#IMWAYR July 15, 2019

#IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.

The weather improved last week so I managed to get out into the garden. It looks pretty good if you don't examine it too closely. Gardening might be a lot of work, but we love going out into our backyard and picking our dinner.

The true miracle of the week was getting my sewing room tidy. I needed to get it under control so I could finish a quilt. I got the pieced binding machine stitched so all I have left to do is the hand sewing. It's going to be hard to give this one away. I'll post a picture next week if I get it finished.

Clicking on the title to the following books will take you to the Goodreads page for that book.

RECENT BLOG POSTS

Poetry Friday July 12, 2019 Bath Night

PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Peek-a-Boo Zoo! by Jane Cabrera

I picked this up at a library story time and checked it out because my grandson sat down to read it with me without any persuasion. It's a simple repetitive rhyme scheme that doesn't really work for me, but sure pleases my grandkids. Truthfully, it's all about those eyes and turning the page to see who's there. We've been reading it pretty regular these days. Ada screams with delight each time she sees the next set of eyes.

NOVELS

5 + stars

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart & Khristine Hvam (Narrator)

I love love love this book. Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, are two characters I will be carrying with me for a long time. As they travel around the country in their renovated bus, the pick up a diverse collection of brilliant secondary characters. Their destinations might be different, but here they are united in love and friendship. This novel is a powerful look at loss and healing and that bus is a powerful analogy for the earth. My eyes leaked a lot. There might even have been some ugly crying.

4 stars

Orange for the Sunsets by Tina Athaide

I've been wanting to read this book for a while because I have a friend who's family had to leave Uganda when Idi Amin came to power. We are lucky to have him and his family here in Canada. Also, Ms Yingling gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. 
Previously, Asha and her best friend, Yesofu, didn't acknowledge the differences between them. Then a decree was proclaimed that all Indians must leave the country in 90 days. As the days to expulsion count down, violence against Indians increases. People who were once friends turn against them. Asha doesn't want to have to leave and does something that ends up costing her more than she could imagine.
Tina Athaide has done a brilliant job highlighting the disparity between the two main protagonists. Asha, a young Indian girl, has no idea how privileged she is compared to Yesofu and his African family. I also appreciate how she showed us readers the complexity of the situation.
Tina Athaide makes her home in Canada. 

4 stars

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga & Vaneh Assadourian (Narrator)

When Syria become too dangerous for Jude and her pregnant mother, they travel to America to be with her mom's brother and family. There is authentic tension between Jude and her cousin for all kinds of reasons. I loved all the complex characters in the extended family.
This is an important book to help Canadian and American children come to a deeper understanding of what it means to be a refugee.
I listened to this instead of reading it with my eyes. I think I will have to find a hard copy to read as mentor text for the verse project I am working on.

5 stars

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

This is the kind of YA coming of age novel I adore. It’s got rich characters dealing with important stuff. The relationship between the three protagonists is authentic. I was invested in each of them and couldn’t stop reading. I wept buckets.
There is so much going on. I appreciated how Zentner unpacks religious fundamentalism to show us the pitfalls, at the same time as he highlights a more loving and accepting version of Christianity.
That said, I don’t care how good the book is, I am too old to stay awake reading till 4:30 in the morning.

CURRENTLY

I've started Lost Girl by Anne Ursu and am listening to A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #7) by Louise Penny. I haven't made much progress on Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson because I don't like reading on my iPad. However, I will try to get it finished this week!

UP NEXT

I've got a lot of books to get through before they go back to the library so I will have to hunker down and carve out some reading time. Here's what I need to plow through in the next four days: Outside in: A Political Memoir by Libby Davies; Takedown by Laura Shovan; and With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. There is also a pile of picture books. 

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MustReadIn2018 15/25 1 in progress

#MustReadNFIn2018 9/12

25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 16/25

25 books by Canadian Authors 33/25

Big Book Reading Challenge 4/4

Goodreads Reading Challenge 221/333