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Dopamine Blunder by Lori Cayer

November 1, 2016 by

Source: Tightrope Books
Paperback, 100 pgs.
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Dopamine Blunder by Lori Cayer explores our emotional responses, particularly what it means to be happy and how we account for happiness. This is Cayer’s third collection of poetry, and while I haven’t read others, it is clear that Cayer views the world in complex and unusual ways.  She looks at emotions with a practical and razor-sharp precision.

In “Acts of Confiscation,” the narrator commits new crimes to fill the emotional gaps left when the high from the previous ones wears off.  “I commit new crimes      to push/down the line     the unbearable ones/” she says, noting “I’m going in the red     direction/commit acts the size of ( )    always/some hole with fallen edges/a same-shaped desire waiting to fill it/” (pg. 23)  Cayer uses each poem to illustrate a different kind of happiness, and if readers look closely, they will see the happiness tied to mental illness or instability in some cases.  For instance, “Travelling without Moving” seems to illustrate an obsessive-compulsive who always works in a particular way — rearranges things to relax — and does these actions in a way that they are routine and unrecognizable as his/her own actions.  “it relaxes me to sort and rearrange, I’m pretty sure it was me/in the cupboards and boxes,”  (pg. 28)

Through the lenses of psychology and other sciences, Cayer looks at what it means to emote, to feel, and to strive to recreate those moments of happiness.  And beneath these studies is a certain trepidation about the future and whether the happiness will run out or be lost.  Dopamine Blunder by Lori Cayer is a complex collection that requires rumination and exploration beyond the page into the self and the world around us.

RATING: Tercet

About the Poet:

Lori Cayer is the author of two volumes of poetry: Stealing Mercury and Attenuations of Force. She serves as co-editor of English poetry for CV2 and is co-founder of the Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry/Prix Lansdowne de poésie. Lori works by day as an editorial assistant for a scientific research journal.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2016, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Stuck on Fun! Play with Patterns, Sticker Tape, and More! by Jannie Ho

October 28, 2016 by

Source: QuartoKnows
Hardcover, 36 pgs.
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Stuck on Fun! Play with Patterns, Sticker Tape, and More! by Jannie Ho has stickers, pop-out characters to dress up, and patterned paper and stencils to create clothes and accessories. The paper patterns are mostly flowers and other embellishments, though there are a couple that are geometric or have animals. The stickers you can use to make belts and other accessories are a wider variety. The book also contains several scenes that kids can use to create their own stories, such as going to shopping or going on a trip to outer space.

Here’s some of the fun creations we made (she made them; I was just the assistant):

The book tells you what materials are available inside and what additional materials you’ll need, such as scissors and glue. You can also add your own pom poms and glitter if you have those on hand. There are other project ideas inside as well. This book could offer kids hours of fun, especially if they like to create their own characters. We really liked that there were a variety of characters, including an alien. One draw back for us was that you couldn’t remove the stencils from the book, unless you cut the cardboard to take them out. It makes it hard to trace the clothing patterns inside the book because of how many stencils are inside.

Stuck on Fun! Play with Patterns, Sticker Tape, and More! by Jannie Ho is a great book to use on a rainy or wintry day with kids. Have a blast; get creative.

RATING: Quatrain

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2016, Reference, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Giveaway: The Courtship of Edward Gardiner by Nicole Clarkston

October 27, 2016 by

Source: the author
ebook, 219 pgs.
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The Courtship of Edward Gardiner by Nicole Clarkston is a prequel to Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and it features two of its most beloved characters, the Gardiners.  Edward Gardiner has had his heart broken and when Thomas Bennet calls for his aide, he’s happy to oblige if it gets him out of London and away from his dashed hopes.  He’s a businessman on the rise, and while his sisters may be less than tactful, he’s a perfect gentleman.  I’ve always loves the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and her aunt, and Clarkston gives us more insight into how that bond may have formed.

Mr. Gardiner soon finds out how different Lizzy and Jane are, as young Lizzy (age seven) is boisterous and curious and very eager to engage with everyone she meets, even if they are aloof and rude.  In the  town of Lambton, Madeline Fairbanks helps her ailing father and her devotion to him demonstrate her loyalty and love for family, and even when she’s roped into caring for a sick Jane Bennet.  Clarkson really does well creating believable minor characters with their own concerns and trials, including Mrs. Porter and her husband, Mr. Lawrence, and others.  And Thomas Bennet’s sarcastic wit is ever present and enjoyable.

“While the lady was still within earshot, Thomas Bennet sang out, ‘I applaud your ladyship’s caution.  One never knows when vagabonds will take on the guise of eight-year-old girls!'”

Readers will enjoy the courtship of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner in the midst of the chaos, as Clarkson teases out the best qualities of both Jane and Lizzy Bennet and entwines them with Madeline Fairbanks’ wiser and forthright personality.  To image a younger Lizzy and see her interact with a young man who is trying his level best to impress his father, care for his very young sister, deal with the death of his mother, and wrap his teenage mind around his duty is fascinating to watch.

There is a lot of teasing in these pages, blushes, smiles, laughter, and awkward moments that make young love so innocent and appealing.  The Courtship of Edward Gardiner by Nicole Clarkston is simply lovely and she’s an author I look forward to reading more from.

RATING: Cinquain

International GIVEAWAY:

Nicole Clarkston would like to offer one copy of The Courtship of Edward Gardiner on each stop of the blog tour. The format is readers’ choice (eBook or paperback) and is international.

Leave a comment on this post about your favorite Jane Austen minor characters. And if you share on Facebook or elsewhere, leave a link for more entries.

Deadline: Nov. 4, 2016, 11:59 PM EST

nicole-clarkstonAbout the Author:

Nicole Clarkston is the pen name of a very bashful writer who will not allow any of her family or friends to read what she writes. She grew up in Idaho on horseback, and if she could have figured out how to read a book at the same time, she would have. She initially pursued a degree in foreign languages and education, and then lost patience with it, switched her major, and changed schools.  She now resides in Oregon with her husband of 15 years, 3 homeschooled kids, and a very worthless degree in Poultry Science (don’t ask).

Nicole discovered Jane Austen rather by guilt in her early thirties- how does any book worm really live that long without a little P&P? She has never looked back. A year or so later, during a major house renovation project (undertaken when her husband unsuspectingly left town for a few days) she discovered Elizabeth Gaskell and fell completely in love. Nicole’s books are her pitiful homage to two authors who have so deeply inspired her.  Check out her website and look her up on Facebook.

Follow the rest of the blog tour:

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Filed Under: ARC, challenges, fiction, historical fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2016, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson edited by Susan Snively, PhD, illustrated by Christine Davenier

October 21, 2016 by

Source: QuartoKnows
Hardcover, 48 pgs.
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Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson edited by Susan Snively, PhD, and illustrated by Christine Davenier is ideally for ages 8-13, and the illustrations are gorgeous and can be appreciated by readers of any age. Davenier uses a watercolor technique to illustrate the 35 poems in this volume, which Snively curated. Some, if not all, of the poems included have been modified from the original poem. In some cases, the em dash is removed and replaced with other punctuation, and in other cases, words that she capitalized are not in these versions. Dickinson readers will notice these changes very easily, and if these changes bother you in a kids book, this is not the volume for you.

I loved how the poems were presented here, and although this is a little old for my daughter, she listened as I read. The terms she would not be familiar with are defined on the pages where the poems appear. She may not have understood everything I read, but the lines and words Dickinson used — especially as nature is front in center — are things that even younger kids can relate to. She really loved the colorful pictures. They’re wonderful.

Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson edited by Susan Snively, PhD, and illustrated by Christine Davenier breaks down the poems by season and in the back, there is a list of what Emily Dickinson might have been thinking at the time the poem was written. For the age group this book is curated for, it is well presented and could be a stepping stone for deeper discussion of Dickinson, her unconventional life and writing, and what she was “thinking” as she wrote.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Poet:

Emily Dickinson was an American poet who, despite the fact that less than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime, is widely considered one of the most original and influential poets of the 19th century.

About the Editor:

Susan Snively grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and now lives in New England where she is a guide, discussion leader, and film script writer for the Emily Dickinson Museum. She was the founder and first director of the Writing Center at Amherst College, where she worked from 1981 until 2008. She taught courses in writing and autobiographies of women, and has published four collections of poems: From This Distance (1981), Voices in the House (1988), The Undertow (1998), and Skeptic Traveler (2005). View her complete bibliography. Susan Snively has received numerous Prizes and Awards for her writing, and continues to lecture and give readings.

About the Illustrator:

Christine Davenier is an author and illustrator of children’s books. She has illustrated a large number of books, the authors of which include Jack Prelutsky, Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, Madeleine L’Engle and Juanita Havill, and has received critical acclaim.

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2016, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

October 19, 2016 by

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 463 pgs.
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Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, which was our banned book selection for book club, was a re-read for me. The book was initially banned in Ohio because the language was considered indecent and considered objectionable. While there is objectionable language and graphic sexual situations, this is a book about the absurdity of war and it is a satire about World War II.

Catch-22: a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.

Yossarian is a bombardier who is an excellent shot, who achieves a second pass and earns a medal, but Colonel Cathcart has plans and continues to raise the number of missions his crew must fly. This bombardier and the colonel are in a silent battle, as Yossarian seeks out any number of reasons to get admitted to the hospital, or be declared insane, anything that will get him out of flying more dangerous missions. He’s almost like a clown bumbling around to disguise his strategy for escape.

“Colonel Cathcart cracked his knuckles violently. Colonel Korn, a stocky, dark, flaccid man with a shapeless paunch, sat completely relaxed on one of the benches in the front row, his hands clasped comfortably over the top of his bald and swarthy head. His eyes were amused behind his glinting rimless spectacles.” (pg. 148)

The shifting nature of this book mirrors the chaos of war on a smaller scale, leaving the reader in a whirlwind of activity and nonsense. Despite the horrors of war and the deaths around them, there’s a levity to these characters and their interactions. Frustration with superiors and bureaucracy is typical of many war novels, but Heller carefully demonstrates the back-stabbing, the all-for-myself moves of men in power, and the utter disbelief of soldiers at the very bottom of the power structure when the rug is pulled from beneath them. As in war, readers are unlikely to form strong attachments for the characters interacting in Heller’s novel — despite the incident with Snowden — making the war seem even more distant even more ridiculous.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a fun ride that never disappoints. From Yossarian’s struggles within the system to Milo’s triumph outside the hierarchy of military power, Heller has created a novel that speaks to the overall chaos and disharmony of war, the futile attempts to make life for soldiers seem normal by the military through order and discipline, and the machinations of those with their own agendas and how they can place everyone in jeopardy.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Joseph Heller was born in Brooklyn in 1923. In 1961, he published Catch-22, which became a bestseller and, in 1970, a film. He went on to write such novels as Good as Gold, God Knows, Picture This, Closing Time (the sequel to Catch-22), and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man. Heller died in December 1999.

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Filed Under: 2016 World at War Reading Challenge, audiobooks, borrowed copy, challenges, fiction, historical fiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2016, reviews, Simon & Schuster Tagged With: , , ,

Hermit Thrush by Amy Minato

October 18, 2016 by

Source: Inkwater Press
Paperback, 92 pgs.
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Hermit Thrush by Amy Minato reconnects us to the lives of animals and the movement of nature around us. Her poetry is infused with a raw passion and a deep sensuousness. From “Textural”, “Of course a moose/relishes the ooze of mud/in the tender center/of her hoof.//” and “Maybe to a snake/the slide of slick grass/over smooth scales feels/like a careful kiss.//” demonstrates the silky lines of Minato as she sets the poem’s foundation. The images are tactile and easy to imagine, and when reader’s reach the end of the poem, they become as breathless as the narrator waiting for the touch of a lover on their arm.

One of the most erotic poems, “Estuary,” caresses the reader with its language, teasing out the desire for connection from the reader as Minato’s lines weave an image of a new spring sprouting and curling with life, reaching for the mouth of the river in a kiss. It’s beautiful, simply beautiful. Even as love and connection can be lovely and desired, it also can be transient, being snuffed out in a “rain of fire” like those of the “Persieds”.

Even as love and passion turn to sadness and despair, Minato shows us the beauty of loss. From “Lament,” “while salmon lay eggs/on gravel beds in the slow/currents along the shore/and then turn over/onto the glass plate/of water to die.//” Life continues even after we have loved and lost and left generations behind us. It is that moment in which we create that our beauty is revealed to the outside world. Minato has raised the curtain on the seductive fern and the determined spirit of the creative spider, as well as many others in this collection.

There are six sections named after various birds — Sandhill Crane, Mourning Dove, Winter Wren, Scarlet Tanager, Great Horned Owl, and Cedar Waxwing — in Hermit Thrush by Amy Minato. Grab your binoculars and let Minato show you the truth inherent in nature — its beauty, its vices, its creativity, and its exquisite deaths. Each moment is to be savored and to be held in homage.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Poet:

Amy Klauke Minato is author of a poetry collection, The Wider Lens, published in 2004 by Ice River Press and a creative nonfiction book, Siesta Lane, published in January 2009 by Skyhorse Press. She holds both an MFA in Creative Writing and an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon. Her poetry has been recognized with a 2003 Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship and her prose with a Walden Fellowship. Minato’s writing has been published in Wilderness Magazine, Poetry East, Windfall, Cottonwood, Cimarron Review and Oregonian Poetry Corner, among others, and in several anthologies including From Here We Speak: An Anthology of Oregon Poetry and Deer Drink the Moon: Poems of Oregon.

Amy teaches writing in schools through Literary Arts and Community of Writers, and in writing workshops throughout the Pacific Northwest. Amy reviews children’s picture books and young adult novels for Publishers Weekly. She also acts as a private writing coach and tutor. She hails from Chicago, although she and her husband, Joe, and her children Mateo (age 14) and Ruby (age 10) currently split their time between Portland, Oregon and the Wallowa mountains of eastern Oregon.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2016, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

October 13, 2016 by

Source: Purchased
Audiobook, 8+ hrs
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Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, narrated by Georgia Maguire, is about appearances, told in snatches between the past and present. Jack and Grace have the outwardly perfect marriage, even after a hasty courtship. Jack Angel is the perfect gentlemen, who moves easily within society and displays outward kindness toward even the disabled. Grace is an independent woman whose parents never wanted children, and after having two, they are ready to move to New Zealand and leave them behind. Even as Grace has had relationships in the past, she’s always put her sister, Millie, first because she knows that she will have to care for her in the absence of their parents.

Paris has created a fantastic, psychological thriller in which the reader is as terrified as the protagonist. Even before the conversation between Jack and Grace after their marriage, readers are fully aware that something in their relationship is not right. Jack hovers too much, he answers uncomfortable questions just a little too quickly, and he creates believable, yet oddball solutions to problems.

He is calculating and cold, and Grace is terrified with a perfect veneer of sereneness. She evolves from panicked to resigned and patient. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris, narrated by Georgia Maguire, is narrated superbly and terrifyingly. Readers are likely to be hooked from the first page into the spiraling disaster of this “perfect” marriage. This one will keep you up at night.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

B. A. Paris grew up in England but has spent most of her adult life in France. She has worked both in finance and as a teacher and has five daughters. Behind Closed Doors is her first novel.

Filed Under: audiobooks, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2016, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Dodgers by Bill Beverly

October 12, 2016 by

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Hardcover, 304 pgs.
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Dodgers by Bill Beverly is not a feel-good coming-of-age story. East is 16 and has been standing watch outside drug houses in Los Angeles’ The Boxes neighborhood for two years. When the heat turns up, he finds himself adrift. But Fin, the big man, asks him to step in and do something he’s never trained for or even thought about — kill a key witness who’s hiding in Wisconsin. East is just one of four set out on the road in a minivan to get the job done and with little contact to the players-that-be at home. These boys will have to make grown-up decisions and decisions that they will have to live with forever.

“He had been at the old house before them, and he had seen things they had never seen. He had seen a reverend shot on the walk, a woman jump off a roof. He had seen a helicopter crash into trees and a man, out of his mind, pick up a downed power cable and stand, illuminated. He had seen the police come down, and still the house continued on.” (pg. 5 ARC)

“East looked up and tried to swallow the bad taste in his mouth. Above them, a big plastic dinosaur spun on a wire. Cars rushed by out on the highway, and East had to keep himself from staring down each one. Things moving. At first, the ride had felt like getting out, like being set free. Into nothing. But since Vegas, this felt like being stuck back in it. Like every headlight that rolled past was pointed at him.” (pg. 67 ARC)

East has been the big brother to half-brother Ty, but Ty has left home and disappeared into the network until this trip north. They don’t communicate at all, and when they do it’s strained at best. Their relationship is the backbone of the crew and how it operates. Will these four boys reach their destination in one piece, will they kill each other, and will the mission be accomplished? Beverly has created a tension-filled story that journeys across country, and readers are worried that the mission will be accomplished even as they want East to find peace and redeem himself.

Dodgers by Bill Beverly is a harsh look at gang life, but it also is a look at the boys caught up in it. The young men who feel trapped by their lives, who set boundaries for themselves, but then must break them or face harsh consequences. Even when they feel that they are free from it all, it comes back around, like shadows waiting behind the trees ready to snatch them back into the black hole.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Bill Beverly grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and studied at Oberlin College and the University of Florida. His research on criminal fugitives and the stories surrounding them became the book On the Lam: Narratives of Flight in J. Edgar Hoover’s America. He teaches American literature and writing at Trinity University in Washington, D.C.

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, random house, Read in 2016, reviews Tagged With: , ,

I am NOT a Princess! by Bethany Burt, illustrated by Brenda McCallum

October 7, 2016 by

Source: Schiffer Publishing
Hardcover,
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I am NOT a Princess! by Bethany Burt, illustrated by Brenda McCallum, follows Eliza, a little girl who gets the idea that she wants to be a princess. She has everything she needs from the frilly pink dress and glass slippers to the beaded purse and gloves. From what she knows of princesses, Eliza turns down bike riding with her friend and going to the store with her mother because princesses have carriages and servants. After spending much of her day alone twirling and turning down other fun things to do, Eliza begins to realize that being a princess is boring.

While I liked the idea of this book and Eliza does realize that her perception of being a princess leaves her with little to do, she doesn’t come to the realization that princesses are more than frilly dresses and looking pretty. The author could have taken a moment for the mother to point out some other real-life princesses who did more than just look nice and order people around (i.e. Princess Diana).

I am NOT a Princess! by Bethany Burt, illustrated by Brenda McCallum, includes some great illustrations of Eliza and her escapades, but I wanted a bigger message here. Rather than Eliza realizing she likes to ride bikes and play ball with her brother and bake cakes and make messes, I wanted her to see that being a princess could be much bigger than the stereotype.

RATING: Tercet

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2016, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Mr. Darcy to the Rescue by Victoria Kincaid

October 6, 2016 by

Source: giveaway win
Paperback, 200 pgs.
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Mr. Darcy to the Rescue by Victoria Kincaid is set after Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley leave Netherfield never to return and Mr. Bennet reveals to his favorite daughter, Elizabeth Bennet, that his doctor believes his heart is weaker than first thought and that he could die soon. With this knowledge, Lizzy must decide whether she can accept her lot and accept the proposal from Mr. Collins, even as he is utterly ridiculous and clearly is not in love with her. What choice does she have with the estate entailed away and her sister, Jane, still heartbroken over Bingley’s leaving? She accepts and tries to put aside all thoughts of her upcoming nuptials.

Although Mr. Darcy does act out of character in this novel, given the situation and his realization that Lizzy is the only woman for him, it makes perfect sense for him to find a way to covertly separate her from Mr. Collins. He abhors deceit, but he must do what he can to free her from the shackles of the parsonage and her irritating betrothed. Even though his aim is to improve himself in her fine eyes and win her hand, he is willing to let her go if only to see her away from Collins who cannot make her happy.

“‘I have heard that your estate at Pemberley is very grand. How many windows do you have at the front?'” (pg. 35)

Elizabeth might have encountered more awkward situations in her life before, but she would have been hard-pressed to think of one at the moment. Attempting to put some space between them, she took several steps backward until she bumped against the door. Undeterred, Mr. Collins shuffled forward on his knees until he was again crouched right at her feet.” (pg. 169)

Kincaid has taken the abrasive character of Lady Catherine and used her very well in this story, and Darcy is clearly a strategist, even if he prefers to do most things above board. When his plan backfires, he is perfectly contrite as he should be, and it is clear that his love of Lizzy has changed his views. He thinks beyond his own desires and determines how best to amend the wrongs he has wrought.

Mr. Darcy to the Rescue by Victoria Kincaid is a glimpse at what a more impulsive and head-over-heels in love Mr. Darcy would look like. He’s still awkward and he still bumbles about in his conversation with Elizabeth, unless they are matching wits, but he clearly values her and she is hard pressed to ignore his desire for her good opinion. Kincaid’s book is delightful and will have readers cheering Darcy on in his endeavors to win Lizzy’s hand.

***The action and tension in this one kept me reading into the wee hours, and I finished it in one day!***

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

The author of numerous best-selling Pride and Prejudice variations, historical romance writer Victoria Kincaid has a Ph.D. in English literature and runs a small business, er, household with two children, a hyperactive dog, an overly affectionate cat, and a husband who is not threatened by Mr. Darcy. They live near Washington DC, where the inhabitants occasionally stop talking about politics long enough to complain about the traffic.

On weekdays she is a freelance writer/editor who specializes in IT marketing (it’s more interesting than it sounds) and teaches business writing. A lifelong Austen fan, Victoria has read more Jane Austen variations and sequels than she can count – and confesses to an extreme partiality for the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. Visit her website. View her blog, visit her on Facebook, GoodReads, and on Amazon.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, giveaway win, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2016, reviews Tagged With: ,

Good Taste: Simple, Delicious Recipes for Family and Friends by Jane Green

October 4, 2016 by

Source: Berkley
Hardcover, 192 pgs.
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Good Taste: Simple, Delicious Recipes for Family and Friends by Jane Green is more than just a cookbook, it’s family dinner or a gathering of friends in which Green shares not only where her recipes come from, but some of the stories behind them or that churn up in her memory. The narrative accompanying each recipe is like sitting across the table from Green. Readers will picture her dinner parties and family gatherings happening in much the same way — Green mixing ingredients across the kitchen island while her guests munch, chat, and help out. These are the family and friend gatherings that are the most fun because everyone is not only enjoying the food but the company of one another.

“I realized quickly that for me, having people over is less about the food, and more about comfort, warmth, nurture. It is about creating the kind of welcoming environment that instantly makes people feel relaxed and cared for, that truly brings meaning to the concept of food being love.” (pg. ix)

I particularly loved her early advice about putting out nuts and cheese and fruit, rather than hors d’oeuvres that can make people full before the meal is even served. Many of my own family gatherings were this way, and we were all very hungry when the meal was served. And who doesn’t like the smell of fresh baked bread — Potato, Gorgonzola, and Sage Bread is one recipe I’ll be trying when I have more time.

What I did make from the cookbook was dessert — you knew it had to be dessert, didn’t you? Warm chocolate and Banana Cake, a recipe that was her mother’s special dessert, and like her mother, my grandmother kept many of her recipes in her head and what was written down is in some kind of code that needs a key to unlock. Despite these encryption techniques, Green has recreated a delicious and moist dessert that people will want seconds and thirds of! I know I did, even though our Confectioners’ sugar has somehow vanished!

Good Taste: Simple, Delicious Recipes for Family and Friends by Jane Green is a wonderful cookbook and my family enjoyed the chocolate cake. My daughter gobbled it up every chance she got, which is unusual as she generally doesn’t prefer sweets. For this cake, she made an exception.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Jane Green is the author of seventeen novels, including sixteen New York Times bestsellers. She has over ten million books in print, and is published in over 25 languages. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, random house, Read in 2016, Reference, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Mabel and the Queen of Dreams by Henry, Joshua, & Harrison Herz, illustrated by Lisa Woods

September 30, 2016 by

Source: Schiffer Publishing
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
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Mabel and the Queen of Dreams by Henry, Joshua, and Harrison Herz, illustrated by Lisa Woods, is an adorable picture book that will help parents get their little ones to sleep. Parents know that children try their hardest to stay up the minute they are told it is time for bed. It’s as if they fear they are missing out on the fun, when in reality, their parents are merely sitting like zombies in front of the television.

In this book, Mabel is introduced as an expert on not going to sleep — something most children are at her age. As Mabel thinks up one more excuse — tell me a story — the mother replies that she cannot because the “Queen” will not visit until she’s closed her eyes. Her mother only begins the story about the fairy queen when Mabel has lied down and closed her eyes. Mabel begins to drift away with the sound of her mother’s voice, and by the end of the book, your children may be asleep as well — so long as they follow Mabel’s example.

The illustrations in Mabel and the Queen of Dreams are simple pencil drawings that are lightly colored, providing them a dreamlike quality. Mabel and the Queen of Dreams by Henry, Joshua, and Harrison Herz, illustrated by Lisa Woods, is a wonderful bedtime story to add to any collection.

Our daughter really liked this one and we’ve probably read it a few times since it arrived.

RATING: Quatrain

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2016, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,