Book review - Exactly Where You need to Be

 

Title: Exactly Where You Need to Be

Author: Amelia Diane Coombs

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Voice in My Head by Dana L Davis

                     In Real Life by Jessica Love

Rating:

 

predictable in a good way

Summary (provided by publisher): Florie’s OCD and her mother’s worrying have kept her from a lot of things, like having an after-school job and getting her driver’s license. And now that she’s graduated high school, while her best friend Kacey is headed off to Portland in the fall, Florie’s taking a parent-sanctioned gap year off before starting college. When the decision was made, Florie was on board, but now she can't ignore the growing itch to become the person she wants to be and venture outside the quaint, boring Washington town she grew up in.
Winning tickets to see her favorite true crime podcast’s live show in California gives her the opportunity to do just that, if only for a few days. So—unbeknownst to their parents—Kacey and Florie set off on a road trip to San Francisco. The only downside in Florie’s opinion? Sam, Kacey’s older brother and Florie’s forever crush, is their ride. The Samson Hodge, who Florie hasn’t seen since winter break, and who she’d prefer to never see again, if possible. But Florie is willing to put up with Sam if it means one last adventure with her best friend.
Making it to San Francisco and back to Washington without their parents catching on isn’t a given, but one thing is for sure: this trip will change everything.

My opinion: Stories about road trips tend to have one of two conclusions - the protagonist either changes their view of themself or of someone close to them. And when your protagonist has major struggles with mental illness and seems resigned to a quiet, restrained life, you can guess where the plot is headed. That predictability could make for dull reading if these weren't such charming characters. Florie's struggles with her OCD ring true. She is trying to challenge herself to try new things but also recognizes situations that are beyond her reach in the moment. She recognizes her limits. The plot, overall, follows extremely predictable pathways so this isn't a mind-blowing book. But it's a solidly engaging and pleasant book, a decent choice for a beach read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley 

Book bag

 Have you ever made a tote bag from an old t-shirt? I've seen many patterns for them but never actually made one myself. Recently, though, I found myself in need of one last thing to finish off a gift and since I had this old "I love books" shirt in my stash it seemed like a good time to give it a try.

As far as craft projects go, this is a fairly simple one. Start by sewing up the bottom of the shirt. I like to sew it inside out, so the seam is hidden. To strengthen the bottom, I double stitched the seam. I also added a pleat in both sides to make it a more natural fit for a stack of books.

 

 

Once the bottom is sewed up, the rest is just a matter of cutting. First cut the neckline square. Then cut the sides even. I like those to be a bit more square as well.

Book review - The Hike to Home

 

Title: The Hike to Home

Author: Jess Rinker

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: A Talent for Trouble by Natasha Farrant

                     Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe by Jo Watson Hackl

Rating:

 

great characters, decent plot

Summary (provided by publisher): Lin Moser is not looking forward to this summer. After living on the road all her life, hiking mountains and traveling through the country in an RV with her house-flipping parents, she’s now stuck in Newbridge, New Jersey for their longest stay yet. With Mom away on a year-long naturalist assignment, Lin has resigned herself to having the most boring summer ever. But then she finds out about a local legend: an ancient ruined castle in the woods that no one has been able to find. Hiking to this castle would be like a quest. . . such an amazing quest that Mom might even come home, and they could adventure together the way they used to.
Determined to create her own adventure, Lin sets off on her biggest one yet—braving the wilderness with her two new friends, seeking the castle, and maybe discovering a new idea of home along the way.

My opinion: Rinker deftly combines what could be disparate and distancing plot elements: internet fame, the lack of understanding of peers, emotional distance from parents, and small town legends. A lesser book would make a mess of these elements but they fit neatly together in this one. Oddly enough, Lin's overestimation of her own wilderness and survival skills seems to be the glue that makes these elements work. Each time things fall a little more out of her control, she is also forced to face a larger issue. Some of the later plot elements push the bounds of my willing suspension of disbelief but I like the early chapters well enough to dismiss my later displeasure as more a matter of personal taste than a flaw in the writing.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Picture books for everyone

 

The Boy and the Mountain by Mario Bellini and Marianna Coppo

This book combines elements we don't often see in a picture book: hiking, perspective changes, and persistence in art. We are presented with a character who wants to show the majesty of the mountain. Each piece he attempts captures a part of the experience but not the whole thing. He doesn't get frustrated or give up. He doesn't criticize his abilities. He changes perspectives and tries again. While the messaging may be too deep for very young children, it's charming and visually appealing. Older kids may engage with the ideas about perspectives and the parts of a whole and may be encouraged to create their own art based on an element of a larger view. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Non-fiction book review - The Wonders We Seek

 

The Wonders We Seek by Saadia Faruqi and Aneesa Mumtaz

I've made no secret of my fondness for profile collections. I love to read about figures left out of my history education and the impact they made on the world. And this collection provides us with a wide variety of influences: athletes, scientists, philosophers artists, political activists and more. The early section has a special focus on mathematics and the sharing of information, the structures on which many of our educational systems were built that would not be possible without Muslim influence. Some of these figures will be quite familiar to all readers (Muhammad Ali, Malala, and such) while others will probably be new but no less inspiring as a result. These profiles have enough detail to feel informative but not so much as to be overwhelming. A solid read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief

 

Title: Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief

Author: Maurice LeBlanc

Genre: mystery/humor

Similar books: Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C Bunce

                      The Baker Street Peculiars by Roger Langridge

Rating:

 

fun, if you sell it right

Summary (provided by publisher): In 1907, Author Maurice Leblanc released the first collection of stories recounting the adventures of Arsene Lupin, a charming thief and master of disguises. The character became quite popular, featured in 17 novels and 39 novellas, inspiring generations of charming anti-heroes to follow. This brand new edition of the first Arsene Lupin novel is beautifully illustrated by artist Vincent Mallie, capturing the joyful style of an animated feature as if created by renowned director Hayao Miyazaki (whose first directorial release was LUPIN THE 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, which is filled with nods to Leblanc's classic character).
Collecting the first 9 novellas, this illustrated edition features dozens of black-and-white and full-color illustrations and plates including numerous two-page spreads that evoke the beauty and charm of a Studio Ghibli production.

My opinion: Convincing a young reader that an "old" book is worth their time can be a challenge. Kids don't necessarily want to fight against obscure vocabulary and long passages of flowery description. That may be less of a problem with this book. While it has a sort of old fashioned vibe, the language here was easy enough to follow while maintaining a sort of artfulness we don't always see in books for middle graders. The plots are a sort of cheeky nod at rascally behavior. Lupin is, after all, a thief. He steals from people who "deserve it" so we don't feel so bad at him tricking people all of the time. It fits a sort of intersection between Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Pimpernel - a character who gets away with daring crimes leaving behind tiny clues that only the sharpest investigator can puzzle out. If your young reader is a dedicated sort, this could be a fun selection.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Rat-tailed radishes - a tale of curiosity and caution

 Since I moved this spring, I can have a garden and I was very excited at the prospect. I spent the end of winter pouring over seed catalogs and deciding what I would plant. I went with a few things I enjoy eating - like beets and kale - but I also wanted to have fun with it so I picked a few random things that struck my fancy. This is how my garden now includes ground cherries and rat-tailed radishes. That last one I picked mostly because the name was funny. 

Once we were safe to plant I sowed my seeds and eagerly awaited the growing plants. As we began to harvest the first crops, I didn't think too much about my rat-tails other than to check the plants occasionally. Then they flowered. A little background here: rat-tailed radishes are a seed pod, unlike the radishes most of us know. I began to realize that each of my plants, over 3 feet tall, was covered in dozens of flowers. And if each flower produces a pod...

I wasn't wrong. We are in the midst of the radish harvest now and it's a lot. My crafting time has largely been spent trying to keep up with the radishes on top of kale and zucchini. As more and more radishes collect in my refrigerator, I've been trying to come up with uses for them.

 

I have 3 bags full right no

 

In addition to chopping them into salads and sauteeing them, this weekend I tried 2 experiments, both of which I'm happy to say turned out pretty well. On the left, we have refrigerator pickled radishes, and the right are radish crisps (made in the dehydrator). I even made a little rat label for the crisps.

 So that's my cautionary tale. Before you plant random vegetables, do a little research and so you know what to expect from you plants. And then maybe don't plant every seed in the packet.