Book Bag

 I got a package this winter and when I started to break down the box I was struck by how much it looked like an oversized book.

Because I'm me, I couldn't let the resemblance go. So I set the box aside in hopes of finding the perfect fabric to complete the look. I eventually scrounged up some coordinating fabrics out of our rag bag (I'm on a serious upcycling kick). With a little glue and a strap from my crafting supplies, I feel like the end result is a bag that at least puts one in mind of a novel.

Graphic novel spotlight

 

Twistwood Tales by A.C. McDonald

Let's start by stating this plainly - this book as a bit weird. If you like a straightforward narrative this is not the book for you. But if you're cool with strangeness, if you loved "Gravity Falls" and especially "Over the Garden Wall", then this is the book for you. It's a collection of web comics so there is no narrative, just moments and recurring characters. Some pages are one-off gags and puns, mostly darkly humorous. Other pages are a reflection on the nature of existence and a plea to be kind to yourself. This is a book you could return to time and again, always finding the thing you need be it a simple laugh or some reassurance in a hard time.

More information: Twistwood Tales releases April 4.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Grow Great Vegetables Michigan

 

Grow Great Vegetables Michigan by Bevin Cohen

 My family has been gardening for a long time but we've always relied on the wisdom of experience and habit to guide our choices. It has long been my opinion, for just about any subject, that there is always room to learn. I as eager to see what this volume could teach us. And there's a lot to glean here, even for the experienced gardener. There's a solid section on soil types and micro-climates which will absolutely inform your gardening experience. A large bulk of the text is dedicated to individual vegetables: how and when to plant them and the kind of maintenance care that they need. I am confident that the information I've learned from this book will improve the quality of our plants and eagerly encourage you to do the same.

More information: Grow Great Vegetables Michigan releases April 4.

But, you protest, I don't live in Michigan. Why should I care? Don't worry, friends. There is a whole Grow Great Vegetables series for each state.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The Next New Syrian Girl

 

Title: The Next New Syrian Girl

Author: Ream Shukairy

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Saadia by Colleen Nelson

                     Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

Rating:

 

solid combination of elements

Summary (provided by publisher): Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school senior raised on boxing and football. Saddled with a monstrous ego and a fierce mother to test it, she dreams of escaping her sheltered life to travel the world with her best friend.
Leene Tahir is a Syrian refugee, doing her best to adjust to the wildly unfamiliar society of a suburban Detroit high school while battling panic attacks and family pressures.
When their worlds collide the result is catastrophic. To Khadija, Leene embodies the tame, dutiful Syrian ideal she's long rebelled against. And to Leene, Khadija is the strong-willed, closed-off American who makes her doubt her place in the world.
But as Khadija digs up Leene’s past, a startling and life-changing discovery forces the two of them closer together. As the girls secretly race to unravel the truth, a friendship slowly and hesitantly begins blooming. Doubts are cast aside as they realize they have more in common than they each expected. What they find takes them on a journey all the way to Jordan, challenging what each knows about the other and herself.

My opinion: This book could easily have become a trite exploration of privilege and identity. And those are certainly big elements of this story Khadija is undeniably privileged. Not just compared to Leene but compared to the average American teen. This is where the weight of expectation comes into play. Everyone makes assumptions about who she is and what motivates here. The result is two complicated characters, both damaged by the past in unique ways. While Khadija is not always very likeable and Leene is perhaps a bit idealized they are complex enough to be interesting and keep us engaged with the plot.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Coat pins

 At Christmastime I made a sheep pin for my coat and was surprised by how much I loved it. I'm not usually into decorations on my outerwear but I loved that sheep to the point that I left it on my coat well into February and felt a bit bereft when I finally removed it. I figured the solution was to add a more all-seasons pin to liven up my coat until warmer weather. I was inspired by old decorative medals to take a bit of ribbon and add a charm. Since it is reading month, I thought I'd make a little felt book. The results were ... underwhelming.

I had just about given up on the pin idea when I found some little decorative glass bottles at my dollar store and was reminded of a bit from one of Disney's oft forgotten gems - "The Emperor's New Groove". A felt scrap and a bit of plain white sticker with some marker was all it took to replicate the poison vial. 

 

The poison. The poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco's poison. That poison?

Book review - Midnight Strikes

 

Title: Midnight Strikes

Author: Zeba Shahnaz

Genre: fantasy

Similar books: Seeker by Arwen Elys Dalton

                     No True Echo by Gareth P Jones

Rating:

 

interesting take on the time loop

Summary (provided by publisher): Seventeen-year-old Anaïs just wants tonight to end. As an outsider at the kingdom’s glittering anniversary ball, she has no desire to rub shoulders with the nation’s most eligible (and pompous) bachelors—especially not the notoriously roguish Prince Leo. But at the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path. Including her.
The last thing Anaïs sees is fire, smoke, chaos . . . and then she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball. No one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster.
Not even when it happens again. And again. And again.
If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens. But the court's gilded surface belies a rotten core, full of restless nobles grabbing at power, discontented commoners itching for revolution, and even royals who secretly dream of taking the throne. It's up to Anaïs to untangle these knots of deadly deceptions . . . if she can survive past midnight.

My opinion: At first blush this seems like it's going to be a fairly standard fairy tale type story. After all, we have a teen girl from an outsider family pressured to make a good impression at a royal ball. These are pretty familiar elements. But Shahnaz takes a hard left turn, introducing the time loop element at the end of the first chapter. We loop over the same events over and over, each version failing for different reasons as Anais learns more about her country, her peers, the royal family, and the nature of magic. It takes a bit of patience to wade through which details are actually going to matter but it's no less interesting for that.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - A Star Explodes

 

A Star Explodes by James Gladstone

When we think about significant events in space, things that would have been noted historically, we tend to think of comets and eclipses. Especially when it comes to an event as far back as 1054. I guess it had never occurred to me that a supernova had ever been observed by people. This is an event that was never mentioned in any of my history or science classes. While my own knowledge of space and things observable in the night sky is pretty limited I was pretty fascinated by this quick book. I don't know that it will be enough to induce an interest in astronomy in a child but for those already into space this is a must read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley