Fuzzy Mud - A Review

Published - August 2015, Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Author - Louis Sachar
Title - Fuzzy Mud
Format - hardcover, ebook, audio
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Marshall Walsh is a 7th grader at the prestigious private school, Woodridge Academy. He always walks home with 5th grader Tamaya Dhilwaddi. Their route is predictable, after all they're both good kids. But when bully Chad Hilligas picks a fight with Marshall one day, their routine is changed. Marshall wants to avoid a fight and decides to take a short-cut through the off-limit woods. Tamaya joins him. Neither child realizes that those steps into the woods will change their lives. They soon discover that there is a substance that is dangerous. When a classmate goes missing, both Marshall and Tamaya head back to the woods, because they KNOW what happened. As authorities become involved, Marshall, Tamaya, and Chad learn the importance of friendship. And their knowledge of the substance may just save the entire world's population. Provided they can be rescued in time.

I've long enjoyed Louis Sachar's books. I remember reading the Wayside Stories books as a child. I remember being in college when Holes came out in 1998. I was fascinated with it.

When I saw this one available to review on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to review it. Yes, I know. It's not my usual read of Christian fiction. But it's fun to branch out on occasion.

But this is a book that, like Holes, will grip the reader. I loved how he brought the details of a disaster to light, but kept it simple. The main characters are the kids. The other details are found out through the government investigations.

I also really liked Tamaya. She's a good girl. She wants so hard to be noticed. But she's a good girl. Yet when she IS finally noticed, all she wants is for her life to return to normal. I also think it's kinda cute the way that she seems to be rather protective of Marshall and later Chad.

I think that this is a book that would generate plenty of classroom discussion if it were read aloud in the class. The reading level is targeted at grade 5, but as a read aloud, students in 3rd or 4th grade would enjoy it.

I received the Kindle version of the book from NetGalley for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Louis Sachar, children's literature, Katherine Applegate, Drew Daywalt, R.J. Palacio, librarians, Jessica Day George.

Rating - 4 stars

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Authors I've READ the most books from

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke & The Bookish.

This week, the topic is authors we've READ the most books from. Not necessarily the ones we OWN the most from. Before this week's post, I never stopped to think how many books I've read by certain authors. Now I have to.

Here they are in order of most books to least:
1. Gilbert Morris - 73
2. Robin Jones Gunn - 66
3. Karen Kingsbury - 51 (I've not read one of hers since Fifteen Minutes)
4. Tracie Peterson - 47
5.Janette Oke - 46
6. Lori Wick - 37
7.Terri Blackstock - 36
8. Susan May Warren - 35
9. Robin Lee Hatcher - 31
10.  Dee Henderson - 20

I'm sure that there are more, but these were the ones that I easily came up with. And all of them are Christian Fiction authors. I worked in bookstores for AGES, was a frequent visitor at the library growing up, and was frequently given books as gifts. I forgot about the books like the Babysitter's Club, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Beldon, all of which I read all of the ones published while in elementary, junior high, and high schools.

Hope Harbor - A Review

Published - July 2015, Revell Books
Author - Irene Hannon
Title - Hope Harbor
Format - ebook, paper
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Michael Hunter arrives in Hope Harbor hoping that the town will live up to its name. He is trying to come to grips with the way that his life has been changed over the last year or so. He's wanting a place where he can relax and not be bothered with the running of a charitable organization. Yet he doesn't count on the unexpected encounters he has in the town. Tracy Campbell grew up in Hope Harbor. She loves it there and never planned on leaving. But life and love changed her plans. Now she's back and is determined to do all that she can to save the family's cranberry farm. She recruits Michael to help out with a struggling charity and isn't prepared for the changes that come to town.

I've always enjoyed Irene Hannon's books. While I personally prefer her romantic suspense novels as opposed to her romances, this book was good. It started off slow, but as the pieces connected, I started to really enjoy it.

I really liked one of the secondary characters, Annie. I thought that she was pretty neat. She's a quiet character, but she's got a lot of personality. I also really enjoyed how all of the pieces fit together. How all of the various story-lines converged into one.

I received this book for free from Revell Books for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Irene Hannon, romance, contemporary romance.

Rating - 4 stars

Saturday Scribbles Vol 25

Gena, Gwen, and I in line at registration.

I meant to have a post LAST Saturday about Seminar. That didn't happen do to being very tired and spotty wi-fi while I was in Dallas. And my kindle isn't on my data plan. So today is the Seminar post. It's very picture heavy. In fact, it's almost all pictures with captions.

Gena had never been to Seminar before, so we made sure that she got to take the tour of the Corporate Building.

Gwen in line for the bus to Mary Kay Corportate

Gena in line.

There were buses that took us from the convention center to the Mary Kay Corporate Building. While we were there, we had lunch in the dining room.

Gwen & I in line.

It was a lot of fun to take the tour. I'd not done that since my first Seminar. The building itself is pink granite and 13 floors. There were some scenes from the TV show Dallas that were filmed on the 13th floor. I think the conference room was used in one episode. But I never watched the show, so I really don't know.

MK Corporate

While we were at lunch, we ran into one of our sister consultants, Tina. It's so good to see Tina.

When we got back to the convention center, we wandered around the Expo. We got to see the new products, the cars, the holiday line, and of course the rings for next year's courts.

Since we don't have a National Sales Director, we are part of what is called the Go-Give Area. That means we have a semi-formal event on the first night there. Gwen was tired and stayed in the hotel room. Gena & I went for a little while. But we didn't stay long.

Lunch. Gena, Gwen, Tina

Outside of Mary Kay's Office

Thursday was a full day in the General Session. That night we loaded up with Laura & her husband and drove across town to the Magic Time Machine for dinner. The food was really yummy. Our table was in the hold of the Pirate Ship and Snow White was our waitress.

Tina & me

Court Rings

Friday had us in classes and then the Awards show that afternoon/evening. That's the really formal event we go to. It's always fun to see. It's like a combination of a Broadway show, Miss America, and the Oscars all rolled into one.

Hold of the Pirate Ship

Snow White, our waitress.

Laura, Gena, me, Gwen. I discovered the stickers on the Fire. 

Not By Sight - A Review

Published - August 2015, Bethany House Publishers
Author - Kate Breslin
Title - Not By Sight
Format - ebook, paper
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In the midst of WWI, Jack Benningham is the heir to the Stonebrooke earldom. While most other young men his age are fighting in the trenches in France, Jack's wild reputation as a rogue as well as his high status in society provide the perfect cover for him to track down German spies on English soil. Grace Mabry has a twin brother fighting on the front. She's fiercely patriotic. She's also a wealthy suffragette. When she sees Jack across a ballroom, she is determined that he pay for his cowardice by handing him a white feather. She never dreams that her actions would have far reaching results. To escape London, she seeks work with one of the haying crews in the countryside. When her path crosses with Jack's again, will Grace be able to find the courage to admit she was wrong? Neither of them can predict the danger and betrayal that follows them.

I LOVED this book! After loving the author's debut book last summer, I was almost afraid to pick up the second book. I didn't want to be disappointed. I worried for nothing. I wasn't disappointed at all. I was quickly drawn into a tale rich in history, full of adventure and romance, and had the pain of suffering.

Both Jack and Grace were deep characters. There was so much to them than what appeared on the surface. As the story unfolds and their layers are pulled back, my heart hurt for the child Jack was once. I hurt over Grace's unknowing if her twin was dead or alive. And I cried when all the secrets came to light.

I wondered about the title "Not By Sight" and how it came about. Yet it's revealed rather quickly that one must learn to see with the eyes of faith as well as to trust. There's another more obvious reason, but I'm not going to be mentioning that for fear of spoilers.

This may very well be the best book that I've read this year. I know it's been one of my most highly anticipated ones. It's certainly one of the most character driven ones. I literally got the book in one evening, started it the next day AND finished it about 6  hours later.

Fans of historical fiction will love this book.

I received a copy for free from the author for the purpose of promoting. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of historical fiction, Francine Rivers, Laura Frantz, Jody Hedlund, Sarah Sundin, Julie Klassen

Rating - 5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Fairy Tale Retellings

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke & The Bookish.

It's Tuesday! That means another list. Another top ten. The topic today is fairy tale retellings. I actually did this one as a choose your own topic on May 24, 2014. But I can also list fairy tales I want to be retold and/or fairy tales I love. So I'm going to split this up. I'm featuring a few of the retellings I love, fairy tales I want retold, and ones I love. Because I'm featuring some of the ones I've loved that are retellings there will be duplicates to the list on May 24, 2014. Note - my pictures are just a few of the book covers I've got of the fairy tale retellings. 

Fairy Tale Retellings I LOVE:

1. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine - This is STILL my favorite of all of the retellings I've ever read. It's one that I've read over and over and still enjoy. It's a retelling of Cinderella.

2. Beauty by Robin McKinley - This one hit last week's list for the book nerds, but it is also the best Beauty & the Beast retelling I've read.

Fairy Tales I WANT Retold:

3. Rumpelstiltskin

4. The Elves and the Shoemaker

5. Snow White & Rose Red

6. The Princess and the Pea

7. Chicken Little

8. Steadfast Tin Solider

Fairy Tales I LOVE:

9. The Six Swans

10. Rapunzel

I found a list on Wikipedia of a TON of fairy tales. 

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Book Characters Who are Book Nerds

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke & The Bookish

It's Tuesday. I really love today's topic because it fits me. It's the top ten characters who are book nerds, work in bookstores, readers, etc. I'm pretty sure that my first one will be on EVERYONE's list today.

1. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling - She reads everything. If it's in print somewhere, she's read it.

2. Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables Series by Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne's a dreamer. She's always reading something. I'm pretty sure her favorite was the "Lady of Shalott."

3. Meredith Graham from Waterfalls, Glenbrooke Book 6, by Robin Jones Gunn - Meri's an editor, not necessarily a reader. But since she works in a book related industry, I added her to the list.

4. Megan McClare from the Heart of San Francisco Series by Julie Lessman - The quiet sibling out of the McClare clan, Megan is reading something. She even tries to escape into her books in the book that is HER story.

5. Jo March from Little Women by Lousia May Alcott - It's been a long time since I read this book, but if I remember correctly, Jo was always writing out stories for her sisters to act out. Beth may have been the actual reader though.

6. Beauty from Beauty by Robin McKinley - She's so much like Disney's Belle. But she loves books and in fact it's the first enchantment of the castle that seeps into her heart.

7. Meg Murray from the Wrinkle in Time Books by Madeline L'Engle - Meg's smart. She's in trouble a lot though. But she does love to read.

8. Matilda from Matilda by Roald Dahl - She's an exceptionally gifted child who escapes from her ghastly life into the world of literature. Until she gets sent to school that is.

9. Encyclopedia Brown from the Encyclopedia Brown Series by Donold J. Sobol - I remember reading some of these as a child. He's fascinated with all things science, but he's a pretty good detective too.

10. Sherlock Holmes from the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I've read most of these, if not all. The extremely observant detective notices the little things in the details. Things that he could only pick p by honing his logical reasoning and deductive skills.