My blog’s been a little shy on sweetness lately, but this book fits the bill nicely. It was a wonderful surprise. First, I have to comment on how gorgeous the cover art is. I made it really big because I love it. Not only did it draw me to the story, it reflects it perfectly. […]
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911, Book Review
This is an oldie but goodie. Within, young Mary Lennox has been raised in India, but her socialite parents had little to do with her. When they die in a cholera epidemic, she’s sent to live with her uncle in England. Unfortunately, Mary has become a sickly, ugly, and a nasty little tyrant. And misfortune […]
Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, 2011, Book Review
I’d like to say I liked this book. It has beautiful a flow, beautiful images, beautiful prose. Ms. Ursu has an amazing skill with the written word. Her subject has substance, her characters are many-faceted. Every thought is well-developed and wrapped up tight. She draws from no less than eleven well-known children’s stories and delivers […]
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, 2008, Book Review
Because of the title, I went into this a little leery. And the first few pages didn’t help. It starts with a man creeping through a house holding a knife. “The knife had done almost everything it was brought to the house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet…The hunt was […]
Child of the Mountains, by Marilyn Sue Shank, 2012, Book Review
I loved this book. I sank into it immediately, like an overstuffed couch, and only came out for chores. It’s a beautiful, gentle story of strength despite injustice with a good dose of picturesque Appalachian culture. A wonderful combination. Eleven-year-old Lydia finds herself unexpectedly living with her Aunt Ethel Mae and Uncle William after a […]
Pie, by Sarah Weeks, 2011, Book Review
This book is delightful. That’s not a word I usually use. It’s sort of an old-fashioned word that’s not really my style. A word old ladies might use to describe a chickadee singing on a sunny day or a glass of spiced tea in the winter. But it’s the word that comes to mind. Pie […]
Matched, by Ally Condie, 2010, Book Review
Matched is the first in a trilogy of dystopian YA fiction by Ally Condie that I’ve heard so much about on the web I had to read it for myself. It’s good enough that I want to finish the trilogy, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel very original. Maybe I’m just burning out […]
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Starcatchers Series), Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, 2007, Book Review
Peter’s back. So is George, Molly, the Lost Boys, and the Evil Lord Ombra. Thought he was destroyed at the conclusion of book two? I thought so too. But he regathers his strength and returns to Rundoon where the forces of darkness have come up with the most farfetched plan yet: capture Peter, use his […]
Of What Value is Free? (Unmasking an Author Series, #3)
This is the third in a series about author visibility. First I discussed some challenges indies face. Last week I discussed some beneficial and some not-so-beneficial ways to use freebies. This week I want to consider the value (or not) of free. Everybody loves freebies. We try them because there’s no risk involved. We’re not out anything if […]
Seeds of Rebellion (Beyonders, book two), by Brandon Mull, 2012, Book Review
I’ve been waiting exactly a year for the second Beyonders book. I read the A World Without Heroes at family camp last year. This year I checked out Seeds of Rebellion to read at camp once again. We leave today but, ahem, I finished the book last night. Drat! (Note: This was written three weeks ago.) […]