Hunted by the Sky

Finished September 27 

Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena

This is the first book in a fantasy series that is inspired by medieval India. Written for teens and with teen characters at the center of it, this book begins with a teen girl, Gul, hiding as government-sponsored warriors looking for her kill her parents. Gul has known all her life that her life is in danger due to a birthmark on her arm. It was foretold that a girl with such a birthmark would kill the king and so girls have been hunted down and disappeared for years. 

Now that she is on her own, she must figure out how to survive and how to kill the king and the Sky Warrior Shayla who killed her parents. 

Gul lives in the kingdom of Ambar, a kingdom that belonged to a loose coalition of neighbouring kingdoms but that has since become more independent, and one that has become more authoritarian and less tolerant. It used to be that all people lived in harmony, but with the current king and his predecessor those who don't have magical skills have been moved to their own neighbourhoods called tenements, had their rights taken away, and become near slaves. There are those who remember times of more harmony where all the people lived together and worked together and went to school together, but in the current world life is difficult for those without magic. 

One of those who has grown up in the tenements is Cavas, a boy who works in the royal stables as his father did before him. Cavas lost his mother when he was very young and as his father grew more ill, he has taken on the role of breadwinner for the pair of them, but also has recently been introduced to a mysterious man he summons with a special coin, one he gives information to in exchange for money. Cavas uses the money to buy medicine for his father, and hopes to find a way to leave the tenements so that his father can get well again, as it is the air of the tenements that has brought the disease he suffers from. 

Gul found her path crossing the path of a group of women, women who took her with them and have been training her to become a warrior, who have a similar aim to change the leadership of their kingdom and bring a more just and equitable rule back. Gul has only had glimpses of the magic she has been given, when it appears in times of stress or threat. Now she must learn how to understand it and control it.

As Gul and Cavas have their paths cross, it becomes clear that something ties their fates, and the magic together, and they must overcome their differences to work together. 

I found this a fascinating world, with very interesting types of magic skills in the different characters, and creatures different from the ones in this world. Gul's affinity for animals is an unusual and useful one, and when Cavas learns his own truths about what he is able to do, he must put aside resentments from the past. They are both strong-willed and smart and both believe in social change for the greater good.

There is a glossary at the back of the book to explain some of the terminology of this world, although I found that the context helped anyway and the book's flow wasn't lost due to the new words. 

Storm

Finished September 25 

Storm by George R. Stewart, introduction by Nathaniel Rich

I loved this book. I got it through my subscription to the New York Review of Books, and before I read it attended (virtually) an interview with Nathaniel Rich that was enlightening. 

This novel was originally published in 1941, and was very popular at the time. Stewart lived in California for many years and experienced many of northern California's storms. To research this book, he did a lot of research, much of it primary, meeting with the men (as most of them were men at the time) working on the roads and the rails, and at the airport and in the weather office, learning how it all worked, learning meteorology and geography and so much else that he uses in this book.

The storm of the title is a major storm, but not a hurricane or typhoon. The characters that interact with it here are mostly in northern California and Nevada, but he talks about effects across the continent and from the other side of the Pacific where the storm originates. 

I learned a lot about the way roads were cleared, the control systems around water, and weather. Stewart has one character, the Junior Meteorologist, fresh out of school and with a lean towards the science of weather, naming the storms he sees. At the time of initial publication, storms like hurricanes weren't given names as they are now, and this book was an inspiration to that practice beginning, which I found kind of neat. As this particular storm is given the name Maria (pronounced Mar-I-ah) by the meteorologist, I was reminded of the song "They Call the Wind Maria" and wondered if there was a connection, so I looked it up, and indeed that song was inspired by this book. 

The book is broken up into twelve days, the life of the storm. For each day, we are told a variety of short narratives, some historical, some meteorological, some philosophical, and some about the people who interacted with the storm and what they faced. We see many of these people over and over through the narrative, with some appearing every day and other just a few. There are also those who appear only once. Besides the people, we also have some wildlife, including a coyote and a boar. These animals have the storm touch their lives as well in differing ways.

Highly recommended.

Isn't It Bromantic?

Finished September 23

Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

This is the fourth book in this series and we're finally seeing more about a man who appeared in the first novel, Russian hockey player Vlad Konnikov. Then we knew him as a man with a bad gastrointestinal issue and a penchant for cheese. No one wanted to use a bathroom after him, but he was emotive and joined into book club activities with enthusiasm.  

In the third book we caught a glimpse of his beautiful wife Elena Konnikova, a journalism student at an American university and his childhood friend. 

Elena practically grew up with Vlad, after losing her mother at the age of nine and with her journalist father travelling all the time. As they came into adulthood they developed feelings for each other, but had difficulty expressing them.

When Vlad made it into the NHL, he proposed to Elena, partly to get her out of Russia, where she had recently lost her father when he disappeared working on a story about organized crime. She quickly agreed, but when she arrived in the U.S., she decided to take a degree in journalism, following in her family's footsteps, so they didn't spend much time together.

As this story begins, Elena is nearly done her degree and Vlad had just had a bad injury during a game. When his team representative contacts her to come, she goes immediately. She knows how much she owes Vlad, and wants to ensure that he has what he needs, even though the last time she saw him, six months ago, she told him she wanted to end the marriage.

As the two meet again, they are awkward with each other, working at cross purposes, neither of them communicating what is in their hearts.

Vlad, however, has the Bromance Book Club, and they pitch in to remind him of what he has learned in the club, and to help him in a surprise endeavour of his own.

Elena discovers a group of women in Vlad's neighbourhood who he has been using as a sounding board, as well as the group of wives and girlfriends of the Bromance book club, and is reminded of her own lack of close friends outside of her husband. Elena also has a secret project, one that has driven her for years and that she isn't about to let go. 

As both of their projects pull them toward and away from each other, they find themselves opening up to each other in new ways. 

This is another great read in the series, with depth as well as humour. We see familiar characters as well as some new additions and can see other relationships on the horizon. A fun read.

A Secret History of Witches

Finished September 19

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

This novel follows five generations of women in the United Kingdom from the early 19th century to World War II. The story begins in Cornwall in the 1830s, when the youngest sister in a family begins to exhibit the power she has inherited. Nanette came to Cornwall from France as a young child, part of a family of Romany people fleeing persecution. Like the rest of her family, she speaks French, but has also learned the local Cornish dialect, and English. Nanette takes the vegetables and cheese her family produces on their small farm and sells it at the local market. Their neighbours are still wary of this family and suspicious of their differences and the language they speak amongst themselves. 

It is Nanette's grandmother who had a vision of where they would find haven, and who sent them there and protected them with her last breath.

The skills that the women in the family have range from simple herbal skills to scrying and making spells. Nanette has inherited a crystal that she sees things in, and a grimoire, or book of spells. They are connected to her and her descendents from the family that has already owned and used them. 

Nanette has a quiet life on the farm except for one incident in her youth that brings her own daughter Ursule to the family. 

Ursule begins her life in Cornwall, but circumstances take her to Wales where her own daughter Irène begins her life. 

As each woman comes to adulthood she learns of her heritage and her nature, sometimes with the help of other family, sometimes on her own, sometimes with help from others. 

Each woman chooses her own path, and how to use her gift and how to protect the knowledge of that gift from those who would persecute her for it. 

Each woman's story is different through these choices, and the knowledge they gain. As we see how those choices bring them different things in their lives, we also see how others react to them. The gifts they have inherited are not easy ones to have, and sometimes difficult choices must be made, and things that matter must be sacrificed.

This is a story of women trying to do the right thing for their families and for society as a whole, and trying to stay safe while they do those things. The book drew me into their lives and made me care about what happened to them, and the familiars that each woman connected with. For me it was a real page-turner and one that left me wanting more.

Molly of the Mall

Finished September 17

Molly of the Mall: Literary Lass and Purveyor of Fine Footwear by Heidi L.M. Jacobs

This book awoke memories and kept me thoroughly engaged. Written over the course of a year, Molly narrates the book in a style that feels like a diary. The book is divided into the summer and two semesters and starts as Molly begins work in a shoe store at West Edmonton Mall. She does well and returns to her full-time seasonal position for the Christmas season and the following summer. 

The portion with her working at the mall is filled with long work shifts, the surface encounters of retail, interactions with her co-workers and other mall stall, and musings on her life. She meets an older man while browsing at the book store and they begin a friendship without even knowing each other's name. 

Molly is a huge Jane Austen fan and reads and rereads her books often. Both her parents are professors at University of Alberta, her mother in art and her father in English literature, her own major. Her older sister Tess is in France and her brother Heathcliff is busy with his agronomy studies. As you can guess, all three children have literary names, each from the book her father was teaching at the time of their birth. Molly is named for Moll Flanders. 

The time that Molly is at university is taken up by her studies, friendships, and aims to be a writer herself someday. She is an innovative student in some ways, submitting a mix-tape for one assignment and an apology for another. Molly doesn't have a boyfriend, but she might like one. Not that she really has time in her busy life. She has good friends, and a good relationship with her parents, who are also interesting and engaging characters. 

One reason that I really connected with this book and with the character of Molly is that I also studied at the University of Alberta and worked at West Edmonton Mall. I however worked at the less upscale Phase One section in a no-longer-existent department store. Her wanderings through the mall and her life on campus brought back fond memories in a nostalgic way. Beyond that, Molly is an optimistic and caring person and one who has dreams for the future. 

I borrowed this from my local library, but may have to splurge on my own copy.  

The Librarian of Saint-Malo

Finished September 13 

The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar, translated by Gretchen Abernathy

Set during the Second World War, the book is focused on Jocelyn Ferrec who has recently been hired to run the town library. But she has bad luck. After getting engaged to be married, she has contracted tuberculosis and her health is affected. She gets married anyway, but her wedding day is the day that Germany invades Poland, and war will eventually come to her as well. 

Jocelyn tells her tale through letters to a famous French author that she admires, Marcel Dumas, and sends them to him by private courier when she can manage it. Somehow this makes her feel better even when her situation is dire.

From German occupation to threats against her person and the books she cares so much about, Jocelyn must fight where she can, take action where she can do so, and try to hide the books she fears will be destroyed or plundered. 

Besides Jocelyn, there is Celine, the librarian that Jocelyn took over from, her bookseller friend Denis, the local doctor and other neighbours. Some seem eager to cooperate with the Germans, others find ways to make trouble for them. Jocelyn, while she believes strongly in the power of books, doesn't believe that her friends lives are worth more than them. 

This was an interesting premise of a story, but it didn't grab me like I expected. Thinking about it, I found that it had action and drama, with the characters displaying lots of emotion, but it lacked depth. The ease of movement of some of the characters seemed unlikely, and many things weren't explained very well. I think there are many better books about this time period in the genre. 

The Sandcastle Girls

Finished September 9

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

I learned so much from this book as well as reading a great story. I was aware of the Armenian  genocide, but this book really brings it to life by taking the reader into the lives of characters involved in and witnessing the atrocities. 

The story is told in two timelines. One is is present day writer Laura Petrosian looking into her family history, and the other is the experiences of her grandparents. Her grandmother Elizabeth Endicott accompanies her father to Syria in 1915 as he brings food and medical aid to the Armenian refugees. They are working with a group called Friends of Armenia. While there she meets and connects with a young Armenian man Armen Petrosian who has been working with the German forces to lay rail as well as searching for his wife and infant daughter. The two German engineers that he is working with are upset by what they are seeing in regards to the refugees and have been secretly taking pictures of the refugees and noting their personal details. The day that Elizabeth arrives in Aleppo a group of women and children are herded into the city. Mostly naked, burnt from the sun and very malnourished, Elizabeth is faced with the reality of the situation. As she volunteers in the local hospital and takes one woman and child into her own quarters, she tries to understand more and she finds herself drawn to the young engineer. 

We also see things from Armen's viewpoint, how he has been searching for his family and what has happened to his brothers, how he tries to direct his anger towards a useful end, and how he feels about this young American woman he has just met. 

As Laura learns more about her grandparents, and finds personal information that she wasn't aware of before, she finds herself obsessed with their story.

This is said to be one of Bohjalian's most personal books as he is also Armenian in heritage. It is a heart-wrenching tale, but beautifully written.

Our Women on the Ground

Finished September 8

Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World edited by Zahra Hankir, foreword by Christine Amanpour

This collection of essays covers experiences in a number of countries over many years. The essays are grouped into five categories by type: Remembrances, Crossfire, Resilience, Exile, Transition. The journalists telling their experiences here range from single women to married mothers, and their educational backgrounds vary as well, with some with journalism degrees and others who fell into the field through opportunity. 

All of the women here care deeply about their home country and the country they reported on, often with the two overlapping. These are women who understand the culture and the people, who learned how to deal with the bureaucracy and the gender limitations, and who persevered in telling the stories that they could tell, trying always to push harder to tell the stories that others didn't want told. 

This is an inspiring collection, one that had me stopping and reflecting on each experience. For me, this was an eye into another culture that helped me understand the world better. 

The Clockmaker's Daughter

Finished September 7

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

As always, Kate Morton brings the reader a book with history, romance, and so much more. This novel has more than one timeline, all around a core set of characters and a place. 

One of the narrators is unnamed, and the reader gradually learns their story through the narration, and only understands who it is as the story ends. The other main character and narrator is the modern day archivist Elodie Winslow. 

Elodie works as an archivist for a small collection in London focused on the historical figure of James Stratton. He was a philanthropist and we learn a little about him through the course of the novel as well. Elodie is cataloging a few items that were found in a small cloakroom during recent renovations, somehow missed previously. They are a fine leather satchel, a sketchpad, and a framed picture. One of the sketches in the book is a scene that Elodie recognizes from a story her mother often told her. This connection touches Elodie and she does something she's never done before and removes them from the office. 

Elodie is engaged to be married to a successful investment banker, and as her wedding nears, she has to make some final decisions around the ceremony and her dress. Her best friend Pippa has offered to design her wedding dress, and Elodie must meet with her soon to give some guidance to her friend. Elodie's mother, Lauren, had been a famous pianist who died in an accident when Elodie was young, and thus she and her father are very close. She is also close to her great uncle, Tip, a quiet man who has a bookstore. Elodie has been asked by her fiance's mother to choose a recording of her mother to play at the wedding and choosing one is another task that Elodie has to do. 

But Elodie continues to be distracted by the image of the house from the sketchbook, and about the photograph of the young woman that she found in the same case. 

As she begins to learn more, we also travel back in time, first to 1862 when the young artist Edward Radcliffe was just becoming famous and takes a party of artist friends and family members to a house he has recently bought that has special meaning to him. We travel to the same house in two other time periods as well as the present, with one time when it was being used as a boarding school, and another when a family took refuge there during World War II. 

As we gradually discover the connections between the various characters in these other times and the present Elodie, we also discover the history of the woman in the photo, and of the house that connects all the characters. 

There is a lot going on here, and romances in more than one time period, sometimes quite unexpected. Elodie also learns more about her own mother and how she feels about this parent she barely remembers. The house is almost a character in itself and there are many interesting personalities that have roles in the story. 

As always with Morton, I thoroughly enjoyed the unfolding story and anticipating some connections while being surprised by others. A great read. 

** This post was featured on Twinkl as part of their Literary Lovers campaign. **

Harley the Hero

Finished September 6

Harley the Hero by Peggy Collins

This picture book is based on a real service dog who assists a teacher. The children in the class in the story are taught to understand the role of service dogs and how to behave around them. Because they can't interact with Harley, their teacher's service dog while he is on duty, they write letters to him. Told from the point of view of one of the children in the class this story shows how he feels about Harley and his teacher Mrs. Pritchard, how one of his classmates Amelia interacts with Harley, and how Harley understands Amelia in ways that her classmates don't always. 

Harley has an Animail mailbox to receive the letters and gifts (including) that the children have for him. 

Their class is one of the quieter ones in the school due to Harley's presence. 

The story deals in particular with one day when some curtains caught fire and the children had to react to the danger. Even though the children have practiced what to do in an emergency, when the real thing happens, they aren't as organized as they expected. There is noise and smoke and it is distracting and scary. Harley stays focused though and he protects all the students, as well as Mrs. Pritchard. Harley is the hero of the day.

I liked the way the kids learned here, and how they reacted in realistic ways to a difficult situation. This is a good introduction to some things that are important to know about service dogs as well.

Last Impressions

Finished September 5

Last Impressions by Joseph Kertes

Ben is the middle son of Zoltan Beck, a Holocaust survivor and Canadian immigrant. Zoltan (Zoli) grew up in an upper-class family in Hungary, the younger son in the family. He venerated his older brother Bela, who was a gifted musician and despite his young age a teacher at the Franz Liszt Academy. 

The book begins with Ben visiting his father in the hospital, Zoltan is nearing the end of his life and Ben is still trying to understand him. We see the interaction between the two men, and can sense the strong connection, and Ben's deep emotion. 

The story then jumps back a few months to when Ben is picking his father up to take him into the hospital for a colonoscopy. Ben's younger brother, an eye surgeon, has finally convinced Zoli to get the procedure done, but the visit is a comedy of errors, as is Zoli's driving test shortly after. We get a sense of the zaniness of the older man and the way his mind works.

Zoli has never gone back to Hungary, his country of birth since he emigrated in the 1950s when Ben was a young child. It is something both he and his wife talked of from time to time, but never followed through on. The family decides that he must go while he still can and so it is arranged that Ben takes him back to his homeland.

The book then jumps back and forth between Zoli's experiences as a Jew in Hungary near the end of the Second World War, and things he has never talked about with his family before. As the two storylines come together we learn some of what has made Zoli the man he is, and why he has suppressed so much of this until now. 

I loved the relationship between the father and son, and Zoli's relationship with his daughter-in-law Lucy as well. Zoli is a character, full of quirks that make him both exasperating and lovable. As the story unfolds and Zoli finds that there are things he didn't know about the past as well, there is a sense of inevitability in the way things come together. A fantastic read that I could barely put down.

On the Line

Finished September 6

On the Line by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Scot Ritchie

On the surface this is a tale of a young hockey player finding his place, but it is so much more than that. The central character is Jackson Moore, a boy that lives in a small town where hockey is an important part of the community. Several members of his family have been players that have been great assets to their team, described as hockey heroes. Everyone seems to be looking for Jackson to follow in their footsteps, but he has doubts. Mostly he keeps his doubts to himself while wondering what will happen if he doesn't live up to these expectations. 

As he joins his first hockey team, the coach and the players are excited to have him on the team, but his actual performance as a hockey player underwhelms them. There is an upcoming tournament called Winterfest that they are looking forward to playing in, but one requirement is regulation equipment. Of course, though it isn't stated explicitly here, hockey equipment and its costs are one of the major barriers to children joining the game. 

As Jackson tries to make traditional game plans to stay on his feet and impress his team members, he finds the need to rethink and make a different type of game plan entirely to ensure that his team gets to play at all. This part of the story is told in pictures, not words and isn't clear until the big reveal. 

The book ends with a page on team stewardship and its importance to the overall team spirit and cohesion. 

The illustrations add important elements to the story, showing diversity in the community and on the team, and the level of ingenuity the kids and their parents had used to come up with workarounds on equipment. Without the illustrations, this book wouldn't say as much as it does. 

It's Not Magic

Finished September 4

It's Not Magic: Poems by Jon Sands

This selection of poetry by Sands is divided into five untitled sections. Each is headed by a few lines of poetry from another poet that gives a sense of the theme of that section. 

The first section has poems of youth and origins, some mentioning family. I think my favourite here is Palindrome, a poem that moves backward from his grandmother's funeral into her life.

The second section is more reflective, with a hint of sadness to the lines. My favourite here is I Know That Silence Will Greet Me....

The third section has many relationship poems, poems around friendship and early adulthood, poems that reflect on growth and aging. My favourite here is Ode To My Mother's Hip.

The fourth section has only two poems, both prose poems and hard for me to choose one I liked better.

The fifth section is more open, a catch-all of sorts, with poems that are reflective, catching moments in time, like a song on the bus, an apology for a past action. Here my favourite is The Day We Chose Instead to Grow. 

I enjoyed reading and thinking about these poems.

If Only...

Finished September 4

If Only... by Mies van Hout, translated by David Colmer

This charming and vibrant picture book begins with a young child looking at a butterfly and wishing they could be that creature and move like that through the world. It then continues that idea with the butterfly looking at another small creature (a stick insect) and having a similar thought. The book continues through a wide variety of small creatures, each admiring something about another one, until it circles back to a creature looking at children. The pictures are colourful and intense and happy, with many of them intensely one colour (monochromatic) or close neighbours of colours (analogous) with just minor elements of a contrasting or complementary colour. This use of colour really adds to the appeal of the pictures.

At the end of the tale is a glossary of the creatures from the story, with small images of at least one example of each creature and a single sentence that gives some information on the nature of creature, including information on how they move, why they look the way they do, how they got the name they are commonly known by, where they live, or what they eat. 

Also at the back of the book is a helpful section on making collage images like some of the ones from the book. It gives a list of what is needed, and a easy to understand method of making art with collage and embellishing it. There is an additional sidebar for making self-painted paper to use for collage as well. 

I always enjoy the lovely books by this author and this one adds the fun element of small creatures that children are often fascinated by. 

Outside, You Notice

Finished September 3

Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Andrea Blinick

This picture book can be read on two levels. The easier level follows a pattern, continuing from the phrase "Outside, you notice..." with most of them beginning with "how". These include using different senses. Some examples are "How after the rain everything smells greener" and "How a strawberry tastes sweetest when you pick it yourself and eat it still warm from the sun". The illustrations include many details, but are also loose and playful, like sketches, and include many things going on. 

The second level of reading is more scientific, and includes a lot of factual information around the phrase for the double page spread. Again an example, for the pages where things smell greener, has four facts: that part of rain's smell is made of oils released by plants; some plant leaves are shaped like funnels to catch the rain; some trees have so many leaves that the ground beneath them can stay dry; and that plants drink through their roots. The pictures for this page include trees, plants, puddles, insects, animals, birds, two individual children enjoying the results of the rain in different ways, and more. It would be easy for spend several minutes on each set of pages noticing things and learning about the world around us. 

The text encourages the children to use smell, hearing, taste, touch, and sight to notice the world and the facts for each range from four to six for each scene. Many of the activities shown will make children want to do these things themselves, whether it is planting seeds or taking a hike. Some noticing encourages being still and some being on the move, some has us looking up and some looking down. At the end of the book, a page lists where the different scenes take place, in parks and yards, trails and gardens, and even playgrounds. This book will encourage healthy activity and engaging with the natural world. The author has a background in gardening and forestry that shows in the information presented here. 

Sisters of the Resistance

Finished September 3

Sisters of the Resistance by Christine Wells

This novel focuses on two sisters in Paris in 1944 and 1947 and jumps back and forth between the two time periods. Yvette Foucher is outgoing and exuberant. During the war she worked for the fashion House of Lelong where the designer Christian Dior worked. Her family also worked as the concierge at the building that Dior and his sister Catherine lived in. After her father's death, her mother retreated into herself and Yvette's sister Gabby took on most of the concierge duties. Gabby's young man was killed in the war before the actions of this novel, and she is just trying to keep things safe, abide by the curfews and look after the residents that are most needy. One of them is the elderly Madame LaRoq, and she is now delivering meals to her on a regular basis and visiting, as is Catherine Dior. Catherine makes frequent trip to her farm in the country and often brings back food and passes it on to others such as the Fouchers. Gabby finds more than she bargained for in Madame LaRoq's apartment one day, and finds herself involved in hiding people from the Germans. One of the women who brings people in to be hidden is Catherine Dior, and thus Gabby finds herself in ever closer connection to her.

When Yvette is bringing a cape to the actress Louise Dulac, who is a mistress to a high-ranking German officer, she is noticed by the actress and gets asked to do some additional work for her. As a result of an incident with her bicycle she also meets a young diplomat Vidar Lind. Lind takes an interest in her and seems to keep popping up in her life. But Yvette isn't sure whether she can trust him entirely.

In 1947, Yvette is back in Paris from New York to testify at the trial of Louise Dulac. She is willing to do so, but also she has been disappointed with trying to work as a model in New York as she doesn't have the look that is popular there, and she hopes to get a chance to work for Dior who is about to launch his own collection. Gabby hasn't heard from her sister since she escaped France, and is happy to see her well, but is haunted by her own losses from the war, including one that she doesn't know the fate of. When she gets a chance to deal with that unresolved situation in person, she finds she has more courage than she thought, and begins to hope for a life beyond that of being concierge with her mother. 

The two young women are different in character, but both caring individuals, and you see how that underlies their actions. Yvette is more impetuous, but she is also quick-thinking and resourceful, and figures out a way to avoid the worst of situations, yet notices anomalies in the world around her. Gabby is also one to notice, aware of the building residents habits and actions, helping where she can, and she can also summon courage more easily when she is doing it on behalf of someone else. As they navigate the difficult time of occupation, they also face adult situations headon and do what they must. After the war, they must find a future for themselves and they look forward in different ways. 

I really enjoyed this novel despite a couple of weak plot points, such as the trial. 

This Is The Night Our House Will Catch Fire

Finished September 3

This Is The Night Our House Will Catch Fire: a Memoir by Nick Flynn

This memoir began with Flynn telling stories of his childhood to his young daughter. One story was about the night the first house his mother owned caught fire when he was seven years old. It was across the street from the fire station, and it had significant asbestos content, so although heavily damaged, it didn't burn down. Other stories are about the old man who lived nearby, the fear he instilled and the odd collections of things he had. He talks about the saltmarsh he crossed to get to school, and the world of books he lived in.

Alongside these stories to his daughter he talks about the trips he made back to his hometown with her, his marriage and the insecurities and communication issues that affect it, and his mother's death by suicide. 

The chapters here are short and dreamlike, as he tries to piece together his past and make sense of what are memories and what has been imagined. He examines how that fiery night has stayed with him and still affects him in many ways. The writing caught me and held me to the story, wanting to see what he learned, how he moved forward following his exposure of the past and the secrets he held onto. 

Listen Up! Train Song

Finished September 1

Listen Up! Train Song by Victoria Allenby

This picture book shows different kinds of trains, different parts of trains and connects them to different sounds. It plays with onomatopoeia by showing kids how the sounds that the trains make are described by words that sound similar and encourages them to explore this concept. 

The book is written in a song pattern with repetitive lines linking the different verses. The photographs have close-ups of some of the train parts making sounds like horns and brakes. There are also some train-related items like crossings that have noise that get included here. Parts of the trains like engines and boxcars have their own particular noises. 

The types of trains include modern stream-lined trains, subway trains, metro trains, traditional freight trains, and steam trains.

There is a short section at the back of the book that gives ideas of how to explore the concepts from the book in other ways. 

With kids often fascinated by trains, this book is sure to appeal to many.

Sunny Days

Finished September 1 

Sunny Days by Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato

I just discovered this lovely summery picture book that is a perfect companion book to the Snow Days book by the same author/illustrator pair. This book uses similar multi-media art to show a wide variety of ways to enjoy the summery, sunny outdoors. As someone who enjoys textile art, I particularly like the stitching I spot in the images. 

Another thing that I absolutely love about these books is the diversity portrayed. Any child will be able to find an image that they can connect with. The endpapers show a variety of summery images, from flowers and insects to cold treats to toys and clothing. The activities start with waking up to the sun and end with being tucked into bed. In between the children enjoy reading outside, planting a garden, making mud pies, enjoying the sun, swimming, enjoying popsicles and ice cream cones, listening to crickets, noticing shadows, and enjoying a sunset.

The backgrounds have additional things to notice that sunny days bring: clothes drying on a line, birds singing, going barefoot, profusion of flowers, playing in the sand, sitting in the shade, and dandelion clocks.

The book ends with some easy ways to learn about science that are connected with the sun, things that explore the power of the sun, light, shadows, and more. 

September Reviews for 15th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 I hope you are enjoying this season of reading. Please use the Mr. Linky below to add your reviews for the month of September. Remember to link directly to the review, not just your blog or site. Thanks!

Leave a comment too if you like.