Book review - The Spy Who Raised Me

 

Title: The Spy Who Raised Me

Author: Ted Anderson

Genre: thriller/graphic novel

Similar books: Girl from Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan

                     School for S.P.I.E.S by Bruce Hale

Rating:

 

won't hold up

Summary (provided by publisher): Some parents want their children to turn out just like them. Only a few secretly turn their kids into elite special operatives.
Josie Black can infiltrate any building, speak a dozen languages, and fight like a martial arts master. But no one told her that. After J.B. detects gaps in her memory, her mom reveals the truth: she works for a covert agency, and she's given J.B. the skills of a super spy. After J.B. freaks out, runs off, and tries to escape the weird world of espionage, she'll have to decide who she wants to be.

My opinion: We know a lot of what to expect from a book like this one. JB stumbles on the fact that she has been trained to be a spy. So of course she and her friend go on the run from shadowy forces and all of the skills she has been programmed with aid in her escape. This one is interesting in that it involves corporate espionage instead of governmental, but the plot elements remain largely the same. It's pretty simple entertainment but is predictable enough that it probably won't hold up to multiple reads.

More information: The Spy Who Raised Me releases April 6.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Sloths and llamas

 Today's craft is a quick one. I don't usually buy cardboard craft kits, but when I saw this one at the dollar store featuring two of my favorite animals I couldn't resist.

Rather than use the 4 included crayons, I pulled out my alcohol markers.

 

Book review - Sherlock Bones and the Sea Creature Feature

 

Title: Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature

Author: Renee Treml

Genre: mystery/early chapter book

Similar books: Sandwich Shenanigans by Verity Weaver

                      Wallace and Grace Take the Case by Heather Alexander

Rating:

 

a decent beginner mystery

Summary (provided by publisher): Sherlock Bones’s home, the Natural History Museum, has added an exciting new exhibit, Reef to Shore, that includes a mangrove forest and shallow coral reef habitat, with touch tanks in between. When Sherlock overhears a that a swamp monster has been sighted, he gathers his team to investigate. At first Sherlock Bones suspects Nivlac, a quirky octopus with a talent for camouflage—and tank pranks.
But then, loud bellowing leads Bones and team to the mangroves, where they find a horrifying long-haired green beast! Can they escape the creature—or is it too late for our beloved frogmouth bird skeleton and his ragtag mystery-solving team?

My opinion: Treml uses the graphic novel format to powerful affect in this book. There is no narration, no captions. Instead, Bones provides necessary information through expository dialogue. The mystery is a bit odd but certainly education. We learn quite a bit about ecosystems and animal behaviors through the investigation. The characters are consistent if a bit odd. A decent choice for young readers, especially those who find a page full of text overwhelming.

More information: Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature releases March 23. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Pick 6: Gone Missing

 We get stories about a lot of different kinds of mysteries. Murders tend to be thrillers. When an author wants to present us with a more contemplative mystery, they tend to pick something more like a missing person. Investigating a missing person reveals secrets, truths about a person that make for a more complex understanding of individuals. Here are six books featuring a missing person published in the past six months.

Six new missing person novels:

1. I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan
2. The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett
3. When You Look Like Us by Pamela N Harris
4. The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S by David Levithan
5. City of Villains by Estelle Laure
6. Fadeaway by E.B. Vickers
   

Non-fiction book review - A Kid's Guide to the Names of Jesus

 

A Kid's Guide to the Names of Jesus by Tony Evans

For kids who grow up in the church, there is often a gap. A time period where they have outgrown bible story books but aren't ready for deep theological exploration. And it's an important gap to bridge. You can only read about Adam and Eve or David and Goliath so many times before they become stale. And that's where books like this one come in. It follows the same structure as any adult theological text. We have a central concept broken down into elements, each element explored in depth in it's own chapter. In this case, each chapter takes a name given to Jesus, gives us the context in which it is used, and explores what it meant at the time and what it means for us now. The examples are accessible and applicable to modern life. A solid choice for upper elementary and middle school kids. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Soul Lanterns

 

Title: Soul Lanterns

Author: Shaw Kuzki

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot

                     Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai

Rating:

 

artistic reflection, but a bit of a hard sell

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Nozomi lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She wasn't even born when the bombing of Hiroshima took place. Every year Nozomi joins her family at the lantern-floating ceremony to honor those lost in the bombing. People write the names of their deceased loved ones along with messages of peace, on paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river. This year Nozomi realizes that her mother always releases one lantern with no name. She begins to ask questions, and when complicated stories of loss and loneliness unfold, Nozomi and her friends come up with a creative way to share their loved ones' experiences. By opening people's eyes to the struggles they all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion.

My opinion: My first thought about this book is that the artistry and culture don't really translate properly into English. The central focus of the plot is on shifts in culture after a world changing event. Can we, as American readers, properly understand those shifts if we don't really understand what the culture was like before Hiroshima? This also isn't a straightforward narrative. It's glimpses into the lives of people in a neighborhood, the secret pain they are hiding and the effort they've made towards normalcy. The central ideas here are compelling and heartbreaking, and the ideas are vital for us to understand. I'm simply concerned that the emotional distance and meandering writing style may make it a hard sell for young readers.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Visible mends

 I've been really into visible mending lately. Mostly for me that means darning knitted garments in contrasting colors. 

 

 

I also attempted darning a hole in my running shoes. A tricky fix but it should keep these shoes usable for a few more runs.

I did also patch some fleece pajamas this weekend as well, using contrasting fleece and some rainbow thread.