Merry Christmas to you and yours! If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you have an excellent holiday.
Reviews, Etc.
REVIEW: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs
Summary
In 1955, as Albert Einstein lay dying and under the influence of morphine, the great genius spoke of a secret work. One he never trusted to humanity. And ever since then, the CIA has been trying to find it.
They aren’t the only ones. Over the years different governments – and spies – of the world have tried to track it down with no luck. The latest group calls themselves the Furies. They are disgruntled white supremacists, angry at the world and bitter about all they feel has been “stolen” from them. They would be among the worst of those hunting for Einstein’s final equation. And they are close to finding it.
The CIA has become desperate. That’s the only reason they would bring in a reckless, impulsive 12-year-old genius named Charlie Thorne. Agent Dante Garcia knows Charlie’s story and believes her brilliance could be just what they need to solve the mystery and find the equation before the Furies. But Charlie may be more trouble than the CIA is prepared for. And Charlie might not be prepared for what could happen to her once the CIA has what they want from her.
Review
This was great! I enjoyed the combination of mystery and action/adventure. Charlie is an interesting character – so smart but at times immature and naive. For much of the book, she was the only one I trusted. And that was a factor in the story, too. There was no super-surprising twist. The puzzles are pretty straightforward once Charlie figures them out. I loved the things I learned about Einstein and other scientists from the story. The ending was great.
There were parts that seemed too easy or too perfect. It was easy to suspend disbelief, though, because I was having so much fun with the story.
This has a lot more violence and death in it than you’ll find in most middle grade books, even if this one is for Older Middle Grade readers (ages 10 and up). It felt more like a YA novel in that way, although the 12-year-old protagonist would be young for a straight up YA novel.
Readers who can handle the violence (gun battles, fighting, death threats, death, etc.) will find a smart, fun adventure story here! I can’t wait for book 2.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥½
BOOK NEWS: December 24&26, 2019
Depending on the day you shop this week, grab your last minute gift list, or your book store gift cards, and check out the new books out this week!
Books for Kids – Board Books and Picture Books
Bible Stories for Little Hearts (Board Book 12/26) – Includes Noah’s Ark and the birth of Jesus.
Future President (Board Book 12/26) – Part of the Future Baby series. Includes presidential facts
Little Heroes of Color (Board Book 12/26) – 50 individuals who made a difference. I love the artwork on the cover of this one. I can’t wait to check it out in person!
I’m a Dragon (12/24) – A Little Golden Book about dragons.
Love and Grumpiness (12/24) – A Grumpy Cat Valentine’s Day book.
Love from the Crayons (12/24) – A Valentine’s Day book starring the Crayons from Drew Daywalt’s books.
The Night Before Groundhog Day (12/24) – It’s not often you find books about Groundhog Day!
The Return of Thelma the Unicorn (12/26) – A follow-up to Thelma the Unicorn.
Books for Kids – Early Chapter Books
The Bad Guys in the Baddest Day Ever (12/26) – Book 10 in the delightful Bad Guys series.
Bo’s Magical New Friend (12/26) – First in a new Unicorn Diaries series from Scholastic BRANCHES by the author of the tremendous Owl Diaries series. Bo Tinseltail is a unicorn with the power to grant wishes who is looking for a best friend. This looks DARLING!
Don’t Worry Bee Happy (12/26) – Book 1 in the new Bumble and Bee series from Scholastic ACORN. Two rambunctious bees and their cranky frog friend make an unusual trio, but they can still have fun despite their differences.
Dragon Gets By (12/26) – Book 3 in the Dragon series by the author of Captain Underpants and Dog Man. These stories have been published before, but are being re-released through Scholastic ACORN.
Eva’s Campfire Adventure (12/26) – Book 12 in the Owl Diaries series. Eva and her friends hunt for treasure on their school camping trip.
Karen’s Witch (Graphic Novel 12/26) – Spin off from the Baby-sitters Club series. Karen is convinced her neighbor is a witch.
Mac Cracks the Code (12/26) – Book 4 in the Mac B, Kid Spy series. In this book, Mac has to crack a code as he faces his nemesis in a video game contest.
Merry Christmas Dumpster Dog (12/24) – Dumpster Dog and Flat Cat would like to spend this Christmas in a home instead of their trash can.
Pug’s Snow Day (12/26) – Book 2 in the Diary of a Pug series. Bub is not a fan of the snow – or of the new neighbor’s scary pet.
Super Rabbit All-Stars (12/26) – Book 8 in the Press Start series. Super Rabbit Boy competes in a Games Tournament.
Surf’s Up! (12/26) – First in a new ACORN series, Moby Shinobi and Toby Too! Moby tries to use his ninja skills to solve some problems at the beach and discovers that teamwork makes things better.
Books for Older Kids/Teens
The Love Pug (12/26) – When a girl’s pug seems to have matchmaking skills, she tries to use the dog to find her best friend a date to the dance. Part of the WISH line from Scholastic.
Random Acts of Kittens (12/26) – Part of the WISH line from Scholastic. When a girl finds a lost cat and litter of kittens, she starts an anonymous online account to find homes for the kittens.
The Shining Blade (12/26) – Book 3 in the World of Warcraft Traveler series about a pair of adventurers following the path of a mysterious compass.
Two Dogs in a Trench Coat Enter Stage Left (12/26) – Book 4 in the Two Dogs in a Trench Coat series. Sassy and Waldo are back to help their boy, Stewart, who is acting like a villain when his class puts on a play.
The Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up the World (Older Middle Grade 10+ 12/24) – Highlights the achievements of Black Americans including Frederick Douglass, Aretha Franklin, Barack Obama.
My Survival: A Girl on Schindler’s List (12/26) – The memoir of a girl who survived the Holocaust thanks to Oskar Schindler.
What Were the Negro Leagues? (12/24) An exploration of the Negro Leagues in baseball in the 1930s and 40s. From the author of the terrific books The Great Greene Heist and The Parker Inheritance.
Where Is the Vatican? (12/24) – A look at the Vatican, the headquarters of the Catholic Church.
Books for Adults
Love by Chance (Trade Paperback 12/26) – Based on a Hallmark Channel original movie. When a pastry chef’s mother secretly sets her up on a date, she really clicks with the pediatrician, but what will happen when she finds out their date was a fix up?
REVIEW: The Survival List by Courtney Sheinmel
Summary
When Sloane’s sister dies by suicide, Sloane is understandably devastated. She thinks back to their last conversation, second guessing every choice she made that day. She finds a list in her sister’s jeans pocket that she looks at every day, trying to decipher what the list means. To see if it gives her any clue why her sister wanted to die.
There’s a phone number on the list which leads Sloane to Adam in California. He says he didn’t know Talley, but Sloane isn’t sure she believes him. And some of Talley’s list could be tied to Adam’s community in California. If only there was an easy way for Sloane to get there… from Minnesota.
Thanks to a generous friend and one fake email, Sloane is off to California for what her father thinks is a college writing seminar during summer break. It’s Sloane’s chance to try to solve the puzzle of Talley’s list – and find out the truth about Adam’s relationship with her sister.
Review
Wow, this was great. Once Sloane was on her way to California to dig into Talley’s list, I couldn’t put this down. The twists and turns the story takes from there were beautifully plotted. I loved the whole touching journey.
Sloane is a great protagonist. She’s bright and insightful. She’s completely committed to figuring out what happened to her sister. And her journey turns up not only some surprising information but also some new depths to her own journey. I wanted to hug her – she needed comfort and someone to listen. But she also needed to power through this process – as hard as it was at times – because she could work through to some resolution on the other side.
There’s so much compassion here for the depressed and hurting, although the focus is more on the survivors than on Talley. This is a lovely story – moving and riveting. I loved the writing aspects that are sprinkled throughout the book relating to Sloane as a writer. Be sure to check this one out. (Some language, CW: Suicide)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
BONUS REVIEW: Verse and Vengeance by Amanda Flower
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Violet Waverly is the Caretaker for a magical tree located at the center of her bookstore, Charming Books. Women in Violet’s family have been caring for the tree for generations, protecting its secrets. But under Violet’s care, those secrets are in danger.
A private investigator named Joel Redding was in Cascade Springs before investigating a murder, but now he’s back, determined to find out what Violet is hiding. He’s casing her store and following her.
While she’s come to expect their run-ins outside the shop, she doesn’t expect to see him in the middle of a 30 mile bike race. But wearing loafers and street clothes, Redding zooms by her, taking her picture. Only a few minutes later, at the bottom of Breakneck Hill, Redding is dead.
When a copy of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman is found on him, Violet knows. The shop had given her the same book twice lately. The shop obviously wants her to solve Redding’s murder.
Review
This is book four in the Magical Bookshop Mystery series, my favorite series so far by Amanda Flower. Of the four books in the series so far, I have only known or read the bookstore’s book of choice once. This has never impacted my enjoyment of the series. There’s plenty of Walt Whitman history in the novel as well as an author’s note. While Whitman isn’t a writer I enjoy, I did enjoy the historical pieces here – both real and fictional.
The mystery in this one was solid. I did feel like there was a lot of time spent on Violet searching for, finding and losing the young woman she was trying to help. This started to get old. Violet was far too kind to someone who pushed her away with her words and with her behavior. And the will-she-or-won’t-she over Violet telling the detective about the shop’s secrets, something she started debating in a previous book, also stretched into this book. I was happy to see that plot thread finally settled. I also felt like one piece of the mystery solution wasn’t explained, but it was a minor piece. The solution was solid otherwise – nice and twisty!
Amanda Flower has another book out this month – Matchmaking Can Be Murder. This is the first in a new Amish Matchmaker Mystery series which is a spin off of the Amish Candy Shop series, which I have also enjoyed. I’ll be reviewing that one at the end of the year.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
REVIEW: The Princess Plan by Julia London
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and HQN in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
The Crown Prince of Alucia has come to England for two reasons – to forge a trade agreement and to find a wife. And at the masquerade ball, he also finds a few… distractions. A redhead who distracts him for a few hours and another woman who flirts with him in a secret passageway.
Eliza is in the passageway to hide from the matron who wanted to fill up her dance card with what would probably be horrible dance partners. Spinsters like her were hardly the top prospects at these events. Eliza is happy to enjoy the rum punch in peace while she tries to meet the Crown Prince.
While Sebastian and Eliza meet at the ball, they are thrown together more forcefully when Sebastian’s friend and personal secretary is murdered. Eliza was paying attention to the man at the ball because he’d been kind to her. Prince Sebastian is determined to have all the details she can provide. But Eliza isn’t like the simpering, acquiescing women he’s used to meeting. She won’t be cowed by his title or his attitude. And Sebastian finds he likes that about her.
Review
Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a mystery. While there is a murder, and Sebastian and Eliza go looking for clues to the killer, that is secondary to the romance plot. I would have liked this to be both, frankly. It would have been great to see Eliza and Sebastian take down the killer together AND sort out their romantic woes. But while the killer is unmasked, it is revealed in a detached, distanced way, and the reader is clued in later on the details.
Romance fans who are less attached to the mystery likely will not care. Sebastian and Eliza have great friction early on. He’s arrogant and entitled, and she’s old enough and experienced enough not to kowtow to him. I loved how direct and sassy she was with him. The relationship is pretty typical for a romance between royalty and a commoner. Once they connect, how will they go on because of his obligations and her lack of status? The finagling of those issues made for a decent and happily ever after ending. (Sex)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
REVIEW: Pavi Sharma’s Guide to Going Home by Bridget Farr
Summary
Pavi Sharma has become something of an expert on foster care. In fact, she has a little business helping other foster kids in transition. She’s paid in Sharpies and Hot Cheetos. She teaches kids things like The Front Door Face, the expression to use at a new home to garner the right balance of sympathy and security so a foster family feels you will be a good placement. Pavi also uses her network of foster kids to get the real scoop on a new school or foster family to help a kid feel comfortable with a new placement.
But when Pavi hears that the new girl, Meridee, is going to the Nickersons, she doesn’t need to do any research. She knows from personal experience that no kid should go there. And she’s going to do whatever it takes to keep Meridee safe and far away from the Nickersons.
Review
I love a good, moving story about foster care like Touch Blue (middle grade) or A List of Cages (YA). And this definitely fits in that category. While I expected a bigger punch at the climax when everything comes out, this story is just right for a middle grade audience.
Pavi was a delight. My favorite part of the whole book was how she took on the role of mentor and guide for other foster kids – even the ones older than she is. The shelter folks seem to know something is going on, and they walk the line between confidentiality and filling Pavi in on some details. But they don’t seem to take her seriously in this mentor role. But the reader sees how important it is. And she’s doing it not to help kids scam the system or the foster parents but really to help the kids have a successful start at a new placement.
At the same time, Pavi does show some of the negatives that can happen with kids in the system – self-protective secrets (which shouldn’t be secret), easy lying, using her status as a foster kid to deflect some scrutiny, etc.. In this case she uses all those things not really for herself but ultimately to help Meridee. It’s handled well in the story.
Pavi’s relationship with her foster brother, Hamilton, is lovely. She trusts him, and he is eager to back her up in her work. He’s a nice contrast to Piper who bickers with Pavi because they both want Hamilton’s attention and time. Also, Pavi bristles at Piper’s seemingly perfect life and “first world problems” compared to what she feels she needs to do to protect Meridee.
The characters in this book are EVERYTHING. Don’t miss them. Be sure to check this one out.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
BOOK NEWS: December 17, 2019
Here are some of the new books releasing this week!
Books for Kids
Rock-a-Bye, Dino (Board Book) – Rock-a-Bye, Baby with a dinosaur theme.
A Valentine for Uni the Unicorn (Board Book) – Part of the Uni the Unicorn line of stories.
The Galaxy Needs You – A celebration of the reader with art and characters from the Star Wars universe.
Hamster Holmes, A Big-Time Puzzle – Book 6 in the Hamster Holmes series of leveled readers. This time, Hamster Holmes and Dr. Watt participate in a scavenger hunt-like contest with clues to solve.
A Place for Everything (Habit 3) Reader – Part of a line of leveled readers that celebrate the Habits of Happy Kids (Sean Covey).
Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults
The Adventurers Guild: Night of Dangers – Book 3 in the Adventurers Guild series. The Adventurers are their world’s last line of defense against the monsters who would try to destroy everything. And this time, the Dangers are gaining ground. The first book in this series, The Adventurers Guild, is available through the Kindle FreeTime Unlimited subscription. (It’s like Kindle Unlimited, but for books for kids.)
Black Panther: Stormy Weather (Comics Collection/Graphic Novel) – Black Panther and Shuri team up to deal with deadly weather issues in Wakanda.
Disney-Pixar Toy Story 1-4 : The Story of the Movies in Comics – 200 pages of movie adaptations in graphic novel format.
The Art of Spies in Disguise – An Art of book for the movie releasing on Christmas day.
Star Wars: The Galactic Explorers Guide (December 20) – Book plus app gives readers an interactive Star Wars experience.
Books for Adults
Make Your Move (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Gamer Girls series. A game designer struggling to find her next idea lets her friend move in, even though she knows he has a serious crush on her. The roommate situation actually works out fine, but she’s puzzled by her feelings when the guy starts to fall for someone else. This sounds great! Book 1 in the series, She’s Got Game, is available for free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers at the time of this writing.
The Spia Family Avoids the Pits (e-book – December 19) – Book 3 in the Mobsters Anonymous Mystery series. For some reason, this book has disappeared from my research sites, but the author’s site says it is still on schedule, so you may have to do some searching for this one. For sure, you can read the first two books, The Spia Family Presses On AND The Spia Family Branches Out for free if you are a subscriber to Kindle Unlimited. Mia Spia and her mom are trying to keep their former-mob family on the straight and narrow while Mia also works to stay sober, but the mob life tends to throw a wrench into their quest to break free. I have this whole series on my reading wish list.
Star Trek Discovery: Dead Endless (Trade Paperback) – The latest Star Trek Discovery novel focuses on engineer Lieutenant Stamets who is grieving the loss of his partner, Doctor Culber. The description of the book sounds EXACTLY like a plot thread from the last season of the show, but someone on Goodreads assured me that this is original content, not a novelization of the episodes. I guess I’ll find out this week when I read the book. You can read my review of one of the previous novels here.
The Art of Rise of Skywalker (Hardcover – December 20) – Art from the new movie releasing at the end of this week.
The Grace of Les Misérables (Trade Paperback) – A six-week study of the themes from Les Misérables. There’s also a DVD, a leader’s guide and a youth study.
Schooled: A Love Letter to the Exhausting, Infuriating, Occasionally Excruciating Yet Somehow Completely Wonderful Profession of Teaching (Trade Paperback) – A collection of essays from a high school English teacher about the profession of teaching.
REVIEW: Zits: Chillax by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman
Summary
Jeremy, star of the Zits comic strip, and his best friend Hector bought two concert tickets to hear their favorite rock band, Gingivitis, from Tim, the bass player in their band. At first, their only concern is how to convince their parents to let them go to the show. Then they find out why Tim sold his tickets. His mom has cancer, and the day of the concert, he’s having surgery to give his mom some bone marrow.
Fitting the teen boy stereotype, Jeremy doesn’t know how to relate to Tim or to the situation. After talking to his parents and his girlfriend, Jeremy decides that he and Hector will get Tim a gift at the show as a sign of support. But nothing that night goes like they plan.
Review
This is an illustrated novel like a Dork Diaries or a Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Fans of the Zits comic strip will recognize all the major players. And the usual humor over teen stereotypes and parent interactions are present as expected. The cancer story could be heavy for a book with this format, but it’s balanced well with the humor.
I have enjoyed the Zits comics for years. While this was a new format, I enjoyed it. The story felt familiar, but I can’t pinpoint what came from a previous comic and what might have been changed or added for this book.
I think this could be a bridge book from middle grade to teen, maybe a good fit for readers in the 10-15 year old range. There’s a lot of fun music/band stuff that musicians might enjoy. But compared to contemporary teen fiction and graphic novels, this skews younger in my opinion. Might be a good fit for teens who don’t want the heavier or more mature YA themes.
Rating: ♥♥♥½
BONUS REVIEW: Abraham by Jennifer Beckstrand
[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Zebra in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Alfie and Benji Petersheim are still on their quest to see their three older brothers married so they can move out of the cellar and back into a room at the house. (Their grandparents have moved in which bumped the twins to the cellar.) They helped Andrew and Mary get together (Andrew – ♥♥♥♥♥). Now it’s time to help their brother Abraham find a girl.
The girl is the easy part. Abe stares at Emma all the time. The issue is that Abe is so quiet and never speaks to ANY girl, much less to Emma.
So the twins start scheming, using Abraham’s affinity for animals along with a stray dog and Emma’s chickens to bring the two young people together. But Emma couldn’t be less interested in Abraham. She knows him from the community. Their families are neighbors. But Abe is like a blank wall. Emma’s having too much fun playing the field and flirting with other boys who make her feel special. And she makes her disinterest pretty plain right up front. But the twins are tired of sleeping with spiders. They aren’t giving up on this match any time soon.
Review
This is the second book in the Petersheim Brothers series. I read book one, Andrew, this summer and adored it. That was my first introduction to the author, Jennifer Beckstrand. Then I read two of her Honeybee Sisters books and loved them, too. (You can read my review of book one, Sweet as Honey, here.) It wasn’t until I started Abraham, though, that I realized these two great series are connected.
I fell in love with Abraham in this book. I have some strong introverts in my life whom I adore, so I felt for him early on. It was sad how little he thought of himself because he wasn’t at ease with others like Emma or his younger brother, Austin. Abraham was resigned to being alone, and he thought that meant he would be a disappointment to his family.
Emma was harder to like. At first she comes across as breezy and fun. And I liked that she was up front with Abe about her feelings even if it did break his heart. But over time I started to see the difference between her public personality – flirty, bubbly, keeping her options open and her focus on fun – and who she was when she was alone with Abraham. When she chose the public personality over the private one, I was incensed for Abraham’s sake.
With Andrew, book one in the series, I loved the faith questions at the center of the story. Andrew wrestles with questions about sin, and I was 100% engaged in that wrestling with him. With Abraham, the wrestling is more with self, for both Abraham and for Emma. And I enjoyed that exploration, too.
I have adored everything I have read so far from Jennifer Beckstrand. She is now part of my must-read authors list. Pair her books with my favorites from Sarah Price for some fun, romantic Amish fiction. This one was romantic and funny and riling – and everything I hoped it would be. Do not miss out on this series! Book 3, Austin, releases in the summer of 2020.