Netgally ARC
The themes of grief in this book (friends moving, parent, grandparent, and spouse bereavement are very prevalent and well done but I related to the missing connection between myself and my teenager who is so busy doing all the things that I grieve the time we once had together. No matter if you read this book for the retelling, or for diversity, or just because it's a graphic novel I think there is something inside it for everyone.

I don't expect less from TJR but this was another fantastic book, and a nail biter to the very end. So good.

Flying isn't a possibility right now so reading with my feet off the ground while spending an afternoon via a hammock seems like the next best choice.

The ending felt too rushed and the fantasy side of it is all at the end and disproportionate from the first half of the book. I don't know, just felt unbalanced- I loved the first half and then it all just became too much for a middle grade book. Either be fantasy or be a relatable family/friends/growing up storyline just not both. Faes and wishing wells and Modern Family & Friends references in the same book are just too different.

I went into this book without even having read the synopsis. I thought it was going to be a light read based on the cover but it was a gut-punch instead. One of the main characters, that has their own POV chapters has early onset dementia and it's heart breaking to read their confusion and then alternating between his wife and daughter's prospective as well while they are watching the decline.

I don't think I've read any other books that were set around not only the fighting and revolution but also while smallpox was also raging and how communities were trying to get ahead of it. Although this book was middle grade it did not gloss over the brutality of the disease in any way. This book would be an excellent addition to any history lesson set around the 1770s.

Modern day 'You've Got Mail' vibes but when the guy manages a romance bookstore and she manages a literary fiction bookstore and they are competing for a management position when they are forced to merge.

Amazing. Looped together to be informative, but with a wonderful narrative to keep it interesting.

June 2025
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Mystery elements didn't start until halfway though the book. The first half felt like a direct copy of "Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing" (Emily Lynn Paulson) but I guess that's the reality of all MLMs.

Some historical overlap that I first learned about while reading Killers Of The Moon Flower (David Grann) but with classic Lisa Wingate dual timelines perfection.

As an accessibility advocate, anything that can help me broaden my perspective to include more and more people is a good thing. I learned a lot in this book about varying types of wheelchair users, and the lack of universal design in so many items available on the market today. We, humans, can do better. I think, like mental health, speaking about and to benefit all accessibility, too, can lose its taboo.

Why do I keep thinking about the whole concept of rewriting history or deleting it as a new thing? It's not. What we are spoonfed as public school students, in condensed paragraphs expected to give a truthful take on history is more wrong than right. I'm going to keep reading non-fiction about the world I live in and the people who surround me until I'm dead and I'll be better for it. Wow.

I knew nothing of Hick, unlike many of the topics/people Sarah Miller writes about. So this was all so new information and I enjoyed how it was written intermixed with commentary verses straight epistolary style.

The title drew me in and when I went to pull it from the shelf I realized I have read so many books from this section of the library, all with such different titles that I knew I needed a new Goodreads Tag so I've added Social Sciences Equality, because despite reading so many, little has changed but each empowers me to be more bold in my existence and desire to see more for future generations.

I hadn't ever given much thought to the passengers and crew of the Carpathia, the ship that heard Titanic's distress calls, and at much risk to themselves rushed to help. This book is historical fiction, but a lot of work went into the storyline and it contains real people know to surround the story and events, including mistaken identities when there were multiple passengers with the same names, and burials at sea for those rescued but that...

Extremely predictable until the very, very end and then an unreliable narrator enters the scene.

This was a great pallet cleanser audiobook between some heavier non-fiction books. It wraps up nicely so not sure where the series is going, but maybe just new characters in new settings/National parks? I have had Grand Teton National Park on my someday list but hopefully I can get there sooner and enjoy all the park has to offer after the vivid imagery described in this book.

Some are definitely more interesting than others and from history to current events (Gabby Petito 2022) these stories all have the National Parks, Monuments, and public lands in common. The closest to me was the story of the 6 year old boy that was swallowed into a hole at the Indiana Dunes yet lived after being buried alive.

Some real world information mixed in with some magical realism topped with overreaching government officials.

2025 Expand Your Horizons Task - a book by author Walter Farley. This was the first in a series and was honestly so, so good. I really wasn't expecting that but the plot is fast and keeps you interested from beginning to end, suitable for any age.

Despite this completely wrong cover the story inside is good. The main character Haidie is 14 throughout the book and has disguised herself as a boy in an effort to travel west with her younger brother in search of their father after their older brother places them in an orphanage. Her character has short hair and her attire both aid in her boy-ish appearance. This could easily be enjoyed by teen readers as well.

Fun but a little cheesy from an adult perspective. Good lessons on the lasting impact of marginalizing others.

May 2025
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If I wasn't already a fan of Nicole Deese- this one would have won me all over again. Not mentioned on the blurb is hearing/ASL theme and perfect education within the storyline for advocating for accessibility- one of my favorite things and something I seek out whenever possible so finding this was amazing! While this could be read as a stand alone there is a bit of crossover allowing this to be considered a part of the Fog Harbor series.

It has been an amazing month of non-fiction and stories of powerful women. This book was no exception. Elizabeth Zott is a powerhouse and challenges societal norms at every turn- and the world pushed back often. It is the second book this month that referenced The Feminine Mystique so that book is moving up on my TBR list as well.

An insightful and bloody examination of the axe's foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture.

Every single title that I've read by Nadia Hashimi is 5 star. They make me ponder long after the last page about the world around me and the privileges I forget to notice every day. I complain about gender equality while others just don't want to be considered property or be the 3rd, 4th, or 5th wife whose sole purpose is to bear male children. Let us learn from one another, let us never forget that it could and is worse for so many others.

Unlike many self-help/motivational books this one honestly had me chuckling in parts because it's written for normal people! I specifically loved the condensed pep talks in the back. I am a habitual over committer so I need all the help I can get.

I feel like my public school understanding of what the woman's right to vote entails was little more than a textbook paragraph. Oh how wrong I was. I get that this was written for YA but I certainly learned a lot about American History that I didn't before reading this novel in verse.

As a parent and kids library staff member I'm extremely familiar with Lauren Tarshis' I Survived series that gives a child's perspective on different parts of history along with a narrative. This book however adds in the sciences and probability of hindsight to make history survivable. Everything from plagues, to crewing with Black Beard, to finding safety during the TriState Tornado. Read the entire thing over just the chapters that intrigue...

This is historical fiction written in verse from the standpoint of a teen who receives a job in a manor house while her family and so many others are starving to death during the potato famine. There is so much death and land owner negligence, the dogs eat better than people. She finds love that tests so many restraints during this time period and they are each keeping it a secret for many good reasons. The story absolutely gripped me. So good.

One of the best books I've read so far this year. I began to feel as if these four Bettys became friends. All so vastly different from each other but not willing to stick to the status quo. I've added several of the books they read to my own reading list, as I had only read Herland (just this year). Even now, some 50 years after much of the setting, a lot hasn't changed for women. How disheartening.

Clean grumpy x sunshine rom com. Both having lost a sibling and grieving. I've wanted to visit Scotland for a very long time and this book setting is keeping it on my someday house with an emphasis on a Manor House stay.

Sibling storylines are a frequent thing in books but these brothers felt more authentic then I've read in a while. They loved and supported one another, had fist fights, and called each other out for nonsense- I'd assume one is neurodivergent but likely undiagnosed. Similar to the brother bond from 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape?' There is definitely some gore and blood but not quite what I was expecting and the pacing was good.

If ordered top to bottom ranking my favorite Katherine Center books- this one would be closer to the bottom. It was really relatable in several places but I went back and forth in liking the main character and there were just so many unneeded side storylines that felt disjointed from the larger storyline.

Wow, there was lots to unpack in this one. I found it funny that two books in my last few read titles ended up with wayward houseboats. I also did not see a huge plot building so it was fun to be surprised.

I love books like this- quick 1.5-2 page biographies. Some I knew but many I didn't. However I felt it completely unnecessary to specifically point out who had same sex partners when it didn't also, in balanced measure, also feel the need to mention if the person was heterosexual. At first I thought it was a fluke but definitely not. Only if the highlighted historical figures had a life partner or such was it mentioned. Just let people be!

Listen to the newest episode of Maggie's Book Bites! 📚 🎧
Maggie, Sarah, and Garrett chat about books that feature untraditional characters, settings and plots.. Listen in for recommendations!

Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google, Amazon, and Stitcher!

Publishes May 6, 2025

Twisty. Not sure if I love or hate having local towns as part of the settings in Ashley Flowers titles- first Wakarusa and now Osceola and Mishawaka. I know I would feel differently if these were romcoms and not suspense but...

This was a great second title from this author. It definitely kept me guessing until the very end.

Audio ALC while baking homemade brown sugar pop tarts. I always worry for a debut authors follow up but it's good so far and so are the smells in my kitchen!

I wanted a little more plot, I think.

April 2025
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Based loosely on the real life female serial killer from Norway who relocated to Chicago and later 60 miles away to LaPorte, Indiana. This book is going to live, unfortunately, in my head for quite some time due to the preferred dismemberment murders as means of income.

For fans of The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson

so many applicable truths.

This was not the Emily Henry writing I have read before. Yes, there is a love story, or two, if you include both sets of the dual timelines. While I didn't piece the whole storyline together- I did figure out quite a bit of it. This story, the glamor, the larger than life fame, tragedy, etc reminded me a lot of "All The Stars In The Heavens" by Adriana Trigiani, a book I read back in 2021.

While I enjoyed the storyline about loving yourself before you can love others and related to that a lot, the rest of the story just okay. I'd like a full complete story about Rue and her marriage and the day that connected her with Cole & Hutch through found family.

Way more open door than I prefer to read but second changes are my second favorite trope so that was good. It was also fun to get a few updates from other Spoons couples from earlier in the series. P.S. this book made me so hungry for baked goods, especially the holiday pie! 🤤

Well, I didn't see that coming.

Wow. I don't think I've read a better book with a character in the thick of loss and alcoholism. I rooted for Cass, got mad at her, understood, and mourned with her.