Monthly Wrap-Up: February 2017

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February 2017I feel like I always start these posts with some surprised exclamation like, OMG, how is it MARCH ALREADY?!

But we’ll move past that and get to the good stuff! First… book mail. I got so many books this month from participation in Irish Banana Blog Tours, a Disney blog tour, Children’s Literature, and directly from Bloomsbury. It was like Christmas all over again! (And if you know my family, you know we just finished celebrating Christmas like four weeks ago, so it’s like the magic continues…)

So here’s my book stash for February 2017:

… Continue reading →

Review: Beauty and the Beast Lost in a Book

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Today I’m part of a blog tour with Disney to celebrate Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly! My review copy of Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book and a complimentary copy of Belle’s Library: A Collection of Literary Quotes and Inspirational Musings was provided by Disney.

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book
Jennifer Donnelly
Disney Press
January 31, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book

Smart, bookish Belle, a captive in the Beast’s castle, has become accustomed to her new home and has befriended its inhabitants. When she comes upon Nevermore, an enchanted book unlike anything else she has seen in the castle, Belle finds herself pulled into its pages and transported … Continue reading →

Review: Liked by Kari Kampakis

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Liked by Kari KampakisLiked: Whose Approval are You Living For?
Kari Kampakis
Thomas Nelson
Published November 15, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Maintaining an online presence through social media can be tricky to navigate no matter your age. Author Kari Kampakis presents advice to teen girls about using social media in a way that’s godly and healthy, too. She discusses ways to keep priorities straight—making sure life doesn’t become about how many “likes” you accrue on a post or photo. She discusses how to handle relationship issues that can arise from miscommunication or thoughtlessness on social media. Through each page, Kampakis shares her wisdom like a cheerleader, making the reader feel like she’s totally on your … Continue reading →

Review: BookBurners created by Max Gladstone

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The BookBurners review is a little different than my usual spiel, and not only because it’s part of an Irish Banana Blog Tour. BookBurners is not actually a traditional novel. The story (well, actually, stories) was first published at Serial Box in, you guessed it, serial form. Readers have the option of subscribing to a particular series and getting the latest episodes via an app for phone and tablet or purchasing them on Amazon individually, and now as a whole season. The whole thing is almost 800 pages, so it’s pretty whoppin’.

The sixteen episodes were written by a team of authors whose names you might recognize. And rather than the longer form of a novel, these episodes read like segments of a TV show, with a team of characters who face individual challenges resolved in each section but building together to form a larger story.

Confession time: … Continue reading →

Review: The Fearless Traveler’s Guide to Wicked Places by Peter Begler

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Fearless Traveler's Guide to Wicked Places by Peter BeglerFearless Traveler’s Guide to Wicked Places
Peter Begler
Capstone Books for Young Readers
Available March 1, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When a skull-shaped cloud kidnaps Nell’s mother and turns her into a bird, she and her brothers vow to get their mother back. To do this, they must find a powerful Fearless Traveler and persuade him to take them to a land of nightmares. Once there, they will have to make the dangerous journey to see Ravenhead, the only Dreamer who can undo the curse and return Nell’s mother to her real form. Along the way, Nell and her brother battle nightmares both outside and inside themselves. The … Continue reading →

Review: When You Never Said Goodbye by Meg Kearney

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When You Never Said Goodbye
Meg Kearney
Persea
Available March 21, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Through poetry and journal entries, Liz relates the story of her first year at NYU and her search for her birth mother. As she forms a circle of friends, she gradually shares with them the truth about her adoption and her search. She finds support and love from these friends and from her family, though each member of her family struggles with the search for different reasons. Liz won’t give up looking, even as one obstacle after another rises to meet her.

One of my favorite things about this story were all the references to literature … Continue reading →