River Readers

This is a book about thinking about what you eat and why. It has some really good tips on how to be more mindful when you are eating. The key is really to listen to your body and really taste your food. Slow down and savor what you are eating. Figure out if you really are hungry and if you really like what you are eating. The funny thing is that reading this book made me want to eat something which is not what the book is about!

Eider lives with the other children in the compound. They are taught by Teacher and cared for by Nurse. They believe the world outside has come to an end and they are all that is left. Teacher believes these children are special and will one day rule the world. She is trying to prepare them for that eventuality. Eider is not one to accept things though. She remembers having a little sister even if everyone is trying to convince her she didn't exist. She questions why Teacher only teaches them certain things.

Molly has had tons of crushes but never a boyfriend. Her twin sister Cassie has been dating for a while and keeps trying to get Molly to act on her crushes. When Cassie begins dating her new girlfriend, she tries to set Molly up with cute boy Will. Molly has also started a new job and met Reid. She and Reid really have a great rapport. Who will she choose?

Henry has moved to the country with her family after the death of her brother Robert in a house fire. Mother is not dealing with the death and the immediate birth of baby Piglet, who no one wants to call Roberta. The local doctor has her doped up and wants to commit her to an asylum. Father can't deal with any of it and heads off to the continent. It is up to Henry to stop the evil doctor and get her mother back. She enlists the help of the cook and her husband and the local "witch" in the woods. 

Tin is a set in an alternate England between the two wars. It is a time of machines built by the greatest engineers of the age. Absalom is not one of the greatest engineers even though he does like to brag. He works out of a scrap yard and tries to get work for his mechanicals: Jack, Rob, Amanda and Gripper. He is aided by Estelle who makes skin and Christopher his adoptee. When an accident reveals Christopher is not actually "proper" but an ensouled mechanical things go sideways fast.

Petra lives with her family in a lighthouse on the coast of England. The world is at war and Pet's German mother is sent to an internment camp. Her older sister Magda appears to be keeping secrets and their is a spy in their midst. The family is just getting used to mom being gone when Churchill asks for boats to help rescue the soldiers stuck at Dunkirk. Both dad and Magda head across the Channel, but only one remains. Petra is left to try and figure out what is going on, who is spying for Germany, and save what is left of her family.

There is a lot going on in this graphic novel. There is a group of thieves trying to steal an artifact. There are forces of good and evil at war with each other. There are giant killer locusts. There are gods and demons and holy sacrifices. They all fit together in a complicated story that needs a second volume!

A retelling of Little Women starring four Muslim sisters. Dad has to take a job in another country and little sister gets cancer. The family has to find a way to work through all the difficulties they are having. Jameela is a budding journalist and wants to make her dad proud while he is away. The family is supported by a wonderful group of family and friends. We also meet Ali whose father has died so he was sent to live with aunt and uncle in America. He becomes part of the family as well even though there are tensions after an article mixup in the school newspaper. 

Charlie is on a Christian hike up a mountain with a group of girls. The only issue is that she is the only person of color on the trip and the only queer kid. Until she realizes Sydney is trans and one of the guides is half Dine. She is uncomfortable with the fact that she sticks out and that the main guide uses discriminatory language. The hike is a spiritual retreat that was started a hundred years ago by a group of women. It is interesting that this retreat up the mountain continues today. 

I can't believe I am saying this but this was not my favorite Lumberjanes. I really disliked the art/illustrations and it detracted from the story. I like my Lumberjanes stories to have an equal balance of weird/crazy stuff and personal tidbits from the characters. This story was heavy on the weird and really light on the personal. We get a bit more about Molly's terrible life at home, but that is it. No one else really gets a chance to shine here.

This series is going to be just like the Illuminae Files where I am going to wish I hadn't discovered it until the entire series was published. I devoured this book in a very short amount of time and I am already ready for the next one. 

Hannah Hart shares her story of growing up with a mom with a mental illness. Her story is not one I am personally familiar with, but it is something I think anyone can relate to. She details her childhood where she was more the parent than her parent, where she helped raise her younger sister, where her home and personal hygiene were not the best because of neglect. She also talks about her absent father who chose being a Jehovah's Witness and his religion over protecting his daughters.

Drest is the only one left after a raid takes her father and brothers. They are bound for Faintree Castle where they are to be hanged in 5 days. Also left behind is a wounded knight named Emerick. Drest is determined to use Emerick to free her family so they set off to Faintree Castle. They are joined on their journey by Tigg and have many adventures along the way, including freeing a witch about to be burned at the stake and discouraging a bandit from following them. This is not just a journey to free her family though.

This is probably the best decluttering book I have listened/read. Not only does Dana White give you ideas on how to declutter, she helps you set your mind on the path of decluttering. Her advice is practical and useful. First off you have to think of everything as having a container, whether that container is a box or a drawer or a closet or a house. Once the container is full, it is full and you must remove something in order to add something. I found this particularly useful.

The Black Bull of Norroway is based on a Scottish fairytale of the same name. A knight has been cursed to be a bull and in order to break the curse he needs a wife, a sword and a shield. Sibylla is told she will be the bull's wife after she gets her fortune told by a witch. So when the bull comes to claim her she is not surprised. They head out on the quest and along the way meet the bull's brother and sister who are also cursed.