River Readers

Anastasia McCrumpet is not having a great first day of school. It gets even worse when she is pulled from class and sent off with her great-aunts Prim and Prue who she has never met. She is told her parents where in a vacuum cleaner accident and she is now going to live with the aunts at their classic Victorian asylum. Anastasia finds herself locked in a dreary room at night where she has to use a chamber pot and doing chores like collecting leeches during the day. Who are these aunts? Why do they live in an old asylum? Why do they collect pictures of missing kids? 

Xiomara is conflicted. She wants to hide and avoid the attention she draws by men and boys yet she seeks to find a voice. She wants to matter. Her over zealous religious mother has her pegged as a "bad" girl and strives to keep her chaste and protected but she comes off as angry with Xiomara for who she is and things she has no control over. She begins to pour her feelings out in poetry. When her Language Arts teacher asks her to join the poetry club, Xio yearns to but can't without skipping confirmation classes which is something her mother would never agree to.

On August 9, 1969 Sharon Tate along with her unborn child and four others were brutally murdered by the Manson Family. At the time, the crime was one of the most heinous in American history, so much so that a deep fear set into the Los Angeles celebrity community. As terrible as the tragedy was for Hollywood, it was even more terrible for Sharon's family, her parents and sisters. Now, after forty years, members of the family finally open up about that terrible time, sharing their memories and experiences in the aftermath of murder.

It's bad enough being new on the job, but Teppic hasn't a clue as to what a pharaoh is supposed to do. After all, he's been trained at Ankh-Morpork's famed assassins' school, across the sea from the Kingdom of the Sun. First, there's the monumental task of building a suitable resting place for Dad -- a pyramid to end all pyramids. Then there are the myriad administrative duties, such as dealing with mad priests, sacred crocodiles, and marching mummies.

Named Notable Book of 1955 by the American Library Association, this is the very moving story of a peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved.
-- From Goodreads

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.

Here there be dragons . . . and the denizens of Ankh-Morpork wish one huge firebreather would return from whence it came. Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all . . .).

Neil Gaiman, long inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction, presents a bravura rendition of the Norse gods and their world from their origin though their upheaval in Ragnarok.

In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki—son of a giant—blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Virginia Tacci is an orphan working as a shepherdess by her kindhearted uncle and begrudging aunt in Sienna in the late 1500's. Her Padrino (godfather) raises horses and Virginia Tacci would like nothing better than to ride horses and race in the Palio, the Palio being the Sienese Palio, a horse race through the streets of the city with blind curves, shaded stretches leading into bright drops. Women are Not supposed to ride astride, rather they are supposed to ride side-saddle. However, Virginia witnesses Isabella de Medici ride astride and brave scary jumps on horseback.

It’s 1990 and small town life is harsh in Quinn, Montana. It’s especially harsh for Rachel, a recovering alcoholic, who’s back in town to seek absolution for the countless transgressions she racked up during her turbulent teen years. Her own mother won’t speak to her, and the locals avert their gaze when she walks by. Of course, they’d hate to get on Laverna’s bad side. As owner of The Dirty Shame, Quinn’s only bar, Rachel’s brazen mother Laverna, wields her power over the town’s tap fiercely- and she’s not exactly known for her compassion. And then there’s Jake.

Although this book was written in 2007, it is EVERY BIT as relevant today. *Highly recommend*

Well, you can tell what we've been up to at our house lately lol! I thought this was a good book, but was a little more vague than the "Oh Crap" book of potty training that I read. However, the approaches were similar in that they both dismissed awards and gimmicks. They were both full of helpful info and we based our approach at home on a little of both books with success!


Description from Goodreads-
A calmer, simpler approach to potty training

Immediately after World War II, many Jewish refugees fled to British Palestine. Often they were held in interment camps as they were considered "illegal" immigrants. Day After Night is based on the true story of the liberation of one of these camps known as Atlit. It follows four women who found themselves at Atlit. All had survived the Holocaust and each had their own story of survival.

Fincham-Gray writes about growing up with the dream to become a veterinarian. In pursuit of her training she moves from Britain to the US. You experience what it is like to be a vet. You see lots of animals when they are critically ill or injured. You see the owners struggle with monetary issues. Often you don't know what happens to your patients if they aren't brought back in for follow-up care. And sometimes you have to euthanize your patients. I know some people have said they couldn't become vets because of euthanizations.