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Newbery Buzz #3: Northwind
Might Gary Paulsen’s last novel be a sentimental favorite for Newbery recognition? The State of Nature Betsy: Janie, this is only the second Paulsen book I’ve read (the first was Gone to the Woods, his stark memoir published last year). Before reading Northwind, I read your review in which you compared this to Hatchet (a book I must read someday!). I can’t speak to its similarities to Hatchet, I enjoyed Northwind more than Gone to the Woods, simply based on the reading experience. It’s not as grim or despairing, although, as you point out in your review, the opening chapters “are unrelievedly grim, as death stalks all of Leif’s companions…
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Arranged With Love by Tracy Smoak
Utterly Beautiful Arranged With Love by Tracy Smoak is a beautiful devotional that will aid your daily walk with God. As you read, the heart of the Father will connect with your heart. The devotionals are all set around the natural world. There are beautiful photos of trees and plants. I only had a black […]
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The Testing Of Rose Alleyn by Vivien Freeman
A Window On 1900 The Testing Of Rose Alleyn by Vivien Freeman is a charming snapshot into bygone days. The novel is set in 1900 in a small town in the S.E. of England. It is written in the first person from the point of view of Rose Alleyn. The reader is given a window […]
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My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
Extraordinary Bravery My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor is a comprehensive historical novel that will educate you as you read. The novel is set in occupied Rome in 1943. It has its’ roots in fact but is a work of fiction set around real life personalities. There are two alternating time periods – Rome 1943 […]
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Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah
Wow – Top Notch Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah is a totally gripping contemporary crime drama that consumed me from the start. Kia Abdullah is a marvelous author whose novels are always top notch. She writes gritty fiction that is always heart breaking. In Those People Next Door we witness, with horror, the […]
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Just The Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica
Wow – Jaw Dropping! Just The Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica is a marvellous psychological suspense that totally consumed me. The action is set in suburbia and seen through two different points of view, one on either side of the situation. The reader is completely immersed in the action. We believe what we are being […]
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The Flame Tree by Siobhan Daiko
Extraordinary Bravery The Flame Tree by Siobhan Daiko is a fascinating historical novel and part of the Hong Kong Collection. The story is fictional but has its roots in fact. It is set in 1939 and into the World War II years in Hong Kong. I was educated as I read about the brave people […]
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Your Place Or Mine? by Portia MacIntosh
Delightfully Fun Your Place Or Mine? by Portia MacIntosh is a delightful contemporary offering that made me smile from the start. I always adore Portia MacIntosh’s novels. They are very charming and make me feel good. Your Place Or Mine? is wonderfully light-hearted and highly amusing. I found myself chortling out loud at times. It […]
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Out For Revenge by Tony Bassett
Fast Paced & Exciting Out For Revenge by Tony Bassett is an exciting contemporary crime novel that intrigued me from the start. It is the fourth book in the DCI Roscoe and DS Roy series but can be read as a stand-alone. This is a novel that requires you to remain on high alert as […]
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Poetry on Earwigs (and Also Goats With Beaks)
My husband still teases me about my first poem, which has hitherto never been published. There once was a goatWho lived in a boatHe went to town every week, And to all he would not speak.But the funniest thing about himWas that he had a beak. By Megan E. VanderHart, age 8 (Taking a bow.) I have always preferred composing unexpected endings. Thankfully we have more talented young writers among our readers. We received close to one hundred entries and enjoyed the challenge of deciding which ones to include in our next quarterly (the deadline to join the Golden Key Fellowship to receive your copy is Saturday the 21st). I’m…
