YA – Page 9 – One Chapter

Show-How Guides: Friendship Bracelets: The 10 Essential Bracelets Everyone Should Know! by Keith Zoo

Check out this book on making friendship bracelets. I do remember making these when I was younger. I had tons of them but mine were the simpler ones. I like looking at the ones the kids make now. I had to see what this book offered and see if I could make some.

This book says there are instructions for 10 bracelets from the zipper, to the fishtail, to the chevron, just to name a few. I didn’t know there were that many different ones! The book does explain how to make the knots and tells you how to finish tying off the bracelets.

With each detailed numbered, step-by-step instruction for each bracelet, each instruction tells you which type of string works best for that bracelet whether it be yarn, hemp, embroidery floss, paracord, lanyard string, etc. It also gives you how many of each color you will need and how many inches you will need to get started. At the back of the book, there are options if you want to experiment with your friendship bracelets and do something more.

So, what did I think? I really liked this book. It was more than I expected. I thought it might have a few different ideas but that some of the ideas would be the same bracelet only expanded but some of these looked unique and would be fun to make. Did they look complicated? No, some of them looked like they might be time-consuming but the end result would be worth it. These little pocket books are worth checking out. For $5.99, you can’t beat it. The size of the book is 4-1/8 by 6- 7/8 and about 1/8 thick. There are a few in this series and they ‘re new. 5 stars

Show-How Guides: Paper Airplanes: The 11 Essential Planes Everyone Should Know! by Keith Zoo

Wow! I think this is a super cute book! With 11 different ways to craft a paper airplane, this little pocket book is worth checking out. For $5.99, you can’t beat it. The size of the book is 4-1/8 inches by 6-7/8 and is about 1/8 thick. There are a few in this series and they’re new.

Providing step-by-step, detailed directions, they explain how to create these paper airplanes from a v-wing, to a crosswing, to a helicopter, just to name a few. With each instruction, you get a rating on each on their speed, airtime, distance, acrobatics, and uniqueness, from one bar to four bars. Some planes take 1 page of directions and one takes 5. There are some tips at the back of the book to try and some MODS (modifications to mix things up on your paper airplanes). So, is this complicated? No, it’s pretty straight forward. The directions are simple to follow and I liked how they shaded things and dotted things to make things less complicated. What do you need: paper, ruler, scissors, and paper clips and off you go. There is a Table of Contents and tips on how to be successful at the beginning of the book. This book is a fun one to have and make sure you check out the other ones in the series.

Show-How Guides: Hair Braiding: The 9 Essential Braids Everyone Should Know! by Keith Zoo

I wished I had this book years ago when my granddaughter’s hair was longer. I really needed help then. With 9 different numbered step-by-step instructions, this book is great! From the basic braid, to the cornrows, to the waterfall, to the fishtail, this book is fun! You can do your own hair or someone else’s.

The book gives you advice on how to get started on your own hair or someone else’s and what you’ll need: comb, brush, hair clip, elastics, bobby pins, spray bottle, pomade or anti-frizz serum. At the back of the book, there are some extra fun tips which are worth checking out. This book has it all!

Each step-by-step direction is numbered so you can’t get lost. It has listed what you need to get started. The illustrations are very detailed and show the layering using red and black colors on a round head with printed instructions down below each step.

This definitely is a huge help! Sure, it will be time consuming the first couple times you use this but to have this resource at your side is priceless. To look back and find which braid you want to make and how you can do it before attempting it would help too. These little pocket books are worth checking out. For $5.99, you can’t beat it. The size of the book is 4-1/8 by 6- 7/8 and about 1/8 thick. There are a few in this series and they’re new. 5 stars.

Allies by Alan Gratz

I have to thank Alan again for the trip. It was a short trip but it was definitely worth it, as I was walked along beside a handful of young individuals who were out to make a difference in the world in 1944. They each had their own agenda for how they were about to beat the Nazi’s, their own energy, and their own history which powered them. I was only there because Alan allowed me to be. This book, along with many others that he has written, put me on the front lines with these individuals and let me see firsthand, the amazing journey that these individuals experienced, that I myself, only felt.

If I haven’t said this before, I will say it now, you need to read one of Alan Gratz’s books. Geared towards young readers, Alan is an amazing writer that has won numerous awards and has been on the NY Times best sellers list. I, as a grandmother, love his books and can testify that from the beginning pages, I’m hooked. Alan stories includes topics such as honor, love, and family, just to name a few and once you read one, you’ll want to binge read the rest.

In this book, each of these individuals are fighting the Nazi’s with their own personal agenda. Every few chapters we are introduced to a new individual until we meet them all and then, during the rest of the book, we follow their involvement in the war. There were many times, I couldn’t wait to get back to a certain character but I enjoyed every character in this book. I enjoyed their different perspectives and motives for their involvement.

I can’t tell you how many times, I caught myself holding my breath or I found myself sitting at the edge of the couch, while reading this book. This is not a relaxing read. The intensity, the emotions, and the images that went on inside my head were intense. Struggling to stay afloat in the water as the floating dead bodies hit up against them, their heavy gear weighing them down, where do they go from here? The bullets hitting the water and the boats, they’re all around them. Dang, I was shouting at the book by this time and my heart was racing. Then, we had the medic who made light of the discrimination some soldiers threw at him while later, we really saw how he really felt about it and what he did when faced with these individuals again. The author includes some notes in the back of this book and you really need to read them. This book, what else can I say besides, read it. Take the journey and see 1944 through the eyes of these individuals. 5 stars!

The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling

I love the power of verse. No longer do my eyes slide across or skim while I decipher each word on the page. My eyes seem to stop at each word, recognizing its value and its strength on the line before moving on. For each word, has power and is essential.

A tragic event took the life of Nora’s mother and now, Nora and her father are trying to find a new normal. Enjoying the great outdoors, Nora’s birthday was supposed to be a day of celebration, as the pair hiked and explored an area canyon. The celebrating quickly came to an end, as they stopped for a break, when the father-daughter pair is separated. Unexpected challenges and fears must be confronted if they ever plan on being united again.

Written with short chapters, this book is beautifully written and is emotionally charged. You can’t help but be drawn into the character of Nora as she conveys her feelings about her situation. A fantastic read.

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters

When I read this synopsis at the library, I wondered why I hadn’t heard about this book before. I already had a mountain of books to read but what the heck, what’s one more. A fiddle that can summon ghosts from their grave, oh yeah! Imagine the significances of that but then again, what would be the repercussions?

Shady is the main character of this book and she’s been having nightmares since her father died in a tragic accident. Shady can’t make any sense of what these nightmares mean. If only she could talk to her father again, he could probably answer many of Shady’s questions

Shady has an interesting family. Her grandmother was a medium who helped individuals talk to their dead loved ones. Her father had a fiddle that could summon spirits. Only her father’s fiddle seemed to cause more trouble than good. Shady has not seen her father’s fiddle since the day of his accident, it was in the vehicle with him. If only Shady could find her father’s fiddle and play it, she could talk to her father once again.

I liked the depth of this story. The mystery surrounding the fiddle and the history of Shady’s family, I found these interesting. I have mixed feelings about Shady though, as I liked how she believed in her family but how she treated some other individuals, I thought it wasn’t right. Why these individuals would put up it, I didn’t understand. As the lies and the past came to light in the story, I started to wonder if anyone knew the whole account or if they all, just had their own little part. I think the book could have been shorter, as parts of the story felt drawn out to me. I’m glad that I found this book at the library and read it.

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Courtney is one of my favorite writers and I admit I was hesitating to read a book about a zombie apocalypse and a suicidal girl. I mean, if you think about it, it’s a sad situation really and a strange combination. Yet, Courtney pulled it off and the book was engaging, sensitive, and entertaining.

Sloane was relieved when she was distracted from eating her breakfast. Now, she wouldn’t get in trouble for not eating but what are they going to do with the woman that her father stabbed with the shard of glass? As Sloane looks out their door, she sees the neighbor with the heart condition, lying on the grass, with individuals hunched over him. As Sloane watches, she notices that his chest is being pulled open by their fingers.

If those images don’t want you to board-up your house, I don’t know what would? I don’t know much about zombie apocalypses but I know, I’m not ready for one after reading this book.

It is now a week later and I find Sloane in a high school, barricaded with a handful of teenagers. There are the typical teen power and relationship issues with these survivors which I’m glad the author included as it makes this drama more realistic. The high school is a great fortress, as it has a lot of amnesties except its BIG. Big means lots of places to keep secure and lots of places for problems. THUD! THUD! Someone is pounding on a door and now, what are they going to do?

Sloane doesn’t know why she is with these teens. She has wondered this from the beginning as she doesn’t share the same feelings as the other teens. While the others want to survive and get to where other humans are, Sloane feels just the opposite. Her feelings all started six months ago when her family started to have problems and they have only escalated. Sloane’s character was perfect for his book.

I enjoyed reading this book and was glad that I picked it up.

Grenade by Alan Gratz

If you’ve never read an Alan Gratz novel before and you read middle school/YA historical fiction, you’re missing out. You seriously need to read one of his books because I guarantee you that, you’ll be checking out the rest of his books before you finish that first book. Grenade was more than I expected. As I followed two different young men, they both were fighting a war, only they were on different sides. Hideki had become a member of the Blood & Iron Student Corp to protect his island and Ray, just landed on foreign soil and he heard that the enemy is waiting for them.

Armed with 2 live grenades, Hideki is sent into battle with other young teens like himself. His energy and enthusiasm are high until the reality of the war starts to sink in and the truth comes out. As Ray and his troops make their way into the new territory, he begins to wonder if this is what his parents and grandparents experienced in war. This is not what Ray had pictured. Hideki and Ray are moving towards each other, each of them battling a war their heart is not into.

I couldn’t tear myself away from this battle, I feared for the lives of these young individuals as they tried to fight for their country yet they weren’t prepared for what they were facing. I felt the dirt fall away as the bombs exploded and I saw the fear and anxiety on the faces of the young soldiers as they crept up the road, wondering what laid ahead for them.

The story is full is adventure, action and historical information. The characters stories were rich and I immediately became attached to them. I really enjoyed this story and I highly recommend it. Make sure you also read the author’s comments in the back of the book, as they enhance the book’s experience. I have read a few of Alan’s book and they don’t disappoint. My goal this winter is to read all of his books as I enjoy them so much.

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Do you need to read Dear Martin first to read this sequel? No, but I highly recommend you read both of these two books because they will get your blood pumping. It had been a while since I read Dear Martin but that didn’t matter, as the events quickly fell into place and my real world fell away.

My emotions were all over the place when I read this book. When the boys sat inside the rocketship at their local playground, I was glad that they had each other, even though the reason they found comfort there was not a happy one. With his dad back from the war, Justyce is now facing different challenges, ones that might be harder to face and predict.

As for Quan, he was trying to make life work, when he should have been just trying to live life. He needed a shoulder to lean on, a helping hand, just someone to encourage him along but he didn’t get that, so his reaction was based on what he knew.

I spoke to Quan many times while reading this book. I questioned his activities, praised his actions and I also raised my voice a few times. I enjoy these books that provoke me and draw me inside their pages.

Found by Joseph Bruchac

This was a fast read that I enjoyed except I thought the ending came on rather quickly. If you’re into survival stories, this one is for you.

Traveling on a train, Nick is headed to summer camp, when he witnesses a tragic event en route to his destination. With only his small bag with him, Nick has a change of plans, when he’s suddenly thrown off the train. Relying on his skills as a survival instructor, Nick moves through the Canada wilderness with great precision and consideration. These skills are put to the test when Nick realizes that the individuals from the train are pursuing him and they’re wasting no time.

This was a fast, engaging read. Nick was a character I liked and enjoyed reading about. He respected the land and he planned out his next move. This wasn’t one of those far-fetched books where the character does outlandish things or the character acts stupid, Nick behaves and thinks intelligentially. I liked how individuals from Nick’s family would pop into his head as he was thinking or doing something, as that provided some information about him and how he felt or knew about an idea. I liked the idea of the rabbit stick too. As I said before, I think the ending was a bit abrupt for my liking. It’s a good, quick story, though. 4 stars.