A grouch grumbling, a waitress waiting, a lost child - that's how you begin, dear Reader.
By the end it is all turned upside down and inside out, a reaA grouch grumbling, a waitress waiting, a lost child - that's how you begin, dear Reader.
By the end it is all turned upside down and inside out, a read that kept me tight to the page, even though I had pretty much figured out how it would go . . . .yet it was a story swell-built, keeping me on the ride all the way to the very end. I needed to know and watched how the three stories braided together intersected, wound and overlaid each other. . .and they did.
Kudos to Ann Hood for the poetry, for the literature, for the food, for the weather, for the travel, and for the reconciliation. She shows us that as the road courses onward our paths all part with new destinations. . .bon voyage dear Nick, Jenny and the lost little one. . .so often it is proved that the slightest degree of change in direction can be of more significance than having taken an entirely different road or stayed for thousands of days on the selfsame track.
*A sincere thank you to Ann Hood, RB Media, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheStolenChild #NetGalley...more
This is a difficult read - but one reminding you light dispels darkness. . . .but it can take so long to get that light sometimes.
Venissieux, France. This is a difficult read - but one reminding you light dispels darkness. . . .but it can take so long to get that light sometimes.
Venissieux, France. . .can you imagine knowing you were bound for certain death, you are holding your children close when you are presented with an opportunity for your child to live. to LIVE. All you have to do is sign the paper that pronounces them without parents, without a past. Then you must turn your back and head toward your own dark future, without a sure promise, with only a sliver of possibility. It was a difficult read. Had to put the book down often.
Then there is that monster, Klaus Barbie. The second storyline in this book has a student who is working through his atrocities, and begins uncovering the stories of those children of brave parents who did indeed walk into oblivion on the hope of their children's tomorrows. Every reveal had two sides - someone's escape and KB horrors.
I learned about sacrifices I'd never been taught, braveness that I can barely imagine, and wonder at the magnificence that can spring up at the intersections of crisis.
*A sincere thank you to Mario Escobar, HarperCollins Focus, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*...more
Delectable. Roadtrippable. A fun read heading to and from the beach.
Thea had a traumatic event in her childhood, and the outcome is that she and her bDelectable. Roadtrippable. A fun read heading to and from the beach.
Thea had a traumatic event in her childhood, and the outcome is that she and her brother end out with Grammie for the rest of their growing up days. Their lives progress in as normal a fashion as possible, but Thea has a special gift and discovers Grammie is the one that passed it down to her.
Not going to move any barriers for you, Reader Dear - just know if you like mind tunnel/invasion stories - you'll be pleased with this offering by the grand Ms. Roberts.
*A sincere thank you to Nora Roberts, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #MindGames #NetGalley...more
Jeff Shaara's The Old Lion is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Well-told and well-researched, the author is clearly a fan of the Old Lion, as am I after hJeff Shaara's The Old Lion is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Well-told and well-researched, the author is clearly a fan of the Old Lion, as am I after having spent the time reading about our Teddy Roosevelt.
While I disagree with some of his life habits and passions (slaughter of game animals), prejudice earlier in his youth, they are far outweighed by his ability to change his mind as his life moved forward. That's not nothing. In fact it's valuable and crucial in the critical thinking of our politicians. This book educated me about all the different roles TR had engaged in serving our country, his family and the world at large.
Highly recommended.
*A sincere thank you to Jeff Shaara, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*...more
I had an Olivetti typewriter once. Interestingly enough (for me at least), I was 12 at that time - the same age as Ernest and Beatrice. It had its ownI had an Olivetti typewriter once. Interestingly enough (for me at least), I was 12 at that time - the same age as Ernest and Beatrice. It had its own wheeled stand in my bedroom. The first reports I ever wrote were on my Olivetti. My first report ever in this world was tapped out on Olive (I name everything) about eels. You can surely understand why I felt like I was being contacted from a bestie from my long-ago childhood when this remarkable book popped onto my list. I was only momentarily dismayed when I came to understand that Olivetti in the book was not a female. Not an Olive. He was a Mr. Olivetti. (More like an older Dad, or younger Grandfather, or Bachelor Uncle.)
Olivetti is narrated by Himself - a tangible with an agenda. In our imaginary world we are constantly personifying inanimate objects, animals, planets, naturally occurring life processes. . .well this clever author has turned it around. Readers get to see family life through the keys and keystrokes, ink on paper, and patience with the process of typewriter operations. One's WPM rate is once again relevant as a measure of skill and dedication.
As the situations that needed resolution began to occur, the responses of the Brindle family members - especially Earnest Ernest, and his feisty friend Beatrice - and those of Olivetti and his buddies (Remi), kept me paying close attention. Each unfolding chapter thrilled the inner child I was so long ago (she's still present), and the elder child I am now just sat back and enjoyed (rather beside myself, so to speak) the entire read.
I so look forward to whatever Allie Millington next presents her readership!
*A sincere thank you to Allie Millington, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, RB Media, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #Olivetti #NetGalley...more
Willa has been obediently reacting to her family members all her life. . .doing the right thing at the right time, aligning her loyalties and associatWilla has been obediently reacting to her family members all her life. . .doing the right thing at the right time, aligning her loyalties and associations accordingly. When team members are changed out, she adjusts to fit the new team profile. But one day, someone asks for Willa's help. . .
Finally, Anne gets to enjoy the consequences of making a decision that is wholly independent of her "team."
This is Ann Napolitano's debut, republished, and I'm glad that it was.
A complex tracing of 3-generations of women and their men, the family lines arisThis is Ann Napolitano's debut, republished, and I'm glad that it was.
A complex tracing of 3-generations of women and their men, the family lines arising out of Irish tradition and storytelling. That's a family I'm familiar with! Too much, too little, hiding, oversharing, members who dominate and are aggressive (but wouldn't agree they are), members who submit and are passive (but would admit to most anything), yet who all have a tie that binds them. Wouldn't all of them call it love - it is really - but to admit that gives away too much. . .?power?
Ah. Family dynamics. Layer on layer, and the bright shiny bits are accentuated at those life markers - birth, death, marriage, and all the crises that arise therein. I enjoy the author's writing about these ordinary and extraordinary happenings in all our lives.
Bonus: Author's Note at the end of the republished edition gives readers an interesting history of her writerly beginnings and adopted later adjustments to the voiced (and unvoiced) opinions of others reading her works.
Will continue to seek out her works I haven't yet read.
*A sincere thank you to Ann Napolitano, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* 52:18...more
I discovered Katherine Paterson when I started reading to my grandchildren. I missed her books for myself, and for my own kiddos. . . and that I regreI discovered Katherine Paterson when I started reading to my grandchildren. I missed her books for myself, and for my own kiddos. . . and that I regret. Although my own kiddos said they had found Katherine P all on their own because they'd all five read Bridge to Terabithia, and later plunked me down on a movie night to watch the movie version of her tale. To find and read all her books is an item on my bucket list. The grandkids and I started with Jacob Have I Loved.
It was an instant reach for an opportunity to read Stories of My Life when it came across my shelves. . . and Katherine's life has clearly been at the back of some of the most inspiring, and funny, and heartfelt scenes in her writings. Her tribe shows up all the time. Now that I have her actual backstory, my bucket list fulfillment will be doubly satisfying.
If you've loved her books, you'll love her life stories. Find it and settle in for a lovely read. You'll travel far and near, climb family trees up and down, and out to some branches, hop to visit friends and a particular celebrity (who was the last to kiss Robert E. Lee!), go to school, church and on dates with her, watch how marriage negotiations fare, see her writing chops grow and blossom, meet beloved pets and see her humble receipt of many well-earned awards. Above all, you'll see love of her own family and the human family shining through her words, lighting up her books.
If you've never read Katherine Paterson's works (and a few are authored with her husband John, and others), even if you don't have kidlets around, read this first, and then look at her impressive booklist at the end; choose one after reading this. . .especially if you have a fondness to dip into YA or middle-grader genres. You'll feel her engaging curiosity, her impetuous spirit through and through.
*A sincere thank you to Katherine Paterson, Westminster John Knox Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #StoriesofMyLife #NetGalley...more
Here's a perfect beach read! Especially if you are at a haunted resort. . .a Hotel California (East Coast style)! Nora Roberts is beckoning with this Here's a perfect beach read! Especially if you are at a haunted resort. . .a Hotel California (East Coast style)! Nora Roberts is beckoning with this rompy read, complete with ghosts, 7 brides each with a tragedy, and one very mad, cursing witch. On the coast, in a mansion, with $$ to spare and a bunch of couples coupling up. Oh, and some cute canines.
Who can resist? Not me, surprisingly. Have been an anti-romancer, but maybe Ms. Roberts has turned my heart. I know I'm very eager for the next book in the series, promised for November 2024. I'll be the blue-faced woman waiting with bated breath. . . .
*A sincere thank you to Nora Roberts, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #Inheritance #NetGalley 52:44...more
During the 70's Vietnam was in the news. . .in our home and all over America. We saw and heard footage terrible and awful about people on the other siDuring the 70's Vietnam was in the news. . .in our home and all over America. We saw and heard footage terrible and awful about people on the other side of the world in a war our friends and family members were going off to fight for reasons we were beginning to see were hopeless. As the years marched on and we were changing course, we began to hear about the Boat People. . .desperately trying to find another place to live - anywhere else. And Anywhere Else wasn't showing up. . .
Vinh Chung was one of eight children, with parents and some other extended family members who had sacrificed all to climb on questionable vessels tossed into an indifferent ocean. Where the Wind Leads: A Refugee Family's Miraculous Story of Loss, Rescue and Redemption unfurls his family's story: what the family's situation was before the war, after an end of it was unpacked to be even more life-threatening to his people, and how they decided as a group that they had this one wet, dangerous option.
The tale is breathtaking - spread thickly with terrifying circumstances, next to impossible logistics, rapacious and murderous dangers in the real form of pirates who had even less to lose than they did, and covered over with the incredible bravery of each - right down to quiet babies, life-giving men, women and children.
When purchase on a friendly shore is finally obtained, the trials begin with an entirely new flavor of difficult - starting with new languages needed for basic resource procurement. The author, thankfully, provides all of "the rest of the story" for readers who at this point are very invested in these real, live people - not characters of fiction.
And to that end, this was an eyes (ebook) and ears (audio) experience for me - a BuddyRead with Carla (thank you, dear girl!), and we were rewarded with many, many photographs of these courageous people, who are now eagerly engaged in many great causes for the good of others and their own families.
It's a brave soul to improve on a classic like Pride and Prejudice. . .but kudos to those who sally forth. I was interested in learning something new It's a brave soul to improve on a classic like Pride and Prejudice. . .but kudos to those who sally forth. I was interested in learning something new about Mr. Darcy as this landed on my TBR shelf.
It was lovely to walk down the path with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and that pause on the stair. . . classic. Swoon-worthy. All the easter eggs and landmarks I've loved through the years were there. But (and here's the Big But. . .) there were no new nuggets I wanted to keep forever and put in my P&P box. . .a few concerns were raised but they were easily dismissed. If I'm reading a work based on someone else's story I want to learn something new about that tale, or those characters, or get pushed over into suspension of disbelief land (this took me no where near that land: someone turn him into a astronaut, or a vampire maybe).
This was entertainment of a gentler sort - a deeper look into Darcy - who for such a tightly wound soul in JA's world, in this world keeps a confessional diary. That was a surprise, and set me off to some future scene where the diaries are discovered by children? published in late life by his widow Elizabeth? Or found by maid's by-blow in 20 years and inherits all? My mind wandered, just a little.
*A sincere thank you to Alice McVeigh, Warleigh Hall Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #DarcyAPrideandPrejudiceVariation #NetGalley...more
Ukraine 1944. . .Montana 1951. A story of everything lost, but everything gained. With incalculable sacrifice, struggle and mind-bending exceptions toUkraine 1944. . .Montana 1951. A story of everything lost, but everything gained. With incalculable sacrifice, struggle and mind-bending exceptions to every rule Emil and Adeline Martel had been taught, accepted and applied in what was needed to live an honest and faithful life. It wasn't heaven that was sought. It was that last green valley, encircled by snow-capped mountains that would hold their family safely - that last destination: home. Finally. Then the calendar turns 1944 and Hitler brings them the years that would now test every truth they had ever held dear.
The Martels were ethnic Germans, from families who'd been German in German territories for centuries. As their homeland was invaded by Nazis who were carefully reshaping, pruning local and national politics by moving populations (isolating, re-establishing, disappearing), the Martels and their extended family and friends were caught in the crosshairs. Moved away from their homeland for a decade or so to "establish" a farming community, war moved in. Here the book opens with the first of many of the forced migrations of this family and its parts at the hands of cruel military leaders who were likewise living a threatened existence by Hitler's whims and inner circle.
I must admit it was a difficult read - there came a point when all seemed helpless, that I gave myself permission to check the end to ensure at least someone made it through. . .otherwise I didn't think I could continue. I was reassured and I'm glad I persevered. The end notes were well worth the read, too, explaining authorial purpose, motivations and process.
A tale about strength: one doesn't know it's there until it's needed. A tale about faith and how it is carried in the heart (believed or unbelieved), and the key that opens all. A tale about love and endurance and fear-facing resilience.
A delightful world is built for readers as Phoebe Gray falls out of this one and into one with an endearing goblin who needs her help. She has no ideaA delightful world is built for readers as Phoebe Gray falls out of this one and into one with an endearing goblin who needs her help. She has no idea how she can do that, until he helps her find her magic, and that she is possessed of a very specific skillset. She traverses with him and others (a mother griffin in distress, for instance) and learns more about herself than she was ever going to learn in her West Virginia home town!
A great read for middle-graders and anyone else who needs to fall out of this world and into another one from time to time. A true delight!
*A sincere thank you to Cole Poindexter, The Wild Rose Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #TheGriffinsEgg #NetGalley...more
I started in with Grace, and stayed to the very end, but must admit I was more sympathetic with Lotte and Ben than Grace. I should have been more in hI started in with Grace, and stayed to the very end, but must admit I was more sympathetic with Lotte and Ben than Grace. I should have been more in her corner than I was, but the way the writing was divided and unconnected felt like a puzzle I wasn't invested in enough to build my relationship with Grace.
About halfway through when revelations of what pieces go with who, that's when I started enjoying the tale, but still my sympathies were stronger for Ben and Lotte, right to the very end. The ending was satisfying, and if there was a sequel, I'd be on board. . . .but would want a stronger connection with the story's main point / protagonist through the narrative flow. So, 3 stars from this girl.
Looking forward to more from Ms. Littlewood.
*A sincere thank you to Fran Littlewood, Henry Holt & Company, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* ...more
Trust the Bluer Skies is part journal, part child's memory book, part poetry, and is an earnest log of intentional living. It is intimate, endearing, Trust the Bluer Skies is part journal, part child's memory book, part poetry, and is an earnest log of intentional living. It is intimate, endearing, profound and in many places, absolutely arresting.
As one begins to read, it feels a little itchy, a little too personal. It is the record of a family who has traveled from their residence in Western Canada to the homeplace in one of their family tree roots (Matos is the family name in this line) - in Portugal. It is clear that this is, if not an annual event, regular enough to sustain relationships with family and community members throughout the decades of the author's life. On this particular trip paulo brings his wife, his 4-year old son Koah, and their newest edition, Amari, a baby sister.
The writing is delicious and wide-ranging, and is always, always written to the son who is most often in his company. paulo is showing Koah around where they meet family - grandfather (who is not long for the world - a mighty contrast to the bursting offspring paulo brings to visit) and grandmother, uncles, cousins, neighbors. They work on language acquisition, songs, poems, stories, and recipes are carefully shared and documented. There are activities alone together - paulo and Koah, and those with other group mixes, mother and sister, grandparents and others. They stroll and explore the cemetery to discuss life and death, travel to celebrate tasty treats (but the best are the homemade ones), beautiful views and walkways. Experiences while carnival-ing, shopping, harvesting, cooking are shared.
For a book about one trip over a season, the intentional documenting, with its lyrical movement enthralled me. I imagined Koah picking this up at 10 yrs old, or 17, or 27, or 67. . .what an absolute gift to him this will be, right down to what he was eating and drinking, and how he got chicken pox (as did Amari), but recovered. . all captured in these pages. A gift.
The author gently presents the problems of long extended family visits - they show the contrasts in family life. How one family becomes very different over time and the various members as they start and stretch their own families and lives outside the original (and who is to say which is the original?!) "footprint," developing and adopting parenting methods far afield from that first model. Even worship and faith traditions change, some chose other nations, cultures and languages. All of these are shown in this tender book - yet tolerating the differences and suffering them to exist happens precisely so they can be together again for this too short while.
It was the end that wrenched my heart with the truths paulo shares with his four-year old - who will not understand fully for many years - that each visit is a new one, building new experiences with the loved ones who've remained, missing the ones who have not. The visit next time will not be the same - because we (the visitors) are not the same. That's the truth for all of us (Koah, visitors and readers), and the beauty of this book. Here is one father spreading with words his love, honor and respect for this little boy he knows will outgrow him faster than he will be able to bear, as he did in his turn to those who had nurtured him. But he leaves for his children, and all of us, his passion and reverence for daily living, and the value of gathering - arriving - sharing time together - and departing: to do it all over again, and again. What we can take from these efforts are so well illustrated in Trust the Bluer Skies, I'm grateful to have read it.
All the stars. Every one.
*A sincere thank you to paulo da costa, University of Regina Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #TrusttheBluerSkies #NetGalley Pub Date: 02 Mar 2024...more
How to even begin? This saga shows the power of families and how every member's action / reaction / expansive reach or crippling implosion affects eveHow to even begin? This saga shows the power of families and how every member's action / reaction / expansive reach or crippling implosion affects every member, from infant to oldster, from child to parent.
The Padavano family is the primary focus, with other supporting relations, friends and community members. At the heart of the Padavanos are four daughters, who are alike, but so not alike. . .parents are problematic (but beloved), the girls' youthful antics further describe their leanings, and as they age up, partners appear, careers commence (or don't), adjust and change. Their minds are closed, opened and changed, and oh! the babies. . .shall we talk about the babies? All are elements that bring this heart-wringer of a story to its peak and the author to the tenderest truths of her message. On to only a FEW of my take-aways:
Take-away #1 - Question characters ask themselves haunts me and will linger long: Have I ever "done the brave thing?"
Take-away #2 - Pictures of family on walls, photographs in drawers, albums, on pianos or dressers of family members never met. . .cousins, sisters of brothers of grandfathers and their children. . .we know their histories, their stories, everyone grows up and away and may never actually meet, in spite of knowing all their stories told around family tables. But one day a child of a child grows up and finds their face on a wall in a family portrait. . .an KNOWS they are part of something bigger. . .
Take-away #3 - Mentions and quotes from books and authors (Whitman, Alcott, J Barrie), the daughters choosing in any particular situation which of the four March daughters they are . . .
Almost Last Take-away #4 - character exchanges like this one - Mother Julia texts to Daughter Alice: Can you tell me what it means in literature when a person loses their shadow? I feel like I remember Peter Pan stealing Wendy's shadow?
Brilliantly placed Last Take-away #5 - Daughter's answer given to Mother, many pages later, as life-changing revelations unfurl, an airline flight adds physical distance to the psychological stretch between them: A shadow represents either the blocking out of light or the other half of a person. When a character loses their shadow, they've lost a part of themselves and have to search to get it back.
From me go all the heart-hitting stars for this one. (My guess is that if you have a family that has an element of combustibility and flies in all directions, YET still fiercely loves (or tries to) (think all those family members trapped in their corners with those damned paint brushes), then you, like me, will have some hits to your Readerly Core as you read this: Ann Napolitano's Hello Beautiful.
*A sincere thank you to Ann Napolitano, Random House Publishing Group, The Dial Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #HelloBeautiful #NetGalley AND NOTE to Whoever Did the Cover Artwork: Well done! Well done!...more
A compelling story about the stories our families tell us about our origins and histories. We are at their absolute mercies (or lack thereof)!
Ruthie A compelling story about the stories our families tell us about our origins and histories. We are at their absolute mercies (or lack thereof)!
Ruthie and Norma's story, and the parents of each are the POVs that switch back and forth in this read. It was well woven around how families deal with devastating crises, with the silky threads of culture, class and motivation. I especially loved the power of siblings in the support of their parents, each other and faith in final outcomes.
Highly recommended, all the stars, and am looking forward to more from this new author!
*A sincere thank you to Amanda Peters, RB Media, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #TheBerryPickers #NetGalley...more
The death of loved ones is not just a loss to Isla Sanchez, but the trigger for some other bad or undesirable circumstance. As loved ones die in her lThe death of loved ones is not just a loss to Isla Sanchez, but the trigger for some other bad or undesirable circumstance. As loved ones die in her life, she braces herself for whatever terrible thing is coming next. . .an expectation that makes one rather jumpy.
Since her father's death in her childhood in New Jersey, Isla has been trundled off to Puerto Rico where her mother's people live. She stays with relatives every summer while her mother returns to her job and "freedom" from being a mother. Resentment against her less than maternal mother grows within Isla as her bonds with her culture and extended family members grow, creating a rift that seems wider with every year. By age 18 she's sure that reach is unfixable. . .and then the "Storyteller" - her grandmother (abuela) dies.
This is where Isla's gift is received, and the story truly begins.
An enjoyable read, which fell into line with my own beliefs of stories that pass down from ancestors - memories that live in our dna and genes and shape who "we" were, are and will be, unless we do something about it. Intentionally.
*A sincere thank you to Ana Davila Cardinal, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*...more
Heartbreaking. . . exquisite. May be the best love in writing, for all its shown negative space. Our little Narrator is torn between what she has expeHeartbreaking. . . exquisite. May be the best love in writing, for all its shown negative space. Our little Narrator is torn between what she has experienced with the Kinsellas, and what she has experienced (and been taught that she deserves) with her birth family.
Keegan's writing brings all the senses to the fore. . .textures and temperatures felt, flavors and mouthfeel boosts tastes. Sounds forecast the wind and water, new awarenesses inventoried by bright open eyes, and the prophesying gifts of smell fill her pages. My heart breaks as our Narrator makes connections - she's a young girl, and hopeful. I am an old woman, and am fearful as I read, yet I read on.
Everyone is caught in the crosshairs.
The most precious truths reveal themselves when the circumstances that uncover them, show them for what they are - unattainable. . . .still. Yet I am an old woman, and I hope.
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