Plum Springs by Dan Lawton

 

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

This could have been ripped straight from the headlines. As a matter of fact we have seen stories like this in the news. We have the abuse of young children by their father. Bo and Rusty work long hours in the field. They have little food or water. They do everything they can to protect their youngest sister Ruby. Living next door are the family members who should do everything in their power to protect them but didn’t.  I think as things got worse for the children and the mother and grandfather did nothing to help the children, I got angrier. No child should have to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves. I kept thinking the whole system had let them down. They were slipping through the cracks. This is not an easy book to read. The story of abuse will rip your heart out. What the children do to protect their sister will haunt you.  The writing shows the strength of the characters and the love that bonds them together. Most importantly it shows that there is always hope.  This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend.

What Waits in the Woods by Kieran Scott

Source: I own a copy
Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Mystery

Oh, My Gosh!  I thought the book, "What Waits in the Water" was good. This put a whole new spin on stalkers and mental illness. I truly didn't see what was coming straight at me. The story builds up in layers. All the way through I kept thinking, so ____ is the killer, only to find out I was wrong. The story starts very uniquely. You have someone in a mental facility telling you the doctor keeps asking them "why". They believe the answer is very obvious. So you don't know the gender of the person in the mental facility which is why I didn't see their identity coming at me. Everyone was suspect.  You have three girls going on a camping trip. Callie is new to the group and trying to push herself out of her comfort zone. The other two, Lissa and Penelope have been best friends for a long time. Then you have Jeremy, Callie's boyfriend who has tagged along.  This makes Lissa's boyfriend Zach upset. He decided to prank them and show up anyway. Then there is Ted, someone they just met who tells them he will lead them to his cabin where they can call their parents. Someone in this group is lying. When the first person is killed, the others must try to figure out who it is before they all lose their lives.

Adventures With Scarlet and Twinkle by Janice Ford

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

Genre: Children's Book

This author has once again given us five wonderful little stories to share with our young loved ones.

A Little Girl and Her Doll

Scarlett received a stuffed elephant as a Christmas gift one year. Now she and Twinkle play together every day. One day while climbing the ladder to their treehouse Twinkle slips. Scarlet rushes down to help her friend. They discover Twinkle’s skirt has gotten dirty. Scarlett knows what to do, it is mom to the rescue.

Scarlet Loses Twinkle

Sometimes making a choice can be difficult. Scarlet and Twinkle get permission to go to the park one day. Twinkle reminds Scarlet that the next day is mom’s birthday. They decide to pick some berries for mom and surprise her with them the next day. After picking berries Scarlet has to leave Twinkles in the park so she can carry the berries and hide them. Unfortunately she has to go to bed without Twinkles. When she wakes up the next morning Twinkles is in the kitchen with mom. Mom knew that Twinkles had been left in the park and went to get her and bring her safely back home. Leaving Twinkles behind had been the hardest choice Scarlet had ever made.

Feeling Scared

School is the one place Scarlet can’t take Twinkles. When her teacher announces they all must participate in the school play Scarlet is scared. She explains her fear to her mother, who promises to help her memorize her lines. She tells Twinkles who explains how speaking in front of others is just like one of the adventures they have. She learns it is okay to be afraid and that sometimes you have to face your fears.

Helping a Friend Out

Scarlet was play with Twinkle when she noticed a rip in her shoulder. She took Twinkle to the house where her dad quickly fixed Twinkle right up. As she went outside she saw her best friend from school crying. She sat Twinkle down and went to Jennifer. Jennifer had secretly taken her doll to school and forgot her. The school was closed and she would have to wait until the next day to get her. Scarlet helped her out by letting Twinkle spend the night with Jennifer so she wouldn’t be sad and lonely. This is a story that teaches children about sharing and caring.

A Very Important Lesson

Scarlet and Twinkle get permission to explore their neighborhood one day. They decide to go a different direction. At the end of their street they see a forest and decide to enter it. The deeper they go the darker it gets. When they decide they should go back they realize they don’t recognize the way because it all looks the same. That is when they notice a ball of stuffing and realize a hole in Twinkle’s foot has actually saved them. All they need to do is follow the stuffing to get back out. Scarlett tells her parents about the forest and the lesson she has learned about not going to unfamiliar places without an adult.

The thing I love about Janice Ford’s books is that they are simple stories for the youngest child with simple lessons.