#IMWAYR MAY 25, 2020

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 am celebrating.

First because I finished reading all the Chocolate Lily candidates. Mostly they are all really great reads so choosing the finalists is going to be challenging!

Second, because we now have our garden planted! (There is more to come, but for now we are on top of things.)

Tomorrow we start renovations.


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.

NOVELS: High Interest - Low Vocabulary

I need to begin this section by giving a shout out to the Orca Current novels written by British Columbian authors. These are, according to their website, "short, high-interest novels with contemporary themes written specifically for middle-school students reading below grade level. Reading levels from grade 2.0 to 5.0. Interest level ages 10–14." Many of these are written by award winning authors and from what I am reading, many are own voices books. I'm impressed as heck. 

4 stars

Embrace the Chicken by Mahtab Narsimhan 🍁

This little novel packs a lot of important messages into it. Like many newcomers to Canada, Shivani is struggling to fit in and find a place for herself in her new school and community. She is terrified that if people meet her mother, who is struggling with English, people will make fun of her. If they do that, they will also end up making fun of Shivani.
I cringed at how Shivani was ashamed of her family and her culture. Thankfully, her parents are smart and their new community is diverse and accepting. I really appreciated how responsible and responsive all the adults in this book are. I also liked how thoughtful the students are. This is the reality of the multicultural world I spent many years teaching in.

4 stars

Tick Tock Terror by Melanie Jackson 🍁

I don't do scary at the best of times. That's why it took me a while to garner enough courage to open this book. As an adult reading books for children, my perspective is different from the target audience. I'm so busy worrying about what will happen to the characters, I don't get involved in the way younger readers might. On the other hand, I know the Edgar Allan Poe story this one references so that might just be another reason for my anxiety.
Anyway, this is a fast paced, tense, thriller for younger readers. Connor, who loves to climb, is coerced into hiding a stolen object high on a 'Pit and Pendulum' fairground ride. Fixing the mess he's gotten himself into isn't easy.
What I really liked about this book is how the many different characters are shown to be more than Connor assumed.

4 stars

Dressed to Play by Jennifer Manuel 🍁

The publisher asserts that "Sports Stories are action-driven sports novels that turn reluctant readers into all-star readers! Plus, they feature characters with diverse racial, physical, mental, and economic backgrounds."
Dressed to Play impressed me much more than I anticipated. I admit to even getting a bit weepy at the end. Jordan loves basketball almost more than anything else, but when she starts getting called names and has to deal with bullying, she almost quits.
I especially appreciated how this book takes a hard look at misogyny and body image within the world of sports. It has made me appreciate all those young women athletes across time even more than I did before reading this.
You can find out more about this series here.
http://www.lorimer.ca/sportsstories

NOVELS

4 stars

The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead & Rachel L. Jacobs (Narrator)

This character driven book is just charming. I loved the authenticity of Bea as she struggles with all the changes in her life. When her father acknowledged he was gay, her parents divorced, but continued to have her best interests at heart. When her father decides to marry Jesse, Bea discovers that Jesse has a daughter. Sonia takes longer to embrace their new sisterhood, but Bea is undaunted.
Throughout the book Bea sees a therapist to help her deal with her anger issues. Eventually we become privy to a big secret that has been eating at her.
I appreciate how much Rebecca Stead deals with in this book - separated parents, living in two different places, therapy as part of a normal life, homophobia, and the ordinariness of spats and arguments with friends and family.

5+ stars

Cold Falling White by G. S. Prendergast 🍁

This book is the jewel of my reading week. 
It just wowed me. I started reading and couldn't stop. The world building, the characters, and the story held me in its sway till it was finished. I still can't stop thinking about it.
I have the first in this series somewhere in a box, but alas, we have moved and I have no idea where it is. Otherwise I would have jumped right in. I did read a synopsis before starting this just in case I needed to know what happened before. I don't think it was really necessary.
Earth has been invaded by alien creatures called The Nahx. The Nahx, who are a cross between machine and clone, hunt humans and kill them with a special kind of poison dart. The series focuses on a group of Canadian friends who were camping in the Rocky Mountains when the invasion took place. This saved their lives, but they were still hunted by Nahx soldiers.
This begins with Xander being escorted across Nahx territory by August, a rogue Nahx. August loved Xander's friend, Raven, who died in the previous book. He gives up his life to save Xander who eventually ends up in a refugee camp near Prince George.
Raven wakes up after being darted to find herself transformed into a human version of a Nahx.
The action packed tale is brilliantly told through the perspectives of these three characters. I'm desperately hoping there will be another in series. 

It is pure genius. I just can't recommend it enough. 

CURRENTLY

I'm reading March: Book Three (March, #3) by John Lewis, and rereading Dance of the Banished by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch for an upcoming book club. I'm listening to The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo.

UP NEXT

I'm hoping to go and reread the the first two in the March Trilogy. All my unread hardcopy books are in boxes so I've just downloaded The Case of the Missing Auntie by Michael Hutchinson and A Short History of Indians in Canada by Thomas King. It's about time I started reading to reach my indigenous goals.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

Big Books Summer 2020 1/10

#MustReadIn2020: 9/25

#MustReadNFIn2020: 4/12 one in progress

25 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 9/25 

100 books by Canadian Authors: 91/100

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 172/333

#IMWAYR September 11, 2017

#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.

400 pounds of tomatoes is a lot of tomatoes. Even when you try and purchase them ripe, they always need to ripen more. They were picked up on Tuesday, and I started canning some of them Saturday, but they could have used more time. On Sunday I made 34 jars of salsa. I probably shouldn't have thrown the scotch bonnets into the mix, but my family is always complaining that it isn't hot enough. Today, we will be turning 180 pounds into tomato juice. I probably won't get around to respond to everyone's posts till later on in the day, and maybe not even until later on in the week. On Tuesday I will make tomato sauce with the 100 pounds of romas. It will all be worth it, but right now I'm almost too tired to read.

BLOG POSTS LAST WEEK

#MustReadIn2017 Fall Update

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

That Neighbor Kid by Daniel Miyares

Delightful. Magical. Heartwarming. This almost wordless book shows a boy and a girl becoming friends while working together to build a tree house.

4 stars

The Miracle of Bears by Wolf Erlbruch

This sweet and somewhat humorous picture book is delightful. I was told many of these stories about where babies come from when I was a child, including that children were picked from cabbage patches. I guess a turnip patch is similar. Still, it's the illustrations that make this book for me. It's where all the humor comes from and that bear is just adorable!

5 stars

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

This book is as good if not better than everyone says it is. These beautiful illustrations just grab my heart. The relationship between the father and son squeeze all kinds of love into it. This is a must purchase for all libraries.

4 stars

Morris Mole by Dan Yaccarino

Morris might be smaller than his brother moles, but he also happens to be smarter. It's a good thing for them because when Morris heads off on his own, not only does he find food, he finds friendship.

I really need to read more Dan Yaccarino.

NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Coral Reefs by Jason Chin

This book is set up like Chin's Redwoods. In this one a young girl in a library begins to read a book about coral reefs and ends up transported into one. The book is full of information about the different kinds of coral and the many animals that make their home on the reefs. The back matter contains additional information about how coral reefs are threatened, and detailed information about the symbiotic partnership between coral and algae. I also appreciate the author's note where he writes about the research he went through and provides a list of books and websites he used.

4 stars

Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament by Anne Renaud & Felicita Sala (Illustrator) (Netgalley)

This is an imagined story of George Crum, a renowned chef of mixed Native American and African American descent, and how he invented potato chips. I've misplaced my notes on this netgalley title, so I'll have to go and reread it before writing up a more thorough review. I remember that I enjoyed the illustrations!

NOVELS

4 stars

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

Kudos to Barbara Dee for writing a bisexual character in a book appropriate for elementary school readers.

In the midst of a production of Romeo and Juliet, Mattie, a smart grade eight girl, discovers that she doesn't have a crush on Elliott who she has been swooning over for the past year. Instead she has a crush on Gemma, the girl playing Juliet.

Mattie's awareness of being bisexual is really not such a big deal here. Sure there is the usual teen age angst about romance, but overall, Mattie's attachment to Gemma and fear of being found out by others seems pretty sensible. This is especially true once Mattie ends up taking on the lead role of Romeo.

I appreciate how supportive and matter of fact teachers and other students are about sexual identity.

Unfortunately this cover doesn't do this book any justice. The characters look more like they are in grade four than in grade 8. This is very sad, because it's actually a pretty good book.

3.5 stars

The Peculiar Haunting of Thelma Bee by Erin Petti

This was almost too creepy for me, but then, I am not a fan of creepy books except in certain circumstances. When a strange woman sells jewelry box to Thelma's father, something doesn't seem right. When her father disappears into that night, Thelma has to set out to rescue him. In the process she learns a lot about herself, her family, and the world around her.

This book will appeal to fans of the Serafina series by Robert Beatty.

5 stars

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

I almost don't know what to say about this book. It is exquisitely written. It's deep, rich and philosophical. It's the story of a girl baby left in the forest by her community. Like the many children before her, she was rescued by an old witch who accidentally enmagicked her. Luna grew up in a loving relationship with the witch, a tiny dragonling, and a bog creature. There is a young man who can't get over the trauma of leaving her there. There is her traumatized mother. And then there is the scheming evil witch who masterminds the abandonment of the children in the first place. I loved this book, but I'm not sure how much elementary school students will appreciate it.

4 stars

White Cat by Holly Black &  Jesse Eisenberg (Narrator)

I forget how much I like Holly Black until I read another of her books. Cassel is the youngest in a family of people who are curse workers. They are criminals who each have their own special magical talent. all they have to do is touch someone with their bare hand. Cassel is the only one who doesn't have a talent. Then he starts sleepwalking and having strange dreams. Something weird is going on with his brothers, and it's be up to him to figure it out and fix it.

ADULT NOVELS

5 stars

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

This book made me weep. I wept from the get go. I wept for Saul Indian Horse's missing siblings, for his damaged parents, for his stalwart grandmother.

I wept for him and the other children at St Jerome's Residential School.

My eyes filled with tears when his hockey teammates told Saul he had to go and play with the big boys and get out - if only so the rest of them could live some of their dreams through him.

It was racism, not lack of skill that sabotaged him.

I wept when that same racism and secret pain and horror drove him into the bosom of alcohol. While reading of his descent into alcoholism, it's clear that these words come from someone who has been there.

I wept when Saul finally understood what he had been skating from. I wept when he returned home to his adopted family.

Richard Wagamese could write. I'm so sorry that he is gone.

ADULT NONFICTION

4 stars

I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro

I knew nothing about Tig Notaro before reading this book. She is a comedian who takes us through a horrific year in her life. Imagine dealing with pneumonia, a sinus infection, C. Diff., a romantic break up, her mother's death, and cancer.

I'm impressed by her stark uncompromising honesty as much as by her deep wells of compassion and generosity.

I'm thankful to my niece, who blogs as Casey the Lesbrarian, for bringing it to my attention.

CURRENTLY

I took a break from reading The Inconvenient Indian while reading Indian Horse. It was just too much. Anyway, I'm back reading that and just started I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo. I'm listening to The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau.

UP NEXT

I'll be starting The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. I also need to finish Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson. I've got a number of audiobooks on hold and am the next in line for many of them. I'm hoping that Libba Bray's Beauty Queens is next. With all the furor over the dumb idea to remake Lord of the Flies with girls, I realized I haven't read it yet.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MUSTREADIN2017 24/36 1 in progress

#MUSTREADNFIN2017 7/12 1 in progress

50 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 27/50 1 in progress

Chocolate Lily (CL) 51/51

Big Book Challenge 4/6

Goodreads Reading Challenge 287/333

#IMWAYR January 16, 2016

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

That was a very busy week!

We celebrated my daughter in law's birthday on Saturday with an open house and supper. We decided to prepare Korean food since that is where she is from. Planning the menu involved a lot of reading and watching videos of how things are prepared. My daughter in law and I both liked Cooking Korean Food with Maangchi, although we also used ideas from other places. By Thursday we had a plan. On Friday we went shopping at a Korean market to make sure we had the correct ingredients. Friday evening we prepped until after 9:30 PM. We were up early Saturday cooking up a storm and completed what we had started the day before. We had Korean sushi, octopus, and chicken wings during the day. Supper was Korean barbecue with all kinds of side dishes including eggplant salad, radish salad, a potato dish, tuna cakes, and fried tofu. We had two kinds of cake! Everything was delicious. I loved the gotgamssam, treats made of walnuts wrapped in dried persimmons. I didn't take a picture of mine, but you can see Maangchi's here.

In spite of all that cooking business, I managed to get in a bit of reading and writing.

BLOG POSTS THIS WEEK

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

The Thing Lou Couldn't Do by Ashley Spires

The Last Tree by Ingrid Chabbert & Raúl Nieto Guridi (Illustrations)

PICTURE BOOKS

3 stars

The Artist and Me by Shane Peacock & Sophie Casson (Illustrations)

This book is dark and at the same time illuminating. It tells us a bit about the life of Vincent Van Gogh and how he was bullied by children and adults. What is unique here is that it is told from the point of view of a bully. This bully is a young child growing up in a community where this kind of behaviour is normal.

There is a lot this book has to teach us about being human and why we and the people around us might do ugly things.

5 stars

Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood & Sally Wern Comport (Illustrator)

It isn't enough to just read this book about people changing their lives through music. The instruments these children use are made from recycled material that is as foraged from the garbage dump where members of the community work. This alone makes it a powerful and inspiring story, but then I went to their website and listened to the music. I was completely blown away. You need to listen to fully comprehend what a stunning feat this is. After listening I came back to the book to learn from the end notes that these musicians have raised enough money to purchase land and provide housing for their community. They have made a difference for all the people in their community in many ways.

5 stars

Dragon Was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio & Greg Pizzoli (Illustrator)

I now see why this book is getting so much buzz.

Dragon is such a nasty creature that the king offers a reward for whoever tames it.

First, the knights attempt to tame Dragon. It doesn't work out.

Next the villagers take it upon themselves to tame Dragon. Not only is it an embarrassing failure, Dragon becomes even nastier!

However, someone comes up with a stealthy plan. 

I was completely surprised and satisfied by this ending.

5 stars

The Thing Lou Couldn't Do by Ashley Spires (Netgalley)

Ashley Spires is back with another brilliant picture book sure to inspire and motivate all of us to try and overcome our fears. When Lou's friends take to a tree to play pirate, Lou is trapped on the ground because she doesn't know how to climb a tree, and is really afraid to try. Eventually though, she finds the courage and confidence to have a go at that tree. 

Maybe I won't ever really become friends with spiders, but I will try to not panic when I find them in my bedroom. 

lf anyone can help me find courage to do this, it will be Lou. 

Unfortunately this won't be available until May. 

5 stars

Nobody Likes a Goblin by Ben Hatke

Sigh. It's Ben Hatke. If you know anything about picture books and graphic novel artists you will recognize his name and know that this book is one that you need for your collection without opening the first page. How I wish my boys were still young so I could read it to them. It will be years before my grandchildren will be able to appreciate this, but I'm still going to buy a copy for them so it will be here when they are ready.

NOVELS

4 stars

Smiley's People by John le Carré

My partner and I listened to this podcast while travelling back to Vancouver from our home in Oliver. It is a BBC radio dramatization of the book. George Smiley, a british spy, is brought out of retirement to figure out what happened to one of his former agents. I read all of this series when I was in my 20's, (a long time ago) and it took a while before I remembered where the story was going. I purchased le Carré's biography for my partner as a Christmas gift and have to wait for him to finish it. This production reminded me why.

4 stars

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

This is a netgalley title that I wanted to read ages ago. Unfortunately, it expired from my device and I had to get it from our local library to read. It tells the story of three enslaved children who work on a cocoa plantation and how they eventually escape. 

There were parts that I had to read really fast because of the brutality. Still, I consider it a #mustpurchase for any school library that has students in grade 6 on up. 

Now I have to find a copy of Golden Boy to read. 

4 stars

The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox & Fiona Hardingham (Narrator)

This was scary, but not so scary I had to stop listening. A group of children are sent away from London during WW 2, to get away from the blitz. They end up in Scotland in a castle that has been turned into a boarding school. They soon learn that it may have been safer had they stayed in London. Between German spies, dark magic and missing children, readers will be biting their fingernails before it is all concluded. I appreciated that while the children were ultimately responsible for defeating the evil magic, they were also surrounded by adults who mostly did their best to help them. 

CURRENTLY

I'm reading The Break by Katherena Vermette. I'm still listening to Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa. My audiobook expired, but no one else wanted it, so I was able to check out again. That probably tells you what you need to know about this book, but I will at least finish it. I'm still working on Spin: How Politics has the Power to Turn Marketing on its Head by Clive Veroni. 

UP NEXT

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I'm going to listen to Goblins Vs Dwarves by Philip Reeves just for a break in reality. I plan to start Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien. I've also got a new pile of picture books to get to.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MUSTREADIN2017 1/36

#MUSTREADNFIN2017 1 in progress

50 Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 1/50 1 in progress 

Goodreads Reading Challenge 13/333