Wow. Paintings from the Cave: Three Novellas isn’t just three novellas. The fourth story is author Gary Paulsen’s, who in the intro talks about his own upbringing in a “bad home” and how he was saved by art and dogs. He also shares about a particular visit he made as an author to some underprivileged…
Category Archives: Audiobooks
Cybils Fiction nominees, Audio-style
There aren’t as many audiobooks available as last year, but I’ve found a few. I’m a fan of the audiobook in general, but especially when I’m trying to squeeze in more reading time, I appreciate the flexibility that audio offers me to “read” while I’m doing laundry or cleaning out closets or shuttling my children…
Dudes with ‘Tudes in Cybils Middle Grade Fiction
As parents, we have to be careful about what our kids are ingesting in the media and even in print. However, most of us want our kids to read, and that involves letting them read what they like. Here are some Cybils Middle Fiction nominees that feature some dudes with attitudes. They don’t like school,…
No Rest for the Dead
When I started to write this post, I originally opened with the line, “I don’t read a lot of mysteries.” But then I went back through my Read shelf in GoodReads, and realized I’ve read more than I’d originally thought. It’s a genre I don’t look to often, but I do enjoy the occasional “whodunit.”…
Take Me There
Take Me There by Susane Colasanti is the quintessential high school drama. Through alternating points of view the reader meets Rhiannan and her best friends James and Nicole. Typical of any teenager, Rhiannan has just experienced her first heartbreak and is struggling to get back on her feet. With a little support from her friends…
All These Things I’ve Done
All These Things I’ve Done epitomizes everything I love about Young Adult literature. It’s told in a first-person introspective POV by 16-year-old Anya Balanchine. She tells the story in real-time, blow by blow, but there are phrases that indicate that she’s looking back, like “If I had known what was to come” etc. It also…
40 Love
40 Love: A Novel is about a group of friends who get together at a country home for an elaborately planned tennis party (It actually is a re-issue of her first novel, originally called The Tennis Party). For some reason this setting made me feel like I was in an Agatha Christie novel (or maybe…
Mothers and Daughters
I was drawn into Mothers and Daughters right away. From the first paragraph of the first chapter, I was touched and impressed by author Rae Meadows’ insight into marriage and motherhood. I love reading a novel that makes me feel like I’m really connecting with the characters (or perhaps it’s the author??). However, because this…
The Fox Inheritance
I read (listened to, actually) The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson more than a year ago. It was not only an interesting story with a creepy premise, but it was an excellent audiobook version, which I think contributed to my enjoyment of it. When I saw that there was a new book…
The Leftovers
Tom Perrotta is known for his suburban satire and his newest novel, The Leftovers, doesn’t disappoint. One warm, sunny day in October, thousands of people disappear in an event known to some as the Rapture, and to the less religious as the Sudden Disappearance. The story revolves around the Garvey family as they deal with…
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Jennifer Donovan
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