Non-fiction book review - World of Weird

 

World of Weird by Dr McCreebor

Most kids go through a phase where they have a fascination with this sort of thing. It's the age where we become obsessed with the Guinness Book of Records, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and is probably adjacent to a love of horror. So this book fits neatly into that field of interest. It's a collection of historical oddities, either proven or rumored, with an emphasis on the macabre. The author includes what is known to be true and what is only rumor. The tone is almost gleeful, so this is more of an amusement than a truly informative text. Still it's bound to scratch an itch for young readers.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Lord of the Fly Fest

 

Title: Lord of the Fly Fest

Author: Goldy Moldavsky

Genre: humor/retelling

Similar books: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

                     The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Tiffany Brooks

Rating:

 

didn't especially work for me

Summary (provided by publisher): Rafi Francisco needs a splashy case to put her true-crime podcast on the map. Her plan? Land an interview with Fly Fest headliner River Stone, who rocketed to stardom after his girlfriend's mysterious disappearance—and expose him as the killer she's sure he is.
But when Rafi—and the hordes of influencers—arrive at Fly Fest, the dreamy Caribbean getaway they were promised turns out to be a nightmare. Soon, Rafi is fighting for her life against power-hungry beauty gurus and spotty WiFi. And, as she gets closer to River, she discovers that his secrets might have even bigger consequences than she suspected.

My opinion: I was one of those kids who was really into The Lord of the Flies, the way it tore apart the trappings of society and the idea of being civilized. So I was pretty on board with a book that would do the same for modern influencer culture. And this book certainly achieves that end. Moldavsky absolutely points out all of the flaws and ridiculousness of that subculture. To an extreme degree. And the extremes are part of why this book doesn't work for me. There is a heavy sense of unreality, like the whole thing might just be a fever dream. The characters are not developed in any serious way and it's hard to take the messaging with anything more than a smirk. While I agree Golding's original novel perhaps has not aged well and has been lifted on too high of a pedestal, I'm not sure this book is the answer.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Cat toys

 I had previously made some cat toys shaped like jellyfish for a craft fair. We have another fair quickly approaching so I thought I'd make some more, only to discover that the dowels I bought for the project are in storage ... somewhere. A little quick thinking yielded two new designs: a taco and a piece of bacon.

Listen with me

 

Don't Let In the Cold by Keely Parrack

A pair of teenagers alone in a cabin in the woods with a snow storm on the way and a charming stranger lurking about. What could go wrong? How about everything. This audio promises thrills and constant action. While it isn't likely to be very deep it's probably just the thing to keep me occupied while I'm running. 

Non-fiction book review - How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower

 

How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower by Emma Bland Smith

With that title, we're going to expect this to be a tale of engineering, of some disaster that threatened the physical structure and the ways that scientific knowledge allowed people to shore up the building. Instead, we get a tale of social engineering. This is really more about history and people than it is about science. It's a tale of the plan to tear down the Tower and how Eiffel used scientific exploration to make in indispensable. There's some subtle messaging here about what the public values and how you can twist that to suit your purposes. For the average young reader, though, this is primarily an unknown story in the history of a well known structure. Well illustrated and economical with text.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Don't Go to Sleep

 

Title: Don't Go to Sleep

Author: Bryce Moore

Genre: historical mystery/horror

Similar books: Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday

                     The Diviners by Libba Bra

Rating:

 

mostly compelling

Summary (provided by publisher): It's 1918, WW1 is in full swing, and a Spanish Influenza outbreak is on the horizon. In the midst of the chaos, families are being terrorized and people are being killed by a lone man with an axe. As Gianna and her friend Jake investigate the heinous crimes, she realizes she's connected to the killer in a way she could have never imagined.
Gianna is the average seventeen-year-old girl living in 1918 New Orleans. She worries about her family's store, the great war, and a mysterious illness that's about to take hold of the city she loves.
It doesn't help that there also appears to be a mad man on the loose in her neighborhood. The attacks started as burglaries but soon escalate to cold blooded murder. There's a killer out there, and the police can't seem to figure out how to stop him.
Gianna enlists the help of her friend Jake to investigate. And as they study the crimes, they see a common link between the victims, and Gianna can't help but wonder if it's the same man who attacked her family years before.
As Gianna gets closer to the killer, she discovers a connection between them that she never would have suspected.

My opinion: The New Orleans axe murderer is a subject most of us know next to nothing about. It makes for compelling reading, especially when you add in the war and the beginnings of a pandemic. Gianna is a solid character, determined and self-possessed. The secondary characters could use a bit more depth but they are enough for a straightforward tale. For the most part, this book is more entertaining than deep. The ending leaves us with nearly as many questions as answers. Even so, it's an atmospheric tale with some basis in history. The pacing is spot-on, drawing us along but still allowing space for reflection.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Banana hangers

 I saw a picture online of a banana hanger and was inspired to make a version of my own. The original image used cotton cord, a metal loop, and spherical wooden beads. I made mine out of t-shirt strips and some barrel beads salvaged from a worksite.