River Readers

Joanna Gaines loves shiplap walls and lots of neutral colors. This book was filled with beautiful photos of her home and homes she has redone. She breaks it up into rooms and gives pointers on each area. It is not so much a how to guide as an eye candy coffee table book. The rooms are gorgeous but somehow don't look lived in. Not as helpful as I had hoped it would be.

WB (Waldo) Baron wakes up one morning to find his house floating through the sky. As his inventor parents explain, they have joined a race across the country. So they set off from Arizona to Chicago where the race will begin. It is in Chicago that they are kidnapped by Rose Blackwood, sister of the famous bandit Benedict Blackwood. She wants to win the race so she can use the $500 prize to hire criminals to free her brother. The only thing is she is not much of a criminal herself. Together Rose and WB complete the race despite WB being the clumsiest kid in the world.

Min is a fox with the ability to shapeshift and wield "charm" magic. When she finds out her brother has deserted the space force in search of the magical dragon pearl she goes looking for answers. She makes her way to his old ship and takes the shape of a recently deceased cadet. She discovers the location of the dragon pearl and takes off to find it. 

I found this much more helpful than Becker's previous book The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. It is filled with practical tips on becoming a minimalist with step by step instructions for each room of your home. There isn't anything really new here, but if you are new to minimalism this could be a very helpful book to start your journey.

This is a collection of three short stories from the life of Anna Fang from the Mortal Engines books. They were fun and interesting. I was entertained by her adventures and it does actually make me curious about the rest of this series. The illustrations were also fantastic.

There is a lot of information in this book on how to make yourself and your community happier. It boils down to moving more, eating better, having healthy habits and not doing things that don't make you happy. And drink a glass of wine a day....done and done! It was helpful but not earth shattering.

I adore the Great British Baking Show and was excited to see some of the recipes. There are definitely things in here I would never bake but I like dreaming about baking, or more truthfully eating, them. I also really loved the interviews with past contestants of the show.

Desmond Coke is a Jamaican agent on the run with his young charge Lij. They have fled Jamaica and Albion pursued every step of the way. We meet them as they enter Tejas and have a run in with Garrison Hearst and Pinkerton Agent Cayt. So they flee to the First Nations and seek sanctuary with the Seminole Tribe. 

Sunny has been sent to visit her grandpa in Florida for the summer. It is a summer of sleeping on the hide-a-bed and eating dinner at 4:30 with the old folks. Sunny does make a friend in Buzz and they spend the summer reading comics and rescuing cats. There are flashbacks to the last year when Sunny's brother Dale spirals out of control due to drug and alcohol use. Sunny also has to deal with her grandpa sneaking cigarettes when he is not supposed to smoke. 

Mark is short and skinny and gets picked on. When Star Wars comes out he becomes obsessed and writes a parody movie. He gets his friends and family to star in it and it gets shown in his town. There are friend issues, girl problems and family fun times. 

A realistic graphic novel with a male as the main character! Reminded me of the memoirs by Raina Telegemeier. Great fun and it is about boys! We are always looking for good graphic novels for boys and there aren't that many realistic ones.

Scarlet moves to Norway and gets bullied by Greta. Then her grandma gives her a red hoodie and when she zips it up she is transported to a Viking village being attacked by a dragon. 

This was a bit of a mess and didn't go together at all. Either there wasn't enough of the story to make sense or there were too many ideas or something. I didn't really like it.

The Vanderbeekers have always lived in their brownstone on 141st, but this year their landlord Mr. Beiderman decides to not renew their lease and wants them out right after Christmas. The five Vanderbeeker children, Jessie, Isa, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney, must come up with a way to change Mr. Beiderman's mind. They don't want to leave their Harlem neighborhood where they know everyone and everyone knows them. They don't want to leave their upstairs neighbors Miss Josie and Mr. Jeet who are like grandparents to them. They come up with several different schemes to convince Mr.

Sometimes you need a little pick me up and Jason Reynolds provides it. I am a dreamer on the hunt for my dream. I find truth and inspiration in his letter. I will use it to guide me on the long and often dark road. "Dreams don't have timelines, deadlines, and aren't always in straight lines. Jump Anyway."

When Essie tells her mother she is pregnant she knows there is only one real option. The Hicks family are reality superstars. Pastor Hicks has a megachurch that preacher to thousands. Mrs. Hicks is the iron will of the family and the show. The Six for Hicks stars are the six children of the family: four boys and two girls. Essie is the youngest and has been mostly on her own since her sister Lissie left for college. So she knows that even though her mother discusses other options with the shows producers there will be no abortion or adoption.

Nalah is the daughter of a glassmaker in a world where magic is outlawed. She should be a glassmaker like her father, but somehow her magic has gone wrong and she breaks things uncontrollably. Halan is the daughter of a king in a world where magic rules all. She has no magic. There worlds collide when Nalah is forced to enter Halan's world to find her father. It surprises them both when they discover that they are the same person from different worlds. Together they will defeat the evil magic wielders and save the people.