#IMWAYR February 8, 2021

 Hello out there. It's #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.

I continued working on my Olivier Dunrea quilt this week. I'm almost finished with the 13 characters (each one 2 times) and their bits and pieces. I'll post a picture next week. I ended up watching/listening to Rebus, a new to me mystery series.

I was also working on some posts about Canadian authors for different ages of readers. I will have those ready Monday or Tuesday of this week! 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian Author and or Illustrator. 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book. 

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Jenneli's Dance by Elizabeth Denny & Chris Auchter (Illustrator) 🍁

A young Metis girl who thinks she isn't good at anything, learns to jig from her grandmother. When her grandmother enters her into a dance contest, she is terrified. A gift of a new pair of new shoes to dance in, gives her enough courage to continue.
I liked that readers get to know more about Metis culture through ordinary everyday events in the life of the family, as well as learning a bit about Metis culture through the stories the Grandmother tells.
This is like an illustrated short story rather than a traditional picture book. One side of each two page spread is full of text. There were pages where the illustrations filled me up with joy, but at other times felt jarring.

5 stars

Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson 🍁

I revisited this picture book to put Atkinson's new book, Super Detectives, into perspective. I liked this even more the second time, and I liked it a lot the first go round! 

If you haven't read it, here is my original review. 
Sir Simon, a ghost, gets transferred around a lot. When the house he is in becomes occupied by a grandmother and her grandson, Simon tricks the grandson, Chester into doing his ghost chores for him. Chester is not very good at it. The next day Sir Simon, filled with remorse ends up helping Chester with his daily chores. Sir Simon is not very good at it. But they are good at is being friends with each other.
I loved this one! It’s full of gorgeous art and a delightfully humorous story that will make readers feel good.

GRAPHIC NOVEL

4 stars

Super Detectives by by Cale Atkinson 🍁

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be released February 9, 2021, by Tundra Books.

Super Detectives continues on from Atkinson's Sir Simon Super Scarer, where the two protagonists, Simon and Chester, met and became friends. 

The comedic duo now star in their own graphic novel series. This is the first. 

Simon is busy working on his detective novel when Chester, bored as can be, begins bugging him. Simon remains focused so Chester digs into boxes in the attic He ends up discovering a Sherlock Holmes style hat. This excites Simon who decides they should become detectives. After finding proper attire for both of them and setting up their 'office,' they wait for clients to show up. Eventually they head off in search of a mystery to solve. They end up finding a dog in the house and set off to find the owner. Well, Chester comes up with a plan while Sir Simon gets carried away speculating about the poor pup. 

The book is chock full of humour. Chester plays straight man to Simon's outlandishness. The images are a treasure trove of wit. To fully appreciate all the bits of fun, you almost need to pore over the pages. Children might not get the hints of film noir, but as a fan of the classic detective genre, I enjoyed them. 

This charming little graphic novel is ideal for young students ready to move on to graphic novels. It will also make a fun read aloud between parent and child. 

NON FICTION

5 stars

This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi & Drew Shannon (Illustrations) 🍁

This short book packs a wallop! It might be targeted towards youth, but is an important book for adults as well. In only 88 pages it provides plenty of information to help readers understand how stereotypes and bias work. Not only that, it includes ideas and strategies individuals can implement to try and deal with their own prejudices.
While the book doesn't go deeply into many of the topics, I think the way it's dealt with is appropriate for the intended age. Additionally, the backmatter contains a detailed bibliography for readers who want to explore the ideas more fully.
I ended up writing out so many quotes and flagging so many passages I finally went and ordered my own copy of this. If I was still working in the library, I would order 4 copies.

NOVELS

4 stars

Patron Saints of Nothing by by Randy Ribay

This was intense on many different levels. I had to stop listening and read it with my eyes.
Following the death of his cousin, a Filipino-American teenager heads off to the Philippines to find out what happened. He's met with an uncle steeped in toxic masculinity and a family that refuses to acknowledge they ever had a son and brother.
As a reader from Canada, this book provided me with a window into Filipino history and sociopolitical culture. I was deeply engaged with the characters and terrified for them.
There are many gorgeous chunks of writing. I collected this quote “If we are to be more than what we have been, there's so much that we need to say. Salvation through honesty, I guess.”

4 stars

All Together Now: A Newfoundlander's Light Tales for Heavy Times by Alan Doyle. 🍁

This was an enjoyable audiobook narrated by the author. Alan Doyle is a musician who played in Great Big Sea, a Canadian folk band. I enjoyed hearing about his early years, his time with the band and his budding career as an actor. He is a gifted storyteller and the the book is full of entertaining reminiscences. I came to like Alan Doyle the man. I liked his self deprecating humour, his kindness towards others, and his humanity. 

5 stars

Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk & Holly Linneman (Narrator) 

Ever since Wolk's novel, Wolf Hollow, terrified the bejesus out of me, I've been nervous about starting a new book by her. Even though I liked Beyond the Bright Sea, that nervousness hadn't abated. I think this book might have fixed that. 

This is an exquisitely written coming of age story. It's full of hardship, persistence, friendship and understanding. It's tense, but not terrifying. It deserves every bit of love it's received.

Having lost everything indirectly because of the market crash in 1929, Ellie and her family end up starting all over from scratch on Echo Mountain. After a couple of years, her father was hurt by a falling tree and ended up in an extended coma. Her mother and older sister think that she was responsible. While it's not true, Ellie carries the burden so that those who are responsible don't have to. Her decision to use more drastic methods to wake up their father estranges her even more from them.

Following a dog up the mountain, she discovers that the hag who lives there is very ill from an infected injury. Meeting her ends up changing Ellie's life in all kinds of positive ways.
Ellie is the kind of protagonist I love. She's got all kinds of spunk and isn't afraid to listen to herself and follow that inner voice. She's a fabulous role model for young girls.

 

DISCWORLD NOVELS

3.5 stars

Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Briggs (Narrator)

The auditors are at it again - trying to stop the unpredictability of humans. This time they have a plot to stop time. One of them takes on human form to facilitate this. Unfortunately for her, a body has its own rational, and she ends up siding with humans. When the rest of them take on human forms, the results are a comical, if somewhat ominous, disaster.
I was happy to see Susan (Death's granddaughter) in one of novels again, even though it is dominated by predominantly male characters. But then, this is true of all the novels except the ones with the witches and Tiffany Aching.
This novel includes a lot of parodying of action films, but the most hilarious part is the use of chocolate as a deadly weapon.
Rule One, "Do not act incautiously when confronting a little bald wrinkly smiling man," is a good lesson to learn, although I might add or woman.

CURRENTLY 

I'm still savouring This Wound Is A World, a collection of poetry by Billy-Ray Belcourt. I've started Crossing Home Ground by David Pitt-Brooke. I'm also reading How to Change Everything: The Young Human's Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other by Naomi Klein & Rebecca Stefoff. I'm listening to The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett. 

UP NEXT 

I want to start reading Our Corner Store by Robert Heidbreder, but two Canada Reads titles have just become available. I hope another comes available as an audiobook soon, but otherwise, I've got Navigate Your Stars by Jesmyn Ward queued up. 

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS 

#MustReadIn2021 4/25 

#MustReadNFIn2021 2/12 

#MustReadPBIn2021 8/100

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 5/25 one in progress

Books by Canadian Authors: 13/100

Canada Reads 2021 1/5

Discworld Series 26/41 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 55/333