Who’s the liar? Owen
is her twin and they’ve been close growing up but she’s been best friends with Hannah
for years, yet now Mara has to decide whose story she believes. She can’t imagine that either of them would
lie about the incident but as Mara watches and listens, she’s able to uncover
the truth.
Ashley Blake does a fantastic job covering some difficult
issues including gender identity and rape.
As these topics touch the lives of family, friends and peers, the author
shows the reaction and magnitude that they have on the individuals involved.
The night of the party, Mara saw her brother drunk with
Hannah. Later that night, someone told Mara that they saw Owen and Hannah
together and they seemed fine. Owen claims
now that what happened that night, was a misunderstanding and things between
Hannah and him weren’t fine that night. Mara’s thoughts were like a swing, as
she goes back-and-forth between believing in what her brother says and accepting
what Hannah says was the real story.
Her parents believe Owen’s version of the story and they tried
to use family pressure to persuade Mara.
I liked how serious Mara felt about the situation as things around her
began to close in. I liked the character of Alex for he felt as confused as
Mara but for different reasons. This was
a great novel that I highly recommend if you like to read these types of
novels. 4.5 stars
After
looking through this cookbook, I placed an order for my own copy so I could
return this copy to the library. I saw a
post on Facebook about this cookbook so I put a hold on it at the library and
after looking through it, this is definitely a keeper. I will tell you that I haven’t read any of
Rachel’s other books so, I am now looking into them but right now, this one has
my attention.
I
am not a fancy cook as I eat normal food.
Once in a while I will try something different, if the mood strikes me
but I have to psych myself up for it. This week I bought some beet chips at the store,
I said bought, I haven’t eaten them yet but I have them in my possession as
they looked good and I liked beets (a lot!) and they’re baked, so hopefully, they’re
not too bad. After thumbing through this cookbook and
reading quite a few pages, I really think I could make everything in this
book! It looks all normal, it looks
pretty easy, it’s comfortable food without a lot of fancy ingredients and it
looks like food that my friends and family would eat. This cookbook looks like a winner to me.
In
sections that are pretty typical: snacks, dips, casseroles, potluck, slow
cooker, parties, etc., I found many recipes I am excited to try. I also was excited about the parties section
and the sips section. The parties section
has a listing of 10 different types of parties and for each of the parties, the
author gives suggestions on how to host them.
From decorating, to food, the author has great suggestions and pictures
to help make the party a success. In the
sips section, there are 10 drinks to create from moonshine, gypsy, margarita
popsicles to patriotic punch. There are
some that are nonalcoholic too.
Let’s
talk about the recipes. The
illustrations in the cookbook are different, I thought. The author shows us a variety of
illustrations for each recipe, and yes, each recipe has illustrations. Each recipe has a series of illustrations
(3-5) that show the progression of the recipe as you follow the steps plus a
final product illustration. This makes
the cookbook bright and colorful inside.
There is a little blurb and serving size information for each recipe but
nutritional value is not provided. The
ingredients and preparation are listed and they are easy to follow.
What
I like about cookbooks are, they may have the same title of a recipe that you
have tried before but the ingredients are a bit different. There are some recipes whose names look
familiar: Loaded Baked Potato Salad, Seven Layer Salad, Spinach Artichoke Dip,
Chili Cheese Dip, and Spaghetti Salad but following this author’s recipe and/or
using her other suggestion, these just might make this dish stand out.
I
thought the Breakfast Scramble, Raspberry Peach Dump Cake, and the BBQ Root
Beer Chicken sounded amazing- just to name a few. I can’t wait to get my copy in the mail.
This was a terrific novel. At first, it seemed that Ginny living the perfect life. She stayed at home and cared for her son, Peyton while her husband provided for the family. As an attorney, working with his father, it seemed to me that they had a lot of things going for them. It wasn’t until the birth of Lucy that we really the truth.
The year was 1969 and things were winding down after her baby shower. It wasn’t punch that had soaked the couch where Ginny had sat and now, here she was, in the hospital, with a doctor staring down at her. Ginny couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of the doctor and the nurse. A girl? They’re sorry? She has a condition? Mongoloid? Lucy wanted her daughter and she wanted her now! Where was her husband? Ginny struggles to stay awake, the anesthesia takes over and she falls asleep,
When she finally awakens, Ginny wants to see her baby and her husband but it’s not time yet and I begin to get nervous as they tell Ginny to get more sleep and off to dreamland she goes. Hours later, when they feel it’s time, her husband and her father-in-law inform Ginny that the baby has been moved to a school where they will love and care for her. The doctor feels that the baby could have problems in the future so this is what they have done. Ginny wants to get the baby BUT it’s too late.
Fast forward to 1971, the family dynamics have changed, they’re going through the motions. Ginny hasn’t forgotten her baby and I can feel this void in her life. Her husband doesn’t talk about and their son doesn’t even know about his younger sister. Ab is working longer and is spending more time away from home, and now Peyton doesn’t bother asking when his father will be home. Ginny lives for Peyton and being a good wife. When she receives a phone call from her best friend Marsha, she becomes the person, I felt she was meant to be.
Marsha calls and informs Ginny about a reporter who went undercover at Willowridge. The same school that Ginny’s father-in-law put her infant daughter in years ago. When Ginny reads the papers, she’s hopeful that she’ll be united with her daughter with her husband’s help but that’s short-lived, after she talks to her husband.
Just like Ginny, I felt that her husband would read the papers and they would go rescue their daughter but the story is complicated. After reading the papers, Ginny just wants her daughter safe. I didn’t think she had it in her but with the help of Marsha, these two women lean against one another to do what they feel is best for Ginny’s children.
I enjoyed how the author showed us more of Ginny’s life, how she met her husband, and how this flowed into the present day. It showed a complete picture and a great flow. Ginny and Marsha’s relationship was fantastic and I liked how they figured things out along their journey. Peyton wasn’t a secondary character in this novel but an important one which I thought was needed.
I really enjoyed this novel, it was sad at times and it made my skin crawl and other times, it made me smile as I felt hope. The only problem I had with the novel was the last couple scenes in the novel. These scenes were a bit too much for me considering everything that had happened in the novel. 4.5 stars
I won a copy of this novel from St. Martin’s Press and Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you. This review was my own opinion.
I love these books. It begins with the nostalgia element but it extends
to the ability to relive the movie through these books without anything
changing. If you haven’t already read these any of these books, I suggest you
check them out.
Wax on, wax off! I
remember watching this movie with my kids over and over again and reading this
book, brought that memory right back again.
This is a condensed version of the Karate Kid, as it can’t possibly have
every scene from the movie in it. It
does have many of the important ones and the book does tell the story.
This is an animated version of the movie told through bright,
colorful illustrations in a nice-sized picture book for children. If you don’t remember the Karate Kid, Mr.
Miyagi becomes Daniel’s sensei and tries to teach him karate after Mr. Miyagi
chased some boys away who were chasing Daniel.
Mr. Miyagi has some usual ways of teaching Daniel which confuse and then
anger him. Daniel learns more than just
karate from his sensei.
I highly recommend this book. There are others in this Pop Classics series
which include Home Alone, E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial, The X-Files: Earth
Children are Weird, Back to the Future and Buffy the Vampire. I have read and bought Home Alone and E.T
and I’m going to have to purchase this one.
I am going to keep looking at these other ones.
I’m middle of the road on this one. Why? Because I am a picky eater, I admit it. I don’t want to give this book a 5 because there is nothing in this cookbook I will eat, nothing, yet this book is a nice one, if you eat this stuff. My aunt likes to get vegan and she would love this book and a few of my kids like to eat these foods so they would love to try a lot a few of these recipes, so this book would be great for them but me, not so much. So why did I get it? I picked it up at the library as it looked appealing. Look at the cover, those dishes look fantastic. I thought I would just look through it and see what recipes and ideas were inside.
So what did I see inside that I might tempt myself with? Chicken Sausage, Spelt, and Pepper Skillet – this picture looks fantastic with the dark colors of the mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and the colorful peppers. Yum- yet, I would have to try Spelt. Then, we have Smoky Veggie, Jackfruit, and White Bean Chili. This looks chunky, hearty and tempting. But, what is jackfruit? I think I would do this one with all the veggies in this chili. I keep coming back to the Overstuffed Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle-Lime Yogurt- these potatoes look beautiful. Black beans, yogurt, ghee, sweet potatoes, chipotle chile powder, etc. This book is not all about recipes either, she has lots of information about eating healthy. Lots of articles to read before you dive into the strategies and then, articles in each of the 8 strategies that include her recipes. There are not pictures for each recipes but there are a lot of colorful pictures in this cookbook. There are serving sizes with each recipe but not nutritional value information. There is an index at the back This is a nice cookbook that will lay flat on a table, if need be. Check it out if this type of food grabs you as it really has some interesting recipes and articles.
This was not what I expected. When I thumbed through it and read the synopsis,
I expected something like a graphic novel, a novel and journal rolled into one.
Yet, that isn’t what I read. The book
started out fine but after a while I lost interest. It was the great illustrations that kept me turning
the pages till the very end.
I really had a hard time with this synopsis and the
beginning pages of this book. They didn’t seem to follow what happened in the book. The synopsis said there would be “descriptions
of culinary delights” and “cute cat cameos” but I really had a hard time
finding these. In the beginning pages, Lucy talks about her month-long trip to
France, how she’ll be traveling alone, and how excited she is. I was excited to
see France with Lucy, go on some adventures but that wasn’t what I read.
Lucy’s mother and her friends had rented a house in France
and Lucy wanted to go too. That’s how she ended up in France. Lucy said she was
traveling alone, so I figured, she’d go off and do her own thing whenever she
wanted. Well, not exactly. Most of the
time, Lucy spent with her mom or with her new friend, Henrik. She just met Henrik at a party, before she left
on vacation, as Henrik was visiting Lucy’s friend Lonnie. Henrik lives in Stockholm.
Lucy was usually with someone and the time she was alone,
she was either contemplating life or doing activities as a writer. I liked seeing the writer side of Lucy, the entertainment
side and the obligations. She met up
with Henrik in Stockholm and they got alone, very well. They really hit it off!
I thought she latched onto Henrik and I was
surprised how much the book included him.
I thought this book was more about her feeling towards him and her emotions
than anything. Not really what I expected.
I really enjoyed the illustrations. I liked how some were colored and some were black-and-white. I thought they included a lot of detail and they
were fun to look at, including the different text fonts that were used in
them.
This book didn’t keep my attention. I guess I was expecting
one thing and it delivered something else.
It felt flighty to me, not a good book for me.
Mail call! I love the cover of this exciting novel that I received in the mail from Penguin Random House. We all love a birthday party but during Elle’s 40th it gets quite interesting when secrets from Elle’s past are revealed. Not quite the party she was hoping for, I bet. Ah, I wonder what she was hiding…
She’s talented. Perhaps it all
started when she was younger and her great aunt showed her how to repair porcelain
dolls or it’s her own strict attention to detail, Rory is great at her
job. As a forensic reconstructionist, Rory gives
everything she has, when she is working.
It begins with the task of restoring a porcelain doll which belongs
to a grieving father and extends to Rory tending to her father’s affairs after
his death. Rory attention to detail, investigation and competition extends to all
aspects of her life, no matter the outcome.
Reconnecting with her great aunt in a
new environment, Rory uses the toy to try to reconnect her great aunt to the
real world. The simple closing of her
father’s business, after his death, turns into a major undertaking as she uncovers
some information about her father. Where
exactly that puts Rory now that she is part of her father’s business is another
question she has to consider?
I thought this was a fast read and I
couldn’t put it down/stop thinking about it after I got about halfway through
it. I liked the twists and turns that this novel provided in the second half. I
enjoyed the characters and I liked that Rory felt like a normal, everyday person.
I enjoyed the drama. I couldn’t get too
comfortable, as something would change in the novel and I would have to readjust
my thinking. This is my first novel by
this author but I am looking forward to more by Charlie.
I received a copy of this novel from
Kensington Publishing Co. in exchange for an honest opinion. – thank you!
I absolutely got swept away in this children’s book and
whether it was the Whispers, the hobgoblin, Riley’s “own condition” or the way
Riley tried to unravel the mystery behind his mother’s disappearance, I had
Riley’s back. Since his mother’s
disappearance, Riley’s life has gone off course and he’s the only one who can
get it back where it belongs.
They think Riley knows more about the day his mother
disappeared and even though he tries to remember, he can’t remember much about
that day. One day she was here and the
next day, she had vanished. Riley is determined
to solve this mystery and he’s determined to call upon the Whispers, to help
him.
He’s been told that these fairies, need a tribute so they
can do their magic and Riley is more than happy to provide them with one, if
they can magically bring back his mother.
Riley and his dog, Tucker are quite the pair and when they go out hunting
for the Whispers, my heart melted. It was
their anticipation as they got ready to embark on this journey, then it was the
hope and the journey itself, as the two of them traveled out together, that
swept me away.
Riley is wrestling with many issues besides the disappearance
of this mother right now. Things are stacking up and the pile is getting bigger:
he’s trying to keep his sheets dry at night, his father is becoming more
distant from him, Riley is getting tired of being bullied at school because of
his “condition,” and now, he’s been told about the hobgoblin, the one who lives
in the trees, where the Whispers live. The
Whispers, the only help that Riley feels he has and now, they are shadowed by a
hobgoblin?
I really enjoyed this novel a great deal. It was a great
mystery, fantasy, and adventure book. I
thought it emotional read as Riley dealt with his own feelings and the events
in his life. This book actually gave me
the shivers a few times as some of the events occurring in it, surprised
me. I highly recommend it.
This was remarkable! I listened to this book on audio and I
actually feel sorry for the people who read the book, I really do! With all the different individuals in the
novel and how they constantly popped in and out of the conversation, I think
reading this book would have been confusing to me. Whatever you do, read this book! I thought for sure, I was right back in the
70’s and thought I should be playing their record. Are we sure this story is
fiction?
I’m not going to rehash the whole story for you, as most of
you have already heard it and if you haven’t, the deal is…..if you liked the 70’s
music scene, you will enjoy this novel. It’s
got music, friendships, family, passion, drugs, sex (just a bit), insecurities,
heartaches, and lots of drama.
It felt as if, the group occurred by accident. They fed off
one another and at times, you could feel them pushing and pulling each other
away. They were meant to be together yet
at times, they mixed like oil and water.
The sound they created was like no other, for what they played were not
just words on paper but feelings that were hard to contain.
I couldn’t wait to get back to this novel once I started it. As the group struggled, I didn’t cheer for any specific individual, I wanted the whole group to make it through to the top. I struggled with them through each drink, through each quarrel, and through each pill that was popped and each line that was consumed because I knew that all of these effected the group. And this group, I wanted to succeed. With each success, I was proud and couldn’t wait for the next one. I can’t tell you how many times I had to remind myself that this novel was fiction as I found myself drawn into the story, for I felt with this narration, they each were talking about their past. Go, Six and Go, Daisy!
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