One Chapter

Alligator or Crocodile? : How Do You Know? by Melisssa Stewart

5 stars Children’s Nonfiction

You don’t need to love alligators or crocodiles to enjoy this educational children’s book. I found this book fascinating as I loved how the author compared and contrasted these two different reptiles in such a easy, informative way that gives kids this information. There is lots of different information from how and where they live, to their physical features, their babies, and then, the author wraps up the information in a few illustrations at the end.

The author included some websites and a list of other books on this topic at the back of the book for future research, if you’d like more information. This 24-page book wouldn’t be complete without an index and that’s in the back also.

I enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend it to any child. I’m sure they’d learn something about these reptiles or it would refresh what they already know. I know children would enjoy looking at the photographs inside this book as they fantastic. The pictures inside this book aren’t drawings or cartoons but they’re photographs of real crocodiles and alligators in their environments which just adds to the enjoyment of this book. Fantastic book! 5+ stars

Very Good Hats by Emma Straub

4 stars Children’s Picture Book

What is a hat? Do you typically think of a hat being something that you put on your head? Can you think of anything that might also be labeled as a hat? This was a fun book if you let your imagination take control and think of all the different ideas that a hat could be. A roof could be a hat for your house. A lid could be a hat for your cooking pot. What about bubbles in your bathtub, if you put them on top of your head? If that a bubble hat? Why, yes, it is! These are all types of hats if you think about it.

Printed on glossy pages, this bright colorful book gives you something to think about. A fun, entertaining book. Very good hats by Emma Straub 4 stars

The Safe Place by Anna Downes

4 stars Drama, Fiction

Step away from the fire! Too many red flags were being raised, all the warning signs were there, yet Emily kept on walking right where they wanted her. When I first started to read this book, I thought that Emily had caught onto her former bosses’ shenanigans and she was just playing along it but then, the issues started to get pretty deep. Emily soon realized she didn’t have the perfect job.

Emily wants to be an actress but for now, she has found temporary work in an office building. Her acting career, is going nowhere so her temporary position pays the bills, or it did. Emily has just been fired from her temporary job which just adds to the financial frustration weighing on her shoulders. Acting sincere, her former boss Scott, offers Emily a position overseas at his home there. This same boss that just fired her NOW wants to hire her. Yep, you read that right. He wants her to work and live in his beautiful home with his wife and child and money doesn’t seem to be an issue?? Do you not see this as an issue? Hello! Scott will pop in once and a while but the majority of the time, he won’t be living in that home. Emily will have a lot to do if she takes the position, as she’ll be the housekeeper, the wife’s personal assistant, and the au pair for their daughter. How desperate is she? Pretty desperate. Emily takes the job and off she goes.

Scott had warned Emily how isolated this fantastic, beautiful mansion was but when she arrives, she finally realizes how remote it really is. I’m visualizing The Overlook Hotel in Colorado from The Shining isolation and that’s exactly what Emily gets. Sorry Emily, your cell phone and computer won’t work out here. They have to have some kind of communication, they can’t expect Emily to be cut off from the world and they should have had that ready for her on Day #1. Don’t unpack those bags yet Emily, this doesn’t look like paradise to me.

I had to know what the purpose was behind all this. I felt Emily was being set up for something but why? Who was involved and how far would this go on? I was definitely motivated by the author’s writing and had a lot of questions as I read. I was intrigued by the isolation of home and by Emily’s isolation from others, two traits that shouldn’t be mixed together. This was a page-turner for me: more drama and mysterious than thriller. 4 stars #TheSafePlace!

A huge thank you goes out to Anna Downes and Minotaur Books for the copy of this book that I received in exchange for this review’s honest opinion.

Old Country by Matt Query

5 stars Mystery

This was crazy good! What an interesting concept of a story. I could feel the adrenaline and fervor in the characters and I loved how the tension built. You just never know where life will lead you but you should try to do some research before packing your bags.

Harry was an Afghanistan marine who received an early discharge. Back on American soil, he continues to fight his own battles. Harry enrolls in college and he meets his future wife, Sasha. Finding a secluded piece of land, the couple decides that this will be their new start in life. Sasha stands beside her husband as he deals with the effects of the war as the couple tries to get used to their new surroundings, isolated from most everyone.

Where I live, we have four seasons so when their neighbor Dan explains to them about the change of seasons in the countryside, I was prepared. What I wasn’t prepared for, was when Dan talked about the spirit that lived in the valley with them. Was he serious? The more Dan talked about this spirit, the more I knew either he was either trying to scare the couple or Dan was totally serious about what was happening in their valley. According to Dan, each season, the spirit would take on a different form and there were specific rules that needed to be followed, to get rid of it. Dan had even written these directions down! Like me, Harry and Sasha pondered if Dan and his wife were people they could actually trust.

The couple start to enjoy their new private, isolated life together – learning to rely on each other (with having only one close neighbor), as they fall into a routine. As the seasons begin to change, what Dan and his wife warned the couple about, suddenly becomes a reality. The spirit makes his appearance, leaving Harry and Sasha wondering, “did we really just see that?” This is just the beginning. Hold on people as this book is just getting started!

I couldn’t stop thinking about this story after I put it down. As the seasons changed, the anticipation as what awaited this couple kept my heart pumping. Harry and his wife were just looking for some quiet time together. The Afghanistan War had already left its mark on Harry and now another battle is beginning, only this time Harry has his wife beside him.

This is one terrific book that will have you staying up late until you turn the final page! 5 stars

All Hallows by Christopher Golden

5 stars Thriller

Now, that was creepy good! I enjoyed the intensity of the two storylines as they slowly built-up steams and I loved the intensity that swelled within this book once the festivities began. I fell back in time as I read this book, back to the day when everyone living on your block was on a first name basis and most neighborhoods were safe as help was just a few feet away. As one father and his daughter finished up preparations for their annual Halloween haunted woods, the rest of the neighborhood is getting ready for the annual Halloween block party. Candy is stocked at the door for the trick-or-treaters and it seems like everyone has their night planned out, so they won’t miss a thing.

Enthusiasm and excitement filled the air as this was a big night. The haunted woods grew more extravagant every year and they were eager to see what awaited them this year. The block party was a time for the neighborhood to come together and enjoy each other’s company, or at least that’s what this party had been in the past. As the children start the night with their trick-or-treating, they encounter some costumed children they don’t recognize. Could it just be the costumes that throw off who these individuals are or are these children not from around there? It’s when these children start asking the neighborhood children for help that warning flags when off in my head.

Sorry folks, your fun evening with your neighbors just got interesting. What a thrilling read! I loved so much about this book – 5 stars

Hide by Kiersten White

4 stars YA

Just thinking about spending a night at amusement park go me excited. Thinking about spending a week in that same environment well, that sounds like a great challenge. The contestants cannot be caught so how would you hide? Would be constantly move around or find one place and stay as long as you possibly can? Do you form an alliance with other contestants or do you go solo? I know my senses would be on high alert for anything and everything and as I started reading this book, I felt tense. Some of these contestants needed the money desperately and I felt some of the characters were shady and wondered how they were playing this game. There were a lot of contestants to keep track of at the beginning but as I read, I started to care less about some of them. I thought it was a fun book, a book that kept me on thinking what I would do if I was there. 4 stars

Wildoak by C.C. Harrington

5 stars YA/ Middle School

Twelve-year old Maggie has been to over three different schools and she has come to the conclusion that one wants her. Her parents argue over her and she has no friends. She finds comfort in the tiny world that she has created at home, surrounded by the little critters that welcome her just as she is. School Nurse Nora knows Maggie all too well, for Maggie finds refuge in her office when the time is right. See, Maggie stutters and her disability is not accepted.

I cringed, oh……. did I cringe!! Maggie would do anything and I mean anything to get out of reading. The author got my attention as these words fell across the page:

“ she drove the keenly sharpened

point deep

down

into

the

soft

palm

her

left

hand.”

“Shock. Pain. Tears. The pencil protruded from her hand. The blood dripped. Those sweet words. Relief. Her Escape. It had worked. Again.”

As Maggie was dismissed from class, excitement and relief filled her head as again, she had dodged the bullet. She had found her way out of the classroom when it was close to her turn to read out-loud in the classroom. Maggie didn’t register the pain or discomfort that ran through her body for she was used to it, anything was easier than reading out loud.

Her parents feel there are two options for Maggie now: an institute for treatment or her grandfather who she hasn’t seen for years. All I knew was that Maggie would be leaving her tiny world at home. The only place where she felt comfortable, with her little critters, were staying home with her mom. Her grandfather was a doctor who lived in the country so I hoped that Maggie would find some new animal friends in her new surroundings.

We also meet Rumpus in this book. Rumpus was a birthday gift and what a surprise this was to both Rumpus and Anabella. Unprepared for her new snow leopard, Anabella orders Rumpus removed from her home when she returns home to find her home in disarray. Finding himself in another new surroundings, Rumpus is now in Wildoak Forest and he must learn how to survive on his own.

Even though she didn’t know her grandfather very well, I felt that Maggie was relieved and comfortable around him. She seemed to fit right into his world and he accepted her without trying to “fix her.” Maggie and her grandfather create a special bond based on acceptance and love.

Maggie discovers Rumpus inside Wildoak Forest and I loved their relationship. “Something was wrong. He stared at her and they were quiet, saying lots of things without saying anything at all.” It was supposed to be two weeks spent with her grandfather learning to overcome her stuttering yet during these two weeks, I felt Maggie was empowered and she totally forgot about her disability.

This was a fabulous story filled with struggles, emotions, and journeys. I highly recommend this book.

Odder by Katherine Applegate

4 stars Middle School/Children’s Chapter

He was warned yet the temptation was too great. He heard his mother’s words, for she had said it to him many times yet he thought he’d be safe. He wanted to go to the open sea and now, Odder finds himself at a rescue, facing the consequences for not listening to his mother’s warning. This new world that Odder finds himself in, is so different from the bay, will he ever make it back home?

Written in prose, I think this writing style helps convey the author’s message while making the book more approachable to more readers. Readers don’t give so overwhelmed with words and they can read the prose in sections. I feel that prose can create more emotion and response from its readers and I was glad to see that the author chooses this method to write this book.

This was an entertaining story about one otter yet I learned a great deal about his species in the process. Learning about rescue operations with these marine mammals was educational and enlightening also. I liked how this book was based on true events and how the events in the book came full circle. The last chapter of this book was my favorite. This would make a great read aloud, bedtime story or just a book to read on your own.

Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle: How Animals Get Ready For Winter by Paula Salas

5 stars Nonfiction Children’s

This is a very informative book and I liked that it covered more than just hibernate. Normally when we think of animals in winter, we think of hibernate but this book talks about what other animals do beside hibernate and this is greatly appreciated. I also liked that it covered some nontraditional animals which is always good to learn about. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the pages weren’t too busy and disturbing. Told in verse, this is a fun informative book. 5 stars

Dangerous Dolls of Delaware #12 (American Chillers) by Johnathan Rand

5 stars Children’s Chapter

I bought a few of these American Chiller books when I saw a display of them a couple years ago and I’m finally reading one of them. The cover of the books is what drew me in and I liked that the titles had different states in the U.S.A. in them. I have a thing for creepy dolls so naturally I started with this book. On a sidenote, I bought a handful of creepy dolls once at an estate sale and I bought them home. I was real excited about my purchase, thinking I’d stage them around the house or outside and post pictures of them on social media, well…….that plan didn’t work. My husband saw them and he told me to get them out of the house. I didn’t think he was serious at first but he was – absolutely, dead serious! Dang! I found some people who loved creepy dolls and handed them off and now, I know my husband can’t handle creepy dolls.

What a great read! I have to say that for a children’s book, it really was a terrific read. I found that it was a fast-paced book with a handful of characters and a solid story. I liked that most of the chapters ended in a cliffhanger so that it pushed me to read the next chapter and it was hard to put the book down and do something else. Each chapter was only about 2 to 5 pages in length so I could commit to a short reading time slot, if I had to but with this story, I wanted to continue. The book wasn’t gory or difficult-to-read with complicated words or scenes that I had to configure inside my head. This book had an entertaining storyline that felt realistic and I could see myself in the shoes of one of the main characters, if I was only younger. Depending on the reader and their maturity level, I think a third grader could handle reading this book.

Spencer (11) and his sister Serena (12), were out digging for fishing worms for Spencer. Digging deeper, Serena’s shovel made a dull thud. Whatever was down there, it had been down there a long time. Hoisting the box out, they pried the lid off, and the siblings discover two ordinary-looking dolls. What a disappointment! This was no buried treasure but perhaps they might be able to sell the old dolls and make some money. That was the logic they used to take those old dolls home and this was their first big mistake.

You can imagine where this story is going as the siblings take the dolls home. Soon, the siblings begin to feel that the dolls are taking on a life of their own. They’re no longer the ordinary plain dolls that they pulled out of the muddy hole. No, these dolls are something else. Needing to get some information on these dolls, they locate a woman who knows a great deal about dolls including the two dolls that they should have left in the box, buried down in the dirt.

As this lady tells the story of the two dolls that the siblings have in their possession, I’m planning my own course of action as I felt the kids were too. Putting this plan into play became more difficult than anticipated though and the story becomes more exciting as the pages flew by. These were only dolls, right? Two dolls and two siblings, they should be able to get this under control quite quickly, right? The answer would be yes, if the dolls were just plain ordinary dolls but they’re not. They’ll need a calm day of fishing if they can ever get rid of these dolls. 5 stars