Skip to main content

summer reading book reviews


As you know from my previous post, I had three books on my TBR list for the summer.  Shockingly, I finished all 3 by early August.  Here are my thoughts and rankings.  Least to most favorite.....

#3:  Children of Blood and Bone:  
⭐⭐⭐☆☆

*What I liked:  
-the sibling bonds (two sets of siblings both brother/sister with different yet strong bonds)
-a girl hero
-short chapters (easy for start and stop reading that is my life right now)
-multiple points of view

*What I did not like: 
I confirmed my non-preference of the fantasy genre. There was so much rising and falling action. Is that typical for the fantasy genre?  This is a great book for anyone who enjoys fantasy and/or dystopian society setting (an imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible).  If anyone has a fantasy recommendation that could change my opinions about it, please share!  



#2 "That Kind of Mother" ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
This was a fairly quick read.  I liked that the author used multiple points of view.  Of course, I enjoyed the message that in motherhood more unites than separates us. Motherhood can be lonely.  As mothers, we never stop worrying if we are getting it all right all the time; we want to be "that kind of mother".  I was actually surprised to learn that the author is male because he did a great job capturing the thoughts and ideas so many mothers share. The author also addressed some very important issues in our current society, such as race relationships, white privilege, and interracial adoption. 





#1- "Educated" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow! Just wow.  I am becoming more and more of a fan of the memoir.  Because this was a memoir, it was based on true events. But these true events were absolutely unbelievable at times.  The grit and grind of this author was shocking to me.  She did a great job describing the constant turmoil she endured between choosing her family (as wacky as they were) and her education and future.  She did a great job developing each character (her family members) so that the reader can understand just how difficult her decision to continue to pursue her education at the cost of losing her family was for her.  This is a must read!



What did you read and enjoy this summer?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Purpose

WHY:  Here we go again. Mahala is tapping into blogging once more.  Is this even still a thing? Jesus, be near. My first instinct was NO WAY...there is no time for this mess.  But then I realized if I spent as much time blogging as I do writing a blog in my head then why not?  Ever since Beau was born, we moved states (again), and I transitioned to staying home (again) I just cannot stop thinking about all these things I want to share with all these people that I love...and maybe even some people I don't know (yet).  Ya know?  So, that's the "why".  Next is the "HOW". HOW:  I wanted my first post to be sort of like a mission statement if you will.  I want you to know the things I plan to write about, share, discuss, and ask.  This way you can decide if my blog is something you want to spend your time reading.  Everyone has interests and everyone has limited time. Trust me... I understand about choosing to spend your time wisely......

Homeschool Review: August

We had a "soft" start to school several weeks ago...mid August...I don't even remember the exact date.  This post is a review of what we have been learning so far.  Keep in mind that I am not using a purchased curriculum.  Thanks to Pinterest, the world wide web, and our local library I have found some great resources that fit the needs for both kids.  I use a lot of resources from THIS BLOG  post as a guide to help me get started.   If/When we exhaust these free resources I will probably purchase a few things to keep things fun and challenging.  LANGUAGE ARTS :  We are using McGraw Hill Grade 2 practice book as well as spelling. I request the books that go along with each unit from our local library.   And we are about half way into Unit 1.  I have used this resource to focus on the following skills: Vocabulary :  ABC order, word families (-ell, -eat) Comprehension : character/setting,  story mapping, plot,...

privilege :: it happens

I have debated on whether or not to share this.  I finally landed with the decision that (hopefully) the benefit will outweigh (or at least overshadow) the risk.  I trust that my words will lead you to know that I speak from a place of love and and solidarity.  I pray that when my non-white sisters and brothers read this they do not receive a message that seems to say, "See, it happens to me too."  Because it doesn't. This is only my interpretation of a set of events followed by my connection to the world around me.  This is me fitting a certain set of events into a reality that people of color face regularly and more often to a higher degree. This is my story of empathy.  My family and I live on the outskirts of Baltimore.  This particular part of the country..the DMV...is a beautiful place.  Sure.. there is beautiful history and monuments and architecture and harbors.  But the beauty that I am speaking of is the people. If ever there wa...