☕ Book Break ☕ | To Best the Boys by Mary Weber

To Best the Boys by Mary Weber

This light fantasy YA novel was a quick read for me. It caught my interest from the first line and kept it throughout the entire story. If I were to pick one book for a teen girl or a preteen girl who is a reluctant reader, this one might be it. The characters are, in my opinion, completely relatable to girls today. It felt a little less intense than Hunger Games or Maze Runner, but had similar elements. Positive messages about following your dreams and fighting for women’s rights to an education. Squeaky clean. 

It wasn’t what I was expecting from either the title or the cover. The main character enters a competition with boys, but there’s an equal focus on her home life and a dash of romance, which rounded the story out nicely for me. I was surprised at how much I liked this book. My feed was flooded with this book several months before it came out, but every time I checked to see if it was available it wasn’t out yet, so it got bumped to the bottom of my list. I’m glad I finally got to it. Recommended for all readers and reluctant readers. 

Positive Message

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Positive Female Role Model

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Entertaining 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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☕ Book Break ☕ |The Boy In The Black Suit by Jason Reynolds #popsugarreadingchallenge

#popsugarreadingchallenge

A Book With Clothing on The Cover

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

Sixteen year old Matt wears a black suit every day, not because his mother dies, but for his job at the funeral home. That and his habit of sitting in on services. He’s looking for a way to deal with his grief, and encounters a girl who might just know the answer. He sure won’t find help from his dad, who seems to be trying to drown his sorrow in a bottle.

My heart broke a little bit with every page. 

The voice and sense of place drew me into his world. I would not hesitate to recommend this for anyone from pre-teens to adults. 

A true page turner. Happy-sad. A bit of romance. Realistic, coming of age.  A perfect book for teens about coming to terms with grief of any sort.

Go get it. Recommended for all.

Characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All the Feels

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Relatable

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Storyline

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Engaging

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well Written

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#READWHATYOUOWN September Reading Challenge Pick~Rival by Lacy Yager

 

#READWHATYOUOWN September Reading Challenge

Here’s a super easy challenge hosted by @anovelfamily on Instagram this month. Dust those books off that you’ve been meaning to read. I am doing the two book challenge. You can follow @anovelfamily here.

If you are like me, you have stacks of unread books. I am choosing some from my kindle. I have more than I can count on there, and keep having to remove books to add new ones. It’s time I started reading!

I am planning to choose two books from the multitude languishing on my kindle.

I picked Rival by Lacey Yager based solely on the title. That cover, though! She looks fierce.

From the description on goodreads, it is about a teenage vampire chaser. I’m not sure how a vampire story got on my kindle, but I already put Rival on my IG story. I’m committed now. Let’s go.

Emily Santos is a fifth generation vampire fighter, a chaser. Brett Carson and Emily used to be friends. Both have secrets.

This is an entertaining, fast-paced novella. There were plenty of fight scenes, but they weren’t overly drawn out, so I found myself enjoying the story. It’s an action packed teen romance. Violence, swordplay, and blood, but no extreme gore. No profanity. A few kisses. A little humor. It is short, but didn’t feel rushed and the ending was satisfying. If you like action or martial arts with a little romance, this one might be for you.

I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Do you participate in reading challenges?

 

☕ Book Break ☕ | The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld is a psychological thriller/mystery that deals with child abduction and abuse.

Naomi has a gift for finding lost children.

Three years have passed since a little girl disappeared and her desperate parents hire Naomi to find their child. The story is told from alternating points of view, Naomi as she investigates the disappearance, and the little girl, Madison.

This book was recommended to me as a novel that was deeply affecting. It is that. It’s dark and gripping without going into details. We know that horrible things are happening, but the descriptions were not over the top in my opinion. It was hard to read at times due to the subject matter. 

The story examines the cycle of abuse, and that was my least favorite part of the book, although the exploration of the physiological aspects of how Madison survived had me quite enthralled. Very evocative and emotional. All the ends of Madison’s, story/mystery tied up, but we are left with our main character’s issues, including the thing that drives her to investigate missing children. It’s labeled as a book one, so I assume a series is in the works. Beautiful, seamless writing and a haunting story.

Thanks to Sharon Peterson for recommending this book.

May Book Roundup

Book Round Up!

 

I decided to make one single post about my favorite reads of the month, rather than separate ones, since I read a series and, to be honest, I ran out of time!

I may read a few more this month, but I wanted to post about May’s kindle first reads selection in case anyone hasn’t picked theirs up yet. Am I the only one who lets the month slip by?

I began reading Cynthia Voight’s series of books labeled the Tillerman cycle. No less than three of my beta readers compared my writing to these books, so I thought I should check them out. The funny thing was, my readers weren’t all looking at the same manuscript.

⭐️

Homecoming

This is the first in the series. Four children are left to wait for their mother in the parking lot of a mall. When she doesn’t return, they decide to go in search of relatives. They walk across the country. I actually started this one at the end of last month, but put it here because it is part of the Tillerman series.

⭐️

Dicey’s Song

Newbery Winner. This book picks up where the first one left off. I would recommend this to any young readers, especially girls. I wish I’d known about this series when my daughter was younger. I recommend for all readers, especially girls in the age bracket of upper MG to YA.

⭐️

A Solitary Blue

Lovely book. Feels a little different than the first two. This is the story of Dicey’s love interest and his childhood.

⭐️

The Runner

Goes back in time to the children’s uncle and his high school days right before he goes to Viet Nam.

⭐️

Come A Stranger

Tells the story of Dicey’s friend, Mina and the prejudice she faces.

⭐️

I love the way the series show how lives are intertwined and connected. Each book is important and stands alone. Her writing style seems natural and unaffected, but powerful She doesn’t shy away from tough topics. The characters feel real.

⭐️

Sons from Afar

Dicey has two brothers and one sister. At the beginning of this book the children are a bit older and this one focuses on the two boys. The younger boy has never met his father. The book explores the differences between the two boys and the way they come to terms with the struggles of growing up without a father.

⭐️

Kindle First Reads

Valencia and Valentine

By Suzy Krause

I picked this one for my kindle first reads selection for May. This is an interesting book that has a character with some mental health issues. It is entertaining, funny, and poignant. I read it from cover to cover, if you can do such a thing with a Kindle book. It reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant, would you still at the top of my favorites list. There’s a bit of a mystery involved. The two stories meld together in the end. It’s a little sad and a little sweet. It’s a book that made me think, but mostly it made me feel.

⭐️

Tiger Eyes

By Judy Blume

Another one of my beta readers said that my story and style reminded her of this book. If only! Davey (a teen girl) is faced with a terrible tragedy and loss of her father when he is murdered while in his store. Davey, her mom, and Davey’s little brother travel across the country, ostensibly on a visit, but it turns into an extended stay.

This one had me crying. Beautifully done and heart rending. There were a few chuckles as well. I love this book. If you like emotional, touching, coming-of-age, I think you’ll like this book. This was made into a movie, but I haven’t seen it. Have you?

⭐️

Saint Anything

By Sarah Dessen

Sydney is one of the quiet girls. She doesn’t cause any trouble. That rule is filled by her charming brother, Peyton. When he gets behind the wheel under the influence, he runs over a boy on a bicycle, forever changing everyone’s lives. The boy ends up in a wheelchair and Peyton ends up in prison. Sydney decides to change high schools and meets a new set of friends. This is a novel of self-discovery and family relationships.

⭐️

The Nightingale

By Kristin Hannah

This was a re-read. If you haven’t read this book yet go get it!

⭐️

Little Women

I’m still rereading this one. You can never go wrong with Little Women.

⭐️

Did you see any favorites in this list?

What have you been reading lately?

 

☕ Book Break ☕ | ~Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler~

~Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler~

‘Beware against the sweet person, for sugar has no nutrition.’

Kate Battista  still lives at home, and runs her father’s house even though she is an adult. Besides dealing with her eccentric father, a scientist who spends his days in his  lab, she contends with her younger sister, Bunny. Despite her abrasive personality, her young charges at the daycare she works at love her. The parents and staff do not.

Dr. Battista cooks up a plan to wed Kate to his lab assistant, Pyotr. Pyotr must get married to stay in the country, and both men are agreeable to the plot. They neglect to consult Kate on the matter.

I love Shakespeare and Shakespeare adaptations. Anne Tyler has written a witty and well done retelling. Kate was multilayered and I felt myself liking her more and more as the story went on. Anne Tyler is a wonderfully skilled writer.

Having this familiar story reimagined in a modern day setting made me think about the attitudes towards women during the time of Shakespeare and today. The treatment of Kate in parts of the story sparked a lot of discussion around our house.

I’ve been involved in productions of The Taming of The Shrew and watched television adaptations, but, oddly, this is the first time I read a novel based on the story as far as I can remember. I plan to read more of these retellings in the Hogarth Shakespeare series.

There is some language in this book, and having it right at the start felt jarring to me. I kept reading because I read Anne Tyler before and liked her other work and because I like Shakespeare.

Humor

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Characters

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Storytelling

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Book Review| A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

 

I didn’t expect to be captured by this story, but I was. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and translated by Henning Koch opens with Ove in a computer store, trying unsuccessfully to communicate with one of the employees. Having often been stymied by things tech, I could so relate to the quandary Ove had in the store.

A recent retiree,  Ove is the typical outspoken, inflexible grump, but we suspect from the get go he just might have reason to be. His life is severely structured by routine and he lives his days out following his own strict ideas of what is right. Patrolling the neighborhood, he keeps watch, always ready to enforce The Rules. A young family moves in next door and immediately upset Ove by running into his mailbox.

This character driven tale spins out beautifully, feeding us bits that make up Ove’s story as we need them. It is a poignant story about the human condition, of learning to love and be loved, of looking past the oft not-so-lovely exterior and seeing a fellow human. I was moved. Ove isn’t a man you would care to deal with, but we can’t help but love him, warts and all.

The novel jumps around in time, but is easy to follow. The story is sweet, funny, and sad all at the same time. I think this one may end up on my favorites list. It’s not often a book can make me laugh, cry, and think.

I listened to the audio book narrated by George Newbern and was well done. On a side note, a good narrator can ruin an otherwise good book, but this is a good narrator. The audiobooks I select books are greatly influenced by who is reading, and whether or not past books by an author were narrated well.

I will be checking out other books by Fredrik Backman.

I did not realize this novel had been made into a movie, and I plan to watch it sometime. I am big on reading the book first, and this is a good one. I can’t imagine a movie being as good as the novel. If you watched the movie or read the book, let me know what you thought.

Recommended. Some language and the content is serious at times.

Click here for a reading guide from Simon and Schuster for A Man Called Ove.

Here’s another reading guide from LitLovers.

I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below. This book is full of wonderful quotes. Here’s a few.

 

 

“And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments in a person’s life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is more to look back on than ahead. And when time no longer lies ahead of one, other things have to be lived for. memories, perhaps.”