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Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Bookish Meme Turns the Big 1-O
12:27 PM
With all the chaos going on in the world right now, it's probably not too surprising that I had a nightmare last night. What's funny is that with all of the anxieties, fears, and worries my dreaming brain could have focused on, it chose to entertain me with a bookish nightmare. I know it's because I had planned to retrieve my on-hold books from curbside pick-up this morning and I was worried about making it there within the library's pick-up hours (don't judge—quarantine has made me so lazy that 8 a.m. now seems like the crack of dawn). At any rate, I dreamt that I was doing my darndest to get to the library on time, but obstacles kept getting thrown in my path—an injured child that needed help, downed trees, deep mud, the Burger King breakfast my husband insisted on having, etc. By the time my dream self finally made it to the library, it was 1:00 in the afternoon! No matter how much I begged the librarians to just let me get my books, they refused. In the dream, I was frustrated and upset (naturally). When I woke up (in plenty of time to get to the library, thank you very much), I got a good chuckle out of my terrifying nightmare. Although this morning's library pick-up line was the longest one I've ever seen, I didn't mind waiting. It made me happy to think so many people (myself included) would soon be enjoying their new library books. I picked up the following (most of which I talked about here):
Now that I can sleep easy again, let's get to the actual point of this post—it's Top Ten Tuesday! It's a fun one because today marks TTT's 10th year of existence. I started participating in this weekly meme on February 26, 2013, with this post about auto-buy authors. Tuning in for TTT has been a joy for me over the years, so much so that I decided to use today's anniversary freebie topic to discuss the Top Ten Reasons I Love Top Ten Tuesday. Before we get to that, though, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give Jana—our fabulous TTT host—lots of love. Happy Birthday, TTT!
Top Ten Reasons I Love Top Ten Tuesday (in no particular order):
1. It's a great way to discover new blogs to love.
2. It encourages me to drop in on blogs I might forget about or neglect otherwise.
3. It helps me find new books for the ole TBR mountain chain.
4. It's a fun way to compare and contrast my reading/bookish habits with those of other book bloggers.
5. Even if I don't love every TTT topic, they give me fresh ideas for posts.
6. It reminds me of how diverse the book blogosphere is, especially when it comes to genres read, writing style, etc.
7. I just can't get enough of bookish lists!
8. It's a fun way to get to know other book bloggers and to interact with each other in a positive, supportive way.
9. It gives me a warm, fuzzy sense of belonging. TTT people are my people!
10. TTT is a good ole time. I look forward to it every week.
So, there you go, ten reasons I love TTT. What do you adore about it? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will return the favor on yours.
Happy TTT!
Monday, June 22, 2020
And ... That's a Big Ole Meh From Me
8:15 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Ever since her mother's marriage and the subsequent birth of her baby brothers, Hazel Box has been feeling like the odd woman out. With all of her emotions boiling inside her, she needs to do something before she erupts. When she gets a surprise message on social media from Eve Warrington, a sophisticated teen who claims to be Hazel's half-sister, it feels like perfect timing. Even better, Eve is planning to spend two weeks in Maine with their father and wants Hazel to come along. The getaway is just the something Hazel has been waiting for—not only will she get a break from her family, but she'll have the chance to get to know her father and her half-sister at the same time. What could possibly go wrong?
I'm a fan of novels about family members finding each other, so I jumped at the chance to read That Summer in Maine by Brianna Wolfson. It sounded like a cute, upbeat sister story that would be both entertaining and poignant. Turns out, less than half of the novel focuses on Hazel and Eve. The first part of the story concerns the girls' mothers and how they both fall in love with the same man, get pregnant, and learn how to live with the consequences. Since the women's stories are nothing unique or all that interesting, the focus on them makes the first part of the book drag on and on. The action picks up when the camera's eye turns back on the girls. Although their half of the novel is more engaging, it's still not super compelling. The plot flip-flops here, there, and everywhere without going much of anywhere. It doesn't help that the characters are irritating—the mothers are needy, the girls are brats, and the dad is pretty darn clueless—and many of their decisions make no sense at all. Wolfson's tell-not-show prose just makes everything worse. For all these reasons, I put That Summer in Maine down several times. In the end, though, I decided to stick it out. Why? I really don't know because this novel drove me crazy! I like its premise, its tranquil cover, and its out-of-the-way setting. Other than that? Meh.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a little of Far From the Tree by Robin Benway)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder invectives), depictions of underage drinking, and mild sexual content/innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of That Summer in Maine from the generous folks at Harlequin in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Hawaiian World War II Novel Offers Rich, Atmospheric Setting and Intriguing (Enough) Tale
10:57 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When Lana Hitchcock learns her estranged father is dying, she rushes from Oahu to her hometown of Hilo on the Big Island. Too late to make amends, she's mourning her loss at her childhood home when Pearl Harbor is attacked. Lana is stunned by the news; even more shocking is her dad's apparent prediction of the war reaching Hawaii's shores. According to a note he left her, Lana's father built a safe house up in the mountains near an active volcano. When the police begin rounding up "suspicious" persons for questioning, Lana knows she must act to save her dad's beloved neighbors. Into her car, she piles two German girls whose parents have been detained, an elderly Japanese man, his adopted teenage son, the girls' oversized dog, two nene geese, and all the food she can stack in among them. With her heart banging in her chest, she flees to the secret house where she will hide her wards for the duration.
Numerous surprises await the group in Volcano, including an unfinished house with a secret room, wild horses roaming the property, a nearby military camp turned into internment housing, and the handsome soldier whose attentions to Lana are dangerous for them all. Can Lana keep the people in her care safe in spite of dwindling rations and soldiers crawling all over Volcano? Will they be killed outright by Japanese soldiers? Or will the lot of them be imprisoned by their own countrymen? With danger around every corner, will Lana lose everything that's important to her?
I've read tons of World War II novels, but very few that focus on life in Hawaii after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sara Ackerman, who was born and raised in the islands, has written several, including her newest, Red Sky Over Hawaii. There's a lot to love about this book, from its rich, atmospheric setting, to its dip into fascinating Hawaiian folklore, to its light sprinkling of magical realism. The fact that it's a clean read filled with likable characters is also a plus. However, although Ackerman's story people are mostly good and honorable, they're not super rounded or fleshed-out. I didn't feel like I really knew Lana or her leading man, which made it difficult to detect any chemistry between the two. Similarly, the book's plot is rather lackadaisical. Since Lana and company are basically hiding out, hoping not to get caught, not a lot happens to them. There is never a point in their tale when the reader really has to worry about their well-being, which makes their story a little dull. Despite these irritants, overall I enjoyed Red Sky Over Hawaii. I didn't love the book like I wanted to, but I did like it.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman and Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and mild innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of Red Sky Over Hawaii from the generous folks at Harlequin in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
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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