Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . .

Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree"—people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with her crow friend Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this "wishtree" watches over the neighborhood.

You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experiences as a wishtree are more important than ever.

Paperback, 224 pages

Published September 26, 2017

by Feiwel & Friends

5/5 stars

Katherine Applegate is one of my favourite middle-grade authors and here is with another example of why I love her books.

Wishtree is unique in that it's from the pov of an oak tree. As Red tells his story he does it in such a way that I was spellbound.  I read it over 2 days without rushing.  I enjoyed listened to Red talk about all the changes that have taken place around the edge of the forest.  There was the friendships, people in the neighborhood  and those that come once a year to tie wishes on the branches.

Red has 216 rings, lots of changes in the world were witnessed. This was such a wonderful heartwarming story about friendship, nature and family.

I recommended not just for middle graders but all readers.

This book was part of 2024 reading off shelf challenge

Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer

Mia knows her family is very different than her best friend's. 

In the 1980s, the coastal fishing town of Prince Rupert is booming. There is plenty of sockeye salmon in the nearby ocean, which means the fishermen are happy and there is plenty of work at the cannery. 

Eleven-year-old Mia and her best friend, Lara, have known each other since kindergarten. Like most tweens, they like to hang out and compare notes on their crushes and dream about their futures. But even though they both live in the same cul-de-sac, Mia’s life is very different from her non-Indigenous, middle-class neighbor. 

Lara lives with her mom, her dad and her little brother in a big house, with two cars in the drive and a view of the ocean. Mia lives in a shabby wartime house that is full of relatives―her churchgoing grandmother, binge-drinking mother and a rotating number of aunts, uncles and cousins. 

Even though their differences never seemed to matter to the two friends, Mia begins to notice how adults treat her differently, just because she is Indigenous. Teachers, shopkeepers, even Lara’s parents―they all seem to have decided who Mia is without getting to know her first.

Paperback, 192 pages

Published November 1, 2023

 by Orca Book Publishers

5/5 stars

I had the opportunity to listen to Kim Spencer do a keynote address at a conference I attended recently. Growing up in Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia herself is where this book takes place. My general feel is that a lot of this is her own experiences that she wrote about.

Weird Rules to Follow is the story of 11 year-old Mia in the 1980's.  Along with her best friend Lara, it's a story not just about her friendship with a white girl or about not being brought up in a middle class home.  But rather it's a story of Mia's life and the things that shape her as she grows up.

I really enjoyed this book. Told from Mia’s pov helped to build empathy for her and the struggles she has with who she is, her family, and friendships. One could almost say this is a series of short stories through her teens, but it packs a punch in how it reflects the times and location. It was well written and an author I will be reading more of.

This book was part of my 2024 reading off my shelf challenge

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Twelve-year-old Carley Connors can take a lot. Growing up in Las Vegas with her fun-loving mother, she's learned to be tough. But she never expected a betrayal that would land her in a foster care. When she's placed with the Murphys, a lively family with three boys, she's blindsided. Do happy families really exist? Carley knows she could never belong in their world, so she keeps her distance.

It's easy to stay suspicious of Daniel, the brother who is almost her age and is resentful she's there. But Mrs. Murphy makes her feel heard and seen for the first time, and the two younger boys seem determined to work their way into her heart. Before she knows it, Carley is protecting the boys from a neighborhood bully and even teaching Daniel how to play basketball. Then just when she's feeling like she could truly be one of the Murphys, news from her mother shakes her world.

Paperback, 224 pages

Published January 1, 2012

 by Puffin

5/5 stars

Published back in 2012 I can easily see how this was the recipient of many awards.  It is a gripping story of a 12-year-old who enters a foster home.

After being hospitalized, along with her mother Carly is sent to a foster home that consist of three boys, mom and dad. This was such a realistic, heartfelt story as Carly adjusted to the new situation and sees that  happy families actually do exist. They get off to a rocky start as her emotions are all over the place, it's not just a big adjustment for Carly but the family as well.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s not long, 224 pages, but packs a punch that is authentic and well written.  I connected with the characters, rooted for all of them. The storyline was emotional, funny at times with some good banter. A touching story that highlights how a gentle soul can change much.

This book was part of my 2024 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia

This program features multicast narration.

THE BUSINESS TRIP is the gripping, binge-worthy debut from author Jessie Garcia.

Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic.

And then the two women vanish. The texts go silent, the red flags go up, and the panic sets in. When Stephanie and Jasmine are each declared missing and in danger, it begs the questions: Who is Trent McCarthy? What did he do to these women—or what did they do to him?

Twist upon twist, layer upon layer, where nothing is as it seems, The Business Trip takes you on a descent into the depths of a mastermind manipulator. But who is playing who?

Audiobook, 9 hours, 7 minutes

Expected publication January 14, 2025

 by Macmillan Audio

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Expected publication January 15, 2025

by St. Martin's Press

3/5 stars

This is a tough book for me to review.

I was totally enraptured with the first 45% of The Business Trip, I was given an advanced audiobook,  it made a 3 hour drive very pleasant. There were many points of view in that time with each chapter heading making me aware of who was telling their side of the story. It worked even if they were fair number of them but it's always great to see a story from different angles.

Right away I liked Jasmine, I felt for her and cheered her on as she escaped an abusive relationship. For Stephanie, she is in the opposite situation in that she is single but questioning things going on in her life. When these two women vanish the red herrings start popping up.  It was intriguing trying to figure out what was going on, the shorter chapters worked well.

Then I started to question things as the twists started happening, overtime I had to suspend my belief a fair number of times. The ending was out there and I’m not sure what to make of it. It was unexpected that’s for sure.

All in all I was genuinely curious as to what was going on but the execution in the last half just felt off

You can find The Business Trip on shelves early 2025.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for advanced copies in exchange for a honest review.

Hold Strong by Robert Dugoni, Jeff Langholz & Chris Crabtree

From Robert Dugoni, Jeff Langholz, and Chris Crabtree comes an epic and inspiring novel—based on true events—about love, heroism, and resilience during the darkest chapters of World War II.

Sam Carlson is a projectionist in small-town Minnesota, where fantasies unspool in glorious black and white—for him and for his sweetheart, college-bound math whiz Sarah Haber. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Sam is sent to the Philippines and captured as a POW. Brutalized but unbroken by the Bataan Death March and POW camps, Sam is one of 1,800 starved and weakened prisoners herded into the cargo hold of a barbaric hell ship called the Arisan Maru, his survival doubtful.

Determined to use her math skills on the home front, Sarah is recruited to Washington, DC, into the covert field of code breaking. When Sarah intercepts a message about a Japanese convoy, the US Navy’s mission is sink the Arisan Maru and send it to the bottom of the South China Sea. Now, the lives of the two young lovers are about to inadvertently collide in one of the most shocking acts of World War II.

Anchored in an extraordinary true story and breathlessly recreated, Hold Strong is a one-of-a-kind novel that explores faith, courage, survival, and coming home against insurmountable odds.

Kindle Edition, 543 pages

Expected publication January 28, 2025

 by Lake Union Publishing

4.5/5 stars

Coming out in January Robert Dugoni has a new book that is also written by Jeff Langholz and Chris Crabtree, authors I am unfamiliar with. A departure from his usual courtroom drama books that I have read in the past Hold Strong takes place before, during and after the war.

Beginning in a small town in Minnesota, high school sweethearts, Sam and Sarah's lives changes when Sam enlists and Sarah goes off to college. What follows is a gritty story, especially for Sam as a Japanese POW.   I already knew that that is almost a death sentence and for some that survived wish that it had been. It is vivid, descriptive and heartbreaking, to the point that I put the book down for a few days.

For Sarah back home she is getting involved in the war effort herself.

This was a well written story that was rich in history to the point that the author notes were very descriptive in telling where they got their information to make this a story as authentic as possible. Hold Strong is a story of perseverance, survival and heartache.  I loved the conclusion, it just felt authentic.

Hold Strong is still a story I think about a month have finishing, it emotional and gripping.  You can find it on shelves the end of January.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review.

Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank by Elle Cosimano

From New York Times bestselling author Elle Cosimano, comes Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank—a hilarious short story diving into Finlay Donovan's partner-in-crime Vero's past.

Anyone can spot a window of opportunity, but not everyone can manage to fall straight through one.

Veronica Ruiz is on the run for the first time in her life—though certainly not the last. After being falsely accused of stealing money from her college sorority, she packs up and heads to her cousin Ramón's apartment, planning to change her name and rebuild start over away from backstabbing girls and university drama (and far, far away from her arrest warrant in Maryland).

At the local bank on the first morning of her new life, it occurs to Vero that she'd be a better bank teller than most of the current employees: she may not have much money, but what little she does have, she knows how to manage. Unfortunately, the only available position is a cleaning job and so, desperate for a fresh start, she takes the bank manager’s offer.

But nothing in Vero's world has ever been simple, so of course shortly after she begins work, she overhears a conversation between her new boss and a security guard: someone who works there has been stealing. Seeing a window of opportunity, Vero sets out to find the identity of the thief, present the evidence, and then push for the perfect job. All of which would be easier if her irresistibly infuriating childhood crush Javi wasn’t living in the same damn town.

Offering the insight that listeners have been craving into fan-favorite Vero's past and a closer look at the moment Finlay and Vero first meet, Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank is a can't-miss addition to the Finlay Donovan series.

Audiobook, 2 hours, 27 minutes

Published November 7, 2023

 by Macmillan Audio

3.5/5 stars

This is book 3.5 in the Finlay Donovan series. a novella/short story coming in just over 125 pages or 2 hours 27 minutes audio, which is the route I went.

My only disappointment with this book started with a different reader than the rest of the series. Maybe I was just used to her voice and can't handle the change, but suffice to say the other is spot on for Vero's voice.

The previous three books in the series hint at something that happened in Vero‘s past and here we finally get the story of what took place. It was a short listen/read, but gave insight into more of her character and what she is running from. It also offers more insight into how Finlay and Vero first meet.  Not required reading for this series but a fun break.

I obtained the audiobook via CloudLibrary

Back to Bainbridge by Norah Lally

Welcome to Bainbridge Avenue, where fourteen-year-old Vicki’s life takes a bumpy turn. She’s got a lot on her plate—sharing a cramped room with her siblings, worrying about her mom who can’t catch a break, and dreaming about a dad who’s nowhere to be found.

But things start to change when Vicki meets Rosa from Apartment 1A, who introduces her to the building’s basement, a hidden world full of forgotten stories and secrets waiting to be uncovered.

As Vicki sets out beyond her neighborhood, searching for her place in the world, she wonders if the imperfect family and friends she has on Bainbridge Avenue might just be the treasures she's been looking for all along. Join her on a journey of hope, heartache, and unexpected discoveries in Back to Bainbridge.

Kindle Edition, 134 pages

Expected publication December 10, 2024

 by Abbey Glen Press

4.5/5 stars

When Vicki’s family is forced to move in with her grandmother it turns into a very crowded apartment. Aside from grandma there is also her brother, sister and mother.

Vicki is 14 years old for, for me this bordered on the line between middle grade and YA, which isn’t a bad thing. This is a story of her family. It's also a story of friendship as Vicki makes friends with Rosa and James, 2 teens would live in the same building. 

I felt this book was well written, it flowed nicely with interesting characters, secrets, as well as dealing with past hurts. There was growth and not just for Vicki.  It's a short book, some might say you need more time for some depth but for me this length worked nicely.

My thanks to BooksGoSocial for a digital arc in exchange for honest review.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins

She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?

Kindle Edition, 320 pages

Expected publication January 14, 2025 

by Atria Books

2.5/5 stars

Ever feel like you have read a completely different book than everyone else?  That's how I felt with Cross My Heart.

I grabbed this book because the story revolved around someone who had a recent heart transplant. Organ transplants is something I am somewhat familiar with, so I was intrigued to see how this would play out.

<sigh> The long and short is that I wasn't a huge fan, so I'll just make a list.

Pros

-It started off good

-Authentic portrayal of an organ transplant recipient. It showcases life with anti-rejection drugs, feeling unwell and the adjustment to the body especially during that first year.  There is more in the cons.

-A couple of twists that I didn't see coming

-I was genuinely curious about the ending.

Cons

-Length of chapters.  They were just too long and discouraged me from reading at times.

-Plot a little farfetched

-Too many cringeworthy scenes

-The Danish pastries! How many Danishes should a heart recipient eat?  None or close to, especially as a meal.

-While I enjoy listening to Taylor Swift, apparently the author is a super fan.

-Couldn't get into the male leads email writing style, unrealistic.

-Unresolved issues

All said and done I was genuinely interested in what happened, so that’s kept me reading.  For that I rounded up to 3 stars.

Thank you to Atria Books for a digital arc in exchange for honest review.

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison

From New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison comes a taut thriller about one author at the pinnacle of her career, whose past threatens to destroy everything she has—and everyone she knows.

A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder.

With a number of hit titles and a highly anticipated movie tie-in, celebrated novelist Columbia Jones is at the top of her game. Fans around the world adore her. But on the final night of her latest book tour, one face in the crowd makes the author collapse. And by the next morning, she’s lying dead in a pool of blood.

Columbia’s death shocks the world and leaves Darian, her daughter and publicist, reeling. The police have nothing to go on—at first. But then details emerge, pointing to the author’s illicit past. Turns out many people had motive to kill Columbia. And with a hungry reporter and frustrated cop on the trail, her secrets won’t stay buried long. But how many lives will they shatter as the truth comes out?

Kindle Edition, 446 pages

Published November 1, 2024

 by Thomas & Mercer

3.5/5 stars

I know there is a lot of controversy these days about prologues. For me I enjoy them, it is a great spot for the author to grab my attention and invest my interest in their story. And I wish that was the case here with A Very Bad Thing, the prologue was just too long and repetitive, which was not a great first impression.

A Very Bad Thing is the story of an author who is found dead at the conclusion of a month-long book tour. I am all things bookish when it comes to reading, so I was looking forward to this, especially after reading some of the rave reviews. This is a hard review for me to write as I have mixed feelings. 

So lets just make a list

Pros - abundance of red herrings that kept me guessing

         - a story within a story

         - short chapters, that go by fast (don't let the 446 page count intimate you)

Cons - the slow pace

         - the number of characters, thankfully the chapters heading told which POV was being told
          - didn't feel some of the deaths were necessary

          - the ending was okay, though a certain aspect is something that I expected.

All in all an ok read that just fell flat for me, it didn't have the suspense unputdownable feel that I love in this genre.  This is my first time reading this author, I will give him another try.

My digital copy was obtained through Amazon First Reads (October).

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano

Author and single mom Finlay Donovan has been in messes before―after all, she's a pro at removing bloodstains for various unexpected reasons―but none quite like this. When Finlay and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they had "borrowed" in the process of saving the life of Finlay's ex-husband, the Russian mob did her a favor and bought the car for her. And now Finlay owes them.

Mob boss Feliks is still running the show from behind bars, and he has a task for Finlay: find and identify a contract killer before the cops do. The problem is, the killer might be an officer themself.

Luckily, hot cop Nick has just been tasked with starting up a citizen's police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay's looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with a tempting detective), Finlay and Vero use their time in police academy to sleuth out the real contract killer to free themselves from the mob's clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero's past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood.

Audiobook, 9 hours, 45 minutes

Published January 31, 2023

 by Macmillan Audio

3/5 stars

The 3rd book in this series was another audio read for me, so far I’ve read the whole series this way and with the accents and personality of the reader it was very nicely done.

So here we are again with Finlay and her nanny/partner in crime Vero where they get themselves caught in another hot mess. Continuing right where book 2 left off the Russian mob is still on Finlay‘s back and Nick the cop gets more time on the pages.  I loved the first book in this series but I find each consecutive one just becomes a bit more outlandish, convoluted, but it still has that fun vibe, even though it does deal with some serious subject matter.  I laughed at some of the antics and rolled my eyes at others.

The setting mostly took place at a Citizens Police Academy, which didn’t totally work, but still an entertaining read. It also paves the way for book 4, Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (review coming soon).

My audiobook copy was obtained through CloudLibrary.