I absolutely love the cover of this middle-grade fantasy novel. Do you have a tween who loves to read? This is the perfect boredom buster book. And we have a giveaway too.
Book Details:
Book Title: Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy by Ruthy Ballard Category: Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 260 pages Genre: Fantasy and Magic Publisher: WhipSmart Books Release date: June 16, 2020 (ebook); October 1, 2020 (print) Tour dates: August 3 to August 14, 2020 Content Rating: G
Book Description:
Frankie Russo doesn’t brood about the past or worry about the future. He lives in the present moment, frolicking in a world of make-believe that drives his high-achieving parents crazy. They have lofty ambitions for him, but Frankie has no interest. He prefers to flip helium burgers on Jupiter or rule a kingdom of mermen in the Caspian Sea, up inside his head, where all the fun is. Frankie’s parents nag him endlessly, worried he’ll come to nothing.
But all that changes when he disappears through a mysterious crack in his bedroom ceiling and finds himself on a distant, two-mooned planet called Urth. Why was he drawn there? He doesn’t know, but as he embarks on a delightful, mind-blowing adventure, Frankie’s desperate parents think he’s been abducted, and an innocent man is arrested and charged with the crime!
On the surface, Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy is a lighthearted science-rich adventure story that takes its middle grade readers on an entertaining romp to the other side of the galaxy. But the undercurrent is one of discovery and redemption, where a ten-year-old boy, through an unexpected journey, finds a way to escape his parent’s stifling shadow and emerge into a future of his own choosing.
Ruthy Ballard is a children's book author, artist, and scientist who lives in Sacramento, California. By day, she’s “Dr. Ruth Ballard,” a professor and forensic DNA expert. By night, she romps in an imaginative playground of colors and words. Ruthy is the author of Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy and Tales by Moons-Light: Stories from Before the Great Melt. She is currently working on the third book in her Tales by Moons-light series: Elvia and the Gift of Passion. Her entertaining stories lure middle grade readers into science, but her creative ventures don’t stop there. She’s also a folk artist whose colorful "cartoons" delight and inspire both children and adults. Ruthy is married to a musician and is the mother of two sons, three cats, and a Samoyed dog named Mush, all of whom appear in her work, in various guises, from time to time.
If you enjoy books about the Holocaust and the Jewish immigration experience after WWII, The Takeaway Men immerses the reader into this setting well.
Book Details:
Book Title: The Takeaway Men by Meryl Ain Category: Adult fiction, 264 pages Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Sparkpress Release date: August 4, 2020 Tour dates: July 14 to Aug 10, 2020 Content Rating: PG-13 + M because there are references to extra-marital affairs. There is no explicit sex in the book.
Book Description:
With the cloud of the Holocaust still looming over them, twin sisters Bronka and Johanna Lubinski and their parents arrive in the US from a Displaced Persons Camp. In the years after World War II, they experience the difficulties of adjusting to American culture as well as the burgeoning fear of the Cold War. Years later, the discovery of a former Nazi hiding in their community brings the Holocaust out of the shadows.
As the girls get older, they start to wonder about their parents’ pasts, and they begin to demand answers. But it soon becomes clear that those memories will be more difficult and painful to uncover than they could have anticipated.
Poignant and haunting, The Takeaway Men explores the impact of immigration, identity, prejudice, secrets, and lies on parents and children in mid-twentieth-century America.
My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani
I've read lots of books set during the time of the Holocaust, and I enjoy learning about this time in history from different viewpoints. In The Takeaway Men, the story is set in the years after a Jewish family moves to America from a displaced person's camp. It's about the aftereffects of the war on Dyta and Aron Lubinski that trickles down even to their twin daughters who were born in the camp.
Even as this family immigrates and try to immerse themselves into their new lives in America, their Holocaust experience haunts them, and they cannot speak of it, as was the case with many Holocaust survivors.
The Lubinskis are a devout Jewish family and the book captures well the Jewish culture and its traditions, from the food to their religious customs and Yiddish words. (The author included a glossary at the end of the book for those not familiar with these terms.)
This novel brings up several heavy themes, among them war trauma, family secrets, and mental illness. There was a lot going on, and perhaps because of this I did not feel that these themes were explored as well as they could have been, with subplots that detracted from the main story. What shocking events did Dyta and Aron live through and how did these affect every single decision they make afterwards? This is what I would have liked explored. The story build up to the revelation of the secrets but once revealed, the story ends.
If you enjoy books about the Holocaust and the Jewish immigration experience after WWII, The Takeaway Men immerses the reader into this setting well.
Disclosure: Thanks to iRead Book Tours for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
Meryl Ain’s articles and essays have appeared in Huffington Post, The New York Jewish Week, The New York Times, Newsday and other publications. The Takeaway Men is her debut novel. In 2014, she co-authored the award-winning book, The Living Memories Project: Legacies That Last, and in 2016, wrote a companion workbook, My Living Memories Project Journal. She is a sought-after speaker and has been interviewed on television, radio, and podcasts. She is a career educator and is proud to be both a teacher and student of history. She has also worked as a school administrator. The Takeaway Men is the result of her life-long quest to learn more about the Holocaust, a thirst that was first triggered by reading The Diary of Anne Frank in the sixth grade. While teaching high school history, she introduced her students to the study of the Holocaust. At the same time, she also developed an enduring fascination with teaching about and researching the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case. An interview with Robert Meeropol, the younger son of the Rosenbergs, is featured in her book, The Living Memories Project. The book also includes an interview with Holocaust survivor, Boris Chartan, the founder of the Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, New York. Meryl holds a BA from Queens College, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D. from Hofstra University. She lives in New York with her husband, Stewart. They have three married sons and six grandchildren.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 10 is just a suggestion to aim for if you can hit it. You can do a list of 3 or 5 or 20, whatever you decide. And you can put a spin on the topic if you need to. Each week there is a new list to create. This week's topic is:
Books With Colors in the Title
I had fun looking into my Kindle purchases and bookshelves
in search of books with colors in their title. I haven't read any of these yet
but now that I've rediscovered them, I want to bump them up on my reading list.
Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba atCaffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share our news. A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
Sunday Salon hosted by Readerbuzz is simply a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. Sunday Salon is a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.
It's been a relatively good week. Even if I can't travel this summer, I'm grateful for all the little (and big things) that make me happy, and I feel like I'm having a great summer, despite all that is happening! Every day, I'm discovering joy in the simple things in life. And I'm determined to use my time and energy to keep helping others.
Hope you are all well. Stay safe and take care of each other.
Mailbox Monday Edition
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home on its blog. Link up to share your MM.
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
If you're looking for a good historical mystery series starring a feminist icon, this series will not disappoint!
Book Details:
Book Title: Folley at the Fair (Annie Oakley Mystery #3) by Kari Bovee Category: Adult Fiction, 322 pages Genre: Historical Mystery Publisher: Bosque Publishing Release date: June 2020 Tour dates: July 13 to Aug 11, 2020 Content Rating: PG-13 for some swearing, violence, and mature themes.
Book Description:
She never misses a target. But unless she can solve this murder, she’ll become one… Chicago World’s Fair, 1893. “Little Sure Shot” Annie Oakley is exhausted from her work with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. But when a fellow performer scuffles with a man who threatens her harm, she has to keep her eyes peeled. And when the heckler is found dead under the Ferris Wheel, Annie won’t rest until she proves her defender is innocent.
Before she can rustle up any clues, an old friend asks Annie to protect her young daughter. And as more bodies turn up around the grounds, she’s going to need all her sharpshooting skills just to stay alive. Can Annie live up to her reputation and put a bullseye on the killer?
After reading the prequel, Shoot Like a Girl, I was eager to read Folly at the Fair. I would have liked to have read the first two books in the series, too, but each book is a stand-alone and I was able to enjoy this third book well enough without having read the previous ones. I did miss knowing how Annie met her husband Frank Butler and got involved in working with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which was covered in the previous books.
Because this series is based on the life of Annie Oakley, an expert markswoman and sharpshooter, renowned the world over, I was immediately interested in reading it. And I was not disappointed! First off, I love that the book cover is a photo of the real Annie Oakley, and the posture she's in perfectly captures the mood of this novel. By the way, all the book covers are real photos of Annie Oakley.
In this novel, Annie and her husband have been in the show for a few years now, and Annie is showing signs of exhaustion. But then an old friend from her childhood appears and she leaves her daughter in Annie's care. This, coupled with fatigue and a beautiful woman who joins the show, bring friction to Annie and Frank's relationship. Around the same time, dead bodies start showing up on the fair grounds and Annie becomes involved in the mystery of it all, when another performer and close friend Bobby Bradley is implicated.
Between practices and stunning performances, Annie doesn't get a break. Her fame is growing, she is involved in trying to help her friends, and worried about the growing rift between her and her husband. There is not a boring moment in this novel. It is an exciting look at Annie's life as a performer while at the same time exploring her more personal life, her sadness at not having children of her own, and her courage to investigate how the murders connect to her friends.
I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style that kept me turning the pages. I was able to guess who the murderer was but I was never totally sure until the end. If you're looking for a good historical mystery series starring a feminist icon, this series will not disappoint!
Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
At only 86 pages, I read this book in one sitting. It was so captivating right from the first page. I loved Annie's character, her strength and her resilience. The author builds Annie's story of a childhood that ended abruptly when her father died and she had to help her mother make ends meet. Sent to help the McCrimmons, Annie becomes enslaved to this cruel couple who abuse her and take advantage of her goodness. But this is where we see Annie's spirit, how she forms a bond with Buck, the horse who is worked to exhaustion by Mr. McCrimmons, and who gives Annie a glimmer of hope.
The ending is wonderful, making me whoop with glee at Annie's courage to take charge and save herself and Buck. I strongly recommend reading this prequel if you are interested in this series. The books are well-written and captivating. They star a heroine so likable and genuine, they are a pleasure to read.
A fictional account of a remarkable woman, who fought alongside Garibaldi in his revolutionary wars.
Book Details:
Book Title: The Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo
Category: Adult Fiction, 384 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction,
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release date: August 4, 2020
Content Rating: PG-13
Book Description:
Experience the "epic tale of one woman's fight . . . to create the life of her dreams" in this sweeping novel of Anita Garibaldi, a 19th century Brazilian revolutionary who loved as fiercely as she fought for freedom (Adriana Trigiani).
Destiny toys with us all, but Anita Garibaldi is a force to be reckoned with. Forced into marriage at a young age, Anita feels trapped in a union she does not want. But when she meets the leader of the Brazilian resistance, Giuseppe Garibaldi, in 1839, everything changes.
Swept into a passionate affair with the idolized mercenary, Anita's life is suddenly consumed by the plight to liberate Southern Brazil from Portugal -- a struggle that would cost thousands of lives and span almost ten bloody years. Little did she know that this first taste of revolution would lead her to cross oceans, traverse continents, and alter the course of her entire life -- and the world.
At once an exhilarating adventure and an unforgettable love story, The Woman in Red is a sweeping, illuminating tale of the feminist icon who became one of the most revered historical figures of South America and Italy.
My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani
Being of Italian descent, I had heard the name Garibaldi as I was growing up, but I knew little of Italy's history of unification, and even less of Anita Garibaldi. Reading this book was enlightening and prompted me to do research on this formidable Brazilian woman who won the hearts of Italians by being the first wife and comrade-in-arms of revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi.
We meet Anita as a headstrong child who was close to her father and learned the life of a gaucho from him. She was a fearless child and loved working with her father rather than being in school or in the house with her mother. However, after he father's death, her mother had other plans for her and had her married off at 14, making Anita miserable. After her husband leaves her to go to war, Anita meets Garibaldi while he was exiled in Brazil and the rest is history, as they say.
Throughout the story, we see Anita and Garibaldi as a close couple who shared a passionate love and the same vision for her country and his. In the ten years they were together, Anita was Garibaldi's partner, fighting alongside him, tending to the injured men in the battlefield, and campaigning with him for the revolution. Throughout their arduous travels in Brazil, Uruguay and Italy, she also bore him four children. Her physical and emotional strength were exceptional and she is remembered as a heroine alongside Garibaldi, with statues of her in Brazil and Italy.
The author aptly titled this novel The Woman in Red because Garibaldi's volunteer soldiers wore red shirts that became famous in all of Europe. I enjoyed this introduction to Anita Garibaldi and I'm curious to learn more about her. I wish the author would have included how she researched for the writing of her novel and how closely she followed Anita's life and timeline.
Disclosure: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
Diana Giovinazzo is the co-creator of Wine, Women and Words, a weekly literary podcast featuring interviews with authors over a glass of wine. Diana is active within her local literary community as the vice president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Women's National Book Association. The Woman in Red is her debut novel. For more information, please visit her website: https://dianagiovinazzo.com/.
I'm happy to be spotlighting this fun YA trilogy today, a fantasy adventure series on tour this month.
“A Wrinkle in Time meets The Princess Bride.” Review by Lee Lee Thompson, The Perpetual You Magazine
“Chute’s novel weaves STAR WARS-like characters with a WONDER-like message to form an enrapturing read for booklovers of all ages.” US Review of Books
“Fast and bizarre… Never a dull moment.“ Foreward Reviews
Book Details:
Book Title: Above the Star by Alexis Marie Chute Category: YA Fiction, 368 pages Genre: fantasy, adventure, coming of age Publisher: SparkPress. Release dates: June 2018 Content Rating: PG: Battle scenes and death depicted.
Book Description:
When frumpy senior citizen Archie goes in search of his missing son in the Spanish Canary Islands, he stumbles upon a higher mission: locating a magical cure for his ailing fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Ella. Using a portal-jumping device called the Tillastrion, Archie and a stone-headed creature named Zeno are transported to Jarr-Wya, a magnificent yet terrifying island in a connected realm―along with Ella and her strong-willed mother, Tessa, who accidentally stow away on this not-so-secret quest.
What they find on Jarr-Wya is an island tortured by a wicked Star anchored in the sea, and a raging three-way battle for dominion between the stone-wielding Bangols, the fiery Olearons, and the evil Millia sands. Ella’s wit and resourcefulness emerge in this new world, while Tessa is forced to confront her long-buried secrets and a confusing new love triangle. When Ella is captured, Tessa and Archie―with the help of a company of peculiar allies―set out to save her and unravel the terrible mystery of her cure. A mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night adventure of three unlikely heroes, Above the Star reminds us that even the smallest act of bravery can transform our lives and the fates of the worlds around us.
Book Title: Below the Moon by Alexis Marie Chute Category: YA Fiction, 448 pages Genre: fantasy, adventure, coming of age Publisher: SparkPress. Release dates: Oct 2019 Content Rating: PG: Battle scenes and death depicted.
Book Description:
Ella Wellsley is not your typical teenager. Cancer left her mute, but not powerless. Trapped in a parallel dimension, Ella rallies her strength to join her family―her mother, Tessa, her grandpa Archie, and her magical boyfriend―in locating the cure to her illness. This cure is entangled in the fate of all worlds, and threatened by the presence of an evil Star anchored in the sea. The Star has thrown life everywhere into chaos―and it is Ella who holds the key to unlocking its mystery.
Caught in a web of betrayal, mistaken identities, secrets, and love triangles, Ella, Tessa, and Archie must overcome their troubled pasts to ensure a future for all worlds. On this journey―armed with unearthly abilities and unexpected allies―each member of the Wellsley family will learn the power of love in the face of their greatest fears.
Book Title: Inside the Sun by Alexis Marie Chute Category: YA Fiction, 384 pages Genre: fantasy, adventure, coming of age Publisher: SparkPress. Release dates: April 2020 Content Rating: PG: Battle scenes and death depicted.
Book Description:
All worlds are dying, and it’s up to one broken and dysfunctional family from Earth―the Wellsleys―to save the day.
Cancer-ridden Ella celebrates her fifteenth birthday beneath an enchanted mountain, but it is what lies even farther below―the mysterious Star in the sea―that demands she grow up quickly. While Ella grapples with the sacrifice she must make and the lies she is forced to tell, her mother, Tessa, is hell-bent on protecting her.
Through bizarre encounters, love-sick Tessa realizes that she is not the lonely orphan she believes. Her husband, Arden, and father-in-law, Archie, are not the only ones with magical bloodlines. This revelation changes everything. As Archie chooses to embody his unexpected ancestry, he learns that leading the charge in the ultimate battle against evil won’t be as easy as he thought. He’ll need his family―and the strange allies he has gained―by his side to give Ella enough time to set things right.
Can they defeat the unstoppable Millia sands―and another unexpected foe―before everything they hold dear is destroyed? Or will their adventure tear them apart for good? The finale to The 8th Island Trilogy will hold you spellbound until the final page, and long after.
Alexis Marie Chute is an award-winning author, artist, photographer, art curator, filmmaker, and public speaker. She has received over 40 noteworthy distinctions for her visual and literary work. Her award-winning fantasy series The 8th Island Trilogy includes, Above the Star, Below the Moon, and Inside the Sun.
Chute’s bestselling memoir, Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing and Pregnancy After Loss, was a top Kirkus title of 2017 and received a plethora of other literary distinctions. The memoir was accompanied by the feature documentary of the same name, which has screened internationally for the last three years. Chute received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Design from the University of Alberta, Canada, and studied at Media Design school in Auckland, New Zealand. She graduated valedictorian with her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, USA.
Chute is a highly regarded public speaker. She has presented on art, writing, bereavement, and the healing capacities of creativity around the world. Contact the Author/Artist for bookings info@alexismariechute.com When not in her art/photo studio or at her computer, Chute loves to spend quality time with her family, read fiction and non-fiction, watch reality TV, paddleboard, and canoe. She is not a winter person but lives in frosty Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with her husband and their three living children.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 10 is just a suggestion to aim for if you can hit it. You can do a list of 3 or 5 or 20, whatever you decide. And you can put a spin on the topic if you need to. Each week there is a new list to create. This week's topic was a freebie so I chose:
Books That Feature Art as a Theme
Definition of Art: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
For some reason, I am very attracted to books that feature art as a theme in the plot. Probably because I love artwork. As a teenager, I loved to draw and was pretty good at it, but I seemed to have lost that skill. I'm hoping one day I can learn to paint.
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