Hello!

It’s officially spring break for me, so that means I can have a short burst of productivity before I dive back into the last part of school!

I have done better in trying to reach my reading goals with the different challenges that I have found, but at times I feel like it is too much. So, I might reevaluate the challenges I try to complete in the next few months. 

In the meanwhile, I hope you find a new book recommendation from the list of books I read. Beside them, I will have what category of one of my many book challenges it met the criteria for. 

Happy reading!

JANUARY

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune (Righting a Wrong)

Summary:

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He’s the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there’s the island’s sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur’s story.

Review:

Being able to learn more about these characters and the family they form made me so happy. I loved reading this story and seeing them develop more across these pages, especially when it comes from a different POV than the last one.

Rating:

5/5

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (A Biography, Read a memoir or biography written by a woman)

Summary:

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala’s miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Review:

As an educator, I have always referred back to Malala’s story to my students. However, actually sitting down and reading the story in a more detailed way than the news articles I read opened my eyes in a new way. This is an extremely moving story about an extremely motivating person.

Rating:

4/5

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George (YA Novel)

Summary:

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie’s favorite days. That’s because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it’s up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle’s never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom.

Review:

This was a very enjoyable read. It’s rare that I enjoy reading books where children are the main characters because they make so many annoying choices. However, in this story, the characters make smart decisions that fit with their ages and status as royal children. 

I also enjoyed the world building that happened throughout the book and how everything worked together. 

Rating:

4/5

FEBRUARY

LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking (Book about Social Media)

Summary:

Social media has been weaponized, as state hackers and rogue terrorists have seized upon Twitter and Facebook to create chaos and destruction. This urgent report is required reading, from defense expert P.W. Singer and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Emerson Brooking.

Review:

Overall, this book made some strong arguments about how social media is being used in politics. Not only with politicians, but also with the social movements that have been more prevalent over the years.

I enjoyed how the book began by giving a timeline of technology and communication which led to the rise of social media. However, it was very repetitive, and it didn’t go in a very logical order which made the argument kind of weaker. 

Rating:

3/5

Black Girl Power by Various Authors (Short Story Collection)

Summary:

A vibrant, heartwarming collection of 15 middle grade stories and poems that celebrates the joy, strength, and experience of Black girlhood, including stories from Ibi Zoboi, Sharon M. Draper, and Leah Johnson, as well as cover art from Caldecott winner Vashti Harrison.

Black girl power is…

Bringing your favorite stuffed animal to your first real sleepover. . .

Escaping an eerie dollhouse that’s got you trapped inside. . .

Making new friends one magical baked good at a time. . .

Finding the courage to dance to the beat of your own drum. . .

And more! From 15 legendary Black women authors comes a dazzling collection of stories and poems about the power we find in the everyday and the beauty of Black girlhood.

Review:

Normally, when I read a collection of short stories, I’m always disappointed by a few in the collection. This was not the case with this one. Every single story touched on an aspect of life that many people could relate to, no matter if they’re Black or not.

I walked away from each story, wanting to stay in the world that was created just a little bit longer.

I definitely plan to check out more from some of these authors, and I will revisit this book again in the future.

I will have a full review on my blog with my top 5 stories. 

Rating:

5/5

That Summer by Sarah Dessen (Book by Author You Love)

Summary:

For fifteen-year-old Haven, life is changing too quickly. She’s nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried, and her sister—the always perfect Ashley—is planning a wedding of her own. Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were. Then an old boyfriend of Ashley’s reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.

Review:

Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors, and I have the goal to read all of her stories this year. 

Having already read some of Sarah Dessen’s other books, I can tell that this first one is the blueprint of all of her other stories. It stars a teenage girl who has to reconcile with how her life is changing, but that’s about it. 

This one didn’t have much of a plot that moved along. It was just about her life. 

Rating:

3/5

Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley (About a Scandal, Read a memoir or biography written by a woman)

Summary:

Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was “just” an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn’t?  Her life is fascinating for its mysteries and its passions and, as Lucy Worsley says, “She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern.”  She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.

So why—despite all the evidence to the contrary—did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure?

She was born in 1890 into a world that had its own rules about what women could and couldn’t do. Lucy Worsley’s biography is not just of a massively, internationally successful writer. It’s also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.

With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley’s biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realize what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was—truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.

Review:

For someone who is a big fan of Agatha Christie, I really enjoyed this biography of her. While I felt like it was more opinionated or repetitive at times, it made sure to address both sides of people’s opinions of her.

Rating:

4/5