Monday, July 28, 2025

Charlotte's Snowman by Lainey Dee

 


Genre: Children's Picture Book
Source: I received a copy from the author. The opinions expressed here are my own.


A cute story about Charlotte and her love for a snowman. One winter it snows and Charlotte builds the most beautiful and special snowman ever. After giving him a stick mouth her snowman begins to talk. Beautifully illustrated and a pleasure to read. You must read to find out what the snowman said to her and why he was so special.

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Escape From East Berlin by Andy Marino

 


Genre:  Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Source: I own a copy

The story is told from two different time periods. The first part of the story is set in Berlin three months after the Berlin Wall has gone up. We meet two young men who are planning to swim the river to the west side to meet up with two girls. Unfortunately someone has informed on them and they are shot at. One is killed the other imprisoned.  Two months later we meet the dead boy’s sister Marta. She hates those who shot her brother. It has pretty much destroyed her family. She knows they are constantly watched by the Stasi. When she overhears her cousin planning to escape to the West side things are set in motion.

The second story is set in 1989. We meet Kurt Muller. His brother is a border guard and his grandfather is a high ranking official in the Stasi.  Kurt’s parents were arrested and the grandfather arranged for them to be sent to the West.  Both of their stories are held together with the grandfather in common. 

This story shows just a small part of what it was like to live on the East side of the Berlin Wall and want the freedom of the West.  The book is full of fear, hope and dreams. There was a lot of research done in this book. At the end the author gives us the names of books he used to research for the writing of this book. Several of them I have already read.  This is a quick read, but one you will want to slow down as you read.

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Haunted Houses Creak by M.H. Altis

 




Genre: Adult, Horror
Source: I won a copy from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. The opinions expressed here are my
 own.

You want to read something creepy?  This is the book for you. “Phantoms of Eternity: Haunted House” has the creep factor that tells you the following: when someone suggests you go into a house they say is haunted because people have disappeared, your answer is NO. I was so glad I read this book during the daytime and was glad that I was not in the house alone. This story definitely creeped me out. That means this is a book I definitely recommend.

“The Weeds was another story I enjoyed. I could identify with swimming  in an area where there was massive amounts of seaweed or in a river where there were weeds at the edge.  It is always a creepy feeling. The what-ifs that come to mind as you step in seaweed or weeds of any kind at the edge of the water.

I am not going to go through all of these stories. I believe there is something here that will resonate with everyone if you truly enjoy horror stories. With that said, I highly recommend this book to all horror fans out there.