Run Holly Run by Walter Rouzer

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

Take one haunted mansion that sits on the Mississippi River, people in the town acting strangely, burned crop circles and top it off with aliens and you have just filled the reading wish list of most middle school kids.

Holly Atwood and her parents have just moved into a mansion. While out walking Holly sees two girls in the attic window of the mansion.  When she returns she sees those same faces in a portrait hanging above the fireplace.  She doesn't understand.  The portrait is over one hundred years old so there is no way she could have seen those faces for real.  There are other strange things happening around town and she feels she needs to get to the bottom of it.  The good thing is her friend Charlie, from college, lives in this same town. He will gladly help her solve this mystery.  I loved the quirkiness and most of all the mystery to this book.  The only thing that saddens me is that it is in ebook format.  This is one of those books I would definitely purchase for my classroom shelves.  I know my students would love it.  All I can do is recommend it to the few who have ereaders.  However, I do whole heartedly recommend it.

Give Books, Not Roses Giveaway

Dear  Reader,

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! The crisp, cool air feels a little sweeter and stores are filling their shelves with greeting cards and candies. But instead of sharing the usual gifts, the way to someone’s heart can be through a story (and maybe a little bit of chocolate). Hachette Book Group is offering a “Give Books, Not Roses” Valentine’s Day giveaway for those of you who want to express your admiration for friends, family, and loved ones.

Love Gently Falling written by Melody Carlson is a romantic novella about the power of Valentine’s Day and how one woman discovers love while at the same time saving her family’s business. Successful hairstylist to the stars Rita Jensen returns to her hometown in Chicago after receiving news that her mother has suffered a stroke. Though Rita must come up with a plan to save her mother’s salon, the oncoming holiday and her undeniable feelings for an old classmate become quite a distraction.

Keys of Heaven is the second book in Adina Senft’s Healing Grace trilogy. Amish widow Sarah Yoder helps her community by creating teas and tinctures from the herbs she grows. She struggles to find love with an Amish man, and she doesn’t know what to do about her attraction to her friend Henry Byler, who has turned away from her beliefs. Sarah’s story will show anyone that romantic love is not the only love that matters.

Valentine’s Day is an internationally celebrated day of romance, dating back to the 5^th Century. But today, love touches our lives in so many different ways. Whether you are dedicating the day to your good friends or your life partner, treat them to these wonderful stories of courage, kindness, and love.

Sincerely,

Christina Boys

Editor of LOVE GENTLY FALLING and KEYS OF HEAVEN

LOVE GENTLY FALLING

Books-A-Million:  http://bit.ly/1xu5YKK

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1xX5cWD

ChristianBook.com: http://bit.ly/1yuAhiW

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1F7LXvY

KEYS OF HEAVEN

Barnes & Noble:http://bit.ly/13yw0BI

Books-A-Million: http://bit.ly/1uTtqMg

Amazon:http://amzn.to/1uGiYJ9

GIVEAWAY (open to US residents only)

One lucky winner will win a copy of each of the books: Love Gently Falling and Keys of Heaven, PLUS wonderful Artisan Chocolate Bar from Olive and Sinclair.  Please leave your name, email and a comment about why you think  we should give books not roses for Valentines.  A winner will be chosen on Valentine's Day.

Walking on Trampolines by Frances Whiting

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

This was a very interesting book. Tallulah and Annabelle had been friends since they were twelve years old. At first it seems they come from such different worlds. Tallulah’s father has a plumbing business. Annabelle’s parents are famous artists. It was interesting that both of them called their parents by their first name. This grated on me somewhat because I was always raised to believe this was disrespectful. However, I understood why this was the norm for them. Another thing I loved was the creation of their own language by taking the parts of two different words to create a new word.
I found I didn’t care for Annabelle as much as I did Tallulah. I think I felt this way because I felt she truly betrayed Tallulah by taking Josh away from her. However, as an adult I can see he didn’t really care about Tallulah if he was able to switch to Anabelle that easily. Watching how that one event had so much influence on their lives was what drove this story. 
The messed up families was spot on. I think it was this that drew them to each other. I loved how each girl saw the major flaws in their mothers, yet it was their friend’s mother who stepped in and filled that spot. This is truly a coming of age story. It is about friendship, betrayal, forgiveness and healing. I was sad with a major event near the end of the book, yet it felt like it needed to happen for the book to end properly. This was definitely a book I enjoyed and would recommend.