Here Kitty

Book #28 Read in 2018
Here Kitty

This would make a beautiful gift book for the cat lover in your life.  It details breeds with such information as their personality, their life spans and their origin.  The book includes beautiful pictures.

The Romance Reader's Guide to Life

Book #27 Read in 2018
The Romance Reader's Guide to Life by Sharon Pywell

Neave, as a young child, read to an elderly neighbor and sometimes "borrowed" her romance books.  Her favorite was one about a pirates and that book sort of shaped her adult life.  Her sisters Lilly and Jane and brother Snyder also brought an interesting dynamic to Neave's world.  This book had interesting, well-written characters, some romance, some drama; all of which added up to a very interesting read.  I borrowed this book from the public library.

Almost Sisters

Book #26 Read in 2018
Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

Leia and Rachel are stepsisters who are both dealing with issues.  Leia has a unplanned pregnancy and Rachel and her husband are having marital issues.  Leia's grandmother is having dementia issues so she heads to her house to try to help  but gets more than she bargained for when a trunk full of bones is found in her grandmother's attic.  This book is well written and engaging.  The characters are developed and interesting.  I recommend this to adult readers.  I borrowed this book from the public library.

Scarlet

Book #25 Read in 2018
Scarlet by Marrisa Meyer

This is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series.  This book is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.  Scarlet's grandmother has been kidnapped and is believed to have information regarding where Princess Selene is hiding.  Scarlet tries to find her grandmother, with some help from Wolf, a street fighter.  The pair are drawn to each other and are heading to a romance.  I enjoy this series as would high school girls.

Al Capone Throws Me a Curve

Book #24 Read in 2018
Al Capone Throws Me a Curve by Gennifer Choldenko

I was excited when offered a review copy of this fourth book in a great middle grade series; I did not even realize a new one was coming out.  The author said that this is the book she was meant to write for this series.  Will there be more?  I am not sure but if not, this book did justice to wrap this series up.  In this book, Moose is trying to get on the high school baseball team.  Natalie is still a handful.  Piper is still his sometimes friend/sometimes foe.  But this book has a maturity to it that the others in the series did not have and that works well.  I really enjoyed this book.  I received a copy of it from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.

Be Fabulous: The Reading Teacher's Guide to Reclaiming Your Happiness in the Classroom

Book #23 Read in 2018
Be Fabulous:  The Reading Teacher's Guide to Reclaiming Your Happiness in the Classroom by Jennifer Scoggin

This is a cute, quick read about how to not get bogged down by standardized testing, administrators who have never taught and colleagues who do not pull their weight.  Scoggin is an elementary reading teacher.  While I am a secondary English teacher, there was enough about creating a love of reading in your students that I enjoyed this book.  The main gist is to find what works for you...planning strategies that make you feel prepared, organization to keep sanity etc.  I would recommend it to fellow teachers.