Open on my shelf today:
Skycircus by Peter Bunzl
Dennis the Menace Volume 1 by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole
The Storyteller by Kathryn Williams
Total read in March: 44
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
March 30 check-in
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Book review - Any Sign of Life
Author: Rae Carson
Genre: sci-fi/post-apocalypse
Similar books: Landscape With Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson
The Road to Winter by Mark Smith
Rating:
has some believability issues
Summary (provided by publisher): Paige Miller is determined to take her basketball team to the state championship, maybe even beyond. But as March Madness heats up, Paige falls deathly ill. Days later, she wakes up attached to an IV and learns that the whole world has perished. Everyone she loves, and all of her dreams for the future—they’re gone.
But Paige is a warrior. She pushes through her fear and her grief and gets through each day scrounging for food, for shelter, for safety. As she struggles with her new reality, Paige learns that the apocalypse did not happen by accident. And that there are worse things than being alone.
My opinion: It's a scenario we've seen before: waking up to find that the world has changed. As a concept it has some flaws. While Carson addresses some of these with enough detail as to provide plausibility without trying too hard, other elements never fully make sense. The plot is solidly paced but relies a bit too much on gruesome detail for atmosphere. Ultimately, it's not an especially compelling story as no secrets are revealed in later chapters. Once Paige figures out what is going on, where the disease came from, there are no new reveals, just slogging through to a new stasis with no emotional exploration.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
March 29 check-in
Open on my shelf today:
Skycircus by Peter Bunzl
Dennis the Menace Volume 1 by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole
The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Tiffany Brooks
Total read in March: 43
Monday, March 28, 2022
March 28 check-in
Open on my shelf today:
Storm by Nicola Skinner
Dennis the Menace Volume 1 by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole
The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Tiffany Brooks
Total read in March: 41
Sunday, March 27, 2022
March 27 check-in
Open on my shelf today:
Science Comics: Birds of Prey by Joe Flood
Dennis the Menace Volume 1 by Al Wiseman and Fred Toole
The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Tiffany Brooks
Total read in March: 39
Saturday, March 26, 2022
March 26 check-in
Open on my shelf today:
Howl by Shaun David Hutchinson
Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now by Ryan North
The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Tiffany Brooks
Total read in March: 37
Friday, March 25, 2022
Book review - The Best Liars in Riverview
Author: Lin Thompson
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Paris Project by Donna Gephart
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
Rating:
.JPG)
a solid, age appropriate reflection on pain and identity
Summary (provided by publisher): Aubrey and Joel are like two tomato vines that grew along the same crooked fence—weird, yet the same kind of weird. But lately, even their shared weirdness seems weird. Then Joel disappears. Vanishes. Poof. The whole town is looking for him, and Aubrey was the last person to see Joel. Aubrey can’t say much, but since lies of omission are still lies, here’s what they know for sure: For the last two weeks of the school year, when sixth grade became too much, Aubrey and Joel have been building a raft in the woods.The raft was supposed to be just another part of their running away game.The raft is gone now, too.Aubrey doesn’t know where Joel is, but they might know how to find him. As Aubrey, their friend Mari, and sister Teagan search along the river, Aubrey has to fess up to who they really are, all the things they never said, and the word that bully Rudy Thomas used that set all this into motion.
My opinion: It has become a widely accepted truth that middle school is difficult for kids socially, especially for kids who are in any way different. We aren't surprised to find that this is the scenario in this book - bullied kids who are keeping big, essential secrets for fear of worse bullying. It's more than just peer difficulties, though. It's societal disapproval, feeling like you are a disappointment to your parents. These are huge questions to consider in a middle grade novel but Thompson handles them well, never making Aubrey out to be a perfect kid. Aubrey is pushing everyone away, keeping secrets they know to wrong or dangerous. While this is not a book for everyone, if a kid is struggling reading a book like this one could help.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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