Posted on by Maureen

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

51bmcduhvwl._sy346_

 

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a big fan of Jennifer Donnelly for years. A Northern Light is one of the best books that I have ever read. When I received the opportunity to read These Shallow Graves, I was very excited about the opportunity to return to the same historical era as A Northern Light.

Jo Montfort comes from a wealthy New York family. She is expected to maintain proper decorum at all times, marry a young man from an equally wealthy family, and devote her life to raising children and managing a household full of servants. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

I Really Like Slop! by Mo Willems

My three girls are big fans of Elephant and Piggie books. We’ve been reading them since my oldest was 4, and she’s a third grader now. Over the years, we have amassed quite a collection of Elephant and Piggie books, and we are always excited when a new one comes out.

I Really Like Slop! begins with Piggie arriving with a big bowl of slop. She is very excited about her slop. She really wants Gerald to try the slop, but Gerald is hesitant because of the slop’s appearance and smell. Will Gerald try the slop? Will he like it? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal

519sp18uotl

I am a big fan of Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series, although I admit that I am an inpatient fan. After reading the first book, I received an opportunity to read the fifth book before its release date. I was so excited that I dove into Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante, without having read the middle entries in the series! I may have spoiled myself for books 2-4, but I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and would do it again.

The story takes place at the end of 1941. Maggie Hope arrives in the United States as part of Winston Churchill’s entourage. President Roosevelt has just declared war on Germany and Japan, and Churchill has traveled to America as a gesture of solidarity. Maggie quickly demonstrates that she is an invaluable resource when she helps Eleanor Roosevelt with a delicate situation. A young woman who recently worked as Mrs. Roosevelt’s secretary has been found dead, and all signs seem to point to someone trying to implicate the First Lady in a shocking scandal.

There are several other storylines, including a young man about to be executed, and a trio of captured Nazis languishing away in an English manor house. These storylines are all related, and I loved the way that MacNeal wove everything together.

The best thing about this book, and probably about the series as a whole, is MacNeal’s talent for characterization; even the minor characters have well-developed personalities. I also loved the history behind this fictional story; I was unaware that Winston Churchill really did visit the United States, and I found myself looking up details of the visit while I was in the middle of reading. MacNeal does a wonderful job of inserting historical details into the dialogue and the descriptive paragraphs. While much of this book focused on tense moments, there was also some levity. Fala, the Roosevelts’ celebrated Scottie dog stole the show in all of his scenes.

I would absolutely recommend Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante. I would recommend reading the other books in the Maggie Hope series first; it’s probably not mandatory, but it certainly does help. I do plan to go back and read the books that I’ve missed as soon as I get a chance. There were several hints at the future of the series, and I am looking forward to seeing what is next for Maggie Hope.

Posted on by Maureen

The Girl with the Glass Bird by Esme Kerr

61sbmppvyxl

 

I found The Girl with the Glass Bird through my library network’s search engine. I’ve been on a boarding school kick lately, and so I have several books checked out from the library and in my reading queue from that genre.

The Girl with the Glass Bird is a middle grade novel by Esme Kerr. As the story begins, a young English girl named Edie has been sent to live with her cruel cousins after her beloved grandmother is sent to a nursing home. She hates her cousins, and they torment her mercilessly. When a distant relative offer to pay her tuition at a prestigious boarding school, she is grateful for the opportunity. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Snoopy: Contact by Charles Schulz

51jxaxmosll

I grew up with Snoopy. We all grew up with Snoopy, didn’t we? I have fond memories of reading new Peanuts strip in the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times with my father. So, I was very excited when I received the opportunity to review Snoopy: Contact!, a collection of Snoopy-centric strips. I was especially excited to share the book with my eight-year-old daughter, who is a Peanuts fanatic.

Snoopy: Contact! contains over 150 pages of Peanuts strips featuring Charlie Brown’s beloved beagle, Snoopy. One of the most recurring themes in these strips is that of the “flying ace”. Snoopy pretends that his doghouse is a Sopwith Camel, and he engages in dogfights with his archnemesis, the Red Baron. When he is not taking to the skies in search of his foe, Snoopy can be found in tiny cafes where he partakes in root beer. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Adventuress by Tasha Alexander

51c5lhkgnll._sy346_

 

Behind the Shattered Glass was my first experience with Tasha Alexander’s delightful Lady Emily mystery series, so when I received the opportunity to read The Adventuress, Lady Emily’s newest adventure, I was very excited because I love stories set in the Victorian era, and I love mysteries.

In The Adventuress, Lady Emily and her husband Colin find themselves on the Cote D’Azure as the guests of the Wells family, whose daughter is engaged to Emily’s childhood friend the Duke of Bainbridge. As the story begins, the celebration is disrupted by the discovery of a body; a member of the party has been found dead. His death is ruled a suicide, but Lady Emily is suspicious of this; why would a chap who seemed generally happy with life choose to kill himself in his friend the duke’s room? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson

6192bwfadn9l

 

I first found Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson on Goodreads, and was immediately intrigued. I made a request through the library network, and my book arrived quickly. I have read so many wonderful middle grade novels this year, and I’m pleased to report that Nooks & Crannies was another treasure that I am happy to have discovered.

This is an Edwardian tale, as well as a mystery. As the story begins, six lucky children around London have all received letters inviting them to meet the Countess of Windermere. Our plucky protagonist is Tabitha Crum, who is the shabbiest of the six children. Tabitha has a little mouse called Pemberley, and she is a fan of Percival Pensive mystery stories. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

519w09dr4xl._sy346_

 

It’s probably not mandatory to read Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl before reading Carry On, but it certainly helps. Fangirl’s protagonist Cath struggled with going away to college, being separated from her twin for the first time, and the role that Simon Snow fanfiction played in her new reality. Fangirl featured excerpts of both “canon” Simon Snow, and Cath’s fanfic spin on the global literary phenomenon.

Carry On is a full length Simon Snow novel. Simon Snow is similar to another series with a famous boy wizard, but that is where the similarities end. Simon Snow’s world is wholly original. Carry On takes place during Simon’s eighth year at Watford, a school for magical children. Simon plays a unique role in the World of Mages; he is seen as the Chosen One, who will deliver them from evil. Namely, the Insidious Humdrum, who takes on the form of Simon as an eleven-year-old boy. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

51u1cjareul._sy346_

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My oldest daughter and I absolutely loved The One and Only Ivan, so I was very excited about the opportunity to read Katherine Applegate’s newest novel, Crenshaw.

Jackson is a young boy who lives in an apartment with his parents and his sister. The family doesn’t have a lot of money, and Jackson and his sister are often hungry.
Jackson is a very intelligent boy, who loves animals and relies on facts. When he begins to see a giant cat named Crenshaw, he isn’t sure what to think of this development. After all, it is a fact that imaginary friends are just that- imaginary. They aren’t real. They can’t be real. Or are they?

As Jackson watches his parents gathering up most of their possessions to sell at a yard sale, the family’s financial situation becomes more apparent. There is the possibility that they will have to leave their apartment and live in their van, something that happened several years ago. It was at this point in his life that Crenshaw appeared the first time. Has Crenshaw returned to help Jackson again?

This was an incredibly poignant story. Jackson is an incredibly mature and insightful boy. He cares deeply about his family, especially his little sister, who he tries to protect from seeing how dire things are. Jackson loves his parents, but he is frustrated with the situation. He also struggles with the possibility of losing his home, his friends, and having to leave his school and go somewhere else. Applegate deftly weaves a story that shines a light on the reality of homelessness: the struggle for some families to keep up with the bills, and how suddenly families can lose everything. Jackson’s parents are not drug users or lazy (insidious stereotypes); they are average adults who work multiple jobs and try to provide their children with the best life possible.

Crenshaw is an emotionally powerful book best suited for children in elementary school. Jackson is the only person who can see the giant cat, and he (Crenshaw) is often spotted doing funny things like riding a surfboard or taking a bubble bath. These moments of comic relief help break the tension, and once Jackson accepts Crenshaw as real, the cat provides the boy with much needed emotional support. This book will surely become a classic, just like The One and Only Ivan.

Posted on by Maureen

Penelope Perfect: A Tale of Perfectionism Gone Wild by Shannon Anderson

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Penelope Perfect is a picture book by Shannon Anderson. Penelope is a little girl in elementary school. She maintains a meticulous routine: she wakes up at 5:00, she always double checks her work, her desk is organized, and she even stays in at recess to do schoolwork. When a storm knocks out the power to her house, everything goes wrong; the alarm doesn’t wake her up, she doesn’t have time to comb her hair, and she even gets a B on a test. But when Penelope decides to go outside at recess and actually play with her classmates, she realizes that always being perfect might not be as perfect as she thought it was.

The illustrations were provided by Katie Kath. I found them to be quite charming. There’s such a contrast between the first half of the book and the second half. Penelope is dressed very nicely, her schoolwork is flawless, and she even uses antibacterial wipes before eating lunch. In the second half of the book, Penelope has to rush around because she is late. Her clothes are a little messy, and her hair is wild. Her facial expression is pained at first, but then she begins to smile when she realizes that she feels comfortable.

I read Penelope Perfect with all three of my girls. There are some great discussion questions at the back of the book, and we spent some time discussing Penelope’s story. My girls do have some issues with rigidity, but they aren’t perfectionists. If anything, my oldest girl tends to rush through her work and make careless mistakes. There were still lessons that we could take away from reading this book: accepting that it’s okay that things don’t go the way we expect them to, and finding the positive aspects of a negative situation.

I would recommend Penelope Perfect. The material is presented in a very engaging manner with rhyming quatrains. This is a wonderful teaching tool for children in elementary school, and I think that there are aspects that all children can relate to even if they don’t tend to rely on routines.
===========