Tag Archive | Connecticut

Q is QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK YOU when I find you, Mom, by Michelle Falkoff (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr19
book cover of Questions I Want to Ask You, by Michelle Falkoff. Published by Harper Teen

What a great 18th birthday – Maddie with him at CrossFit, last day of senior year, getting ready for a beach party, then… a letter from his mom?!

She died when Pack was a baby, Dad always said. Now he updates the story: Mom just abandoned them and their small Massachusetts city, then died later of a drug overdose.

After watching true crime shows with his police detective dad for years, Pack is definitely going to dig into this mystery, asking Dad’s school buddies, checking old yearbooks, finding Mom’s sister who lives in Connecticut not far away!

Her letter says not to tell Dad she’s alive, and as Pack meets the family he never knew and hears their side of events, he begins to see why.

Kidnapping, drug raids – what really happened when Pack was a baby?

The more he investigates why Mom left, the more dangerous things get for her and for Pack! Is he ready for the consequences?

Senior year with Maddie made Pack want to stop time. But she’s going away to college; he’s iffy about more school. He’s completely committed to the Paleo diet that changed him from pudgy to fit; she says it’s okay to ease up after reaching major fitness goals. Can they survive a long-distance relationship?

Questions and more questions… check out Pack’s intriguing story at your local library or independent bookstore.

What’s the biggest question you have about your family’s past?
**kmm

Book info: Questions I Want to Ask You / Michelle Falkoff. Harper Teen, 2018. [author site] [publisher site] Personal copy won at Friends for Levine Querido auction; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Among P.T. Barnum’s wonders, WE ARE ALL HIS CREATURES, by Deborah Noyes (book review)

Jun10
Book cover of We Are All His Creatures, by Deborah Noyes. Published by Candlewick Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The greatest showman!
Spotlight on him!
Overshadowing all others to reach his dreams…

Barnum’s museum of wonders captivates New York in 1842, yet his daughters feel he cares about the mermaid more than he loves them, would rather transform a little person into General Tom Thumb than tell them stories.

Jo is the decoy, drawing away mobs of fans so that famed opera singer Jenny Lind can safely make her way to each performance hall on Barnum’s 1851 tour, ever in her best friend’s shadow.

At home on her father’s lavish estate in Connecticut, only twelve year old Helen and the Barnum menagerie sense the presence of little sister Frances’ ghost who’s angry enough to wreak havoc as big sister Caroline’s 1852 wedding day approaches.

In 1868, no one can know that the Bearded Lady has a son! Mr. Barnum runs a most respectable establishment, and news of her illegitimate child would doom them both. Luckily, the American Museum is so crowded that Jack can sketch the animals with no one the wiser.

This double-handful of tales re-imagines the lives, dreams, and worries of people locked into their orbits around the self-created brilliance of “there’s a sucker born every minute” Barnum.

Is it ever right for the difference of others to be a show for the rest?
**kmm

Book info: We Are All His Creatures: Tales of P. T. Barnum, the Greatest Showman / Deborah Noyes. Candlewick Press, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

K is Kels in WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, by Marisa Kanter (book review)

Apr13
book cover of What I Like About You, by Marisa Kanter. Published by Simon Teen | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Kels blogs about YA books and baking,
Nash is an amazing graphic novelist,
their online friendship is epic, but IRL…

Halle wants to work in publishing on her own merits, not as famous Grams’ granddaughter, so online she is Kels who matches her exquisite cupcakes with talk-worthy books.

The 17 year old wanted her senior year in one place, not traipsing around the world with their famous filmmaker parents, so it was logical that she and baseball-playing brother Ollie stay with Gramps… in Nash’s town?!

At school, at synagogue, the attraction between Halle and one-quarter Korean Jewish Nash is growing – why can’t Halle tell him the truth about who she is online?

NYU will be Nash’s escape from his clingy parents, Halle’s ticket to becoming a publicist – what if they don’t get in? What if they both do?

Published just last week, debut novel What I Like About You is available from your local indie bookstore (order directly or through bookshop.org) or check WorldCat to see if your library has the eBook. Be sure to request it at your library so they order print copy, too.

So when is it okay to be two people at the same time?
**kmm

Book info: What I Like About You / Marisa Kanter. Simon & Schuster Teen, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Sister’s big wedding! SAVE THE DATE, by Morgan Matson (book review)

Feb22
book cover of Save the Date, by Morgan Matson. Published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Wedding on the horizon!
Family all here again!
well, almost everyone…

Charlie misses the days when her older siblings were all home, when Mom’s cartooning career really took off, but not when the comic made her brother so very angry.

Surely Mike will be here for Linnie’s wedding and his best friend will conveniently forget Charlie’s crush and the grumpiest neighbor ever will decide to act neighborly for once, right?

From the author of The Unexpected Everything (my review here), Second Chance Summer (ditto), and Since You’ve Been Gone (here too).

What would the award-winning comic strip based on your family be like?!
**kmm

Book info: Save the Date / Morgan Matson. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Charlie is delighted that all her siblings will be home for her sister’s wedding, but how many things can go wrong before everything falls apart?

Lots of changes coming – Mom and Dad selling the house, Mom ending the 25-year-long run of “Grant Central Station” comic featuring their family, Charlie graduating soon (but maybe staying here in Connecticut for college?).

Then it gets crazy – their wedding planner suddenly vanishes, the house alarm system goes bonkers, and their neighbor is calling the cops about the delivery vans.

Deep breaths everyone – more drama than usual in the groom’s family, brother Mike still isn’t here as the wedding hour approaches, the Good Morning America crew is on the way, and Charlie’s crush shows up.

What now?! The groom’s suit goes missing at the cleaners, a stray dog is suddenly underfoot, and the new wedding assistant is efficient and charming… very charming.

The more that Charlie wants things to be the way they used to be for her family, the more they’re not!

Unexpected Everything, by Morgan Matson (book review) – summer plans? poof, woof & wow!

May5

book cover of The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson published by Simon Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.comShe’s got it all planned:
internship, great college, med school…
until step one is revoked!

Andie loves her checklists, her plans to become a doctor, her best friends – and sticks to short-term boyfriends.

Then her fancy internship gets yanked away, her politician father is suddenly home from DC, she lands in a summer job far outside her experience or comfort zone, and she meets Clark…

Happy book birthday week to The Unexpected Everything!  This is a great summer read, like Matson’s Since You’ve Been Gone  (my no-spoilers recommendation here) and Second Chance Summer  (more here) with less road trip, but just as much self-reflection and heart.

What do you do when a perfectly crafted plan falls apart?
**kmm

Book info: The Unexpected Everything / Morgan Matson. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. [author site]  [publisher site]  [author video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When problems at her congressman father’s office cause her pre-med internship to vanish, Andie is forced out of her structured life of success checklists and into a summer job as a dog-walker (never had a dog), wanting to stay around new guy Clark (never mind her 3-weeks-only rule for boyfriends), and trying to keep her best friends in sync as an outside relationship threatens to dissolve their group.

A world-famous author in their midst?
Dad home in Connecticut all summer instead of away in Washington DC?
A long-time crush keeps his distance, or does he?

An epic scavenger hunt, bridging the father-daughter gap 5 years after Mom’s death, emojis-only text message challenge, a committed relationship (wait! this is Andie we’re talking about…) – such an unexpected summer before senior year!  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Since You’ve Been Gone, by Morgan Matson (book review) – daring to-do list & a mystery

Jul26

book cover of Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson published by Simon Schuster BFYR4. Break something.
8. The backless dress. And somewhere to wear it.
11. Hug a Jamie.

If timid Emily does all 13 daring (for her) things on live-in-the-moment Sloane’s epic summer list, will her suddenly-gone BFF return? Maybe with cute Frank’s help…

You’ll want to grab this summer tale at your local local library or independent bookstore today so you can find out if Emily completes Sloane’s list and what she discovers about herself along the way.

What would you add to a gotta-do-this list for your best friend?
**kmm

Book info: Since You’ve Been Gone / Morgan Matson. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014.   [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The letter with no return address brings Emily her only clue about Sloane’s sudden disappearance  – a to-do list that her vivacious best friend promises will make an epic summer.

With her parents in a playwriting haze and little brother Beckett sulking about missed vacation, Emily is on her own to check off the adventures on Sloane’s list – with help from her new running partner Frank (Captain Responsible to pal Collins), while his girlfriend is away for the summer.

Ride a horse!? Kiss a stranger?! Facing her fears and making new friends in their coastal Connecticut town as she works through the list will surely bring back her best friend – but where is Sloane now? And what about her runs and shared playlists with Frank when summer ends? (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)