Christmas cow

 Every Christmas I receive at least one craft kit as a gift. This year I got a little plaster highland cow to paint. 

I used acrylic paint for this project and here's how he turned out.

Listen with me

 

K-Jane by Lydia Kang

This story of a Korean-American girl who sets out to make herself an expert in Korean culture to "save" her baby brother and impress the boy of her dreams gives me some hesitation. It has the potential for a lot of second-hand embarrassment, something I can't always handle. At the same time, it could really dig into some issues of culture and identity so I'm willing to give it a shot. Let's give it a listen and see what we think.

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

I Don't Wish You Well by Jumata Emill - Everyone thought that they knew the truth about the murders that happened in Moss Pointe but five years later new evidence is coming to light and Pryce is determined to find out the truth.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Big Bad Wolf Murder by P.G. Bell - When her rival in a game of Tooth and Claw dies suddenly on the field and Ruby is framed for his murder, it's a race against time to find out what really happened before the police catch up with her.

What do you think you'll read next?

Winter White by Annie Cardi

Book review - Down a Dark Path

 

Title: Down a Dark Path

Author: Daniel Mayeri

Genre: mystery/graphic novel

Age range: middle grade

Similar book: the Bad Machinery series by John Allison

Summary (provided by publisher): Lucy and Frida Buford have never stepped foot outside their family farm in the Carolina Inner Banks. It’s the dead of July, and in the midst of yet another boring summer making jam for the family business, the girls are clamoring to be taken to the elusive town they’ve never been allowed to visit. Their father has always said that the outside world is a dangerous place, but danger is closer to home than they even know.

 There’s something in the nearby woods uprooting trees, scaring fish from the water, and scratching at Lucy’s window in the middle of the night. Lucy can’t shake the feeling that there’s a monster out and about—one with two pointy fangs who only comes out at night.

 It's up to these two sisters to discover what this monster wants. But the further they stray from home, the weirder things become. What’s really going on beyond the Buford family farm?

What I liked: This book finds a careful balance between the mysterious and the humorous. We have the central plot of Lucy and Frida which is largely atmospheric and spooky. But we also have the narration of the proprietors of the Bazaar and short bits of their narrative. This combination keeps the more serious central story from becoming too much for young readers. That central story is carefully paced and seeds small bits of the final reveal throughout.

What I didn't like: While the Bazaar story was interesting, the placement of those sections was at times disruptive. Because some of these sections are long it broke the flow of the farm story and I occasionally found it difficult to get back into the main story. 

More Information: Down a Dark Path is the second book in the Bizarre Bazaar series.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Squirrel

 I don't know about your family, but in mine craft kits are a standard Christmas gift. I got this squirrel punch needle kit this year. He's simple but pretty cute. Right now I'm using him as a wall hanging but he might get repurposed later as a decoration on a bag or a pillow.

Book review - Bittersweet in the Hollow

 

Title: Bittersweet in the Hollow

Author: Kate Pearsall

Genre: mystery

Age range: teen

Similar book: Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours

Summary (provided by publisher): In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.

Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions—and a haze of nightmares that suggest there’s more to her story than simply getting lost.

Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year’s events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn’t make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.

As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what’s hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth—about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family—she must question if some secrets are best left buried.

What I liked: When characters have magical or psychic abilities, I always prefer that to come with clear limits and rules. And that is certainly the case here. Each member of the James family has amazing abilities but there are limits to their powers. They don't suddenly find loophole that help them. And their abilities also have clear consequences. With distinct, flawed characters and a setting that almost becomes a character itself, there's a lot to this book to appreciate.

What I didn't like: The mythology and setting become overly complex at times. While the origins of their abilities are an important aspect of the plot, the exploration of that history can bog down the reading at times. It's a book that takes a little persistence to get through, though it is largely worth the effort.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

Hattie Mae Begins Again by Sharon G Flake - A girl from a humble background is given an opportunity to attend an elite boarding school.

What did you recently finish reading?

Gaslit by Megan Davidhizar - When her aunt dies in a gas leak, a teen suspects there's more to the story.

What do you think you'll read next?

Evergreen by Buck Turner

Book review - The Secret Astronomers

 

Title: The Secret Astronomers

Author: Jessica Walker

Genre: realistic ficition

Age range: teen

Similar book: Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Summary (provided by publisher): When a recent transfer student starts keeping her diary in the oldest textbook at the Green Bank High School library, the last thing she expects is to receive a response. Thus begins a sweeping tale of unlikely friendship and long-buried secrets between two secret pen pals at a rural West Virginia high school.

Copernicus is adrift and searching for answers after the sudden death of her mother, and leaving her cosmopolitan life in San Francisco behind. Kepler is a small-town girl with straight A's and big plans to be the first person in her family to go to college, despite her family's modest means. The two girls are so different from one another but united in their goal to solve a mystery that has riddled Green Bank for decades.

What I liked: At face value, this is a book about two very different teens trying to find out the secret in their town's past, but ultimately that mystery plays only a small role. Mostly this is a book about teens who are able to be truly honest with each other and be their genuine selves. Their interactions reveal their prejudices and blind spots and their anonymity allows them to be bluntly honest. The junk journal style allows for new discoveries on every page.

What I didn't like: While the format is novel and the pacing is quick, the back and forth can be a little tiresome and the moralizing a bit heavy handed. The final section, where the mystery finally takes the forefront, is a bit of an abrupt tonal shift and relies a bit too much on coincidence.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Toothless

 I've been known to occasionally do some painting. I'm not especially skilled, but when I'm inspired it's kind of fun. I had a small canvas in my supplies and some acrylic paints that I used to make this little close-up of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. 

Graphic Novel Spotlight - Dogland Rescue

 

Dogland Rescue by Martin Lloyd

This book combines the adventure and playful nature of The Wind in the Willows with the more serious societal themes of Watership Down. Add in an element of mystery and that could easily become too much to follow. Lloyd handles it well. We have a complex society of different kinds of dogs. There is no big info dump, just a slow meting out of information as it is necessary for the plot. The art is a bit rustic but it works well with this plot.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Why is Ramyeon Soup So Delicious?

 

Why is Ramyeon Soup So Delicious? by Lee Duckhwan and Seok Wonkyung

Like most people I took a chemistry class. But it never meant much to me. While I could understand in broad strokes that chemistry helps us understand the world, it didn't seem particularly applicable. Maybe I'd have felt differently if I'd had books like this one. Duckhwan and Wonkyung break down the science behind everyday things. We learn the chemistry of receptors and hormones, of how different chemicals interact with our bodies. The text is easily understood and can be read in big chunks or in small doses.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley