Showing posts with label Social and Emotional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social and Emotional. Show all posts

#IMWAYR June 5, 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. 



Well, it finally happened. My cousin and I, even though we wore our N95 masks, picked Covid up at a celebration of life last weekend.  My sister, who was with us, managed to escape the bullet. Six days in and I am still testing positive. The worst of it is that it has triggered my asthma which will take some time to get back under control. I sure am glad I have had all my vaccinations. I shudder to imagine what this would be like without them. 

Aside from that I had a wonderful time with my women friends in our three bedroom cabin on the beach. I got no reading accomplished while with them except for listening to a bit of Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett before going to sleep.

I was visiting with the grandkids for a couple of sleeps before the weekend and enjoyed reading with them. I did nothing for the first few days of Covid, but I've managed to read a bit with my eyes and my ears since then.

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 

3 stars

The Blur by Minh Lê & Dan Santat (Illustrations) May 03, 2022

I get why this might be a popular giveaway at graduation. However, unlike Oh, the Places You Go! by Dr Seuss, which I have read to children of many ages, this one feels focused on adults and older readers. My five year old granddaughter wasn’t interested at all.

NON FICTION PICTURE BOOKS 

This book provides a vignette from Yo-Yo Ma's Bach Project, a two year endeavour to connect people through music. In this instance we see him playing at the Mexican/United States border in Texas. It is beautifully written and beautifully illustrated. 
Extra material in the back matter tells us more about Yo-Yo Ma, the project, and Petunia, his cello. If you are like me, you will want to go and listen to the music as soon as you are done reading. 




My granddaughter and I are huge fans of Mercy Watson. I had to explain about drive in movie theatres back in the day when I was young. Aside from that we both laughed and laughed at Mercy's exploits. Alas there was no hot buttered popcorn waiting for us when we finished.

My granddaughter and I enjoyed this third adventure at The Fabled Stables. It's a story about belonging and attachment. With Fen claiming that caretakers don't stay forever, Auggie is worried that he might have to leave. The two of them end up chasing after a new beast, a Shibboleth. It leads them to the lair of the nasty Rooks. After the Shibboleth swallows Auggie whole, it's up to Fen to save the day.


This is a lovely tale about community. Cress, her mother, and younger brother have to leave their warren and move into an apartment in an old tree. There is much going on: grief for the father who went out one night and didn't return, wild precarious adventures, making new friends, and becoming part of a loving community. David Litchfield's artwork is glorious.

NOVELS


Once I started this book, I couldn't stop. It's a coming of age tale that includes a murder mystery. It's told from the perspectives of Todd, the ghost of the murdered young boy, and Georgia, a girl who becomes fascinated with the case. Both are queer kids finding it almost impossible to fit in. Georgia is sure she has seen Todd somewhere before. I found it interesting that while it's a murder mystery, Georgia does not try to be a detective. She still ends up discovering what happened to Todd and why. 
Tamaki's depictions of winter will have you going and putting a jacket on.


I'm always excited when Ms. Yingling gives a book 5 stars because I know it will be brilliant. 
This is the kind of historical MG novel I love best. While set in modern times, it educates readers, through the story telling of the grandfather, about what it was like to be Chinese American across the span of the last 100 years or so. There is also a solid story line relevant to the characters experiences today. Lisa Yee's characters deal with just the right amount of conflict that ends up getting resolved in a healthy manner. There is a bit of a mystery to solve. I appreciate how it shows us both overt and covert racism across all eras.

Klara is a highly observant artificial friend. The story is told from her perspective. In the first part of the novel, she waits in the shop taking in the world around her while waiting to be picked by a girl or boy. Then she is chosen by Josie, a young girl with a strange sickness. Being solar powered, Klara sees the sun as a kind of mystical being who can be convinced to heal her.
I was completely mesmerized by this book. It's a book that examines relationships, childhood, love, and what it means to be human. Yet that ending was brutal. Klara is a character I won't be able to forget.

CURRENTLY

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives by Matt Richtel

Satellite Love by Genki Ferguson  🍁

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

UP NEXT 

Rez Rules by Chief Clarence Louie

Worser by Jennifer Ziegler

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 12/24 

#MustReadNonFiction 8/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 31/100

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5 

Indigenous Authors 11/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 128 /250
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#IMWAYR May 16, 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. 

It's been three weeks since my last update. In the middle of that time I ended up getting my heart fixed. I had paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (electrical issues). I went into the hospital at 11 am for a heart ablation and my husband picked me up at 6 pm to take me home. Isn't modern medicine amazing! 

Has it been as cold a spring where you are as it is here? Temperatures are below average and the forecast is for more of this. In spite of the chill we are thankful for the rain. I did get some tomatoes in the ground and hope to get the rest of the garden planted this week no matter what!

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

I Am You: A Book about Ubuntu by Refiloe Moahloli & Zinelda McDonald (Illustrator) February 1, 2022

This book makes me happy. I would purchase at least 2 copies if I was still working in the library. This unifying idea is one whose time has come! Thanks to Myra at Gathering Books for introducing it to us. 
"Ubuntu means "I am, because you are". In fact, the word ubuntu is just part of the Zulu phrase "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu", which literally means that a person is a person through other people. Ubuntu has its roots in humanist African philosophy, where the idea of community is one of the building blocks of society. Ubuntu is that nebulous concept of common humanity, oneness: humanity, you and me both."

5 stars

Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest by Phoebe Wahl September 21, 2021

I loved this book so much I read it twice. Little Witch Hazel is a witch in manner of Terry Pratchett's witches. She is a kind of community health nurse who looks after the inhabitants of the forest where she lives. This collection of four stories to match the seasons are full of humour, delight, wonder and courage.

4 stars

Out of a Jar by Deborah Marcero February 8, 2022

In an effort to avoid conflict and trouble, Llewellyn puts all their emotions into jars. When excitement and joy end up in jars, Llewellyn has to find a way to deal with all their emotions in healthy ways.

4 stars

Daddy Speaks Love by Leah Henderson & E.B. Lewis (Illustrations) January 4, 2022

This book shows diverse groups of fathers showing love to their children in many different ways. What they all have in common is their support for love, for diversity, and their kids.

Unfortunately this book was not translated into English.
My granddaughter and I still enjoyed looking at the images and trying to figure out what the story might be all about.
I had fun reading this book with my two year old granddaughter. After admiring the endpapers full of mother and baby animals, she looked at the pages just long enough to see what the action was and proceeded to show me how she could do it.
Each two page spread shows an infant animal doing something beside a human child doing the same action. Each spread has two words like, Calves swim, Porcupines nibble.
We both enjoyed this book a lot, but I would suggest you don't try reading it just before bed.

NON FICTION PICTURE BOOKS 


This is an introduction to the life of Mary Anning, the Mother of Palaeontology. Maris Wicks artwork is just perfect. My almost 5 year old granddaughter was fascinated by the end papers. The ones in the front of the book are skeletons while the ones at the back are the artists rendition of what they might have looked like in life.
I thought the main part of the book was a bit short on details. Still, the back matter contains extra information about her and the different animals she found.

NON FICTION GRAPHIC


"Grass is a powerful antiwar graphic novel, telling the life story of a Korean girl named Okseon Lee who was forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War."
A number of years ago my Korean daughter in law and I went to a documentary on the Comfort Women. Her grandmother had told her about them. In the documentary, some were Korean, but others were from China. Wherever the Japanese invaded, young girls were kidnapped and turned into sex slaves. They are still waiting for an apology from the Japanese government. 
As Suk Gendry-Kim gives voice to one woman's experience, she validates the reality of the other women who experienced those horrors.  
 
While this is an adult book, I would purchase it for my high school library. 



This is the perfect example of how the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts. It's poetry, painting, and collage integrated in a way that becomes a new hybrid of artistic expression. On the surface it's the story of a black family living through the Covid pandemic. It goes much deeper than this.
I tried it as an audiobook ages ago, but abandoned it because, even without having seen the book, the words alone were not enough. Without the synthesis of the words and visual art, it just doesn't work. While there really are not that many words, it still took me a couple of days of picking the book up, reading some, letting it percolate, then reading a bit more and letting it percolate, before finally finishing it.
I would like to have a digital version where the text is read by the authors as you turn the pages.

NOVELS

4 stars

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie by Erin Soderberg Downing & Lu Banks (Narrator) April 6, 2021

The Peach family have been struggling since the death of their mother and wife. Lucy has taken on most of the responsibility for her younger siblings while her father has abandoned his children and sunk himself into his work. When he is forced to take a sabbatical, he purchases a food truck and decides that they will fulfill one of their mother's dreams by travelling around the country in a food truck.
They all have a lot of learning to do to make the trip a success and win the big prize of $10,000 at the food truck fair in Delaware, Ohio. The best prize of all is, after a lot of challenges, learning how to be a family again.
I really liked this family. Ok, so a lot of the time I wanted to smack the father over the head, but he turns out to be ok at the end. Lucy, Freddy, and Herb are realistic characters. I especially connected to Lucy. As the oldest child in a large family, when disaster struck, I learned what it's like to parent my siblings (and my parents).

4 stars

The Graveyard Riddle (Goldfish Boy #2) by Lisa Thompson & Rosie Jones (Narrator) January 7, 2021

There is A LOT going on in this book!
Melody, Matthew and Jake are three friends. They go through the usual friend issues, but have bigger problems to deal with.
Melody's mother has put their house up for sale and refuses to consider talking to the father about financial support.
Jake is being bullied by one of the teachers at school. It isn't until the teacher ignores Jake's allergic reaction and ensuing anaphylactic shock, that his behaviour is dealt with.
Melody befriends Hal, a boy hiding out in the Graveyard. He tells her he is a spy for MI8 and weaves such a compelling story that she believes him. He even manages to persuade Matthew and Jake of his story. When the children finally deduce what is going on with Hal, it's a heart wrenching tale.

As gorgeous as the cover of this book is, the story inside is even more stunning.
Bitter grew up in foster care. Life was hard until she was chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school for artistic teens. Eucalyptus is situated in the town of Lucille, a community ruled by a corrupt billionaire, city leaders and police. Protests are ongoing and the only thing that seems to arise from them is more injury and death of the protestors. The Asata are a significant group that leads these protestors. When a close friend loses an eye after one of the altercations, Bitter uses her blood magic to bring forth Vengeance, an angel of death, who she hopes will stop the corrupt leadership and bring peace to Lucille. Soon an army of 'angels' joins with some of the protestors to hunt and kill Lucille's leadership.
Bitter and other protestors are opposed to this plan for murder and have to figure out how to stop them before it's too late.
While I was reading this I couldn't help but make a connection between The Black Power Movement of 1960's and 70's and The Asata. Both groups supported their community in many different ways.
In the end this book is a profound look into the difference between good and evil.


This was a reread for my book club. It was as profound, if not more so, the second time round.
If you want to understand what went on in the residential ‘school’ system and the ramifications for survivors, this is your book. Even though I was aware of the horror of these places, Michelle Good's story of five survivors brought my understanding of this violence against culture, families and children into a deeper understanding.

5 stars

The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2) by Richard Osman &  Lesley Manville (Narrator) September 16th 2021

I enjoyed this book even more than the first in the series, and I loved the first!
Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron are back. This time the octogenarians have to find 20 million dollars in stolen diamonds and figure out who murdered two MI5 agents. 
As we get to know about the backgrounds of these characters, I adore them even more. It's a reminder to me of how many stories my elderly neighbours have inside them.


I listened to this book, but should probably have read it with my eyes. It's full of fascinating information about the multiple biomes that exist inside and around all things on the planet. I left this book aware of the immense complexity of the microscopic organisms that rule our world. If you are a fan of science nonfiction, read this. It will change the way you think about the world.

5 stars

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber, David Wengrow & Mark Williams (Narrator) October 19, 2021

This is a brilliant book that shakes up what we have been taught about the history of humanity. Highly recommend!

CURRENTLY

Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Didion, Joan
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune

UP NEXT 

Cold by Mariko Tamaki
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives by Matt Richtel

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 11/24 

#MustReadNonFiction 6/18 

Canadian Authors 28/100

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5 

Indigenous Authors 11/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 113/250
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#IMWAYR January 10, 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. 

Just a reminder that if you are participating in the #MustRead challenge, Leigh Anne Eck at A Day In the Life is hosting the last update for 2021 here. When you are ready, post your #MustReadIn2022 goals here. The links are open until the end of January. 

Our kitchen flooring was installed this week. I am quite smitten with this green marmoleum. It looks truly gorgeous when the sun shines on it. 



We took our Christmas tree down on Saturday and the house seems bereft without it and the rest of the decorations. (Although, I am not unhappy about not having to constantly clean up spruce needles.) We are keeping the outside lights on for a while longer. 

In spite of deconstructing Christmas, catching up on housework that I've let slide, and working on my second Olivia Dunrea quilt, it's been a relaxing week.  

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.


Reading Goals for 2022
In beautifully soft images readers are invited to look at sadness from a new perspective. Rather than trying to avoid it, or hide it, we are invited to get to know it. Ask it's name, ask where it comes from and what it needs, spend some time with it, do things together.
Every school library should have this book. People of all ages should read it.


After I reviewed this book last fall, one of my book club members suggested we do a book club to talk about it. I reread it twice last week and am still as in love and confounded by it as I was then. If anything, I have more questions. I am very excited that Sara O'Leary is joining us. Here is my original review. 

4 stars

Merry Christmas, Anne by Kallie Georg & Geneviève Godbout (Illustrations) October 05, 2021 🍁

I'm pretty sure it was Aaron Cleavely @Wriggling Bookworms who introduced me to this book. Among the many different (and wonderful) books Kallie George writes, are adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables stories. She captures the essence of the original novels in picture and chapter book format. This is a lovely look at how Christmas was celebrated in the past (even before I was born.) Geneviève Godbout's illustrations, rendered in pastels and coloured pencils, are gorgeous. 

GRAPHIC NOVELS

These days I'm mostly reading graphic novels for the Cybils awards. I will do a post to share my thoughts on all of them after we pick a winner. From the ones I've finished, that's promising to be a daunting task. 

Here's what I read last week. If I previously reviewed the book, I've provided a link to it.


My Body in Pieces by Marie-Noelle Hébert & Shelley Tanaka (Translator) April 1, 2021
My original review is here.


The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor June 15, 2021



The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag June 01, 2021


MEMOIR 

5 stars

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day by Kathlyn J. Kirkwood & Steffi Walthall (Illustrator) January 4, 2022

This memoir in verse is the perfect read as we near Martin Luther King's birthday, January 15th. It tells the story of how MLK day was made into law. One of the things I like most about it is how it inspires us all to become foot soldiers for change.
If I was still working in the library I might order two copies.
You can read my full review here. 

CURRENTLY

Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist by Kate Raworth 
I'm working my way through this slowly because it's a lot to take in. My copy has to be returned to the library soon so I've put another hold on it.

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier & Val Wise (Illustrations) (a Cybils title)

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
I listen to this as I'm falling asleep since it's a reread for me and I'm not tempted to stay awake to find out what happens.

The Strangers by Katherena Vermette
I'm almost done this audiobook.

The Waiting by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (The Cybils graphic novels have forced me to put this book aside for now)

UP NEXT 

What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad will be my next audiobook.

Since I'm a round 2 Cybils judge, I am busy reading and rereading the finalists in the graphic novel categories.  Hopefully I will find time for other books.

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction /24 one in progress

#MustReadNonFiction 1/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 2/100

Indigenous Authors 0/25 one in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 9/250
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Living With Viola by Rosanna Fung

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this graphic memoir. It was released November 30, 2021, by Annick Press.

This is a profound look at how personal anxiety is exacerbated by external situations. It's an important, albeit not comfortable, read. It's heart-wrenchingly brilliant. 

Olivia is the child of Chinese Immigrants. At her first day of middle school we meet Viola, her demonic alter ego, who fills Olivia's head with self loathing and fear.  Gradually Olivia becomes part of a group of friends, but even when things are going well, Viola never lets go of her grip on Olivia. When friend drama sets in, Viola completely overwhelms her. 

Olivia's feelings of inadequacy are connected to gatherings with other Chinese Immigrant families.  Rosanna Fung shows us a group of high powered adults who have high expectations for their children.  The expectation is that their children will become doctors, lawyers, or engineers - the kind of career that would end in a three figure salary, just like their parents.  Olivia and her family don't fit in. The family fakes their life so that they don't lose face.  Her father works two jobs to make ends meet.  Olivia is a gifted artist who dreams of a career connected to being able to draw. 

Thankfully, Olivia's family are mostly loving and accepting.  Her artwork is posted on display around their home.  When her parents realize what is happening, they arrange for her to see a therapist.  She learns coping strategies so that while Viola will always be there, Olivia learns how to keep her under control.  Eventually she returns to school and reconnects with her friends. 

This book is intense.  As a testimony to its emotional authenticity, I had to take a break from reading it because it triggered so much anxiety in me.  (I might have a wee Viola of my own.)  It brought to mind former students of mine. Perhaps their anxiety was not so debilitating as Olivia's, but I still worried about them then, and worry about them now.  Thankfully this book has a positive, hopeful ending. 

In this video Rosanna Fung talks about how the book is based on her own life experiences. 

Living With Viola is already on Canadian lists for one of the best graphic novels of 2021. It garnered a starred review from Kirkus and SLJ. I predict more accolades will come it's way and am certain it will be a contender for a Cybil award next year. 

I agree with SLJ, it is indeed an essential purchase. 


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#IMWAYR November 29, 2021

Hello everyone. 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.

There is some positive news regarding the recent flooding and road closures in my part of the world. Routes for essential traffic have opened up so the mail and other necessities are being delivered. The grocery store shelves are stocked and life seems pretty normal. We are a bit worried about whether our sons and their families will be able to make it for Christmas because of road conditions, but have already determined to celebrate later if it doesn't work out. 

We've had a wonderful week here. Well, except that we have piles of cupboards taking over the main floor of the house ready to install as soon as the valence is finished. Everything takes a lot more time than you anticipate. I'm making progress on my baby quilt, so hopefully it won't be true for it.

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.


This picture book/graphic novel hybrid is hilarious! Princesses and dinosaurs argue over whose book this is. Each group brings in their big guns - a T Rex for the dinosaurs and a dragon for the princesses. It doesn't turn out like the original two groups planned.
I appreciate the diversity in the princesses. I love that by the end of the book the princesses and the dinosaurs have learned to appreciate one another and have fun together.
The colourful artwork was created digitally.

5 stars

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason & Byron Eggenschwiler (Illustrator) September 1, 2020  🍁

This is a sweet story about being different, and coming to accept yourself just are who you are. I love that because the little ghost is a quilt instead of a sheet, it gets treated and admired just like regular quilts are. Riel Nason is a Canadian quilter and author. Check out some samples of her work here. You can see examples of Byron Eggenschwiler's other artwork here. 


After finishing this book I really wished I wasn't allergic to creatures with fur. It made me miss my childhood cat terribly.
I read this first and then went in search of Buffy singing this song. It was even better when I reread the book with her voice and the rhythm of the music in my head.
Ben Hodson's digitally rendered artwork is loaded with charm. It shows the story of a young girl and her diverse family adopting a dog from a shelter.
The back matter includes song lyrics and music, photographs of Buffy Sainte-Marie with some of her animals and a note from the author.
Listen to the song here. https://youtu.be/bLMUjeuhKkU

4 stars

Knot Cannot by Tiffany Stone & Mike Lowery (Illustrations) April 7, 2020   🍁

This book is a lot of fun!
The blurb says it is "a pun-packed look at friendship, jealousy, and being yourself." That's pretty much it. Knot envies Snake who can do a lot that Knot cannot. But when danger lurks, it's Knot who saves the day. If this isn't enough to encourage you to purchase a copy, The language is mostly simple enough to add to your reader shelf. I love the different kinds of knots at the end of the book.

NON FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Gizmos, Gadgets, and Guitars: The Story of Leo Fender by Michael Mahin & Steven Salerno (Illustrations) September 7, 2021

This is absolutely wonderful!
If you know anything about guitars and music from the past 6 or 7 decades, you will have heard of a fender guitar. This is the story of how Leo Fender went from tinkering away at broken radios to making world famous musical instruments.
Steven Salerno's art is the perfect accompaniment. The original illustrations were created crayon, ink, gouache, and pastel on paper. They were scanned, imported into Photoshop, and finished. I love how a history of technology and musical genres is revealed through these images.
The back matter contains an author's note with additional information about Leo Fender, a bibliography, and glossary.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

4 stars

Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson September 2, 2014

My four year old granddaughter is crazy about unicorns. This series was always popular in my school library, so I thought I would read this to see if it might work for her. I now see why it was always checked out. Alas, although this story about a girl who becomes best friends with a unicorn is witty, heartwarming, and precious, it's still too old for her. I'm open to alternative suggestions if you have any. 

5 stars

Living with Viola by Rosena Fung  🍁

I'm in the process of writing a full book review for this graphic novel. It's an intense look at how personal anxiety is exacerbated by external situations. It's heartbreakingly brilliant.

NOVELS


When I get into a series, it's because of the characters. Sure the writing is good, but it's that writing that creates individuals that my brain and heart comes to think of as real. A new book is like a visit with an old friend. That's how I feel about Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series. Peter is a bit young to be an old friend, so I think of him as a kid I've watched grow up. He's a police office who is also a wizard in training. In this adventure he ends up in the countryside tracking down two kidnapped girls. Unicorns and the Fay are involved in the abduction.

I've read these with my eyes and ears. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is Peter Grant to me! If you are a fan of mysteries, fantasy and like clever wit in your reading life, I highly recommend this series!

Now that I've finished rereading it, I swear it's better the second time round. 


The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch & Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Mystery, encounters with ghosts, talking foxes, river gods and goddesses, and magic are what I have come to anticipate and love from this series. In this novella. an increase in victorian ghost sightings causes Peter Grant; Jaget Kumar, his counterpart at the British Transport Police; Abbigail, Peter's young cousin; and Nightingale to patrol the underground. They track down and interview the spectres hoping to find out what is causing this increase in hauntings. It turns out to have it's origins in modern reality.

I first read this with my eyes, but without Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration, Peter Grant's character didn't come through. This time I was delighted to listen to it.  

NONFICTION


This book blew me away. George M. Johnson's memoir put me in mind of Thomson Highway's Permanent Astonishment, a memoir I recently finished. While they are decades apart in age, both of these queer men are from diverse backgrounds. Johnson is black while Thomson is Indigenous. Both of them radiate love and joy. Both are important reads for other boys like them who aren't blue, and for the rest of us who want to be allies. 

CURRENTLY

The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
Goldilocks: Wanted Dead or Alive by Chris Colfer & Jon Proctor (Illustrator)

UP NEXT 

Hunting by Stars (A Marrow Thieves Novel) by Cherie Dimaline
The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found by Karina Yan Glaser
More picture books from my #MustReadList

UPCOMING BLOG POSTS

Living With Viola by Rosena Fung

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MustReadIn2021 29/25 

#MustReadNFIn2021 12/12 

#MustReadPBIn2021 70/100 

Big Book Summer Challenge 9 

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 36/25

Books by Canadian Authors: 113/100

Canada Reads 2021 5/5 

Discworld Series 41/41

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 405/333 


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