PICTURE BOOK - Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China by Deborah Noyes

Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

2007, Candlewick Press

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.79 - 127 ratings

My rating:  4

Endpapers:   Solid red

1^st line/s:  "In my father's kingdom there are many splendors.  Bells and drums and conchs sound in the city streets.  All day long, ladies with careful eyebrows crisscross palace courtyards.  Warlords and courtiers come and go in gleaming carriages."

My comments:  Beautiful writing, beautiful illustrations.  Lots of insight into a princess marrying a king, but lots of sadness as well, as the young girl is preparing to leave her father's kingdom - forever - and travel a great distance to marry the king of another kingdom.  Based on a supposed true story that took place between 100 and 500 AD, this story gives a picture of ancient China and gives one lots to think about.  The author's note at the end gives fascinating information about the background as well as history about the Silk Road.

Goodreads:   An enchanting tale of hidden beauty and fierce courage, retold in the style of T’ang Dynasty poetry and illustrated with charm and grace
          A young Chinese princess is sent from her father’s kingdom to marry the king of a far-off land. She must leave behind her home of splendors: sour plums and pink peach petals and — most precious and secret of all — the small silkworm. She begs her father to let her stay, but he insists that she go and fulfill her destiny as the queen of Khotan. Beautifully told and arrestingly illustrated, here is a coming-of-age tale of a brave young princess whose clever plan will go on to live in legend — and will ensure that her cherished home is with her always

104. Midnight Rose by Dani Hart

read on my iPhone (got it free on Amazon)
2017, published by the author
425 pgs.
YA Fantasy
Finished 12/27/2018
Goodreads rating:  3.95 - 297 ratings
My rating:  3

First line/s:  "The early morning sun warmed my pale cheeks as I stood in front of my open window.  Summer break was officially ending, and I longed to soak in the last few days of freedom."

My comments:  This book was not particularly well written, and it had a lot of holes and discrepancies, but the storyline was captivating.  I've decided to read on into the second book immediately so that I don't forget any of the nitty-gritty, and this first one was quite short.

Goodreads synopsis:  A secret society. Vampires. Supernaturals. Oh, and love. It’s not just a story. It’s my world and I have to save it.
          Abigail Rose’s life was as predictable as the tides rising and falling, until Wes Hunter returned to Sandpoint. Then, the impossible became possible, the predictable became unpredictable, and those monsters became more than friends. 
          Wes would do anything to keep Abigail safe, and Abigail would leave everything behind to save everyone she loves. A suspenseful young love romance, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.

PICTURE BOOK - The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco

Illustrated by the author

1996

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.32 - 754 ratings

My rating:5

1^st line/s:  "At our farm just outside Union City, Michigan, we didn't celebrate the same holidays as most of our neighbors....but we shared their delight and anticipation of them just the same."

My comments:  This is a wonderful way to introduce and/or remind non-Jewish children about Hanukkah, and a lovely way for Jewish kids to hear a new telling of a Hanukkah tale.  Nobody beats Patricia Polacco's storytelling OR illustrations!

Goodreads:  Trisha loves the eight days of Hanukkah, when her mother stays home from work, her Babushka makes delicious potato latkes,and her Grampa carves wonderful animals out of wood as gifts for Trisha and her brother. In the middle of her family's preparation for the festival of lights, Trisha visits her closest neighbors, expecting to find them decorating their house for Christmas. Instead they are all bedridden with scarlet fever. Trisha's family is one of the few who has been spared from the epidemic. It is difficult for them to enjoy their Hanukkah feast when they know that their neighbors won't be able to celebrate their holiday. Then Grampa has an inspiration: they will cut down trees, decorate them, and secretly deliver them to the neighbors, "But what can we decorate them with?" Babushka asks. Although it is a sacrifice, Trisha realizes that Grampa's carved animals are the perfect answer. Soon her living room is filled with trees -- but that is only the first miracle of many during an incredible holiday season. 
Based on a long cherished childhood memory, this story celebrates the miracle of true friendship.

103. My Fake Fiance by R. R. Banks

read on my iPhone (free on Kindle Unlimited)
2018 I'm guessing independently published...
310 pgs.
Adult Romance
Finished 12/19/18
Goodreads rating:  3.84 - 419 ratings
My rating:  1 ... crap/yucko

First line/s:  "And for the matter of punitive damages, we the jury award the plaintiff 7.3 million dollars."

My comments:  Okay, third romance in a row and it's total CRAP especially compared to the previous two that I just finished. Yuck.  Time to go back to my previously better-chosen stuff....  (Looking at the Goodreads comments from others will remind me of the stupidness of this story.....)

Goodreads synopsis:  How did a lie and one car ride turn into a full-blown engagement? 
It all started with a sign... Literally.
You might have life figured out, but I definitely don't. 
I'm an aspiring novelist who is destined to be single. 
I'm an imperfect mess -- and that might be an understatement. 
To survive the Holidays, I did something crazy. 
I walked up to L.A.'s hottest bachelor and gave him a proposal. 
Now, I'm in big trouble. 
Trouble in the chiseled form of Miles Churchill. 
He's richer than sin and he's carrying a huge package. 
Falling for him wasn't part of the arrangement. 
Nor is the life changing surprise that's about to change everything...

102. The Rule Breaker by Cat Carmine

read on my iPhone
2018 Createspace Independent
268 pgs.
Adult romance
Finished 12/17/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.19 - 461 ratings
My rating:  3.5

First line/s:  "Eight inches of wood has never looked quite so terrifying."

My comments:  I guess I'm going nuts.  I'm getting soft, too  Or perhaps I'm just in the mood for something different, light, fun, and sexy because this is the second one like that I've read in the last 24 hours!  So ridiculously unreal and deliciously fun.  However, it does get particularly tiresome that all the heroines have incredible bodies, are absolutely gorgeous, and are as smart as whips.  AND one or both of the protagonists are usually extremely wealthy (I'm not going to complain about the rock hard abs or the ultra-superior....other....parts....)  Bad me...

Goodreads synopsis:  He’s the bad boy … but I’m the one breaking all the rules. 
          I’ve always been the quintessential good girl. I don’t just follow the rules — I write them. As an advice columnist, I’m always telling people how to not screw up their lives. 
          So you’d think I’d know better than to bang some random guy in a bar bathroom. 
          But nope. Apparently not. 
          Now I’ve got even bigger problems, though. Because it turns out that wasn’t just some random guy. It was Tyler Grant. Rich. Playboy. Devastatingly gorgeous. Oh, and the publisher of my new dating advice book. 
          All my instincts are telling me to run like hell. It’s what I’d advise anyone else to do. 
          But nope. I’ve had a taste, and I’m hooked. 
          Now I’m calling him at ungodly hours and showing up at his house drunk and begging for sex and tacos. In other words, breaking every rule in my own damn book. 
          Of course, you don’t have to be an advice columnist to know a bad boy and a good girl are never going to work out. Someone’s going to get their heart broken. 
          And my guess? It isn’t going to be him.

PICTURE BOOK - The Read Aloud Treasury Compiled by Joanna Cole & Stephanie Calmenson

This book is an "oldy but goodie" and out-of-print (though there are many used copies to be had at a very reasonable price.  This book is a great book for a new baby!
Illustrated by Ann Schweninger

1988, Doubleday Book for Young Readers

256 pgs.

Goodreads rating:   4.17

My rating:  5

Endpapers Speckled pale sage

My comments: 32 nursery rhymes, 30 poems for babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers, 13 stores that are actually the original books with the original illustrations (Little Bear Goes to the Moon, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Angus and the Cat, Cordouroy, and traditional stories like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Billy Goats Gruff....and so much more.  A delightful book.

Goodreads:  The "Read-Aloud Treasury" makes finding good children's literature easy. It includes over thirty popular Mother Goose rhymes; poetry from renowned authors like Arnold Lobel and Jack Prelutsky; world-famous picture stories, many with their original illustrations. "A lively and surprisingly inclusive treasury... Schweninger's full-color illustrations complement and enhance the positive and inviting tone of this collection." -- "Publishers Weekly."

The Popcorn Hop

Put your popcorn
     in a pot.
Wait till it gets
     really hot.
When you start to
     feel the heat,
Listen for the
     popcorn beat:
Pop-pop-POP-pop,
     pop-pop-POP!
Come and do the
      popcorn hop!

          Stephanie Calmenson

Rain

The rain is raining all around,
     It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
     And on the ships at sea.

          Robert Louis Stevenson

Mud

I like mud.
       I like it on my clothes.
I like it on my fingers.'
         I like it on my toes.

Dirt's pretty ordinary
          And dust's a dud.
For a really good mess-up
          I like mud.

               John Smith

Barnyard Chat

"Honk, honk."
"Oink, oink."
"Meow, meow."
"Neigh."

Cluck, cluck."
"Woof, woof."
"Gobble, gobble."
"Bray!"

"Baa, baa."
"Hoot, hoot."
"Cckle, cackle."
"Moo.,"

"Quack, quack."
"Peep, peep."
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

                Stephanie Calmenson

A House is a House for Me

A hill is a house for an ant, an ant.
A hive is a house for a bee.
A hole is a house for a mole or a mouse
And a house is a house for me!

A garage is a house for a car or a truck,
A hangar's a house for a plane.
A dock or a slip is a house for a ship
And a terminal's a house for a train.

The cookie jar's home to the cookies.
The breadbox is home to the bread.
My coat is a house for my body.
My hat is a house for my head.

A glove is a house for a hand, a hand.
A stocking's a house for a knee.
A shoe or a boot is a house for a foot
And a house is a house for me!

                        Mary Ann Hoberman

Fuzzy Wuzzy

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear;
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair.
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzz,
Was he?

               Traditional

PICTURE BOOK - All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins

Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

2018, Schwartz & Wade Books

HC $17.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.05 - 133 ratings

My rating:  4

Endpapers:  Solid sage-gray

1^st line/s:  "When darkness comes, it will be thw first night of Hanukkah, 1912."

My comments:  This is a lovely picture book about a much-loved series for kids that was written almost 70 years ago.  Sweet story, telling of Hanukkah traditions, a large Jewish family at the turn of the 20th century, and particularly the making of latkes.  Not super crazy about the illustrations, for some reason....

Goodreads:  The beloved characters from Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family return in this heartwarming picture book from a critically adored team--perfect for Hanukkah gift-giving! 
          Acclaimed author Emily Jenkins (A Greyhound, a Groundhog) and Caldecott Award-winning artist Paul O. Zelinsky (Rapunzel) bring the beloved All-of-a-Kind Family to life in a new format. Fans, along with those just meeting the five girls ("all of a kind," as their parents say), will join them back in 1912, on the Lower East Side of NYC, and watch as preparations for Hanukkah are made. When Gertie, the youngest, is not allowed to help prepare latkes, she throws a tantrum. Banished to the girls' bedroom, she can still hear the sounds and smell the smells of a family getting ready to celebrate. But then Papa comes home and she is allowed out--and given the best job of all: lighting the first candle on the menorah.
          First published in 1951, Taylor's chapter books have become time-honored favorites, selling over a million copies and touching generations of readers. In this time when immigrants often do not feel accepted, the All-of-a-Kind Family gives a heartwarming glimpse of a Jewish immigrant family and their customs that is as relevant--and necessary--today as when it was first written. Jenkins and Zelinsky's charming compliment to Taylor's series perfectly captures the warmth and family values that made the original titles classics.

101. Part-Time Lover by Lauren Blakely

read on my iPhone
2018, self published?
308 pgs.
Contemporary Romance
Finished 12*26*18
Goodreads rating:  4.03 - 2825 ratings
My rating: 3.5 (sizzle 4/4)
Setting: contemporary Paris & Copenhagen, but mostly indoors, lol....

First line/s:  "I'll say this about Christian - he made one hell of a first impression."

My comments:  It's cool to find a book that's just plain fun to read.  I've started to enjoy the romances I've chosen lately, a genre I've always fled, the ones that you know exactly how they're going to end but are fun and sassy and eye-rolling and sexy along the way.  This is the second marriage of convenience novel I've read recently and it was a great way to completely forget my own life for a bit and revel in someone else's.  And I love that it takes place in Paris and Copenhagen!

Goodreads synopsis:  A sexy new standalone romance from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Lauren Blakely!
          I’ll say this about Christian — he made one hell of a first impression.
When I first saw the strapping man, he was doing handstands naked on a dock along the canal. His crown jewels were far more entertaining than anything else I’d seen on the boat tour, so I did what any curious woman would do — I took his photo. I might have looked at the shot a few dozen times. Little did I know I’d meet him again, a year later, at a secret garden bar in the heart of the city, where I’d learn that his mind and his mouth were even more captivating. But given the way my heart had been trampled, I wanted only a simple deal — No strings. No expectations. 
Our arrangement worked well enough until the day I needed a lot more from him…

***
Let me just say, this whole part-time lover thing was her idea. I’d have gone all-in from the start, but hey, when a gorgeous, brilliant woman invites you into her bed, and only her bed…well, I said yes.
But then, one hysterical phone call from my brother later, begging me to find myself a wife so grandfather’s business stays in the family, and I need a promotion with Elise. Turns out a full-time husband suits her needs too, and a temporary marriage of convenience ought to do the trick, until we can simply untie the knot…

As long as no one finds out…
As long as no one gets hurt…
As long as no one falls in love…

But our ending was one I never saw coming

100. Roomies by Christina Lauren

listened on Audible
2017, Gallery Books
368 pgs.
Adult Romance
Finished 12/15/18
Goodreads rating: 3.91 - 17,321 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: contemporary New York City

First line/s:  "According to family legend, I was born on the floor of a taxi."

My comments:  It was fun to listen to this sweet, entertaining love story. I particularly enjoyed the Irishness of the male protagonist, Calvin. No surprises but fun to anticipate when and how everything was going to work out.

Goodreads synopsis:  From subway to Broadway to happily ever after. Modern love in all its thrill, hilarity, and uncertainty has never been so compulsively readable as in New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren’s romantic novel.
          Marriages of convenience are so...inconvenient. 
          For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating music performed by her street musician crush. Lacking the nerve to actually talk to the gorgeous stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions.
          Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway’s hottest musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he’s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.
          Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway—in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting—will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

99. Scythe by Neil Shusterman

#1 Arc of a Scythe
read on my iPhone
2016 Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
435 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 12/10/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.36 - 55,325 ratings
My rating:  4.5

First line/s:  "We must, by law, keep a record of the innocents we kill."

My comments:  How can you give a five rating to a book that is all about killing  A story that gives you the heebie-jeebies?  A tale that is unremitting in its darkness?  I don't think I can...quite. It's a clever story, and I couldn't wait to get back to it if I had to put it down, but it was....horrible, in its way.  A perfect world, like the world of The Giver, showing off huge chinks in the perfectness.  It makes me shudder.  Shusterman is quite a masterful writer.

Goodreads synopsis:  Thou shalt kill.
          A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
          Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

98. The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson

Listened on Audible
2018, Park Row
368 pgs.
Adult mystery
Finished 12/8/18
Goodreads rating:  3.63 - 1119 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary LA, CA

First line/s:  "The last time I saw my uncle, he bought me a dog."

My comments:  Although I had a pretty good idea of where this was all leading, it was fun following the path of crumbs.  Good story.

Goodreads synopsis:  A woman inherits a beloved bookstore and sets forth on a journey of self-discovery in this poignant debut about family, forgiveness and a love of reading.
          Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy's bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda's twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda's life. She doesn't hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy--and one final scavenger hunt.
          When Miranda returns home to Los Angeles and to Prospero Books--now as its owner--she finds clues that Billy has hidden for her inside novels on the store's shelves, in locked drawers of his apartment upstairs, in the name of the store itself. Miranda becomes determined to save Prospero Books and to solve Billy's last scavenger hunt. She soon finds herself drawn into a journey where she meets people from Billy's past, people whose stories reveal a history that Miranda's mother has kept hidden--and the terrible secret that tore her family apart.
          Bighearted and trenchantly observant, The Bookshop of Yesterdaysis a lyrical story of family, love and the healing power of community. It's a love letter to reading and bookstores, and a testament to how our histories shape who we become.

POETRY - Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart selected by Mary Ann Hoberman

Illustrated by Michael Emberley
2012 Megan Tingley Books:  Little, Brown & Company
144 pages
Endpapers:  Lilac
Goodreads: 4.00 - 265 ratings

A lovely mixture of old and new poems.  Many favorites, some of which I've copied below:

Goodreads Summary:  When you learn a poem by heart, it becomes a part of you. You know it in your mind, in your mouth, in your ears, in your whole body. And best of all, you know it forever. 
From the creators of the bestselling You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series comes this new collection of poems especially suitable for learning by heart and saying aloud. With personal introductions by former Children's Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman -- as well as her own time-tested tips and tools for memorization and recitation -- and vivid illustrations by Michael Emberley featuring his trademark wit and lively characters, Forget-Me-Nots includes more than 120 works from both classic and contemporary poets, from childhood favorites to lesser-known treasures.
This anthology will inspire a love of learning poetry!

Sometimes

Sometimes I like to be alone

And look up at the sky

And think my thoughts inside my head ---

Just me, myself, and I

                                Mary Ann Hoberman

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

The Animal Store

If I had a hundred dollars to spend,

                Or maybe a little more,

I’d hurry as fast as my legs would go

                Straight to the animal store.

I wouldn’t say, “How much for this or that?”—

                “What kind of a dog is he?”

I’d buy as many as rolled an eye,

                Or wagged a taile at me!

I’d take the hound with the drooping ears

                That sits by himself alone,

Cockers and Cairns and wobbly pups

                For to be my very own.

I might buy a parrot all red and green,

                And the monkey I saw before,

If I had a hundred dollars to spend,

                Or maybe a little more.

                                Rachel Field

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Night

Stars over snow,

                And in the west a planet

Swinging below a star ---

                Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,

It is not far ---

                It never will be far.

                                Sara Teasdale

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Toad by the Road

I’m only a toad

By the side of the road,

Watching the world go by.

Some bustle and hurry.

Some bustle and scurry.

Some wiggle, flicker, or fly.

They come and they go

On their way to and fro.

But I’d rather sit and sing.

It’s a glorious day,

So I’m happy to stay

And savor the songs of spring.

                                Joanne Ryder

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

The Sun

I told the Sun that I was glad,

                I’m sure I don’t know why;

Somehow the pleasant way he had

                Of shining in the sky

Just put a notion in my head

                That wouldn’t it be fun

If, walking on the hill, I said

                “I’m happy” to the Sun.

                                John Drinkwater

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Things

Went to the corner

Walked in the store

Bought me some candy

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the beach

Played on the shore

Built me a sandhouse

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the kitchen

Lay down on the floor

Made me a poem

Still got it

Still got it

                                Eloise Greenfield

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Who Has Seen the Wind?

Who has seen the wind?

                Neither I nor you;

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

                Neither you nor I;

But when the trees bow down their heads

                The wind is passing by.

                                Christina Rossetti

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.

Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.

The rain makes running pools in the gutter.

The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night –

And I love the rain.

                                Langston Hughes

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Fog

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and sky

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

                                Carl Sandburg

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

I Hear a Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing

                In the dark of December

A magical thing

                And sweet to remember.

“We are nearer to Spring

                Than we were in September,”

I heard a bird sing

                In the dark of December.

                                Oliver Herford

                                from Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart

Dust of Snow

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

                                Robert Frost

97. Holy Ghost by John Sandford

Virgil Flowers #11
read on Audible borrowed from TPPL
2018 G P Putnam's Sons
373 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Series
Finished 12/3/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.21 - 8068 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Contemporary rural Minnesota

First line/s:  "Wardell Holland, the mayor of Wheatfield, Minnesota, was sitting in the double-wide he rented from his mother, a Daisy Match Grade pellet rifle in his hands, shooting flies."

My comments:  Hanging out with Virgil Flowers always leaves me in a happy place.  I love love love the way that Eric Conger reads these books.  I don't think reading them myself would be half as enjoyable.  Sometimes it seems like Virgil and his crew do more bumbling around that they should, but it always adds good reading and humor to the story.  This story had more sad killings than I would've liked, but kept me engrossed and interested from beginning to end.  Another good one, John Sandford.

Goodreads synopsis:  Pinion, Minnesota: a metropolis of all of seven hundred souls for which the word "moribund" might have been invented. Nothing ever happened there and nothing ever would—until the mayor of sorts (campaign slogan: "I'll Do What I Can") and a buddy come up with a scheme to put Pinion on the map. They'd heard of a place where a floating image of the Virgin Mary had turned the whole town into a shrine, attracting thousands of pilgrims. And all those pilgrims needed food, shelter, all kinds of crazy things, right? They'd all get rich! What could go wrong?
          When the dead body shows up, they find out, and that's only the beginning of their troubles—and Virgil Flowers'—as they are all about to discover all too soon.

PICTURE BOOK - Sonia Sotomayor: Turning Pages: My Life Story by Sonia Sotomayor

Illustrated by Lulu Delacre

2018 Philomel Books

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.31 - 209 ratings

My rating:  5

Endpapers: two dozen photos of Sotomayor through her life

1^st line/s:

My comments: Wornderful story, words and wording, AND illustrations. Truly a lovely book.  She attributes books and libraries ass the stepping stones on her life path….Nancy Drew and Lord of the Flies in particular.  She also highlights her love of family and her roots in Puerto Rico.

Goodreads:  Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor tells her own story for young readers for the very first time!
          As the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor has inspired young people around the world to reach for their dreams. But what inspired her? For young Sonia, the answer was books! They were her mirrors, her maps, her friends, and her teachers. They helped her to connect with her family in New York and in Puerto Rico, to deal with her diabetes diagnosis, to cope with her father’s death, to uncover the secrets of the world, and to dream of a future for herself in which anything was possible.
          In Turning Pages, Justice Sotomayor shares that love of books with a new generation of readers, and inspires them to read and puzzle and dream for themselves. Accompanied by Lulu Delacre’s vibrant art, this story of the Justice’s life shows readers that the world is full of promise and possibility–all they need to do is turn the page.

POETRY - Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year selected by Fiona Waters

Illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon

2018, Nosy Crow

HC $40.00

333 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.42 - 12 ratings

My rating: 5

Endpapers: Cut out oak leaves (from different papers) on white

My comments:  A gorgeously illustrated volume of nature poetry from authors old and new.  The cover doesn't do it justice.  Outstanding addition to any library - though extremely heavy, might be a bit difficult for a younger child to hold and covet....

January

January is

A clean white sheet, newly-ironed

An empty page:

A field of freshly-fallen snow

Waiting to be mapped

By our footsteps.

                        John Foster  

Keep a Poem in Your Pocket

Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you
a dozen dreams to dance to you
at night when you're in bed.

So ---
Keep a picture in your pcoket
and a poem in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.
       
           Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Goodreads:  Sing a Song of Seasons is a lavishly illustrated collection of 366 nature poems -- one for every day of the year. Filled with familiar favorites and new discoveries written by a wide variety of poets, including William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, John Updike, Langston Hughes, N. M. Bodecker, Okamoto Kanoko, and many more, this is the perfect book for children (and grown-ups!) to share at the beginning or the end of the day.

96. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

#1 Raven Cycle
listened on Audible
2012 Scholastic
409 pgs.
YA Fantasy
Finished 11/14/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.06 - 198,743 ratings
My rating:  5
Setting:  Contemporary Henrietta, Virginia

First line/s:  "Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love."

My comments:  Read on the drive home from Maine, through actual sleet and snow and rain and it was the perfect book to listen to on this particularly arduous journey, lol.  It was so good.  I loved the elements of magic, the otherwordly "stuff" that become reality.  I have really good pictures in my mind of the four boys, but the picture of Blue, the female protagonist, is hazier.  I really hope I get more insight into her in the next books - which I hope I can get my hands on asap!

Goodreads synopsis:  “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
          It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
          Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
          His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
          But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
          For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
          From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

95. The Dry by Jane Harper

#1 Aaron Falk
listened on Audible
2016 MacMillan Australia
352 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 11/9/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.04 - 88,986 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Australian boonies

First line/s:  "It wasn't as though the farm hadn't seen death before, and the blowflies didn't discriminate."

My comments:  It was fun being transported to Australia - and I must admit it took a bit of time to get used to the reader's Aussie accent.  Excellent story, mostly dark and sad.  This is Aaron Falk's story - the story of his childhood, his friendships, his past.  That he also becomes the chief investigator, the mystery-solver is a nice plus.  I look forward to reading the next in the series because we've gotten to know Aaron Falk so well, where does his life go from here?

Goodreads synopsis:  A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.    
          In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain.          
          Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier. 
          But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds in bleed into new ones.

94. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

read on my iPhone
2018 Berkley
336 pgs.
Adult CRF - Romance
Finished 10/23/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.02 - 26,123 ratings
My rating: 5

First line/s:  "I know you hate surprises, Stella."

My comments:  Read this in one big swallow.  A young woman with Asbergers hires an escort because she knows she is so afraid of sex that she is frigid.  A delightful story, really well written, lots of sex - quite explicit, actually -with two very likable protagonists, Stella and Michael.  You know - you absolutely KNOW - that everything is going to turn out like a fairy tale, which makes it even more fun to read. Got to give this one a five for pure enjoyment!

Goodreads synopsis:  A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.
          Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases — a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
          It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice — with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan — from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...
          Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

93. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

read by Julia Whelan
Listened through OverDrive - borrowed from Tucson Library
2018 Random House
334 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 10/17/18
Goodreads rating:  4.47 - 102,590 ratings
My rating:  4.5
Setting:  contemporary rural Idaho

First line/s:  "I'm standing on the red railway car that stands abandoned next to the barn."

My comments:  Well.  This was quite the memoir.  Totally believable, unlike some of the reviews I read.  Extreme religion, Mormonism, survivalism, bullying, huge families, brainwashing, abuse both physical and mental, conspiracy theories, and all sorts of atrocities that are the "will of god" ..... taking place in Idaho, in the same environs as Ruby Ridge.  Tara Westover escapes, but suffers, trying to rebuild and relearn a life that has harmed her greatly.  Powerful.  Memories relived vividly with the help of journals and journaling.  Read beautifully, a really good story to listen to.

Goodreads synopsis:  An unforgettable memoir in the tradition of The Glass Castleabout a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University
          Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her "head-for-the-hills bag". In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father's junkyard.
          Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.
          Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
          Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.

92. Perfekt Order by S T. Bende

#1 The Aere Saga
read on my iPhone
self-published 2015
YA Fantasy
Finished 9/10/2018
Goodreads rating: 3.98 - 1395 ratings
My rating:  1
Setting: Contemporary Arcata, CA (Redwoods country, California)

First line/s:  " ' Cheese and Crackers.' Needles shot up my pointer finger."

My comments:   Probably one of the most ridiculous books I've ever read.  Period.

Goodreads synopsis:  All's fair when you're in love with War.
          For seventeen-year-old Mia Ahlström, a world ruled by order is the only world she allows. A lifetime of chore charts, to-do lists and study schedules have helped earn her a spot at Redwood State University’s engineering program. And while her five year plan includes finding her very own happily-evah-aftah, years at an all-girls boarding school left her feeling woefully unprepared for keg parties and co-ed extracurricular activities.
          So nothing surprises her more than catching the eye of Tyr Fredriksen at her first college party. The imposing Swede is arrogantly charming, stubbornly overprotective, and runs hot-and-cold in ways that defy reason . . . until Mia learns that she’s fallen for the Norse God of War; an immortal battle deity hiding on Midgard (Earth) to protect a valuable Asgardian treasure from a feral enemy. With a price on his head, Tyr brings more than a little excitement to Mia’s rigidly controlled life. Choosing Tyr may be the biggest distraction—or the greatest adventure—she’s ever had.