Review of Prince Dustin and Clara: Legends of the Black Forest by Daniel Lee Nicholson

Prince Dustin and Clara:  Legends of the Black Forest by Daniel Lee Nicholson
Format:  E-ARC
Publisher:  Fossil Mountain Publishing
Number of pages:  280
Publishing: September 17th, 2021
Source:  Publisher

Opening Lines: It was a hazy, humid day many, many years ago.  In a magical land of fairies and sorcerers, a stone castle stood tall on the horizon."

Legends Of The Black Forest is the third book in the Prince Dustin and Clara series, written as a homage to the original creators of The Nutcracker.  The latest book includes a foreword by Silvino Da Silva from the Ruth Page Center for the Arts.  

Clara and Fritz Stahlbaum are enjoying some long awaited  fun at Camp Lache Lake, Clara is preparing to audition for the lead in a dance recital, while the boys skip rocks and play with the frogs in the lake.  Meanwhile, at Castle Zauberin, Serihilda is dealing with some uninvited guests and making plans to rule all of the Black Forest.  Wizard Herr Drosselmeyer's evil twin, Drachenmeyer is still imprisoned within a high tower of Niedertrachtig Castle, held by the enchantment's of Merlin's magical stones.  However, unbeknown to Wizard Drosselmeyer the spell holding his twin is beginning to weaken,  and is soon to be completely broken when Serihilda casts a spell causing snow to once again fall in the Land of Snow.  Once Queen Nordika is alerted to the spell being lifted, she requests help from Clara, Prince Dustin and Princess Sugar Plum.  The trio must reach Zauberin Castle before midnight and defeat Serihilda before she can release all of the Dark Forces upon the Black Forest.

I love all the little details in the prologue, it beautifully sets the scene and makes for a lovely image of this fairytale castle nestled within the forest.  I especially love this passage, "white velvet snow capped the tops of each peak like a sprinkling of marshmallows on hot chocolate."  Doesn't that just sound like a cozy wintery read, especially with music from The Nutcracker ballet playing in the background?  Then in one fell swoop two trolls are demolished when they get caught somewhere they're not supposed to be.  Those scenes alone had me laughing out loud.  Lot's of amusing moments like that and coupled with lots of action.   

I enjoyed how the story is written in three acts, beginning with Castle Zauberin and then has the trio beginning their adventure into the enchanted Black Forest, passing through the land of the tree fairies, and on into the swamplands before reaching Castle Zauberin.  Along the way they encounter many hazards everything from trolls to tornado's are thrown at them by Serihilda making for a fun adventure.  I didn't even mind when each act ended on a small cliff hanger, it seemed to really hook you into wanting to read a little bit further.  But most of all I loved the setting of the Black Forest, it just lends itself to this mysterious place with dangers lurking in the shadows.  I'd be remise if I didn't mention the lovely black and white illustrations and cover, Luke Ahearn created the interior artwork and cover design and Niele Diel, a German artist created the cover illustration.  Overall, I have really enjoyed reading this fantasy re-imagining of the Nutcracker ballet, getting to know Clara, Prince Dustin and follow along with their adventures.  With it's general themes of good versus evil I can easily see this as a fun family read.     ** A huge thank you to Danielle at Fossil Mountain Publishing for the E-ARC**      

MG Historical Fiction review of Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs

Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs
Format:  E-ARC
Publisher:  Sourcebooks
Number of pages:  288
Publishing:  September 14th, 2021
Source: Publisher via Netgalley following authors request for a review.  

Opening Lines: "The smoking star lit the night sky as women wept, holding their babies close."

Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna is an inspiring story of promises, determination, and one incredible girls bravery and courage as she leads her family north to safety.  It tells the story of Petra, a twelve-year- old girl who's been struggling over the loss of her mother, who died giving birth to her younger brother and whose father was taken by Federale soldiers to join the revolution.  That was six months ago, but the pain is still raw.  Papa promised Petra he would return,  since then she's been fulfilling her promise to take care of the family by collecting wood which she sells for food.  Petra has been holding on to the piece of coal he gave her, and to her dream of one day learning to read, maybe to even become a teacher.  Then one day, Federales come to their small village looking for young men to join the war, upset that the men are all gone, they burn down the village,  forcing Petra and her family to flee into the hills.  Thus begins the harrowing trek that takes Petra and her family across treeless lands, with the sun bearing down on them, and little provisions or water to even sustain them, all while hiding from the Federales and avoiding scorpions, coyotes and rattlesnakes.  

Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna was inspired by stories told to the author by her grandmother and great-grandmother growing up.  The main character, Petra Luna, was also inspired by the historical events surrounding the author's own families escape from their burning village after being attacked by Federale soldiers in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution.  Per the authors note at the end of the book, in 1913 there were over 6,000 people trying to cross over a bridge into the United States when the gates were closed.  It wasn't until the Federales showed up threatening people along the border that they were allowed entrance into the United States.   Petra's story is a heartfelt, compelling historical fiction that seems to mirror current events at the Mexican American border.  Even now refugees are enduring the harsh desert on foot, hoping to reach the border and be granted entrance to seek asylum in the United States.  Though the story is written about events that took place a long time ago, it's written in a way that is easily accessible to younger children and will help build empathy.  **Thank you to the author,  Alda P. Dobbs for suggesting the story and Sourcebooks for the review copy.**

Review of Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis

Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis
Format:  E-ARC 
Publisher:  Katherine Tegen Books 
Number of Pages:  240
Publishing:  September 7th, 2021
Source:  Review copy provided by Keely Platte from SparkPress

Opening lines: "It should have been raining."  

It's Madalyn's first day of summer vacation and she should be excited, instead she's brooding over how bad of a year her sixth grade was.  It was a year of losses, first her dog died, and then her best friend moved away.  If that wasn't enough, her dad was laid off from work necessitating a move from their comfy townhouse to an older house on the other side of town.  The only saving grace about the move is Madalyn won't have to attend Robinson Howard Middle School anymore.  Mom says her and dad have a plan that will improve everything, but when the plan entails moving in with her seventy three year old great uncle,  Papa Lobo, Madalyn is hesitant.  Sure, Papa Lobo is pretty nice, and as mom suggested, he could use a little help around the house.  He even enlisted his neighbor's son, Jean to help get Madalyn settled at her new school.  How can she turn Papa Lobo down when he did open up his place to her?   

Madalyn's first day of school starts out kind of rocky when she slips and has an embarrassing fall that is witnessed by the entire school.  Then she finds out she's the only black girl in her class, and Carlin and Sydney make her feel very unwelcome.     But then Madalyn meets a few of the other girls from class and things seem to be looking up.  Natalie seems like a promising friend, until she makes a comment about being scared of "boys like that" when she sees Madalyn with Jean.  At first Madalyn feels weird about Natalie's comment, and then she gets angry.   Despite Natalie having one bad experience in the past, there's no reason for her to now develop a prejudice toward all black boys.  Madalyn is hurt by Natalie's off handed comments and isn't sure she want's to be friends with someone who makes racist comments like that.  But when a wildfire starts making their way toward their town, Madalyn decides to hold off having a "tough conversation" with Natalie until after their families are safe.

I've seen Partly Cloudy described as a quiet story and I would agree, with the caveat that it is also an important story.  The story tackles the issue of racism with sensitivity, highlighting Natalie's misjudgments and Madalyn's feelings with an authentic real life feel.  I also love how the author describes that the onus is not on Madalyn to explain or help Natalie to not have these racist thoughts but rather Natalie is the one who has to do the work.  Madalyn is the one to decide whether their friendship is worth having a hard conversation, and letting Natalie know how she feels.  I also loved how the story reflected a carrying family, Papa Lobo, Madalyn's mom and dad, Natalie's older sister and the many neighbors.  The wildfire added an element of danger, with Madalyn's mom travelling to Papa Lobo's and Natalie's sister being unaccounted for during the height of the fire, it also showed how situations like this can bring people together.  Overall, this was a very enjoyable read.       

THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY Blog Tour Excerpt + Giveaway

Today I am excited to be hosting a spot on the THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY: Uncovering Tutankhamun's Tomb  by Candace Fleming Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. I hope you'll check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About the Book:

Title: THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY: Uncovering Tutankhamun's Tomb
Author: Candace Fleming
Pub. Date: September 7, 2021
Publisher: Scholastic Focus
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Award-winning and critically acclaimed author Candace Fleming presents the edge-of-your-seat true story of the search for Tutankhamun's tomb, the Western public's belief that the dig was cursed, and the battle for ownership of the treasures within.

During the reign of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun ruled and died tragically young. In order to send him on his way into the afterlife, his tomb was filled with every treasure he would need after death. And then, it was lost to time, buried in the sands of the Valley of the Kings.

His tomb was also said to be cursed.

Centuries later, as Egypt-mania gripped Europe, two Brits -- a rich earl with a habit for gambling and a disreputable, determined archeologist -- worked for years to rediscover and open Tutankhamun's tomb. But once it was uncovered, would ancient powers take their revenge for disturbing and even looting the pharaoh's resting place? What else could explain the mysterious illnesses, accidents, and deaths that began once it was found?

 

Excerpt :

 

About Candace:

Candace Fleming awarded herself the Newbery Medal in fifth grade after scraping the gold sticker off the class copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond and pasting it onto her first novel—a ten-page, ten-chapter mystery called Who Done It? She’s been collecting awards (her own, not Elizabeth George Speare’s) ever since.

Today, Candace is the versatile and acclaimed author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize honored The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Russian Empire; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns; the bestselling picture book, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!; the Sibert-Award-winning Giant Squid; and the beloved Boxes for Katje. She contributed the chapter on Katharine of Aragon to Fatal Throne. Photo credit: Michael Lionstar.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week Two:

Week Two:

8/29/2021	Log Cabin Library	Excerpt
8/29/2021	BookHounds ya	Review
8/30/2021	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
8/31/2021	Little Red Reads	Review
8/31/2021	Jaime's World	Excerpt
9/1/2021	Locks, Hooks and Books	Review
9/2/2021	@lexijava	Excerpt
9/3/2021	Two Points of Interest	Review
9/4/2021	hauntedbybooks	Review
9/4/2021	Enjoyingbooksagain	Review

Review of Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket
Format:  Hardcover 
Publisher:  Liveright
Number of Pages:  168
Publishing:  August 31st, 2021
Source:  Review copy provided by Megan Beatie Communications

Opening Lines "This morning I had poison for breakfast."

From Goodreads:  This true story—as true as Lemony Snicket himself—begins with a puzzling note under his door: You had poison for breakfast. Following a winding trail of clues to solve the mystery of his own demise, Snicket takes us on a thought-provoking tour of his predilections: the proper way to prepare an egg, a perplexing idea called “tzimtzum,” the sublime pleasure of swimming in open water, and much else.

I was really excited to receive a review copy of Poison for Breakfast, it'd been a really long time since I've read a book by Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning is the last one that comes to mind.   For some reason I didn't continue on with the series, or maybe it was that my kiddo and I moved on to something else.  But I did end up watching the 2004 movie A Series of Unfortunate Events with Jim Carrey and the Netflix series with Neil Patrick Harris, which I quite enjoyed.

Poison for Breakfast is a truly different kind of book.  I'd say it's either geared toward YA or adults.  In some ways it is similar to Lemony Snicket's other books in writing style and humor.  Yet, also very different, more philosophical with a murder mystery to solve.  Namely, to solve the case of his own poisoning.    As Snicket describes it himself, "this book is about bewilderment, a word which here means not having the faintest idea what is going on at any given time."   It's a book about thinking about things and trying to figure them out.  At times it was difficult to follow the flow, Snicket meanders from idea to idea, but I think this was more of a factor of me than the book.  It's the kind of book that you can't rush through, and requires focus, a book I know I want to read again.  Especially to appreciate Snicket's rules of writing again and defiantly to read it much slower.  I found it very helpful that his notes referencing the poets, authors, songs and movies mentioned in the story were broken down by chapter at the back of the book, and overall reading Poison for Breakfast was truly a treat.   I can see this appealing to adult fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events series.  **Thank you to Megan Beatie Communications for my review copy.**   

Happy Book Blog Birthday to me!

 

It's hard to believe that I've been book blogging for 9 years now, where has the time gone?  It still feels like I am learning something new every day and am so thankful for my followers who leave comments on my posts.  When I started this little ol' blog I wanted to have a place to keep track of the books that I read and my thoughts about them.  It morphed into participating in the Cybils each year as a judge and even branching out onto Twitter where I've made many author and fellow blogger friends. So I would like to take the opportunity to once again say thank you to all you lovely readers for your support, likes and comments.  It means the world to me!!  Brenda  

 

MG Realistic Fiction review of Carry Me Home by Janet Fox

 

Carry Me Home by Janet Fox
Format:  E-ARC 
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Number of Pages:  208
Publishing:  August 24th, 2021
Source:  Review copy provided by Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media

Opening Lines "The day Lulu's daddy disappeared was, so far, the coldest morning of the year."

Twelve-year-old Lulu and her younger sister, Serena wake up one morning in their family Suburban to find that their daddy is missing.  All that was left behind was his wallet, a dead phone and the keys to the car.  Initially, Lulu isn't too worried about her daddy's disappearance, he did go missing once before and returned, but this time things feel different.  In the meantime, Lulu tries to keep to the routine that daddy established for them.  She makes sure she and Serena have breakfast, get off to school on time and even goes to the food pantry to make sure they stay stocked up on food.  But as the days go by and the money daddy left behind begins to dwindle, Lulu becomes concerned that someone might figure out that daddy has left them all alone.   

Carry Me Home is a riveting, quick read and Lulu will capture your heart.  Lulu is a beautiful example of a caring, loving older sister who is determined, strong, a talented writer, singer and wisher.  Although she's afraid that she and her little sister might be separated if anyone is to find out their secret, she tries to take over in her dad's absence.  Her goal throughout the story is to hide their homelessness from all the adults around her.   Lulu's life at times is sad, but also hopeful.  It's a realistic portrayal of the difficulties faced with homelessness and how some children can slide through the cracks.   There's lots of good information woven into the story about seeing what's around you, and that caring, helpful people do exist.  In Lulu's case, she finds help from a kind lunch lady, librarian, and Jack, the nice boy she meets at school.  

I read somewhere that the inspiration for Carry Me Home was a NPR story that Fox heard about a family living in their car in Montana.  She also drew inspiration from a Hiroshima survivor, Sadako Sasaki and her paper cranes, as well as the sandhill cranes migration.   I love how the author carefully crafted the story to include all of these elements while balancing Lulu's past with her dad in Texas with her present in Montana, providing just the right amount of details about how the family ended up in this situation without dwelling on the past.  I also liked that Lulu's father isn't a cruel man, although he made some poor choices, he truly loves his daughters and was trying his best to provide for them.    What will grab the reader is how Lulu "stands up" for herself and her sister.  How she takes charge and carries on until she can no longer.  Her wish will resonate with the reader and the story will draw out strong emotions and empathy.  The short chapters will make it easier to digest the information, just a beautiful story that had me tearing up at the end.  Books to pair this with might include Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo or Front Desk by Kelly Yang.  

**A huge thank you to Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media, I just adored this book to pieces!**