Courtney Pyche
Here's what's on the inside cover( from theboyfriendlist.com)
“Ruby is back at Tate Prep, and it's her thirty-seventh week in the state of Noboyfriend. Her panic attacks are bad, her love life is even worse, and what's more:
Noel is writing her notes, Jackson is giving her frogs, Gideon is helping her cook, and Finn is making her brownies. Rumors are flying, and Ruby's already-sucky reputation is heading downhill.
Not only that, she's also: running a bake sale, learning the secrets of heavymetal therapy, encountering some seriously smelly feet, defending the rights of pygmy goats, and bodyguarding Noel from unwanted advances.
In this companion novel to The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book, Ruby struggles to secure some sort of mental health, to understand what constitutes a real friendship, and to find true love—if such a thing exists.”
“When you see him in Ithaca, do not expect to find him perfect.”
R.J. Palacio has written a real masterpiece of children's literature in >em>Pony. This is a historical novel in that its written to take place in the 1860s, but it is more a story about a particular person (who is fictional) than a story about a particular event. Silas' story from beginning to end is well-crafted, well-written, and well-executed. It is very much the hero's quest - his adventure starts when his father is taken away by three horsemen in the middle of night. He chooses to go on the quest when one of the horses mysteriously comes back for him. His companions, the valiant stead, the ghost, and eventually a sort of mentor who guides him through the Wood.
It is the little strings that tie all these characters together that really makes the story - of course the trip is wonderful to follow and cheer on, but the bits of connection that you see give this story meaning. This is junior historical fiction novel worth reading.
I didn't like it that much. But that might be partially because I'm opposed to assigned reading.
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” - Buddha
Who knew a book about the need for toilets could be so beautiful? Seriously, these pictures are gorgeous. The verses are art.
Latika is a smart, willful person who is determined to help her community. She understands that the Shame has greater hurt than the feeling of Shame. “Burying the Moon” is really more about how Latika finds a way to blow kisses at the moon.
This is a short read, but it's a great, simply told story that advocates for communities that need toilets. It also clearly establishes the relationship between the need for toilets and various negative consequences the lack of has on communities. I especially recommend this book for elementary - aged classroom reads. It could be good for older kids as well when coupled with video or non fiction books about sanitation.
Ruta Sepetys is an incredible story teller. When I got the chance to read an ARC of this, I knew I had to stop everything and read it (shout out to my husband for happily spending four hours with me in the hotel common space to read this). Her knack for finding these untold stories and creating characters and plots that intertwine historical facts - it's just astounding.
This story is quick - it is go, go, go and intense from the start. Readers are kept on the edge the whole time: who do we trust, what will the government find out, will anyone be safe. The twists and turns pull you back and forth from loving to worry to hating to stressing and everything in between.
There are many horrifying moments of abuse - physical and emotional. Sepetys does an excellent job of balancing each and illustrating how the atrocities committed continue to haunt people today.
With a foreword by Oprah Winfrey, this is a great book to spend time with for National Poetry Month (April 2021). Gorman's poem is sure to be studied in classrooms of the future as a moment of when the country chose to go one way or the other. Her words are powerful, with subtle allusions to popular culture and events, in a way that represents our time. A great read and definitely a good add to a home library.
I was very lucky to get my hand on an ARC of this much anticipated sequel thanks to a loan from a dear friend. The universe blessed me with a great rainy day after - so I finished this in one sitting!
The story follows Mary who is still recovering from the traumas of Show Me A Sign and is now also trying to answer the big question - what will she do with her life? Will she have a vocation? Will she get married like her mother wants her to? Mary is an incredibly introspective and honest character for a young teen, yet her emotional outbursts remind us of her youth. There are some really great, but also painful moments, where she clashes a bit with her mom on her purpose in life.
Luckily for Mary, she is invited to teach a girl on the mainland who is believed to be deaf. The letter is mysterious and vague, but Mary chooses to chase after the call anyways. Mary takes a big leap of faith in leaving the safety of her home, where she is surrounded by a community who can sign and understand that her deafness is not an affliction. She believes she is prepared to enter back into a world where deafness is looked down upon, but what she finds of the girl's predicament is shocking and horrific in ways that Mary never expected. Mary is challenged throughout the book to overcome societal expectations of women and their power, to hold on to truth in the face of evil, and to do what is right even when it puts you and others at risk.
Mary's story is one of adventure - without shying away from the racism, sexism, and colonialism rampant in the world. If you liked the first companion novel, you will certainly love this one.
I follow KC on TikTok and picked up this book because I often find myself in this endless cycle of clean, clean, clean - home is messy for days on days on days - then clean, clean, clean and repeat. Some of her tips are things that we already strive to do, like setting a timer for 10 minutes and agreeing to tackle the dishes for just those 10 minutes. Her statements about cleaning being morally neutral really struck home; despite having gone to therapy, I had never thought to analyze my feelings about cleaning (before and after). That “good feeling” after I clean my home feels so good and I had never considered that that could be contributing to this cycle. I plan to spend more time with the idea that cleaning is a function - like eating - and you can reduce it to the reason that it needs to be done to reframe it as a simple, morally neutral function.
I appreciated a lot of the little takeaway quotes she gave. Example: “You are not responsible for saving the world if you are struggling to save yourself.” Or “Anything worth doing is worth doing partially.” Her 5 category cleaning method also seems quite effective - I wish I had used that when I was going through depression a few years ago. And, finally, my favorite “Good enough is perfect.”
I bet I can make the average rating 5 if I put that as what I think of it...I'll go see if tht works..
Yep..it worked XD
February, 2010
Okayy. It was a good book. I felt like I was slowly getting to know all the characters...I just hated how it ended...
A mostly nice story - but the prevalent anti-Catholic sentiments and strange family relations at the end soured this one for me.
This book was great! Lots of information written accessibly - this is the kind of book you should really be keeping on your shelf during your money journey.
It was very hard for me to read because of all of the long political rants; however, I appreciate the ideas that it brings up and was very happy with the discussions we had in class.
This book is written in verse and only took about an hour and half to read, but I know Ellie's story will stick with me for a long time.
Ellie is kind and thoughtful tween who wants her family and her peers to see her as a human. She is overweight, and no one seems to be able to look past that. Instead, her mother, her siblings, and her peers decide that bullying her and passive aggressively sharing articles about obesity will “fix her”, as if she is an inherently broken person. The scenes of bullying that Ellie endures are painful to read and become even more painful when you read the author's note that all of these incidents were based on the author's childhood experiences.
There is hope for Ellie, though, from her new friend and her father. Her father encourages her to see a therapist, who helps Ellie transform her thoughts.
This is a book that should be read by everyone, regardless of age. It delves into the cruelty that kids face every day and illustrates how the people who are supposed to love us the most can be the cruelest. This books get 4.5 stars for me because I felt it did not adequately address that the tormenting Ellie's mother put her through is a form of abuse. While it is possible to choose to love and forgive those who hurt us, the depth of Ellie's mother's abuse was not fully addressed and I felt her mother got off far too easy.
Early in my pregnancy, one of my mom friends advised that she wished she had read more books about babies as opposed to focusing so much on pregnancy/labor/delivery. I picked this one up with that in mind.
Overall, this book was a useful introduction into what I feel modern, intentional parenting looks like. I appreciated the emphasis on observation and adapting to your baby's needs - and to trust yourself in caring for your baby. I also liked seeing the layouts of the rooms and appreciated the recommendations for toys that are useful for skill developing. The parts where it specifically talks about development milestones were very helpful. This book would be a good reference to have in your home if you're really committing to the Montessori method. I won't be incorporating all of the ideas or tools mentioned, and I do think this book could have done a better job with inclusiveness, but, overall, I think the message is great and the principles are there. I would recommend this to a first time mom, like me, who is perhaps a little mystified by the idea of a baby in their house.
This book was so cute. Very fluffy, very cliche, but an excellent read for a day at the beach.
In 2014, Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman in the world to win the Fields Medal, widely considered to be the Nobel Prize of mathematics. She was also the first Iranian to receive the award.
The book has great pictures that inspire feelings of wonder. The text is very wordy and better suited for older children who can understand the words and the context of Maryam's story. I would say that the connection between storytelling and mathematics was not made clear through the storytelling in this book and could have been improved. Overall, this is a great story about women in science and a good reminder of the amazing contributions that immigrants make to the United States, as well, since she moved to the United States in 1999.
For such a short book, it took me forever to get through. As many other reviewers have shared, the switching between perspectives and years makes it difficult to place events together. The author oftentimes abandons the use of quotation marks in dialogue as well, which can be confusing.
Overall, it is a good book about the strength of women immigrants. There are some exceptionally symbolic stories and quotable moments that make the story really stand out such as when Gloria grieves how her daughter was brought into this world.
