't take a whole lot of time to prepare. With bright, mouth-watering photos and clear, easy instructions, Copycat Cooking makes it easy to enjoy the restaurant food you love without having to leave your house.
I don't like to review a cookbook without trying a recipe or two. In this case, I couldn't resist—I picked three! Actually, my kids chose them since my oldest daughter's favorite appetizer is Panda Express's cream cheese rangoons, my son's #1 fast food meal is orange chicken (also from Panda's) and my youngest can't get enough of the lava cake at Chili's. Thus, our dinner/dessert menu was born. Because my 9-year-old just could not wait to bake, we worked on dessert first. Although the prep was a little messy (probably because said 9yo wanted as little supervision as possible), our lava cakes turned out divine. My husband said they tasted just like the Chili's version. I actually think they're better since they're smaller and not quite as rich. Next, came the rangoons. My 16-year-old Panda's lover made these herself. Although the wrapping and frying was a little time-consuming, her rangoons turned out really well. Again, we thought the copycat recipe better than the original since ours tasted more flavorful. The orange chicken also took more time than I thought it would, but it came out well. All of us thought Panda's was better, but we agreed that the SSS version was a fine substitute. Like I said, I've never had a Six Sisters' Stuff recipe not turn out and these were no exception—even with kid cooks. There are a bunch more scrumptious-looking dishes in Coycat Cooking I can't wait to try.
I'm not going to lie, most (perhaps all) of the recipes in Copycat Cooking are available for free on the Six Sisters' Stuff website. However, this is a great cookbook to have in your kitchen or to give away as a gift (believe it or not, Christmas is coming up fast). It's sturdy, fun to look through, and convenient to have on hand. At around $20 (it's only $15.50 on Amazon right now), it's totally worth the buy. I love it already!
(Readalikes: Other Six Sisters' Stuff cookbooks, including Celebrate Every Season; Dinner Made Easy; A Year with Six Sisters' Stuff; Sweets & Treats; etc.)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Copycat Cooking from the generous folks at Shadow Mountain in exchange for an honest review as part of the book's blog tour. Thank you!
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Engaging, Readable LDS Church History Book Free for All
7:05 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
In 1820, a time when religious fervor was sweeping the country, a young farm boy began to wonder. All the churches in his small New York town claimed to be God's true church, but how could that be? If they all preached different doctrine, which one was correct? Directed by a promise in the Bible (see James 1:5), 14-year-old Joseph Smith knelt in a grove of trees and asked his Heavenly Father to help him know which church to join. The answer changed Joseph's life.
Young Joseph saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in a vision. He was instructed by them to join none of the churches. Instead, he was commanded to translate an ancient record called The Book of Mormon and organize a church based on its teachings, plus the revelations Joseph would continue to receive from God and Jesus. As overwhelmed and inadequate as this modern-day prophet must have felt, Joseph nonetheless did as he was bid, knowing the Lord would provide a way for Joseph to accomplish everything that had been asked of him. Despite constant persecution that ranged from name calling to libel to false imprisonment to physical violence and even to his eventual murder, Joseph never wavered in his faith. To the end of his life, he did everything the Lord asked of him, even sealing his testimony with his own blood.
Many people across the world were drawn to the infant church, receiving burning testimonies of the Gospel. Making great personal sacrifices to gather and worship together, the early Saints persevered—through persecution, in-fighting among church leaders, financial crises, forced evacuations, mob violence, controversial revelations, doubt, a tribulation-laden trek to Utah, and much more—to prove their faith and willingness to let God direct their paths. From those very humble beginnings grew a global church that today has more than 16 million members spread over dozens of different countries. Like their forebears, modern Church members strive to walk in faith and righteousness, despite continuing persecution and everyday trials.
Whatever your opinion of Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, theirs is an incredible story. Saints: The Standard of Truth is the first installment in a planned four-volume series about the Church's rich, intriguing history. Purposely written in an easy-to-read narrative style, the series is geared toward readers of all ages, all backgrounds, and all degrees of familiarity with Church history/doctrine. Despite its simple style, the book has been painstakingly researched to ensure accuracy. As evidenced in this first installment, the series explores its subject with a forthright and refreshing honesty that has been somewhat lacking in previous histories. In fact, The Standard of Truth discusses some of Mormonism's most troubling historical issues—polygamy, pride and power-mongering among Church leaders, Joseph Smith's treasure-hunting, criticism of the prophet, spiritual crises, etc. Sharing personal, intimate stories of many of the Church's early leaders and followers, the book makes it clear that although the Saints were faithful people doing their best to obey God's will, they were filled with the same human frailties and weaknesses as are we all.
Although the paperback version of The Standard of Truth weighs in at a hefty 586 pages, it's actually a fast, easy read. It moves quickly and offers plenty of compelling stories, some of which will be very familiar to members of the Church, others of which will not (even to "lifers" like myself). The book is available for free online (read it here or download it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Deseret Book, etc.). The print version is chunky and a bit unwieldly, but it can be purchased for less than $8 at store.lds.org, BYU Bookstore, Deseret Book, and other retailers. Whether you're a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or not, now is the perfect time to learn more about its history. You won't be disappointed in this very readable and informative volume.
For additional stories and information from Church history, check out https://history.lds.org/saints as well as the Saints podcast, which you can find here:
For additional stories and information from Church history, check out https://history.lds.org/saints as well as the Saints podcast, which you can find here:
Mormon Channel - https://www.mormonchannel.org/ listen/series/saints
(Readalikes: The Church has published other histories in the past, but I haven't read any of them.)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language and violence (including mention of rape)
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished paperback copy of Saints: The Standard of Truth from the generous folks at The Church Historian's Press. Thank you!
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