Tag Archive | belonging

Who is spying on her & The Watcher in wartime? by Joan Hiatt Harlow (book review)

Sep21

book cover of The Watcher by Joan Hiatt Harlow published by McElderry Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com From Maine to Berlin,
from suspected to suspicious,
and someone is watching her…

Nothing that this young American teen thought she knew about her family is true – Mom and Dad aren’t her parents, glamorous Aunt Adrie is her mother… and a German spy! And what a terrible truth she discovers about the Lebensborn nursery where she is required to volunteer.

Find this 2015 paperback (or 2014 hardcover) at your local library or independent bookstore.  Be sure to also grab the companion book Shadows on the Sea (my no-spoiler review here) to discover how Wendy finds herself in this perilous situation in the first place.

How far would you go to stand up for your beliefs?
**kmm

Book info: The Watcher / Joan Hiatt Harlow. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014 (paperback, 2015).  [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Kidnapped from America by her German spy ‘aunt’ and taken to Berlin, Wendy learns of her real parentage, encounters the people spying on her, and must decide which path to follow during World War II.

After rescuing a puppy who failed SS police dog school, Wendy walks in the park near Adrie’s house, where she and Watcher meet Barret and his seeing-eye dog – at last, someone who speaks English and doesn’t scorn her for living in America!

The young man’s grandfather says Wendy’s father wasn’t a German officer, as Adrie claims…
Frau Messner says the children at the Lebensborn nursery are orphans; Johanna says they were stolen from parents in occupied countries because they look so Aryan…
Oh, no! Was that White Rose anti-Nazi pamphlet still in Wendy’s coat pocket when she fell terribly ill??

Wendy becomes convinced that she must escape from Nazi Germany in this suspenseful tale which follows the events in Shadows on the Sea.

She’s no saguaro – Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, by Dusti_Bowling (book review)

Sep7

book cover of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, by Dusti Bowling. Published by Sterling Children's Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com Arm count = zero,
Nose for mysteries and secrets = keen,
Sense of humor = boundless!

Moving to a new school can be nerve-wracking, especially in junior high when you don’t know anyone and you don’t have any arms to wave hello or shake hands… but Aven will carry on regardless of the stares.

Just released this week, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus showcases Aven’s curiosity, self-sufficient attitude (thanks to her parents), and witty storytelling as she leaps (or tiptoes) into new situations in her new town and school.

How do you treat new folks who are different from you?
**kmm

Book info: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus / Dusti Bowling. Sterling Children’s Books, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Moving across the country, 13-year-old Aven wonders whether living in Arizona will be more difficult because she has such fair skin or because she has no arms.

Her adoptive parents have encouraged Aven to do everything for herself – button her jeans, brush her teeth, play the guitar – and she can.

Dad really needs a job, so off they go to Arizona where he and Mom will manage an Old West theme park, and Aven will start 8th grade without the longtime friends who are used to her crazy stories about where her arms went, knowing she was born that way.

Eating with her feet (of course she washes them first!) in front of new kids? Yikes! Better after meeting Connor, who never eats in front of anyone because of his Tourette’s tics, and Zion, who eats by himself so kids don’t tease him about being big.

Uncovering the mystery of the missing Cavanaugh photo and the secrets in the locked shed? Just takes persistence and clue-gathering by Aven, Connor, and Zion. And a crowbar. And the right key.

Making sure that Stagecoach Pass park stays open? She’ll have to think on that a while.

Ancient saguaro cacti that guard the hilltops near the park, tarantula photos on the ice cream parlor walls, upcoming soccer tryouts – interesting opportunities for Aven, whose blog posts shout and whisper the happy and challenging parts of her new life.

Isn’t family The Whole Thing Together, really? by Ann Brashares (book review)

Aug31

book cover of The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares published by Delacorte | recommended on BooksYALove.comHis mom, her dad,
Once a couple, now a feud,
Sharing their divisions…

Imagine knowing (about) someone for your entire childhood and never meeting, ever! “Shared custody” of a beloved vacation home means that Ray (Mom’s kid) and Sasha (Dad’s kid) often see their half-sisters (kids of Mom & Dad), but have never laid eyes on one another till this summer, this fateful summer…

Ask for The Whole Thing Together at your local library or independent bookstore – hardcover or audiobook – and see how Sasha and Ray learn to interact with each other during dire family troubles.

Stepfamily and shared sibling stories?
**kmm

Book info: The Whole Thing Together / Ann Brashares. Delacorte Press, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As later-born children of divorced and remarried parents with joint ownership of a Long Island beach house, Sasha and Ray have never met one another, despite years of alternately sharing a bedroom there, until the summer before their senior year when a crisis with their half-sisters brings their family together.

Why does Ray dream at the beach house and have nightmares back in the city?
Can he and Sasha really hold the same job on alternating weeks of summer (half-sister Mattie’s idea)?
What secret has Emma unearthed about her ever-feuding parents, Ray’s mom and Sasha’s dad?

This band of siblings must work out how love can keep going when family stories collide with facts, parental bonds are stretched again, and their futures are no longer boringly predictable.

Survive his own Bloodline of violence? by Joe Jimenez (book review)

Aug26

cover of Bloodline by Joe Jimenez published by Arte Publico Press | recommended on BooksYALove.comOphelia wants him to stop fighting at school,
Uncle wants him to start really fighting, for money –
Hope and despair are always fighting within him…

Ask for this powerful #ownvoices story at your local library or independent bookstore as Abram thinks lyrically of his embattled present while trying to avoid remembering his family’s past or dreaming too much about a future beyond it.

Can we fight destiny, our DNA, our desires?
**kmm

Book info: Bloodline / Joe Jimenez. Pinata Books/Arte Publico Press, 2016.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Calls to fight ring louder than any teacher’s voice, as 17-year-old Abram struggles to be worthy of Ophelia’s love, to live beyond his family history, to make it past junior year.

“Not all boys need fathers. Better to have no man around than to have a bad one, don’t you think?” says Becky (p.2)- so why did his grandmother invite Uncle Claudio, her son with the long police record, back into their lives again, despite her girlfriend’s advice?

“Be a man!” – what does that mean in their worn-down San Antonio neighborhood? In the dank boxing gym with Uncle? In the world?

“Blood is thicker…” – will Ophelia know if Afghanistan swallows her deployed mother? Is Abram doomed by his parents’ DNA?

Abram forcibly remains in the present moment, as his past brings overwhelming fears and the future beyond tomorrow is too hazy to see, as the cold November rains pelt down and days grow shorter, so much shorter.

Civil War dangers remain in Crossing Ebenezer Creek, by Tonya Bolden (book review)

Aug25

book cover of Crossing Ebenezer Creek by Tonya Bolden published by Bloomsbury | recommended on BooksYALove.comFreed by Yankee soldiers!
Not all believe in emancipation.
What does the future hold for former slaves?

Read this book – for the joy that freedom brings.
Read it – for the sorrow that war brings.
Read it – for our shared humanness, as Mariah and Caleb fall in love, despite all.

Every time I see Ebenezer in a church name, I will surely remember this story.

Can hope remain when trust runs thin?
**kmm

Book info: Crossing Ebenezer Creek / Tonya Bolden. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Freed by the Yankees, Mariah and her fellow enslaved persons travel along with the Union Army, but not all soldiers believe they should be free.

The young teen girl rejoices when Capt. Galloway says “You now own yourselves” and promises to keep them free on their journey – away from Miss Callie’s strident commands and slave-driver Nero’s brutal whip.

Caleb lived through the Burning of Atlanta and now forages for Sherman’s Army. Meeting Mariah and little Zeke strains his “no attachments” resolution (and the young man is secretly glad).

How can Mariah keep her simple little brother safe?
Why are some men in the Union Army if they think slavery is right?
Mariah dares to dream of a future, not alone – but what secret does Caleb hide?

Told in alternating chapters by Mariah and Caleb is the story of past slavery and longing for full freedom, but first they must survive the upcoming showdown between Union and Confederate forces.

Fly away – with free audiobooks!

Jul27

Earthbound worries are minor, compared to the faraway plights and plots in this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC!

Choose either or both of these complete audiobooks during their free download time (Thursday through Wednesday, 27 July-2 Aug 2017), by clicking the link after the title. Listen whenever you wish, as long as you download during the stated time and keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Away to other times, other worlds, as you read with your ears!

CD cover of Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott | Read by Amy Rubinate Published by Brilliance Audio recommended on BooksYALove.comShadows on the Moon
(download here free 27 July- 2 August 2017)
by Zoe Marriott
Read by Amy Rubinate
Published by Brilliance Audio

As shadow weaver, Suzume’s identity changes with each illusion she crafts. Will who she truly is (and who she really loves) interfere with her quest to ensnare the Moon Prince and avenge her family’s death caused by evil stepfather?

 
Airborn CD cover of Airborn by Kenneth Oppel | Read by David Kelly Published by Full Cast Audio |recommended on BooksYALove.com
(download here free 27 July- 2 August 2017)
by Kenneth Oppel
Read by David Kelly and full cast
Published by Full Cast Audio

Matt Cruse’s predictable life as cabin boy on a dirigible takes a dramatic turn when he rescues someone from a derelict balloon, starting a chain reaction of intrigue and danger.

Where would you fly to? And in what unbreakable disguise?
**kmm

Spells & dangers for Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol (book review)

Jul25

book cover of Apprentice Witch by James Nicol published by Chicken House Books | recommended on BooksYALove.comDidn’t pass her witch assessment,
Sent to a town near the Great Wood’s untamed magic,
She knows she can do all the right spells… right?

After learning every glyph and its spell-powers from her grandmother, Arianwyn was sure the assessment machine would pass her as a witch on the first try, but no…

She didn’t expect to meet a friendly young man at the Civil Witchcraft Authority office or make a best friend right away in her assigned town – or that her archrival from witch school would arrive in that tiny town, either!

Happy US and Canadian book birthday to The Apprentice Witch! Read the first chapters here free, courtesy of the publisher. And, yes, there is a sequel on its way!

How do you work with that so-annoying, know-it-all, klutzy co-worker?
**kmm

Book info: The Apprentice Witch / James Nicol. Chicken House Books, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Posted to a remote town as a lowly apprentice witch during wartime, Arianwyn must keep Lull safe from the Great Wood’s dangerous magical creatures and cope with a snobby classmate’s arrival, all while dreading her re-evaluation for full witch status.

As she and new friend Salle make the long-deserted Spellorium ready for charm-making and witchly duties, Arianwyn finds papers from the town’s last witch who vanished mysteriously, years ago.

Snotlings and the terrible hex, an odd blue feyling and the breathtaking moon hare – magical creatures from pesky to perilous fill her catalog as the young teen defends Lull.

Will she ever get every spell correct on the very first try?
Can she unravel the dark glyph haunting her sleep?
What’s wrong with rival Gimma’s spellcrafting?

Arianwyn is growing in confidence and power, but the perils of the Great Wood are also! First in series. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Terrifying future tales – to read with your ears

Jul20

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC may be fiction, but they bring up possibilities vivid enough to scare you to pieces!

Click the link for each book and download before Wednesday (7/26/17),  so you have them on your computer or electronic device for listening now or later.

Thanks again to all the publishers who’ve let us download their great audiobooks all summer long through AudiobookSYNC!

CD cover of Gone (Gone, book 1) by Michael Grant | Read by Kyle McCarley Published by Tantor Media | recommended on BooksYALove.comGone (Gone, book 1) (download here free from 20-26 July 2017)
by Michael Grant
Read by Kyle McCarley
Published by Tantor Media

Suddenly, everyone over 14 is gone. Hunger and bullies – not gone. Scary new talents – on the rise. Civil behavior – declining fast. Mutating animals, fights over leadership – do Sam and friends have any chance of survival?
 

The One Safe Place (download here free from 20-26 July 2017)CD cover of The One Safe Place by Tania Unsworth | Read by Mark Turetsky Published by HighBridge Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Tania Unsworth
Read by Mark Turetsky
Published by HighBridge Audio

Leaving the farm after Grandfather dies, Devin hopes he’ll find safety and food in the city, or maybe be lucky enough to go the abandoned children’s home. But he finds the home is no safe place for any kid, especially one with his special abilities.

Have you read either of these dystopian tales before?
**kmm

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Mapmakers must Race to the End of the World, by A. L. Tait (book review)

Jul15

book cover of Race to the End of the World by A.L. Tait published in USA by Kane Miller Books | recommended on BooksYALove.comUnseen lands, unknown dangers,
commanded to map the whole world –
ain’t on the farm now!

Quinn’s family has kept his amazing memory a secret so he’s not accused of witchery and attacked, as friend Aysha’s mother was, But the King has discovered it and wants the youngest son to compete at the new mapmakers’ school!

Ask for this first book in the Mapmaker Chronicles, an Australian series now published in the USA by Kane Miller Books, at your local library or independent bookstore.

When have you been called upon to go the extra mile?
**kmm

Book info:  Race to the End of the World (Mapmaker Chronicles, book 1) / A.L. Tait. Kane Miller, 2017. [author site]  [series site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Chosen to train as a mapmaker because of his lightning-quick memory, Quinn finds himself on a perilous quest to create a map of all the world for the King of Verlandia.

Youngest of many brothers on his family farm, the 14 year old keeps quiet about his ability to memorize anything he sees or hears – a priceless skill for a mapmaker.

Can Quinn help enslaved captain Zain win his freedom?
Who is the stowaway, discovered when the Libertas is well at sea?
What monsters and dangers will the crew face as they seek uncharted shores?

First in The Mapmaker Chronicles series from Australian author A.L. Tait, three ships are in a Race to the End of the World, striving to bring the most complete world map to their King and earn their dearest wish! (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

We are what we eat?? Listen up!

Jul13

How much should we worry about the effects of the foods we crave? This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC pair a fictional story with fascinating research so you can read with your ears!

Click the link after either title (or both!) to download these complete audiobooks – for free – from Thursday through Wednesday (13-19 July).

Then you can listen whenever you want – just be sure to keep the files on your computer or electronic device.

CD cover of Sugar by Deirdre Riordan Hall | Read by Tara Sands Published by Brilliance Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.comSugar (download here free from 13-19 July 2017)
by Deirdre Riordan Hall
Read by Tara Sands
Published by Brilliance Audio

Sugar doesn’t want to be fat or take care of her housebound morbidly obese mom in their run-down trailer. When a new guy at the 17 year old’s New Hampshire high school actually listens to her instead of mocking – what now?
 

The Dorito Effect: the Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor
(download here free from 12-19 July 2017)CD cover of The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker | Read by Chris Patton Published by Dreamscape Media | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Mark Schatzker
Read by Chris Patton
Published by Dreamscape Media

Perhaps it’s not the exactly carbs and fat we eat that are ruining our health, but the man-made flavors added to them that make us eat more and more. Fascinating research on chemical food flavors may be interfering with our bodies’ ability to choose nutritious foods.

What food has your own research led you to avoid?
**kmm

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