Book review - Bertie and the Alien Chicken

 

Title: Bertie and the Alien Chicken

Author:Jenny Pearson

Genre: humor

Similar books: Alien Nate by Dave Whammond

                     Alien Invasion in My Backyard by Ruben Bolling

Rating:

 

cute

Summary (provided by publisher): An alien chicken bent on exterminating Earth is disarmed by the power of friendship in this hilarious and heartfelt tale from Lollie-award-winning author Jenny Pearson.
Bertie is NOT looking forward to spending the summer holidays on stinky Long Bottom Farm. But things take an interesting turn when he encounters Nugget, the alien chicken. Nugget’s mission is to find the Earth’s most important resource and transport it back to Nurgle 7, and he needs Bertie’s help. But what could the Earth’s most valuable resource be, and can they find it in time to stop the Nurgles exterminating the Earth?!

My opinion: It will as no surprise to anyone that this is a very silly book. But that's okay. It doesn't take itself too seriously. Even so there is solid structure and even a redeeming message both about what we value and about the importance of research. It's a touch cheeky but doesn't rely too much on gross-out humor. Cute enough for a kid to enjoy reading.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Possum

 Maybe it's strange, but I have a fondness for opossums. They're a little bit creepy with their squinty eyes, sharp little teeth, and scrabbly paws. But I think they're creepy cute. I've wanted to make a sock puppet opossum for a while now and I finally collected the right materials. One key - a long pink tongue that can hang out and let it play dead. And thanks to my mom who suggested rickrack for teeth.

Listen with me

 

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

What a spectacular read! This is more than just a historical novel. Marsh weaves together three perspectives - two girls in the 1930s and a boy at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Matthew's story appears initially to just be a way to engage the reader with the historical plot, as the narrative unfolds we see more parallels. Certainly, this is a historical novel at heart. It's a tale of the Ukrainian famine and it's devastating effects on a trio of cousins. But it's also a tale of loss and fear, of isolation and your world being inexorably changed. That is part of where Matthew's story comes in. And at a higher level it is an introduction to narrative. As the characters discover, it matters who is telling the story and what their motivations might be. We learn about propaganda and state controlled media, the power of our news sources telling us what is and isn't true even without evidence. This is a story you can read multiple times and come away with a different point to reflect on each time.

More information: The Lost Year releases January 17. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Evicted

 

Evicted! by Alice Faye Duncan

When we learn about the Civil Rights Movement, we learn some about voting restrictions and the challenges to getting the right to vote protected for all citizens. This part of history is often glossed over, getting brief mention, as the bulk of our education focuses on sit-ins and bus boycotts. I personally never learned about the Fayette County Tent City Movement. This book is an excellent way to learn about it. We are presented with a wide variety of important figures, their backgrounds and individual motivations for being involved. Some sections are presented as more straightforward narratives, others as poetry. It's all lyrical and sparse, the word choice careful and intentional to create the most impact without embellishment. An excellent addition to any history collection.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - For Lamb

 

Title: For Lamb

Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: Mirror Girls by Kelly McWilliams

                      The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQueen

Rating:

 

solid characters

Summary (provided by publisher): For Lamb follows a family striving to better their lives in the late 1930s Jackson, Mississippi. Lamb’s mother is a hard-working, creative seamstress who cannot reveal she is a lesbian. Lamb’s brother has a brilliant mind and has even earned a college scholarship for a black college up north-- if only he could curb his impulsiveness and rebellious nature.
Lamb herself is a quiet and studious girl. She is also naive.  As she tentatively accepts the friendly overtures of a white girl who loans her a book she loves, she sets a off a calamitous series of events that pulls in her mother, charming hustler uncle, estranged father, and brother, and ends in a lynching.

My opinion: There is no question from the beginning how this book is going to end. So this is not a book driven by action. It is reflective. We cycle through characters in turn, learning about their pasts and their motivations. We come to understand why they interact with others the way that they do, why they can be harsh, cruel, selfish, or spineless. As we come to understand them more we also come to understand why the ending is inevitable. We can see it on the horizon a couple of chapters ahead and yet the character development is interesting enough to keep us engaged. It's an upsetting read but one worth making your way through.

More information: For Lamb releases January 10.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Nalbinding

 The first craft I have to share with you this year doesn't look like much. In fact, it isn't much. 

I'm learning nalbinding and this is the first time I successfully completed joining without getting the whole thing twisted (I'm very good at nalbinding mobius strips). It's still not very good, uneven and chaotic. But my goal this year is to cut myself a little slack, to stop expecting perfection right away. So I'm celebrating this little loop of yarn. And I invite you to do the same. Celebrate your small victories.

Book review - They're Watching You

 

Title: They're Watching You

Author: Chelsea Ichaso

Genre: thriller/mystery

Similar books: Sanctuary Bay by Laura J Burns

                     Poor Little Dead Girls by Lizzie Friend

Rating:

 

maybe too much of a stretch

Summary (provided by publisher): It's been two weeks since Polly St. James went missing. The police, the headmistress of Torrey-Wells Academy, and even her parents have ruled her a runaway. But not Maren, her best friend and roommate. She knows Polly had a secret that she was about to share with Maren before she disappeared— something to do with the elite, ultra-rich crowd at Torrey-Wells.
Then Maren finds an envelope hidden among Polly's things: an invitation to the Gamemaster's Society. Do not tell anyone, it says. Maren is certain her classmates in the Society know the truth about what happened to Polly, though it's no easy feat to join. Once Maren's made it through the treacherous initiation, she discovers a world she never knew existed within her school, where Society members compete in high-stakes games for unheard-of rewards—Ivy League connections, privileges, favors.
But Maren's been drawn into a different game: for every win, she'll receive a clue about Polly. And as Maren keeps winning, she begins to see just how powerful the Society's game is—bigger and deadlier than she ever imagined. They see, they know, they control. And they kill.

My opinion: A book about a secret society is already asking you to willingly suspend your disbelief. So it has to create a believable, compelling scenario. I though that was going to be the case here. I actually really love the idea of this society structuring around games. Not games of chance, but those of skill, of planning your moves twelve steps ahead and using information to your best advantage. It's a solid concept. Unfortunately the details are for more to the extreme. And the characters are not compelling and believable enough to drive the plot and keep us engaged. The result is a story that tries too hard and suffers as a result.

More information: They're Watching You releases January 3.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley