Ordinary Grace William Kent Krueger Atria/Simon & Schuster A born and raised Midwesterner, I am drawn to novels set in my part of the world. Ohio. Michigan. Wisconsin. Minnesota. There is something magical about stepping into a world you know, of finding a story that captures the ethos of a place you love. When I …
Did you know … Alan Bradley started writing after he retired from a career in TV engineering and production. Bradley never planned on writing more than ten Flavia de Luce novels (*yikes*) because he can’t imagine her as a teenager. He has considered, however, Flavia at 70 looking back at her life. The author is … Canadian! …
The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place Alan Bradley Random House release date: January 30, 2018 It’s certainly no secret that I have a little crush on Flavia de Luce. How could I not? She’s brilliant, confident, beguiling, and misunderstood. (I’m pretty sure I’ve reviewed all of her books on this blog!)) I couldn’t have …
Wonder R. J. Palacio Knopf I might very well be the last reader in the U.S. to have read Wonder, writer R. J. Palacio’s best-selling first novel. I’m kind of out of the middle-reader loop at this stage in my life, and I found the title by clicking on a trailer that popped up on my …
Where’d you go, Bernadette Maria Semple Little Brown Chick lit plots and characters are like so many cut-out cookies, after a while. You’ve got the caterpillar career girl, the stuck-up (but oh-so-handsome) object of her affections. The mishaps. Enter heart-of-gold True Love to sweep her off her feet. The same can be said of YA …
One day when I was in 2nd grade, the librarian and my teacher Mrs. Zimmerman whispered, heads together, by the counter when it was time for my class to leave. And then–wonder of wonders–I was allowed to stay, gifted a few extra minutes of library time. The rest of the children lined up and it was …
Today is day 20 of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge began with A on April 1 and continues the alphabet throughout the month, except on Sundays. My theme for the month will be this blog’s tagline: life, books, and all things bookish, so you can expect a little bit of this ‘n …
Today is day 12 of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge began with A on April 1 and continues the alphabet throughout the month, except on Sundays. My theme for the month will be this blog’s tagline: life, books, and all things bookish, so you can expect a little bit of this …
Eleanor and Park Rainbow Rowell St. Martin’s Griffin They say kids don’t read anymore. And every school year I do have sixteen-year-olds who swear they’ve never read an entire book. And I sure don’t have many of those kids who (like me!) indiscriminately scan through the fiction section and check out their seven library book limit just …
Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster (Edelweiss; NetGalley) Scott Wilbanks Sourcebooks Landmark paperback release: August 4, 2015 lemoncholy: (noun) 1. The habitual state in which one makes the best of a bad situation. (adjective) 2. Afflicted with, characterized by, or showing lemoncholy. I’ll just lay it right out there and tell you I loved this novel …
This is my symphony 