Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur BOOK REVIEW

Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up at the Book Fair thinking it would be good for my daughter, and of course that means that I need to read it first. I like to know what they are reading so that if they ask me something I can talk with them about it.

This is a coming of age story about a girl, Elsie, who is entering middle school and turning 12, and all the horrors that come with that. My daughter entered the junior high school last year, and this book captures some of that girl drama perfectly, although there is so much more in real life.

It is also about her finding herself, and who she is in a unique way since her parents are not around and she lives with her aunt and uncle. It is a really well written story. I enjoyed it even as an adult. I have passed it on to my daughter and I look forward to discussing it with her. I am hoping that the story will help her to deal with some of the girl drama at school that she has had to deal with this year.

I would recommend it to any girl to read the summer before they move up to the middle school or junior high school. Not to scare them, but to let them know, if this happens, it's ok. This is what you do, not this. I think it is the perfect book to help get parents and girls talking about the troubles and bullying at school and issues of who am I and what is my purpose that this age brings.

Well done!

View all my reviews

The Magic Knot (The Magic Knot #1) by Helen Scott Taylor BOOK REVIEW

The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I grabbed this book through a swap on a whim, without really reading much about it except the Irish of it, so I wasn't sure what to expect, or if it would be good. I was pleasantly surprised.

The book is well written, and somewhat believable in the mixing of human life with folklore and legends in the tales of pixies and fairies, and even leprechauns in the book.  It makes for a good read, and for me it was a quick read, which is what I was looking for at the moment I sat down with this book.

We are introduced to Naill and his twin Michael O'Conner. Very Irish, very traditional and steeped in legend and lore. They are half fairy we learn later. They both talk with an Irish accent and speech pattern that feels right in this book. It's not too heavy and I don't think the characters would have been as believable without it. Well done on the author's parts because the accent and speech pattern can easily overwhelm a book.

The trouble comes in the form of Rose Tremain, who thinks she is a human woman about a normal job. All is not as it would seem.  Through out the book, we learn of the truth of Rose's mother, and the betrayal of her father and what he really is, and the truth as to what she is and what her birthright is.

It's a clever and fun story, and I enjoyed it.  It stands quite well on its own, and I feel complete having read it. Only just realized this is  a series and it continues. Not sure if I will search it out or not, but I have a number of books in my to-read pile right now, maybe later.



View all my reviews

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare BOOK REVIEW

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


City of Ashes is the follow-up to City of Bones, which has just been released as a movie called The Mortal Instruments, which is what the whole series is titled. I am a book person, so I have no desire to see the movie, and I not comment on it further.

City of Bones left us all at a loss for words after finding that all time bad guy Valentine, unlike the holiday of the same name, is still alive and that he is not only Clarey's father, but wait for it, yes Jace's father too. Shock or all shocks, horror of all horrors, and after they had their first kiss too. Hate that. Worst of all their mother, Jocelyn is in a trace, coma like but other-worldly induced and no-one and nothing seems to be able to bring her out of it.

Jocelyn is put in a mundane hospital, oh yeah, that is the name for ordinary  humans, mundane's. It actually fit's, and I find the humor in it quite pleasing. So she is at the hospital and Luke, poor Luke, so in love with her, but never telling her, is holding watch at her side hoping beyond hope that something will happen.

All the while, Jace and Clarey have to figure out how to act like brother and sister, when they were feeling alot more than that just a few minutes earlier. Simon still wants a relationship with Clarey, even if he is only a mundane, and then Isabella and Alex's parents are home and that brings a whole new can of worms, because it seems like "someone" has decided they don't believe the kids!

The last book, I felt a lot of de ja vue, but not in this book, in fact I found this book much easier and faster to read, and I am even more excited to move on to the next book. I felt the storyline flowed a little better, less of the backstory and history, and more of the teens trying to figure things out, but a lot, and I do mean a lot of unanswered questions in this book, so the next book has a lot to answer and tell the readers.



View all my reviews

The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw

The Hunt For The Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up at my kids school book fair, because it was on sale, and it sounded interesting.

The reading level is probably that of a middle school aged child, but I still was able to read and enjoy the book.

Jim, his sister Sally, and their Dad move into a large estate where dad is going to be the head gardener, and they will live in the old servant quarters of the estate, the South Turret to be exact. The Master of the estate, whom they call "his nibs" or "nibs" is a very old gentleman in a wheelchair, but he has installed security cameras all over the estate and nearby village to keep tabs on everyone and everything. This job is important to the family as they have just lost their mom and this is a new start for them, so when the Master makes it clear that the children are to be kept under close supervision, they try to behave, for the sake of a new start. The problem is that almost as soon as they move in, strange things start occurring to Jim, he sees and hears things that are not there, in fact he seems to be being lead on a quest, without him ever wanting to be on a quest, even though it is risking his Dad's job, which is not jim's intention in the least. Turns out that Jim is the one that will have to save the Village, no matter what he wants.

I enjoyed the book and found it well-written. The main character definitely puzzles out things with the thinking of a 13 year-old, but i didn't figure out the clues any faster than he did! i think it is an excellent book for the middle age set, or anyone who likes the puzzle-mystery types of stories!

View all my reviews

Dance, Dance, Dance and Boy Scouts....

When I was going through all those years of fertility treatments, I never really thought about what life would be like if we ever had kids. I remember thinking that I would always bake birthday cakes from scratch, and I do. That was something that kept me going in the darkest days of treatments. When we finally had a boy, I guess I thought of football and baseball games, and when we had a girl I thought of softball but that was about it.

Well, Maeve is defintely nothing I could have ever imagined or dreamed of. I was not a real girly-girl growing up and Maeve is into Musical Theater and Dancing. Wow. I have entered a whole new world. Today is dress rehearsals for a benefit show that the dance studio is putting on tomorrow.

Maeve, and now Molly also, dance for One Step Above Dance Company, or commonly in the area known as OSA. Tomorrow afternoon at the Fairgrounds they are doing their company, or competetion dances ad a benefit. Tickets are $5 and all the money goes to the Ellettsville Boys and Girls CLub. Now, I have to say that I am super excited to be part of something like this that will benefit the Boys and Girls Club, because I love our boys and girls club, It is awesome and the people there really care about the kids.

Maeve and her dad had to be out at the fairgrounds at 9:40 this morning to rehearse their Father-Daughter dance. Every couple of years the studio does a fun dance with fathers and daughters, and they performed for the first time last week. I got to watch and I have to tell you it was amazing. Some of the dads were great dancers, others had no clue, but that wasn't what mattered the most, what was the greatest thing was the look on the girls faces when they were dancing with their dads.

Now I guess it's time for me to get cheesy, but you know, I loved the fact that the studio took the time to offer this dance, and even more that there were so many dad's that agreed to dance with their daughters no matter what their skill level was. In this day and age, with so many broken families and so many parents working two and three jobs that they don't have time to spend with their kids, ad with the teenage pregnancy rates and the research finding that it might have something to do with the lack of a fathers influence. It is so wonderful to see these guys take the time from their lives to spend time with their daughters.

Right now, Maeve is just getting out of the shower and I have to get her fully dressed, hair and make-up and into one outfit for practice at 1:40 then she has her other dance at 3:20. Like I said, it;s a dance, dance, dance day.

It is also a boy scout day, as Tiernan is going to the Boy Scout lock-in at the armory today, and he has to be there at 1pm. So it sounds like dad is going to be driving to the South end of town to the armory to drop Tiernan off while I am driving to the wet side of town to the fairgrounds for Maeve's dance practices.

Next weekend will be even more of the same as Maeve has regionals at Beech Grove saturday. It'll be my first experience with this, I was never in dance or dance competitions growing up, so I am learning all the time!