foggidawn reads in 2017, thread 1

Hi, I'm foggi, and this is my tenth year on LibraryThing and my seventh year in this group! I'm a librarian in a medium-sized Ohio town and a voracious reader. I have eclectic reading tastes, but do read a lot of children's and young adult literature, both for work (I select children's and teen books for my library) and because I enjoy it. I usually read about 175 books a year; sometimes other pursuits cut into my reading time (watching TV, participating in community theatre), but I enjoy talking about those things, too!

2016 was a low reading year for me -- only 165 books. However, I have high hopes that 2017 will be better! In 2016 I moved to a new town and started a new job, which cut into my reading time considerably.

This year I'm making a book-related New Year's resolution. Now that I've been on LT for ten years, it's easy to see when I acquired my books. I'm going to try to read all of my TBRs acquired more than ten years ago -- anything I added when I started my account, basically, and I'll work my way forward from there. At the end of the year, any remaining TBRs that I've had for that long will be making their way to new homes. My though process is that if it's been sitting on my TBR shelf for ten years and hasn't caught my interest, it probably never will! I'm excluding "classics" from this resolution -- though I'll try to read them, I'm not going to cut them from my collection if I don't get to them. It's the more recent fiction that I'm focusing on for now. I've uploaded a picture of the shelf that holds those old TBR books above, and I'll update my progress as I go through the year. (Not all of the books visible are that old, but the ones on the first 2/3rds of the top shelf are.)

I just posted the end-of-year book meme on my 2016 thread, and thought I'd copy it over here, because I enjoy it so much.

Describe yourself: Evil Librarian

Describe how you feel: Awkward

Describe where you currently live: A Desirable Residence

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Cottage by the Sea

Your favorite form of transportation: Roller Girl (I had no good answers for this one)

Your best friend is: A Most Magical Girl

You and your friends are: Furiously Happy

What’s the weather like: Summerlost

You fear: Very British Problems

What is the best advice you have to give: Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Thought for the day: Adulthood is a Myth

How you would like to die: Playing Juliet

Your soul’s present condition: A Step from Heaven

I was trying to come up with my top five books for 2016, and I discovered that my only 5-star reads of 2016 were rereads. Am I getting pickier about what gets five stars, or did I have an off year? Anyhow, I decided to pick the best from several categories instead:

Best historical fiction: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys
Best series completion: Necessity by Jo Walton
Best how-did-I-miss-that? children's classic: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
Best play script: Empty Nest by PJ Gassman
Best fantasy: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Best Newbery contender: Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Best audiobook: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Best memoir: Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
Best picture book: Nobody Likes a Goblin by Ben Hatke
Best graphic novel: Snow White by Matt Phelan

Illustrator Spotlight: Ben Hatke

In my best-of-2016 post above, I listed Nobody Likes a Goblin as my favorite picture book of the year, so I thought I would spotlight Ben Hatke this time around.

Here's an image from Goblin:


And one from another great picture book, Julia's House for Lost Creatures:


He's also done some illustrations for a chapter book I very much enjoyed last year, Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Whatever Cure:


He's also done some cool graphic novels, Zita the Spacegirl and Mighty Jack, and seems like the cool, geeky sort of person that I would like to just hang around with. If you're not familiar with Hatke's work, I'd encourage you to get to a library or bookstore and check out his stuff!

Starred! I'll be popping by frequently, of course. :D

Hi Foggi!

You're starred! Good luck reading through your old TBRs next year!

Happy reading in 2017, foggi!

Welcome back, Foggy.........what Micky said!

Looking forward to seeing your reading this year!

Happy New Year, Foggi!

Got you starred! :)

Happy New Year!

I love your plan to read or discard the very oldies on Mt TBR!

I am part of the group.
I love being part of the group.
I love the friendships bestowed upon my by dint of my membership of this wonderful fellowship.
I love that race and creed and gender and age and sexuality and nationality make absolutely no difference to our being a valued member of the group.

Thank you for also being part of the group.

Welcome back!

Happy New Year! (dropping a star)

Loved your meme and best books choices.

That's an interesting book related New Year's resolution. Sounds like a good plan. I will be interested to see how it works for you.

Hello Foggi - I love your Mount TBR project. I really need to make progress with mine this year - or stop buying stuff. But hey, there's no need for crazy talk this early in the year :-)

Glad to see your NYE readathon worked out for you (I would have posted over there but didn't want to bury the link to your new thread). :)

Hi, foggi. Just stopping by to drop a star.

Dropping by to mark my spot but I'll be back later to actually read things. Happy New Year Foggi!

Hi, foggi! Happy new year!

Happy new year, and thanks for visiting to all my guests: Micky, Kriti, Rachel, Anita, Paul, Melissa, Diana, Stephen, Janet, Rachel, Jim, Roni, Lori, Meg, Susan, Robin, Leah, and Amber! Phew! I feel loved! Hope I didn't miss anyone.

No reading to report yet, or at least, no books completed. Since I wrapped up so many partially-finished books on New Year's Eve, that's only to be expected, I guess.

I added a photo to my TBR resolution post above, so you can see some of the books in danger of being culled!

Also, the illustrator spotlight is back! I thought I'd mention it, because it might get missed up there at post >5 foggidawn: if you've already read the top half of this thread.

>5 foggidawn: Those are wonderful illustrations.

Happy New Year, Evil Librarian! Love your meme, and your best-of list (except Raymie Nightingale -- did not work for me at all). I feel like maybe I had an off-year as well. I never star my books - I'm just not very good at it, and what I LOVED becomes clearer to me over time. There were very few books I looked back on and thought: wow.

I'm right behind you on LT: it will be 9 years for me this year. I would lose a LOT of books if I purged as you plan to -- I'm not ready to do that, but I admire your resolve! I have a lot of books "I know I will love but I don't have time to really appreciate right now" and more books I read because "then I can move them out," and perhaps that's why I had an off-year. A lot of good books, but very few great ones, even though I have many. Something to think about...

ETA: Cool illustrations! I have a lot of his books in my library that I hadn't connected were his before. Thanks!

Wishing you a great year of reading. I admire your TBR challenge - wish you every success. I am coming up to ten years (March) but fortunately for me it took me a while to get everything catalogued, otherwise I'd be tempted to see which books have been sitting there that long.

Happy new year, foggi!

foggi, it just occurred to me that you would be a great person to ask for some recommendations for my almost 12 yo son.

(Background: He has what is known as "stealth" dyslexia - he is gifted and has definitely learned how to read, but he has some difficulties with comprehension, depending on what test he's given. He can be anywhere between reading and comprehending one grade below his 6th-grade level or all the way to 11th grade.)

He's not crazy about most books, but put a graphic novel in front of him, and he devours it! He's read his way through all of the elementary level graphic novel series like Lunch Lady, Baby Mouse, Captain Underpants, etc. He has also read all of the Bone series, has one more Raina Telgemeier, and is reading the Amulet series now. There are a few other stand alone books that he has read - Roller Girl, El Deafo, and I can't recall the others. We're looking for something with some substance instead of the Marvel and DC thing, but I haven't been able to find much more. I've searched on amazon and there seem to be a bunch, but I can't tell whether they will be quality or not. Unfortunately, we've read through the choices at Barnes & Noble, and our library seems to have a lot of Marvel/DC and anime/manga, but not much else. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks, if you can help out!

Dropping off a star! Happy reading in 2017 :-)

Happy new year and thanks for visiting to Anne, Charlotte, blue, and Katherine!

>28 Familyhistorian: Aren't they? They make me happy.

>29 AMQS: I can see how Raymie might not work for everyone -- in fact, I think all of Kate DiCamillo's books are like that. Some of them work for me (Winn-Dixie, Despereaux) and some definitely do not (Edward Tulane, Flora & Ulysses). I also wonder if going for those old TBRs will doom me to a lot of mediocre reads, but I'm hoping that there are some great ones hidden in the pile. And, since I'm excluding unread classics from my purge, I actually have what looks like a manageable amount to deal with. If I keep going with this resolution, I may run into difficulties in future years when I picked up a lot of galleys at conferences.

>32 rretzler: Has he read Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales yet? Those sound like they may be just what you are looking for. I've heard good things about Cardboard by Doug TenNapel, and there's an Olympians series by George O'Connor if he is into mythology. There have also been some graphic novel adaptations of books lately that he might try -- The Graveyard Book, The Amulet of Samarkand, Rick Riordan's books, A Wrinkle in Time.

(1 book read)



The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski -- The conclusion of a trilogy, complete with battles and adventures and romance as you might expect and hope for if you have been reading this series. I felt that the ending was a bit drawn out, but on the other hand, this allowed each plot line to be satisfactorily concluded. I've really enjoyed listening to this series on audiobook, and I feel Justine Eyre's narration actually adds a lot of value, so if you are an audiobook fan, try these!

>32 rretzler: I can't recommend LumberJanes highly enough!

>35 foggidawn: I really need to reread the first book in the trilogy and then continue with the other two. It sounds like I should try them on audio this time.

>37 aktakukac: It was so good. She gives each of the three different nationalities their own accent, which I thought was cool and clever.

>34 foggidawn: foggi, thanks so much for the recommendations and for the link to the ala recommendations. That should keep him busy for the next month or so! It's just so hit or miss with him sometimes, I bought him several before the holidays, but he only seemed to like half of what I got for him. I wish Raina Telgemeier would hurry and write more books!

>36 leahbird: Thanks for the suggestion! I keep seeing Lumberjanes but wasn't sure whether it would be good or not - I'll also put it on the list.

>39 rretzler: I'll second the Lumberjanes rec. It's wonderful and even if he doesn't like it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it, so it's a win-win :-)

(2 books read)

Cheaper by the Dozen by Christopher Sergel, based on the book by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey -- A large family is run, humorously, on the principles of efficiency, but the oldest daughter wants more autonomy.

I read the book this play is based on some years ago. The play seems to keep to the spirit of the book pretty well, and it's great for community theatre because it has a lot of roles for kids and teens.

>36 leahbird: I liked Nimona better than Lumberjanes, but both are good.

>39 rretzler: Yes, Telgemeier could put out a book a month and her fans would still wish for more!

>40 archerygirl: There's a valid point.

Wow, this group is active right now! It's like we all made resolutions to be more talkative this year. I know it will calm down eventually, but the number of unread posts is kind of daunting right now.

>43 foggidawn: It's like this every new year, as I recall. I'm heavy with the red x right off the bat so I can keep track of threads I want to follow.

Popping in to say hello and drop a star. Happy reading!

>44 bluesalamanders: I go back and forth between wanting to red-x things, and wanting to keep my options open to follow new threads that I didn't last year. Once all of the visiting slows down, people will get down to the business at hand, I think.

>45 tapestry100: Hi! Thanks for stopping by!

(3 books read)

The Homecoming, a play based on the novel by Earl Hamner -- In depression-era Virginia, a large family waits and wonders if their father will make it home for Christmas. This play is based on the same book that inspired The Waltons, apparently. (I've only seen about half an episode of that show, so I have no comparisons to offer.) It features a large cast of varying ages and would probably play well to the community theatre audience I have in mind, but it didn't appeal to me, personally.

>47 foggidawn: I've seen that one performed once. It has appeal in this area because of its Appalachian setting.

>48 thornton37814: I can see how that might be the case.

(4 books read)



Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon -- Madeline has a rare disease that keeps her confined to the sterile environment of her house, but when Ollie, a boy near her age, moves in next door, a friendship develops which will have her testing the limits of her cloistered existence.

This light read is quick and captivating. I listened to the audiobook, and Bahni Turpin and the other narrators did an excellent job. While listening, I didn't question the internal logic of the book, but afterwords, I found a few plot holes to pick at. Still, they didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story. Fans of young adult romance will enjoy this one.

If you've read the book: I guessed early on that she didn't actually have the disease. Which makes me wonder why Carla, a trained nurse, never questioned it. I thought that the circumstances of her life were not as fully explained as they could be. Additionally, I have to wonder how she got on a plane to Hawaii without a photo ID? That did actually bother me while listening. Also, the fairy-tale perfect first-time sex is a tired YA trope.

>50 foggidawn: Hmm, mental note made for when I'm in the mood for a YA romance.

>50 foggidawn: Ahh, another one that I put on the "read later" list some time ago. I've heard lots of good things about it.

(5 books read)



Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina -- In Bogotá, Colombia, a young girl named Juana struggles through learning English in school. Fortunately for her, after school her best four-legged friend Lucas is waiting to offer moral support. This intermediate chapter book features full-color illustrations on every page and Spanish words peppered throughout the text. I'd recommend it to a really confident second or third-grade reader, especially one with some knowledge of or interest in learning Spanish. Juana's first-person narration is bubbly and conversational, and she's definitely the sort of engaging heroine kids can relate to. Plus, a cute dog! This is not, however, the sort of book that I'd necessarily recommend to adults who don't already have a strong interest in children's literature.

>52 aktakukac: I've heard a lot of good things about the author's newest book, too -- I will probably read that one before long.

(6 books read)



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling -- Mugglenet posted on Facebook that Rowling finished writing Deathly Hallows ten years ago today, so it seems fitting that I finished rereading it again today. My plan was to reread Cursed Child next, but I don't feel drawn to it, so I think I will read other stuff instead.

Happy 2017, Misti!

>50 foggidawn: I liked her second book a lot better.

>56 rosylibrarian: Good to know.

(7 books read)



Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk -- Annabelle is having trouble with a bully at school. When the bully disappears, though, suspicion falls on a man who is a bit odd, but has always been a friend to Annabelle. Can Annabelle put together the pieces, find the missing girl, and clear her friend's name?

This is a beautifully written book, the sort of children's book that I absolutely would recommend to adults. In fact, it may be the sort of book that adults will love more than kids will. My only quibble with it is that Annabelle's narration seems very adult, a grownup telling about what happened when she was young, and she gives child Annabelle some very mature insights at times. However, that's such a minor criticism compared to this book's many strengths of plot, setting, character, and sentence-level writing. Highly recommended.

(8-10 books read)

Over the River and Through the Woods by Joe DiPietro -- a young man contemplates moving across the country from his gregarious Italian grandparents. This play has lots of funny moments, but the ending is a bit of a downer.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson -- a church's staid traditional pageant is turned on its ear when a family of juvenile delinquents gets involved. This play script stays very close to the original, which I've always liked. I think it would be a fun family show.

And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little by Paul Zindel -- three sisters meet for dinner and an airing of grievances. There is not a likable character or a redeeming moment in this entire play. Possibly the worst script I have ever read.

(11 books read)

Doin' Time at the Alamo by Mary Hanes -- At a motel across the road from a Texas prison, families of the inmates gather before visiting day. I like this play much better than the last one I read, but that's a pretty low bar. Still, this one was funny and sweet, with lots of great roles.

When is your community theatre making its choice of play(s) to perform?

Some time this spring. (Super specific, I know!) The committee wants to have our titles selected to present to the board by the March board meeting. Not sure if the decision will be made then, or in April.

Cool. So you'll probably have a bunch more to read between now and then?

Wow! I'm impressed with all the reading you've done! I'm assuming you're looking for plays with a lot of roles to cast, correct? Otherwise I'd recommend the Tuna Texas plays.

I have The Winner's Curse on my TBR pile, but since I've now gift wrapped the books, I don't when I'll read or even find it. :) But there's no reason I can't check out the audiobook. Thanks for the recommendation.

>55 foggidawn: foggi, I found The Cursed Child better than I thought it was going to be. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it.

>58 foggidawn: Wolf Hollow is going on my list.

>63 MickyFine: Yep, I still have several to read.

>64 hairballsrus: Yes, large casts are good. I've heard the Tuna ones are funny, though! You gift-wrapped your TBRs? Fun!

>65 rretzler: I read it this fall, and liked some parts but not others. I thought I might feel like rereading it by now, but I don't. Hope you enjoy Wolf Hollow!

(12 books read)



The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon -- on her last day in the USA, Natasha seeks a way to keep her family from being deported, but finds love along the way. I liked this story a little better than the author's first book, though I kind of think if they were going to have three narrators for the audiobook version, they should have just gone full cast. Still, recommended.

>58 foggidawn: I have Wolf Hollow home from the library, must get round to reading it. I'm also aware that many children's books seem to be more appealing to adults than to children, I just wouldn't recommend some of Kate deCamillo's work for this reason.
I've just started Pictures of Hollis Woods and Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse.

>67 foggidawn: I think I read somewhere that they are turning both of her books into films. Actually, they may have mentioned it at YALLFest. I can't remember!

Hi Foggi -- just dropping in to catch up.

>68 avatiakh: There's almost a sort of divide, with books that have a lot of kid appeal but are almost anti-adult (stuff along the Wimpy Kid line) and books that are more literary at the risk of alienating child readers. Of course, there's still good stuff to be found in the middle.

>69 rosylibrarian: I would not be surprised.

>70 AMQS: Hi!

>71 foggidawn: Like adults kids are not all the same, the kids that like the more literary books will probably grow up liking more literary adult books. But it is important that all kids read books they like.

>72 FAMeulstee: True.

(13-14 books read)

Opal by Robert Lindsey Nassif -- A young girl, orphaned in a shipwreck, is brought into the daily life of an Oregon lumber camp, where she tries to gladden the lives of her neighbors in her own quirky way. This is a weird little musical. I watched a production of it on YouTube as I read, so I could get an idea of how the songs sounded, so I almost hesitated to include it in my "read" count -- but I did read it as I listened. I like the music; some of the songs are quite catchy. I did a little superficial research into the basis of the story, which is actually quite strange and dark (Opal Whiteley, who may or may not have fabricated her childhood diary on which the story was based, who may or may not have been adopted into her allegedly abusive family, who ended her life in a mental institution, seems an odd subject for a musical). The story itself is good, though Opal's whimsical pronouncements sometimes verge on the twee.

All in the Timing by David Ives -- Six comic one-acts, each featuring a small cast and minimal sets/props. My favorite was "Words, Words, Words," about three monkeys with typewriters attempting to write Hamlet. My least favorite was "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread" -- I might like it better if I were to see it staged, but just reading it I can't see/hear how it's supposed to go. I don't think I would want to just stage these six in lieu of a full play, but I can see including some of them in a one-act festival or something of that nature.

>72 FAMeulstee: I do agree with that Anita. I think it is important to always read what you like and avoid any inverted bookie snobbery. I like to mix up my reading although literary fiction is probably still my favourite, but I have always done so on the basis that a change is as good as a rest.

Have a great weekend, Foggy.

>72 FAMeulstee: I guess my love for the Hardy Boys turned me into a mystery lover. I do, however, read more diversely, including literary fiction, than I once did. Mysteries are still my "comfort read."

>75 PaulCranswick: I like to vary what I read, as well. Right now it's a lot of plays and kid lit, and modern literary fiction for adults is not my favorite, but it's good to get a dose every once in a while and remember the breadth of the field of literature.

>76 thornton37814: I also have times when all I want is a good mystery.

(15 books read)



The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden -- In medieval Russia, magical forces vie for power, and one young woman is at the epicenter of the conflict. I liked this novel, but I wanted to love it, and a few niggling details kept me from doing so. I loved the setting, but in terms of fantasy I don't feel that it did anything new and exciting. The pacing was pretty slow for the first half of the book or more. I also wish the second brother had played a larger role, and the priest a smaller one to balance that aspect of the story, but that's just me; I don't imagine others will be bothered by it. It's symptomatic of another issue I had with the book, though -- characters that were significant in the early parts of the book didn't see any play later in the story, and minor ones got introduced just at the end to serve a specific purpose, when they could have been mentioned earlier. Still, if "medieval Russian fantasy" sounds appealing to you, you should try this one.

>66 foggidawn: Yes, I giftwrapped my TBR so that each read feels like a "treat". Or at least that's the concept. I've read two of my "gifts" already.

>78 foggidawn: Out of curisoity have you read Vassa in the Night? Isn't that based on the same fairytale?
.

>78 foggidawn: That one is on my wishlist, I do like Russian folklore so I'll probably pick it up at some point.

>79 hairballsrus: I'm not sure if it's based on the same story -- Baba Yaga doesn't get more than a brief mention in this book, and it looks like she plays a significant role in the one you mentioned. I haven't read that one, though, so I'm not sure.

>80 kgodey: Hope you enjoy it when you do!

>78 foggidawn: Skipping over your thoughts about this one because I'm reading it right now. My hold came in late last week and I managed to read about 50 pages over the weekend.

>82 aktakukac: I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you finish it!

The ALA Youth Media Awards were announced this morning! If you've been around my thread for a few years, you know that I really geek out over these awards, which include the Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz, among many others. I have not yet read all of the winners, but I'm particularly excited about a few of them. I love Good Night Owl, and am so pleased it got a Geisel honor. Wolf Hollow (reviewed above at >58 foggidawn: ) got a Newbery honor, which I think is well deserved. March: Book Three by John Lewis got a huge number of awards, so I'll have to make one of my rare forays into the graphic novel section and take a look at that trilogy. I'm also excited to read the Newbery winner, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. And, while I don't have strong feelings about the Caldecott winner Radiant Child, I'm quite smug because I predicted that They All Saw a Cat would not win the Caldecott Medal, despite sweeping Mock Caldecott programs across the country, and it finished with an honor.

Do any of you have reactions to the winners? You can find the full press release here.

I coincidentally started reading March, Book One last night, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Selfishly I'm a bit grumpy that I didn't check out all the volumes at once, because I suspect there will be a big hold list now. But I suppose these books are worth buying.

>84 foggidawn: I know I just bought additional copies of all three volumes for my library system!

Thanks for posting the awards, I knew that they'd be announced sometime soon. I have Wolf Hollow & The Passion of Dolssa home from the library and have put in a request for The Girl Who Drank the Moon and a couple of others.

The John Lewis GNs have been getting quite a buzz on the threads here, I haven't picked up #1 as yet but intend to. Wow, #3 did sweep the pool of awards for YA.

I've read one of the Printz Honor books, Asking for It by Louise O’Neill, is very good and tackles a tough topic and also just finished Newbery Honor book The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog which I loved.

>87 avatiakh: The Passion of Dolssa has been on my list for a while. The only Printz honor that I've read is The Sun is Also a Star, which I reviewed positively above. I have a galley of The Inquisitor's Tale on my shelf and have been meaning to read it these past six months! Will I ever catch up on all the books I want to read? (Any LTer knows the answer to that question.)

>88 foggidawn: Will I ever catch up on all the books I want to read? Ahahaha! At this point I'm thinking of purging my To Read list I've maintained in a Google Doc for years now. I haven't read anything off of it in over a year and have instead been using the For Later function in my library's catalogue and the To Read shelf in my Goodreads account to track of things instead. I might just bring the Google Doc down to the classic books I hope to get around to one of these days and everything else might disappear.

>89 MickyFine: When I joined Goodreads at the beginning of last year, I moved all of the books on my TBR spreadsheet to the To Read shelf there. That doesn't encompass owned TBRs, which are in my library here, but I don't want to add books that I've neither owned nor read to my LT library, so Goodreads serves a sort of auxiliary function. I went through the GR list at the end of 2016 and removed a few titles that, upon reflection, I was really not ever going to read.

The only way I will ever make a dent in my want to read list is to find someone who will pay me to do nothing but read all day. That would be perfect. But since I don't see that happening any time soon, I'll just have to keep reading as much as real life will allow.

For almost the last three years, I haven't been doing a good job of reading books that have been on my spreadsheets or in my notebooks. I looked through a notebook earlier this month and decided to order several...they just sounded good, or I figured it was about time to start crossing some off those pages.

Now if I could just start reading some of the books I already own instead of bringing home library books all the time...

>91 aktakukac: That's a familiar struggle for me, as well. And yes, where are all of those jobs requiring us to read all day, every day, books of our own choosing?

>92 foggidawn: And not requiring reviews to be written (unless you want to, of course)?

>93 aktakukac: Exactly! Though, truth be told, I'd take it even if review writing was required! :-)

I mostly read off my 'To Read List' and it's still never going to really shrink much. I just keep adding more books to it. ;) And ohhhh, a world where I could just read books all day? Please sign me up.

>95 Kassilem: Precisely!

I'll be interested in your opinion of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. I found the only Barnhill I've read (Iron-Hearted Violet to not connect with me emotionally despite loving all the parts.

Happy Belated New Year. I vow to isit threads more often this year.

Yours is one I very much enjoy.

All the best to you

>97 ronincats: I'm in the middle of it now and should finish within the next day or so. I'll be sure to post about it here! I have not read any Barnhill before.

>98 Whisper1: I am glad to see you whenever you feel up to it, Linda!

Also looking forward to your thoughts on Barnhill. I have the book home from the library but it's at the bottom of my 'need to read next' pile at present.

(16 books read)



The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill -- There is a witch in the woods. Every citizen in the Protectorate knows it, just as they know the horrific price they pay for their safety. Once a year, the youngest child in the Protectorate is left in the woods, a sacrifice to the witch. This is the story of one such child.

I'm always excited on the rare occasions when a fantasy novel wins the Newbery. I'm a little bit sorry that I didn't read this one before the award was announced. I don't know if I would have predicted its win, but I would have hoped for it. I found this to be a lovely story, full of warmth and charm, with touches of chilling danger -- all the more chilling because they originated in human hearts. Readers who enjoy Ann Ursu and Sage Blackwood should give this one a try.

(17-18 books read)

Dearly Departed by David Bottrell and Jessie Jones -- When Bud keels over at the breakfast table, his family comes together for the funeral, bringing with them various issues.

Over the Tavern by Tom Dudzick -- a Catholic family in the 1950s deals with the children entering their teenage years.

Neither of these plays knocked my socks off.

I don't usually do a monthly statistical wrap-up, but I was interested to note that I read 18 books this month -- more than I read in January 2016, 2015, or 2013 (and equal to what I read in 2014). Many of my reads this month were scripts, and I don't have many more of those to read, so my numbers may settle back down. Still, I'm pleased with where I am right now.

Good job reading 18 books in January! Not a bad start to the year!

>104 aktakukac: Thanks! I agree -- even if I don't read as many in later months, it's still nice to start the year off well.

That is an excellent start to the year!

(19 books read)



The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli -- Molly has had 26 crushes but no kisses. This suddenly seems to matter a whole lot more when her twin sister gets her first serious girlfriend. It's not like Molly has no prospects: there's hipster Will, who is part of her sister's new friend group, and there's the cute, geeky guy at work. But the thing about crushes is that you never have to actually put yourself out there and risk being rejected...

This book is cute and super fun. It reminded me a little of Stephanie Perkins' books (a comparison I don't make lightly!), so if you liked those, you might want to try this.

Nice review of The Girl Who Drank the Moon! I enjoyed her book The Witch's Boy from a couple of years ago. I have it on my next ordering list.

>106 MickyFine: Thanks!

>108 AMQS: I'll have to take a look at The Witch's Boy and see if I like it as much.

(20 books read)



Bound by Blood and Sand by Becky Allen -- Jae is one of the Closest, a slave caste cursed to obey the Avowed, their overlords. There's no way that Jae should have magical powers... but she does. Faced with the threat of death from the dwindling, magically controlled water supply, can Jae free herself and save her people?

This is not a perfect book, but it is a compelling one. I read it over the weekend, and whenever I had to put it down, I found myself thinking about it and wishing I could be reading it. It reminds me a little of Rae Carson's books, though without quite the same level of detail. It doesn't exactly end on a cliffhanger, but it's obvious that there's more story to come. If fantasy in a desert setting appeals to you, give this one a try. I really liked it.

>107 foggidawn: Oh you've snared me with the Stephanie Perkins comparison.

>111 MickyFine: I knew that would get some people's attention!

(21 books read)



The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip -- Farmer prince Morgon goes unwillingly on a quest to discover his destiny. What is the meaning of the star-shaped marks on his face? Who are the strangers who are trying to kill him? These are just a couple of the many pressing questions Morgon seeks to answer. Be forewarned: nothing gets answered in this book; it ends in the mother of all cliffhangers. This didn't bother me too much, because I read it so I could read the second book, which is one of my long-term shelf-sitters.

I've read other books by McKillip, though not recently. Her writing style can be a little dreamy and abstract for my taste, though in this book it only got really incomprehensible once or twice. The story is good, though typical of the genre (maybe less so when it was written, forty years ago), and I'll definitely keep reading, because I have to know what happens next, given the book's abrupt ending!

(22 books read)



Crosstalk by Connie Willis -- Briddey Flannigan is pleased that her boyfriend Trent wants to get elective surgery to enhance their emotional connection. What she's not so excited about is finding a way to tell her interfering family about the surgery -- not to mention dealing with the gossip at work when word gets out. But after the surgery, familial concern and workplace gossip are the least of her worries. Briddey can't feel Trent's emotions, but she starts hearing voices in her head. Did something go wrong?

Ah, I loved this book! Gripping and funny and suspenseful and romantic. My only complaint was that the pace was a little too frenetic -- I felt caught up in the action and a little anxious from the first chapter, when Briddey was fielding calls and texts and people stopping her in the hall. On the other hand, I felt that she was a little uncaring towards her family, and I appreciated it when another character called her out on that point. All in all, an enjoyable read. If you're thinking about picking it up, clear some time in your schedule, because you won't want to put it down!

>114 foggidawn: Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.

(23 books read)



Morning's at Seven by Paul Osborn -- Four sixty-something sisters and their families are caught up in personal drama as they face changes to the status quo.

Another play script read for my committee. I'm not personally crazy about this one, but I think it would play well in our venue and with our audiences and pool of potential actors.

Another one who enjoyed Crosstalk here. It reminded me of Bellwether in tone, another I really love.

And I hope you love Heir of Sea and Fire--unlike other fantasy trilogies of the time as this book has a female protagonist (whom I love!!).

>115 MickyFine: Thanks!

>117 ronincats: Yes, I'm enjoying it, particularly for that reason. I haven't gotten very far into it, having gotten derailed a bit, but I'm still making progress!

(24-25 books read)

Joyful Noise by Tim Slover -- Handel, depressed at the failure of his recent operas, threatens to give up music and move back to Germany, but eventually he turns his hand to a different project -- an oratorio setting various scriptures to music. Who will sing his masterpiece? Susannah Cibber, whose reputation is in tatters after an adulterous affair? Kitty Clive, who has been successful as a comic actress but tanked as Desdemona? Will the Church of England allow this unconventional mix of the sacred and secular? And what will the king think?

I saw a production of this play about ten years ago, and it's stuck with me ever since. I suggested it to my play-reading committee, and thought I had better reread it just to make sure it was as good as I remembered! (It is.)

James and the Giant Peach: A Play by Roald Dahl, adapted by Richard George -- A little magic enables James to escape from his abusive aunts. He has many adventures traveling aboard a giant peach with some unusual friends.

Confession time: I've never read James and the Giant Peach, nor have I seen the movie. Because (and here's the really shocking confession), I'm not much of a Roald Dahl fan. But, as a play, this is quite cute. I think it would be a good option for our youth show. The peach is portrayed by a spotlight, which cuts down on some of the technical challenges.

Congrats on making it a third of the way through the challenge already!

>120 MickyFine: Thanks! I had not thought of it in that light.

>101 foggidawn: I very much enjoy your review of The Girl Who Drank the Moon, I'm midway through and like it very much.

>122 Whisper1: Thanks! Glad you are enjoying the book.

(26 books read)

Cash on Delivery by Michael Cooney -- Unbeknownst to his wife, Eric Swan has been performing welfare fraud ever since he lost his job two years ago. When a welfare inspector arrives, the lies start to snowball out of hand in hilarious and unexpected ways. This is classic farce, with sight gags and mistaken identities and cross-dressing and innuendo. I got a little lost in the middle, trying to keep track of who was who, but I think it would be effective and funny on stage.

>124 foggidawn: That does sound fun. :)

>125 MickyFine: Even one of my fellow committee members who typically does not farce said he liked this one, so I feel pretty good about including it in our final suggestions.

>126 foggidawn: Comedies are always so much fun. One of my favourite productions done by out local professional theatre in the past few years was a Noel Coward play. Sooo funny.

>127 MickyFine: We tend to do more comedies than anything else, though of course "comedy" is a pretty broad spectrum.

>101 foggidawn: I finished The Girl Who Drank the Moon today, and I did like it. I will be interested in how the target audience responds to it though. It seemed very dense and complex to me; I had to break it into parts rather than reading it straight through. I wonder if this is one adults like more than the kids, or if the kids just blithely breeze through it and love it. Let me know what reactions you get!

>129 ronincats: Some third and fourth graders have been reading it at Charlie's school (I know because I volunteer in the library), and they LOVE it.

Hi, foggi!

>129 ronincats: It does have a lot going on, but I think kids will just dive right in. I don't get as many chances to talk to kids about books in my new position, as I'm more behind-the-scenes now.

>130 scaifea: That's good to know! Hi, Amber!

(27 books read)



Heartless by Marissa Meyer -- Any reader of Alice knows of the furious Queen of Hearts, but few may have wondered how she came to be so impassioned. This book tells the story of the girl who became the Queen of Hearts, back when she was just Lady Catherine Pinkerton, who dreamed not of becoming royalty, but of opening a bakery. Her parents want her to accept the king's suit, but the only man who can tempt Catherine away from her entrepreneurial goal is the puckish jester she met first in a dream, and then in a nightmare...

For the most part, this book hews close to the source material. Readers who know their Alice will find themselves often amused at the finer details of the book. I don't feel I can say more without spoilers, so: Since this does function as a prequel, you know where Catherine ends up -- and it takes a fair amount of tragedy to get her there. I enjoyed the ride through the story, but found the ending to be quite a downer.

>132 foggidawn: Sounds fun (even with qualifications noted in the spoiler).

>132 foggidawn: But did you like it? How does it compare to the Lunar Chronicles?

>133 MickyFine: It was fun, if you like Wonderland stories.

>134 _Zoe_: I mostly liked it. Not as much as Cress or Cinder, but more than Scarlet.

(28 books read)



All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai -- Tom Barren is, well, kind of a loser. He lives in an alternate 2016, one where the grandest imaginings of the post-WWII era are reality, thanks to a scientist in the 1960s who created a machine to harness the energy of the Earth's rotation. Jetsons-like technology is the stuff of everyday reality. But Tom's just drifting, ever in the shadow of his genius father. After his mother dies, Tom's father gives him a pity job in his lab, where his father is trying to make time travel a reality. Tom is an understudy to one of the team of chrononauts who will make the first leap into the past -- but Tom will never time travel; the chrononaut he's shadowing is way too dedicated and competent. And then, inevitably, the unthinkable occurs...

I don't read a huge amount of science fiction, but every now and then a book jumps out and grabs me. That's what happened with this one: I read a review, the library ebook was available, and I read it over the course of a couple days. Tom's a great character, flawed but likable, and the world building is great. If you have any interest in this kind of story, you should read this book. I've already recommended it to two non-Internet friends. It's early days yet, but I can easily see this book holding a spot in my top five of the year.

(29 books read)



The Twits: A Set of Plays by Roald Dahl, adapted by David Wood -- The Twits are a disagreeable pair of practical jokers, but they get more trouble than they bargain for when they capture a family of monkeys any try to train them to do circus tricks.

Once again, a play (or actually a set of plays) about a book I haven't read. This set of plays would be excellent in a classroom setting, but not in the community theatre setting that I'm reading for.

(30 books read)



Be My Baby by Ken Ludwig -- A young British couple wants to adopt a baby from San Francisco, but can't travel due to health problems. They send two irascible older relatives, Maud Kinch and John Campbell, to fetch the baby. One problem: Maud and John can't stand each other!

This is a fun story, but it feels more like a movie than a play -- there are multiple sets for relatively short scenes, and two ensemble players take on a huge variety of roles. And I didn't love the story enough to make a case for overcoming the technical demands, so it's not one that I'm going to push for when my committee makes its selections.

Hi foggi! You got me with Crosstalk -- looks like a good one, and I like Connie Willis.

>136 foggidawn: That one's on the list already as I heard it blurbed at the conference I went to at the beginning of the month at a Dewey Divas (and Dude) session. Do you have a version of them on your side of the border? For clarification, they're publisher reps who speed book talk mid-list titles for libraries.

>135 foggidawn: Thanks! It sounds like something I should read eventually, but not rush out to buy.

>139 AMQS: I haven't read anything else by Willis yet, though I've been hearing about her for some time now, so I can't say how this book compares.

>140 MickyFine: I don't think we have anything quite like that here. One of the big vendors puts together a Title Talk event every so often with reps from multiple publishers, and there are publisher previews at ALA conferences.

>141 _Zoe_: Yeah, I liked it, but not at the level of "you must read this right away!"

I went back and added cover images for many of my recently reviewed titles, so if you're interested in that sort of thing...

>143 foggidawn: Thanks, I like to see covers with the reviews :-)

>144 FAMeulstee: So do I, but when I'm writing reviews on my phone or tablet it makes it harder to add the images. I try to remember to go back and do it later. I haven't been adding them for most of the play scripts either, since those tend to have plain covers.

(31 books read)



Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel -- In the wake of a disastrous pandemic that marked the end of civilization as we know it, a group of traveling actors and musicians goes from settlement to settlement, performing Shakespeare and Beethoven for the scattered remnants of humanity. This story weaves in and out of their lives, going back to the days of the Collapse and before, bringing together threads of a narrative about an actor, a prophet, a graphic novel, a museum. This is a lovely, terrifying sort of story, though ultimately uplifting and hopeful. I listened to parts of it before bed one evening -- in retrospect, not my best idea, but I was so caught up in it that I could hardly bear to press pause. The audiobook narration is nicely done, and the book itself is immensely compelling. If you have any interest in post-apocalyptic stories, this is one you shouldn't miss.

(32 books read)



Secrets in the Snow by Michaela MacColl -- Jane Austen is swept up into shocking events when her cousin Eliza's husband, who was reportedly guillotined a year ago, makes a surprise reappearance, demanding money from Eliza. When Jane finds his indisputably dead body the following day, can she solve the murder before the magistrate is called in and scandal envelopes the family?

This was an interesting game of "what-if" about a historical figure. I found the various elements of the book (writing, character, plot) rather mediocre. It was a moderately enjoyable read, I'm not sorry that I read it, but I would only recommend it to those who devour all things related to Austen.

(33 books read)



Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner -- Kamet may be a slave, but he's a powerful one. Entrusted with his master's accounts, promised as a gift to the future emperor, Kamet will someday be one of the most important men in the Mede empire. When an Attolian approaches Kamet and offers him freedom, Kamet sits down and has a good laugh. Why would he leave a position of power in the greatest country in the world for a miserable backwater like Attolia? Then, his master is poisoned. Kamet knows he will be accused, tortured, and killed along with most of his master's other slaves -- but if he runs, the blame for the poisoning might fall on him alone. Kamet had no desire to take the Attolian up on his offer, but it appears he will be doing so whether he wants to or not. Escaping the empire won't be easy, but it's the only way Kamet can stay alive.

Turner's fans have been waiting years for this book, and it does not disappoint. The plot is as intricate, the characters as complex as one would expect. The focus of the story is Kamet and his companion, so we see little of characters from other books in the series. This book could stand alone, though it clicks into the larger framework of the Queen's Thief series like a puzzle piece, and I still recommend starting the series at the beginning. Fans will be glad to know that the series doesn't look to be wrapping up any time soon, though of course it will probably be another five to eight years until we get the next book. While I wait, I plan to reread the whole thing. I'm sure I will pick up on details that I missed before.

(Note: I read an advance copy of this book. The finished version comes out in May.)

As you have pointed out before our list of books read tends to differ a little but I am pleased to note that I have actually read Station Eleven and liked it pretty much.

Have a great weekend, Foggy.

>149 PaulCranswick: Good to know! Hope you've had a great weekend, too.

>148 foggidawn: I'm trying very hard not to be jealous...

>151 scaifea: I know I would be if the tables were turned! It came in a box of other galleys that I found waiting on my desk when I came in to work on Friday. I was sick with a cold and probably shouldn't have ventured in, but I had a meeting in the morning that I didn't want to miss. The galley of Thick as Thieves was at the very bottom of the box, the last book I pulled out, and it made it worth coming in to work that day!

>148 foggidawn:, >151 scaifea:, >152 foggidawn: Oh, no way, I am definitely green-eyed with jealousy at your early access, foggi! Can't wait!! Good to know it is worth waiting for!!! Have to stop now before I run out of exclamation points!!!!!

>148 foggidawn: OMG I'M SO EXCITED!!! *Ahem* I only skimmed your review because I want to be surprised but I was thrilled to read that it doesn't disappoint and it's as intricate as the rest.

>153 ronincats: You certainly used up today's supply! :-) I did find it worth the wait, but also over too soon. As I said, though, there's rereading to look forward to.

>154 bell7: I kept it as spoiler-free as I could, but I understand wanting to go in with no expectations or preconceived notions.

>155 foggidawn: Yeahhh...it's a weird quirk of mine, admittedly, but if I already know I want to read a book I want not just no spoilers but - if at all possible - for every page to be a delightful surprise.

>156 bell7: I am often the same way, especially if it's a book I've been anticipating for a long time.

(34 books read)



Caraval by Stephanie Garber -- Sisters Scarlett and Donatella live in fear of their abusive, authoritarian father. When invitations to Caraval, a mysterious immersive game, arrive, Tella sees it as their ticket off the island where their father is governor. But Scarlett is less sure -- she's been counting on her arranged marriage with an unknown count as her means of escape, and she's always planned to take Tella with her. But perhaps she can experience just a little of Caraval and still get back to the island before her wedding day? When Scarlett and Tella are separated, Scarlett must keep her wits about her -- which is hard when you're caught up in a game where nothing is as it seems...

I'm having trouble pulling my thoughts together for this review, because this book didn't really do it for me -- but I don't want to discourage others from trying it. I was exasperated with Scarlett for most of the book, I never bought in to the romance in the book, I kind of hated Tella, and I thought the writing was a bit too flowery and purple. However, I was also listening to the audiobook, and I'm not sure how many of those issues would have bothered me if I had been reading instead. So, I would say that you should give this a try if the premise intrigues you -- but if you are not a fan of young adult fantasy, particularly the type with lots of flouncy dresses and steamy kisses, you should probably give this one a miss.

(35 books read)



Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit -- Anna's father is a professor of linguistics in Poland. It's the beginning of World War II, and when her father never returns from a meeting one day, even a child of Anna's seven years understands that she is in a precarious position. When she meets a stranger with a gift for languages, including the language of the birds, she follows him out of the city. Is this mysterious Swallow Man Anna's best hope for survival, or is he fleeing demons that will rise up and trap them both?

This book is lovely and heart-wrenching. It's the sort of story that will appeal to readers of all ages. The author does a great job of slowly revealing the characters, particularly that of the Swallow Man. My only issue with this book is that parts of it, including the ending, were a little too vague for me and my need for closure upon finishing a story. Don't let that stop you from reading it, but be prepared to sit with your questions for a while after you're done. I listened to the audiobook, and recommend it highly.

(36 books read)



Heir of Sea and Fire by Patricia McKillip -- When Raederle of An receives some distressing news, she sets out on a quest that will take her far from home and back again. Along the way, she learns many things about her own power, where it comes from and what it can do.

While I appreciated many things about this book, including its many strong female characters, I never found it particularly compelling. I also found more of the dreamy abstraction that I associate with McKillip's writing in this book, which made for slow going when I hit those parts. I didn't hate it, but I don't think it's one I'll revisit, and I'm not sure yet if I will read the third book in the trilogy.

On the positive side, this was one of my longstanding TBR books -- the first I have completed in my quest to whittle them down!

Hi Foggi! I have Station Eleven in my pile -- you review is very compelling!

>161 AMQS: Great! Hope you like it as much as I did.

I think I am going to have to plan on reading or listening to Station Eleven sometime later this year. And good to know that Anna and the Swallow Man is a good audio as well.

>163 aktakukac: I'm having a run of good audiobooks at present, but they can actually cut into my time reading ink-and-paper books, since they go slower, but sometimes I get caught up in them and just have to see what happens!

>159 foggidawn: That one is on my list for this month! Glad to see another favorable review of it.

>165 thornton37814: I read some other reviews after the fact, and it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it sort of book.
I'll be interested to see your response once you read it!

>164 foggidawn: I know what you mean about audiobooks cutting into reading time. A few of my recent audios have been long books that I thought I would never get through...but they were worth it, so I guess that's what's important. I may try to get a few children's books on audio so they go by faster and I can feel like I am making progress :)

>167 aktakukac: That's the trick! :-)

(37 books read)



Sandy Toes by Robin Jones Gunn -- Christy and Todd are expecting, and impending parenthood brings increased responsibilities. I've been reading about Christy and Todd since I was a young teen. (I'm still trying to figure out, though, how it happened that Christy used to be a year or two older than me, and now she's a decade younger. Fictional characters, I tell you!) The writing in these later books is not as polished as it could be, but it's always pleasant to slip back into their sweet, comforting story.

(38 books read)



Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar -- Scott's starting his first year of high school, so the last news he expects to get from his parents is that his mom is going to have a baby. As he ponders what it means to be a big brother, he decides to keep some notes for his little sibling about how to survive high school. Through the ups and downs of classes, crushes, and assorted extracurriculars, Scott imparts wisdom liberally seasoned with humor.

This is a feel-good school story. It touches on some serious things, but doesn't dwell on them. Scott's a likable guy, trying to do the right thing (though not always succeeding). Recommend for teens who aren't looking for anything too serious, or for adults who harbor at least a few pleasant memories of high school.

I'm also jealous that you got to read Thick as Thieves already!

>171 kgodey: :-)

(39 books read)



The World's Greatest Detective by Caroline Carlson -- I'm reviewing this elsewhere, so here I will just mention that if you are looking for children's mystery stories, this is a pretty good one.

(40 books read)



Drawn Away by Holly Bennett -- Jack, a seventeen-year-old diabetic, has just moved to a new town, but apart from starting a new school and monitoring his condition, now he's also having weird visions of a Victorian waif, the Little Match Girl, who seems to want something from him. Jack and his new friend Lucy must discover why Jack is having these visions, and how to stop them before Jack is pulled into the Little Match Girl's world forever.

The plot was fairly good and the characters were interesting, but the writing was utilitarian. If you're a big Hans Christian Andersen fan, this might be worth a read, but it's not one I'd recommend across the board.

(41 books read)



The Magic Mirror: Concerning a Lonely Princess, a Foundling Girl, a Scheming King and a Pickpocket Squirrel by Susan Hill Long -- Margaret has walked with a limp for as long as she can remember, earning scorn and derision from the people in her village. One day, a kind peddler trades her a magic mirror for her sturdy crutch, and Margaret sets out on a quest to find the wild-eyed man she sees in the mirror's surface. As she travels, she meets a great many people and learns of the surprising ways their stories connect.

If you enjoy Karen Cushman's historical fiction, you will almost certainly enjoy this medieval tale. My only criticism of the story is that it wraps up a little too neatly, and every person Margaret meets is somehow wrapped up in her life story one way or another. However, that's a minor detail that did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book. Recommended.

>132 foggidawn: I have Heartless on my tbr pile so appreciate the review.
>148 foggidawn: I keep meaning to read this series, now seems like a good time to start.
>159 foggidawn: I agree that Anna and the Swallow Man was a great read.

I was struck by the thought yesterday that while I've read several LDS writers' books, I can't think of any children's books which feature a LDS main character. Do you know of any? I tried doing a google search but mainly came up with more religious-themed books.

>176 avatiakh: I don't know of any, off the top of my head. I'll try to do some searching later and see what I find.

(42 books read)



Frogkisser! by Garth Nix -- Princess Anya just wants to stay in her library and learn about magic, but instead she must go on a quest. She promised her sister that she would find Prince Denholm and reverse the frog transformation visited on him by the princesses' step-stepfather, but she's out of the magical lip balm that will enable her to transform him in the absence of true love, and the ingredients aren't all that easy to obtain. Her quest will take her deep into the forest, to the home of a good wizard and the gathering place of witches, to the city's murky sewers and to the fortress of the sorcerers. Along the way, she will learn some things about her country's history that were not covered in the books she has read, and her quest may become about more than just kissing one frog...

I enjoyed listening to this lighthearted fantasy quest story. I've seen this marketed as YA, but I'd call it pretty firmly middle-grade. This warm, funny read that will appeal to fans of Jessica Day George and Gail Carson Levine.

>176 avatiakh: Looks like pickings are slim, but I did find a few books: The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Through the Open Door by Joy Hulme, and possibly The Great Brain and its sequels by John Fitzgerald. I used the NoveList K-8 Plus database to search, and it brought up some other titles as well, so you might try searching that way if you're curious about other possibilities.

>178 foggidawn: I added that one to my TBR list after hearing it booktalked at the conference I went to in February. I'm looking forward to it coming up in the shuffle. :)

>180 MickyFine: Ah, those booktalks! Dangerous things for the TBR list.

>178 foggidawn: The other day, I added this one to my list of audios to get to soon. Sounds like a fun one, and good to know it's more middle-grade than YA.

>182 aktakukac: Yeah, I think marketing it as YA is a tactical error, as it reads kind of young for all but the youngest teenagers to appreciate. It fits really comfortably with books like Tuesdays at the Castle and the like.

>181 foggidawn: So dangerous. As is reading Library Journal. I only read the reviews for non-fiction but there's always that article near the back that will highlight theme reads and I took a couple hits from the March 1 issue. But how am I supposed to turn down a novel that combines time travel and Jane Austen? (For the curious, the novel in question is The Jane Austen Project)

>184 MickyFine: Aww, drat. You got me with that one, too!

>185 foggidawn: Sorry, not sorry. :P

>186 MickyFine: :-p

Thanks for the reminder that Frogkisser! is out. I'm not going to buy it but I have put a library hold on it for when the ordered copy comes in.

Hello, foggi!

>179 foggidawn: Thanks for sleuthing for me. My library has a couple of those so I'll start there.

Frogkisser looks to be fun.

>188 ronincats: Hope you enjoy it! I sure did.

>189 alcottacre: Hi, Stasia! Glad you are back this year.

>190 avatiakh: Good luck -- hope I haven't steered you wrong.

>179 foggidawn:, >191 foggidawn: I have The Great Brain on the shelves - wish it was in my head!

>192 PaulCranswick: Hahaha!

(43 books read)



Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples -- Shabanu, daughter of a camel herder, has grown up with more freedom than many girls in Pakistan. However, changes are coming for Shabanu. Her older sister is soon to be married, and Shabanu herself is approaching womanhood. When a frightening encounter changes everything for her family, Shabanu must make a difficult choice.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but by the time I was halfway in, I could hardly put it down. I do wonder how accurate it is in its portrayal of the culture it represents.

>194 foggidawn: I think that book has been sitting in my TBR pile for well over a decade now. I should really get to it one of these days.

>195 _Zoe_: I certainly have many of those! This wasn't a book I own, but it's one I've vaguely intended to read for a while now. Plus, it's a Newbery Honor, and I'd like to read all of those eventually. Of course, I should probably try to get through all of the medal winners first...

(44 books read)



Haveli by Suzanne Fisher Staples -- This book picks up five or six years after Shabanu -- this review contains spoilers for that book. We see Shabanu now as the youngest wife of a wealthy older man, raising her young daughter Mumtaz. The first three wives look down on Shabanu, and she fears for her safety and that of Mumtaz. She would also like to see Mumtaz educated, so her future will be more secure. Shabanu's plan is to live at the haveli, her husband's city house, while the government is in session. She can find Mumtaz a tutor there, and they will be safe from the other wives, who prefer to live in a newer and more stylish part of town. But when one of Shabanu's only friends is forced into an arranged marriage even more distasteful than Shabanu's own, plans must need change once again...

I found this a rather stressful read, as Shabanu's life is one of nearly constant anxiety and hidden danger. Of course, this also made for a quick and compelling read. I'm not entirely satisfied with the book's ending, but there is a third book, so I will probably read that one and see if it resolves some of the things I found problematic.

Woot for the Newbery Nut goal! I've read all of the medalists, but still working my way through the Honor Books (there are TONS more of those, of course), and hoo boy, some of the early ones are, um, a treat...

>198 scaifea: Yeah, I've been keeping a not-always-up-to-date thread over on the Newbery challenge Group (https://www.librarything.com/topic/140839) for a few years now. By my count I have 49 medal winners left before I really start focusing on honor books -- and of course, many of my unread medal winners are older titles, which can sometimes be a bit of a slog. It's a back-burner challenge for me; I'm content if I just read a few books toward it every year. I do try to read all of the current year's crop, so as not to fall further behind!

One thing that LT and this group has opened my mind to is the gems that still exist in the YA genre.

Thanks for being one of the group that regularly highlights books that we should sneak into the YA section to pick out for ourselves.

Have a great weekend, Foggy.

>200 PaulCranswick: Thanks for visiting, Paul! I do love to highlight excellent books for children and teens.

(45 books read)

Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger -- Well, I've finally Finished. . . a series by Gail Carriger, that is! Though I enjoy her books in small doses, I tire of them if I try to binge-read them. This was a delightful conclusion to the Finishing School series: it answered questions, resolved plot points, and hooked this series and its characters neatly into the larger Parasol universe. Plus, there were some deliciously funny bits. The scene with the harp and the wicker chicken was particularly good comedic value. Of course, if you're new to the series you should start at the beginning -- but if you're already a fan, there's plenty to enjoy here.

>202 foggidawn: I totally understand the series fatigue. Carriger's style works fine for me closely together but I need to space out Thursday Next books, otherwise the cleverness starts to grate. Glad you enjoyed the series though. :)

>203 MickyFine:: Series fatigue -- exactly!

Well, I was hoping to get to 50 books by the end of March, but I've stalled out a bit on my current read. Still, I think I'll work on starting a new thread some time today.

Knowing that you frequently end up with YA ARCs, if you end up with one of Stephanie Perkins' There's Someone in the House let me know how scary it is. Horror isn't really my thing but I do love Perkins and I can't decide whether to read it or not.

>206 MickyFine: Oh, that is a quandary! I don't usually do horror either, but if I get a galley and decide to brave it for the sake of reading a new Perkins book, I will let you know.

Follow me to my new thread, everyone!