#IMWAYR February 13, 2023

 Welcome! 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.

I am fighting another respiratory tract infection. After two weeks I finally called the doctor and started antibiotics. The upshot is that I have not been able to focus on much of anything, never mind my reading. I especially haven't been able to handle anything that makes me anxious!

I almost passed on this weeks post, but next week is Family Day here in British Columbia, and my sons are arriving with their kids. It will be glorious mayhem, but given that they leave on Monday, there will be no writing time. 

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

Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers by Lina al-Hathloul, Uma Mishra-Newbery & Rebecca Green (Illustrator) February 8, 2022

Loujain, a young girl, yearns to fly. She longs to see the colours of the world only available to those who can. She is told that this is something only boys can do. Eventually her father breaks tradition and teaches his daughter. This in turn leads to other girls getting wings.
This book is a metaphor for the real Loujain's experiences. When the book was written, the author's sister, Loujain al-Hathloul, was still in prison in Saudi Arabia for campaigning to lift Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving. A note in the back matter reveals that she has been released from prison but lives under extreme constraints.

4.5 stars

Pretty Perfect Kitty-Corn by Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illustrations) March 8, 2022

I love the feminist messages in this book about friendship, about not needing to be perfect, about being good enough just as you are. I read the digital version, but plan to have a hard copy here from the library when my unicorn crazed granddaughter arrives next weekend. LeUyen Pham's illustrations are delightful as usual.

kā-āciwīkicik / The Move by Doris George, Don K. Philpot & Alyssa Koski (Illustrations) May 31, 2022 🍁

"Rooted in the historical displacement and relocation of members of the Chemawawin First Nation from their ancestral homeland, The Move is a bilingual story of two Cree Elders adjusting to life in their new environment."
In this illustrated short story, an elderly couple are moved from their abundant homeland to a barren landscape. Over time and help from the spirit world it is gradually transformed into a landscape populated with trees and berries that enable them to live the kind of life they once did. In turn they teach their grandchildren about the old ways.
I didn't rate this because my library only had a digital book. It sucks compared to the actual hard copy. In the digital book the illustrations look like tiny inserts. It's really a shame because Alyssa Koski's artwork in the actual book is gorgeous!

GRAPHIC

4 stars

Crunch by Kayla Miller by August 30, 2022

Olive is the kind of person who gets excited about new ideas and ventures. When she ends up taking on too many out of school projects, she gets overwhelmed. Eventually she learns to let go of those things she isn't passionate about, ask for help with other endeavours, and focus on what is important.
These are important thing to learn at any age!

 ADULT YA NOVELS

4.5 stars

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch & Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Narrator) April 7, 2022

When I discovered I had not read this Rivers of London novel by Ben Aaronovitch, I was absolutely delighted. I very nearly swooned to discover that the audiobook version, narrated by the absolutely brilliant Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, was available at my library. 
I am probably such a fan of this series that I'm incapable of any kind of rational review.
Peter Grant is an ordinary constable who joins a special unit in the police department where he becomes a magician's apprentice. He and his mentor, Thomas Nightingale, solve crimes in London and other regions in England that are beyond the ken of regular policing. This literary world is populated by river Gods and Goddesses and all manner of otherworldly creatures. In this novel, Peter's former work partner, Leslie, in a heist gone wrong, has unleashed some kind of avenging angel. This creature is targeting and murdering people in London. Not even Peter's boss, Thomas Nightingale, has the power to stop her. Peter has to come up with a plan to stop her ASAP since Beverly, his River Goddess partner, is about to give birth to their twin daughters.

Now I just have to wait for June when the next in this series will be ready!

CURRENTLY

Half Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano 🍁

I am gobsmacked by the writing in the this one. Yet at the same time as I am in thrall of the word-smithing, I'm horrified for the characters. 

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye 🍁

This is not a book for escapist enjoyment. It's bloody, brutal and full of tension. I was too sick this week to handle the intensity of it for more than a bit at a time. 

UP NEXT 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 🍁

Greenwood by Michael Christie 🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 5/24

#MustReadNonFiction 0/20

Canadian Authors 10/75

Indigenous Authors 4/20

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 41/200