I've enjoyed the books in the series of graphic nonfiction for middle-graders that I've read before, including The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery . But its latest book, The National Parks: Preserving America's Wild Places by Falynn Koch, is my favorite so far! We are well past the age of its intended target audience, but both my husband and I enjoyed reading this informative, fun history of one of our favorite things, the U.S. National Parks. The author, who has traveled extensively and visited many parks, provides a comprehensive history of the National Park Service and many of the i ..read more

My favorite book (read so far) of by Annie Hartnett, a new-to-me author. I absolutely loved this delightful, funny novel about addiction, death, and animals, both real and hallucinated. Twenty-two-year-old Emma Starling has returned to her small, rural hometown of Everton, New Hampshire. Her father, Clive, is dying of a mysterious brain disease, and it's finally time (Thanksgiving now) to admit to her parents that she did start med school in the fall, like she told them (Emma was supposedly born with healing powers). Emma's come home to spend time with her father but also to figure out what's ..read more

For Middle-Grade March, I listened to four middle-grade audio books ( check out my first two reviews here I'm a big fan of Dan Gemeinhart and especially loved his middle-grade novels, The Remarkable Story of Coyote Sunrise , Gemeinhart again creates an engaging story with great characters in unusual circumstances. Ravani Foster lives in Slaughterville with his mom and dad and is lonely. He spends his summer days delivering town newspapers, taking his dad's lunch to the slaughterhouse at noon, and trying to dodge the nasty bullies who cruelly pick on him. One night, unable to sleep, Ravani look ..read more

I took advantage of the seasonal event to finally read a book I have heard wonderful things about: by Alice Henderson. I first heard about this series on the and bought this first book for my husband. I thoroughly enjoyed this outdoor thrill ride. Wildlife biologist Alex Carter is attending a wetlands dedication ceremony near Boston when a man comes through the crowd shooting. He is particularly focused on her, since she discovered the bird that cancelled the development slated for the area, which resulted in him losing his job and home. Alex escapes unharmed but deeply shook up. When an old p ..read more

Way back in 2007 when by Diane Ackerman was first released, I heard scores of rave reviews, so I added it to my want-to-read list (a very long list). Fast-forward to 2022 when I was visiting in my town--supposed to be just dropping off--and I spotted the book and snatched it up. I finally read it last month for Wow, what a stunning book! It was definitely worth the wait. The book opens in 1935 in Poland, describing the beautiful world of the Warsaw Zoo, run by husband and wife Jan and Antonina Zabinski. Their zoo was filled with unique and fascinating animals in realistic habitats, with a larg ..read more

by Annie Hartnett was my last full-length novel of the year, read in the last days of December, and I absolutely loved it. I didn't review every book I read last year (a new approach for me), but I wanted to review my favorites and this qualifies! I met Annie Hartnett in May at , an annual event I attend every spring in Vermont at the . I loved her novel (my review at the link) and really enjoyed talking to her, asking questions, and listening to her talk about the writing of the book. So, I wanted to read from her backlist, and my husband gave me for my birthday. This warm, funny, deeply movi ..read more

My neighborhood book group recently celebrated our 200th book with a nice lunch out, and we chose an excellent book for this milestone: by Shelby Van Pelt. Everyone enjoyed it, and it received our second-highest rating (since we started using ratings about 13 years ago). This heartwarming story about an unusual friendship between a woman and a giant Pacific octopus (just go with it--it works) focuses on connections, loss, and family. Tova works nights cleaning the local aquarium in Sowell Bay, the small coastal town in Washington where she's lived all her life. She's suffered terrible losses ..read more

In March, I participated in for International Women's Month. I listened to three excellent middle-grade novels on audio, all by women authors and featuring fierce female characters (and with great female narrators). The first was historical fiction, and the other two were modern-day realistic fiction. My brief reviews are below, and you can also check out my review of by Betty C. Tang, a middle-grade graphic novel I also read in March. My first middle-grade audio was by Jennifer Nielsen. I'm a longtime fan of Nielsen's middle-grade historical fiction (like ), and as you might guess from the ti ..read more

Laura Hillenbrand is my personal hero. She has the same immune dysfunction disease I have, yet she has written and published two best-selling nonfiction books requiring years of research, interviews, and writing that were both turned into top movies. She wrote her first book, while at her sickest and mostly bedridden and housebound . My husband and I both thought , her second novel, was fantastic and powerful, and he enjoyed . So why did I wait over ten years to finally read while it waited patiently on my shelf? My only excuse is that I didn't think I'd be interested in reading about horse ra ..read more

I've enjoyed the books in the series of graphic nonfiction for middle-graders that I've read before, including The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery . But its latest book, The National Parks: Preserving America's Wild Places by Falynn Koch, is my favorite so far! We are well past the age of its intended target audience, but both my husband and I enjoyed reading this informative, fun history of one of our favorite things, the U.S. National Parks. The author, who has traveled extensively and visited many parks, provides a comprehensive history of the National Park Service and many of the i ..read more