Month: March 2019

REVIEW: In Another Life by C. C. Hunter

REVIEW: In Another Life by C. C. Hunter

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Chloe and her mom have moved to Joyful, Texas in the wake of her parent’s divorce. And she’s furious. Her dad cheated, her folks split, and then her mom got cancer. Thankfully, her mom is recovering. But it’s an awful thing for a kid to have to go through on her own. Now she’s just focused on getting through her senior year as the “new girl” and coaching her mom back toward health.

Cash is stunned when the gorgeous girl crashes into him at the gas station. But it’s less about the slushie he’s now wearing and more about the girl’s face. She looks exactly like the age progression picture of Emily.

Cash’ foster parents, the Fullers, lost their daughter Emily when she was almost three. She was kidnapped, and the Fullers – especially Mrs. Fuller – have never stopped hoping she’d be found. At first Cash is afraid Chloe might be there to scam the Fullers. But her adoption story seems to be legit. If Chloe really is Emily, what does that mean? Did her adoptive parents kidnap her? What will the Fullers expect of her? How will they feel about the growing attraction between Cash and Chloe/Emily?

Review

This was terrific! Lots of great emotion to this story. Chloe and Cash are fascinating characters – and they feel absolutely real. The author does an outstanding job building an emotionally intricate story that makes the questions about Chloe’s identity a nuanced and complicated situation.

Chloe and Cash made this book for me. They both feel “broken” – Cash, because of his history before foster care and Chloe because of the break up of her family and the difficulty of life with cancer. And they recognize that brokenness in one another and are drawn together. They see in each other someone who knows pain and isn’t afraid of it. They are lovely together.

The mystery/suspense story of Chloe’s identity was great. This drew me into the book at the start and was engaging all the way through. I think if the emphasis of the book was the mystery, the suspense in the end would have played out with different timing. A suspense story would probably end with a big, explosive moment. The way this wrapped up left me feeling like the REAL story is the relationships at stake in the book rather than the suspenseful part of the story. And the ending is 100% satisfying. If you enjoy Young Adult suspense, you should definitely check this one out! (Language, sexual content takes place mostly off the page)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein

REVIEW: Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Poppy McAllister feels like the rug has been pulled out from under her. Not only is she grieving the loss of her husband and rethinking some of the choices in her life. She’s also facing a 25 year high school reunion. Confronting her past – and former tormentors – would be one thing if she was feeling on top of her life. But she’s probably up two dress sizes after months of grief-eating, and her personal care routine has seen better days.

And then, to add insult to injury, one of her high school tormentors winds up dead. The police officer in charge of the case seems determined to see Poppy arrested for the crime.

This is the absolute WORST time to run into her high school boyfriend or deal with her angry Aunt Ginny who may need full time care. But an unexpected conversation with her cellmates at the jail launches Poppy’s life in a new direction. She’s done letting life just happen to her. She’s taking charge, starting with solving the murder at her high school reunion.

Review

This was a treat from start to finish. I felt bad for Poppy at the start. She has had some hard knocks. But she wasn’t whining or obnoxious about them. And I liked her even more when she started to take some ownership over her circumstances.

The murder was nicely complicated. The victim was pretty typical for cozy mysteries. There were plenty of reasons someone could want her dead. I was able to figure out the culprit, but needed help with some of the motive. And a few of my other guesses on things were way off base. But I enjoyed trying to solve all the puzzles.

Aunt Ginny’s situation was the most satisfying part of the book for me. And the effort to work that out pulled Poppy and Ginny together which was also great.

I picked this up because I love reunion stories – so many interesting things can come up when you get a diverse group together after a period of time – family or classmates. This was all I had hoped for when I bought it. The food allergy/Paleo diet pieces were interesting and gave this a different layer to add to the traditional cozy features (amateur sleuth, love triangle, etc.). I’m looking forward to reading books 2 and 3 to see where the relationships and the cooking/dietary pieces go.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

REVIEW: Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Iris is the only Deaf student at her school. And while she has an interpreter to help with communication, he can only do so much with teachers who won’t interact with Iris the way she asks them to. Or to help with an overzealous student who just flaps her hands in Iris’ face. And it wears on her, day after day, to feel like an outsider and to walk on eggshells hoping she won’t get in trouble for “acting out” when the frustration gets to be too much.

Iris isn’t the only one in her family who is struggling. Iris’ grandfather has passed away. Her grandmother is withdrawing more and more. And Iris misses the life she had with both of them. They were Deaf, too, and she related to them so easily.

Someone else who is struggling is Blue55. Blue55 is a hybrid whale whose song is so different from other whales, it leaves him isolated and alone. Iris sees and understands how that could feel for an animal like Blue 55. So she learns everything she can about Blue. And she creates a whale song to try to speak to him. If only she could get to Alaska to meet Blue and share her song.

Review

Look at that cover! It’s gorgeous and makes me happy every time I see it. It’s perfect for this stellar story. I adored every minute spent with Iris on this journey. This was a start-to-finish read for me. I didn’t want to wait to find out what happened.

Iris is fantastic. She’s crazy smart. Her understanding of electronics and radios is amazing for a middle schooler.  And I loved all of the things she did to better understand Blue and music/sound and whale song. Her struggles and need for belonging reminded me of some reading I’ve done on racial identity formation. It’s important for humans to spend time in groups with people like us – whether that’s people of the same race or people who are all Deaf, or even people who share hobbies and interests. Those groups help us feel  like we belong and help us better know who we are. Belonging is important. And Iris is trying to negotiate some of those identity and belonging issues in this story.

Iris’ family is pretty understanding when it comes to her solution for getting to Blue. Yes, there are consequences, but they don’t freak out like I would have expected. And the trip to Alaska is so good for both Iris and her grandmother. There’s a thread of dealing with grief in this story – both for Iris’s grandmother  and even for Blue – that was well done.

The whale gets to be the point of view character for a handful of chapters. It’s brilliant. It gives the reader some connection to Blue – and also to Iris – as the whale seeks community.

If you are a classroom teacher or school librarian, get several copies of this one. It’s a fantastic selection for book clubs or reading groups as well as for individual readers. This would also make a terrific classroom read aloud. Great author notes add to the story and to group discussions of the novel. Highly recommend!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

BOOK NEWS: March 26, 2019

BOOK NEWS: March 26, 2019

Posted on by Jaymie

It’s our final release week of March. Here are some of the books out this week!

Books for Kids

Baby Lit Storybooks: Little Women AND The Wizard of Oz (Board books) – Classic literature for babies.
Little Poet – William Shakespeare: I Love You AND Emily Dickinson: In Emily’s Garden (Board books) – Snippets of classic poems set to lovely illustrations.
The Book Hog – A book loving pig who can’t read is invited to story time. This is at the top of my list for this week.
Dragons Eat Noodles on Tuesdays – Two monsters argue about a dragon story they are making up while a real dragon lingers close behind, listening. Yep, this is on my list, too.
Felipe and Claudette – Felipe, a grumpy cat, and Claudette, a wild dog, have been waiting a long time to be adopted from the pet shop. (Felipe is certain it is Claudette’s fault.) But when one is adopted and the other is left behind it impacts both of them more than they expected. I’m eager to read this one, too.
Raise Your Hand – The daughter of CNN’s Jake Tapper  noticed in her classroom that girls were less likely to participate in class than the boys. So she put together this book to encourage girls to be more confident in school. Sounds terrific!
Sweety – A quirky naked mole rat comes to appreciate how special she is. I can’t wait to read the whole story on this one!
Monkey and Cake: What Is Inside THIS Box? AND This Is MY Fort – This unusual pair star in a set of friendship stories that address issues that will feel familiar to kids everywhere. From the author of The Day the Crayons Quit.
Peg+Cat: Math in the Bath – A leveled reader starring Peg and Cat.
BAT and the End of Everything – The third book in this sweet series about a boy on the autism spectrum and his friend Thor, a young skunk. When the end of the school year approaches, Bixby/”Bat” feels anxious about all the changes coming. This would be a great read-aloud for lower elementary classrooms (1st/2nd through 4th grade).
Into the Game – First in a new series based on Minecraft where five players are transported into the game.
Mermaids to the Rescue: Nixie Makes Waves AND Lana Swims North – The first books in a new series about a rescue crew of mermaids.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Apocalypse Taco – A new graphic novel from the author of the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series. Three teens on a food run for the high school theater group cross into an alien parallel dimension.
The Astonishing Maybe – A sheltered boy with a relatively safe life sees things from a different perspective when his family moves and he meets the neighbor girl who takes him on great adventures, but who also is in need of help. This sounds great.
Because of the Rabbit – A girl starting public school for the first time is eager to make the right best friend. But while she and her partner on a project bond over a bunny she found, she’s afraid this impulsive boy could keep her from the friend she thinks she needs.
Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen – A tough, sassy girl who’s something of a bully decides to change her ways when she is stuck living with her aunt (who’s a real live nun) in a new town. Bernice sounds like an intriguing character!
Catwad – A collection of comics starring Catwad, a grumpy cat, and his optimistic friend, Blurmp.
Cilla Lee-Jenkins: The Epic Story – Book 3 in the series. I love the whole idea of this series starring a young author in training. This time, Cilla is writing an “epic” story.
Dragonfell – A new tale about a misfit boy, a brilliant scientist, and dragons. Sign me up!
Fallen Empires – Book 5 in the graphic novel series Cleopatra in Space. This volume includes a hunt for a spy, a mysterious death, and a big reveal about Cleo and the villainous dictator. I am all caught up on this fantastic series and I am ready to see what happens next!
Focused – A girl notices how often she gets distracted and how she has trouble staying focused. In fact, everyone is starting to notice, which leads to a diagnosis of ADHD. I’m curious to read this one. ADHD seems like such a common diagnosis these days, I’d like to see what the author does with this story.
Friendroid – Two boys bond over an online role play game and in each other find the friend they were both looking for. Neither of them knows, though, that one of them is an android. Sounds fascinating!
Jake the Fake Goes for Laughs – Book 2 in this series about a class clown who lets his success as a budding comedian go to his head.
Maybe a Mermaid – The author’s debut novel about a girl looking to make her first “true blue” friend in a new town where there are rumors of a mermaid. This sounds fun!
Over the Moon – In a town where boys get to toil in the mines and girls get to work as servants and everyone’s families count on those jobs to stay afloat, one girl gets the chance to change things by training flying horses. But in the process she stumbles across a mystery in her town that powerful people want to keep hidden. This is on my list for this week.
Revenge of the Sis – Star Wars Jedi Academy, book 7. This kicks off a new story arc starring Christina Starspeeder who has graduated from the Academy and now goes into advanced training. I have loved this series since the beginning, and I’m excited to see where it goes with this new story line.
Ruff vs Fluff – Queenie the cat and Arthur the dog love their lives at the Blackberry Hill Inn with their people, twins Harmony and Bro. But they can’t stand eachother. But when the twins’ cousin is framed for murder, the animals will team up to clear his name. This sounds adorable!
The Size of the Truth – When Sam was little, he spent 3 days trapped in the bottom of a well. Now as a bright eleven-year-old in eighth grade, Sam wants to leave his PTSD and his parents’ plans for his life behind and start working toward his own dream of being a chef. I am fascinated by the whole host of threads coming together in this story!
Star Wars: Forces of Destiny: May the Force Be With Us Cinestory Comic – The ladies of Star Wars star in three stories in this graphic novel.
Star Wars: Solo Graphic Novel Adaptation – Alessandro Ferrari is back with another graphic novel adaptation of a Star Wars movie. I love – and own – all of the previous books. The art work is spectacular. If you loved the Solo story, be sure to check this out.
Through the Untamed Sky – Book 2 in the Riders of the Realm series about pegasi and a people who have endeavored to tame the wild animals into war horses. I enjoyed the author’s previous Guardian Herd series, but I haven’t tried these yet.
The Tragical Tale of Birdie Bloom – In this new fractured fairy tale, a “Tragical” – a doomed orphan – and a Witch meet in what should be a disaster. But with the right opportunities they could become friends and write a new story for themselves. Yes, this is definitely on my list for this week.
The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins – Lyndie’s grandmother is determined to shape Lyndie into a proper Southern girl and that starts with learning to keep family secrets secret, like the struggles Lyndie’s dad has had since returning from Vietnam. I’m curious to read this one.
In Another Life – A new YA thriller about an adopted girl who moves to a new town for her senior year and meets a boy who says she reminds him of the daughter of his foster parents who was kidnapped. This was a must read for me! I’ll be reviewing this one later this week.
Killing November – A girl in an elite hidden school for training assassins and spies must figure out where she fits before she is either accused of murder, or the next victim. Teen thrillers have been really popular in the last few years. I’ll be reviewing this one later this spring, but I can already tell you it was amazing!
The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe – From the author of the Matched trilogy comes a new story about the teen captain of a mining ship who is out for revenge against the raiders who took everything from her.
Sky Without Stars – First in a new series re-imagining the the story of Les Misérables set in space. Sounds amazing!
Unleaving – The survivor of an off-campus assault leaves town to heal and to avoid those who side with the athletes she accused. But when another victim contacts her, and Maggie pushes through her own struggles to respond, the other girl goes silent. This will be an emotional one, but an important and timely subject for teens to consider. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Dear Ally: How Do You Write a Book? – Practical tips and helpful advice for aspiring writers from the author of The Gallagher Girls series, The Embassy Row series, and Not If I Save You First. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy.

Books for Adults

Canyons, Caravans and Cadavers (ebook, March 25) – Book 6 in the Camper and Criminals series. Mae is invited to teach at the local high school which puts her in a perfect spot to do some sleuthing when a fellow teacher is murdered.
Decades: Marvel in the 60s – Spider-Man Meets the Marvel Universe (Paperback Graphic Novel) – This tour through Marvel history focuses on Spider-Man in his early interactions with other Marvel heroes such as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and Doctor Strange.
Half Finished (Trade Paperback) – A group of crafters gathers with the purpose of encouraging one another to finish the projects they start. That theme carries over into life outside of their craft projects. This one is on my library list.
The Hidden Corpse (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Food Blogger Mystery series.  When Hope’s neighbor dies in a fire, she feels a little guilty because her neighbor probably needed more help at home and shouldn’t have been living alone. But when another body is found in the house, things take a darker turn.
Leave No Scone Unturned (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Chef-to-Go Mystery series. As Dani hopes the return of the college students will boost her business, a string of incidents on campus, including a murder, shake up the whole town.
The Library of Lost and Found (Hardcover) – When a librarian receives a gift of a book of fairy tales from her dead grandmother, it sets her on a course to uncover family secrets and maybe even get to the truth of what happened to her grandmother. I already have this one on hold from the library.
Murder in Tranquility Park (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Ferrera Family Mystery series. Grandmother and granddaughter are sleuthing again when the Ferrera ladies find a hidden tree house – and a dead body. This sounds like a fun series. I have book one on my TBR shelves.
Murder Lo Mein (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 3 in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. A local food critic dies with his face in a bowl of noodles so everyone in the local noodle competition is a suspect. I have this series on my shelves, too.
Reading to Make a Difference (Professional – Paperback) – The latest instructional book for teachers from Lester Laminack (Professor Emeritus of Education, speaker, writer) on using books in the classroom as windows, mirrors and doors.

REVIEW: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

REVIEW: The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Gia is stunned. Who gets dumped in the parking lot before prom? But that’s what happens. Her college-aged boyfriend, Bradley, drives 3 hours to join her for prom, and then breaks up with her before they even get in the door. That’s pretty bad. Even worse, though, is going to be Jules’ reaction.

Gia’s been feeling like Jules is trying to undermine her with her friends. She’s been vocal about her suspicions that Bradley isn’t even real. Gia’s desperate to hang onto her friendships and put Jules in her place. When she sees a guy drop off another student for the dance, and sit in his car, she wonders if maybe he would agree to be fake Bradley.

“Fill-in-Bradley” does an amazing job. There’s a slight glitch when his very real sister approaches him and almost blows his cover, but they improvise. He provides Gia a fake break up and the ruse is over.

Except Gia can’t stop thinking about fill-in-Bradley. She doesn’t even know his real name! His real sister, though, feels like Gia owes him and talks her into posing as HIS fill-in girlfriend at a party for his ex.

What could possibly go wrong with all these secrets and lies?

Review

This was delightful! I enjoy the fake-relationship trope, and this is a great example of it. I loved Gia and Hayden (fake Bradley) together. He was really a good influence on her. I appreciated Gia’s growth over the course of the book. I empathized with her desperate need to hold onto her friends at the start of the book. Jules was awful and manipulative and catty. And then, as Gia starts to become more self-aware and wants to make some changes, she becomes even more like-able.

The contrast between Gia’s family and Hayden’s family was fascinating. Hayden’s home and family become a safe haven for Gia to explore some feelings and test her new insights.

Gia’s “friends” were the most uncomfortable part of the story for me. I knew we were headed toward a big confrontation where the full truth would come out. And I half dreaded it while also half welcoming it. I knew they would only see the betrayal but wouldn’t appreciate the personal growth Gia gains. I was more than ready for Gia to discover some new relationships with people she hadn’t noticed before when she was more shallow and driven to be perfect in the eyes of everyone around her.

On one level, this is a darling contemporary teen romance. And it’s lovely on that level. But this is SO much richer in emotional awareness and growth. Highly recommend!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Planet Hulk by Greg Pak

REVIEW: Planet Hulk by Greg Pak

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

When the Avengers and others on Earth decide the Hulk is too dangerous to keep around, Reed Richards tricks Bruce Banner into getting on a space ship. The course is set for a remote planet with no other intelligent life where Bruce can live in peace and no one will get hurt.

Except you can’t really trick the Hulk and not expect him to get angry. Soon he’s jacked up the shuttle and his trajectory. Instead of a peaceful planet, he lands on Sakaar. He’s captured, enslaved, and turned into a gladiator for a cruel emperor. But Hulk is not alone in his new situation. He’s part of a band of warriors who are determined to fight their way out of the mess they’re in – or die trying.

Review

I have wanted to read this novelization since it first released. Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/Hulk is my favorite Avenger, and I’ve been fascinated by the Banner/Hulk dynamic for years. While I’ve never read the Planet Hulk comics, this novel makes me want to see the story presented in that format. (There are some loose connections to the story in the Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok. This story obviously came first.)

The story is fascinating. The Hulk is in an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar creatures. He might be incredibly strong and almost invulnerable on Earth, but it’s not the same on Sakaar. He has a lot of new things to adjust to.

Hulk’s band of Warbound are a fascinating mix. Some believe the prophecies Hulk seems to fulfill. Others doubt. While some have strategy and patience, others have only rage and bitterness. Some still believe in the racial/species biases that have long been part of the planet while others are determined to see things change. It’s hard to imagine they will ever get past their vast differences.

I loved the inclusion of some other Marvel characters. Most are in name only, but Reed Richards (Fantastic Four) and Amadeaus Cho (Totally Awesome Hulk) are important as is a spoiler-ish character I won’t mention by name.

This was terrific from start to finish. If you love a good hero story, or a band-of-brothers sort of tale, be sure to check this out.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Friday Night Stage Lights by Rachele Alpine

REVIEW: Friday Night Stage Lights by Rachele Alpine

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Brooklyn had a life she loved in Oregon with her mom. They had their surprise pancake breakfasts and their two-person routines. And Brooklyn had her dance studio and her friends.

But when her mom married Stephen, they had to move to Texas because Stephen’s son, Tanner, was a high school football star. And in Texas, football is everything.

Brooklyn is getting sick of the all-football-all-the-time life in Texas. She hates the games. She hates that she’s lost a lot of her special connection with her mom because her mom has thrown herself into football-mom mode for Tanner. And now, her one sanctuary, her new dance studio, has been invaded – by football players.

The middle school team is doing conditioning at her studio, and Brooklyn has to help them as part of her application to the Texas School of the Arts. But the boys always goof around, and they are infuriating. But when Brooklyn’s dance partner for her TSOTA audition breaks his leg, one of those football players may be her only chance to salvage her audition.

Review

This was so fun! I’m not sure I’ve ever read an Aladdin MIX book that I haven’t enjoyed. When I see the multicolored strip at the edge of the book, I know I’m going to enjoy it. And this is a great example of the fun stories in the line.

Brooklyn is relate-able from the start – her frustration with her family and the football players who mock her passion for dance, her hurt feelings when everyone seems to put Tanner and football first, her connections with Tanner and Logan. I loved all of it. She also has some real dance issues to sort out – getting past a bad performance where she was injured, figuring out who she is dancing for, and deciding if TSOTA is really what she wants for her future.

As a football fan, I loved watching her soften towards the players and the game as she learned more about it. It’s a great reminder to try to understand new things before deciding they are awful just because they are unfamiliar.

I can’t wait to pass this one on to some students I know. I think they will enjoy Brooklyn, Logan and the rest of the folks in this story as much as I did. Highly recommend!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

BOOK NEWS: March 19, 2019

BOOK NEWS: March 19, 2019

Posted on by Jaymie

Here are some of the fabulous books releasing this week!

Books for Kids

  

Little Naturalists: The Adventures of John Muir AND John James Audubon Painted Birds (Board Book) – Board books celebrating naturalists.
Baby’s First Bank Heist – Baby Frank is planning a bank heist to get money for a fluffy pet. This looks hilarious!
Buck Denver’s Hammer of Strength: A Lesson in Loving Others – New from Phil Vischer (Veggie Tales). Buck wants everyone to know how strong he is but his friends encourage him to show his strength through kindness.
Bach to the Rescue – A colorful and “zany” story about the Goldberg Variations.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mr. Rogers – 75 songs by Fred Rogers collected in an illustrated book.
Didi Dodo Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster – Book 1 in this new early chapter book series from Tom Angleberger (The Origami Yoda series) focused on food-related mysteries.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Payback Time! – Big Nate, book 20. A new collection of Big Nate comic strips.
Star Wars: Choose Your Destiny An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure – The third Choose Your Destiny novel from the folks at Star Wars/Disney/Lucasfilm
Tangled in Time: The Portal – An orphan girl sent to live with a grandmother she’s never met before discovers a portal to the past in her grandmother’s green house.
The Wizenard Series: Training Camp – First in a new series by Kobe Bryant about the worst basketball team in the league and their magical new coach who could change everything for the players both on and off the court.
Girls With Sharp Sticks – First in a new series for teens about an all-girls school that promises to make the girls obedient and free of independent ideas or troublesome opinions. But the girls are learning to fight back. Sounds fascinating!
Internment – In a dystopian near-future USA, Muslim-Americans are kept in internment camps. The main character learns to find allies and seeks to fight for freedom. A timely story in a world where the news can leave me feeling  like I am living in a dystopian novel.
Sherwood – With Robin of Locksley dead and the Sheriff’s right-hand goon ready to step into his fortune and his betrothal, Maid Marian takes up the cape and mantel of Robin Hood.
To Best the Boys – In a world where girls are trained to become wives and boys are sent to university, two girls will pose as boys to enter a dangerous competition for the chance at a university scholarship in order to find a cure for a disease that is destroying their home. This sounds like a Hunger Games/Maze Runner mash up, and I am eager to try it out.

Books for Adults

Can’t Escape Love (ebk – novella)- From the author of A Princess in Theory comes this novella addition to the Reluctant Royals series about a nerdy business woman and a livestreamer. I pre-ordered this one weeks ago. I really enjoyed A Princess in Theory and I have one of the other series novels on my TBR shelves.
Magnificent Nine (Hardcover) – The second original Firefly novel focuses on Jayne and an old flame who may be raising his daughter in the middle of a fight over water rights on a desert world. Fans of the series will gobble this one up!
Murder Once Removed (Hardcover) – First in the Ancestry Detective series about a genealogist who solves part of a 19th century murder which stirs up a contemporary political firestorm. Many years ago I read a different genealogist mystery series by Rhett MacPherson that I adored. I am so excited to dig into this new series! I’ll be reviewing this one in a few weeks.
One Potato, Two Potato, Dead (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Farm-to-Fork mystery series about the death of a culinary professor. I have this series on my wish list.
Unpacking Fake News: An Educator’s Guide to Navigating the Media with Students (Professional – Paperback, March 22) – “Fake News” has become a phrase frequently thrown around to describe any story a person doesn’t care for. But in reality, fake news reported as real and factual has caused an untold number of problems in America in recent years. Teachers are at the front line in the effort to help the next generation become careful consumers of news and information and to check sources and facts before accepting a headline or report at face value. Covers information for K-12 educators.

REVIEW: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

REVIEW: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Swoon Reads in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Once the semester is over, Edie is off for Paris. She’s planning to stay for first semester next year, too. She’s studying fashion. Paris is where she NEEDS to be. She also needs to pass FR102, not only for the grade but also to function in Paris for the next several months. The problem is her auditory processing disorder (APD or CAPD). Problematic enough with English in the “right” circumstances – crowded, loud places with lots of distractions, etc. Even worse in a foreign language.

Enter Hudson, the TA in Edie’s FR102 class. When her professor refuses to let her record his classes as an accommodation, Hudson volunteers to tutor her.

After a few false starts, they begin to work together. And things start to heat up between them. But Edie is only focused on passing the class and getting to Paris. She already broke off one relationship rather than take the chance of it distracting her from her goals. She will NOT be giving into these feelings for Hudson, either. Paris…. Paris…. Paris….

Review

I was hooked from the start when Edie was explaining her CAPD to her advisor – who did NOT get it. By the time we meet adorable Hudson, and the relationship between them starts to warm, I didn’t want to put the book down.

The chemistry between Edie and Hudson is delightful. Even in all of Edie’s resistance, you can feel them being drawn together. The other characters are mostly there to move Edie and Hudson forward or round out some of the story. The focus, though, is on this relationship. I liked that this YA story is about college students instead of high school students. It made for a nice change of pace for me.

There’s not a lot else to the plot. This is 80% will-they-or-won’t-they give into their feelings and commit to seeing where the relationship goes. The French class, the roommates and friends, and the CAPD swirl around the couple, but they are not the focus.

My only complaint is the abruptness of the ending. It wasn’t so much “I want more” but “Wait, that’s it?” It felt like a momentary scene rather than a definitive statement on where things were going from there. I guess readers will get to decide for themselves how things wrap up in the end.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

BONUS REVIEW: Trouble on the Books by Essie Lang

BONUS REVIEW: Trouble on the Books by Essie Lang

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Shelby Cox is helping run her aunt’s book store branch at Blye Castle while her aunt recovers from surgery. It’s a nice change of pace from her job in publishing. And now that she’s back in the town where she was born, she hopes she can learn some things about her mother who died when Shelby was three.

Shelby’s run in with Loreena Swan was pretty mild. Loreena, curator of the exhibits at the castle, seemed to think she should be in charge of everything. When Loreena tried to get heavy handed about the book store, Shelby firmly put her in her place. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t spooked when she finds Loreena dead.

Shelby is eager to see the crime solved, especially since she found the body. The local police chief has a history with her aunt Edie and seems to have Edie’s friend Matthew in her sights as her main suspect. Edie begs Shelby to look into things to protect Matthew. But the more questions Shelby asks, the more she seems to be the one who will need protecting.

Review

I have mixed feelings on this one. In general I liked Shelby and the other characters, and the mystery is solid. The castle setting is fun and different, and I like the book store angle.

My first struggle was to believe that any of the mystery was urgent. Loreena’s death happens early on and no ones seems to have very strong feelings about her or reactions to the death. Sure, it’s a crime so it needs to be solved, but there’s no urgency. I know Shelby wants to help her aunt’s “friend,” but that motivation still didn’t have any emotional punch to it. Even the police chief’s history with Aunt Edie, while described as contentious, was not really shown to be that way.

Then I was frustrated with Shelby’s search for information on her mom. Everyone, especially Edie, stonewalls Shelby at every turn. And the questions she is asking are really no big deal on the surface. Why wouldn’t anyone just answer? And Shelby was passive and understanding every time that happened. She has every right to ask her questions, and she should have been furious that simple questions were dodged at every turn. Obviously people were hiding something, but Shelby didn’t seem to put that together and wasn’t nearly upset enough about that. This was another plot point that seemed to be missing the emotional stakes I expected.

Finally, there were several places in the story where I saw what I considered to be continuity errors like a character not mentioned in a scene or discussion, but mentioned in a list of suspects to question right after, as if connected to the discussion even though his name never came up. At another time, Shelby knows information that doesn’t actually come up until several chapters later. I know I was reading an early, uncorrected review copy, but usually continuity pieces like that have already been sorted out before the ARC is released. I trust the publisher has addressed these issues in the final copy of the book. Hopefully this is just a quirk of being an early reader.

There are a couple threads started in this book that would make for interesting stories later in the series. I’ll probably give this series another try when a second book is released to see how things develop both in the story and in the writing.

Rating: ♥♥♥½