WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

This Book Kills by Ravena Kaur Guron - Jess is trying her best to survive as one of just a few scholarship students at an elite boarding school. Then a powerful student is killed using a story that Jess wrote as inspiration and her carefully constructed world falls apart.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Sherlock Society by James Ponti - A pair of siblings hunts for Al Capone's missing millions with their grandfather and friends and turn up a much bigger mystery.

What do you think you'll read next?

Not Another Banned Book by Dana Alison Levy

Book review - Mysterious Ways

 

Title: Mysterious Ways

Author: Wendy Wunder

Genre: realistic (?) fiction

Similar books: Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant

                     Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Rating: 

Well done

Summary (provided by publisher): Seventeen-year-old Maya knows everything. When she looks at someone, she instantly knows their history, their private thoughts, their secret desires, their most tragic failures. Combine these private miseries with the general state of the world, and it's easy to see why Maya's power starts to get her down…

Which is why she was sent to the Whispering Pines Psychiatric Facility, and also why starting at a new school is going to be such a challenge. Now, faced with Tyler, a cute guy she actually wants to know everything about, Maya realizes that maybe her power isn't so horrible after all. Maybe she can use it for good. Maybe she can even get the guy. Or maybe there really is such a thing as knowing too much.

My opinion: There is a sort of emotional distance in this narrative that normally would be a negative but which works surprisingly well in this case. It parallels the overall unreality of the narrative and keeps the tone fairly light. But don't take that to mean that this is a silly story. The light tone keeps it from becoming maudlin but allows it to address serious issues. Through her efforts to save people and the world, Maya explores ideas of responsibility. Reading this once is surprisingly fun. Reading it a second time is more reflective and digs deep into the ideas. A strong novvel well worth your time.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Ash's Cabin

 

Ash's Cabin by Jen Wang

If you are the sort of reader who loved Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain, then Ash's Cabin is the book for you. The resemblance to the latter book is stronger since Ash chooses to go off the grid and live a spare existence rather than being thrust into a survival situation. We walk through Ash's whole journey - what motivates them to leave, the preparations they make, and the difficulties they encounter. This is a deeply introspective story and that nature is reflected in the delicate illustrations and muted color palette. As a whole, it balances text and images well to tell a complete story.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Pick 6: camps and camping

 Summer might be over but stories about the outdoors and the freedom of camping are always entertaining. Whether it's a spooky tale of dangerous creatures or the freedom to explore relationships, we can learn a lot from camping stories. Here are six books that feature camping published in the past six months.

6 new camping stories:

1. Continental Drifter by Kathy MacLeod
2. The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
3. Summer Vamp by Violet Chan Karim
4. Nightmare in the Backyard by Jeff Strand
5. It Came from the Trees by Ally Russell
6. Upstaged by Robin Easter

Listen with me

 

Something's About to Blow Up by Sam Blake

After the rather disappointing experience of our last audio, let's jump into something that promises a little more thrilling with this tale of an explosion at an Irish prep school and the secrets that the affected students uncover.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

One Last Chance to Live by Francisco X Stork - Nico is obsessed with a dream he had. In it, he was at his own funeral and his best friend's dead sister was trying to tell him something. If he is truly dying, as he believes, he doesn't have long to find out what Rosario was trying to tell him, save his mother and brother, and write a book that people will remember.

What did you recently finish reading?

Monster Tree by Sarah Allen - After his father's death, Linus and his mother move across town for a fresh start. But pets in his new neighborhood are going missing and there's something unsettling about the tree in the next yard.

What do you think you'll read next?

A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee

Book review - Night of the Living Head

 

Title: Night of the Living Head

Author: Hanna Alkaf

Genre: horror

Similar books: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

                      Brick Dust and Bones by M.R. Fournet

Rating:

kid-friendly creepy

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Alia has always had the worst luck. Whether it’s her parents moving her all the way from Kuala Lumpur to a tiny village or her shoes constantly coming untied, Alia can’t help but feel as if the universe has it out for her.

To top it all off, her estranged older sister, Ayu, has just reappeared in their lives after years away. Alia’s parents are delighted, but Alia is not so sure. She remembers the fights, the tears, the pain her sister caused and knows this is just another case of bad luck following her around.

Then Alia’s school fills with rumors of a horrifying creature spotted flying in the night sky. And Alia realizes that perhaps it’s not just her bad luck this time—but something more sinister is lying just under the surface of her town…and it’s up to Alia to put an end to it for once and for all.

My opinion: There are plenty of scary stories in English language books about familiar monsters - vampires, werewolves, goblins, etc. So it's fascinating to get stries about monsters from other cultures. This book handles it well. We are told that Alia isn't very well-versed in the folk traditions of her culture. Thus, when she encounters a traditional monster she needs to learn about the lore and the reader shares in her research. The result is a story that is just the right level of spooky. It's a touch gross, so be forewarned of that, but overall this is exactly the sort of book I would have loved in my early middle grade years when I was deeply in my Goosebumps phase.

More information: Night of the Living Head is part of the Tales From Cabin 23 series, a collection of linked novels by assorted authors.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley