June was a great reading month for me. I read a couple books in almost 24 hours, I could barely put the
books down. I also participated in several wonderful buddy reads. However my problem with buddy
reads is that I just cannot read half the book now and half later. I just need to finish it. Then I struggle
with managing too many buddy reads plus my book clubs.
My favorite book this month was Truths I Never Told. Even though I loved Dominicana,
Truths I Never Told just spoke to me more. There was so much going on in that story.
Fiction
28 Summers⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Before the Crown⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dominicana⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Gifted School ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Truths I Never Told⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Vanishing Half⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NonFiction
The Home Edit⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Midwest Plant Primer⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Middle Grade
Anastasia Krupnik⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Courage of Sarah Noble⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Lost Prince⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Strider⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
Book 81
The Gifted School
By: Bruce Holsinger
Genre: Fiction
I just finished The Gifted School. Wow, where did these
parents come from. I read this book for my book club with
my teacher friends. I can not wait to hear their reactions to
the parents’ behavior.
The parents in the book took the phrase “helicopter”
parenting to a whole new level. Focused on test scores
and developing portfolios, even sending their young children
to audit college classes. That is crazy and what is even
more crazy is that the public school encouraged this all.
Granted this story is fiction, but it highlights how competitive some parents have become about their children.
The book shows the pressure the parents and the children feel to perform at this high level and the risks
they are willing to take.
What I liked about the book was that some of the parents could see/feel that the process was wrong but it
was too late to avoid the collusion path they were on. I liked the end of the book as well.
Anastasia Krupnik
By: Lois Lowry
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Anastasia Krupnik is the first book I read for
next year's Battle of the Books. I’ve read
several books by Lois Lowry: The Giver
Number The Stars The Willoughbys and each of these are vastly different. Anastasia Krupnik
is for a younger reader, maybe third/fourth
grader. She is a humorous character. What I really liked about the character is that she has a
journal where she keeps a list of things she
likes and dislikes.
reader, if you have one in your life.
Book 83
The Midwest Native Plant Primer
By Alan Branhagen
Genre: Nonfiction/Gardening
This is my favorite time of summer. I like to get outside
and plant new plants and work on my vegetable garden.
I love looking out my kitchen window at my butterfly
garden and watch for butterflies as I wash the dishes.
However, creating the butterfly garden has been a bit
of a challenge for me. Each year I spend A LOT of
money on perennials that don’t seem to grow again
the following year.
I was excited to see this book in the Netgalley choices.
The description caught my eye right away, “ Choose
plants native to our Midwest region. The rewards will
benefit you, your yard, and environment--from reducing maintenance tasks to attracting earth-friendly
pollinators such as native birds, butterflies, and bees.” Yes! Yes! That is exactly what I am trying to do
in my little butterfly garden. As I read through the book I read page after page of great suggestions.
There are so many plants that grow great in the Midwest however you just need to know which ones.
What I loved about this book is that it had something for every type of gardener. If you are looking to
create a rock garden or more of a water garden, there are suggestions for that. If you want more of a
prairie garden or my favorite butterfly garden it is all in this book. The photos are beautiful and there is
a great section of the descriptions of all the plants and where and how to best grow them. If you love
gardening and live in the Midwest I highly recommend this book for you. It comes out July 21, 2020
and I know I will be ordering one for myself. I definitely want a hard copy of the book on my bookshelf
for easy reference.
Book 84
The Courage of Sarah Noble
By: Alice Dalgliesh
Genre: Middle Grade/Historical Fiction
First I have to tell you about my beautiful peonies. I think I
have lived at my house for about twenty years and I finally
planted two peonies plants two years ago. This is the first
year I am really getting flowers to cut and put in my house.
I am so excited, I love peonies, however they only last
about a week or two.
Anyways, The Courage of Sarah Noble is a short story
about an 8 year old girl who travels with her father into the
wilderness of Connecticut in 1707. There they encounter
Native Americans, although the book is old and the term
Indians is used. What I liked about the book is her father’s attitude toward the Native Americans. Sarah is
afraid of the Native Americans because she has never met them. Her father continues to remind her that they
are friendly and kind. My favorite quote from the book was, “IN OUR HOME ALL WILL BE TREATED WITH
KINDNESS—ALWAYS!”
Now if we could all learn that lesson and teach it to our children and follow through with all our neighbors this
world would be a better place.
Truths I Never Told You
By: Kelly Rimmer
Genre: Fiction
Truths I Never Told You is a book I just happened upon.
I joined a buddy read #ReadersAcrossOceans last month
and this is the book the group is reading for June. This
book and author were new to me so I went into the read
blind.
However, this is a beautiful book. It is told in two timelines
by Beth, the daughter, and through letters by Grace, the
mother. Beth just had a baby and is dealing with
postpartum depression and her dying father. As she cleans
out her father's home she finds some letters that her
mother wrote years ago. Her mother wrote about her dark days after each time she gave birth. The letters
are confusing to Beth because her mother describes a mother and a father that Beth does not recognize.
How can Beth’s memories be so different? Even her brothers and sister have different memories than
what is described in the letters. They can not ask their father because he is very confused and his speech
does not always make sense to them.
As Beth and her siblings work together they find more letters which lead them to a mysterious Aunt. They
hope she can fill in the answers they are looking for. This is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read for me. I enjoyed the
mystery around the letters. I liked Beth’s character and I wanted her to get the help she needed. I thought
the ending was wonderful. I highly recommend this book.
Book 86
The Home Edit
By: Clea Shearer
Genre: Nonfiction/Home & Lifestyle Books
This book describes my home. I do already have
everything organized in rainbow order, I thought that was
because I was a kindergarten teacher. I have almost
everything organized in my house in clear bins and
labeled. I do use a lot of baskets for a more cohesive look
throughout my house. That’s just me, I love baskets.
I love this book. Simple and easy organizing ideas.
Even though I read the book on Overdrive I did order
one for myself. That's how much I enjoyed it. I think
mainly to prove to my family I am normal and not OCD.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
By: Josie Silver
Genre: Fiction
Even though I saw this book around a lot on IG I really
did not know what this book was about. I’m not sure I
would have picked up this book if I did. My mind was not
in the right place for it. TW: This book deals with the
death of a loved one.
Lydia just lost the love of her life, her fiance Freddy,
who she has known since she was 14 years old. She
has so many memories of him and their best friend Josh.
Lydia is given some pills to help her sleep and in her
dreams, Freddy is still alive. Lydia lives in these two worlds until she realizes she must make a decision.
This is a wonderful story of loss, love, grieving, finding yourself and moving on.
Book 88
Dominicana
By: Angie Cruz
Genre: Historical Fiction
I had Dominicana on my unreadshelf from last year. I am
so glad I finally read this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star book. It is the heartbreaking story of Ana, a young 15 year old girl, who is told to marry Juan, a 30 year old man. Her parents set
up this marriage in order to start sending the family to America. Ana and her parents have this wonderful dream
about how Ana’s life will be so much better in America.
However, Ana’s life is not easy in America. This book
gives you a glimpse of what life is like for an immigrant coming to America not knowing the language and trying to
find jobs.
What I liked about the story was how Ana tried to stand up for herself. She was constantly learning from the people around her and her own mistakes. I liked how she talked about the future of her little girl and how she looked after her little brother.
TW: Under age sex, physical and verbal abuse.
The Vanishing Half
By: Brit Bennett
Genre: Fiction
Much has been written about this book and it definitely
deserves all ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars and more. From the
moment you open the book until you finish the book you
are captivated by the amazing story of Desiree and Stella
Vignes. Twin sisters who appear to be inseparable decide
to run away together and start a new life in New Orleans.
Then one day out of the blue Stella leaves a note for
Desiree she is moving out on her own. From here the
story continues from different perspectives as time
moves on.
The story deals with so many issues: racism, abuse, identity, and caring for aging parents. There are so
many layers to this book. I highly recommend this book.
Strider
By: Beverly Cleary
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
This week I read Strider by Beverly Cleary for
#battleofthebooks2020. This book follows up on the book
Dear Mr. Henshaw where Leigh continues to write about the
events in his life. He is dealing with a lot of preteen issues
like, beginning high school and making new friends. He is
also dealing with his father’s absence. Leigh finds Strider and the dog helps him work through his loneliness and helps
him find a new hobby and friends.
Book 91
28 Summers
By: Elin Hilderbrand
Genre: Fiction
28 Summers is the perfect summer read. It is based on
the movie, Same Time Next Year, where a couple meets
the same weekend every year no matter what. The couple
meets up on Nantucket Island every Labor Day weekend.
I would have to say my favorite weekend getaway is Door
County, WI. It is only a couple hours away from my home and it has that little town feel to it. I like the wineries and the
bay side where the small beaches are.
Book 92
Before the Crown
By: Flora Harding
Genre: Fiction
Book Review
Thank you to @NetGalley and
@onemorechapterhc for providing me
with the ebook Before the Crown by
Flora Harding.
When I saw this book on NetGalley I was super
excited because I love reading books about the
British Royal Family both fiction or nonfiction.
Before the Crown is a fictional interpretation
of the courtship of Philip and Elizabeth.
Although I have watched the Netflix series
The Crown which starts at the marriage of
Philip and Elizabeth this book starts way back
when they were first introduced. I didn’t
realize Philip was much older than Elizabeth.
Anyways the story is told from alternating
perspectives and I found it interesting to hear their individual takes on similar events. In the
story Elizabeth is so young and unsure of herself and men. However she knows she will be
queen someday and she will have a huge responsibility.
I really enjoyed reading how the author explored what the characters (Philip and Elizabeth)
might have felt during their courtship.
If you enjoy reading about the royal family or just like a sweet romance story this is a great
read for you. Of course it leaves you smiling at the end of the book with a happy ever after
ending. (I don’t think I spoiled anything there.)
Book 93
The Lost Prince
By: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Genre: Fiction/Middle Grade
I read the book, The Lost Prince, along with the
#MiddleGradeReadAlong buddyread @lollipopsandlyrics. I
am literally trying to finish it today. I’ll have to wait until my
little guy takes a nap so I can finish the last couple
chapters.
Anyways the story focuses around two young boys, Marco
and the Rat. Both boys live in a poor neighborhood in
London but the Rat can tell there is something very different
about Marco. Both boys are obsessed with a country called
Samavai, which is fighting a civil war. The Rat devises a
game where Marco and the Rat can sneak to Samavai and help the fighters of the lost prince.
There is not a lot of action in this book, however a lot of strategy, planning and mental preparation by the boys.
I thought it was a nice reminder that you can still help by using your mind. This is a great book for young
boys.
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