The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

5 stars Fiction Fantasy

I was totally sucked into this short book as a fifteen-year-old girl and her brother, Michael dealt with their mother and The Crane. I thought at first that The Crane was a metaphor for something else; perhaps a tall person, or someone who tried to take over (casted shadows over them) but when I started reading about wings and feathers and how this bird “nipped the well behind her collarbone, making a bright spot of blood,” I was startled! Their mom was in love with a bird! How can someone, a human, actually have a relationship with a crane? Was she seriously going to continue with this relationship?

The crane wore a hat, shoes, spectacles and he was holding his broken arm which had been tended to by their mother, when she introduced him to her children. Their mother was an artist, so usual behaviors around the house are not that uncommon but this Crane was pushing the limit. The Crane made himself right at home, at their house. Their mother seemed so calm about this new arrangement, yet the children were far from recognizing that this new male in the home, would now be their new father. The children didn’t want another father and they definitely didn’t want the Crane to fill that position. The Crane and mother were inseparable and the feathers were flying, literally. Mother tries to cover up her bruises and deep cuts, but they’re seen. She calls them paper cuts when her daughter draws attention to them and tries to dodge the conversation. Mother has her blinders on but her children see everything that’s happening. As the daughter tells me stories of their families past, I see mother’s relationship with her husband when he was still alive and what their family was like.

As an artist, mother’s studio was out in the barn. Like now, there were days that mother would vanish inside the barn all day. As a weaver, mother’s work was considered magical as she created pictures and stories at her loom where she worked weaving a variety of items into her prints. It’s a good thing that the siblings have a strong, supportive relationship with one another because when their mother would get wrapped up inside her work, everything else seizes to exist around her. Like before, mother is spending most of her time out in her studio. Mother’s obsession is twofold: her work and The Crane. As mother and the Crane disappear into the studio, the children must tend to themselves.

Imagine what it would be like to have a crane come into your home. His body size, his appetite, and his behavior are just a few of the things that you’d have to consider. The Crane brought with him some brand new issues and considerations that would otherwise seem strange and unnecessary to their home which the children noticed. The children wanted him gone but their determined mother said he was staying. How would this book play out? I had to know why? Why him? Why a Crane? Why was she working so secretly in her studio? Why would she do this to her children? A great book that fascinated me and kept me captivated until I closed the last page. 5 stars.

Paradise Sands by Levi Pinfold

5+ stars Children’s

Cover Love! I fell in love with the cover of this book while browsing the new picture books at my library. As I thumbed through the book, I knew I had to read it as the illustrations were just spectacular! I flipped to the back of the book, to read the author’s bio and then, I headed to my library’s website and placed all of the author’s books that they had on hold. Levi’s debut picture book Django was the Winner of the Book Trust Best New Illustrator Award and her other book, Black Dog also won a different award. I think Paradise Sands should also win an award as the illustrations are magnificent! Great artist detail and I loved how the author combined real world with fantasy to create such stunning artwork. Ok, on with the book.

The story is labeled, “A Story of Enchantment” and it definitely is. A girl is taking a car trip with her three brothers. From the faces on the children and the tone of the book, this is a serious trip. The siblings are visiting their mother. Sister wants to take their mother flowers so Bill pulls the car over and they all get out.

In the desert, this is a destination that they all recall, there’s white roses in Teller’s Hollow and they’ll take them. I liked how the text and illustration came together to show the family’s relationship. On foot, the four siblings climb the sandhills and rocky hills to gather flowers on this deserted rocky ledge. They spot a building in the distant. Sister wants to continue on their journey, they need to go see their mother while the brothers want to quench their thirst from the building. The brother’s thirst wins and they travel toward the building. Sister refuses to get a drink from the fountain but she watches as they do. They can’t leave now, the brothers feel the building calling them to enter, a feeling the boys can’t deny. Sister is on edge, memories from her mother flood her head and she knows they should be leaving. Her brothers seem to have forgotten about their original plans as they are now charmed by the paradise that this building is providing them.

It seems a bit odd why Sister is not behaving like her siblings in the building and why do mother’s comments pop into her head. Is there something more sinister happening here? When Sister is approached by the Teller, he tries to understand why she’s not accepting this “wonderful, safe place” that he’s offering them.

She tries to explain yet the Teller wants to strike up a deal with her. As she accepts this deal, I wonder what the Teller was capable of doing? Was Sister strong enough for this deal? Will they see their mother, wherever she was?

The illustrations inside this book were phenomenal! The way she captures the characters on the page was just remarkable and bringing in the element of fantasy, I was whisked away to where anything was possible. The story comes full circle and I had to start the book over again to experience the joy all over again. What an experience! I need to share this book with everyone I know! So yes, definitely pick this book up, I highly recommend it. Pick it up for yourself and then, share it with everyone that you know. I can’t wait to read the author’s other books! 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

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

We Are All So Good At Smiling by Amber McBride

5 stars YA Mental Health

This book was a bit more abstract than I had originally anticipated. I felt I was dancing around through the beginning pages of the book trying to get inside what was happening so I could fit it all together. What put this book into motion?

I could feel the emotions in the text and the flow of this book was fantastic. The sentences were arranged on the pages, just so. I felt it. I could feel the energy and the pauses without even looking.

“You can’t avoid this forever

or you’ll end up back here

again & again & …….

Mom’s voice trails off.

I swallow,

filling in the blanks.

Until I don’t…….until I am gone.

I’ll try harder,

I promise.”

She’s being treated at the hospital for depression. Whimsy can count on both hands the times that she’s been hospitalized for her illness but this time, it’ll be different. Watching from her window, a car approaches the hospital and she notices the mint-green hair. He’s alone. She sees something in his shadow and now, she needs to know more about this boy. Really, did she really see this? I think she better check again. Who is Whimsy and now, who is this boy that she calls Fae boy.

In the hospital, Whimsy goes to group therapy where she assigns all the individuals who attend, a Fairy Tale name. These names correspond to a specific trait of that individual so they’re actually fitting but some of these names, I wasn’t familiar with. Therefore, “a boy with mint-green hair (an actual Fae-I believe) actually named Faerry.” And “the silent one with stories on her skin & magic like electricity in her hair – that would be Me (Whimsy).” Whimsy has an old notebook that she’s had for many years, that she treasures. Inside this notebook, she writes Fairy Tales, ones that she has created and ones that were told to her. I found this notebook very interesting as I think it reflects a lot about Whimsy.

Once Whimsy and Fae are released from the hospital, their relationship continues as Fae’s family moves closer to where Whimsy’s family resides. It’s a magical, fairy tale world as the two friends discover a forest which is more than just trees. As the book progresses, the story came together and Whimsy was able to fully show herself. We are all so good at smiling but what are our smiles really hiding? I enjoy reading books dealing with these types of issues and I really loved how the author used poetry to convey her thoughts. The cover of this book is incredible.

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

4.5 stars YA

I don’t read a lot of fantasy but I thought this sounded interesting, “But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.”

What exactly would this world be like? I have to tell you after the first part of the book sets up the storyline, the rest of the book was action! Hailey’s Comet has been thrown off course leaving everyone in a panic. Evacuating Earth, they select only a few of scientists and their family to start over on new planet over 300 years away. Petra wants to be a story teller like her grandmother as she loves the stories she tells and she wants to pass them on. Yet, Petra learns that as they’re in flight, each of the participates will be listening to information that they will need to survive in their new surroundings. This new information will be vital to their success on the new planet, yet Petra knows that she will lose her grandmother’s stories if she is subjected to this vital information.

Arriving on the new planet, excitement and hope should have filled the air, yet that’s not the case. What this group thought and anticipated was not what waited for them. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as I needed to know what this new planet contained.

Like these participates, I wasn’t expecting what occurred. I felt relieved that they had finally made it yet to arrive and now what will happen? I felt a deep connection with the characters as they tried to figure things out. This was one book that I couldn’t put this book down until I finally finished it. I don’t read a lot of science fiction so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

Endlessly Ever After: Pick Your Path to Countless Fairy Tale Endings! by Laurel Synder

5 stars Children’s Fairy Tale Retelling

Holy Mogoly! This book is just amazing! I started this book over and over again and every time, I got a different outcome. It truly was one terrific book. If you love children’s books, love fairy tales, love twisted stories, or just love choose your own path stories, this book is for you.

Let me start by saying that this is an oversized children’s book which provides the reader with some pretty fantastic illustrations. The faces and the drama that occurs in this book falls right into your lap as you open this book. When the author says “ENDLESS VARIATIONS” they definitely mean it. As I read this, Little Red Riding Hood ran into characters from other Fairy Tales including Hansel & Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Jack, Snow White, the wolf, a witch, a goose, some piggies, and a grandma.

Little Red is headed to her grandma’s with a cake, Rosie as she is known in this story needs to pick out a coat to wear. Does she wear her favorite red cape or a cozy faux fur coat? This first choice will have you turning to page 6 or page 20. What will it be?

If you chose the red cape, you (Rosie) find a wolf waiting on the path. Oh, no! He looks ornery and he starts asking you lots of questions. You (Rosey) wish you’d never seen him or talked to him. But now what do you do? Go back home and start over tomorrow or continue on your journey?

If you chose the cozy faux fur coat, you’re (Rosie)skipping along but you soon notice a different house on the path. Do you knock and meet these new neighbors or do you continue on to grandmas?

You never knew what awaited you when you turned the page on this book. Was it is a good choice or a bad choice? I thought that each time I created a new story, it wasn’t a short, senseless story but it was fun. I enjoyed making all the choices that I got to make and the illustrations were amazing and they really helped make each story great. I can’t say enough about this book except you have to read it – you really do!! 10 stars+++

Malice House by Megan Shepherd

5 stars Thriller

Never saw that one coming! I was expecting some exciting chapters in this book but dang, I actually had to pause a few times so I could enjoy the little twists that were provided. It’d been two years since Haven had visited Malice House and she thought, she knew what she was walking into. Her father’s dementia explained the demon that was living within the walls of the house. Being a famous writer, a member of the local Ink Drinkers, the monster’s detailed description was fitting but what Haven didn’t know, was that her father’s illness didn’t explain what was actually going on inside Malice House.

Haven’s inheritance had dwindled down to Malice House by the time of her father’s death and now, standing outside the mansion, she surveyed her surroundings. Discovering one of her father’s manuscripts hidden inside the house, Haven sees the opportunity to make some cash yet she feels she might be missing something, if she doesn’t add a piece of herself to the manuscript. This sounds like a great plan but as the story progressed, I began to think that perhaps Haven should have just hammered a For Sale sign in the front lawn, packed up a U-Haul and walked away.

“Oh, my!” “No, it can’t be!!” “What is she doing?!?!” “a Monster” “collars, dog tags and a fire pit – and she’s combing through it – work faster!!” “Is this a curse”

These are just a few of the notes I made as I read. You can tell it was pretty intense at times and of course, I couldn’t stop reading until I got my questions, answered. There were too many thoughts running through my head, too many directions this story could have gone. Haven wanted to sell her father’s manuscript, for she needed the money but as an illustrator, she wanted to add her own personal touch to her father’s stories. This could be a great father-daughter duo until she saw their reaction. She took their response hard and her reaction was dramatic and emotional. Unfortunately, Haven had set the wheels in motion and there was no going back now. Tick, tick, tick ……time is moving fast and Haven needed to put all the pieces of this puzzle together. What a fun, engaging story. 5 stars

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

The troll was starving. He’d only ate a leather boot and some goop from inside his belly button so when he heard the “Clip, clop! Clip, clip!” on the bridge over his head, he was thinking food. The troll hollers up to whoever is up on the bridge and climbs out onto the bridge, scaring Gruit, the goat. The troll sings a detailed song about how much he loves eating trolls. Like in the classic story, Gruit explains about his bigger brother coming soon so the troll lets Gruit cross the bridge and the troll crawls back under the bridge to wait. Troll, thinking that he’s smart, handsome, and fun hears the second goat and again he pops up on the bridge, ready to eat this Billy Goat. The troll sings another verse of his, “how I love goats, let me count the ways” song. The second Billy Goat again gets the troll to wait for the next brother to come across, promising a better meal than he can provide.

Wait for it……oh, the troll can’t wait to see how wonderful this billy goat will be! Holy Moly!! I don’t think the troll was ready for this Billy Goat. This is a fun version of the story and I liked the way the troll made up the song. There were other little parts about the story that I liked too. I liked the little extras that were thrown in: what the troll had ate, what the troll does under the bridge, and what the troll says in the book. Those little things add to the story. I liked the darkness of the illustrations as to me; this is a dark story. It’s also a fun story that my children used to act out in the playground and I do it now, with my own grandchildren. 5 stars

Reading Beauty by Deborah Underwood

Princess Lex read morning, noon, and night, surrounded by book lovers. Where is this place? Sounds like a great place to live. I found this book at the library and after this opening page, I was sold and I had to check it out. With a bedroom full of books, Lex would speed read through them, enlisting her trained dog to help fetch her reading material for her. This all changes on her 15^th birthday though. When she awoke on her birthday, all of her books were gone! Craziness!!

Lex runs to parents and they sit her down and explain. When Lex was little, her parents had a party. An irritated fairy crashed the party, made a scene because she thought she wasn’t invited. That night at the party, the fairy put a curse on Lex. The curse stated that when Lex turned 15, she would receive a paper cut. This cut would be the result of reading a book. The cut would put her in a deep sleep which could only be cured by a kiss from one’s true love. Hence, her parents were the ones who took all of her books away. They saved her from a paper cut which would put her in a deep sleep.

Now, Lex’s world became dark and sad. She didn’t have any books to read. Lex couldn’t let this go on any longer and she decides to pay the fairy a visit to see about undoing the curse. Needing information to get this accomplished, Lex gets the help from a bot. The fairy has been keeping tabs on Lex and she was prepared for Lex when she arrives. It’s a princess vs. a fairy as they battle out this curse and the ending was great. I enjoyed this book. I thought the illustrations were fun and full of energy and the storyline was fast-paced and entertaining. It has a good message too. I highly recommend this cute book. 4.5 stars