Book review - Bea and the New Deal Horse

 

Title: Bea and the New Deal Horse

Author: L.M. Elliot

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard

                      Saving Grace by Priscilla Cummings

Rating:

 

solid and engaging

Summary (provided by publisher): Bea wakes to Daddy’s note in a hayloft, where he abandoned her with her little sister after the stock market crash took everything: Daddy’s job at the bank, their home, Mama’s health and life.
How is Bea supposed to convince the imposing Mrs. Scott to take in two stray children? Mrs. Scott’s money and Virginia farm are drying up in a drought and the Great Depression, too. She might have to sell her beautiful horses, starting with a dangerous chestnut that has caused tragedy in the past and injures her stableman shortly after Bea arrives.
But wrestling with her own hurts and fears, Bea understands the chestnut’s skittish distrust. She sees hope in the powerful jumper—if he can compete at horse shows, they might save the farm, and maybe Bea can even win a place in Mrs. Scott’s heart.

My opinion: The first noteworthy thing about this book is the perspective. Typically books about the Depression focus on the Dust Bowl, on farmers. This book instead shows us people used to privilege. Bea goes from a comfortable home and her own pony to life on the road, hiding nights in barns, as her father fails to cope with his extreme change in circumstances. We see the same stress and loss in the Scott home as the lady of the house and just a few beloved employees try to keep the the taxes paid and the lights on. We see people helping each other and trying to maintain a little dignity even in the worst circumstances. Importantly, we also see racial injustice, failings of government, and the wasteful displays of wealth by the hyper rich. We see cruelty and it's echoing effect on those at the receiving end and on bystanders. While the ending is a bit idealized the parallels between an abused horse and people damaged by circumstance are a solid metaphor for this age group.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Tic-tac-toast

 While scrolling through Pinterest the other day (a really bad time-wasting habit, I must admit) I spotted this pin.

I loved the idea, though the avocado part didn't really resonate with me. So I set out to make my own version. Instead of toast shapes and topping shapes, I opted to make my board toast shaped with jam and butter pieces. I made my set out of scrap t-shirt, a zipper scavenged from an old pair of pants, felt, and velcro.

Book review - Please Return to the Lands of Luxury

 

Title: Please Return to the Lands of Luxury

Author: Jon Tilton

Genre: sci-fi/dystopian fiction

Similar books: The Last Beekeeper by Pablo Cartaya

                      D-39 by Irene Latham

Rating:

 

gives the reader plenty to consider

Summary (provided by publisher): An unexpected treasure. A treacherous journey. A thrilling adventure that will shape her future.
Jane lives on an island of trash. And even though she has to scavenge garbage and deal with sinister robots, she still loves her home. It’s all she’s ever experienced, from her most cherished memories to her foggy past that she can’t quite remember.
But when a doll shows up in the latest batch of garbage, everything changes. Unlike the rest of the junk, the doll is in excellent condition, including its tag which reads, “Please return to Gloria Thatcher.”
Convinced it arrived by accident, Jane vows to return the doll to its rightful owner. There’s just one problem—nobody has left the island before, thanks to the tyrannical robots guarding the Docks, a dangerous place with a mysterious history.
Will Jane find safe passage to the Lands of Luxury? Will she uncover the secrets of her past?
Embark on this thrilling adventure where Jane and her friends discover the importance of hardship and the beauty in sharing stories with life’s greatest treasure—our friends and family.

My opinion: There aren't many authors who address dystopia for such a young audience. When they do, the tend to focus on a single failing, on bad government or cruelty. Simple issues of control are easier for a child to digest and mentally resolve. Tilton does not fall into that trap. This book takes on class disparity, willful ignorance, grief and memory, and the way that bureaucracy discourages individuals from thinking. The book is not without it's faults but is admirable for addressing such big topics in simple, accessible language.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

Here is a book that promises to blend the glamour of the rising fame of a pop star with the thrills of espionage. There will be the expected elements of mismatched partners learning to respect each other but it could be a pretty exciting listen. Let's find out together.

Non-fiction book review - God Made the Dinosaurs

 

God Made the Dinosaurs by Michael and Caroline Carroll

Like most kids I went through a pretty significant phase of fascination with dinosaurs. I learned all about fossil records and carbon dating, different eras of dinosaurs and the links between species. It was all presented in a clear, scientific way that I easily accepted as fact. This lead to a lot of confusion later, then, when some well meaning person presented me with alternate ideas. With books that told me that carbon dating was based on guesses, that dinosaurs were lizards that had been allowed to live longer lives and thus kept growing to huge sizes. In short, religious books that told me science was wrong.  It was hard for me to reconcile and lead me to question whether science and religion could ever be compatible. Enter this book. I wish it was one that had existed in my youth. Because the authors lead with science. We are presented with loads of facts about the prehistoric world and the animals that lived in it. Information is cited. We aren't just told about claws and skeletons. We are told how fossils and scientific examination proves these ideas. God is acknowledged as the maker, the driving force behind these wonders. While it is science forward, there is a fair amount of "god talk" so if religion isn't your bag this isn't the book for you. But if you are looking for a way to bridge the gap between faith and science this is a solid way to do that.

More information: God Made the Dinosaurs releases April 4.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Wild Bird

 

Title: Wild Bird

Author: Diane Zahler

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: Northwind by Gary Paulsen

                     Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean

Rating:

 

well written but a hard sell

Summary (provided by publisher): Her name was Rype. That wasn’t really her name. It was what the strangers called her. She didn’t remember her real name. She didn’t remember anything at all.
Rype was hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk when they found her. She was hungry, small, cold, alone. She did not speak their language, or understand their mannerisms. But she knew this: To survive, she would have to go with them.
In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed the entire village of Skeviga. To stay alive, Rype, the only one left, must embark on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home.

My opinion: Plague stories can make for pretty compelling reading, especially when it comes to the Black Death. It was a major source of fear, killing quickly and indiscriminately. So we start with Rype, the sole survivor of a plague struck village. She experiencing a world falling apart in every direction as people respond in fear to the threat of illness. So it is a book about a physical journey as well as a personal search for a way to move forward. It is absolutely beautifully written, balancing moments of beauty and joy with absolute destruction and loss. The historical context can make it a bit of a hard sell and the lack of a central thesis, a message that the reader can take from the text, makes for a slow, meandering read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

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.