Frederick Fife never intended to steal Bernard's identity, but the problem with being old is that no one listens to you, and frankly sometimes it's noFrederick Fife never intended to steal Bernard's identity, but the problem with being old is that no one listens to you, and frankly sometimes it's not worth the effort, especially when it's so cold outside, and it's so very nice to have people bring you hot food three times a day. What's the harm? Until mistakes of the past create complications in the present, that is, and Fred finds himself with an ethical dilemma.
I absolutely LOVED this heartwarming tale of a kind, lonely, elderly man who tries to do a good deed and ends up being rewarded for his effort in a profoundly unexpected manner that changes not only his life but the lives of everyone with whom he comes into contact.
For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, story secondary. The only sexual content is a spicy elderly woman who chases Fred around and traps him in uncomfortable situations. No onscreen violence, and only a bit of mild swearing that I can recall. Strong themes of chosen family, grief, friendship, kindness, reparations/forgiveness, and the plight of the elderly with medical debt. Deals with dementia, cancer, and gambling addiction....more
What would you do if you discovered you could go back in time (though no further than a certain date)? Would you use it to win the lottery? Prevent acWhat would you do if you discovered you could go back in time (though no further than a certain date)? Would you use it to win the lottery? Prevent accidents? Or try and keep from getting fired from your job and dumped by your boyfriend on the same day? Cassandra Penelope Dankworth chooses the latter option. It is, however, exhausting, and perhaps not what the universe had in mind.
I absolutely LOVED this book. Cassandra was such a wonderful, heartbreaking character. I would say I wanted to scoop her up and hug her and tell her there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with her, except, of course, she would hate that.
I did have a really hard time believing she had gone 31 years without realizing she was autistic, as that was blindingly obvious from almost the first moments of the book, but then I read that the author wasn’t diagnosed until she was 39, so I guess that’s sadly more plausible than I’d realized. I also read that the author herself processes emotions as colors, which explains the phenomenally beautiful way they are described throughout the book.
For readers� advisors: character and language doorways are strongest. A fair amount of occasional swearing. References to sex and a time loop sex scene (as Cassie tries to “fix� things) which is not described in detail. No physical violence aside from the anti-fur protesters who yell and throw fake blood on Cassandra when she accidentally stumbles into their midst. ...more
I love this beautiful picture book about a boy who goes swimming with his grandma and on the way home sees people dressed as mermaids on the train, thI love this beautiful picture book about a boy who goes swimming with his grandma and on the way home sees people dressed as mermaids on the train, then creates his own mermaid costume while his grandma is in the shower. He isn't sure how he is going to respond when she sees the mess he's made, but she doesn't get mad, she helps him accessorize and takes him to see a show with other mermaids.
I love how this book celebrates imagination and depicts the loving, supportive relationship between a boy and his grandmother. I love the inter-generational and diverse characters and body types depicted in the lovely illustrations. My son also loves to dress up in costumes and play pretend, and though I'm pretty sure I would not react well if he took down our curtains to make a costume, I try very hard to create an environment where he has no worries about being accepted for expressing himself. I love that this book features a scene where such support is not only possible but just the way things are. Our world would be an infinitely better place if that were true everywhere....more
This is, hands-down, my favorite adult fiction book so far this year, and I've read some excellent ones. I requested the eGalley copy from NetGalley tThis is, hands-down, my favorite adult fiction book so far this year, and I've read some excellent ones. I requested the eGalley copy from NetGalley thinking I was getting a rom-com, and while there definitely is romance as well as some humor, this book took me on an emotional journey I was not expecting, and I could not bear to put it down.
The first half of the book is character-driven, focusing on the three women Joseph Carter stands up on Valentine's Day: Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane. We get to know Siobhan's over-scheduled world as a life coach with past relationship grief. We learn about Miranda's life as the only woman on a tree surgeon crew (a.k.a. arborist). And we wonder exactly what trauma caused Jane to flee corporate London for a volunteer job as the youngest member on staff at a charity shop in Winchester. Their lives intersect in only one way: their relationship with the same man.
The second half of the book (or maybe the last 3rd? eGalleys have wonky formatting) is hard to talk about without giving anything away. The pace intensifies, the story taking unexpected twists and turns. I anticipated loathing Joseph, yet he defied all my expectations, and I honestly couldn't decide what outcome I wanted...none of which mattered in the end because O'Leary is a genius.
For readers' advisors: character and story doorways are both VERY strong. The setting is England and Ireland. Some profanity and mild sexual content. One scene with accidental violence. Discussion or mention of grief, death of loved one, depression, dementia, stalking, sexual harassment, self harm, miscarriage, and panic attacks. LGBTQIA+ secondary characters....more
I bought this for my children for Christmas. It's just gorgeous and honest, powerful and moving. I can't wait to read it to them!I bought this for my children for Christmas. It's just gorgeous and honest, powerful and moving. I can't wait to read it to them!...more
Nora Stephens has been dumped not once, not twice, but FOUR times by men who leave New York City for a Hallmark-movie-ending in the country. If her liNora Stephens has been dumped not once, not twice, but FOUR times by men who leave New York City for a Hallmark-movie-ending in the country. If her life were a romance novel trope, she'd be the "Evil City Girlfriend." Nora adores NYC, though, and has zero desire to live anywhere else. She is a classic workaholic, devoted to her clients and dedicated to securing the best publishing deals she can in her role as a fierce literary agent. She is also devoted to her younger sister, nieces, and brother-in-law, so when Libby begs her to take a month-long sisters' vacation to the very small town that's the setting of a client's best-selling novel, she acquiesces. Little does she know her sister has ulterior motives for the trip and is on a mission to give Nora her very own Hallmark movie experience. Not long after the women arrive, it's not a handsome stranger they run into, though, but the very editor who once turned down the book that put this town on the map, so to speak, and Nora begins to learn that everyone has a backstory, and sometimes first impressions are dead wrong.
I absolutely adored this book! Yes, the solution the characters struggle to see was obvious to me from the moment we learn what Libby's secret is--and it crossed my mind even before that--but the journey they took to get there was necessary, heartwarming, and sometimes even heart wrenching. Plus the witty banter was perfect, like an R-rated Gilmore Girls, and had me laughing out loud or at least grinning 'til my face hurt though most of the story.
What I don't understand is why the official synopsis of this book says Nora and Charlie are rivals. They barely know each other until Nora & Libby arrive in Sunshine Falls. The only time they've ever interacted was 2 years prior at the meeting where Nora pitched Charlie the manuscript for Once in a Lifetime, and he turned it down because he hated the setting. In fact, when Nora does spot Charlie in the coffee shop, she isn't sure it's him and has to look up his address to send an email as a test to see if the man ahead of her in line responds. Which he does, because apparently they both have email notifications turned on--something I would never do because the constant pinging would make me insane, but I suppose it makes sense for their business email accounts. At any rate, they aren't rivals; they are acquaintances who become colleagues and friends with enough electricity sparking between them to start a wildfire.
For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, language secondary (for the banter). There is no violence, but there are a few steamy sex scenes and some profanity sprinkled throughout.
Many many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the free eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review!...more
Definitely one of the most beautiful, lyrical, hopeful, gorgeous, lush, positive, multicultural, and FABULOUS picture books I've read. Perhaps one of Definitely one of the most beautiful, lyrical, hopeful, gorgeous, lush, positive, multicultural, and FABULOUS picture books I've read. Perhaps one of the best of all time. ...more
We borrowed this book from the library a few weeks ago because my daughter has been struggling with learning math, reading, and P.E., and getting veryWe borrowed this book from the library a few weeks ago because my daughter has been struggling with learning math, reading, and P.E., and getting very frustrated and upset because she unfortunately inherited my perfectionism without my facility for numbers and letters. We've been trying to communicate our faith in her ability to learn if she persists and doesn't give up, but nothing was really getting through until we read this book together. She LOVES it. So today I bought her her very own copy, and she squealed with wide-eyed delight.
The embodiment of the Yet as a magical creature who remains with you even into adulthood, helping you persevere, learn, and grow seems to have flipped a switch in my daughter's mind. This is not to say that she doesn't still get frustrated and try to procrastinate or stall...a LOT...but she now better comprehends that the struggle is part of the process of learning, and she's more willing to keep trying. When she gets upset because she can't do something the way she would like and howls, "I can't do it!" we can say, "You can't do it YET," and that usually helps her calm down a bit. Her reading level is improving daily, and I have hope that the math will eventually click into place in her brain. The P.E., well, we make sure she gets exercise. An Olympic athlete she is highly unlikely to be.
I really appreciate that the main character is a brown-skinned child, and other diverse characters are depicted throughout, too. I love the easy-to-read rhyme scheme that helps the story flow right along, and I love that learning is depicted as iterative, with plenty of mistakes and stumbles along the way. ...more
Sheriff Sunshine Vicram is back in the second installment of the hilarious series that bears her name. A few months have passed since we last saw Sun,Sheriff Sunshine Vicram is back in the second installment of the hilarious series that bears her name. A few months have passed since we last saw Sun, and since then her parents managed to con her into going on some really terrible blind dates. The current one is definitely the worst, so it's a huge relief when her deputy calls with an emergency, cutting the date short. A raccoon emergency. At his own house. But hey, it got her out of a creepy coffee date, so there's that!
All too soon her attention is diverted from Randy the Attack Raccoon to a stabbing and hit-and-run at the bar owned by Levi Ravinder, the man she's been in love with since childhood. One man is taken to the ICU, one refuses medical treatment, and a third has his body dumped down a nearby ravine. But before she heads out to track down witnesses to an altercation between the stabbing victim and unknown assailants earlier in the day, Sun receives a message from one of Levi's uncles, claiming to have information about her abduction 15 years ago, and her destination changes. Upon returning to Del Sol, Sunshine is stunned to recognize the face of a young kidnapping victim on security camera footage from the previous day--a child who went missing years ago. Meanwhile, Sun's daughter Auri decides to enlist the help of her boyfriend and best friend in investigating a serial killer from decades ago.
I absolutely LOVED this book. The witty, snappy dialogue and multiple plot threads interwove with tender personal moments. One minute I was laughing out loud, and the next (OK, mostly later in the book) I was sobbing and trying to explain to my kids why Mommy was so sad. I am grateful some questions from the first book were answered or at least partially resolved, even if the answers to the biggest were completely obvious the entire time to everyone but Sun. As per usual, the breakneck pace made putting my iPad down nearly impossible. Plus, I just wanted to spend more time with the characters. And hug them. And join the secret club.
For readers' advisors: story, character, and language are all very strong doorways. There is quite a lot of swearing, some sexual content, some on- and off-screen violence, some alcohol, and a couple of scenes where children or teens are in danger (they survive).
Many many thanks to NetGalley, Darynda Jones, and St. Martin's Publishing Group for letting me read an eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review. Um, when does the next book come out? Is it soon? Please may I read it right away? Please??...more
This book is absolutely outstanding and, in my opinion, should be read by every adult and teenager in America and India. I am so incredibly thankful tThis book is absolutely outstanding and, in my opinion, should be read by every adult and teenager in America and India. I am so incredibly thankful the Courageous Conversations group at my church chose to read and discuss it because there was just So Much to think about and absorb, it really helped to have a group of people to share in the experience. Isabel Wilkerson is a phenomenal writer--taking horrendously heavy subject material and making it so readable and accessible. Her research is detailed and very thorough. I learned SO much. I had no idea just how much I, a very well-educated white woman, did NOT know about US history! My knowledge turns out to have been just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It will take me a while to digest and process everything I learned from this book, but I am even more determined to do whatever I can to disrupt the caste system in this country whenever and however I can make a difference....more
My kids LOVED the photographs of baby girls from around the world, and I loved the positive messages (visual and textual) about girls being smart and My kids LOVED the photographs of baby girls from around the world, and I loved the positive messages (visual and textual) about girls being smart and strong and having lots of different skin, eye, and hair colors. We read this one a LOT when my daughter was small....more
Like all the other Bruce books, this one is absolutely delightful--funny for kids and for their grown-ups. This time around, Bruce is the reluctant hoLike all the other Bruce books, this one is absolutely delightful--funny for kids and for their grown-ups. This time around, Bruce is the reluctant host of all the neighborhood animals during a big storm. When a tree crashes through the roof and slices the house in two, the neighbors rally to fix up the house even better than before--adding a "rumpus room" (It's for rumpusing!) where everyone can hang out and play cards. My kids ask for this as a bedtime story over and over and can now recite pretty much the entire book. Or at least sections of it before dissolving in giggles. We love Bruce books so much!...more
Penelope Rex is nervous about her first day of school--will her classmates like her? Poor Penelope has a hard time making friends, especially when shePenelope Rex is nervous about her first day of school--will her classmates like her? Poor Penelope has a hard time making friends, especially when she keeps eating her classmates (because children are delicious!). It's not until the class goldfish gives her a taste of her own medicine that Penelope learns how to treat others as she'd like to be treated.
This book is HILARIOUS, as per usual for Ryan T. Higgins' books. I bought it just before my daughter started kindergarten, when she was getting nervous about what school would be like. It is a great way to teach empathy and kindness through humor, and there is so much to look at on every page that it bears endless re-readings....more
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