Menagerie Manor

 

Shirley J.             Adult Non-Fiction                       Gerald Durrell's Zoo,  Endangered Species, etc.

Menagerie Manor by Gerald Durrell    177 pages

Wonderful book about the Zoo that Gerald Durrell set up, the animals that live there and how he acquired each of those mentioned and his quest for conservation of endangered species.   Gerald Durrell tells his story with love in each word as he not only describes several of the animals in his menagerie and their antics but there are the most beautiful illustrations of the animals done by Ralph Thompson on many of the pages.   Life in your own Zoo is not all a lark by no means and Gerald in his usual comic style shares experiences chasing an escaped tapir at 4:00a.m. in the morning to baby orangutans who developed a taste for recycling each other's urine and feces (not for the queasy).  Some animals adapt to captivity and some have to be cajoled into their new environments but it is always done with such care and respect that it makes me wish I could have volunteered to help him and his crew and makes me want to explore the local Zoo for an animal fix it has been way too long since I have done.   Great book for elementary schoolers on up.  If you love animals, you will love this book and all the writings of Gerald Durrell.

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined)

 Shirley J.                Adult Non-Fiction               Klosterman quote: Villains know more but care less

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined) by Chuck Klosterman    256 pages

I really, really, liked this book.   Klosterman, known as the Ethicist for the New York Times Magazine, brings to light a number of villains throughout history ( Machiavelli, Hitler, etc.) throws in some contemporary villainized souls (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, etc.) and stirs in a few fictional controversial characters (Batman, Snidely Whiplash, etc.) for a potpourri of discussions on the villainous reputations each have acquired and why they are perceived as such, what may have influenced their behaviors and whether or not they are super geniuses who know more than the rest of us do but simply care less about others in their day to day workings of serial killing, lying to the public, or being a little manic in their over the top acts.   He puts so much thought into each of the villains discussed and shares his vast knowledge in such a captivating way that you will only want to hear more of what he has to say.   I think this will not be a book kids would necessarily like, possibly not highschoolers either, but certainly it will open the minds of first year college students and give food for thought for a dissertation that would be both compelling and entertaining.   I give this one 2 thumbs up.  I think 20 somethings on up will get a kick out of it.

Mind Games (Kaely Quinn Profiler Book 1)

 

Shirley J.                       Adult Fiction                         Serial Killers, Profilers, F.B.I.

Mind Games (Kaely Quinn Profiler Book 1) by Nancy Mehl   338 pages

Kaely Quinn is a profiler for the F.B.I.   She is also the daughter of a serial killer.   Thus begins the story with explanations of her life as a child at home and how there were no signs picked up by her nor her mother of her father's proclivity.     When she grew up she wanted to help other people and their families from having to go through the horror she now understood her father had put so many victims and their families through.   Due to the stigma attached her mother moved after their father was arrested.  The kids ended up being home schooled after all the media attention.   Her brother later blamed Kaely and her mother for knowing the truth and not telling the police.   He, Jason, moved away and vowed never to have anything to do with either of them.  He even changed his name to get away from the stigma attached to it.   Kaely later changed her name as well.  As a young girl, she had been Jessica Oliphant.  All of a sudden a serial killer materializes, sending rhymes, playing on her real name Oliphant with rhymes about elephants and when he kills his victims he puts an elephant with a sequential number on the victim's chests.   So many possible suspects until some of them are killed, too.   A good plot twist and during Kaely's process for figuring out who the killers are, she imagines the perpetrators, then,  she has conversations with these imaginary perps. to try to discern more about who they are.   Her colleagues become concerned when the perps start talking back to her, more so when they do it without her asking them to.   I kept waiting for a paranormal twist but that won't be found here we are talking psychological not paranormal.   I would recommend this one to high schoolers on up.  

The Once and Future Witches

 

Shirley J.                   Adult Fiction                         Witchcraft, Sisterhood, Women's Rights

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow     528 pages

Sisters, Bella (Beatrice Belladonna), Agnes Amaranth and James Juniper grew up in a loveless home with their abusive father after their mother died.   Their grandmother, their mother's mother, Mags loved them dearly and taught them the ways of the wise woman, healing with herbs, simple spells and charms for this and that.   The girls were always more powerful when together than when alone but were separated by their father's hate when Bella and Agnes left home.  Juniper grew up wishing for the day her Daddy would die, left behind by her sisters, she learned many of the wise ways from Mags and with her temper put some of them to use.   Later in life, the sisters all find themselves in the same town of New Salem, Massachusetts, where women are organizing as suffragettes for the right for women to vote.   A big struggle is happening in the town with the sorry treatment women receive whether workers, working girls, or women in general.   Treated as second class citizens by most of the men, the women rebel and the Eastwood Sisters are right in the middle of the fray, teaching women the old ways to reclaim magic and power.   Snootier rich ladies look down their noses at the less well off of the town and do not include minorities nor low income gals in their groups which tend to cowtow to the men of the town.   These women even side with the men about putting the "witches" in jail and take front row seats at their burnings (ca 1893).   There is a reckoning coming and boy does it!   Good book.  I recommend this one especially to Wiccans, Rebels, Social Activists and those who appreciate the power of women and fight for their rights.   I would recommend this one to grade schoolers who enjoy the paranormal especially, on up.    

Love That Boy

Shirley J.          Adult Non-Fiction Biography             Ron Fournier's parental journey with his son who has Asperger's Syndrome

Love That Boy by Ron Fournier   240 pages

This is the story of Ron Fournier, his family, the expectations he had for his children and the parental journey he embarked on when he and his wife discovered their son has Asperger's Syndrome.   Tyler's parents knew something was going on but thought his tendency to burst out of the blue with multitudinous facts about something that interested him was just boyish exuberance.   They noticed he did not seem to pick up on social cues nor seem to be able to read people's moods by their expressions, etc., but again they assumed these were behaviors he would outgrow.   He didn't.   They thought, maybe he has Autism but as his wife was watching t.v. one day, they began to discuss Asperger's Syndrome and she mentally noted all the similarities in her son.   She discussed it with Ron, they took Tyler to be examined and it was found he was an "Aspie," as people with Asperger's Syndrome are affectionately called.   It opened new doors for all of them.  The doctors explained the way Tyler sees life to them and offered direction in how to help him to be able to function as best as possible.  Ron, who was a press reporter at the White House, took his son to meet Presidents he knew well enough to ask the favor of allowing him and his son to meet with them.   Tyler got to meet and chat with Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and to visit several of the Presidential Libraries.  Bonding and learning was a joyous experience for father and son and Ron learned so much from his son on how to be a better parent by letting his son be who he is instead of trying to mold him into his (Ron's) expectations.  A father and son story told with love.   Especially helpful for Aspie families, I recommend this one to readers from Middle School on up.

You Are A Badass Every Day: How To Keep Your Motivation Strong, Your Vibe High, and Your Quest For Transformation Unstoppable

                                                             

Shirley J.       Adult Non-Fiction              How to Stay Motivated To Kick A** Everyday!

You Are A Badass Every Day: How To Keep Your Motivation Strong, Your Vibe High and Your Quest For Transformation Unstoppable  by Jen Sincero   224 pages

O. K., Jen Sincero got you motivated with YOU ARE A BADASS!  But she gets it and knows after the first blush of love with a new idea, sometimes, we can start to lose a little of our enthusiasm (ie. the honeymoon is over syndrome - or at least that is what I call it) so Jen is back pumping her readers up once again with a quickie motivational reminder DON'T STOP KICKING A**!   It is a reminder to thank your higher power/the universe daily for all you have and all you will have.   Constantly exercising your might - you are a superhero and keeping the powerful vibe going every day, being your own coach to do what you must to keep you headed toward not away from your goals.   This book is the cheat sheet, the crib notes if you will, to staying accountable to yourself and achieving the goals you set for your life.   A good quick read to keep the mojo going.   This is the third book in her badassery series, and a worthy companion when life gets tough as you charge through toward your goals.   Go, Jen Sincero!   I recommend this book to middle schoolers who can start early on setting and achieving their goals, on up to seniors cause it is never to late to realize what you can have and accomplish by setting your mind to it and allowing the universe to provide.  Well done, Jen Sincero! 

 

You Are A Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living An Awesome Life

 

                                                            

Shirley J.             Adult Non-Fiction         Flexing Your Confidence Muscle - You Can Have It All

You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness And Start Living An Awesome Life by           Jen Sincero   272 pages

This book came highly recommended by a friend who applied its principles and got on the swagger train of success.   I love Jen Sincero's writing style.   She cusses, she knows how to lay concepts down so her readers can understand what she is saying and offering and she is funny like your new best friend - which you very much want her to be.   She cuts to the chase from the very beginning and all the way through to the very last page.   She does not b.s. you, she tells her truth simply but you will want to commit all of her teachings to memory.   She includes exercises/homework to help you really grasp the concepts she is getting over to you that are fun and won't hurt a bit to do, not even sting.   She is brutally honest about herself, life and the crap every one is going to have to deal with.   She doesn't promise once you apply her knowledge you will never have another bad day nor bad experience, but, she gives you the information to arm yourself with that will teach you to cope and control all of the out of the box things that come up to the best of your ability and if they happen to be above your control how to reason through less that stellar circumstances to get you back on that stairway to heaven.   She is a rock star and a heck of a brilliant author and life coach.   I am on to her next book now.  I recommend this book to middle schoolers on up.  Eat these words up kids, like your favorite cereal, they will serve you and every other human on up, well. Cheers for Jen Sincero.

A Game of Ghosts

 

Shirley J.     Adult Fiction      The F.B.I., People who see ghosts, "The Brethren" ghosts from Missouri

A Game of Ghosts by John Connolly   464 pages

The story is decent but not great.  I liked much of this book but I often felt lost in this very character heavy story.   I had to go back and reread certain parts because I would find myself lost in all the different story lines of the way too many characters.   This happened several times.   The writing is good, it is just there is so much going on here and so many different people bringing so much into the story then there is the ghost factor some helpful and benevolent offering warnings saving the humans they were guarding over, then there were the Brethren who bring a tie to Missouri which was a nice touch, but, who were in a purgatory type situation yet they were intrinsically evil so that sort of nullified the need for a purgatory pass as there didn't seem anything at all redeeming to them.    There are F.B.I. special agents with each of their backstories, then private investigators with theirs, dirty politicians (more back stories) odd gangster types and an old woman and her son with more storylines.   This book seemed a little too busy for my liking, and I found it hard to keep up with especially when the off set of characters would be thrown in here and there.   To me, it just seemed like this story couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be so Connolly made it cover everything.   He is a good writer.   The characters' dialogue is entertaining, but, a more cut to the chase without 50 side lines would have been better.   I wouldn't recommend this one because it doesn't go from here to there, it goes 500 miles in every direction before you get there.   Fine if you are touring on vacation not so much if you are reading for enjoyment.

Rest in Pieces

Shirley J.                    Adult Fiction                    Murder Mystery solved by a cat and a corgi

Rest in Pieces by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown  384 pages

I love that this murder mystery series has a cat and a corgi, plus other animal friends of theirs that help their people solve murder mysteries.   In this story another cat, a possum, a snake and an eagle also do their part to catch the killer.   Being a big fan of animals, I enjoy how their stories come into play and frankly if it wasn't for them, the humans would take a lot longer to come up with clues if ever.   The pieces part of the story is various body parts that are found and must be identified and with luck the rest of the missing bodies put with them.   The story is a good one and the acts of the animals spectacular.   I would recommend this series to middle schoolers with a bent for murder, mayhem and mysteries on up.   Animal lovers especially will be pleased with the stories.    

Welcome to Hell

Welcome to Hell by "Bad" Billy Pratt, 178 pages

Repeatedly, in the collection of blog posts that make up Welcome to Hell, author Billy Pratt earnestly declares the mission of the writer to be the arduous distillation of truth from experience.  Given such a seemingly grandiose conception of his vocation, the reader might expect a diatribe against contemporary illusions and delusions.  Whether attracted or repelled by that prospect, what he will find if he dares to open the book is a series of vignettes, some funny, some poignant, some simply depressing, most of them defying cheap moralizing and instead inviting understanding.  What emerges is a portrait of Hell, a realm of aging adolescent consumers searching ever more desperately for validation or just the next dopamine fix, having already pawned their youth and healthy relationships.

An obvious trap for a collection of this kind is for the entries to become numbingly repetitive, but Pratt's descriptive approach avoids this entirely.  At the same time, the strong thematic unity and the unmistakable voice of the author keeps it from feeling disjointed.  The whole reads less like a haphazard bunch of essays than a carefully constructed novel in the tradition of Zola, albeit one holding up a mirror to a very different world.

The Fatherhood Project: A Story of Courage and Healing in One of America's Toughest Communities

Shirley J.    Adult Non-Fiction           Coaching Young Black Men in Watts on how to be Fathers

The Fatherhood Project: A Story of Courage and Healing in One of America's Toughest Communities by Gorja Leap     256 pages

In 2010 the first group forum for Project Fatherhood began in the South Los Angeles Watts neighborhood.   As incentive to get men from the community to come to the forum, they were promised gift cards (the kind with money put on them) for every 4th meeting they attended.  What started out as hit or miss and lots of attitude ended up becoming a tight family of men from teens to middle-age O. G.s, all working together to help each other and their community out.   The young men were able to have a place where they were free to air their thoughts, feelings and to learn from each other what it takes to be a father to their children when few had grown up in two parent homes.  Without their own father's guidance and teaching, the streets became their teachers and the lessons were learned and implemented but the information was not always positive.  Some of the men grew up in homes where they were abused, mentally, violently and/or sexually  which taught them to mistrust and hate.  Most of the men felt that not having a male father figure they didn't know how to treat a child of their own and often reacted with anger to their women and children.  Many times they loved their kids and wanted to take care of them, but did not have a job, or were incarcerated and couldn't be there in the household due to affiliations outside the home.  Drugs and gangs could also come into play.   This mixed bag of life in Watts left many of the men feeling ill equipped to handle parenthood but with the support of Project Fatherhood men were able to come together, help each other, talk each other through struggles and help the upcoming fathers in the neighborhood develop and grow into the role of Dad.  The Project has been able to assist in job placements, counsel and aid in legal advice and representation, serve/volunteer in the neighborhood and coach each other whenever possible.  They have been instrumental in anger management, mentoring in cases where men have responded with violence toward their wives, girlfriends, and/or children to teach and coach them toward other ways to respond and with calming techniques to reason through situations.  To think first before they automatically react negatively.   A deeply moving book and a worthy program that is still going today.    I recommend this book to middle schoolers on up.   It is a look at life some know and others need to know.      

Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories

Shirley J.                    Adult Non-Fiction                    8 stories from Gerald Durrell's life adventures

Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories by Gerald Durrell   208 pages

I love Gerald Durrell's stories.   He tells everything so elegantly and so amusingly.  I love his take on life, no matter what the situation, he finds the funny and lets the reader in on the laughs.   He is never unkind, he merely looks at every situation with the eye of a scientific observer mulling the essence of whatever situation and commenting so wittily he will have you laughing out loud.   The repartee between Gerry and his family is like ambrosia.   So full of meaning yet spoken subtly but with the magnanimity of royalty.   His tales are delights to read, particularly about his family but tales of friends and acquaintances are just as much fun to picture in your mind.   What a life he has led!   I recommend this book to middle schoolers on up especially to PBS fans who may have seen the show about Gerald and his family's life in Greece, The Durrells of Corfu.

You Are A Badass At Making Money

 

Shirley J.              Adult Non-Fiction                        Financial Coaching for Entrepreneurial Spirits

You Are A Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero   288 pages

Serious stuff delivered in a comical sometimes in your face style.   You are getting a boatload of financial gems here delivered to you from you would swear a stand-up comedienne.   So fun from beginning to end.  Jen teeters from God delivering you money from His endless bounty to a form of the philosophy of The Secret where through the law of attraction this wealth is waiting for you and wants to get to you if only you will free yourself to believe it.   Either way it is about faith.   Faith in God, faith in the universe, faith in the law of attraction.  She has so many good things to say that I want to read her other books.  She gives good coaching sessions, and exercises to enforce what she is teaching.  Very enlightening.   I would recommend this to mature middle schoolers and also mature teens on up to senior citizens.  It is never too early nor too late to learn useful tips.   Well done, Jen Sincero.

Shirley J.              Adult Non-Fiction                               Financial Coach to Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero

A Dangerous Game

 

Shirley J.                     Adult Fiction                             Foreign Women, Sex Traffickers

 A Dangerous Game by Heather Graham  473 pages

Criminal psychologist, Kieran Finnegan is the last one to leave the office one night when a woman rushes in with a baby.   The woman thrusts the baby into Kieran's arms and runs away out the door, out of the building and onto the street.   Running after her with the baby in her arms, Kieran shouts for the security guard to go after the woman and stop her.   Before either the guard or Kieran's eyes, though surrounded by a crowd of people, the woman suddenly stops, turns back toward Kieran, then wobbles weakly on her feet before falling down on the sidewalk with a knife sticking out of her.   So begins the tale of Kieran and her F.B.I. Special Agent boyfriend, Craig Frasier.   Though the baby is turned over to Child Services, Kieran can't stop thinking about the beautiful little baby girl, wondering how she is and wanting desperately to get her back to her family.  The woman who was stabbed seemed too old to be the baby's mother and upon examination during an autopsy, it was determined the woman had not given birth recently and the baby was no more than 3 months old.   Craig tells Kieran to stay out of it, but, she can't let it go, and so begins the investigation and search for what happened and where the baby's mother or family might be.   Good story.   I recommend this one to adults, I don't think it would be as interesting to teens or younger.

The Watchmakers: A Story of Brotherhood, Survival, and Hope Amid the Holocaust

The Watchmakers: A Story of Brotherhood, Survival and Hope Amid the Holocaust by Harry Lenga and Scott Lenga 352 pages

Scott Lenga interviewed his father, Harry, for countless hours before his death for more than a decade. Scott wanted to tell his father’s story, a story that cannot be made up or trivialized. It is the story of Harry and his two brothers escape from Hitler’s advancing armies and their survival through the Holocaust. This is not an easy read.

The first chapter gives readers some background from Harry’s birth in 1919 through his twenty-first birthday in 1930 in the Chassidic town of Kozhnitz (Poland). This chapter was slow reading for me as I struggled to keep all the members of the family straight, especially using their Polish/Jewish names.

In Chapter Two, the teenage years and learning to repair watches, the conversation is easier to follow.

As Hitler’s armies invade Poland, Harry and his two brothers know that as they ca stay together, everything will be all right. The men are sent to Warsaw and interred in the Ghetto. This is followed by the German Occupation, the Kozhnitz Ghetto, the Gorczycki Camp at Wolka, the Wolanow Slave Labor Camo, the Starachowice Slave Labor Camp, Auschwitz, the Death March, Mauthausen, Melk, Ebensee and finally, Liberation by the Americans.

Harry was the leader. They stayed alive by using their watchmaking skills to repair watches in the camps. But still life was hard. The bugs, the starvations, the beatings. Every time I think I have read every atrocity I think I can, I read of something much, much worse. It is amazing the brothers survived their ordeal.

 “The Watchmakers: A Story of Brotherhood, Survival and Hope Amid the Holocaust” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Tha Magic of Lemon Drop Pie

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden 352 pages

On a hot, hot summer day, there is nothing better than staying indoors with a light, fun book. “The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie” is the perfect book to read indoors, or for sun lovers, lying on the beach or in a hammock.

Lolly Blanchard is in a rut. When her mother died ten years ago, she put all her dreams on hold. She took over her mother’s role at the family’s diner and acts as a mother to her thirteen-year-old sister, Daphne. She rises before dawn every day to make the lemon meringue pies for which the diner is famous. She takes care of the books and runs the front of the house. Dad is the chef, but he is still so lost in his grief that he can barely function.

One day, Daphne discovers one of Lolly’s high school journals where she listed her life goals. Much to her dismay, she has not completed any of them, and it’s even harder that there are only five. Four big goals and one smaller goal, but still.

Lolly sinks into a funk. Her thirty-third birthday is just around the corner. The diner is slowly losing business and bills are hard to pay.

Great-Aunt Gert, an eccentric old woman, gives Lolly a most unusual birthday present:  three lemon drops. But these aren’t just any lemon drops; they are magical. Each one will give Lolly the opportunity to “live a single day in a life that might have been hers.”

Lolly uses the lemon drops to answer some of her biggest regrets. She decides to spend a day with her mother, open a restaurant overseas and made a life with the only man she has ever loved.

This was a sweet, sweet (no pun intended) story. The choices Lolly makes with the three lemon drops will open her eyes to see the new possibilities in her existing life. And on learning of a fourth lemon drop that will allow her to stay in one of those lives, Lolly discovers the strength and happiness she had no idea could be hers.

A light read for a sweltering day, “The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie” is the perfect beach read and receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

I Am Not Who You Think I Am

 

Shirley J.                Adult Fiction                            Secrets, Suicide, Family History and Grave Digging

I Am Not Who You Think I Am by Eric Rickstad   350 pages

Whoa!   8 year old Wayland Maynard gets sick at school and comes home early only to walk in on his father committing suicide!  Plagued by the trauma of not only seeing it, hearing it, he also is haunted by the bits of his father's head that explode and backsplash on him.   A tour of a traumatized child's thoughts and his mission to find out why.  He hides the only note his father left, "I am not who you think I am," for years.   Though his mother asked if his father left a note for some reason Wayland tells her no he didn't.  The note haunts him.   The family is also blown apart.  His mother starts working double-shifts to keep up with the bills, his sister goes teen tramp and though she is 15 she is dating and sleeping with a 20 year old who treats her and Wayland disrespectfully.   Wayland turns away from his family and turns to his best friend who is also a Richard (think about it) because the friend's father beats up on him then as the saying goes about stuff rolling down hill...he takes it out on Wayland.  They are all each other has so Wayland tolerates it for the most part till he doesn't.   Then when Wayland gets a girlfriend, his buddy seems to be making a play for her.   Wayland begins looking for samples of his father's writing because certain factors make him think maybe the man who killed himself wasn't his Dad after all.   The story plays out very interestingly and there are surprises along the way.   A good story, I would recommend it to mature high schoolers on up due to the subject matter.

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Bleachers

Bleachers by John Grisham 240 pages

Ah, Friday night football. Just like the fictional town of Messina in Grisham’s book, my hometown in Arkansas lived and breathed Friday night high school football (and Saturday afternoon Razorback games).

This is more than a novel about football. It is a novel about teamwork, motivation, forgiveness and remembrance.

The story centers (no pun intended) on Neely Crenshaw who fifteen years ago was an All-American quarterback. This is his first trip back to his hometown since he left for college. His old coach, Eddie Rack, is dying. Neely has gone back to wait. It is time for him to come to terms with the past and decided if he loved Coach or hated him and if he can forgive him. Neely does not go to sit with Coach, or even stop by house. He is there because the past has pulled him back, and he has a special job to do that isn’t revealed until the end.

Messina hired Coach Rake when he was only twenty-eight years old. He had a hard job in front of him to get a bunch of uninspired, out-of-shape teenage boys ready to win.

Neely heads to the football field to wait for Coach to pass. There he is joined by some of his old teammates. There they reminiscence about the glory days of their high school years, Coach, Coach’s record, and each other.

Readers get to know Coach through the boys-now-men recollections, good and bad.

Author Grisham does an excellent job in doling out information and keeping the story tight and suspenseful. It takes place over four days as the boys-now-men begin to arrive to pay their last respects to a man who changed their lives. I did get a little bored when the listened to an old tape of a life-changing game. It went on a tad too long in my play book. Therefore “Bleachers” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Nina Soni: Master of the Garden

Nina Soni: Master of the Garden (Book 3 in a series) by Kashmira Sheth; illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky 192 pages

Nina Soni, an Indian American fourth graders living in Madison, Wisconsin, is so excited. It’s “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” Her mother is taking her, her little sister, Kavita, and her best friend, Jay, with her to teach them how to plant a garden. She is a landscape architect.

Naturally (no pun intended), Nina wants to start her own garden at home. Her mom helps the three get the soil ready and plant their crops. Nina soon learns that starting a garden isn’t as easy as it sounded. Thankfully, she is a great list maker, using her journal to help keeps the process straight. Only trouble is, she doesn’t list all the steps, instead trying to keep them in her mind.

Nina, an entrepreneur at heart, dreams of growing huge amounts of vegetables and selling them to the neighbors, making a lot of money. Thanks to her big-mouthed little sister, before she can share her plans with Jay, he learns about them and his feelings are deeply hurt. Nina must find a way to apologize, but so much is distracting her.

Her biggest worry is the pests that have invaded her part of the garden.  Why hers and not Jay’s, or Kavita’s? 

Like the previous titles, this book is filled with STEAM lessons that are fun and simple. It’s the perfect time of year to get your daughter or son out of the house and learn to garden! Although I did not find this book as engaging as the other two, “Nina Soni: Master of the Garden” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

How To Be An Antiracist

 Shirley J.          Adult Non-Fiction                          Explores racism and offers actions for change

How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi   624 pages

Excellent book!  Explains the history of racism, how people are often racist when they think they aren't (hint it is what you say and how you say it even if you try to frame it in liberal ideal terms), and how all races can be racist against other races, people or economic levels of folks within one's own race, or discriminating against gay people, so many types of racism out there and the author addresses all forms.  He discusses Dr. King, Malcolm X, the killing of black people by police nationwide, the Black Lives Matter movement, and so much more.   This book challenges the reader to take a soulful, reflective look at history, society and oneself.  I recommend this book to mature middle schoolers on up.  

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting

 

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin  352 pages

Within the first chapter, Kitty loses the man she had planned to marry to solve her family's insolvency and prevent the loss of the home she shares with her four sisters.  Once this happens, she is forced to come up with a plan to find a new husband who has enough funding to save her home.  Since both of her parents are dead, she decides to go to London with one of her sisters and stay with her "aunt" who knew her mother when they were both "on the stage" and courtesans.  Her mother was fortunate enough to have one of her suitors marry her (although he was disowned because of the unsuitable marriage).  She meets Archie de Lacy (her sister went to seminary with his sister), but when his brother Lord Radcliffe gets wind of her plan (through his mother the hypochondriac) he comes to town to put the kibosh on the marriage.  Kitty finds ways to manipulate Lord Radcliffe to better herself in the eyes of the ton and even asks him to check on her suitors' financial suitability.  Of course you will have guessed the end.

This is my favorite time period to read about in historical romance. I enjoyed this book and the writing kept me reading long past my bedtime.  I liked the characters of Kitty and Lord Radcliffe although I wish some of the other characters had been fleshed out a little more.  My only real criticism of the book is that I wished there was more romance at the end.

SLPL May 2022 Team Totals

 In May, three people read 36 books with a total of 9952 pages.

Shirley J. was the super-reader with 24 books and 6108 pages, but Dennis M. had a long one with a 994 page book!

Congrats to all the readers and time for summer fun!

The Infinite Game

 

Shirley J.       Adult Non-Fiction             The benefits of infinite management over finite management

The Infinite Game by Sinek Simon   272 pages

This was an excellent read explaining the very different management styles of infinite and finite.  Infinite seeing the big picture and future, finite focuses on today and now, being more numbers conscious in the present.   Infinite is innovative and doing research and development into how to continue to be viable tomorrow finite tends to stay to the tried and true what worked in the past will work now.   The author cites many instances where CEOs of major known companies became short-sighted concentrating on sales, building wealth today but not looking for new ways to serve consumers and stay current keeping an eye on trends in order to stay viable and continue to move into the future in order to stay in business and continue to be a leader.   Many companies that have started out aggressively building a reputation for remaining in the know and serving up what the consumer wants, other companies believing they are superior and set the standard have remained doing the same thing the same way until it is too late and they are either forced into bankruptcy, forced to close their doors or best case scenario wake up in time to get new management in place to save the company and make it relevant to current and future users not depending on what has worked in the past, but looking outside the box to the path to be on to take the company into the future (and stay relevant).   Excellent advice given here.  I recommend this to middle schoolers on up - great tips for future career building with insight into progress not stagnation.  

Zoey and Sassafras: Wishypoofs and Hiccups

Zoey and Sassafras: Wishypoofs and Hiccups (Book 9 in a series) by Asia Castro; illustrated by Marion Lindsay 96 pages

I look forward to new adventures in the life of Zoey and her beloved orange cat, Sassafras. In this educational and fun series, the duo helps magical creatures who seek their assistance with whatever problem they are experiencing. So far, Zoey, and her mom, have been able to help through science.

I love books that focus on science for girls. My step-granddaughters, who are now 6 and 4, love Zoey also. The oldest seems especially attracted to science.

In this episode, Pip the talking frog shows up at the barn with a long, luxurious head of curly green hair. He has come to Zoey for help as he has no idea of how he got it. The trio retrace Pip’s steps into the forest.

Something is amiss in the forest. All their friends are having problems. Tiny, the large unicorn, has shrunk, the monster twins and stuck together, Pip begins to lay eggs and all the characters from the other books have shown up with a problem.

Fortunately, readers are introduced to a new character, a wishypoof floating in the air! When the trio first encounter her, she is crying. She believes she is the cause of all the changes in the forest, but more important she has the hiccups and doesn’t know how to get rid of them!

I thought that this would be the chance for Zoey to conduct several scientific experiments. In all honestly, she does have one that she works with on with her mom. But when it fails, all she does is ask the other creatures how they get rid of hiccups.

I was disappointed in this latest adventure. There was little science. I was heartbroken that there weren’t any at-home experiments for readers. We barely saw Zoey use her scientific methods and her Thinking Goggles. Therefore, “Zoey and Sassafras: Wishypoofs and Hiccups” receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Daughters of Mars

 

Shirley J.                      Adult Fiction                         Australian Nurses in World War I

The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally  528 pages

Set in World War I, the story revolves around the lives of two sisters who join the Australian nursing corps. during World War I.    The story is pretty graphic in detailing wounds, suffering and injuries sustained during mustard gas, bombs, bullets, tuberculosis, infection, etc.   Not for the squeamish.  A very real and personal up close view of the effects of war and the tragedies of war.   It also goes into how people treat their fellow man, ie. a Quaker medical officer is beaten, spit on, called a coward and worse because he will do his best to heal his fellow man but refuses to take up arms against him; a graphic rape of one of the nurses is told; stories of the loss of limbs in very real in the moment detail.    An exceedingly well told tale that brings you into the chaos of war in brilliant detail while sharing the personal stories of the nurses and soldiers in the midst of the fray and all that can be accomplished with few supplies but lots of moxie.   Because of the detail I would recommend this one to mature teens and maybe even adults rather than teens.  Good book that will touch your emotions.