Book Review: The Underground Railroad

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Cora is a slave on a plantation in Georgia.  The life of a slave is difficult, but life has thrown her some unexpected complications over the years.  Her mother ran away - and was never seen again - when she was 10 years old.  Cora was left to fend for herself in a hostile environment, where even the strong don't last long.

Image: Amazon

Cora finally reaches her breaking point and escapes with her friend Caesar, hoping that she is a good luck token that will help them escape like her mother did. Unfortunately, as they are making their first break for freedom, they are confronted by a gang of bounty hunters, and in the ensuing struggle, Cora kills a young boy.  Knowing that death - and an ugly death at that - will be her ultimate punishment, Cora becomes desperate to escape to freedom.

Forget what you have learned about the Underground Railroad.  In Cora's story, this is an actual railroad, on tracks, that exists in tunnels bored throughout the south. 

As Cora and Caesar search for the peace that has been denied to them, they find themselves wrapped up into places and situations where the chains that bind them are not the visible ones they had on them in Georgia, but they are every bit as real and deadly.  With the specter of the murdered white boy behind them, the fugitives struggle to settle in to new identities with the hope that they will not be recognized.

Unfortunately, they are pursued by the most determined of bounty hunters - the same man who was assigned to find Cora's mother.   Haunted by this one failure, he is determined to track down the fugitives and return them to their plantation.

Join Cora in her desperate race to Freedom as they journey through several stops along the Underground Railroad and find perils both unexpected and unseen.



The Underground Railroad is Historical Fiction at its very best - well researched and thought provoking.  This haunting tale will reel you in within the first 50 pages, and keep you reading until the very last word.

A Few Good Books

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Oh, how I love to read a good book!  Since shifting over to a public library, I have shifted to reading more children’s literature. I have been focusing mostly on books that were nominated as Black Eyed Susan Nominees for the state of Maryland, as well as several Newberry Award Winners, and one or two that I found on the shelves that either appealed to me or one of the kids roaming through the library recommended as “the best, ever”.   Today, I’m sharing 5 gems.  I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of these books!  

Skullduggery Pleasant

Image: Amazon

Author: Derek Landry

Stephanie Edgely is a young girl who has just inherited as her Uncle’s fortune - including his house.  Upon visiting the house, she is attacked by a mysterious group of magical henchmen.   She is saved by her Uncle’s friend: Skullduggery Pleasant- a walking, talking skeleton who was once a person but reanimated himself after his death so that he could continue to fight the dark evil that first killed him.

As Stephanie finds herself drawn into this mysterious, magical world, she finds that she must learn to protect herself, find a name that will hide her true identity, and navigate a complicated set of rules and even more complex people if she wants to survive in both the hidden, magical world and the “normal” world that you and I inhabit.

This children’s novel combines mystery and magic in a whimsical combination that fans of Harry Potter will appreciate!

Image: Amazon

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Author: Tom Angleberger

What happens when a middle school student makes an origami creation that looks vaguely like Yoda? 

You get a wise advisor who offers students advice on everything from predicting a pop quiz in science class to saving a classmate from soul – crushing embarrassment with some pertinent advice. 

Wait, there’s a twist…..how can such a wise advisor be animated by the goofiest kids in school?

You’ll enjoy the case files of Origami Yoda as each of the kids in the story present their own tales of interaction with Dwight and Yoda. 

Ellie’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Novel

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Author: W. Bruce Cameron
This beautiful tale tells the story of a young German Shepherd, Ellie, who is adopted by a man who trains her to play new games and WORK in new and different ways.  As the story unfolds, we discover that Ellie is being trained as a working police dog.  Told from Ellie’s point of view, we follow her as she finds and saves people along with her officer.

Those of you who love dog stories be warned: The dog does NOT die, but you will cry at the beautiful interactions with Ellie and her humans.  I loved this story!

image: Amazon

Fuzzy Mud

Author: Louis Sachar

What could possibly go wrong when two children take a short cut through the woods?  

Well, the school bully could be out to find them.  Determined to teach Marshall a hard lesson, Chad follows them into the woods.  When Tamaya sees her friend is in trouble, she grabs a handful of mud from the ground and throws it at Chad’s face so that they can get away. 

But, there’s something weird about that mud.  It’s fuzzy.  It’s difficult for Tamaya to get it off of her hands.

When she gets home, she discovers that her hands are covered with a weird kind of rash that itches and isn’t going away.  The next morning, the rash has spread and has gotten worse, leaving the skin on her hands gray and covered with a strange kind of gray fluff.  At school, Tamaya is horrified to see her rash getting worse and to discover that Chad has not come to school at all.  Looking at her own hands, she is terrified to think what might have happened to Chad and his face full of mud.  When nobody is looking, she sneaks out of the school and into the woods to search for Chad.  When Marshall discovers that Tamaya is also missing, he too sneaks out of school and sets out in search of Tamaya and Chad.

What Marshall discovers in the woods can threaten the very survival of humanity.  Can a solution be found in time?

The War That Saved my Life

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Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Ada has been confined to her one room apartment for her entire life.  Her mother has punished her for the evil within that caused her to be born with a club foot.  Without the use of crutches, denied schooling, and forced to crawl around the apartment like an animal, the outside world considers Ada to be an idiot who is incapable of anything.

When her brother Jamie comes home and informs them that the children of London are being evacuated in anticipation of Hitler’s bombing, Ada decides that they are both going to leave the city and get away.

When they arrive in Kent along with the rest of the school children, they are assigned to a woman named Susan Smith.  Susan is appalled with the children she is forced to take in, and even more appalled by the neglect that the children have endured their entire lives.  Grudgingly, she takes the children in, and the children get a new lease on life.

Freed from the constraints of London, the children thrive.

But what happens when the war intrudes on their new lives?  Will their mother allow them to continue to live in Kent?  Will the townspeople ever come to accept the transplants from London?

The Girl on The Train

This is the book that was made into a movie!  It's very similar in title to the book I reviewed last week, "Girl on a Train".  Maybe they were both on the same train at some time?  Both books are set in England.  It could happen!

Rachel travels back and forth from London on the train every day.  The train stops almost daily at a signal across from a house with a beautiful, perfect couple.  While Rachel does not know the names of this perfect couple, she has named them Jess and Jason.  Every day she looks at the house and imagines how perfect their lives must be, and creates a fantastic, loving world where they live.

Two doors down from Jess and Jason is the house where Rachel used to live, with her husband Tom.  She and Tom broke up two years ago, and he now lives there with the "other" woman and their child.

One day Jess - whose real name is Megan - is found to be missing.  Convinced that the real Megan and her husband have the perfect life, Jess begins to dig deeper into their stories in order to discover what really happened to her.  The deeper she digs, the more she discovers about just how flawed they are.

Most disturbing of all is that Rachel has hours of time she can't account for on the night that Jess/Megan disappeared.  She discovers she was in the neighborhood at the time of Jess/Megan's disappearance, but she herself is incapable of remembering anything through the alcoholic haze.

Can she remember the truth behind that evening before the wrong person is arrested?

Book Review: Girl on a Train

This is the fantastic, fabulous book that I thought had been made into a movie. (And it should be made into a movie!) While it is not that book, this edge of your seat thriller will grab you by your imagination within the first two chapters and not let you go until the heart stopping finale.  It's a mystery.  It's a thriller.  There's some self-discovery, and much needed closure.  Ye Gods, the more I read this book, the deeper I was pulled into this world.... and the ending... Who would have seen that ending?  I was not expecting this book to end in this way! 

Anna Rothman is a journalist traveling home from a holiday on the train.  The only seat open is next to a young woman.  A woman who speaks with her briefly before leaving the train - and then jumps in front of that train as it pulled out of the station. 

Anna's husband had committed suicide, and something about this young girl, and the way she looked at her as she exited the train told her that this was not a suicide.  This was something else. Something sinister and deadly.  Try as she might to put this behind her, Anna finds herself drawn into the world of this young girl who was named Ellie.  The more she discovers about Ellie, she is shocked to realize that not only do they have much in common - their lives had crossed paths - and finding the truth of Ellie's story becomes more than just a casual fascination as the same phantom forces that had chased Ellie begin pursuing her.

Can Anna bring closure to her own painful past by finding the answers to Ellie's story?

Book Review: Vegan Bowl Attack

Image: Amazon

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What an awesome find!  As you may know, daughter is a Vegetarian and both of us are allergic to dairy.  So, this book seemed like an answer to our "What's for Dinner" dilemma that we face most nights of the week.

The recipes in this book are tasty and easy to follow.  Many vegetarian meals call for extensive chopping and slicing and dicing.  Not this one!  Minimal chopping and slicing and dicing are involved, and the meals are more than filling.  The directions are clear, concise, and easy to follow

While we've tried several of the bowls for both breakfast and dinner, my favorite so far has been the Mushroom Wild Rice Slow Cooker stew.  Oh my stars!  Filled with the rich earthy taste of mushrooms, this bowl was a wonder of tastes that filled us up and kept us going for hours.  I have to admit - I cheated on the mushrooms.  I bought a pound of assorted sliced mushrooms from Wegmans.  I then diced them down before adding them to the stew.  I also neglected to put the ingredients in the slow cooker before I left for work.  So, I came home and tossed everything in a big pot.  One hour, start to finish.  It was amazing!  I already have plans to make it again.  It's in the permanent dinner rotation.

I don't have permission to post any of her recipes directly, but I can link you over to her wonderful blog, the Vegan Yack Attack!  Great name!  Head on over to her site, and take a look.  Not only does she have the most beautiful food pictures I've ever seen, she has posted some recipes.  I now have her top recipe for today - Roasted Carrots and Creamy Quinoa on my list of meals for the week.  It looks so good!

If you are looking for a healthy change of pace to your normal meals, I highly recommend this book!
(I see Christmas presents for the kids!)

Book Review: Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow

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Have you ever asked yourself how an entire nation could have come under the spell of one of the most ruthless leaders in history?  Ever wondered just what happened that made people follow Hitler in the first place?  Ever wondered how so many young people bought into the entire construct?

image: Amazon

This book will answer many of these questions for you.  Written as a children's book, the author explores in depth and detail the rise of the Nazi party, and the development of the Hitler Youth program.  Reading through the down and dirty details of how the Nazi party cozied itself into the schools and set themselves up to be the major influence in the lives of the disillusioned young people of Germany, you can see how they managed to take over the minds of the young people of Germany and use their energy and enthusiasm to forward their own agenda.

The author also took a look at the martyrs against the Nazi movement.  The people who stood up for what they believed, and knowing that the penalty for speaking against the regime was death by beheading, they stood up and spread the truth anyway.

There's a saying that says "those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it".  This is a book that takes on a time period that we all need to understand.

Book Review: I Am Malala

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Everyone has heard the story of Malala by now.  At the age of 15, she survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban.  She was shot point blank in the head while sitting in her school bus.  This was in an attempt to silence a very vocal voice of protest against the Taliban and their policies that kept women and young girls from getting an education.

But did you know that Malala's voice was not the only one in the family that was raised in protest against the Taliban?  Malala's father was also on the Taliban's hit list.  Not only did he run a school for girls, he was a very vocal critic of the Taliban and their policies that impoverished the people and encouraged a culture of ignorance and hatred.

Malala shares the story of her family - from her father's struggle to gain an education and share that opportunity with others through the rise of the Taliban, and the effect the Taliban had on the politics of what had previously been a very peaceful community.

I was enchanted by Malala's tale.  She doesn't dwell on her near death experience.  Instead, she spends most of her time explaining the politics of Pakistan, sharing her love of her homeland, and describing the ins and outs of U.S. Politics on the rise of alternative political parties.

This is a fascinating, well written story that should be required reading for us all.  The courage of one young girl - and her family - to stand up for what is right is inspiring. 

Book Review: Hitler's Last Days

O'Reilly, Bill.  Hitler's Last Days.  2015.  Harry Holt and Company, LLC.  New York, New York.

Written as a children's book, this well told tale that encompasses the last 90 days of Hitler's life will enthrall you.  Even though we know how the story ends, the in-depth look at the inner workings of the Allied Army and Nazi Germany presented almost side by side will put a very different spin on how you view the end of World War 2.

I especially appreciated that O'Reilly alternated chapters between what was going on with the Allies and what was going on within the Nazi army.  The tale covers the last gasp of the Nazi army, beginning just before the Battle of the Bulge.  Reading through the book, you realize just how close the Nazi army came to winning the battle and potentially changing the course of the war. I came away from the book with a new respect for the genius of General Patton.  If not for his cunning, the war on the European front could have lasted much longer.

I also appreciated the look into Hitler's inner circle in his final days.  As his paranoia and circle of distrust grew, this charismatic leader became a shadow of the man he was.  I don't think I ever before understood the struggles that surrounded the Nazi leadership in its final days.

Curious about the events that surrounded the final days of Nazi Germany?  This book will clarify many points that have been shrouded with the passing of time.  Sometimes, we need to be reminded of what has happened before.  Harsh lessons were learned that should never be forgotten.

Book Review: The Name of the Wind

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Rothfuss, Patrick.  The Name of the Wind: The King Killer Chronicles, Book 1.  2008.  DAW Books.

Kvothe, the most powerful magician of this, or any age, begins recalling his early life - and the experiences that made him into a household name and a legend in his own time.  Currently living as an innkeeper in a small, in the middle of nowhere town, he strives to keep his name and true identity hidden from the people that he lives with.  When the Chronicler appears seemingly out of nowhere, he cajoles Kvothe into telling his tale so that the truth - not the legends - can be recorded for all time. 

The story weaves through the extraordinary circumstances that surround Kvothe's early life and the beginning of the Legends that will surround Kvothe until the end of his days.


This story moves fast, and you will find yourself wound into the tale and intertwined with the characters faster than you can name the wind...

The Dinosaur Hunter's Handbook

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image: Amazon

The perfect book for the dinosaur enthusiast!  The Dinosaur Hunter's Handbook reads much like a field guide for birds!  50 dinosaurs are highlighted in this book.  Each entry contains a full color illustration of the dinosaur, location where they lived, a pronunciation guide, their habitat, their preferred food - and a timeline of when they lived!

I found this book recently at the public library and I was enchanted.  Filled with facts that reflect the most current research about dinosaurs, and full colored pictures that capture the might and majesty of these ancient animals, the imagination of everyone who picks up the book will be grabbed!  I had visions of taking this book and any resident children in my life to my closest museum so that we could look up information about the dinosaurs while we were looking at the models and skeletons in the museum.  Too bad I don't have any resident little people in my family!

This book is recommended for students in grades 2 and up, but I could honestly see a younger child devouring this book while sitting in Mom or Dad's lap as they read the book aloud.

The introduction to the book includes detailed information about dinosaurs and their times, as well as what our earth looked like at that time. 

Book Review: Fossils Tell Stories

Years ago, I served on the Great Picture Books Committee for the State of Maryland.  We looked at every picture book that had been published in the previous year, and we made a decision as to which books we thought were the most exemplary.   Consider it kind of like a Caldecott book award, but without the big distinction of winning a Caldecott Award.   Just recognition from the children's librarians in the State of Maryland that these books were among the best published that year.

Since that time, I have always kept an eye on the picture books in my library.  There are some that are so-so, but then, there are the amazing ones that basically leap off the shelves at you.  The art work is so extraordinary that it leaves you breathless.

I found one of those books at my local library last week.  Fossils Tell Stories, written by Yu-ri Kim and Illustrated by Hyeon-joo Lee.

The story of fossils - how they are formed, and why they are important is told in simple words and bright multi-media collage illustrations.

The art work is dynamic and will draw you in to look at the details.

Photographs of real fossils are super-imposed over top of the collage to illustrate types of fossils and how to identify them.

The book ends with a short time line about the formation of fossils as well as a hands on experiment.

Book Review: Supernotes

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Agent Kasper works in Cambodia with his partner, Clancy.  The two of them own a bar in Phonm Penh named Sharkey's.  People come into Sharkey's to conduct business, and to get a drink and a bite to eat.  However, Sharkey's is not all that it seems.  Both Clancy and Kasper work for foreign governments.  Clancy for the CIA, and Kasper for the Italian Intelligence Agency.  In the course of their work, they have stepped on some powerful toes and have been warned to leave the country, immediately.

Unfortunately, the two do not get out of Cambodia fast enough, and they are captured by the government and then disappear.  Kasper's living nightmare begins with his capture, and he knows that he will never be allowed to leave alive.

Meanwhile, his girlfriend and mother back in Italy hire a very determined lawyer and they work together to find out what happened to Kasper and free  him.  As they dig deeper into the circumstances behind Kasper's disappearance, they find deeper and bigger forces than they ever expected are behind his disappearance, and that they have every intention of keeping Kasper and the information he has uncovered disappeared forever.

This book is a page turning, edge of your seat spy novel set in modern day Cambodia and Italy, with flashbacks to events that lead up to Kasper's situation.  With events ranging all over the globe, and people and events tied to every major government in the world, knowing who you can trust and who you can't is a guessing game.  Trusting the wrong people will leave you dead.

Book Review: Not Your Mother's Make Ahead and Freeze Cookbook

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I had to laugh when I was reading Jessica's introduction to the book.  She talked about Once A Month Cooking.  (OAM).  Have any of you ever done that hot mess?  It was a big thing back in the 90's.  I would sit down and carefully plan out my meals for a month (or a little longer).  I would vary my recipes between chicken, beef, pork, and vegetarian.  I would then spend a day shopping.  We're talking a huge grocery shop here.  I'd go to BJ's, and I'd spend about $150 on the food.  Come back home and stuff it all in the fridge and freezer.  The next day was cooking day.  I'd chop vegetables, cook meat, saute things, assemble meals, and then freeze them all.  Clean up was hideous.  Every pot pan and bowl in the house was used.  BUT - at the end of the day, I had cooked meals for a month or so.  My kids were all born in the 90's, and I loved having quick meals to pull out and put on the table when they were infants and toddlers.  Not having to do meal prep with hungry toddlers running around.  Not quite bliss, but it was wonderful.  Over the years, I've moved away from OAM meals, but I am still a very big fan of cooking ahead.  I'll assemble meal kits, or crock pot dump meals, or cook two of something and freeze on for later use.  This has saved me more than once when faced with the conundrum of "What's for Dinner?"  I am always on the lookout for recipes that lend themselves well to preparing ahead, but don't leave me with a frozen, soggy mass of limp vegetables and tough, overcooked meat.  I was browsing through my local library last week when I found this gem!  Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook is going to become a staple in my house.

This is not a collection of dump recipes.  Nor is it a collection of casseroles.  Yes, there are some casseroles.  There are a couple of dump recipes.  But what really sets this book apart for me is that you are assembling meals.  Sauces and spices and meats are frozen together so that when you get ready to prep a meal, items are combined to make a fresh fantastic meal.

 

I've tried two recipes out of here so far.  The Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole is a freezer meal - but not the way you might expect.  The raw chicken was stored in a zip top bag with the marinade, and that bag was stored inside of a larger bag with the rice and seasonings.  The night before, I pulled the materials out to let them thaw in the fridge, and we had an awesome dinner the next night.  I came home, dumped everything in a 13 x 9 inch casserole, put dishes in the dishwasher away, and then looked up in surprise when dinner was ready.  Holy cow, that was good!  (Hint- if you do check this book out and decide to try this recipe, keep an eye on the rice.  It doesn't need a full 2 hours of bake time.  Mine was done in about an hour.)  

I tried the fish tacos over the weekend.  So awesome!  The make ahead version calls for the fish to be stored in a zip top bag, and for the seasonings to be stored in a separate baggie within the bag.  Personally, I'd be tempted to also store the corn tortillas in the same zip top bag.  I like having as many parts together as possible when I pull something out of the freezer.  

For me, with my food allergies, I love the recipes.  Jessica calls for fresh, not processed foods.  No processing means no chance of gluten or dairy.  Even better, it is easy for me to substitute out the foods that I can't eat or don't like.  

If you're looking for some new, fun ideas for freezer cooking, give this book at try!

Book Review: Chomp

Derek Badger is a reality tv star.  His show, Expedition Survival, is all about his adventures in the wilderness while battling wild animals who are out to eat him for dinner.

Wahoo Cray is a teenager whose father - Mickey - is a Wildlife Wrangler.  Mickey's the man you talk to if you want "tame" wild animals on your program.  He has trained the animals, and he takes care of them and makes sure that you treat his animals safely while they are on your program.

A few months back, the lives of the Cray family were turned upside down when a frozen iguana dropped on Mickey's head after a hard freeze and dented his head - giving him a concussion, persistent migraines, and double vision.  Since the accident, Mickey has not accepted any work, and the family's financial situation is getting dire.

When a phone call comes in from the Expedition Survival crew, asking Mickey's father to be the animal wrangler and provide them with an alligator, a snake, and a snapping turtle, Wahoo snaps up the offer without consulting with his father.  "What could possibly go wrong?"

Derek Badger really isn't the Wildlife Survival expert that he plays on tv.  He loves comfort and luxury, and doesn't like being  uncomfortable.  However, after an incident with an alligator, Derek is convinced that he can conquer anything and insists that his crew film in the Everglades with real wild animals along, so that the viewers can get the true Everglades Wildlife Experience.

Wahoo and his Dad are hired to be the animal wranglers on location, and Wahoo's friend Tuna tags along with them at the last minute, sporting a black eye that she claims came from "falling down a set of stairs", but everybody knows was given to her by her father.

What happens when the crew hits the Everglades is the stuff of nightmares:

1) Derek Badger goes missing in the middle of a storm.

2) Tuna's Dad shows up waving a gun, threatening to kill anyone who stands in between him and his kid.

Will Derek be found in time?
Can Tuna escape her father's wrath?

Book Review- The Sleeper and the Spindle

Not quite a graphic novel, not quite a storybook, this is a crossover between the two.  Neil Gaiman's words are framed beautifully by the illustrations so masterfully drawn by Chris Riddell.


You might think you know your Fairy Tales, but this Fractured Fairy Tale will keep you guessing up until the very last page.  As you read through the story, you will find familiar stories and faces that take the story into some very unexpected places!

This Young Adult Novel is worth your time!

I have a complete, professional review written on my YA Literature Blog, found here: 
http://librarynut-booksforteens.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-sleeper-and-spindle.html