Monday, January 12, 2015

Rivka's Way by Teri Kanefield



Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

If you love historical fiction as much as I do then this is the book for you. Rivka is a fifteen year old girl who lives in the Jewish ghetto of Prague. The time period is the late 1800's. Unlike many of the other Jews in the ghetto, her family has it much better.  You may be wondering why. Her father is a doctor and there for is considere upper class in the ghetto.

Rivka is best friends with her brother Jakob.  She has grown up listening to his stories about the outside world.  He has left Prague to go to school to become a Rabbi.  Her mother just wants her to put foolish notions and stories away and prepare for her arranged engagement. I loved the fact that Rivka wanted to plant trees and other plants so much that she created a garden on the rooftop of her building. Having a garden isn't enough for her.  She wants so much to see what is outside the ghetto that she dresses in boys clothing and travels around as a gentile boy.  I loved her spunk.  I am not sure, given the time period that I would have had as much courage as she had to do this.  I would want the freedom, but I'm not sure I could pull it off.

This is a must read for all historical fiction buffs out there.  You won't regret this one.  Since this is considered a middle grade book I'll let you in on a secret.  I'm not a middle grade kid and I loved it. This is a book to be loved by all ages.

About the Author From Amazon
Teri writes novels, short stories, essays, stories for children, and nonfiction for both children and adults.
Her stories and essays have appeared in publications as diverse as Education Week, Scope Magazine, The Iowa Review, The American Literary Review, and Cricket Magazine.
Her children's books include the critically acclaimed The Girl From the Tar Paper School and Guilty? Crime, Punishment, and the Changing Face Justice. Both books were Junior Library Guild Selections. The Girl From the Tar Paper School was a California Reading Association Silver Honor book. Her first novel, Rivka's Way, was a Sydney Taylor Awards Notable Book. 
Teri lives in California near the beach. 
To learn more about Teri and her books, please visit her website at www.terikanefield.com


Sunday, January 11, 2015

The Woodsman by Craig Hansen



Genre: Adult, Suspense
Source: Purchased

From Goodreads:
Sometimes, you have to pay for your good deeds. 

Steve Peretti is a prolific serial killer known as The Woodsman. For years, he's terrorized dozens of victims throughout the Upper Midwest, without drawing attention or suspicion to himself, keeping a low profile. He's cautious, careful, and calculated ... most of the time. 

But anyone can make a mistake. 

One night, on the way home through Hope, Wisconsin, he stops for gas and ends up foiling a robbery. He gets injured in the process, and ends up in jail over a conceal-carry violation. While in lock-up, he taunts and is attacked by another prisoner, who blinds him. 

Then he's given a chance to have his vision restored through an experimental, advanced eye-surgery program at UW-Madison, called EyeCU. His surgery is successful, and he returns from EyeCU ready to rebuild his life with his new eyes. And that means returning to being The Woodsman. 

But he begins having strange visions; vivid dreams about acts of kindness and mercy that seem foreign and terrifying to him. Worse, he finds it difficult to carry out his normal acts of evil, leaving him increasingly helpless at a time when he's at his most vulnerable. 

Evil can corrupt good, but is the reverse true? Can good disrupt the persistence of evil? If you've ever enjoyed movies like Eyes of Laura Mars, The Eye, or Blink, then The Woodsman is a tale that will defy your expectations, yet leave you entertained and more than a little unsettled.


My Thoughts:
First let me say that the cover of this book is absolutely beautiful. When I first started this book I had visions of the series "Dexter".  The reason is simple, the serial killer seems to have a good side to him as well.  While trying to stop a robbery in progress he is shot. He wakes up in the hospital and then is sent to jail. While in jail he is blinded by a cell mate, and almost killed.  This is where things take a turn.  He becomes a volunteer test subject that could possibly give him is sight back.  It is what happens after this turn of events that twisted everything I thought would happen.  Craig Hansen does an excellent job of presenting a story and then when you get comfortable with it, he gives it such a twist you think about it for days and days.  That is what this book does.  It is one of the best suspenseful novels I have read in a long time.  I hightly recommend this book.  However, start it in the morning because you won't be able to put it down until you have fiished it.

Mama Cried by Talia Haven


Genre: Realistic Fantasy
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I have to say I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw how short the story was.  Talia Haven definitely has a gift for packing a lot into so little.  The story starts with Jenny and her friends swinging on the playground.   Her guardian, Azula come to get her.  She and her puppies go along with Azula to a building. I thought it strange that Jenny would ask her if she was going where all of the other children went.  At first I thought maybe she was being adopted. When asked what her last memory was, she replied, “Mama cried.”  It is at this point I realized she is dead. She is told she will enter and have to make a decision.  She is also told her puppies with be grown up.  What she sees, and what she remembers is so heart wrenching.  At first I thought it unfair for her to have to make the type of decision she had to make.  As the story progressed and came toward its end I knew it was right that she be the one. The ending was very satisfying.  I was amazed that the author was able to pack so much emotion into her writing.  I definitely will recommend her writing to others and will look forward to reading more from her.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Student Saturday: Plague by Michael Grant




Sudent Reviewer: Elizabeth B.
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction


I enjoyed this book a lot because of the description. I really liked it. It was extremely detailed. I connected with this to other books because this just was a start of a war. A cold endless war. This book was both saddening and a thriller.  I would recommend this to anyone who has, what I call an evil mind. Like if they enjoy thrillers that are very suspenseful and that they don’t care what happens good or bad.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Maya and Filippo Learn About Careers in Dunedin by Alinka Rutkowska



Genre: Children's Picture Books
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

As always I loved this book.  Children who read these books are taken on an educational adventure where they learn so much.  This time Maya and Filippo are visiting Dunedin, New Zealand.  As they play with other children in the youth program on the Fun Princess, a cruise ship they live on, their director asks what they want to be when they grow up. I found it funny that Filippo wants to work at a chocolate factory because he likes to eat chocolate.  Maya is unsure of what she wants to be.
They leave the ship to visit the town and learn about the chocolate factory and other careers in Dunedin. Filippo realizes, after visiting the chocolate factory that most of the poeple who work there find their job very boring. They do the same thing over and over.  Maya leaves still undecided about a future career. She learns that she still has time to explore her options.

The other thing I love about these books is that you get to learn interesting information.  There is actually a chocolate factory in Dunedin.  It was the first one in the southern hemisphere. They make Cadbury Chocolates there.  You also learn all about how chocolate is made.  The country's oldest University is in Dunedin. It is called Otago University.  People from 100 different countries go to university there.

This is a fun way to learn new things.  As a teacher I have always believed that learning should be fun.  This is a great way for kids to begin to explore new places and new information.  I love this author's books.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Maya and Filippo Visit a Glacier by Alinka Rutkowska


Genre: Children's Picture Book
Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

On this trip aboard their parent’s cruise ship The Fun Princess, Maya and Filippo visit Juno, Alaska.  Their tour guide takes them to see a glacier and tells them that a glacier is a river of ice.   Filippo was concerned when he learned that the ice was melting due to climate change.  The guide told him it would create new places for fish and animals to live.
Next the guide talks to the about bears.  They get to see a mama bear and her cubs and learn that they hibernate in the winter and then in the spring they wake up.  There is plenty of salmon for them to eat.
The kids learn about a plant called fireweed.  In the spring flowers bloom at the bottom of the stem and work their way up.  When they turn white like cotton then winter is almost here. 
They get the opportunity to refresh their feet in the cold water at the base of a waterfall.  They eat lunch that Maya wins when she opens the door and is declared their 1000th winner.  They really enjoy their tour.
What I enjoy about this book is the amount of information in the story itself.  I also enjoy the extra material the author includes at the end of each book to give you additional information.  This is a simple and fun way to learn about new places

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Time Square UFO by S.W. Lothian



Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.


From Goodreads:
The effects of the Shift have caused havoc at Time Square. Time itself is in danger of imploding and Operation Slingshot has been activated to save the day. Team ELMR embark on their first mission to locate and rescue the first of the missing travellers.

Mission: ELMR-01
Date: 8-July-1947
Location: Roswell, New Mexico, United States of America

Mission Brief: Readings indicate that the target traveller has possibly been captured by a brilliant, but eccentric, scientist who is investigating reports of extra-terrestrials that have crashed in the Roswell area.

Due to this, it is essential that the target is located and rescued before he unwittingly reveals our secret. If the secret of time-travel is revealed to such a random mind, then it could spell disaster and have a huge impact on the world.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. this is the second book in the Time Square series. I this adventure ELMR is brought into the Roswell event. They have been sent through time to find Wilber Force who has been kidnapped. Sultan Peppercorn who had stolen the obelisk has frozen it hoping to shatter it. Instead he creates an ice age in Time Square. I was happy to read this book because the author had a "name a character" contest.  I submitted the name Leonard Paxton. Based on the description he had given us I looked for names with certain meanings. Leonard means "Brave Lion" and Paxton means "Peaceful".  Leonard is Sultan Peppercorn's  assistant.  He doesn't necessarily like what the Sultan does or how the Sultan treats him, but as he put it, the job pays his bills.  He is very loyal. This book also included a new problem. Those traveling through time might end up being miniaturized.  This happened to Razer Sharp. The other kids don't know why she was and they were not.  This is just one of many problems they will face.  You really need to read this book to find out what else can go wrong in Time Square.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Granted Wishes Cover Reveal

Granted Wishes by Tanya Vought
Publisher: Booktrope
Expected Release: February 17, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
final ebook cover granted wishes
A decision that will change her life forever. After the loss of her husband, Gracelynn Calhoun has struggled with her life and career. Forced to take a four week vacation or be fired from her job, she surprises everyone including herself and agrees to the vacation. The owner of Antonetti Suites, Giovanni works hard and doesn’t have time for relationships or love. That is until he literally crashes into Gracelynn. She brings back all the feelings he thought he would never feel again. With the odds stacked against them in every way possible, will they forge ahead together or will this be the end of the road for their newfound love? Will the whispers from above bring them together or will misunderstandings ruin what could be an amazing second chance at love?   Red hair beauty Beautiful young red hair woman holding her hand tanya vought

About the Author

Tanya Vought is a hopeless romantic who thrives on Dr Pepper. She loves to sing… whether it’s a song off the radio or one she makes up with her kids. Tanya can almost always been seen with a book in hand or reading on her phone. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two imaginative children.
 

Sunday, January 4, 2015

The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter




Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery
Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love ghost stories.  They can be humorous, scary, sad, it doesn’t matter.  This is a sad ghost story.
Rose is a girl who has always been able to see ghosts.  She hates it.  She and her family move into her grandmother’s house after her grandmother passes away.  Unfortunately for her the house sits in front of a grave yard. Polly lives in the house next to Rose’s house.  Her mom and dad have taken in many other children, so she feels she is always ignored and has no privacy.  She loves ghost stories and all things ghosts.  Her desire is to meet an actual ghost.  Imagine her surprise when she escapes all the chaos to the attic and hears a voice singing.  She feels a draft yet can see nothing.  Imagine her surprise when the voice answers her back.  She is sure that she is speaking to a ghost.  She learns she is actually speaking to Rose who is in her attic on the other side of the wall.  They agree to meet in the cemetery behind their house to prove that Rose is not a ghost.


These girls become good friends.  They have completely different lifestyles.  Rose is often left home along with a housekeeper, whom she rarely sees.  Her parents are always working.  Polly father is a minister.  However, he seems to be angry all the time.  This story is told in alternating first person point of view.  I happen to be a person that likes this if it is done well.  I believe the author did a great job.  You think you’ve got the mystery of whether Rose is actually a ghost or not when several twists and turns are thrown in.  I loved the way the story ended.  This is one I can’t wait to share with those students who have read all of the ghost stories on my shelves.  They are going to love this one.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Student Saturday: Hunger by Michael Grant



Student Reviewer: Elizabeth B.
Genre:  Young Adult, Science Fiction


I liked the second book in the Gone series quite a lot. I thought it was pretty cool that there was a person with powers to heal. That always helps. Also, it was awesome when Caine and Sam, two brothers, FINALLY got along. I don’t know about you, but I always think that it is cool to get along, especially brothers that were REAL enemies. I am practically itching to read the whole series – and I am also so glad that they are no longer hungry. They have managed to find a way that the flesh-eating bugs will no longer be there. All is well in the FAZ…… for now!