All posts by Kasey

About Kasey

Reads things. Writes things. Fluent in sarcasm. Willful optimist. Cat companion, chocolate connoisseur, coffee drinker. There are some who call me Mom.

Happy New Year from The Story Sanctuary!

Lists, News and Fun, , ,

Sparklers Happy New YearHappy New Year!

We hope you had an amazing holiday season with friends and family and had time to reflect on your faith. This year is sure to bring some great things, and we’ll look forward to celebrating them.

So… my Christmas went a little differently than I planned. I celebrated Christmas from a hospital bed and shortly after, my daughter was born. We’re biased, of course, but she’s beautiful and already an amazing adventure.

Both me and my girl are healthy and doing well. I expected to have a few more weeks to get things in order for her to arrive, but here we are. As far as the blog, Gabrielle and I have some great reviews already in the works and will continue to share them. I’ll probably slow down accepting reviews again until I settle into being the mom of two.

In keeping with the New Year tradition of setting resolutions, I thought it would be fun to post some blogging resolutions– goals for how things happen here at The Story Sanctuary this coming year. So here goes…

Story Sanctuary New Year’s Resolutions

  1. Continue posting reviews! We try to post reviews or updates about three times per week. Over the last year, we posted an average of 13 posts per month. The goal is probably closer to 16. You can check out the books we already have on our review list by visiting the 2018 Reading List.
  2. Add more lists! I love participating in Top Ten Tuesday posts and even creating my own bookish lists. This year I hope to post two per month.
  3. Give away more books! Last year we had some amazing giveaways from Disney and a few more as part of various blog tours I participated in. This year I hope to do a better job passing on some of the best books I receive for review to you, my awesome readers. So watch for those. I would love to do one each month, maybe as a part of my Monthly Wrap-Up posts.
  4. Write a guide for parents on choosing literature! This has been a goal for the last couple of years, actually, and something I’m passionate about as a parent. I’d love to break down my own process of how my daughter and I decide what books she’s ready for and share it with others who may have some similar questions and concerns. I’ll update on this as I get my data together.
  5. Social media better. Y’all, I am so not consistent on social media. My Pinterest account languishes for months with no updates. My Twitter feed becomes a desert with the occasional tumbleweed auto-post from my blog. I’d like to do better at connecting with readers via those outlets so I can meet readers and talk more about great books!

What are your reading or blogging goals for the new year?

Leave me a comment and share your reading, blogging or writing goals for this next year. They don’t have to be big or difficult. Sometimes just thinking about what you want to do and writing it down can help me feel more focused and work toward a thing. Does that work for you, too?

Review: Life Just Got Real by Sadie Robertson with Cindy Coloma

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Life Just Got Real
Sadie Robertson with Cindy Coloma
Howard Books / Simon & Schuster
Published on June 7, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Life Just Got Real
Sixteen-year-old A.J. Smith grew up in backwoods Louisiana, repairing cars with her dad and hunting with her brothers. But when her dad dies, her mom drags the whole family to Nashville where everything is different—except A.J. And A.J. knows it will take everything she has to live original.

Kate Kelly grew up in Nashville’s best schools, jetting around the world with glamorous people and wearing clothes from her mom’s trendy boutique. But when A.J. Smith―a new girl from the sticks—shows up, suddenly she’s all the rage: her unusual sense of style, her accent, and especially her dumb converse high tops. Even Kate’s brother, Kaden, seems to be under the new girl’s spell. But Kate has bigger things to think about, including the reality show Real Life. Everyone says the show is her chance to make it big. But then the producers decide to bring A.J. into the show.

Because these girls are so different, the producers of Real Life know that their conflict will be television gold. So the cameras start to roll. Then Kaden asks A.J. to prom, Kate flips out, and things with Kate’s (almost) boyfriend Alex start unraveling fast—all on camera. As the producers try to stir up the drama, Kate’s idea of the perfect prom spins out of control. When Kate’s life goes disastrously wrong, it is A.J. who steps up to help—no questions asked. A friendship between the two girls just might grow—but only if they both live original and stay true to who God made them to be.

My Review
As a girl who also grew up peeking at engines with her dad, I loved that this is a book about a girl with mechanical tendencies! How fun. I loved AJ’s genuine character and her vulnerability. Both those things made it so easy to root for her as the story progressed.

I also identified with Kate’s driven, high-achiever nature. I liked how both girls were juxtaposed against each other not just within the frame of a reality show but also in their alternating points of view in the story.

In a couple of scenes, Kaden gets a bit pushy with AJ. While as a reader I believed in Kaden’s goodness and his good intentions toward AJ, I was uncomfortable with the way the story made his behavior seem like an admirable thing. She resisted or straight up said no she didn’t want to do something a couple of times and he kind of pushed until she caved. I don’t think this is a great model for teen relationships and can actually be a dangerous pattern. So I struggled with that.

The story explores some of AJ’s spiritual beliefs and the comfort she finds in church and Christian faith. So there’s more spiritual content here than in some other books by major Christian publishers that I’ve read lately. I loved seeing these elements grafted into the story but wished they played a role in the story’s resolution as well.

The plot got a little murky toward the three-quarter mark of Life Just Got Real. I’m not sure what the big conflict/final battle is exactly. I felt like the story sort of lost focus and became more event-driven at that point. The ending left me wanting to know more (in a good way), though I don’t see any evidence that there are plans for a sequel.

Readers looking for a clean reality show novel will want to put this one on their lists. If you liked Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos or liked the concept but wanted a clean alternative, Life Just Got Real should be on your reading list.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white. The story takes place in Nashville and focuses on a wealthy white family and a poorer white family.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
AJ reflects on the change in her Christian life since her dad’s death and realizes she hasn’t prayed much lately. She begins attending church again and tries to make her spiritual life a priority. She also introduces Kaden to her church. He develops his own belief and mentions studying the bible. He also talks to his sister Kate briefly about believing in God and how maybe that’s what he’s been missing in his life up to that point. Kate wants to be supportive but doesn’t seem interested in spirituality.

Violent Content
A boy publicly humiliates a girl by saying some unkind things about her.

Drug Content
A boy gets drunk and says some ugly things about a girl publicly. He later apologizes for what he said and did.

Review: History’s Mysteries by Kitson Jazynka

Book Review and Content, Nonfiction, , , , , ,

History’s Mysteries
Kitson Jazynka
National Geographic Society
Published on October 17, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About History’s Mysteries
Why were the Easter Island heads erected? What really happened to the Maya? Who stole the Irish Crown Jewels? The first book in this exciting new series will cover history’s heavy-hitting, head-scratching mysteries, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Bermuda Triangle, the Oak Island Money Pit, Stonehenge, the Sphinx, the disappearance of entire civilizations, the dancing plague, the Voynich manuscript, and so many more. Chock-full of cool photos, fun facts, and spine-tingling mysteries.

My Review
History’s Mysteries was a fun book to read. I liked the way each mystery had some photos or illustrations and background information to clue readers in on some of the historical context. Then it presented the mystery and prevailing theories about what might have happened. Though none of the mysteries in the book have been solved, having so many unusual and puzzling cases stacked next to each other raised a lot of curiosity about our world and the fact that there are still lots of things left to discover.

The mysteries span across time, exploring ancient to modern civilizations and cases of unsolved disappearance, like Amelia Earhart. Some cases I was familiar with, but others (like the dancing plague) were entirely new to me and made me want to know a lot more about them.

History’s Mysteries is a great overview or beginning foray into unsolved cases, and a fun way to stir a young reader’s imagination. I’d say late elementary-aged readers would enjoy this most, but middle elementary-aged readers can probably handle it just fine, too, and older readers will still enjoy the engaging way the information is presented.

Recommended for Ages 9 up.

Cultural Elements
Explores unsolved mysteries across the world and from various time periods.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Not Now, Not Ever
Lily Anderson
St. Martin’s Press
Published on November 21, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Not Now, Not Ever
Elliot Gabaroche is very clear on what she isn’t going to do this summer.

1. She isn’t going to stay home in Sacramento, where she’d have to sit through her stepmother’s sixth community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
2. She isn’t going to mock trial camp at UCLA.
3. And she certainly isn’t going to the Air Force summer program on her mother’s base in Colorado Springs. As cool as it would be to live-action-role-play Ender’s Game, Ellie’s seen three generations of her family go through USAF boot camp up close, and she knows that it’s much less Luke/Yoda/”feel the force,” and much more one hundred push-ups on three days of no sleep. And that just isn’t appealing, no matter how many Xenomorphs from Alien she’d be able to defeat afterwards.

What she is going to do is pack up her attitude, her favorite Octavia Butler novels, and her Jordans, and go to summer camp. Specifically, a cutthroat academic-decathlon-like competition for a full scholarship to Rayevich College, the only college with a Science Fiction Literature program. And she’s going to start over as Ever Lawrence, on her own terms, without the shadow of all her family’s expectations. Because why do what’s expected of you when you can fight other genius nerds to the death for a shot at the dream you’re sure your family will consider a complete waste of time?

This summer’s going to be great.

My Review
I thought the connections between Not Now, Not Ever and The Importance of Being Earnest made this a super fun, unexpected story. Elliot’s struggle to figure out what to do with her future with regard to her family’s expectations for her definitely pulled me into the story. It wasn’t the most satisfying plot element, though.

Actually, I have to say I was pretty excited when I figured out that Brandon (if you read The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You, you’ll remember this guy!) had a pretty major role in this novel. I loved finding him in Not Now, Not Ever.

Lots of the characters have secrets of their own, which had me hooked. It seemed like every time I thought I pegged what was going to happen, some new layer emerged. That made for a fun reading experience for sure.

On the whole, I think I liked these characters better than The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You but prefer that plot over Not Now, Not Ever. Not to say I didn’t enjoy both—I totally did. Anderson delivers strong dialogue and banter with some really fun geek culture in both books. Fans of Cori McCarthy’s You Were Here and Anderson’s debut novel, The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You will want to add this one to reading lists.

Recommended for Ages 14 up

Cultural Elements
Elliot is black. Her step-mom is white. She’s also from a family with very strong military traditions and feels pressured to join follow in that tradition after high school, despite her other dreams. Two of the boys in the summer program are gay and start a relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys and between a boy and girl. It’s implied that a boy and girl have had sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
At one point Elliot drinks alcohol with a friend.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: The Thing with Feathers by McCall Hoyle

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Thing with Feathers
McCall Hoyle
Blink YA
Published on September 5, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About The Thing with Feathers
Emilie Day believes in playing it safe: she’s homeschooled, her best friend is her seizure dog, and she’s probably the only girl on the Outer Banks of North Carolina who can’t swim.

Then Emilie’s mom enrolls her in public school, and Emilie goes from studying at home in her pj’s to halls full of strangers. To make matters worse, Emilie is paired with starting point guard Chatham York for a major research project on Emily Dickinson. She should be ecstatic when Chatham shows interest, but she has a problem. She hasn’t told anyone about her epilepsy.

Emilie lives in fear her recently adjusted meds will fail and she’ll seize at school. Eventually, the worst happens, and she must decide whether to withdraw to safety or follow a dead poet’s advice and “dwell in possibility.”

My Review
I loved the way Emilie wrestled with her fears throughout the story—not just her fears about having peers find out about her epilepsy, but her unresolved grief over her dad’s death and the possibility that her mom might move on to have a new relationship, and her fear of rejection when handsome Chatham shows some pretty strong interest in her.

The tie-ins with Emily Dickinson’s life and poetry added another interesting layer to the story as well. I liked that Emilie recognized so much of herself in the reclusive poet and yet it was often Dickinson’s words which challenged her to go beyond the boundaries she felt comfortable within.

On the whole, I liked the story and enjoyed reading it. The Thing with Feathers is a sweet story with a strong but clean romantic thread. It’s a story about friendship, facing fear and finding hope. Fans of Stephanie Morrill’s Skylar Hoyt and Ellie Sweet books need to add this one to their reading lists.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Emilie has epilepsy and worries a lot about assumptions people may make about it.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
References to prayer.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: Recipe for Hate by Warren Kinsella

Book Review and Content, New Adult 18up, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Recipe for Hate
Warren Kinsella
Dundurn Press
Published on October 21, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Recipe for Hate
The X Gang is a group of punks led by the scarred, silent, and mostly unreadable Christopher X. His best friend, Kurt Blank, is a hulking and talented punk guitarist living in the closet. Sisters Patti and Betty Upchuck form the core of the feminist Punk Rock Virgins band, and are the closest to X and Kurt. Assorted hangers-on and young upstarts fill out the X Gang’s orbit: the Hot Nasties, the Social Blemishes, and even the legendary Joe Strummer of the Clash. Together, they’ve all but taken over Gary’s, an old biker bar. Then over one dark weekend, a bloody crime nearly brings it all to an end.

Based on real events, Warren Kinsella tells the story of the X Gang’s punk lives — the community hall gigs, the antiracism rallies, the fanzines and poetry and art, and what happened after the brutal murders of two of their friends.

My Review
I kind of can’t resist books featuring punk kids or the late 70s era punk scene, and this book is both. It’s raw and gritty and soaked in the passion for personal freedom, disdain for authority, and commitment to indie music which the punk scene is so known for. Reading it felt, to me, much like watching the movie SLC Punk.

While I loved the setting and all the punk culture, the style of the writing was hard to follow at times. The narrator, Kurt, would digress from the present into memories and backstory—all of which were interesting and added some flavor to the story, but made it a little confusing to keep the timeline straight.

Scenes jumped around from one perspective to another, revealing details the narrator, Kurt, wasn’t present to witness. Sometimes he would explain he’d learned the details later. Especially toward the end of the book, as things begin to happen quickly, I found the narrative choppier. Sometimes the story would shift to a different scene or time within the same paragraph. I think it would have helped to have a hard break before each shift to make it easier to follow what’s happening visually.

In terms of plot, Recipe for Hate had some really surprising moments which I didn’t see coming. (I won’t give anything away.) More than once the story took a turn I didn’t expect—in a good way. The plot made sense but wasn’t predictable.

The story contains a lot of profanity and some graphic descriptions of violence, so that may be a barrier to sensitive readers. See the content section for more specifics. If you like murder mystery with a sort of stream-of-consciousness style narration, you will want to check out Recipe for Hate.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Kurt mentions that he’s gay. Some of their friends are Jewish or lesbian. Several members of radical racist groups say really inflammatory things. There’s a general disdain for police in the punk scene.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used frequently. Racial slurs used (by racist characters) infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl. Kurt briefly recalls a friend telling him about two men who raped her. At one point, the boys find a girl whose clothes are roughed up, and she tells them a man planned to rape her but was interrupted.

Spiritual Content
The racist extremists have some devotion to a sort of twisted Christian doctrine. The first two boys found murdered have obvious connections to rituals celebrated by this group. (One boy is found in the position of a crucifixion for instance.)

Violent Content
The description of the murder scenes, while brief, is pretty brutal. Extremists beat up a young man and woman.

Drug Content
Some references to drinking alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.