Nalbinding a hat

 Last year, around this time, I was learning the new skill of nalbinding. This winter I decided to use that skill to make a hat. I didn't follow a pattern, just sort of increased whenever it felt appropriate. The result was kind of nice looking but a loose weave. And far too big around. It fell over my face.

Luckily, this hat was made from wool yarn so I was able to felt it. Since fit was a concern, I felted it by hand. While that's a lot more labor intensive I had control over the exact finished size. Here's the final product, just in time for the winter storm they've predicted for this weekend.

Book review - Between Two Brothers

 

Title: Between Two Brothers

Author: Crystal Allen

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Ten Thousand Tries by Amy Makechnie

                      Daisy Wormwood Changes the World by Melissa Hart

Rating:

 

compelling

Summary (provided by publisher): Isaiah "Ice" Abernathy has always worshiped his older brother, Seth. For years they’ve been not just brothers but best friends—and as Seth starts his senior year, Ice is eager to spend as much time with his brother as he can, making memories before Seth goes to college.
But when Seth announces he’s leaving much earlier than expected, and then he misses an important event—one he'd promised to attend—it causes a major fight.
Filled with regret, Ice plans to apologize to Seth later the next day, but later never comes, as he finds out Seth was in an accident—one that leaves him in the hospital. And the doctors say he may never recover.
Racked by fear and guilt, Ice chooses to step up, defy the experts, and help Seth recover in a way only he can—by trusting in their bond and the undying love between two brothers.

My opinion: While some elements of this novel won't be relevant to the average reader, this is a solid read. It's an artfully written picture of a middle grade kid already shouldering a fair amount of responsibility. His sense of guilt and his brother's accident cause the situation to spiral nearly out of control. This becomes a story of a kid trying to do too much, to "fix" a tragedy all on his own. His efforts follow a believable pattern. The characters are strong and believable. And most importantly, the resolution is realistic. There are no miracle cures, just a sense of hope as the family adjusts to their new normal.

More information: Between Two Brothers releases January 23.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The Reckoning

 

Title: The Reckoning

Author: Wade Hudson

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Take Back the Block by Chrystal D Giles

                      The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

Rating:

 

doesn't live up to potential

Summary (provided by publisher): Lamar can’t wait to start his filmmaking career like his idol Spike Lee.  And leave behind his small town of Morton, Louisiana. But for now, Lamar has to learn how to be a filmmaker while getting to know his grandfather.
When Gramps talks about his activism and Black history, Lamar doesn’t think much about it. Times have changed since the old Civil Rights days! Right? He has a white friend named Jeff who wants to be a filmmaker, too, even though Jeff’s parents never let him go to Lamar’s Black neighborhood. But there’s been progress in town. Right?
Then Gramps is killed in a traffic altercation with a white man claiming self-defense. But the Black community knows better: Gramps is another victim of racial violence. Protesters demand justice. So does Lamar. But he is also determined to keep his grandfather's legacy alive in the only way he knows how: recording a documentary about the fight against injustice.

My opinion: This is a solid concept for a middle grade novel. We have a young Black man starting to have an awakening to racism and history. He's learning how to be an activist and what things are worth fighting for. He's also starting to become aware of the difference between himself and his white peers. An unexpected tragedy becomes a catalyst for real change in his community. That all sounds quite solid and important. Unfortunately, the reading experience is stiff. The dialogue doesn't read like a real kid. The topic is important enough to be worth reading but it doesn't live up to the potential.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Punycorn

 

Punycorn by Andi Watson

When we think of the unlikely hero in a quest narrative we probably don't think of a unicorn. But that's what Watson gives us and it works spectacularly well. With a unicorn in training the only one available to defend the city, Punycorn sets out on a quest to collect necessary elements to defeat a villain who is equal parts threatening and silly. While Punycorn's interpretations of the necessary items are perhaps not what was intended, his adventure is kind-hearted and noble. This is fun and exciting and a joy to read.

 

Yip-yip

 Remember these muppets from Sesame Street?

My sister and I have fond memories of them from our childhood so when I found a pattern to make one, I knew she needed one for her birthday.

Here's what I made:

 

Book review - The Unbeatable Lily Hong

 

Title: The Unbeatable Lily Hong

Author: Diana Ma

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Underdog City by Chris Negron

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Rating:

 

a solid experience

Summary (provided by publisher): If there’s one thing Lily Hong can’t stand, it’s being second best. That’s why she and Max Zhang have been bitter rivals ever since he swooped into town as the new kid with the cool clothes and his fancy downtown Chinese school and showed her up in the fifth-grade reading challenge.
She had wanted to be the one to win the pizza party for their class. Okay, so that was two years ago . . . her best friends Kelli and Lauren didn’t totally get it, but they were on her side. And that’s why they agreed to help Lily with her submission for the Clarktown’s Got Talent video competition. Filmmaking is Lily’s passion—which means winning is more important to her than ever.
Unfortunately, finding time to work on her video submission is proving harder than ever. In addition to doing regular homework and attending the Chinese school her parents own and run out of the Clarktown Community Center, Lily’s been getting weird vibes from her parents lately and she can tell something is up. Then her mom announces that the Clarktown Community Center is having its first showcase, and the students of Hong Chinese Academy will be performing as a group—traditional Chinese dance!
Lily is more confused than anything else—the community center is practically falling apart and they think this is a good time to put on a show? Could it be that the community center is in trouble and the only way to save it is to make the showcase a huge success? Lily has no choice. She’ll have to juggle the video competition and the art of Chinese dance simultaneously. But when Max Zhang unexpectedly shows up in her class at Chinese school with his perfect Mandarin and his surprisingly good dance skills, Lily might just have to embrace her longtime rival as a key part of her plan to save the community center.

My opinion: Chinese American culture and the sense of community take center stage in this novel but they don't fully define Lily. She is a complex, realistic character. She's a middle school kid trying to be her best self and struggling to please her parents. So while Chinese culture is essential to the plot, there is a universality to the characters that makes this a book that anyone can enjoy.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith

 

Title: The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith

Author: Tom Llewellyn

Genre: adventure

Similar books: The Eureka Key by Sarah L Thomson

                      Holes by Louis Sachar

Rating:

 

clever

Summary (provided by publisher): When Eden Smith moves into the beautiful and bizarre old mansion housing her grandfather, she discovers a strange society of elderly metalworkers whose mastery verges on the magical. Deadly mechanical birds, a cavernous chamber full of dirty dishes, a highly dangerous game of Machinist BINGO–life at the guild is not only strange, it’s also dangerous.
Eden’s grandfather, Vulcan Smith, the most gifted of all the metalsmiths in the mansion, has just been sentenced to live out the rest of his days locked in a tiny basement room for rebelling against the guild. To save him, Eden will have to complete The Five Impossible Tasks, a series of deadly feats that have already killed off many of Eden and Vulcan’s ancestors. With the help of her new friend Nathaniel and a cast of eccentric old silversmiths, blacksmiths, and inventive machinists, Eden sets out to do the impossible before her newfound grandfather is lost to her forever.

My opinion: Take elements of curse and chosen one narratives. Add in secret societies and puzzles. It should be too much, too many directions. But Llewellyn makes it work. It draws the most compelling aspects of each of these types of stories. It helps that the cast of characters is quirky and vast but well distinguished. Each character has distinct elements and develops, at least a little, throughout the course of the novel. Pacing is tight and the stakes are high. The world of the smiths is introduced in a bit of an info dump but the details are parceled out through the rest of the novel in a way that is never overwhelming. While the beginning moves a little slowly this is by necessity. Once Eden takes on the Tasks, the action is constant and well interspersed with moments of reflection and growth. The ending falters a little but over all it's a solid read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley