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SABBATICAL: Year in Review 2017

Posted on July 8, 2021June 26, 2021 by Jaymie

One of my favorite activities as the year winds down is to take stock of what I have read and whittle down my favorites list to 10 or 12. My next few Sabbatical posts will be links to my past favorites. Today, it’s my list from 2017.

In 2017, I added some of my year-end stats as well as my list of favorite books. The thing that stands out so clearly to me from this post is the top book – A List of Cages. I absolutely adore this book. I’d love to re-read it, but it wrecks me emotionally, so I have to be in just the right space and time to deal with the gut-wrenching sobs. The book is stellar. There are actually two books on this list that make me ugly cry. But there’s also two non-fiction books – they often don’t make it onto a best-of-the-best list, so that’s noteworthy of 2017. Check out the full post.

Year in Review 2017

SABBATICAL: Year in Review 2016

Posted on July 7, 2021June 26, 2021 by Jaymie

One of my favorite activities as the year winds down is to take stock of what I have read and whittle down my favorites list to 10 or 12. My next few Sabbatical posts will be links to my past favorites. Today, it’s my list from 2016.

Not all of these books have full reviews on The Neverending TBR since I started posting in September. But this is a GREAT collection of books. More than half are books that I still think of fondly as some of the best I have read. And several are on my re-reading rotation. Check out this list of five great middle grade stories, two for teens, and three for adults.

Year in Review 2016

SABBATICAL: We go back to where it all began.

Posted on July 6, 2021June 26, 2021 by Jaymie

Here is the first review I ever posted here at The Neverending TBR.

It had been a few years since I blogged, and I was eager to find a place where I could talk about books since I wasn’t going to be in the classroom talking about them with students. Check it out!

REVIEW: Ada Twist, Scientist

BOOK NEWS: July 6, 2021

Posted on July 5, 2021June 26, 2021 by Jaymie

Happy July! While I am on a personal sabbatical this month, I couldn’t leave you without news on some of the great books releasing this week. There are a BUNCH! Take a look:

Books for Kids

Bloop – Bloop the alien comes to Earth for conquest, but he thinks dogs are the ones in charge. This sounds fun!
Except Antarctica! – While the narrator is quick to tell the turtle and other animals that they are found on every continent except Antarctica, the animals decide to travel there to prove them wrong. This is already in my shopping cart. The sample pages are hilarious!
The Bad Guys Cut to the Chase – Book 13 in the fun Bad Guys series.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Babymouse Tales from the Locker: Whisker Wizard – Book 5 in the middle grade Babymouse series. Babymouse gets to experience being an online influencer.
Forever this Summer – While Georgie is feeling left out by her family in their new town, a new friend asks for help finding her biological mother, and the journey changes what Georgie thought her summer would look like.
The Last Super Chef – When Curtis’ long-absent father announces a kid’s season of his show, Super Chef, Curtis sees it as a chance to prove himself as well as to meet his dad.
Secondhand Dogs – Miss Lottie has created a pack – a family – out of the rescues she has taken in. But when a new dog threatens their home and harmony, Gus, the pack leader, will have to find his courage and use it to save his family. This looks great!
Time Villains – First in a new series about a mysterious table that brings historical figures to life – and to dinner. And during a dinner party, Blackbeard the pirate escapes. This sounds super fun!
What Is the Story of Willy Wonka? – The backstory of the character Willy Wonka.
Where Are the Constellations? – A book about the constellations.
Who Was Juliette Gordon Low? – A biography of the woman who founded the Girl Scouts.
If You, Then Me – A young woman at an app incubator program for tech prodigies deals with meeting her idol; acquiring a nemesis; and stumbling into a love triangle between herself, her face to face crush, and the guy she’s been interacting with online – who happens to be at the same event. I have this one on my review list.
It Ends in Fire – A new novel from the author of Royal Bastards. A young woman who lost her parents at the hands of wizards and has grown up in a rebel faction cons her way into the magical academy in order to destroy it from within. I never got to finish the Royal Bastards series, but I loved the first book. I have this one in my shopping cart already.
The Queen Will Betray You – Book 2 in the Kingdoms of Sand and Sky series after The Princess Will Save You. The princess and the stable boy she loves face several royals out to claim the kingdom for themselves. I never got to read book one last year, but it releases in paperback this week and both books are on my wish list!
Rise to the Sun (LGBTQ+) – From the author of You Should See Me in a Crown. Two young women at the same music festival find in each other the companion and the support to do what they each need to do that weekend.
Six Crimson Cranes – A princess with forbidden magic is chased away from her home by her step-mother who has turned the girl’s brothers into cranes who will die if she tells anyone what happened. This sounds fascinating!

Books for Adults

The 22 Murders of Madison May (Hardcover) – A reporter is following a serial killer through the multiverse as he kills the same woman in every dimension. Yes please!
Capture the Crown (Trade Paperback) – Book 1 in the Gargoyle Queen series, a spinoff from the amazing Crown of Shards series. A pampered princess hides the extent of her magic and her role as a spy, but during a mission finds she must partner up with her nemesis if she’s going to survive. I have an autographed copy working its way to me this week – I can’t wait to dig into this one!
A Cup of Silver Linings (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Dove Pond series. A tea shop owner finds her special blends having the wrong effects on her customers. A grandmother in town to tie up her daughter’s affairs and move her granddaughter home finds a wrinkle to her plans – her granddaughter doesn’t want to go. So the granddaughter goes in search of her father and a chance to stay in Dove Pond. The full description of both this book and the first have grabbed my attention. These are now on my list.
Death at the Crystal Palace (Trade Paperback) – Book 5 in the Below Stairs Mystery series which kicked off with Below Stairs (♥♥♥♥). Kat gets embroiled in two dangerous mysteries when she agrees to help a woman who believes her own family members are trying to kill her. I might have to pick this series back up – this one sounds fascinating!
Dog Eat Dog (Hardcover) – Book 23 in the Andy Carpenter Mystery series, one of my favorites. Andy picks up a new client when a man wanted for murder stops to help a dog being abused. This one is on my review list.
A Fatal Footnote (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Open Book Mystery series after Murder in the Margins. Wedding bells hit a sour note when the Duke’s ex is found murdered at his wedding reception.
Half Sick of Shadows (Hardcover) – A reimagined King Arthur story, focused on a young seer named Elaine of Shalott, from the author of the Ash Princess series.
The Hollywood Spy (Hardcover) – Book 10 in the Maggie Hope Mystery series. Maggie travels to America when the woman engaged to her former fiancé is found dead and he suspects foul play.
Kill All Your Darlings (Trade Paperback) – A struggling writer and professor publishes a novel written by a missing student as his own. The student then shows up on his doorstep. And the police want to know why “his” novel includes details related to an unsolved case, trapping him between two undesirable actions. Wow, that sounds fascinating!
Lost and Found Family (Trade Paperback) – The latest novel by Jennifer Ryan. Hiding the truth of her late husband’s behavior has estranged Sara from her mother-in-law who threatens to take Sara’s children’ from her. This sounds fantastic!
The Moonshine Shack Murder (Mass Market Paperback) – First in the new Southern Homebrew Mystery series. When a body is found on the doorstep of her business with a broken bottle of her moonshine next to it, and the police discover Hattie and the victim had an argument, she becomes the prime suspect.
Out of Character (Trade Paperback, LGBTQ+) – Book 2 in the True Colors series after Conventionally Yours (a book I keep re-buying because I haven’t gotten to read it yet and keep forgetting I already own it). Jasper wants nothing to do with his ex-best friend, but Milo is desperate and really needs the help. And maybe he’ll even get to a point where he can tell Jasper how he really feels about him.
A Pumpkin Spice Killing (e-book) – Part of the Farm-to-Fork Mystery series. When the staff of the County Seat help out at a veterans home as a team-building exercise, they get drawn into one veteran’s quest to find his son and make amends before it’s too late. But someone keeps blocking their efforts. Sounds like a great mystery!
Tender Is the Bite (Hardcover) – Book 11 in the Chet & Bernie Mystery series. A young woman approaches Chet and Bernie for help but runs off before they can even get her name. But Chet picked up some clues to the case that hinges on the help of a ferret. That description is enough to get me to pick this one up!
Too Good to Be Real (Trade Paperback) – A reporter at a retreat that promises guests the chance at real life meet cutes has a meet cute of her own, but she doesn’t tell the guy she’s just there for the story. This sounds exactly like a Hallmark movie set up! I have to try this one!
Living Brave: Lessons from Hurt, Lighting the Way to Hope (Hardcover, Nonfiction) – I was already following the author, Shannon Dingle, on social media before she lost her husband in a stunning accident in 2019. This is going to be a powerful book!

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Sabbatical

Posted on July 3, 2021July 24, 2021 by Jaymie

No list post today, no update on my Enneagram reading from the last year like I usually do in July. Something different and overdue.

Recently a friend posted on Facebook that due to a variety of life circumstances, she was taking a break, a sabbatical, from her beloved job – with their blessing – to do some regrouping. I was so impressed with her self-awareness and her company’s regard for her and for her work that they made this happen for her.

I started a full time job at the beginning of June. I’m still in those early days of feeling like a substitute teacher in someone else’s classroom. I’m sure my new boss is weary of my questions. I really want to do well in this, and there’s a HUGE learning curve. But while I took on this new responsibility, I had every intention of doing all the same things I did before.

It’s not working.

You might have noticed that a couple weeks ago I didn’t post a Thursday YA review, but instead posted adult reviews two days in a row. This week, I didn’t even post Wednesday. I thought it was the adult books slowing me down and keeping me from getting to the YA book in a week’s time, but in reality I have 45-ish fewer hours of time each week than I did this spring.

In the first 5 months of 2020, I was averaging 7 books a week – a pace I have been on for a few years now since I left my last full time job. For the first five months of 2021, I was down to 5 books a week – still a pace that allowed me 3-5 reviews a week and an occasional book read just for me. For June, for the first month of this new job, I have finished 11 books for the WHOLE MONTH. That’s not quite 3 books a week, and it is showing as I try to get to the books on my publishing schedule. This is not sustainable. I am resenting everything – the job, the books I do get to read, the ones I’m not getting to, the ever-present feeling of being trapped.

Something has to give.

So, I am taking the month of July off.
A sabbatical.
A bookmark in the journey to hold my place for a few weeks.

I have all of the Book News posts done and scheduled to post. I also have links to some past posts to keep you in book ideas for the month that I am away. When I come back in August, there will probably be some changes coming to my posting schedule. But I am also hoping to return with a fresh perspective on this space I have invested in and carved out on the internet for almost 5 years now. I also hope to come back with some reviews of books I have enjoyed just because I wanted to read them.

Yes, this means the reviews I have promised for books releasing this year will be late. And there may be some I choose not to review. It’s going to tank my review rate on Netgalley. But it’s essential that I take a break and re-evaluate.

So happy summer! I’ll see you back here in August. In the meantime, check out some fun posts from the last almost-five years of blogging and discover some reading treasures you might have missed the first time around. ♥

REVIEW: Better Together by Christine Riccio

Posted on July 1, 2021June 28, 2021 by Jaymie

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

Summary

Siri was certain her back injury would heal up and she’d be back to dancing by now. So when the doctor tells her she can’t dance ever again, she’s devastated. Her mom ships her off to a “Rediscover Yourself” retreat in Colorado where she’s supposed to somehow “find her way.” Like that could happen after everything has fallen apart.

Jamie’s launch to independence didn’t quite go as planned. So she’s back home with her dad and Grams. One of her dad’s conditions to her moving home is that she either go to therapy or go to a “Rediscover Yourself” yoga retreat her grandmother mentioned.

While Siri sees Jamie as an annoyance at the retreat where she doesn’t want to be anyway, Jamie is stunned to see her little sister there. It’s been 14 years. And apparently Siri has no memory of Jamie. Siri thought “Jamie” was an imaginary friend and has spent those years apart trying to not feel crazy because she was so attached to this imaginary friend. A real-life, in-her-face Jamie is unfathomable at first.

As the two try to make sense of their past as well as their present reality, they decide they want to switch places after the retreat so they can get some closure on the mess their parents have made of things. They figure they will pretend to be one another – they look enough alike to be twins – and then bamboozle their parents into a big meet up. What could go wrong?

How about a magic glitter bomb that somehow causes the girls to switch bodies?

Review

So, I wanted to like this. I stuck with this one FAR longer than I usually do for a book I’m just not feeling. I was intrigued by the whole “How could Siri’s mom lie to her so egregiously like that?” plot line. But in the end, I gave up at about 65%. I didn’t like Siri or Jamie, although Siri was more tolerable once she got to California. The girls were both abrasive and hard to like. Siri’s weird not-swearing thing got old really fast. (Instead of “S***” she says “Excrement,” for example – you can imagine what she does with the f-word.) The most likeable character, Dawn, is a side character who doesn’t get much development because she is not the focus. But I would have liked either more of her, or a more direct story about the imaginary friend lie. The fact that both girls have grandparents who went along with this ridiculous thing is, I guess, something that should have bothered me more in the original Parent Trap. But the “twins” were so endearing in those movies, I didn’t stop to ask. The magical switching complicated this rather than making it more fun. (I’ve read complaints online not unlike the ones for Wonder Woman 1984 about what right a person has to use someone else’s body/face for their own purposes.)

If you are super into the whole premise, or you have a higher tolerance for abrasive characters than I do, or if you like the author’s other work, you might give this a try. But it was a bad fit for me.

Rating: ♥

*♥ = Problematic, did not finish.

REVIEW: Marcus Makes a Movie by Kevin Hart

Posted on June 29, 2021June 24, 2021 by Jaymie

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

Summary

Marcus had to sign up for an after school activity. He wanted to do art so he could work on his comic every day after school. But the art teacher would have made him do other projects, too. So he agrees to sign up for film making.

But when he gets to the first session, he’s not feeling the leaders or the other kids. He’s hoping to just sit in a corner and work on his superhero comic about Toothpick, his hero. But then one of the leaders suggests Marcus could turn his superhero comic into a movie!

Review

This is a lot of fun! Marcus has big feelings and a big personality, but his heart is usually in the right place. I could hear the author’s voice in my head as I read. And the mentions of “Tevin Bart,” “Taylor Berry,” and some superhero references in the book were hilarious!

This includes solid information about screenplays, writing and revising, taking criticism, etc., but it is well-integrated and never distracts from the story. And Marcus’ voice and personality are consistent (and awesome) all the way through.

This was such a fun story with characters I thoroughly enjoyed. I’d love to read more Marcus adventures! (Grief/loss)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.