library – One Chapter

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

5 stars Fiction

What a great story. I was intrigued by the story of the Ly family, who were living inside a waste dump. I wanted/needed to know more about how they were functioning, how they were coping with their situation and how they saw their situation and their future. The more that I read about them, I understood why they chose Stung Meanchey as their home.

Stung Meanchey was large, it was the largest waste dump in all of Cambodia. If you think about it, if they could find somewhere within the confines of the dump where it wasn’t that “bad” it was a good place. Every day, they would head out and hunt for “treasures” that the trucks would have dumped off within the site and these “treasures” would be what they would sell to survive. Now, I know it’s not the cleanest place and it did smell but if you’re poor, they at least were doing something to survive. Ki Lim and Sang Ly had their little space at the dump which they shared with their son, Nisay. I was torn for Nisay. Nisay is a chronically ill child, and his parents are forever looking for the next best thing to help him. Living in the dump can’t be good for Nisay but as I read, I could feel the love they have for their child as they pour their heart and soul into taking care of him.

Whether it be the tonics, they mix up for him, or the money they spend on medications and doctors or the next best thing for him. They just want their child to feel better. If that isn’t enough, they have to deal with a rent collector, at the dump! Sopeap, is the rent collector and she has “always been an ugly barking dog, an animal that annoys but doesn’t bite. “ Today she shows teeth. Her snarl is deep and growling. Her stare is grey and cold.” After being robbed, the family doesn’t have the rent money and Sopeap demands that they be out by tomorrow or she’ll call the police on them. As Sopeap begins to leave, a life-changing event takes place.

Sopeap’s eye spots Nisay and a book that he’s looking at. Wait! She can’t leave. What is that? Sopeap is overcome with emotions as she stares at the old book with its colorful pages. It can’t be. Sopeap must step closer to get a better look and the desire to hold the book is too strong. Is Sopeap actually reading this story? When offered the book the next day, Sopeap attitude towards this family changes. I loved how Nisay’s book softened Sopeap, there is a connection somewhere within her that has great meaning to her. I enjoyed when these two women were finally now talking to one another, as it felt like they were now on the same ground. Before, It felt that Sang Ly was intimidated by Sopeap because she was their rent collector, but now, as they talked, they were connecting. Sang Ly asks Sopeap if she would help her and it’s in this conversation that I felt that these women were now seeing how they could help one another.

As Sopeap helps Sang Ly, they’re connecting. Sang Ly is growing and I believed that Sopeap is finally coming to terms with her life. I don’t want to give any more of the book’s details away, but I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t a high action book or a mystery but it’s good with a great twist and one that kept my attention. 4.5 stars

The Underwearwolf by Gideon Sterer

5 stars Children’s Picture Book

This book is hilarious! I read this one to my 6-year-old grandson and we laughed and laughed. A birthday gift from his Uncle Larry turns into an awesome present he wears them.

His uncle knew that he liked underwear, but the weird yellow wool pair was STRANGE! He didn’t think the moon looked full as he looked out his window, but we sure did (the full yellow moon took up most of the page in the book). He read the warning label that came with the underwear and he slipped them on. Instantly, his body began to change. Shivering, tingling, his body was changing into the underwearwolf. Growling and a grunting, he flew out the window and was now on the loose. Tearing up the neighborhood! He knew he should take off the underwear but then he would be BUTT NAKED and he didn’t want that to happen.

He doesn’t stop. He takes to the streets, swinging from roofs and lampposts. He’s having the time of his life. He knows he really should take off the underwear, but he doesn’t. The night is getting crazy and then, he hears them. They are calling him. Who? Yep! He runs into the dark woods where he meets them, and the ending of this book will have you smiling.

As an adult I thought this book was funny. The boy puts on the underwear, and he turns into The Underwearwolf. Covered in fur, complete with big ears, long arms and legs, he transforms and runs through the night under a full moon. He runs, jumps, climbs and acts crazy while wearing the underwear. He knows that he should take off the underwear but, if he does that, he will be butt naked and he probably will turn into a regular boy again. So, he doesn’t and he continues on into the night. It’s only when the night starts to turn into the next day does the boy realize that his fun is about to come to an end and he has to do something about the underwear. The illustrations are cute in this book, and I liked how the boy acts like a “maniac” and a “menace” but he doesn’t do anything harmful. My grandson thought the book was funny and he liked how the boy changed. A fun book to read. 5 stars.

Scaredy Squirrel Gets a Surprise by Melanie Watt

4 Stars Children’s Picture Book

Always the extreme with this guy! He’s a hoot!! Scaredy reads his horoscope and finds out that he’s supposed to get a surprise. What! He doesn’t like surprises so …. Of course, he gets all dressed like he is going on a safari hunt, and he sets out to look for this “surprise.” Scaredy finds a crate under his tree and Scaredy thinks of all the horrible things it can be. A shocking robot, an octopus that will ink him, a dinosaur egg that will hatch (and who knows what will happen then), and of course there are other scenarios that has Scaredy all nervous. Scaredy tries his best to get rid of the crate with the help of Ivy. I loved how Scaredy wanted to move, and then, he wanted to move the crate to Antarctica. Ha! Good thing Scaredy has some logical friends.

When the gang finally get the crate open, it proves not to be so scary. But they do have more problems to solve. Always more problems, ha. Things do calm down for a while…..just for a while and the gang does have some fun. And the story, it somehow ends in Antarctica 😊

I have to be in the mood for Scaredy as he jumps all over the place for me. I do like how his imagination works as he dreams up lots of ideas for things, but I don’t like his negativity. There seems to be too much of it. I did like this book more than some of the other books I have read about Scaredy. 4 stars

The Thing on the Wing Can Sing: A Short Vowel Sounds Book With Consonant Digraphs by Brian P. Cleary

5 stars Nonfiction

This is part of a series of books which can help an individual learn to read. This book is devoted to short vowel sounds with constant digraphs. Letter combinations that create a new sound. Combinations like CK, NG, KN are used in this book. The author uses three rhyming words on each two-page spread in this book; to create a sentence and it’s then illustrated on these pages for the reader. The author takes those words and illustrates them first. Then, there is a sentence and an illustration based on that sentence.

On the first two pages the words are Chin, Shin, and Thin. The sentence is: “His chin and his shin are thin. “The rhyming words are highlighted in bold print in the sentence, and the illustration is colorful and it shows a man pedaling a bicycling. There is also a mouse on each 2-page spread throughout the book and the mouse asks the reader a question about the words that were used on these pages. This book seems simple yet it’s a great concept for new readers to grasp. Repetitive, rhyming, simple, and a great way to get emerging readers exposure to these concepts

What I liked: * easy to understand * easy to follow * large print * illustrations are colorful and go with words on the page. * rhyming * words used are illustrated (for clarification) * difficulty of this book gets harder as you progress through it * great as a refresher for vocabulary words

What I didn’t care for: * the book progress (which is good) but at the back of the book, there are added rhyming words added to the sentences which are not illustrated and part of the 3 rhyming illustrated words for that 2-page spread. Which could be confusing or hard for some readers.

Overall, I liked this book, and I think I am going to check more of these out for my grandson this summer as he is going into 1st grade and I think it would be a good series to keep him reading. 5 stars

You Poop Here by Paul Meisel

4 stars Children’s Board Book

This is a very basic board book which addresses where different creatures poop.

The creatures range from ants, beetles, grasshoppers, bears, bats, bees, seals, seagulls, jaguars, sloths, etc. So, you see….it’s a wide range of creatures. The concept is simple but important for little ones. Where do these creatures’ poop at? In the air? In a rainforest? In a desert? In the water? From a tree? So many different places! At the end of this book, the author asks the reader, “Where do you poop?”

And it gives the answer with great illustrations with a variety of children sitting down on the potty. 4 stars

What I liked:

the easy-to-read text * great color scheme * the easy-to-read text * text has repeated words * characters have great facial features *variety of children *variety of animals and situations * subject matter

What I didn’t care for:

the children on the potty were playing with toys

Judgy Bunny and the Terrible Beach by Scott Rothman

4.5 Stars Children’s Picture Book

I liked this book a lot! With colorful illustrations and a great message – this book gets huge marks from me. Judgy Bunny is a negative bunny at the beginning of the book. The reason? He is not part of the group, or he just likes to see the negative in every situation. It’s “too hot!” or “I can do that better!” or “that is terrible.” Some of the situations involve other bunnies and some do not. The book changes gears when Judgy Bunny is invited to join the other bunny’s party. Judgy Bunny gets all snooty at first and is resistant to join, it’s like he wants them to beg him to come.

When the other bunny grabs his hand and pulls him to the party, Judgy Bunny is shocked! Does he have a good time? No, he’s still miserable until something happens at the party which Judgy Bunny feels is his fault. The other party guests are shocked but…….the party continues on.

I liked Judgy Bunny emotions in this book. I liked how the other bunnies accepted him into their party and how their party continued on after Judgy Bunny joined them. I liked how they didn’t try to “cheer him up” but just accepted him as he was.

The expressions in this book were good and helped tell the story. I think this story would be a great read a loud for children. 4.5 stars for me.

Puzzled: a Memoir About Growing Up With OCD by Pan Cooke

3 stars Nonfiction

I had been looking forward to reading this graphic novel. This is the author’s true account of growing up with OCD which was supposed to be heartful, honest, and funny. I appreciate that the author shared his experience and was honest about it. There were parts that made me smile, parts that I felt sorry for him, and parts that were ok.

I think what really hit home with me in this book was the countless times that anxiety took over for Pan. Pan knows that he has issues and he tries desperately to ignore them. He tries to act normal (or what Pan feels is normal) but before he knows it, he becomes overwhelmed with a puzzle that is floating around inside his head. Pan must solve that puzzle! He feels compelled to solve it before doing anything else. Unfortunately for Pan, once that puzzle is solved, another puzzle pops up inside his head and the process begins again. Pan wants out! It’s too much. Pan just wants to be like his peers as this constant roaming, attention seeking activities are consuming his life.

I appreciate the author sharing his story with us, but I felt I was missing something. I didn’t feel any connection as the story felt like the worst of times. Having OCD affects your life but I felt like the book showed the worst of times whereas every aspect of his life, his OCD takes over in the worst way. I didn’t understand where this all began or when things started to occur or what a typical day is like. The book is great to show someone that they are not alone in this diagnosis and to help others understand this condition. I really do appreciate the author’s honesty and time to open himself up so others can understand. 3 stars

How To Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay by Jenny Lawson

5 stars Nonfiction

Another great book by Jenny. I have read 3 books by Jenny, and I felt this book was more serious than any of the previous books that I have read. Jenny tackles the issue of depression, anxiety and ADHD as she herself deals with these issues herself. I like how she approaches these issues with her honesty, her sincerity, as she is all in. She holds nothing back. I met Jenny at an author event a few years ago, and she was one real individual!! I appreciated her down-to-earth style and that she actually came to Iowa. Seriously, we do have a lot of book readers and book fanatics in Iowa.

I seem to read books of this nature as they can help others, and they have tons of information that opens my eyes to the real world around me. Jenny has some LOL moments inside this book which follow the format of her other books. She mentions a letter that Sigmund Freud sent his fiancée in 1884. She mentioned this letter as she addresses the topic of confidence. Her advice is to act confident because you can. Fake it, if you have to because someone has to believe in you and that might as well start with you. Reading Sigmund’s letter, had me laughing but it made total sense, if you think about it. “So, I gave my lecture yesterday. Despite the lack of preparation, I spoke quite well and without hesitation, which I ascribe to the cocaine had taken before hand. I told about my discoveries in brain anatomy, all very difficult things that the audience certainly did not understand but all that matters is that they get the impression that I understand it. “ (Sigmund Feud’s letter)

Here are some things that I am taking away from this book:

Rose, Rose, Thorn, Bud exercise – practicing gratitude. Done nightly describe Each of these four subjects: Rose – something good that happened during the day or something that made you happy. Thorn- something that difficult that you had to deal with during the day. Bud – Something that you’re looking forward to the near future. This sounds like a great activity although I’m not sure if I could do it every day.

She also mentioned making a list of items that bring you joy or comfort and continuing going to this list adding items.

Her comments about Buffering hit home with me as I find myself lost every day in thoughts, unable to quickly recall information while others wait on me. Now, I hope I can remember to use “buffering” instead of “it’s the meds”

Buying Wine for Babies – wonderful idea! I love it! Hilarious when she talks about.

Everyone deserves joy and contentment. WE all deserve people who will take care of us but we also need to take care of ourselves, which is a hard concept for me. She talks about giving ourselves a special treat, a special activity, or even forgiveness because we are worthy. We don’t have to rely on others for that.

Noise colors? This is a totally new concept for me. I have heard of white noise since our grandkids use the good old sound machines but pink noise, brown noise, green noise, blue noise, violet noise, gray noise, and zombie noise? I am intrigued and will have to investigate this.

All in all, this is a great book – one that I will have to come back to and address over and over again. Don’t blow it off just because you don’t have anxiety or depression or ADHD, read it because there is knowledge in there that might help others or might help you and you just don’t know it yet. 5 stars

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough

4 stars Thriller

Emma has a lot going on these days. A phone call from her sister, Phoebe, got Emma excited as she finally thought she could relax and quit lying about her past but nope, her life just got more complicated. Emma has been carrying around a secret which has a timepiece attached to it. As the days go by, Emma’s anxiety and uncertainty skyrocket as her future is up in the air.

Emma does have a mother but to those who know her, Emma’s mother is dead. This was Emma’s choice as she informed everyone years ago that her mother was dead but now, Emma will have to do some explaining. Why was Emma just at the hospital? What’s her sister Phoebe here for? Why did she lie about her mother’s death?

There were multiple situations that ran through my head as I thought about why Emma lied. Her sister Phoebe has been visiting their mother lately, without telling Emma, so whatever happened in their family must have affected Emma more than Phoebe. Emma’s birthday is coming up and instead of being excited or perhaps just accepting it as “just another day,” Emma is dreading it. It’s like dooms day for Emma. As the book counts down the days till Emma’s birthday, we watch Emma fall apart.

When Emma’s mother turned forty, it was a traumatic experience. Emma remembers, clearly, the day that her mother turned forty. The curse that her mother placed on her that year has plagued her mind repeatedly throughout the years and now, Emma feels that curse will soon be playing out for all to see. It will be hers and that is all she can think about.

Boy, my anticipation was growing as I turned the pages on this one. I wanted to feel for Emma, I wanted to understand her anxiety and frustration, but I also wanted her to just enjoy life. Phoebe didn’t seem to understand everything that Emma was juggling, or I felt she just didn’t take to heart what Emma was feeling. Emma was the emotional one, Phoebe just went with it. Maybe Emma was too emotional? I didn’t know but something was seriously happening here as Emma was losing it. 4 stars

Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden

4.5 stars Thriller

Ahhhhh! What a story! Debbie, oh Debbie. I loved her progression in this story. She was magnificent. A wife, the mother of two teenage daughters, and an employee at a newspaper writing an advice column, she was doing it all. Debbie’s life started to unravel when the opportunity to get her backyard garden photographed for a magazine spread fell through. This news, set Debbie rolling. Debbie had worked hard to get her garden noticed. Riding high, Debbie’s garden was going to be featured in the magazine Home Gardening. Disappointing, this does not even come close to how Debbie felt when she learned that her neighbor’s roses were chosen over Debbie’s garden. I loved Debbie’s reaction. She didn’t take the news lightly and she confronted her neighbor immediately. This wasn’t a friendly, neighborly exchange between these two women, but I expected things to be heated as the circumstances leading up to this wasn’t good. As Debbie returns home, I could feel the fire burning within her, and I knew that this matter was not settled between them.

Debbie’s husband Cooper left for work this morning with the intention of asking his boss for a promotion. He was definitely worth more money, and today was the day that he was going to approach his boss about it. As Debbie continued going through her day, there were blinders everywhere! The different individuals that she meets up with are clueless with what is actually taking place in their lives Debbie’s life starts to spiral out of control with all these little fractions of deception.

As the rest of the city sleeps, Debbie “takes care” of her neighbor and as I read, that sinister laugh in me came out. The ramifications of Debbie’s actions will take care of the roses and Debbie could find herself inside the magazine after all. Holding back on informing his wife about his unemployment, Cooper just might have saved himself as Debbie’s actions as an advice columnist has now landed her job on the line. She doesn’t seem to be the person for this job anymore as her advice is getting pretty raw.

I’ d hate to be anyone getting on Debbie’s bad side right now as her revenge is getting extreme. She’s focused and she knows what she wants. The gloves are off and she’s not backing down. Everything and everyone are getting involved and Debbie’s past is brought into the mix. This was one crazy ride! There were moments when I was laughing and others where I was cringing, wondering what could happen next. I couldn’t put this book down, but I wanted to read it slowly to savor the experience and characters. Great characters and twists. 4.5 stars