#IMWAYR August 29, 2016

Hello everyone. I've been reading, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with the piles of books becoming available from the VPL. I'm looking forward to checking in with Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers to see how the rest of your reading lives are progressing. I'm also thinking about the many teachers in other parts of the planet who have returned to work already. 

Here in Vancouver, B.C., over the span of 24 hours we have gone from OMG it's so hot, to should we turn on the furnace?

This week, not only did I get in some serious reading, I managed to get reviews posted for these books last week.

Still a Work in Progress by Jo Knowles

Where are you Going Baby Lincoln by KateDiCamillo

Max at Night by Ed Vere

Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart

Rosie the Raven by Helga Bansch

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Max at Night by Ed Vere (NetGalley)

I'm a serious Max fan. In fact, I think Max is my favourite fictional cat. After reading a Max title, my heart aches that I am allergic to felines. This book is a must purchase to add to your shelf of bedtime books. If I was still in the library, I would get two copies, one for the library, and one for my great nephew, Max. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Max and the Bird.

4 stars

Rosie the Raven by Helga Bansch & Shelley Tanaka (translator) (NetGalley)

I adore these illustrations. The message of inclusion, adapting, and acceptance that this book embodies is an important one for people of all ages. Upon completion of this book I hope to read more about Rosie and really want to read In the Night, Bansch's most recent book. 

.

NOVELS

3 stars

Clara Humble and the Not-So-Super Powers by Anna Humphrey & Lisa Cinar (illustrator) (NetGalley)

I picked this from Netgalley because I admire Lisa Cinar's work. I'm still working on a review. I liked it more at the end of the story than at the beginning. I'm still trying to figure out why this is. It might be that I started it following Piper Green's Too Much Good Luck.

4 stars

Some Kind ofCourage by Dan Gemeinhart

I truly enjoyed this book. It's a western (think Louis Lamour and Zane Grey) for the younger crowd. The orphaned kid, Joseph, is adorably strong and sweet and softhearted all at the same time. This is a book I know my brothers would have loved when they were younger. I've told James, the one who is a teacher, that he better get a copy for his grade seven classroom. I was hoping to read something from Debbie Reese about the section at the Indian Camp, but couldn't find it. So all I can say about that section is that it felt unrealistic, but then, this whole book has that tall tale feel to it (in a most delightful way.)

3 stars

The Secret Place by Tana French & narrators, Stephen Hogan & Lara Hutchinson

I enjoyed this murder mystery well enough. The story is told through alternative points of view. The police perspective is told through the eyes of Stephan Moran, a young detective who wants to move from cold cases to the murder squad. His chance comes when a young woman, Holly Mackey, brings him evidence in an unsolved murder that occurred at her school. The other perspective is told through the eyes of Holly and her group of friends. I enjoyed reading the police perspective more than the teen one, but that is probably because the teen one was loaded with all the stuff I hate about some YA fiction (mean girls, girl rivalry over boys, etc etc)

4 stars

The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy & Dan Woren (narrator)

Sam, Jax, Eli, Frog and their fathers, are back with more adventures and troubles while on vacation at a resort community on the ocean. The Fletcher family is one of my top five fictional families. They are right up there with the Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall and the Gaither sisters by Rita Garcia Williams. If you haven't read, The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, the first in this series, then you should. You probably won't need it to enjoy the second installment, but it will help you appreciate these characters more fully.

CURRENTLY

I'm listening to Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (one of my #MustReadIn2016 titles) and reading with my eyes, We Were Here by Matt de la Pena.

UP NEXT

I'm overwhelmed by books that have become available from the VPL all at once! I am going to have to do some serious prioritizing. See what I mean? And this doesn't even include the digital titles and the ones I have to pick up this week!