My one person interview with myself and my June book reviews

Helllloooooo! We have made it halfway through 2021 already, can you believe it?!?! It's my favorite season🌞🌻 right now and can you believe I have not gone outside since Easter weekend! I know, I can't believe it either. 

 What have I been up to this last month?

I will either 📕, watch 📺, or 😴💤.  Basically if I am tired of books and TV then I sleep and not because I am sleepy but because that is what you do when you live in a nursing 🏠🏠.

I did a lot of reading this month. I wanted to review some 📕📕📕 for a few teacher friends. So, I have this post with ALL my June 📕 picks and a separate post with only 2nd-12th grade and YA books.  You can find that post in the right hand margin of this page.  In addition, for each book, I added links to Goodreads and Amazon. Any avid reader has there TBR (to be read) list and I have taken all the work out of adding to that list. Also, when it comes to the Youth and YA 📕📕📕 I added Amazons age and grade recommendations.

What are the things I miss the most?

• eating all the foods🥘
• hanging out with friends
• traveling 🛪
• dating💋
• my amazing job and living in Houston
• my puppy Magnolia🐶

What foods do I miss the most?

• burgers and fries🍔
• steak
• blooming onion, cheese sticks, fried pickles
  
• tacos🌮
• Wingstop
• chips and queso
  

What do I wish I had done more of before I got diagnosed?

• not complained or worried about my weight
• traveled more
• spent time with friends👫 
  

I miss my friends so immensely that it hurts. I want you all to visit as much as you want, let me know the days. I always feel bad asking. I guess it feels like I am bugging you. I know you all have families and I know family comes first, that is why I don't ask. I feel guilty.

 

I have been wondering who if anyone actually read this, so if you have made it this far would you leave me a comment and your name if you don't mind!

I created a blog with only the youth and YA books for my teacher friends. If you want to check it out click here or you can find it in the right hand margin along with the others I have written.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great book! Not too suspenseful, but not too predictable. Hannah a step mother to 16 year old Bailey is having a hard time connecting to the high school daughter of her husband Owen. One day a note is delivered to her door saying "protect her". Hannah doesn't understand what that means until Bailey tells her she found a duffel in her locker with a large sum of cash in it. Then, they find out some disturbing news about the company Owen works for. Bailey and Hannah turn detectives and find out more than they were expecting to! Choices are made that will change their lives forever. 

I could not put this book down. I had to find out what happens. If you like a detective like story, you will like this novel.

Goodreads

Amazon

 

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Taking place about 70 years after the death of Jesus, during the first Jewish-Roman war, this book follows the life of a slave girl, Hadassah. Hadassah is the only surviving member of her family during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. She is captured and sold to a wealthy family in Rome and given to the daughter, Julia as her personal slave. Julia lives a self-destructive lifestyle and thinks of no one but herself. In order to survive Hadassah must keep her Religion a secret. She remembers and clings to the teachings of Jesus that her father taught her as she subtly talks about her God to her captures. There is so much more to this book: Barbarians, Gladiators, love affairs, murder, betrayal, and so much more. A Voice in the Wind is the first book in the Mark of the Lion series. If you like Christian historical fiction then you will love this book. I listened to the audio book while following along which helped me pronounce all the names in my head.

 Goodreads

 Amazon

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is a beautiful story about a boy named Kek, an immigrant from Africa. He arrives to American in the heart of a Minnesota winter. Making friends, learning English words, and adapting to new cultural norms is difficult for Kek. He lives with his aunt and older cousin who arrived before him while clinging to the hope he will be reunited with his mother one day. This book is a gem and I only wish the book was longer, filled with more Kek stories.

Goodreads

Amazon 

* Age 10-14, Grades 5-6

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is a great summer beach read by the same author that wrote Daisy Jones and the Six. Really it's about a dysfunctional family and them going from rags and riches. It is written with every other chapter about the past until it catches up to present day. If you are just looking for a light read, this might be the book!

Goodreads

Amazon

 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Traffick is the sequel to Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. Tricks introduced readers to five characters who were sex trafficked in a variety of real life scenarios. The first book was hard to get through due to the graphic content and the sad truths. Traffick revealed how kids can be rescued from these horrific situations, how difficult it is to move forward, and how easy it can be to go back to that lifestyle.

This series was written for high school readers which I thought that was too young, After reading the statistic that the average age of a young women being introduced to prostitution is 12 years old (as of 2007, and things are not improving), I thought that might not be too young after all. This book could be the perfect starting point in having critical conversations about sex trafficking and what to look out for.

Goodreads

Amazon

* Age 14 and up, Grade 9-12

 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐
A really strange book, but in a good way. It is full of mystery, fantasy, and magic. Mr. Hood's Holiday House is every kids dream, until it's not! A place to enjoy your favorite holidays full of decorations, treats, and where your wishes come true. But what really happens at the house and can you run from it? It was not my favorite book, but can totally see why kids would love it.

Goodreads

 Amazon

* Age  9-12, Grade 4-7
 

 

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
First published in 1989 (probably new when I read it for the first time) this book is still a little gem. It is 1943 in Copenhagen, Denmark and Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen have already lived with the war and Nazi's on every corner of the street for the past three years. When a Rabbi warns the Jewish people of the Germans intent to "relocate" them, Annemarie's family helps Ellen's family escape to Sweden. Soon Annemarie is asked to take part in the mission and has to conjure courage and strength to help save her best friend.

Lowry based the book off stories her best friend told her. Although some of the characters are fictional, many of the events are true. A majority of Danish Jews were smuggled out of Denmark on fishing boats and motorboats. About 7,000 lives were saved. The handkerchiefs used to confuse the human sniffing dogs were true. They used rabbits blood to attract the dogs and cocaine to hinder their noses.

The author used the word "relocate" instead of delving into the details of concentration camps and human genocide making it more appropriate for the younger readers.

 Goodreads

Amazon 

 * Age 10-12, Grades 5-7

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐
A really beautiful book about starting over. Esperanza (meaning hope) was the daughter of a wealthy rancher living in Mexico. When tragedy strikes the family, she is forced to immigrate to the United States during the Great Depression and begin life anew in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Trading her fancy dresses and laid-back lifestyle for hard labor and financial struggles is more difficult than she was expecting. A heart warming read about hope, family, and beginning over.

 Goodreads

 Amazon

 * Age 8-12, Grades 3-7

 

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Darius does not have many friends and no social life. But when he and his family go to Iran to see his ailing grandfather, Darius learns more about his Persian roots and meets a neighbor boy named Sohrab. Sohrab invites Darius to play soccer with some of his friends. They quickly become each others t friend.

Darius suffers from depression, following his fathers own battle with severe depression, which becomes a major theme of the book. Darius and his father have a contentious relationship, that needs

For the first time Darius is feeling like his true self. When it is time to return to America, Darius is going to have to find away to be himself at home.

Goodreads

Amazon 

* Age 12 and up, Grades 7-9 (WARNING: involves some lude talk about the male anatomy)

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐
The sequel to A Child Called "It". This book focuses on David during his last few childhood years, ages 12-18. David was rescued from his mothers grip at age 12 and spent the next six years bouncing from foster home to foster home. Like many foster kids he struggled with fitting in at school and home. In an attempt to fit in with his peers David found himself in hot water over and over again, eventually ending up in Juvie. If you ever wanted to know about foster care from a child's perspective, this is a great starting point.

Goodreads

Amazon 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the third book by Dave Pelzer in the Child Called "It" series. While the first two books covered up to age 18, this one picks up in at 18 and goes through adulthood. It covers his career and volunteer work, love interest, and the birth of his son. The first book was hard to read because of the extreme abuse he lived, but I found this one much easier. If you have an interest in this topic then I recommend picking up this book. WARNING: not for the faint of heart.

Goodreads

Amazon

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Don't tell anyone, but I think I like the Henry Huggins books more than the Ramona books. I don't know why exactly, maybe I like the adventures Henry and Ribsy go on. They are always causing mischief and getting in trouble. But they always manage to get out of the deep end of the pool. This book is 70 years old! I think given how old the book is, it is still silly and funny. Because of its age somethings are unrelatable, like how much things cost and the freedom kids had to run around the neighborhood. Henry is a constant problem solver. In this book Henry is all about getting a bicycle. A very wholesome series, so far.

Goodreads

Amazon

 * Age 8-12, Grades 2-7

  ⭐⭐⭐
This book had a really slow start, but about halfway through it began to pick up. It takes place in 1979 war-torn Kurdistan. Olivia an aspiring photojournalists joins her Kurdish boyfriend, Delan to Northern Iraq for a family wedding. She takes this opportunity to capture a picture that will land her her dream job at work while learning more about Delan's childhood. The trip ends up being more dangerous than both thought it would be. When tragedy strikes Olivia realizes she captured it on film. Olivia has to figure out what do with the roll. I gave the book three stars because of the slow start. Glad I stuck it out!

Goodreads

Amazon KINDLE UNLIMITED

 ⭐⭐⭐

So far this was not my favorite book of the series that I have read. Henry wants to go fishing with his dad, but only if Henry can keep his dog Ribsy out of trouble for the next month. Ribsy is a handful though and causes trouble for Henry to try and fix. 

Goodreads

Amazon

 * Age 8-12, Grades 2-7

 

 ⭐⭐⭐
A hard book to review. A simple description for this book is fiction story about a runway teen trying top find themselves in transgender group of friends. But it is much more complicated story than that. Is it fact or fiction? Memoir or anti-memoir? Fantasy or magical realism? One thing we do know is that it is complicated.

Goodreads

Amazon

 

⭐⭐
What a dud! I was REALLY hoping to like this novel, but it was nothingness. Kat an ER nurse in California is watching the news about a fire in a New Zealand night club and in the background she sees her sister. But her sister Josie died in a terrorist attack more than a decade earlier in Europe. See, sounds interesting right? Mari moved to New Zealand got married to a wealthy man and has two children she adores. But has secrets her husband doesn't know. Who is Mari? And what is she hiding from? Sprinkle in some romance and no plot twist and wa-la you get this less than exciting novel.

Godreads

Amazon KINDLE UNLIMITED