#IMWAYR July 4th, 2022

Welcome readers! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. 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. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next. 

We enjoyed a quiet Canada Day here on Friday and had a friend over for dinner. Monday is July 4th in United States so I'm hoping my American family and friends are enjoying their long weekend. 

It's a good thing I went out and picked raspberries Sunday morning because by the afternoon, we were in the middle of a wild and wonderful thunderstorm. Working in the garden was out of the question so I managed to get more work done on my crazy quilted jacket. It might even be done before the end of summer! 

I contemplated taking a break from blogging this week, but our granddaughters are coming for a visit next weekend while their parents finish moving into their new home. Having the two of them without Mom and Dad will make for a really busy time. The youngest who is only 2 has never been away without at least one of them. 

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

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

PICTURE BOOKS 

5+ stars

Lizzy and the Cloud by Terry Fan & Eric Fan  🍁 May 3, 2022

If you like your picture books to have a generous dose of quirky, you will love this.
Lizzy is excited to get her own cloud. She carefully follows the instructions for caring for it. In turn, her cloud helps her out by watering her plants. Unfortunately, the instructions say nothing about what to do when your cloud grows too big for your bedroom.

At first I assumed this fantasy was set in modern times. Yet within a few pages it became clear that we were being taken back to earlier days. Oh those cars!
When reading a picture book, I usually read the text, and then end up poring over the illustrations. With this newest release from the Fan Brothers, I got less than 1/3 in before going back to spend time revisiting the previous pages. The detail in the artwork will have you coming back for more to see what you missed your first and second times round. The use of yellow in contrast to the grey skies is brilliant. The only section fully infused with colour is the two page spread of the park where Lizzy goes with her parents to get her cloud, Milo.
Two of my granddaughters are coming to visit this weekend. I can't wait to find out what they think of this book.

5 stars

This Book Is Not for You! by Shannon Hale & Tracy Subisak (Illustrator) March 22, 2022

Shannon Hale wrote this book in response to all the times people asked her when she was going to write a book for boys. It's sad and hilarious at the same time. 

Stanley is excited to visit the book mobile, but when he tries to check out a book that looks interesting, the new librarian won't let him because the protagonist is a girl. "“Girl books” are only for girls, the book man insists, just like cat books are only for cats and robot books are only for robots." The readers have already traded their books when an allosaurus arrives and insists on reading the book it wants to read. 

4 stars

Anansi and the Golden Pot by Taiye Selasi & Tinuke Fagborun (Illustrator) February 15, 2022

""Traditional stories are always true," the spider answered, laughing. Nothing lasts so long as truth, nor travels quite so far.""    

When Kweku and his family travel to Ghana to visit their Grandma, he is visited by Anansi the spider. Anansi gives him a magical pot that will give the boy whatever he wants. With the help of his grandmother he learns that, "Greed brings grief. Generosity brings joy."

Information in the back matter tells us more about Anansi, oral storytelling, food and the Adinkra symbols found throughout the pages. I ended up going back and poring over the illustrations in search of these. I also went searching for a recipe for Red Red. 

YA NOVELS

5 stars

Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle S. Prendergast  🍁 August 29, 2017

I read this YA novel after first reading the sequel a couple of years ago. I'm sure that knowing what I did about the Nahx from that book played an important role in how I read the characters in this book.

"Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth."

Eighth is one of the Nahx. When his partner is killed, he roams wild, not wanting to follow his directive to, "Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall."

Eighth ends up rescuing Raven and taking care of her until she is well enough to return to her group. In the process, he falls in love with her.

The book is told from both of their perspectives.

Some readers talk about this being a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I get the comparison, but for me, this book is more like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

I love that this book is set in the Canadian Rockies. It begins in summer, but finishes up in winter. It will leave you wanting to put a coat on, no matter what time of year you read it. 

I now have to reread Cold Falling White. I wish Gabrielle S. Prendergast had written a third book in this series.

ADULT NOVELS 

4 stars

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel & John Lee, Dylan Moore, Arthur Morey, Kirsten Potter (Narrators) 🍁 April 5, 2022

It took me a while to sort this novel out. It begins with the story of Edwin St. Andrew, an 18 year old remittance man who ends up on Vancouver Island in 1912. From there it moves into the future with a famous author, Olive Llewellyn, who lives on a colony on the moon, travelling Earth on a book tour. Then there is Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a time traveller who visits different times zones and interviews Edwin and Olive.
Having read Station Eleven by the same author, the sections with Olive Llewellyn's book tour, just as a pandemic is beginning, feel like they could be possible based on the author's experience. Of course, it could be that I read Station Eleven while we were in the middle of a pandemic. 
I was fascinated by all the characters lives, but it wasn't until I began to understand how they all came together that I became fully engaged with this book. The ending was a complete and delightful surprise.

5+ stars

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin & Robin Miles (Narrator) August 4, 2015

Holy Carumba! This is some read! 

N.K. Jemisin has created characters and a world that staggers the imagination.
We follow three characters as they make their way in a world full of physical upheaval and oppression. It's a "seismically hyperactive" world wracked with constant earthquakes and volcanoes. These characters have power over the earth and can stop or start its activity. One is a young girl sold by her family because of her power. Another is a woman who returns home to discover her husband has murdered their four year old son and kidnapped their daughter. The third is a young woman whose purpose is to develop and improve her power and at the same time, become pregnant and bring another child like herself into the world. Their stories are interspersed and eventually at the end, we come to understand how they are connected.

This book is so much more than any kind of fantasy I have ever envisioned possible. I never used to be a fan of fantasy, but I can hardly wait to start the next in the trilogy, The Obelisk Gate.

CURRENTLY

The Boy Who Failed Show and Tell by Jordan Sonnenblick

The Crosswood by Gabrielle S. Prendergast 🍁

UP NEXT 

Three Women and A Boat by Anne Younson

The Body by Bill Bryson

Truckers by Terry Pratchett

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 12/24 one in progress

#MustReadNonFiction 11/18 

Canadian Authors 38/100 one in progress

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5 

Indigenous Authors 12/25

2022 Big Book Summer Challenge 4

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 152 /250