Author Interview: Emil Ostrovski

Away We Go BannerIf you’ve been following The Story Sanctuary for a while, you’ve probably heard me gush about a couple of books I read recently and really enjoyed. Here, as part of an Irish Banana Blog Tour, is the author of those books, graciously answering my pesky fangirl questions….

About Emil Ostrovski

Emil OstrovskiI’m twenty-five.

Rather than give you a witty, self-deprecating account of the trials and tribulations of my twenty-five year old, suburban, upper-middle class, went-to-a-girl’s-liberal-arts-college life, I’ll admit that I haven’t really done anything much worth reading about.

So in lieu of providing you with my biography, I will recommend that you read Desmond Tutu’s. Here.

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Review: The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

girl-in-the-blue-coatThe Girl in the Blue Coat
Monica Hesse
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

In 1943 Amsterdam, Hanneke is the girl who can help you find things like coffee, meat, kerosene. But when a lonely widow asks Hanneke to find a missing Jewish girl, Hanneke at first refuses to get involved. Locating a Jewish girl and trying to rescue her is far too dangerous.

On the other hand, maybe danger is exactly what Hanneke needs to distract her from the aching grief of her boyfriend’s recent death. Reluctantly, Hanneke agrees to investigate the girl’s disappearance. Her search throws her in the path of a well-organized group of resistance workers who beg Hanneke … Continue reading

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Blogs to Follow

TTTTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is a fantastic one: the best blogs to follow. I tend to follow several different kinds of blogs. I like finding other blogs that review clean books or which list content information. I think in part it makes me feel validated, and it’s always interesting to see the ways other sites break down the content information. I also like to follow what I’ll call a specialty blog, one that steers readers toward specific types of books– books about characters with disabilities, books by minority authors, etc. Then there are the good old trusty review sites where I find myself reading the reviews of books … Continue reading

Upcoming Reviews: April 2016

I live! Admit it. You were wondering.

Sorry. Between Spring Break (which was lots more SPRING than BREAK, to tell the truth) and Easter and illness in our house, I’ve let blogging fall to the wayside for the last couple of weeks. I’m hoping that this weekend I’ll be able to get caught up on the things I’ve missed and get into reading some of these awesome books– because FOUR of them come out in less than a week!

Not listed here, but on my agenda to review is Life Animated by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind (which I HIGHLY recommend.) As a reminder, I do not accept requests to review non-fiction, but occasionally, I do read and review some non-fiction here.

Now, to business! Here are some of the books you can expect to find here at The Story Sanctuary in April 2016:

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Blog Tour: The Door By the Staircase and Top Ten Facts About Baba Yaga

Door Tour Banner

Irish Banana Tours Presents: The Door by the Staircase Tour

Today I’m participating in a book tour arranged by the beautiful Hannah at Irish Banana Blog Tours. Please check out the other stops on the tour (see below!) and enter the giveaway for a copy of The Door By the Staircase by Katherine Marsh. Also, check out Katherine Marsh’s top ten facts about Baba Yaga, a character from Russian folklore who inspired Madame Z in the book!

About The Door By the Staircase by Katherine Marsh

The Door by the Staircase by Katherine MarshTwelve-year-old Mary Hayes can’t stand her orphanage for … Continue reading

Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR List

TTTTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a list of the hottest books on my To Be Read List for this spring. I’m not sure if this means books coming out this spring I can’t wait to read or books I am most eager to read in the next couple of months, so I’m going to include both, because I’m a rebel like that.

Books Actually Coming Out This Spring That I’m Crazy Eager to Read

 

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater1. The Raven King by … Continue reading