en-US Mon, 21 Apr 2025 21:59:48 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9337633075 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 21:59:48 -0700 /review/show/7211089146 Ashley started reading Isola by Allegra Goodman
]]> Review7499615147 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 19:42:01 -0700 /review/show/7499615147 Ashley gave 4 stars to The School of Essential Ingredients (Paperback) by Erica Bauermeister
bookshelves: 2025
This was a lovely little book. I loved how it was organized (I’m going to leave this a secret for you to discover). It’s a fast, easy read with beautiful food language that made me wish it was stuffed full of recipes at the end. It was a comforting book and a nice reprieve from the realities of the world. ]]> ReadStatus9337243254 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 19:41:01 -0700 /review/show/7508221419 Ashley wants to read The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister
]]> ReadStatus9324801944 Fri, 18 Apr 2025 16:29:47 -0700 /review/show/7499615147 Ashley is currently reading The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
]]> ReadStatus9320316528 Thu, 17 Apr 2025 12:14:47 -0700 /review/show/7496532974 Ashley wants to read Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans by Jane Marie
]]> ReadStatus9313884905 Tue, 15 Apr 2025 18:26:19 -0700 /review/show/7492084292 Ashley wants to read The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 by Beth Brower
]]> Review7485437796 Sun, 13 Apr 2025 15:31:20 -0700 /review/show/7485437796 Ashley gave 5 stars to Lessons in Chemistry (Hardcover) by Bonnie Garmus
bookshelves: 2025
I loved this book—I loved Elizabeth and the strong feminist that she was, I loved all the talk about how unfair life was for women even just one generation ago, and I loved how this had many satisfying parts where people get their comeuppance. The characters were charming, it was laugh out loud hilarious, and I devoured it. I love a book that can do many things at once—tell a good story, be meaningful, be well-written and easy to read. This book is all of those and more. It’s been on my TBR list for forever and it came at just the right time for me. I highly recommend if you haven’t read it, but seeing how it’s been a buzzy book for years, you probably have. ]]> ReadStatus9283268258 Mon, 07 Apr 2025 16:07:19 -0700 /review/show/7470968049 Ashley wants to read On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by Caroline Dodds Pennock
]]> ReadStatus9282254483 Mon, 07 Apr 2025 11:13:33 -0700 /review/show/5055896730 Ashley started reading All the Broken Places by John Boyne
]]> Review151726997 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 19:40:47 -0700 /review/show/151726997 Ashley gave 4 stars to Moon Over Manifest (Library Binding) by Clare Vanderpool
bookshelves: 2025
This is a book we read for my book club. As I've said before, there are a wide range of ladies in this book club, and we've been meeting together for about 18 years now. I'm the youngest, and the oldest is 88. We are all very different in some ways but also very alike in some ways, and like all book clubs and groups of friends that stay together for so long, we love each other and it just works out. I have to say that we do have varying opinions on books. However, there are some books that are universally loved and this is one of them.

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book. First of all, I thought the story was interesting and compelling right from the start. There are varying viewpoints from chapter to chapter, and it is also a time hop book. The book was well-organized and it was clear who was talking and what was going on, which I feel like is essential with a book like this. It's impossible to try to keep track of things if the author doesn't do a good job. Vanderpool made it easy to follow, and since this is a middle grade book, that is essential.

The story is surprisingly deep for a middle grade book. One thing I love about middle grade literature is that you don't have to mask it like you do with adult literature. It seems like adults need more faffing about before they can get down to business. Not middle grade. The author can pull no punches and the kids take it in stride. I find it refreshing and also enlightening. Although much middle grade is full of goofy characters and graphic novels, this is a book with depth and real issues to be addressed, which Vanderpool does not shy away from doing.

I loved the characters in this book. They are endearing, and although we view them from the unreliable narrator, it is clear to the reader that there is more going on. There were some great stories that were hilarious but also some very serious stories. I appreciated the characters, they really do make the story. There are so many little details that just add to the flavor of the book.

This book is hilarious, like laugh out loud funny in some parts. I do love a good middle grade that can laugh at itself, and Vanderpool does a great job of this. Kids this age are just so funny--they're on the cusp of adulthood and yet totally miss adult things, and I found it charming and relatable. I think middle grade readers would as well. Vanderpool does a good job of knowing her audience and writing for them but also providing a book that is deep enough and well-written enough that all ages can enjoy it.

If you appreciate well-written middle grade books, or have a kid who is a middle grade reader, I highly recommend this book. My book club enjoyed it and we had a long discussion about many different aspects of it.

Read my full review here: ]]>