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

Listen with me

 

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

What better way to roll into the new year than with a heavy tale about a kid living through the COVID pandemic learning about the Ukranian famine of the 1930's? In all seriousness, this sounds like a fascinating tale about a very seldom mentioned part of history that I am genuinely looking forward to hearing. 

Non-fiction book review - Meet the National Animals

 

Meet the National Animals by Catherine Veitch

I don't know about anyone else, but I had never really thought much about what animals might be the symbol for other nations, so This was a fun exploration. Some will come as little surprise  - the kiwi for New Zealand, the panda for China, the Lemur for Madagascar - but others required a bit of explanation. And we do get that. Each page gives us a few facts about the animal and a sentence or two about why they are the symbol for that nation. With a simple vocabulary and cartoon style illustrations even a young child will enjoy this book in small doses.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Ode to a Nobody

 

Title: Ode to a Nobody

Author: Caroline Brooks DuBois

Genre: realistic fiction/verse novel

Similar books:The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

                     Rhyme Schemer by K A Holt

Rating:

 

solid

Summary (provided by publisher): Before the storm, thirteen-year-old Quinn was happy flying under the radar. She was average. Unremarkable. Always looking for an escape from her house, where her bickering parents fawned over her genius big brother.
     Inside our broken home / we didn’t know how broken / the world outside was.
But after the storm, Quinn can’t seem to go back to average. Her friends weren't affected by the tornado in the same way. To them, the storm left behind a playground of abandoned houses and distracted adults. As Quinn struggles to find stability in the tornado’s aftermath, she must choose: between homes, friendships, and versions of herself.
       Nothing that was mine / yesterday is mine today.

My opinion: DuBois has created an interesting combination of elements here. You might not think that a natural disaster story would be well conveyed by the verse novel format but since the tornado functions largely as a catalyst for addressing relationship issues, for forcing Quinn to come to terms with her own opinions and strengths, it words surprisingly well. As with any verse novel, our relationship with and understanding of the characters is limited. But this is a strong example of the genre.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 1

Christmas wouldn't be complete if I didn't make at least one sheep. I found my inspiration from this pin. I'm not sure what the original was made from but I used cardboard, a little craft foam, and some angora yarn that I spun. This was part of my first attempt at spinning and it was messy, to say the least. It wasn't going to knit well so this was the perfect way to use it. The base is simple, a ring with small rectangles for legs. Since the legs will be exposed I wanted them reinforced with craft foam.

Then I just wrapped the yarn around the ring until it the body looked fluffy enough. I glued on another piece of foam for the head and secured the loose end of the yarn on top. With a pin back and a little string bow, it adds nicely to my coat.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 2

 Christmas is nearly upon us! That means it's time to start making holiday pies. Personally, I'm partial to blueberry. But when I set about making this fellow he insisted on being more of a cranberry color.

I neglected to photograph the process here but his tin is made from a whipped topping container, the crust and filling from an old foam mattress pad. Both foam and plastic are covered in pieces cut from old t-shirts.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 3

 I have decorated this wreath every year and never found a design that I was especially happy with. This year, though, I may have found a keeper. I decorated some wood ornament cutouts with permanent marker and glued them to the wreath. What's more festive than pokeballs?

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 4

 I was going to try not to buy anything new for Christmas crafts this year but when we found this light up gnome kit, we couldn't resist. I finally finished painting him and assembled his lights.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 5

 To me, marshmallows count as Christmas food. Maybe because we put them in cocoa. Either way, this marshmallow family made from craft foam is a cute addition to a holiday display.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 6

 My room wasn't looking very festive, so I though I'd add a garland. And what better garland than a string of cardboard gingerbread men designed to look like the Doctor from Doctor Who. 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 7

 Just a week until Christmas! This is when things start to get frantic, so I just have a quick craft for you today. I'm giving a lot of books this year so I thought I'd make some holiday themed bookmarks to go with them.

These guys are super easy to make out of any sturdy paper (construction paper and light cardstock work well). I made my own pattern with some scrap paper and a sticky note (for size) but you can find a printable template here.

Crafty Christmas Countown: 8

 I've been thinking about a camel sock puppet for a while now and when I found this sock in my stash it seemed just about perfect.

With no hump to help imply camel, I used long fake eyelashes and folds in the toe of the sock (for the flat nostrils and split front lip) to give it strong camel vibes.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 9

 I am not someone who believes in cryptids, yet I find them endlessly funny to make and display. Bigfoot, yeti, chupacabra, nessie, I love to depict them especially in Christmas ornaments. Lately I've been especially fond of jackalopes. I needlefelted this one and gave him a jaunty little holiday scarf.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 10

 Like most people, I have an abundance of tree ornaments. And yet I can hardly resist making a couple every year. This year I made a little robot. This is a fairly easy one. I used a building block from a cheap dollar store set. Since the wood is fairly soft, it was easy enough to screw in an eye hook. Then glue on some beads and paint the whole thing gray. To make it a little more festive, I gave it pipe cleaner antlers.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 11

 I had given these foam cardinals winter sports gear in the past but when we moved, one of the snowshoes got lost. So I figured I'd start fresh. 

Are superheroes especially Christmasy? Maybe not. But maybe superpowered birds help Santa on his magical journey. Besides, who doesn't love glitter and capes.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 12

 I was thinking about decor traditionally associated with Christmas and realized, I don't know if I've ever made a popcorn garland. I have no memory of having done so as a child. And now that I'm adult it seems A)wasteful and B)likely to attract mice. But I do like how they look so I though I'd try making a mock-popcorn garland out of bits of old t-shirt and some yarn. My "popcorn" looks a bit more like soup dumplings but I like how it looks hanging in my window.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 13

 Every year I like to make a peg doll themed on a Christmas special or movie. This year I chose the Rankin and Bass special "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". And what better character to focus on than the antagonist, the grim Burgermeister Meisterburger. His scowl was especially fun to create.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 14

Did you ever watch Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration? It was on television a couple of times when I was a kid and a couple of details always stuck with me, largely involving the California Raisins. Now that we have it on DVD, we watch it every year. And I have a growing appreciation for the hosts, a pair of dinosaurs named Rex and Herb. I though I'd pay tribute to them with these small portraits, done in acrylic on canvas board.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 15

 I wanted to add a couple of Christmas themed finger puppets (apart from Santa and elves) to my repertoire

, so I decided on a donkey and a camel. While a camel is hard to suggest without humps I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 16

 I have short hair that sometimes gets in my way. So I'm trying to embrace headbands. Since it's been a bit of a challenge, I thought a couple of festive ones might help. I made a simple broad one out of some snowflake knit and a braided one in candycane colors. 

In all honesty, I think I like making them more than wearing them. If you know of a less pinch-y headband style, let me know in the comments. I'm open to suggestions.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 17

 We're a full week into December and that means it's time for my annual Christmas card. I spend far more time fretting over the image and the verse than I do actually creating the cards (I have a small streak of perfectionism). This is what I came up with this year.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 18

 I had a make-your-own snow globe kit a couple of years ago. It turned out well but when I got it out of storage this year I found it was leaking. With a little fiddling I was able to open it back up and drain out the water. And while I had it open I decided to completely remake it. This time I used styrofoam pellets instead of water and glitter.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 19

 I decided to theme my Christmas decorations in my cubicle at work this year and on a whim settled on dinosaurs a that theme. Of course, I have plenty of dinosaurs around but not many that are especially Christmas-y, so it's the perfect opportunity to craft. I painted one dinosaur (I wasn't fond of the bright, toxic colors it came in) and made bonnets and top hats for the group of larger figures. 

I have plans for the smaller ones, but more on that later.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 20

I've been trying to stretch myself a little bit with my Christmas themes. So instead of classic American Santa, I decided to make a plaque with more of a Father Christmas look, leaning into the more muted tones and longer facial features. It gives him a sort of man-in-the-moon vibe.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 21

 What do you do when you have a little tree to decorate and you don't have enough ornaments the right size? You make some out of cardboard. And since you're working with cardboard anyway, why not make them look like gingerbread cookies?

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 22

 If there are two things I have in abundance, it's Altoid tins and peg dolls. So it only makes sense to put them together. And the result is this craft: a manger scene in a tin.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 23

 Today's craft is a simple kit: adhesive craft foam attached to a canvas panel. I did Marfalfa it up a little bit by drawing dinosaurs as the car's driver and passenger.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 24

 It's December and that it means it's that time of year where I torture myself with the "fun" idea of making a Christmas themed craft every day until Christmas. It's a lot but it's also a great creative challenge. This year I decided to add to the challenge by setting strict limits on purchases. I'm trying to use supplies I already have.

To start out the countdown, I made a little cart out of cardboard. It was designed to be "pulled" by some bobblehead goats we got (I believe they were a fastfood promotion tied into the new Thor movie). And for giggles, I have Eevee driving the cart, delivering gifts. There is likely to be a Santa hat in Eevee's future.