Posted on by Maureen

Henry and the Paper Route by Beverly Cleary

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My girls and I have been listening to a lot of audiobooks this summer. We made our way through most of Beverly Cleary’s Henry Huggins series. Neil Patrick Harris’ narration really brings the books to life, and made the stories even funnier.

Henry and the Paper Route is the fourth book in the series. As the title suggests, Henry‘s main focus is getting a paper route of his very own. This is something that Henry has wanted for most of the series, and he has even helped his friend Scooter with his paper route… but he has been too young to have a route of his own. Of course, it would be too simple for Henry to receive a paper route as soon as he turns eleven, and you’re going to have to read the book to find out how Henry gets his route. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

61uonxdctxlWolf Hollow is a middle grade novel written by Lauren Wolk. This book had been on my radar since before it was published, and I finally got around to reading it a couple of weeks ago.

Annabelle lives with her family in a small Pennsylvania town called Wolf Hollow. The year is 1943, and there is a war going on, but life is relatively peaceful in their bucolic corner. That changes when Betty Glengarry is sent to Wolf Hollow to live with her grandparents. It is known that Betty was sent away because of her behavior, and instead of changing her ways in her new surroundings, she bullies Annabelle and her brothers.

Betty proves that she is conniving and manipulative when she begins to blame Toby for acts that she has committed. Toby was not born in Wolf Hollow, but he has been living in the countryside around the town for several years. He lives like a hermit, and keeps his interactions with other people to a minimum. He has always been a benign presence, but Betty’s claims call his trustworthiness into question. When Betty disappears, Toby is implicated. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

An Untimely Frost by Penny Richards

51ulnmhfqdlI received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love historical mysteries, especially those set in the 19th century. I tend to prefer books set in England, but I was excited about the opportunity to read An Untimely Frost, which is set in 1881 Illinois. This is the first book in a new series by Penny Richards.

Lilly Long is an accomplished actress, who has spent most of her young life performing with a traveling theatre troupe. The book begins with the dramatic revelation that her new husband is a cheat and a con man, who assaults her and flees with her life savings.

Lilly is the impulsive type, so when she sees that the famous Pinkerton Agency is hiring, she sees an opportunity for a new career. Her employers are naturally skeptical that such a young woman would be able to handle the rigorous nature of being a detective, but Lilly points out that her skillset as an actress would prove useful in the field of private detection. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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I first read The Secret History twelve years ago when one of my very best friends from college sent me the book for my birthday. Since then, it has become one of the books I read over and over again. Recently, Audible had a sale featuring ten editors who picked ten books apiece. The Secret History was one of those books, and I was very excited about the opportunity to experience one of my favorite books in a new medium.

The Secret History is Donna Tartt’s first book. One could argue that it is a mystery, but what makes things interesting is that it is not really a whodunit. We know who killed Bunny- narrator Richard and his friends are responsible- but the mystery lies in why they felt that they had no choice but to kill Bunny. Read more