There are so many things to love about today.  Not only is it a few days before my favorite holiday, but it's also my birthday (which I share with my dad), and Top Ten Tuesday.  Talk about a delightful trifecta!  My dad and I live in different states, so unfortunately, we don't get to celebrate our special day together very often. The Norman Rockwell-ish picture above is from a family party in 2013.  It's not a great shot of either of us, but I think it shows how much we love each other :)  I hope you are feeling lots of love this season as well, even if the holidays look a little different this year.  Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

Today's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl) has a Christmas theme (naturally).  It's all about the treasures we're hoping to find under the tree this year.  Honestly, I live a very charmed and blessed life, so I already have everything I could possibly want and need.  Having all my babies happy, healthy, and home for Christmas is all the gift I need in this crazy year.  Still, if Santa really, REALLY wanted to spoil me, he could check this list twice:   

Top Ten Bookish Things I Hope Santa Brings 

Every child needs a fierce protector.  Ten-year-old Della has her older sister, Suki.  It was Suki who cared for her while their mother cooked meth; Suki who watched out for her when their mom went to prison, leaving the girls in the care of her abusive boyfriend; Suki who got the evidence that convicted him for molesting Della; and Suki who still shields her even though the sisters are finally safe with Francine, their forthright but loving foster mother.  It's only now that Della is beginning to realize that while she's always had Suki as her older, wiser guard, Suki's never really had anyone to fulfill that role.  And she's needed a protector.  Desperately.  When Suki tries to take her own life, Della discovers just how broken her she-wolf sister really is.  Can Della find a way to nurture her sister the way Suki has always done for Della?  Will the two ever find the healing they so need and deserve?

As you can no doubt tell, Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is a raw, gut punch of a novel.  While it's not graphic, it's still honest and hard-hitting.  The thing that saves it from being unrelentingly grim is our heroine, Della.  She's tough, irrepressible, and hilarious.  Her voice is absolutely pitch-perfect.  For all these reasons, it's impossible not to root for her and Suki.  While Fighting Words is about so many things—sexual abuse, consent, bravery, resilience, etc.—it's really about two sisters and their unbreakable bond.  Despite its touch subject matter, I loved this beautiful, empowering novel.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a bit of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

After witnessing the shooting that killed her mom and left her dad with a hole in his leg, Nora's life has changed irrevocably.  Suffering from acute PTSD, her dad has become obsessed with safety, barely letting his only child out of his sight.  On the first anniversary of the shooting, Nora and her dad decide to spend the difficult day doing what they love best—hiking and rock climbing in their beloved Sonoran Desert.  When a flash flood sweeps in out of nowhere, however, what started out as a typical excursion soon turns into a desperate fight for survival.  Separated from her dad in the chaos, Nora is on her own to battle the desert's unrelenting heat, deadly wildlife, and barren landscape.  With little food and water, she has to find her dad and get them both to safety before it's too late.  They survived one tragedy, will either of them make it through this one?

As a Sonoran Desert dweller myself, I'm very well aware of the dangers posed by our unique climate and landscape.  Our local news is always full of warnings about excessive heat, staying hydrated, hiking alone, flash flooding, etc.  Many people have been hurt, even killed, by these dangers.  In fact, Dusti Bowling—who lives here in Arizona—wrote The Canyon's Edge partially in response to the tragic 2017 deaths of nine family members who were caught in a flash flood outside of nearby Payson.  These very real stories make Bowling's fictional one feel all the more harrowing and real.  The Canyon's Edge is a tense, exciting page-turner that's so compelling it's impossible to put down.  It's written in verse, using text art to create a story that is as visually interesting as it is engrossing.  I raced through the book in one sitting because it truly is that immersive and unputdownable.  The book teaches some invaluable lessons about outdoor survival while also examining intriguing themes like grief, resilience, the struggle to move on after tragedy, and rebirth.  It's an impactful novel that should appeal to even reluctant readers.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other survival novels like Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis, When We Were Lost by Kevin Wignall, etc.)

Amelia "Millie" Ashford is stoked when she wins a fabulous prize—along with five other girls, she gets to spend the night in the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kansas.  The 11-year-old Rubik's Cube champion has no friends, an absent mother (who's a pilot, like Earhart), and a fascination with the famous aviatrix.  She needs this diverting opportunity to socialize, immerse herself in history, and maybe learn enough about Earhart—her mom's idol—to bring her own missing pilot home.  

When a scavenger hunt is announced, giving Millie and the other girls a chance to take a close-up look at artifacts throughout the museum, Millie's excited.  She's even more thrilled when she comes upon a roped-off room where Earhart's flight goggles are being stored before being transferred to a Washington, D.C., museum.  When the priceless goggles go missing, however, Millie's as shocked as everyone else.  Fingers start pointing in her direction, reminding Millie that she's surrounded by strangers—one of whom is a thief!  It's up to her and the other girls to find out who's hiding the precious artifact.  As a winter storm rages outside and tension mounts inside, the stakes get higher and higher.  How far will the robber go to smuggle the goggles out of the museum?  Can six middle-schoolers (one of whom is the likely kleptomaniac) find the culprit in time?  Or will an irreplaceable piece of history be smuggled out right under their noses?  With no way to call for outside help, it's up to the Amelia Six to solve the mystery.

I love me a good, old-fashioned locked-room mystery.  The Amelia Six by Kristin L. Gray is just that, complete with the requisite stormy weather, mysterious house, and quirky characters.  Filled with Amelia Earhart trivia, a girl-power vibe, and plenty of surprises, it's a fun, entertaining read.  Realistic?  Not so much.  And yes, the girls talk like senior citizens (no 11-year-old says "May I ..." let alone "Oh,crumb") and indeed, some of them are fairly indistinguishable from the others.  Overall, though, the book stars an engaging detective team and features an engrossing tale.  Not only did I learn a lot about Earhart from this enjoyable romp, but I also found it to be a delightful read that kept me turning pages with a smile on my face.  

(Readalikes:  I can't think of anything.  You?)