In an effort to be a more active member of the book blogging community, I’m planning on making this a biweekly post where I share some of the interesting blog posts that have caught my eye in the last two weeks.
Please feel free to take the idea and make it work for your blog. Remember: sharing is caring.
It’s the perfect post to enjoy on a Saturday morning. Pour yourself a big cup of coffee and enjoy.
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“Dark and Shallow Lies” by Ginny Myers
Source: Penguin Teen in exchange for honest review
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery
Summary:
La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.
This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World–and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey’s best friend, disappeared six months earlier.
Grey can’t believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something–her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.
When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou–a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town’s bloody history–Grey realizes that La Cachette’s past is far more present and dangerous than she’d ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn’t know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent–and La Cachette’s dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.
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It’s no secret that I’m a book box lover. Part of the fun is trying to guess the upcoming month’s books (even if I don’t subscribe). Here’s a round up of what I think will be in the upcoming month’s boxes. I’ll update this post as new themes are revealed. These posts are typically scheduled around the 15th of each month.
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If you’d like to play along, drop your guesses in the comments and I’ll add them to the post! If you think I’m wrong, please leave a comment as to which book is a better fit.
Let me know if I’m missing a box you think should be added to the list.
If you work for one of the boxes below and would like to offer a discount code to my readers or a referral link, email me and I’d be happy to add it to the post. I’m open to discussing other types of partnerships as well.
I STRONGLY urge you to research a box before buying or subscribing. There’s been some shady behavior and you don’t want to get caught up in it.
Looking for more book boxes? Check out my ever growing Directory of Book Boxes.
In an effort to be a more active member of the book blogging community, I’m planning on making this a biweekly post where I share some of the interesting blog posts that have caught my eye in the last two weeks.
Please feel free to take the idea and make it work for your blog. Remember: sharing is caring.
It’s the perfect post to enjoy on a Saturday morning. Pour yourself a big cup of coffee and enjoy.
Read More »
“A Boy Called Bat” by Elana K. Arnold
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Summary:
For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises — some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter.
But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.
Very cute! I loved the real tone of the book. Having just listened to a few of the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, it reminded me a bit of that. A kid just being a kid. Not what an adult might “imagine” a kid might feel or think like.
I can’t comment on how accurate the autism representation is. I did like how I felt like I understood Bat’s thinking about things. He’s not trying to be difficult. His brain just works a bit differently.
I really appreciated how the story wasn’t an autism book. It was the story of a little boy who desperately wants to raise a skunk and the boy just happens to be on the autism spectrum. We need more casual representation like this.
“Murder Is Bad Manners” by Robin Stevens
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction, Mystery
Summary:
1934. When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up a secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find a truly exciting mystery to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia’s missing tie. Which they don’t.)
But then Hazel discovers the body of the Science Mistress, Miss Bell – but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls have to solve a murder, and prove a murder has happened in the first place before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally),
But will they succeed?
And can their friendship stand the test?
I always love a good mystery. This was a favorite series of a tween library patron so I knew I needed to give it a try! [She also told me that First Class Murder (which takes places on the Orient Express) is her favorite. I’ll need to come back to the series so I can get to that one.]
I didn’t love that it was a bit Americanized. I totally forget that this wasn’t even set in the US at times. I hate that publishers assume readers can’t pick up on things. Yes, I understand there’s language differences between two countries that speak the same language. Just add a glossary to the front or back like you do with a fantasy novel or a few extra words to explain if necessary.
Other than that, the mystery was fun! It felt appropriate for the age of the protagonists & intended age of reader.
I loved that there were little updates as Daisy & Hazel learn more information. They add or remove suspects and other helpful information. It felt like they were actually investigating.
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