Cards

I decided I wanted to make Valentine's Day cards this year. I had some cards I'd made some errors on, so they seemed like the perfect base for some fun cards. I figured I'd just draw over the old designs. Because the cards I have are nice vibrant colors I thought I'd make them Pokemon themed. And that's where things went a bit off the rails. It seems I am incapable of being sincere when writing the sentiment on the card and I wanted these to be clever. So the result isn't exactly Valentines themed. Like, at all. But they are fun.

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

(S)kin by Ibi Zoboi - A verse novel about two girls with vastly different lives, pulled together by forces they don't understand and deep family secrets.

What did you recently finish reading?

Ruby Finley vs the Interstellar Invasion by K Tempest Bradford - Ruby finds a strange bug in her yard that seems to cut it's way out of her room through the window screen. When she posts about it online, strange men appear in her neighborhood.

What do you think you'll read next?

Werewolf Hamlet by Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Non-fiction book review - Akeem Keeps Bees

 

Akeem Keeps Bees by Kamal R Bell

I qualify this book as non-fiction because, while there is a sort of narrative framework to the text, the primary focus is on sharing information about the process of bee-keeping. We walk through a year on a farm and learn about bees along the way. And the information extends beyond just the basics of types of bees and the structure of a hive. We learn about pollination, bee lifecycles, and observable behaviors like swarming and bearding. The information is surprisingly complete and easy to understand. A strong introduction to beekeeping appropriate for a young audience.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic Novel spotlight: The Snips

 

The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day by Raul the Third

If you like a graphic novel that is a bit off beat, you may enjoy the Snips. It takes the standard middle grade team dynamic - a cast of characters with unique abilities, all necessary to complete a job - and applies that to fighting crime through hair styling. It is, simply put, the best kind of strange. It absolutely does not take itself seriously. The illustration style is reminiscent of early cartoons and the color palette is slightly muted so it never becomes overwhelming. There's no serious takeaway here, just a simple entertaining story.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Pick 6: ghosts

 Culturally, we have something of an obsession with ghosts. Sometimes it's a malicious haunting. Others, it's a spirit imparting wisdom to the living. These stories run the gamut from scary to funny and appeal to a wide ranging audience. Here are six books featuring ghosts published in the past six months.

Six new books featuring ghosts:

1. Jasmine is Haunted by Mark Oshiro
2. Taxi Ghost by Sophie Escabasse
3. The Hysterical Girls of St Bernadettes by Hanna Alkoff
4. Heebie Jeebies by Matthew Erman
5. The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willso
6. Honeysuckle and Bones by Trisha Tobias

Non-fiction book review - Seeds of Discovery

 

Seeds of Discovery by Lori Alexander

The science of corn doesn't exactly sound thrilling. And if that's all this book was it would be a hard sell indeed. McClintock's story, though, is about much more than just corn. It's a story of determination, of defying societal and familial expectations. Even more than that, it's a story of finding the thing that thrills you and pursuing it. McClintock seems to have found real thrills in examining the heredity of corn. And through it, advanced our knowledge of DNA. Alexander tells the story in a traditional narrative fashion with asides explaining the science at the time and how it has advanced over time. The fact that corn is central here may still make it a bit of a hard sell but this book is absolutely worth the effort.

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

Freaks by Brett Riley - Bullied teens find themselves with superhuman abilities, on the hunt for creatures that have accidentally entered our world.

What did you recently finish reading?

It's Watching by Lindsey Currie - While researching a story for the school paper three kids get the attention of a ghost. Now they have a very short time to figure out what the ghost wants.

What do you think you'll read next?

Wicked Darlings by Jordyn Taylor

Book review - The Secret of Moonrise Manor

 

Title: The Secret of Moonrise Manor

Author: Stephanie Bearce

Genre: mystery

Age range: middle grade

Similar book: Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C Bunce

Summary (provided by publisher): Raven Gallows lives in a funeral home and is determined to become a famous detective. Her first case is one close to home—find the truth surrounding her mother’s puzzling death six years ago. 

When a mummified man is discovered behind a wall at the Moonrise Manor Hotel, Raven is shocked to see that the body is clutching her mother’s gold and silver locket.  

Raven gathers her friends—Cosmina Wilde, who thinks she can talk to ghosts; Miles Farnsworth, who works at the haunted hotel; and Eric Wong, who possesses unparalleled computer skills—and sets out to learn the identity of the mummy. As they follow the clues, they discover more than they bargained for, including a stash of stolen art and a legend of a secret society. 

What I liked: It can be difficult to create a kid friendly mystery with meaningful stakes. After all, murders and crime can be too intense for some kids. But this book handles it well. After all, the central elements of this plot are a major art theft and a hidden corpse. By carefully avoiding any unnecessarily grim details we get a mystery with meaning without becoming gross or overly intense. 

What I didn't like: I wouldn't call it a negative, exactly, but there are some elements of the book that are perhaps too open ended. It doesn't decide, with any certainty, whether ghosts are even real much less secret societies and the truths about Raven's mother's death. This is the first book in a series so if you're wanting closure, don't start on this one yet.

More information: The Secret of Moonrise Manor releases February 5.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Everything We Never Had

 

Title: Everything We Never Had

Author: Randy Ribay

Age range: teen

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar book: Age 16 by Rosena Fung

Summary (provided by publisher): Watsonville, 1930. Francisco Maghabol barely ekes out a living in the fields of California. As he spends what little money he earns at dance halls and faces increasing violence from white men in town, Francisco wonders if he should’ve never left the Philippines.

Stockton, 1965. Between school days full of prejudice from white students and teachers and night shifts working at his aunt’s restaurant, Emil refuses to follow in the footsteps of his labor organizer father, Francisco. He’s going to make it in this country no matter what or who he has to leave behind.

Denver, 1983. Chris is determined to prove that his overbearing father, Emil, can’t control him. However, when a missed assignment on “ancestral history” sends Chris off the football team and into the library, he discovers a desire to know more about Filipino history―even if his father dismisses his interest as unamerican and unimportant.

Philadelphia, 2020. Enzo struggles to keep his anxiety in check as a global pandemic breaks out and his abrasive grandfather moves in. While tensions are high between his dad and his lolo, Enzo’s daily walks with Lolo Emil have him wondering if maybe he can help bridge their decades-long rift.

What I liked: We have four generations of men in this narrative. Four time periods and sets of challenges. Each generation influences the ones to come. And they all make mistakes. No single character is portrayed as fully wrong or fully innocent. They are human and have understandable motivations. Even as we see characters making choices that we know will harm themselves or others we can see why they make them.

What I didn't like: There's very little negative about this book. It is perhaps a bit long and slow paced for some readers but overall it's worth the effort.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley