When I read the plot of Up To This Pointe I was a little skeptical about how a trip to Antarctica would tie in to dance, but I have to say that it did exactly that, and did it quite beautifully. Harper’s ancestor, Robert Falcon Scott, was one of the early antarctic explorers […]
Category: 4.5 Birds
This Raging Light By Estelle Laure
Ever since I read Homecoming by Cynthia Voight, I have been fascinated by the story of kids being abandoned by their parents and having to make it on their own. I know that sounds a little messed up and perhaps that says something about me, but whatever it means, it was […]
Underwater By Marisa Reichardt
I was first drawn to Underwater because of the cover and the jacket copy, which seemed to promise an interesting story. It definitely delivered. Morgan is obviously suffering, and while you don’t know right away what happened, you see how small Morgan’s world has become. While I usually prefer to know the facts up front, […]
Firsts By Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
I was very anxious to read Firsts because I was intrigued by the premise and knew that it would be a story I would likely be thinking about for a long time. I felt that Mercedes (Mercy) was a complicated character. In many ways, Mercedes is living two lives; that of the serious and […]
The Last Leaves Falling By Sarah Benwell
When I got The Last Leaves Falling in the mail and read the jacket copy, I steeled myself for a cry-fest. Make no mistake, this book is very sad, but it is a peaceful sadness. Sora is a Japanese teen who is diagnosed with ALS, which is very rare in kids […]
Not If I See You First By Eric Lindstrom
I think all of the reviews I’ve read of Not If I See You First comment on how Parker’s voice is so funny, and they are right. She is quick-witted and completely unafraid of making people uncomfortable. She refuses to fit into a box so that others will feel more comfortable with her blindness. As […]
Blog Tour + Giveaway – How To Be Brave
Welcome to my stop on the How To Be Brave blog tour. I wanted to share my thoughts about this book and then you can read an excerpt and enter for a chance to win a finished copy! How To Be Brave was a very honest look at the mix of emotions that […]
Breakaway By Kat Spears
Breakaway starts with the death of Jason’s (Jaz) sister, Sylvia, and the resulting grief winds its way through a book that I found engaging and refreshingly raw. The death of a sibling would derail any family, but Jaz’s family is barely hanging on as it is. While Jaz continues to go through the motions […]
Queen Of Shadows By Sarah J. Maas
Even though I pre-ordered this book, there was such a furor surrounding its release that I wanted to give it a little space before I read and reviewed it. I’m glad I did. Queen Of Shadows continues the high stakes game that Celaena, now Aelin, is playing in order to gain her freedom, her […]
Walk On Earth A Stranger By Rae Carson
Nothing inspires more romantic fervor of the past than that period in American history that is best defined by the term manifest destiny. The idea that the US not only should, but had a divine endorsement to go from coast to coast, drove the desire of my ancestors to go west. (Or, in my case, […]