Category: Book review

Xochitl’s Book Thoughts: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood by Fred Rogers

First line of the book: Once upon a time, a little boy loved a stuffed animal whose name was Old Rabbit.

Summary and thoughts: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood was a read that left me in tears in some parts and left me doing a lot of self-reflection at the end. The book begins with an essay written by Tom Junod, a journalist who spent time with television star Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers. Junod follows Rogers around New York City and his hometown. It details what Rogers likes to do, how he maintains his weight and why, just stuff that makes him Fred Rogers. Rogers tells Junod about his upbringing and the charitable deeds being a celebrity has offered him the chance of doing. Advice from Mr. Fred Rogers took over after the essay. It is split up into different parts so the right advice would fit under a certain category. The guidance he offered were rarely more than a couple of sentences, a paragraph at most. He talks about how to reflect on your own childhood, how to form meaningful connections with your child and their educators/caretakers, discipline, and adulthood.

The essay was a beautiful read as we see that Rogers really is one of the rare few who are the same off-screen as they are on-screen, maybe even better. I liked that the essay was good at showing the human aspects of Fred Rogers. The advice portion was my favorite part. What I adored was that a lot of the advice tied to love. Whether it be showing love to others or to yourself, he emphasizes the importance of both. As long as you are surrounded by love from childhood to adulthood, you will be just fine. This resonates with me as I find lack of love to be prevalent in this world. I appreciate how he goes into compassion, empathy, meaningful relationships, and accountability in such a sensitive and careful way that it is easy for anyone to understand. This was a cute and needed read. It made me want to be better for myself.

Mom and Me Reviews: The Odyssey by Jennifer Adams

The Odyssey: A BabyLit® Monsters Primer (BabyLit Primers): Adams, Jennifer, Oliver, Alison: 9781423641780: Amazon.com: Books
The Odyssey by Jennifer Adams

First Line: “I keep Odysseus here with me, since I saved him from the wine-dark sea.”

Summary: Jennifer Adams’ retelling of The Odyssey is an extremely paired down introduction of the story via the characters. In other words, there is no plot in this board book, but there are a lovely assortment of classic characters (monsters) displayed across the 10 pages.

Ratings:

                Maggie: did not participate in this adventure

                Conor: two kisses and one throw down from the high chair

                Mama Lala: 5 stars.

Their Thoughts: Conor was quite attached from the beginning. He was even smart enough to figure out the sirens were the characters to be kissed. He wasn’t interested in the wordy descriptions, but the illustrations were more than enough to keep him entertained.

My Thoughts: What a great way to introduce the classics to the little ones!

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor

What’s Ashley Reading?: Queens of the Crusades

Queens of the Crusades by Alison Weir

First line: On Sunday, 19 December 1154, Henry II, the first Plantagenet King of England, was crowned in Westminster Abbey, along with his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, amidst great splendor and rejoicing.

Summary: In the second installment of Alison Weir’s histories of the queens of England is Queens of the Crusades. It covers Eleanor of Aquitaine, Berengaria of Navarre, Isabella of Angouleme, Alienor of Provence and Eleanor of Castile spanning their lives over several centuries. These women lived in an age when they were expected to be humble and pious. But the queens of this time held power over their lands and income that drew the ire of their male subjects giving several of them tarnished reputations that Weir tries to dissolve.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed learning about these remarkable women. I love Eleanor of Aquitaine. She is one of my favorite queens of England. She lived for such a long time and was queen of France and England as well as duchess of Aquitaine. I was very excited to learn more about her daughter-in-law, Berengaria. She is glossed over so much in fiction since she was queen for such a short time and did not do much to gain prominence in England.

I like that Weir takes into account how often names are reused for different people that she tries to vary the spellings in order to keep them straight for the reader. I knew nothing about the queens after Eleanor. The amount of wealth these women had and spent is astounding. I love to see what the conversions are because it is so shocking.

Having visited England several times I have been to some of the places listed such as Westminster Abbey. I knew many of the tombs there but now I will need to find the ones for these medieval queens on my next visit.

FYI: Second installment of a four part series. Part one was Queens of the Conquest.

Monica’s Musings: Girl, Wash Your Face

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

“You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are.” ― Rachel Hollis, Girl, Wash Your Face

I was inspired to read Girl, Wash Your Face after I had it recommended to me by my mother. In it, the author Rachel Hollis, has put together twenty-one different chapters that dive into and tear apart lies women often tell themselves. She encourages the reader to fight against these lies and to live a life that is honest and real.

Her story is touching, and it has the ability to make you cry in one paragraph and laugh in the next. The content was a combination of light-hearted, funny, and even at some points dark. I enjoyed how raw and down-to-earth the author came across in this motivational book. I was extremely inspired to change my daily routine to make each day count after reading this.

Personally, I felt as though I was participating in a deep conversation with a friend rather than reading her life story. I have applied a lot of her outlooks on life into my own. Hollis wrote a fantastic book that shows the real side of life not only what is pretty to look at. I appreciated her honesty, and I will definitely be reading more by her.

Mom and Me Reviews: The Real Mother Goose

I grew up being read to out of this book as well. When I found we had it at the library I became SO excited!

The Real Mother Goose - By Grace Maccarone (Hardcover) : Target
The Real Mother Goose Illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright

First Line: “Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, and can’t tell where to find them;”

Summary: All of the mother goose nursery rhymes you grew up with (or your kids will) are included in this book alongside beautiful illustrations.

Ratings:

                Maggie: *Did not participate*

                Conor: 5 stars

                Mama Lala: 5 stars

Their Thoughts: Conor opens the book repeatedly to the “Humpty Dumpty” and “Hey Diddle Diddle” Nursery Rhymes. He carries his board book version at home around. I think we found our favorite.

My Thoughts: I grew up being read to out of this book as well. When I found we had it at the library I became SO excited. My kids like it so much we actually found a board book version of it for Conor to have, and a regular picture book version for the family library. I am so happy we all get to share this memory.

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor

What’s Ashley Reading?: The Project

The Project by Courtney Summers

First line: She’s at Mrs. Ruthie’s house, eating one of Mrs. Ruthie’s peanut butter cookies, staring out Mrs. Ruthie’s living room window and waiting for her parents to come home.

Summary: After the death of her parents, Lo Denham, has spent years trying to find and reconnect with her sister Bea. As Lo was recovering from the accident Bea left and joined The Unity Project. The group preaches love, does charity work and helps out the community. They have slowly been growing but Lo has always been suspicious of them. Then one day a man comes into the office of the magazine she works for. He claims that The Project killed his son. Lo sees this as her chance to expose the group and finally find her sister.

My Thoughts: I wasn’t so sure about this book when I first started it. It has dual timelines with different narrators and time periods. It was a little confusing as the story set out and took a little time to get going. But as Lo learns more about The Project the story gets more twisted. Things start to reveal themselves but like most thrillers, not everything you hear and see is true.

Cults are scary things. As I read, I could easily see how people are drawn into them. They are looking for something or someone to guide them. They want a community. Someone to understand them. But then there is always the dark underside. And the author delivered all this.

I had a hard time rating this book. I struggled at the start but enjoyed the ending. It was worth a read and kept me invested until the end.

FYI: Language, abuse and cults.

Kristy’s Reviews: The Perfect Father

The Perfect Father by John Glatt

First sentence: Christopher Lee Watts was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina on May 16, 1985, the second child to Ronnie and Cindy Watts.

Summary: In the early morning hours of August 13th, 2018, Shanann Watts was dropped off at home by a colleague after returning from a business trip. It was the last time anyone would see her alive. By the next day, Shanann and her two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, had been reported missing, and her husband, Chris Watts, was appearing on the local news, pleading for his family’s safe return. (from www.amazon.com)

My thoughts: Not everything is as it seems. Looking at the life of Shanann Watts seemed to be the most perfect life, a beautiful home with a family, a loving husband and 2 beautiful little girls and a baby boy on the way. But behind closed doors is a whole other story. A demon was in the making and before you know it took everything away from so many family and friends in the sad stories of this unbelievable set of events. While not everything or everyday or everyone is perfect, this didn’t need to happen to a family.

*This can be found only on Hoopla or thru interlibrary loan.*

What’s Ashley Reading?: Lore

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

First line: Her mother had once told her the only way to truly know someone was to fight them.

Summary: Every seven years the gods of Olympus are made mortal and hunted by the descendants of legendary heroes. It’s called the Agon. During the last Agon, Lore Perseous walked away from the hunt and its world. But when the new Agon begins she is drawn back in by an old friend and the goddess Athena. As she binds herself to the goddess she is pulled back into this world she abandoned with the hopes of avenging the deaths of her family or die trying.

My Thoughts: I’d describe this as Percy Jackson meets The Purge. The gods of Olympus are fighting for their lives for one week every seven years. And if a god is killed by a mortal hunter then the hunter will gain the powers and immortality of that god.

I first started listening to this and had a hard time following everything. There was a lot of information dumped at the beginning describing the event and participants. So I switched to the text format and was completely engrossed after that. Lots of action, mythology and twists.

I enjoyed the characters even though most of them fell into the typical young adult tropes. Lore is the angry, tough girl hero. There is a love interest. Villains. Double crossings. It has it all. But I did not feel like it was a book set into a pattern. The idea was inventive and story was exciting. I did find the middle to be a little stretched and drawn out but it did give information that helped bring about the ending.

FYI: Lots of death and violence.

Linda’s Favorite Books: News of Our Loved Ones

News of Our Loved Ones by Abigail Dewitt

First Line: Sirens. Was that what she’d heard? Yvonne dreamed about air raids when there weren’t any, slept soundly through the actual warnings.

Summary: The Delasalle family of Normandy, France have been under Nazi rule in their village for four years. They have watched as their Jewish neighbors have been arrested and disappeared. Now in June 1944 the sirens wail each day as the Allied invasion is approaching. After a bomb destroys their home, 16 year-old Yvonne survives, but other family members lose their lives.

Yvonne’s sister, Genevieve, is in Paris to audition for the National Conservatory. While playing her violin, she does not know that her family’s home has been destroyed. While Genevieve plays, her brother and aunt await news from their loved ones in Normandy.

Decades later, Genevieve is married to an American musician and lives in the United States. Each summer she returns to her homeland with her children so they may know of their French family.

Thoughts: This story moves back and forth in time, with various characters telling their points of view. This book shows how family histories are shared and shows how powerful storytelling helps us understand the past and who we are.

I like this story as it was different in its theme and content to what I usually read about family. At first it was hard to keep the characters straight but I soon learned who each member was and it became more interesting. I would recommend this story for its family theme and historical venue.

What’s Ashley Reading?: In the Garden of Spite

In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

First line: PERSONAL – comely widow who owns a large farm in one of the finest districts in LaPorte County, Indiana, desires to make the acquaintance of a gentleman equally well provided, with view of joining fortunes. No replies by letter considered unless sender is willing to follow answer with personal visit. Triflers need not apply.

Summary: Belle Gunness, a Norwegian immigrant, has learned some hard lessons early on. Upon her arrival in Chicago she married with the hopes of achieving the American dream. But the life she dreamed of did not come true. She was disappointed in her husband, home and lifestyle. She must make her own way in the world by any means necessary. Mysterious deaths, house fires and heated arguments the legend of the Black Widow of LaPorte begins to take hold.

My Thoughts: Before finding this book on Netgalley I had never heard of Belle Gunness. She was a female serial killer. She killed an estimated fourteen people but may be linked to many more. I was really intrigued by the premise, the story and the character of Belle. It was very disturbing to be inside her head. She rationalized everything she did. But even a book about a serial killer I found much of it to be drawn out. There was long periods of time passing and very little happening. I think that much of this could have been taken out and the story would have felt more thrilling.

After finishing I visited www.newpapers.com via the library’s learning databases. I wanted to see what the newspapers of the time were reporting about this woman. Many had the same headline or story. Then there was a resurgence of sightings and murders that some believed were connected to her. There is still lots of mystery around this century old murderer. It’s crazy how reality can be even stranger than fiction.

FYI: Very gruesome at parts.