Review: The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook

Skye Thorn has given tarot card readings for years, and now her psychic visions are helping the police find the town’s missing golden girl.

It’s no challenge—her readings have always been faked, but this time she has some insider knowledge. The kidnapping was supposed to be easy—no one would get hurt and she’d get the money she needs to start a new life.

But a seemingly harmless prank has turned dark, and Skye realizes the people she’s involved with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it’s too late.

Hardcover, 320 pages 

expected publication: October 3rd 2017 

by HMH Books for Young Readers

****

Happy Release Day to Eileen Cook on the publication of The Hanging Girl. Marketed for young readers, I think it fit the bill nicely. The cover was the first thing I noticed when this popped up on Netgally, and I can't really put into words why - it's eerie and begs to be picked up and read.

'trust no one. deceive everyone.' - matches the story perfectly!

As you can read from the synopsis above the premise for this story is intriguing, with false tarot cards, a kidnapping prank along with Skye's inside info, but then everything starts to go terribly wrong. As I dug deeper realized there are many layers here and secrets of the past always come to light one way or another.

Once I started reading it didn't take long to be sucked right in, especially getting to know Skye, she is honest in her untruthfulness and one can't help feel sympathy towards her (though at times she is hard to even like), she has a hard life and it appears will do anything to change that and get out of this small town.

There were many twists and turns to the story that kept me guessing and just when I thought I figured things out there would be another flip. The ending I didn't see coming and I love it when an author does that.

This is my first book by Eileen Cook and I am anxious to read more.

Thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley for an advanced copy).

Review: How To Write a Novel by Melanie Sumner

In the spirit of Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go Bernadette and Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project, How to Write a Novel is the hilarious and heartfelt story of a single-mother family struggling to get back on track after tragedy brings them back home to Georgia.

Aristotle “Aris” Thibodeau, age 12.5, is writing the Great American Novel. According to Write a Novel in Thirty Days! it shouldn’t be that hard—all she needs to do is write what she knows. Conveniently, Aris’s world is full of people who are more fun to write about than live with, like her single mother, Diane. Diane is an adjunct English professor who flirts with unemployment more than her Match.com dates, and, regrettably, does not know the difference between hair that looks messy and hair that is messy. Aris knows that if Diane would just accept that the perfect man is already under her nose—Penn MacGuffin, handyman, nanny, and self-described PMI (“Positive Male Influence”)—their lives would change for the better. After all, nothing gets a novel off the ground like a budding romance. But when a random accident exposes Aris to a dark part of her family’s history, she’s forced to confront that fact that sometimes in life—as in great literature—things might not work out exactly as you hoped.

Paperback, 304 pages

Published August 4th 2015 by Vintage 

arc - netgalley

*** 

 

Aris is a 12 1/2 years old, who after receiving a copy of the book 'Write a Novel in 30 days"  begins to write the great American novel.  She does this with the hope of striking it rich at which time she can help her family out of financial difficulties. Set over the space of 30 days we learn a lot about the family, how they got to where they are and the tragedy that befell them to get there.

I love the idea of this book, any book about books is always a good thing.  The synopsis above does a good job showing what this book is about, so no need to go over that.  Told from the POV of Aris (short for Aristotle) it is funny, quirky and honest.  Along with Aris is her mother Diane, each struggling with their own issues.  This is a book about dealing with grief, growing up and family.  It's about a long buried secret.

It's a quick read and though YA, How to Write a Novel will also appeal to adults.  Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this.

Review/Giveaway: Alchemy's Daughter by Mary A. Osborne

In medieval San Gimignano, Italy, daughters of merchants are expected to marry. But Santina Pietra cares only for Calandrino, a brilliant young scholar who is preoccupied with his ancient alchemical texts.

Soon Santina meets Trotula, the village midwife, who might or might not be a "strega," a witch. Trotula challenges her to forget Calandrino and become the woman she is meant to be. Some say she is a victim of the midwife’s spell, but Santina is determined to follow in Trotula’s footsteps even as calamities strike.

Paperback, 1st, 288 pages

Published May 15th 2015 by Lake Street Press 

print copy provided as part of tour

*****

The HF genre is lacking for YA, which is a shame.  I really wish there were books like Alchemy's Daughter around when I was a teen, maybe if I started sooner my tbr pile wouldn't be so large.

Though labeled YA this book will appeal to adults as well.  Taking place in Italy it's evident the author not only knows her  time period and subject matter but she has a passion for it as well.

Santina is a strong character, I really liked her.  I liked her courage to stand up for what she believed in.  Her love for Calandrino was played out nicely, they got to know each other, we watched the affection develop between them in a genuine manner.  But she was also vulnerable and scared at times not knowing where to turn and who to trust just added the realistic factor to this book.

The plot was interesting and kept my attention throughout.  I always find herbal medicine fascinating, with the poultice and mixing to create healing, especially in this book as the Black Plague played out.

This was a fast paced book that had me caring (and not caring) about characters and their lives.  The ending was perfect and actually left me a little stunned because I didn't see that coming and I love it when an author does that to me.

Highly recommend to lovers of HF regardless of age. 

Where to buy the book:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository

Mary A. Osborne is the multiple award-winning author of Alchemy's Daughter and Nonna’s Book of Mysteries. A graduate of Rush University and Knox College, where she was mentored in the Creative Writing Program, Ms. Osborne is a registered nurse and holds degrees in chemistry and nursing. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as Hektoen International, Newcity, and the Examiner.com. Ms. Osborne lives in Chicago.

 Connect with Mary: Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter

July 13 - Studentessa Matta - review 
July 13 - Babs Book Bistro - review / author interview / giveaway
July 14 - Working Mommy Journal - review / giveaway
July 14 - Dreams Come True Through Reading - review
July 15 - Confessions of a Reader - review / author interview
July 15 - Il Mio Tesoro - review / author interview
July 16 - ABookGeek - review / giveaway
July 16 - Girl With Camera - review / giveaway
July 17 - Unshelfish - review / guest post / giveaway
July 20 - T's Stuff - review / guest post / giveaway
July 21 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review / guest post / giveaway
July 21 - In This World of Books - review / giveaway
July 22 - A Simple Life, really!? - review
July 22 - Jayne's Books - review 
July 23 - Griperang's Bookmarks - review / author interview / giveaway
July 23 - Essentially Italian - review / author interview / giveaway
July 24 - Vic's Media Room - review / 
July 27 - The Autistic Gamer - review
July 27 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
July 28 - Just One More Chapter - review / giveaway
July 29 - Pure Jonel - review / guest post / giveaway
July 30 - Jorie Loves a Story - review 
July 31 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway

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The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching needs magic--fast! Her sticky little brother Wentworth has been spirited away by the evil Queen of faerie, and it’s up to her to get him back safely. Having already decided to grow up to be a witch, now all Tiffany has to do is find her power. But she quickly learns that it’s not all black cats and broomsticks. According to her witchy mentor Miss Tick, "Witches don’t use magic unless they really have to...We do other things. A witch pays attention to everything that’s going on...A witch uses her head...A witch always has a piece of string!" Luckily, besides her trusty string, Tiffany’s also got the Nac Mac Feegles, or the Wee Free Men on her side. Small, blue, and heavily tattooed, the Feegles love nothing more than a good fight except maybe a drop of strong drink! Tiffany, heavily armed with an iron skillet, the feisty Feegles, and a talking toad on loan from Miss Tick, is a formidable adversary. But the Queen has a few tricks of her own, most of them deadly. Tiffany and the Feegles might get more than they bargained for on the flip side of Faerie!


This is a stand alone DiscWorld book, though the first of 3 books in series. I have wanted to read this ever since reading Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (which I have read 3 times, so I must love it).

Did I love Tiffany as much as Maurice? No I didn't, but that is not to say I didn't enjoy this book. I could see myself rereading it. I think with Prachett rereading is necessary because there are is always so many quirky one liners that you missed the first time.

What I loved about this book was Tiffany's drive, she knew what she wanted and by golly nothing was getting in her way. Not Miss Tick (her loans Tiffany her talking frog), Rob Anybody and I smiled everytime 'Slightly Bigger Than Wee Jock But Not So Big as Middle-Sized Jock Jock' had something to say.

Looking forward to A Hat Full of Sky and see what happens next.

This book NOT added to Where Are You Read? (because really I don't where Discworld is)

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Sonía, 16, thinks that sunny metaphors that portray America as a melting-pot are nonsense. Her parents are illegals, driven north by poverty across the Mexican border, but she was born in the U.S. and is determined to graduate from high school. Her struggle is part Cinderella fairy tale and part contemporary immigrant realism, as she is forced to cook and clean for her family and must stay up past midnight to get her homework done. Candid about the prejudice not only toward Latinos but also within the Latino community (her gorgeous, tender boyfriend is Salvadoran, so he must be kept secret), Sonía’s first-person narrative expresses her fury at her family, including her mother, who still doesn’t speak English and treats Sonía as a servant; her macho brothers; and especially her drunk uncle (druncle), who tries to rape her. But Papi works three jobs, and he is her strong support, and after Sonía visits Mexico, she gains new respect for her roots. Sonía’s immediate voice will hold teens with its mix of anger, sorrow, tenderness, and humor.

I would never have picked this book up if it wasn't for a Challenge that I am involved with on Goodreads. I had to find a book on or about Mexico in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Originally I was going to read The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz, but I wasn't in the mood for it.

I had a wander at one of my favorite book stores, The Book Depot, it is a huge store and not the kind of place you can run in real fast, grab a book and leave. So wandering the Young Adult section I found this book.

Picked it up Wed, Friday morning I started and finished on Saturday morning. I just couldn't put it down, it grabbed me right away. Sonja's character was well developed. I felt alot of empathy for her and was rooting for her the entire book. I wanted to give the mother a good shaking and the brothers something else. And of course I wondered about papa, but he did show up (sorry no spoilers here). I loved the ending, thought it was great. On the negative side I think that I would have like to see Sonja stand up for herself, though maybe in that culture it would be a difficult thing to do, I don't know.

One thing I would really like to read is a sequel now.

This book added to Where Are You Reading?

if I stay by gayle forman

I am going to have to do a better job of keeping track where I find out about the YA books that I read. I very rarely go into a book store these days since I have discovered online places so much cheaper. Unless I find something that looks interested at the local Goodwill and other thrift shops.

"what would you do if you had to choose?"

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make--and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

When I started this book I didn't really have high hopes. I found the dialogue in the first 10 pages or so, rough and it left me wondering what the rest of the book would be like. All that quickly changes after the accident. From that point on jumping back and forth in time, the story just flowed together smoothly. The dialogue was so much better and realistic. I felt for so many people throughout this book, (Mia, her future, Kim, her best friend, Adam, the boyfriend and even the grandparents)

This book was one that I had to finish asap just to see what decision Mia would make. It reminded me of 13 Reasons Why for the basic reason that I somehow wanted something to happen to change the story, which I knew was impossible.

And the good news is that there is a sequel called Where She Went to be released next year.

Models don't eat chocolate cookies by Erin Dionne

Models don't eat chocolate cookies by Erin Dionne is a debut novel that touches on friendships, family dynamics, and personal growth, it is a light, well-paced novel.

Thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris is no string bean, but comfy sweatpants and a daily chocolate cookie suit her just fine. Her under-the-radar lifestyle could have continued too, if her aunt hadn’t entered her in the HuskyPeach Modeling Challenge. To get out of it, she’s forced to launch Operation Skinny Celeste—because, after all, a thin girl can’t be a fat model! What Celeste never imagined was that losing weight would help her gain a backbone . . . or that all she needed to shine was a spotlight. A hilarious debut featuring friendship, family, mean girls and even celebrity crushes, Celeste’s story is a delicious treat that doesn’t add a pound.

How does one do a good book review within any spoilers? Some books you can do that no problem, this one though is a little harder. I so enjoyed this book, it is such a sensitive subject. It was written with a little humor, soul searching and much more.

I highly recommend this book.

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

I got this book, Ice by Sarah Beth Durst, from the library, I was attracted to it because it looked new and no one had read it yet (guess I might have felt sorry for it). The cover didn't thrill me much, but its about a bear and that grabbed my attention. Actually I almost didn't even read this book, since I waited so long and it was due back at the library. But on a whim I started it and am really glad that I did, in fact it took me less than a day to read. I LOVED it, really I did. The prologue starts with the fairy tale told by Cassie's grandmother, which is just a fairy tale, right? Well things happen and boy did they ever.

When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for make-believe.

Then, on her eighteenth birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back -- if Cassie will agree to be his bride.

That is the beginning of Cassie''s own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey across the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her -- until she discovers the true meaning of love and family in the magical realm of Ice.

One of the things I found with this book was that the story just flowed nice and smoothly, there were no bumps along the way to make me think 'oh that doesn't belong there'. I loved the ending, it so worked for the story. Not only am I glad I read but I will be purchasing it to add to my bear shelf.

Inkspell by Cornelia Fluke

Book 2 in the Inkheart Series, Inkspell by Cornelia Fluke.

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of INKHEART, the book whose characters became real. But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval world of his past. Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long, both are caught inside the book, too. But the story is threatening to evolve in ways neither of them could ever have imagined.

I love this series, maybe its because of the book theme, or I've gotten close to the characters and seem to know them so well. There was a couple times where I felt it dragged on a little, but that didn't happen enough to make me stop reading. Fluke has a way of writing thats makes one feel the emotion that takes place in her stories. I have read some of her other books and can say she is one of my favorite authors.

I enjoyed the Inkheart movie, though it was changed a fair bit from the book, I don't know if they will be making the second or third book, it would be interesting if they did.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

This was the 2005 Newbery Winner. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, I started this book with no idea what it was about. It was an honest story, told my Katie a 10 year old girl. It follows life with her sister Lynn, her parents and little brother. Life is not easy, there was laughter and tears in this heartbreaking story.

I enjoyed and will be sure to look for more from this author.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

This is the 2010 Newbery Winner, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

“I am coming to save your friends life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter”
That’s the letter that Miranda receives first and they keep coming.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this book, especially being the Newbery Winner for this year. I enjoyed the story, the characters were good, though a couple could have been developed more. There was mystery, suspense, a good story all round. Left me wondering how it was going to end and I was happy with that. My only disappointment was that Miranda had a favorite book, also a Newbery winner, A Wrinkle in Time, which pretty well gave away the story and ending. I haven’t read it yet, in fact I am awaiting its arrival via the postman and it is part of my February reading .

I have started a Project Newbery. I would like to read all the winning books and the honor as well. It might take away, but thats okay. So far 2 down and lot more to go. :))

looking for jj by Anne Cassidy

I found this book at Value Village and it sounded interesting.

"dark, chilling and clever" Celia Rees caught my eye because I have read only one of her books and enjoyed it. So I thought that was a good reference and bought it. I like getting books cheap.

Three children walked away from the cottages on the edge of the town toward Berwick Waters. Later that day only two of them came back.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. It was a good story, I felt for jj throughout the books, but then feel that I should have been feeling sympathy to the other girls family and heard there side of the story. But since this book was about jj that might not have worked.