#IMWAYR January 29th, 2024

 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. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.

Winter finally arrived and for two weeks we had snow and unusually cold weather. Then it warmed up. One day we had snow all over the ground and by the next afternoon it was almost gone. Now we have low cloud, fog, and rain. I'm not complaining. We need the moisture.

According to Goodreads, I am two books behind schedule. I figure it's a small miracle that I'm only this far behind. Between having a houseguest for a week, and then coming down with a sinus infection, it's amazing I managed to read at all.

Because of the sinus infection I missed a quilting workshop, but luckily had all the information already so I just sewed on my own at home. The workshop taught a relatively easy strategy for creating bargello quilts. I made two cushion covers instead of a quilt. Now that they are finished, it looks like we need a new sofa. 

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

NO! Said Custard the Squirrel by Sergio Ruzzier September 6, 2022

Don't ask me what this book is all about because I'm still trying to figure it out. I really wish my grandkids were here so I could read it to them and we could talk about what they think. 

Custard the Squirrel looks a lot like a duck, but when asked all kinds of questions about his identity by a little rat in a diaper, he consistently replies no. 

Is this a celebration of being who you truly are? Maybe. 

MIDDLE GRADE NOVELS

4 stars

The Portal Keeper The Misewa Saga #4 by David Alexander Robertson October 10, 2023  🍁

"Morgan and Eli are Indigenous children who discover a portal at their foster home to another world, Askī; there they discover talking animal beings who connect them to traditional ways, as well as help them deal with the challenges in the real world. A fantasy for readers aged ten and up, the Misewa Saga (“misewa” is Cree for “all that is”) series reflects stories of the sky and the constellations held within its great canvas."

 Eli, Morgan, and her friend, Emily have located another portal into Aski. They end up in World's End,  a different place than usual, and discover that something terrible is happening to the animal people there. Back in their own world they are horrified to discover what is going on and must come up with a way to save them. 

This is my favourite series by Robertson. I like that we have two queer characters, but it's not all there is. I like the closeness of the two foster children. I like that Eli is coming into his own kind of super power. 

4 stars

The Oceans Between Stars Chronicle of the Dark Star #2 by Kevin Emerson & Kevin T. Collins (Narrator) February 13, 2018

I read the first in this series ages ago and finally got around to reading the next one.
Liam and Phoebe are two teens who barely escaped with their lives when Mars, the planet they were living on, exploded. They are travelling in stasis with JEFF, their panda shaped robotic  assistant, as they try to catch up to the main ship and reunite with their parents. When they finally arrive, they discover their family's starliner has been destroyed.
Phoebe has secrets of her own. In the prelude we learn that her real name is Xela and her family ended up on Mars when their planet of Telos was destroyed in a ball of fire by humans. She and her people want vengeance. At the same time, she and Liam have become close friends. He accepts her when she finally reveals her true self. Unfortunately she is still keeping some dangerous secrets.
I liked so much about this book. I appreciate that nothing about space and time travel is dumbed down for younger readers. I appreciate the connection between what happened on Telos and colonialism here on our real world. It feels realistic that the two children who want to end the conflict between their two peoples, are mostly ignored by the adults around them. 

If I didn't already have so many books to read, I would probably have started on the final book in the trilogy right away. 

MIDDLE GRADE GRAPHIC NOVELS

5 stars

Dear Rosie by Meghan Boehman & Rachael Briner July 11, 2023

This is a profound novel about losing a friend. When a member of close knit group of girls dies suddenly, the remaining girls deal with grief in different ways.
The story is based on the death of one of the authors’ friends. It’s set in the same town as where they grew up. I like that each character is based on one of the local animals of the area. 

YA/ADULT GRAPHIC NOVELS

5 stars

In Limbo by Deb J.J. Lee March 7, 2023

In this gorgeous, debut graphic memoir, Lee shares her story of growing up Korean in America. It's a painful story of trying to fit into a world where you are an outsider.  While her mother was supportive of her desire to create art, she was prone to violence and physically abused Lee. Her father let it happen. As her close friend began to distance herself she became increasingly insecure and depressed. By the time she graduated from high school, she had attempted suicide twice. 

ADULT/YA FICTION

4 stars

Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji & Jemeni (Narrator) April 1, 2019  🍁

For me, this Canada Reads title was a window into a world I scarcely new existed. It's a compelling narrative that reads like a collection of short stories with the same main character. It starts with a young Congolese  girl, Loli, shaving her head in order to pass a boy so she can get into Canada. This sets the stage for a gritty exploration of gender, sexualization of girls and women, mental health, and poverty. It's also a story of resilience and overcoming. It isn't for the faint of heart. 

4 stars

The Catch by Mick Herron January 28, 2020

This continues the story of John Bachelor, a character first introduced in the novella, The List. His many screwups have left him in financial straights. When a couple of Dogs (the service's internal security division) from MI5 rough him up and tell him to find one of the retired spies he's supposed to be minding, he thinks he might be able to find his way back into the good graces of the agencies leader. He's wrong of course, but the machinations of all the actors makes for a great read.

CURRENTLY

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon

Almost Brown: A Mixed-Race Family Memoir by Charlotte Gill

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

READING GOALS 

#MustRead2024 2/25 one on the go

NonFiction 1/25 one on the go

Canadian Authors 3/50

Indigenous Authors 1/25 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 13/200