A Lightness in My Soul by Annette Oppenlander

January 7, 2021 By Leave a Comment


A Lightness in My Soul by Annette Oppenlander
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Inspired by the incredible true story of a German teen taken prisoner at the end of WWII, determined to survive and to reunite with his mother – A Lightness in My Soul is a tribute to the triumph of hope and redemption against all odds.

Germany, October 2019: In a car repair shop an elderly man waits next to a woman. They begin to talk about the Great War, when he was just a teen. He tells her a story, one he has never shared—his own.

Bavaria, April 1945: For the last two years, fifteen-year old Arthur and his classmates have lived in a youth camp. Far from home and allied bombs they spend their days with lessons, hikes, play fights and helping local farmers harvest ever decreasing crops. They have been told that the war will be over soon and that they’ll return home to a victorious Germany.

When the U.S. Army marches into camp, they are arrested and taken to the just liberated Dachau concentration camp. Everything they ever believed turns out to be false. They were lied to… not only has Germany lost the war, what they find is monstrous. But being a prisoner is only the beginning of their ordeal…

War is never easy for anyone, especially minors.

Arthur was a likeable character. He struck me as someone who was kind of hard on himself for the portions of his story that he would have done differently if he’d known all of the bends and twists in it from the beginning. His mistakes were generally minor ones like wishing for larger meals when rations were cut yet again or to no longer catch diseases like scabies that can spread so easily in institutional settings. These small moments humanized him. Honestly, I would have complained about them, too, if I’d been in the same situation. I kept hoping for a happy ending for him no matter how unlikely his chances of getting one might have looked at the moment.

The ending felt a little abrupt to me, especially considering all of the traumatic experience Arthur had been through during the last few years of World War II. There were some important subplots that were never resolved, especially as they pertained to some of the people he met along the way. While I definitely wouldn’t expect every single one of my questions to be answered due to this being loosely based on a true story that was set during such a turbulent era, it would have been nice to have a few more conflicts resolved.

This novella was filled with detailed descriptions of Arthur’s life at a Kinderlandverschickung, a rural camp set up for children and youth by the Third Reich to protect them from allied bombs, as well as his much more difficult experiences shortly after the war ended. Arthur observed more human suffering during these teenage years of his than many people know in a lifetime. I appreciated how honestly he shared his tale, especially the portions that he found painful to recount.

A Lightness in My Soul was an absorbing tale I’d recommend to adults and teens who are interested in what life was like for German civilians during World War II.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Safekeeper by Esther Archer Lakhani

December 17, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Safekeeper by Esther Archer Lakhani
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Her job is to keep their secrets safe.

A secluded Retreat Center full of preternatural clientele. A talking crow who thinks she knows everything. A new boy in town asking a lot of nosy questions. Sound like a lot to handle? Not for fifteen-year-old Macy Steward, who lives at the Center and helps her parents run the highly unusual retreats.

For Macy, this is simply normal routine. And it’s all going exactly as expected, that is until the guests become dangerously unpredictable, the talking crow goes suspiciously missing, and the new boy turns out to be so much more than he first appeared.

“Here comes trouble.” That’s the last thing the crow says before disappearing.

Even though she doesn’t scare easily, Macy has to admit the crow was right. Because soon enough, she finds herself trying to keep a lot more things safe than just secrets…

Some people were born to do great things.

The world building was complex and well constructed. I actually ended up taking notes while reading this in order to make sure I remembered all of the intricate details of what The Greenmont Grith Retreat Center was and why Macy’s family worked so hard to keep it low profile. The blurb barely scratched the surface on this topic in a good way, so there were many details to take note of as they were slowly revealed throughout the plot.

I would have liked to see more time spent on character development. As interesting as the main characters were, I didn’t notice much growth from them as a result of their experiences. They all seemed to remain more or less the same people they were when I first met them. There were so many opportunities for them to change. All this reader needed was the opportunity to see them evolve as a result of those experiences.

Reading the dialogue was entertaining. All of the characters had voices that sounded natural, and their conversations flowed just like they would in real life. In certain cases, I was also able to immediately tell who was speaking next due to the unique patterns of speech some of the main characters had. It was fun to match those speech patterns to the right folks and start making those predictions a moment ahead of time.

The Safekeeper was a fast-paced and wild ride. Do check it out if you love plot-heavy storylines.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Dreamwalkers by Leslie Rush

December 15, 2020 By 1 Comment


Dreamwalkers by Leslie Rush
Publisher: Champagne Books
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Moonflower

The danger isn’t walking into a dream; it’s escaping the nightmare.

Between working in her mom’s Tarot shop and trying to graduate before her nine-year-old genius brother beats her to it, Vivian Night Hawk has only one escape from her tiny New Mexico town: the ability to control her dreams, a gift she inherited from her Apache father. But lately that control is slipping, stranding her in a repeating nightmare that seems to follow her, even when she’s awake.

When she finds a jacket she suspects belonged to her dead father, Vivi steps beyond her usual lucid dreaming and discovers the electrifying secret of dreamwalking—the power to control the dreams of others. But with it comes a deadly menace: a top-secret CIA plot that threatens her brother, Brian.

Sought out by fellow dreamwalker Lucas, who is convinced their fathers are still alive, Vivi ventures deep into Dreamland to find a way to protect Brian. As the bond between Vivi and Lucas ignites, the conspiracy linking them together closes in, and Vivi must unlock the darkest power of all—a power that begins with her father’s quiet words: “Walk with me.”

Imagine if you could lucid dream to the extent you can visit other people and make suggestions to them that they carry out during their waking hours? How about being able to do that when you are awake? That’s what happens in this book so hold onto your hats.

Vivi is a sixteen-year-old who doesn’t fit in with the popular girls. She is also left alone every summer as her best friend goes to stay with her dad. Her mum is a ‘health freak’ and also runs a Tarot shop where Vivi helps out. Her normal life changes when she finds a jacket that she just has to own and she collides with a mysterious stranger in the local shop.

This was a well-written story that pulled me in from the very beginning, but I do feel like the subject was only skimmed. I am also hoping this is the first of a series because I am left with some major questions! The characters are all developed nicely and relatable. The pacing was a bit slow in places but then it would speed up again.

All in all, this was a great read with interesting themes, especially when you consider it is based on a real-life program. I just hope there is more to come so I can get some of those questions answered. Plus, I’d love to learn more about the Native American myths and legends that were briefly mentioned. Definitely recommended by me.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Screamcatcher: The Shimmering Eye by Christy J. Breedlove

December 14, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Screamcatcher: The Shimmering Eye by Christy J. Breedlove
Publisher: Melange Publishing
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Eighteen-year-old Jory Pike, a half-blood Chippewa, is depending upon her Native ancestry to help her investigate one of the strangest hauntings she’s ever encountered. A 500-plus acre ranch in rural Montana is under psychic and physical attack. The ranch’s owner, the elderly Ambrose Tucker, is determined to hold steadfast and courageously to his beloved property. Answering an ad in Jory’s outfit, The Badlands Paranormal Society, Ambrose hopes to rid his property of evil spirits once and for all.

Jory and her crew of three other teenagers, each of whom bring to the table their own line of skills and expertise, have brought every known piece of hardware and technical equipment to Granite Springs Ranch. Although the assignment seems ordinary at first, and the answer to the haunting seems eminent, everything spirals out of control and leaves the team terrified. The problem is, they have no idea that they’re being outclassed and sabotaged by a malevolent spirit, who seems to know their every move.

If Jory and the Badlands Paranormal Society don’t solve the problem in quick fashion, they stand to lose the $50,000 extermination fee, but worst of all, they will allow a dangerous and unmerciful entity to unleash a hoard of vicious mythological creatures that will run rampant over the ranch and surrounding properties. Jory has no idea how she and her teammate’s mettle will be tested, bringing them near the edge of insanity, physical endurance and death.

Rules were meant to be broken.

Jory and her friends made a great team. They were clearly well experienced with inexplicable phenomena, and they always had ideas of what to try next when their original theories about what was happening at Granite Springs Ranch left them with more questions than answers. I also appreciated their generally calm approach to all of the weird stuff happening around them. They leaned on each other and their own previous experiences to figure things out which is exactly what I like to see happen in the paranormal genre.

There were some mild pacing issues. Jory and her friends didn’t discover some of the most important clues about what was really happening until the last couple of chapters. While it was nice to be kept in suspense for so long, this didn’t leave quite enough room to explore all of the logical conclusions of what they discovered. It would have been helpful to have another chapter or two at the ending to wrap everything up a little more clearly.

The supernatural aspects of the storyline were nicely written. Not only did they keep me guessing for multiple chapters, the big reveal was even more interesting than the theories about it I’d come up with. I also enjoyed seeing the four main characters grapple with a case that broke so many of the rules of what unknown entities should and should not be capable of doing. It was somehow even more fun to see the characters discover new clues about it as it was to puzzle over them myself.

This is the third book in a series. It can be read as a standalone work.

Screamcatcher: The Shimmering Eye should be read by anyone who adores paranormal mysteries.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Fae Child by Jane-Holly Meissner

December 11, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Fae Child by Jane-Holly Meissner
Publisher: Inkshares
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When eight-year-old Abbie Brown discovers a quiet pool of water while wandering through the woods behind her Oregon home, she wades out into it and discovers she’s not alone. A wild-haired boy in green stares at her from the other side of the water. Mesmerized, Abbie reaches down to him, and is yanked underwater.

She emerges on the other side as an unwelcome visitor to the Otherworld, the land of the Fae, with only the boy Foster to guide her. Back in Oregon, a changeling lookalike has taken her place, bonding with her mother while her father, hiding a secret of his own, views the “girl” with suspicion.

In the courts of the Fae a truce has long been in place between Winter and Summer. What havoc might a human child wreak in the careful machinations of beings older than time? And to what lengths will Abbie’s father go to get her back?

How would you react if you suddenly stumbled into a place that humans aren’t supposed to know about, much less visit?

The world building in this story was marvelous. Ms. Meissner envisioned a land of the Fae that was as beautiful as it was dangerous. Learning more about it only made me yearn to dive even deeper into this world’s mythology, history, and setting. Honestly, this rivalled many of the adult fantasy novels I’ve read when it came to creative a place that was familiar enough to understand but also different enough from human society to make every revelation about how it all worked that much more captivating.

Not only was Abbie a well written and likeable protagonist, she behaved exactly like an eight-year-old should. Sometimes she forgot to follow the rules or tried to do things her own way instead of listening to the wiser folks around her. I appreciated the fact that she acted just like an ordinary kid, especially since her adventures were anything but ordinary.

Abbie had such a warm, loving relationship with her parents. Of course they loved one another, but they also genuinely liked each other as fellow human beings. This is something I don’t see nearly enough of in middle grade novels, so it was nice to find another example of a healthy and functioning family for young readers.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored changeling lore. They gave plenty of background information on it for readers who might not already be familiar with it, but then the narrator put their own spin on it to make it fit into this setting perfectly. I truly enjoyed reading about what changelings are like in this world and why humans fear them so much.

Fae Child was pure escapism in the best sense of that term. I heartily recommend it for anyone who wants to lose themselves into a magical time and place.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Holiday Heroes Save Christmas by Adam Wallace

December 9, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Holiday Heroes Save Christmas by Adam Wallace
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

This just in―breaking news from the North Pole!

Santa Claus can’t deliver presents on Christmas Eve and he needs backup. But not just anybody can help him―he needs the Holiday Heroes!

This Christmas, it’s up to the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, a Witch and a Leprechaun to fill in for Santa and save Christmas.

Can the Holiday Heroes deliver presents without being spotted? Will they be able to pull off Christmas in the end?

Everyone needs to take a sick day eventually!

My favorite part of this picture book were the profiles that were included about Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, a leprechaun, and a witch. These profiles gave the audience so much information about all five of these classic fantasy characters, including some facts about their lives that were downright funny. It was nice to have these glimpses of who these individuals were, especially when it came to the portions of their lives that weren’t necessarily part of the traditional canons about them.

I would have liked to see more time spent on plot and character development. The blurb and first scene of this tale were filled with so much promise, so I was disappointed with how quickly some of the most exciting plot twists were either not shown or mentioned only in passing. This was a fabulous idea that could have been expanded upon so much more than it was.

While this wasn’t specifically about Covid-19, the thought of Santa needing help delivering presents due to being sick and in quarantine is certainly timely this holiday season. I appreciated the way the narrator explained this turn of events in ways that were honest about his illness but still reassuring for young readers. It was also interesting to see how this concept was addressed again in the final scene. There was certainly room for a sequel, but it also felt nice to have a resolution to this problem.

The Holiday Heroes Save Christmas should be read by anyone who has a vivid imagination and loves Christmas.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden by Heather Smith

December 7, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden by Heather Smith
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When the tsunami destroyed Makio’s village, Makio lost his father . . . and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child’s anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project―building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn’t connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind.

Grief can be a heavy burden to carry alone.

I wasn’t aware of the true story of the wind phone in Otsuchi, Japan, before picking up this fictionalized version of what happened there, so it was nice to have the wind phone explained so fully in the plot. It was easy to imagine what it would be like to use such a device. The thought of picking up a phone that wasn’t actually plugged into anything and talking to a deceased loved one made me smile. What a nice way for people to make peace with their deaths but still feel like one could communicate with them in some way.

It was tricky to figure out which age group this picture book would work best for. While the tsunami that killed so many people was described gently enough for younger readers to hear, many of the themes in the storyline like how complicated and lonely the various stages of the grieving process can be seemed far more appropriate for kids who were well into their elementary school years. Had it been more specific about who the audience was supposed to be, I would have given it a five star rating.

Tragedies can affect the communities that go through them in so many different ways. It was bittersweet to see how Makio, Mr. Hirota, and all of the other survivors found ways to reach out to each other and deal with their grief after the cleanup from the tsunami ended and they had time to sit quietly with their thoughts. They seemed like such a loving and close-knit village. More than anything, I wanted everyone who lived there to find peace with what happened.

The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden was a heartfelt tale I’d recommend to adults and children alike.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Within the Folds of a Swan’s Wing by Jennifer Walker

November 20, 2020 By 1 Comment


Within the Folds of a Swan’s Wing by Jennifer Walker
Publisher: Totally Entwined
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What if the one element that has always defined you as a geeky outcast has the potential to catapult you into being the next big thing?

A Black girl adopted into a White family, Jodie has always felt out of place, especially at her mainly middle-class, white high school. Used to being a ghost in the halls, she has always found solace alone in her room surrounded by a world of Stephen King novels, Oreo cookies, Dave Brubeck jazz riffs and origami. Forever classified as a geeky outcast, she finally finds two unlikely friends who share her interests and accept her as she is—Bethany, the visually-impaired new girl, who has autism, and Jared, the home-schooled, self-proclaimed nerdy frozen-yogurt clerk who she’s crushing on big-time.

But when the origami tutorial videos she creates go viral and have the potential to thrust her into the center of popularity, fortune and fame, Jodie is faced with a decision. She needs to choose whether to expose her identity and capitalize on the chance of being accepted by all those who have always shunned her or run the risk of jeopardizing the only real friendship and true relationship she’s ever had.

There is so much hope tucked into these pages.

Jodie was a well rounded and loveable protagonist who changed in so many exciting ways through the course of this novel. When I first met her, she was a withdrawn, socially isolated teen who often turned to overeating to help her deal with difficult emotions like loneliness or embarrassment. I appreciated the fact that her problems were so well written. They gave me compassion for her struggles and made me yearn to find out if she’d develop healthier coping mechanisms and if she’d find a way to make genuine connections with the people around her.

What made me adore it even more than I already did through Jodie alone was how beautifully the secondary characters were written as well. Bethany was such a sweet, gentle girl, and the friendship between these young women soon blossomed into something marvelous. Similar patterns were repeated with several other teens and adults in Jodie’s life. There were multiple times I paused from reading and wished these characters truly existed in our world. Not only did they genuinely feel real, they were also the sort of folks I’d happily become friends with because of how kind and welcoming they were to everyone.

This was one of those young adult books that could easily cross over to the adult section of any library. There were many themes in it that were just as relevant for readers decades older than the intended audience as it was for. Sometimes folks of all ages need to be reminded why inclusivity is important or how a series of small and seemingly inconsequential changes in one’s life can ultimately lead to transformation.

I’d heartily recommend Within the Folds of a Swan’s Wing to young adult and adult readers alike. This is a must-read in my opinion!

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Great Thanksgiving Escape by Mark Fearing

November 18, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Great Thanksgiving Escape by Mark Fearing
Publisher: Candlewick
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s another Thanksgiving at Grandma’s. Gavin expects a long, boring day full of pesky toddlers, but his cousin Rhonda has a different idea: make a break for it to the swing set in the backyard! Gavin isn’t so sure, especially when they encounter vicious guard dogs (in homemade sweaters), overly affectionate aunts, and worst of all, the great wall of butts. Can they avoid all the obstacles and find some fun before turkey time?

Sometimes there is such a thing as too much family togetherness.

This picture book had an excellent sense of humour that was displayed in both the dialogue and descriptions of what the characters were doing next. I couldn’t stop chucking as I read it, especially when it came to the parts about Gavin and Rhonda dodging well-meaning but slightly overbearing relatives who hadn’t quite caught on yet that these two kids were trying to escape the loud, festive house where everyone was gathered for Thanksgiving.

The ending felt a bit abrupt to me. I would have liked to see more details about how the adults in this family reacted not only to Gavin and Rhonda’s secret plan to sneak past everyone but also to how their mission turned out. There was so much more room here to develop the plot and sneak in a few more jokes about what Thanksgiving is really like for kids who find it overstimulating.

Speaking of being overstimulated, I really enjoyed this book’s take on why Gavin and Rhonda were the only members of their large, extended family to react this way to a day of togetherness. It left plenty of room for multiple interpretations of their motives and why they both yearned for peace and quiet so strongly. This meant that I could read this to kids who are simply a little shy, kids who have official medical reasons for disliking noise and large crowds, and to kids who simply want to learn to be more empathetic when they meet someone who is different from them in some way. There truly was something here for everyone!

The Great Thanksgiving Escape was a heartwarming read that should be read by anyone who gets a little overwhelmed by large gatherings or wonders why some folks react that way.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark

November 16, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark
Volume 1 – People Who Shaped Our World
Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Non-Fiction, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Who was Grace Hopper? A software tester, workplace jester, cherished mentor, ace inventor, avid reader, naval leader—AND rule breaker, chance taker, and troublemaker. Acclaimed picture book author Laurie Wallmark (Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine) once again tells the riveting story of a trailblazing woman. Grace Hopper coined the term “computer bug” and taught computers to “speak English.” Throughout her life, Hopper succeeded in doing what no one had ever done before. Delighting in difficult ideas and in defying expectations, the insatiably curious Hopper truly was “Amazing Grace” . . . and a role model for science- and math-minded girls and boys. With a wealth of witty quotes, and richly detailed illustrations, this book brings Hopper’s incredible accomplishments to life.

Just about anything is possible if you work hard enough at it.

Grace lived in an era when prejudice against women prevented many of them from achieving their goals. This book acknowledged that while also showing how this specific woman never stopped trying to push the limits of what society thought were acceptable subjects for her to study and projects for her to work on once she graduated and began putting her schooling to use. She simply refused to accept the artificial limitations placed on her due to her gender no matter what anyone said. I found that admirable and thought it was exactly the right way to approach this topic for young readers.

Not everything Grace tried to do was successful at first, of course. Failures happen to everyone eventually, and even more often for folks who are trying something completely new. Seeing how she reacted to those many setbacks only made me like her even more. Her attitude in those difficult moments showed the audience who she really was as a human being, and it also made her a great role model for readers of all ages.

Some of my favorite portions of this picture book were the ones that told funny stories about Grace’s life. She defied people’s expectations of her from a very early age, and that sometimes lead to her saying or doing things that nobody could have predicted. One of them involved clocks of all things, and the rest will be even more amusing if new readers don’t know a thing about them in advance. She had a wonderful personality that shone through at its brightest during these moments.

Anyone who enjoys using a computer or accessing the Internet should check out Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code to see how these things became possible.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,
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