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Book Review: Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Cindy Hudson

Princess Aurelia lives in a kingdom where witches are routinely accused and executed. Some think she is a witch. Her only chance of escape is to fulfill the pact her parents made for her to marry a prince from a nearby kingdom and forge an alliance between the two. But Aurelia is forced to flee on the way to her new home, and she enters the capital city in disguise. As she builds new friendships and falls for a forbidden love, she seeks a way to liberate both her own kingdom and the new realm she lives in.

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith is a captivating adventure that twists and turns throughout the story as it takes readers on a spellbinding journey. At times dark and foreboding, tension builds throughout as Aurelia discovers a devious plot that will bring citizens from both countries under the thumb of an evil force. I can’t resist a book that combines mystery, romance, magic, and just the right amount of creepiness to tell a satisfying tale. I was intrigued until the last page, and look forward to reading the sequel.

While the tale is a fantasy, Bloodleaf has parallels in modern political situations, and should make for great discussions in mother-daughter book clubs. I highly recommend it for readers aged 14 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: What Every Girl Should Know by J. Albert Mann

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Cindy Hudson

Many people may recognize the name Margaret Higgins Sanger as the feminist and women’s health activist who established organizations that became Planned Parenthood. But most probably aren’t aware of her early life, her upbringing in a gritty Upstate New York mill town in the late 1800s, when girls were expected to either grow up, marry, and have children, or become teachers.

What Every Girl Should Know: Margaret Sanger’s Journey by J. Albert Mann, is a historical fiction account of Sanger’s early life, when she was known as Maggie in a household of more than 12 adults and children. The family was poor, Maggie’s mother was often ill and pregnant, and her father was a free-thinker ostracized in their community. Maggie and her siblings had an endless amount of work every day to help keep the household running. She didn’t understand why women had such limited options, and she thought things should be different.

With the help of her siblings, she was able to leave and go to school for a time before breaking out of the cycle expected for her. Mann’s book reveals a lot about the hardship Maggie and her siblings faced, recounting parts of her life that undoubtedly influenced her outlook and led her to advocate for women. I recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs and readers aged 14 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Cindy Hudson

Sixteen-year-old Cade Curtis and his dad steal angels—the stone kind that sit atop forgotten graves in forgotten cemeteries. They only do it out of necessity, like when the lady who owns the antique store where they both live says they need money to keep getting by. But Cade wants to stop, wants to be someone Soleil Broussard would be proud to go out with.

Cade doesn’t know how his story intersects with that of Achsah, a slave who lived near the bayou in his part of Houston more than 150 years ago. Or how he will cross paths with Zorra, an endangered ocelot suffering in a cage waiting to be sold as part of a market that trades in illegal wildlife. All of their stories come together during one particular storm in Kathi Appelt’s compelling story, Angel Thieves.

A masterful storyteller, Appelt weaves a tale that touches on injustices of the past and how they impact the present in ways both seen and unseen. She looks at the horrors of slavery through the eyes of a mother trying to save her daughters. She touches on wildlife poaching from the perspective of an animal stolen from her home. She delves into teen parenthood, and the heartbreak of young parents being rejected by their own families. Through all of the human drama, the one constant is the bayou that anchors the lives of those who live along its banks.

Angel Thieves combines history with the present and a sprinkle of magical realism to create a compelling story that flows as easily as the waters of Buffalo Bayou. I highly recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs and readers aged 14 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien

Posted on March 23, 2019 by Cindy Hudson

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The first female pilots in the U.S. had to fight for the ability to fly airplanes and compete in races against men. At the time, during the 1920s and 30s, it was thought that women didn’t have the stamina and capacity to perform in stressful situations the same way men did. There was also a societal emphasis on protecting women and limiting the roles they could take on outside of being wives and mothers.

Five daring women in particular pushed against those boundaries and paved the way for others to be taken seriously as pilots. Keith O’Brien chronicles their lives and the struggles they faced in his book, Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History.

Most everyone is familiar with one of those women, Amelia Earhart, whose disappearance over the Pacific Ocean 1937 is still being puzzled over. The others, Florence Klingensmith, Ruth Elder, Ruth Nichols, and Louise Thaden, are lesser known but played as crucial a role as Earhart. They all risked their lives for a passion that at the time was dangerous for anyone, as planes often failed and crashed.

O’Brien brings the stories of these trailblazers to light, revealing the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. It’s a great way for young readers to not only learn about these specific pilots, but also about the early days of aviation and gender roles from the early 20th century. I recommend Fly Girls for mother-daughter book clubs with girls ages 10 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary D. Schmidt

Posted on March 16, 2019 by Cindy Hudson

On the first day of sixth grade Carter Jones opens his front door to find a butler, sent to help his family as part of a bequest in Carter’s grandfather’s will. And the family certainly needs help. Carter has three younger sisters, a dad deployed in Germany, and a mom trying to keep everyone organized. Plus, the family is still grieving the unexpected death of Carter’s younger brother, Currier.

The butler, Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick, brings much needed authority and organizational skills to daily life, and he soon has the household running smoothly. But he also introduces something new to Carter and his fellow classmates at Longfellow Middle School: cricket. As Bowles-Fitzpatrick gathers a team and teaches them the rules, he also teaches Carter how to step up in the game of life.

Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary D. Schmidt has both light-hearted and serious moments as it tells the story of a boy trying to find his way during a confusing time. He knows he’s at the bottom of the social ladder as a sixth grader in middle school, but he finds a way to stand out through cricket. He knows he needs to help out at home more, but he’s not sure how to do it until Bowles-Fitzpatrick guides him in making good decisions. And by taking things one step at a time, he figures out how to move forward even though life isn’t turning out the way he expected. It’s a great look at how children can confront grief, overcome obstacles, and navigate whatever life throws their way.

I recommend Pay Attention, Carter Jones for readers aged 10 to 13.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Giver (Graphic Novel) Adapted by P. Craig Russell

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Cindy Hudson

Both of my daughters loved reading Lois Lowry’s The Giver, a story of a future world where only one person in society takes on the role of keeper, the person who remembers what life used to be like when it wasn’t regulated by the government: there was pain, and war, and disease, color, birdsong, and joy to be found in simple pleasures. Each generation the keeper becomes the giver, when he transfers those memories to someone new. The book is a much-beloved classic that has also become a play and a movie. Now it is also a graphic novel.

P. Craig Russell adapted Lowry’s story for the graphic novel format. He also created the illustrations. The result is a beautiful rendition that stays true to the story while also creating new ways to appreciate it. The format is likely to attract new readers as well as please those already familiar with the tale.

A Q. and A. at the end with Lowry gives insight into how she feels about her story becoming a graphic novel. Another Q. and A. with Russell uncovers the challenges he faced adapting the original. He also talks about the technique he used to make his black and white illustrations more visually interesting to readers.

This graphic novel adaptation of The Giver is a great edition to keep on your bookshelf to read over and over again, finding something to discover and appreciate in the story and illustrations each time.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: Herstory by Katherine Halligan

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Cindy Hudson

History is often told through the exploits of men, because for the most part they held the most powerful positions and made the decisions that changed the world. But that’s not always the case. Elizabeth I is an exception, a queen who helped solidify England’s place as a nation with world-wide impact. Mother Teresa made a difference in a different area, helping to found an organization that has grown to more than 500 centers in more than 100 countries to better the lives of the poor.

These are just two of the influential women profiled in Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World. Written by Katherine Halligan and illustrated by Sarah Walsh, Herstory focuses on 10 women in each of five categories—Believe & Lead, Imagine & Create, Help & Heal, Think & Solve, and Hope & Overcome.

The profiles include women from ancient history like Hypatia, who was an Egyptian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, born around 360 AD, as well as women making modern history, like Malala Yousafzai, born in northern Pakistan in 1997. Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and champions the cause of education for women and girls.

Each woman is featured on two pages in an over-sized format, which allows for illustrations and photos to go along with information about when and where they were born and what they accomplished. The bios discuss how cultures differed during historical time frames to explain how sometimes actions that would not be acceptable today were common for the time period.

Herstory provides inspiration as well as information about influential women and girls throughout history. I recommend it for readers aged 9 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.