book review, children's

Outdoor School: Tree, Wildflower, and Mushroom Spotting by Mary Kay Carson and John D. Dawson (Review)

With 448 full-color, highly-illustrated pages, Outdoor School is your indispensable tool for the outdoors.

This interactive field guide to plant and mushroom spotting includes:
– Immersive activities to get you exploring
– Write-in sections to journal about experiences
– Next-level adventures to challenge even seasoned nature lovers.

No experience is required—only curiosity and courage. Inside you’ll find easy-to-follow instructions on how to:
– Grow mushrooms with cardboard
– Compare bark types
– Count tree rings
– Survey leaf patterns
– Create fern spore prints
– Press and preserve wildflowers
And so much more!… Read More Outdoor School: Tree, Wildflower, and Mushroom Spotting by Mary Kay Carson and John D. Dawson (Review)

ARC review, book review, children's

If You Find a Unicorn, It Is Not Yours to Keep by DJ Corchin (ARC Review)

You have a choice to cast good spells or bad spells. Choose good spells.
People will tell you you can’t be a knight because you have magical abilities. They are wrong.
And remember…if you happen find a unicorn, it is not yours to keep!

DJ Corchin offers timeless wisdom with a mystical twist in this lighthearted rulebook for the whole family to enjoy. Plenty of enchanting lessons to live by paired with whimsical illustrations are sure to be passed down from generation to magical generation. A perfect graduation, birthday, or just-because gift for daughters of any age… Read More If You Find a Unicorn, It Is Not Yours to Keep by DJ Corchin (ARC Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers (ARC Review)

When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley’s older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.

A spiritual successor to the 2018 breakout hit, Sadie, I’m the Girl is a masterfully written, bold, and unflinching account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?… Read More I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, book review

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney (Review)

Think you know the person you married? Think again…Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin – and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now… Read More Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney (Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park (ARC Review)

Sunny Song’s Big Summer Goals:
1) Make Rafael Kim my boyfriend (finally!)
2) Hit 100K followers (almost there…)
3) Have the best last summer of high school ever

Not on Sunny’s list: accidentally filming a PG-13 cooking video that goes viral (#browniegate). Extremely not on her list: being shipped off to a digital detox farm camp in Iowa (IOWA??) for a whole month. She’s traded in her WiFi connection for a butter churn, and if she wants any shot at growing her social media platform this summer, she’ll need to find a way back online.

But between some unexpected friendships and an alarmingly cute farm boy, Sunny might be surprised by the connections she makes when she’s forced to disconnect… Read More Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous by Suzanne Park (ARC Review)

book review, nonfiction

The Art of Toy Story 4 & The Art of Ralph Breaks the Internet (Review)

The Art of Toy Story 4: Beautiful art book features never-before-seen concept art, character studies, process animation, storyboards, and colorscripts from the Pixar studio animation movie. Includes exclusive interviews with the production team on the making of the film and insights into their creative vision. The Art of Ralph Breaks the Internet: A great collectors book for fans of Disney Oscar-nominated Wreck-It Ralph movies and a resource for animation and film students. Features exclusive content on the making of Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2… Read More The Art of Toy Story 4 & The Art of Ralph Breaks the Internet (Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

Namesake by Adrienne Young (ARC Review)

Trader. Fighter. Survivor. With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems. As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception she learns that her mother was keeping secrets, and those secrets are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found.… Read More Namesake by Adrienne Young (ARC Review)

ARC review, audiobook, book review, young adult

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (ARC & Audiobook Review)

Eighteen-year-old Daunis’s mixed heritage has always made her feel like an outsider, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When she witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to be part of a covert FBI operation into a series of drug-related deaths. But the deceptions – and deaths – keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. Now Daunis must decide what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.… Read More Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (ARC & Audiobook Review)

Adult, ARC review, book review

The Mystery of Mrs Christie by Marie Benedict (ARC Review)

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her husband and daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away. The puzzle of those missing eleven days has persisted. With her trademark exploration into the shadows of history, acclaimed author Marie Benedict brings us into the world of Agatha Christie, imagining why such a brilliant woman would find herself at the center of such a murky story… Read More The Mystery of Mrs Christie by Marie Benedict (ARC Review)