LaRaie's bookshelf: all

LaRaie's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:11:43 -0700 60 LaRaie's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3.1)]]> 768889
The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud. In the northern wastes, a horde of hungry, savage people steeped in the dark magic of the wilderness is poised to invade the Kingdom of the North where Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown. And Robb's defences are ranged against the South, the land of the cunning and cruel Lannisters, who have his young sisters in their power.

Throughout Westeros, the war for the Iron Throne rages more fiercely than ever, but if the wall is breached, no king will live to claim it.]]> 663 George R.R. Martin 0006479901 LaRaie 0 4.47 2000 A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3.1)

A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3.1)

author: George R.R. Martin
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> Year of Wonders 4965
Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition.

As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. ]]> 304 Geraldine Brooks 0142001430 LaRaie 0 historical-fiction 4.00 2001

author: Geraldine Brooks
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at: 2018/09/13
date added: 2023/11/11
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
Slow-going at times, but never boring. Great pick for historical fiction for this time period. Because I knew the ending had a somewhat surprising pivot, I kept on. Otherwise, I may have given up because of the deeply depressing subject matter where everyone's lives just kept getting worse.
]]> <![CDATA[My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 (Otouto no Otto, #1-2)]]> 32337897
(Please note: This book is a traditional work of manga, and reads back to front and right to left.)]]> 352 Gengoroh Tagame 1101871512 LaRaie 5 4.32 2015 My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 (Otouto no Otto, #1-2)

My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 (Otouto no Otto, #1-2)

author: Gengoroh Tagame
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/10/04
date added: 2023/09/13
shelves: manga, lgtbq, families, favorite
review:
I loved this book. It beautifully captures small, familiar, heart-warming moments in families like having a meal together, and the big stuff like what it means to be gay in a world that isn't always accepting. This positive, inspiring truth that being gay is normal and beautiful is something we need more of in all cultures. I appreciated how this human this book is, as the brother comes to terms with his own socialized homophobia, by seeing that his young daughter still had yet to become so. The author/illustrator broke my heart a few times but because there was no shortage of love throughout the story and between the characters, I never felt abandoned.
]]> <![CDATA[Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine]]> 31434883 No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she'll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all.

Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .

the only way to survive is to open your heart.]]> 336 Gail Honeyman 0735220689 LaRaie 0 4.21 2017 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

author: Gail Honeyman
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/06
shelves:
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]]> Little Fires Everywhere 34273236
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned �� from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren �� an enigmatic artist and single mother �� who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother–daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town �� and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .]]> 338 Celeste Ng 0735224293 LaRaie 0 4.05 2017 Little Fires Everywhere

author: Celeste Ng
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/06
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]]> There There 36692478 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780525520375.

Tommy Orange's wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize.

Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle's death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American--grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism.

Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable.]]> 294 Tommy Orange LaRaie 0 3.98 2018

author: Tommy Orange
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism]]> 54817546 Late Night with Seth Meyers Amber Ruffin writes with her sister Lacey Lamar with humor and heart to share absurd anecdotes about everyday experiences of racism.

Now a writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and host of The Amber Ruffin Show, Amber Ruffin lives in New York, where she is no one's First Black Friend and everyone is, as she puts it, "stark raving normal." But Amber's sister Lacey? She's still living in their home state of Nebraska, and trust us, you'll never believe what happened to Lacey.

From racist donut shops to strangers putting their whole hand in her hair, from being mistaken for a prostitute to being mistaken for Harriet Tubman, Lacey is a lightning rod for hilariously ridiculous yet all-too-real anecdotes. She's the perfect mix of polite, beautiful, petite, and Black that apparently makes people think "I can say whatever I want to this woman." And now, Amber and Lacey share these entertainingly horrifying stories through their laugh-out-loud sisterly banter. Painfully relatable or shockingly eye-opening (depending on how often you have personally been followed by security at department stores), this book tackles modern-day racism with the perfect balance of levity and gravity.]]> 215 Amber Ruffin 1538719363 LaRaie 0 4.40 2021 You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism

author: Amber Ruffin
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Monster in the Middle 57165445
"Transporting and deeply emotional.�� Glamour

�� One of the most inventive and talented stylists of her generation.�� Vulture

From the award-winning author of Land of Love and Drowning , an electric new novel that maps the emotional inheritance of one couple newly in love.

When Fly and Stela meet in 21st Century New York City, it seems like fate. He's a Black American musician from a mixed-religious background who knows all about heartbreak. She’s a Catholic science teacher from the Caribbean, looking for lasting love. But are they meant to be? The answer goes back decades—all the way to their parents' earliest loves.

Vibrant and emotionally riveting, Monster in the Middle moves across decades, from the U.S. to the Virgin Islands to Ghana and back again, to show how one couple's romance is intrinsically influenced by the family lore and love stories that preceded their own pairing. What challenges and traumas must this new couple inherit, what hopes and ambitions will keep them moving forward? Exploring desire and identity, religion and class, passion and obligation, the novel posits that in order to answer the question “who are we meant to be with?�� we must first understand who we are and how we came to be.]]> 288 Tiphanie Yanique 1594633606 LaRaie 0 3.15 2021 Monster in the Middle

author: Tiphanie Yanique
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.15
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Office of Historical Corrections]]> 51777605 The award-winning author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self brings her signature voice and insight to the subjects of race, grief, apology, and American history.

Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and x-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters' lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multiracial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief—all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history—about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight.

In "Boys Go to Jupiter," a white college student tries to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a Confederate-flag bikini goes viral. In "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain," a photojournalist is forced to confront her own losses while attending an old friend's unexpectedly dramatic wedding. And in the eye-opening title novella, a black scholar from Washington, DC, is drawn into a complex historical mystery that spans generations and puts her job, her love life, and her oldest friendship at risk.]]> 269 Danielle Evans 1594487332 LaRaie 0 4.15 2020 The Office of Historical Corrections

author: Danielle Evans
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/06
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]]> Kindred 60931 The visionary author’s masterpiece pulls us—along with her Black female hero—through time to face the horrors of slavery and explore the impacts of racism, sexism, and white supremacy then and now.

Dana, a modern Black woman, is celebrating her 26th birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana’s life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.]]> 288 Octavia E. Butler 0807083690 LaRaie 0 4.30 1979 Kindred

author: Octavia E. Butler
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1979
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The City Baker's Guide to Country Living]]> 34497910
When Olivia Rawlings—pastry chef extraordinaire for an exclusive Boston dinner club—sets not just her flambéed dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to the most comforting place she can think of—the idyllic town of Guthrie, Vermont, home of Bag Balm, the country’s longest-running contra dance, and her best friend Hannah. But the getaway turns into something more lasting when Margaret Hurley, the cantankerous, sweater-set-wearing owner of the Sugar Maple Inn, offers Livvy a job. Broke and knowing that her days at the club are numbered, Livvy accepts.

Livvy moves with her larger-than-life, uberenthusiastic dog, Salty, into a sugarhouse on the inn’s property and begins creating her mouthwatering desserts for the residents of Guthrie. She soon uncovers the real reason she has been hired—to help Margaret reclaim the inn’s blue ribbon status at the annual county fair apple pie contest.

With the joys of a fragrant kitchen, the sound of banjos and fiddles being tuned in a barn, and the crisp scent of the orchard just outside the front door, Livvy soon finds herself immersed in small town life. And when she meets Martin McCracken, the Guthrie native who has returned from Seattle to tend his ailing father, Livvy comes to understand that she may not be as alone in this world as she once thought.

But then another new arrival takes the community by surprise, and Livvy must decide whether to do what she does best and flee—or stay and finally discover what it means to belong. Olivia Rawlings may finally find out that the life you want may not be the one you expected—it could be even better.]]> 352 Louise Miller 1101981210 LaRaie 0 3.72 2016 The City Baker's Guide to Country Living

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living

author: Louise Miller
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/06
shelves:
review:

]]> Sankofa 56994001 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781646220830.

Masterful in its examination of freedom, prejudice, and personal and public inheritance, Sankofa is a story for anyone who has ever gone looking for a clear identity or home, and found something more complex in its place.

Anna is at a stage of her life when she's beginning to wonder who she really is. She has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead.

Searching through her mother's belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president—some would say dictator—of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive...

When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny, and fascinating. Like the metaphorical bird that gives the novel its name, Sankofa expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to address universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family's hidden roots.]]> 304 Chibundu Onuzo LaRaie 5 3.77 2021 Sankofa

author: Chibundu Onuzo
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/08/06
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]]> The Only Road 28954121 ALA NOTABLE BOOK

Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United States in this gripping and realistic middle grade novel.

Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead.

Everyone in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed—like Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There’s only one choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to live with his older brother in New Mexico.

Inspired by true events, The Only Road is an individual story of a boy who feels that leaving his home and risking everything is his only chance for a better life. It is a story of fear and bravery, love and loss, strangers becoming family, and one boy’s treacherous and life-changing journey.]]> 320 Alexandra Diaz 1481457500 LaRaie 0 to-read 4.26 2016 The Only Road

author: Alexandra Diaz
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)]]> 13496
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.]]> 835 George R.R. Martin 0553588486 LaRaie 0 4.44 1996 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

author: George R.R. Martin
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at: 2011/05/27
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Shortcomings 227350 Shortcomings, Adrian Tomine's first long-form graphic novel, is the story of Ben Tanaka, a confused, obsessive Japanese American male in his late twenties, and his cross-country search for contentment (or at least the perfect girl). Along the way, Tomine tackles modern culture, sexual mores, and racial politics with brutal honesty and lacerating, irreverent humor, while deftly bringing to life a cast of painfully real antihero characters. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker, Tomine has acquired a cultlike fan following and has earned status as one of the most widely acclaimed cartoonists of our time.

Shortcomings was serialized in Tomine's iconic comic book series Optic Nerve and was excerpted in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern #13.]]> 108 Adrian Tomine 1897299168 LaRaie 4 3.63 2007

author: Adrian Tomine
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2014/07/29
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Middlesex 361400
In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond clasmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively develops between them--along with Callie's failure to develop--leads Callie to suspect that she is not like other girls. In fact, she is not really a girl at all.

The explanation for this shocking state of affairs takes us out of suburbia- back before the Detroit race riots of 1967, before the rise of the Motor City and Prohibition, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie's grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set in motion the metamorphosis that will turn Callie into a being both mythical and perfectly a hermaphrodite.

Spanning eight decades--and one unusually awkward adolescence- Jeffrey Eugenides's long-awaited second novel is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire. It marks the fulfillment of a huge talent, named one of America's best young novelists by both Granta and The New Yorker .]]> 529 Jeffrey Eugenides 0374199698 LaRaie 5 4.10 2002 Middlesex

author: Jeffrey Eugenides
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2008/03/03
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> I am J 8140535
"Hola, Jeni."

J spun. His stomach clenched hard, as though he'd been hit. It was just the neighbor lady, Mercedes. J couldn't muster a hello back, not now; he didn't care that she'd tell his mom he'd been rude. She should know better. Nobody calls me Jeni anymore.

J always felt different. He was certain that eventually everyone would understand who he really was: a boy mistakenly born as a girl. Yet as he grew up, his body began to betray him; eventually J stopped praying to wake up a "real boy" and started covering up his body, keeping himself invisible - from his family, from his friends...from the world. But after being deserted by the best friend he thought would always be by his side, J decides that he's done hiding - it's time to be who he really is. And this time he is determined not to give up, no matter the cost.

An inspiring story of self-discovery, of choosing to stand up for yourself, and of finding your own path - readers will recognize a part of themselves in J's struggle to love his true self.]]> 326 Cris Beam 0316053619 LaRaie 4 lgtbq, ya 3.76 2011 I am J

author: Cris Beam
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/02/08
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: lgtbq, ya
review:

]]> Yes Please 20827363 Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.]]> 8 Amy Poehler 0062350870 LaRaie 4 audiobooks, celebrities 3.81 2014

author: Amy Poehler
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/16
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: audiobooks, celebrities
review:

]]> <![CDATA[New Moon (The Twilight Saga, #2)]]> 49041 There is an alternate cover edition for ISBN13 9780316160193 here.

I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect - not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ONE OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHTMARES, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can't make your body move fast enough.... But this was no dream, and, unlike the nightmare, I wasn't running for my life; I was racing to save something infinitely more precious. My own life meant little to me today.

FOR BELLA SWAN THERE IS ONE THING more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning....

LEGIONS OF READERS ENTRANCED BY THE New York Times bestseller Twilight are hungry for the continuing story of star-crossed lovers Bell and Edward. In New Moon, Stephanie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural spin. passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.]]> 563 Stephenie Meyer 0316160199 LaRaie 0 3.61 2006 New Moon (The Twilight Saga, #2)

author: Stephenie Meyer
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2008/10/14
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
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]]> Landline 18081809
Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her �� Neal is always a little upset with Georgie �� but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?]]> 320 Rainbow Rowell 1250049377 LaRaie 4 3.54 2014 Landline

author: Rainbow Rowell
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/08/25
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
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]]> Wonderstruck 10128428
Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories - Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures - weave back and forth in symmetry.]]> 640 Brian Selznick 0545027896 LaRaie 4 4.16 2011 Wonderstruck

author: Brian Selznick
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/05/07
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beating the Lunch Box Blues: Fresh Ideas for Lunches on the Go! (Rachael Ray Books)]]> 17623386
But it isn’t a cookbook. Because when it comes to lunch, nobody has time to break out a recipe to bang out a brown bag special. Busy people need lunch ideas. Lots of them. And those ideas need to be healthy, fast, easy, affordable, and delicious.

That’s what Beating the Lunch Box Blues is—an idea book to inspire anyone daunted by the daily ordeal of packing lunch. Jammed with nearly 200 photos and more than 500 tips and meals, this book is designed to save families time, money, and their sanity.

Whether you want to jazz up a grilled cheese, turn leftover steak into a DIY taco kit, or make pizza “sushi,�� Hirsch has it covered. And because the best lunches often are built from the leftovers of great suppers, he has also included 30 fast and flavorful dinner recipes designed to make enough for tomorrow, too. Crazy good stuff like short ribs braised in a Rosemary-Port Sauce, Hoisin-Glazed Meatloaf, and kid-friendly classics such as Turkey Sloppy Joes and American Chop Suey.

With ideas this easy and this delicious, there’s no reason to let the lunch box blues get you down.]]> 208 J.M. Hirsch 1476726728 LaRaie 4
That said, this book is for people who can intuit how to make some things without being given explicit instructions--like cucumber sandwiches. There's a picture of it. It's not hard. But then he shows a pictures of a delicious couscous salad and says just make ahead a bunch of couscous and add whatever veggies on hand with a caesar dressing, some people might flip. To me it made perfect sense. So, maybe this book is really more for people who already cook a lot.

If you do not cook a lot already or you think making a stir fry is hard, this book is not for you. But give it a try anyway. Some people have been surprised that my kid eats hummus. Why? I know kids have more simple tastes, and yes, they can be slow to try new things. But if you give goat cheese instead of cream cheese they really won't notice the difference. If you give your kids what you eat, they will at least try it one day. But if you assume they won't eat it and just keep giving them mac and cheese and hot dogs and PBJs all the time, they won't have the chance to expand their menus. I'm not saying my kids eats everything-he does NOT. He won't even eat anything green (except cucumbers). However, that doesn't mean I don't try. One day, he will eat broccoli. And that day I will do a dance.

He;s starting Kindergarten so I'm excited to try new things since he will be at my mercy---mua HAHAHA! Just kidding. But seriously, when you're super hungry, you will eat anything. Why not make it at home, make it healthy, and different! Having said that, I will mostly just pack stuff he likes, throwing in the odd thing here and there for good measure. This book has given me a lot to go on.

]]> 3.74 2013 Beating the Lunch Box Blues: Fresh Ideas for Lunches on the Go! (Rachael Ray Books)

Beating the Lunch Box Blues: Fresh Ideas for Lunches on the Go! (Rachael Ray Books)

author: J.M. Hirsch
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/21
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
Aside form the snarky, negative comment on page 4 about other people's children (not to mention making fun of Bento), I love this book! Lots of great lunch box ideas for kids and adults. I am all about DIY meals, creative leftovers, and unique takes on the same old same old. I am blown away by all the great ideas. There are also great tips on gear. The pictures themselves show a many ideas that the book itself doesn't always mention.

That said, this book is for people who can intuit how to make some things without being given explicit instructions--like cucumber sandwiches. There's a picture of it. It's not hard. But then he shows a pictures of a delicious couscous salad and says just make ahead a bunch of couscous and add whatever veggies on hand with a caesar dressing, some people might flip. To me it made perfect sense. So, maybe this book is really more for people who already cook a lot.

If you do not cook a lot already or you think making a stir fry is hard, this book is not for you. But give it a try anyway. Some people have been surprised that my kid eats hummus. Why? I know kids have more simple tastes, and yes, they can be slow to try new things. But if you give goat cheese instead of cream cheese they really won't notice the difference. If you give your kids what you eat, they will at least try it one day. But if you assume they won't eat it and just keep giving them mac and cheese and hot dogs and PBJs all the time, they won't have the chance to expand their menus. I'm not saying my kids eats everything-he does NOT. He won't even eat anything green (except cucumbers). However, that doesn't mean I don't try. One day, he will eat broccoli. And that day I will do a dance.

He;s starting Kindergarten so I'm excited to try new things since he will be at my mercy---mua HAHAHA! Just kidding. But seriously, when you're super hungry, you will eat anything. Why not make it at home, make it healthy, and different! Having said that, I will mostly just pack stuff he likes, throwing in the odd thing here and there for good measure. This book has given me a lot to go on.

]]> Bark 18050057 These eight masterly stories reveal Lorrie Moore at her most mature and in a perfect configuration of craft, mind, and bewitched spirit, as she explores the passage of time and summons up its inevitable sorrows and hilarious pitfalls to reveal her own exquisite, singular wisdom.

In “Debarking,�� a newly divorced man tries to keep his wits about him as the United States prepares to invade Iraq, and against this ominous moment, we see—in all its irresistible wit and darkness—the perils of divorce and what can follow in its wake . . .

In “Foes,�� a political argument goes grotesquely awry as the events of 9/11 unexpectedly manifest themselves at a fund-raising dinner in Georgetown . . . In “The Juniper Tree,�� a teacher visited by the ghost of her recently deceased friend is forced to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner�� in a kind of nightmare reunion . . . And in “Wings,�� we watch the inevitable unraveling of two once-hopeful musicians, neither of whom held fast to their dreams nor struck out along other paths, as Moore deftly depicts the intricacies of dead-ends-ville and the workings of regret . . .

Here are people beset, burdened, buoyed; protected by raising teenage children; dating after divorce; facing the serious illness of a longtime friend; setting forth on a romantic assignation abroad, having it interrupted mid-trip, and coming to understand the larger ramifications and the impossibility of the connection . . . stories that show people coping with large dislocation in their lives, with risking a new path to answer the desire to be in relation—to someone . . .

Gimlet-eyed social observation, the public and private absurdities of American life, dramatic irony, and enduring half-cracked love wend their way through each of these narratives in a heartrending mash-up of the tragic and the laugh-out-loud—the hallmark of life in Lorrie-Moore-land.
--jacket]]> 192 Lorrie Moore 0307594130 LaRaie 4 3.61 2014 Bark

author: Lorrie Moore
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/04/05
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: short-stories, favorite-authors
review:
There were a couple of stories that I particularly loved in this collection. "Wings" was probably my favorite. Even though this isn't my favorite of her books, her stories are always good, even when I don't particularly like them.
]]> <![CDATA[The One and Only Ivan (The One and Only #1)]]> 11594337
Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.]]> 304 Katherine Applegate 0061992259 LaRaie 5 4.25 2012 The One and Only Ivan (The One and Only #1)

The One and Only Ivan (The One and Only #1)

author: Katherine Applegate
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2016/05/06
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: animals, fictionalized-stories-about-real-pe, realistic-fiction
review:

]]> Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock 13477676
But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate, Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school’s class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.

In this riveting look at a day in the life of a disturbed teenage boy, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made—and the light in us all that never goes out.]]> 277 Matthew Quick 0316221333 LaRaie 4 3.88 2013 Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

author: Matthew Quick
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2018/03/10
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Florida 36098092 275 Lauren Groff 1594634513 LaRaie 4 3.76 2018 Florida

author: Lauren Groff
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/12/23
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
Lovely, sad, isolating, tender.
]]> <![CDATA[Supercharged Food for Kids: Building stronger, healthier, brighter kids from the ground up]]> 30847127
Supercharged Food for Kids will inspire you to create fresh, wholesome and nutrient-rich meals that your children will enjoy again and again, giving them the energy and nourishment they need to thrive. You’ll find recipes here that will please even the pickiest of little eaters! With advice on how to avoid added sugar and processed foods, eating for allergies and intolerances, tips for busy families and even the lowdown on how to sneak superfoods into everyday meals, this book is full of resources to help establish positive eating habits for your kids that they can maintain for the rest of their lives. Supercharged Food for Kids features old favourites such as pizza, nuggets, pasta and desserts reinvented using fresh, healthy ingredients, plus ideas for yummy snacks and school lunches that kids will actually want to eat. Think Cauliflower Mac and Cheese, Cacao Bomb Crackles, Cheesy Mini Tartlets, Crunchy Chicken Drummers, Watermelon Icy Poles and Savoury Breakfast Muffins, just for starters.]]> 152 Lee Holmes 1743367783 LaRaie 4 non-fiction, cooking, kids
Still a great resource!]]> 4.00 Supercharged Food for Kids: Building stronger, healthier, brighter kids from the ground up

Supercharged Food for Kids: Building stronger, healthier, brighter kids from the ground up

author: Lee Holmes
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/09/27
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: non-fiction, cooking, kids
review:
I love this book and I'm going to take it home and use it as a guide for healthy snacks for my son's meals, because I'm in a rut. However, because I need egg-free recipes, I will subbing ingredients a lot. Luckily, I know from experience that chia and flax work well most of the time. They won't work in all of these recipes, though, and I know I will have to skip quite a few.

Still a great resource!
]]> Let Me Lie 36612152
In the newest psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of I Let You Go and I See You, Clare Mackintosh brings us a gripping story about how those who love us never really leave us��

Two years ago, Tom and Caroline Johnson committed suicide, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their adult daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents�� deaths, unable to comprehend why they chose to end their lives. Now with a young baby herself, she feels her mother’s presence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as Anna digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her. She soon learns that nothing is as it seemed.]]> Clare Mackintosh LaRaie 3 3.50 2018 Let Me Lie

author: Clare Mackintosh
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2018/11/05
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: women, mothers, fathers, mystery
review:

]]> Looking for Alaska 99561 Before. Miles “Pudge�� Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps�� even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .
After. Nothing is ever the same.]]> 221 John Green 1435249151 LaRaie 4 3.97 2005 Looking for Alaska

author: John Green
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2012/07/23
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Will Grayson, Will Grayson 6567017
It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.]]> 320 John Green 0525421580 LaRaie 0 3.70 2010 Will Grayson, Will Grayson

author: John Green
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2014/07/18
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Where You'll Find Me 25666024
Dumped by her best friend, Dani, who suddenly wants to spend eighth grade “hanging out with different people.��

Deserted by her mom, who’s in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt.

Trapped in a house with her dad, a new baby sister, and a stepmother young enough to wear her Delta Delta Delta sweatshirt with pride.

Stuck at a lunch table with Shawna the Eyebrow Plucker and Sarabeth the Irish Stepper because she has no one else to sit with.

But what if all isn’t lost? What if Anna’s mom didn’t exactly mean to leave her? What if Anna’s stepmother is cooler than she thought? What if the misfit lunch table isn’t such a bad fit after all?

With help from some unlikely sources, including a crazy girl-band talent show act, Anna just may find herself on the road to okay.]]> 272 Natasha Friend 0374302308 LaRaie 5
Oh the heart! The characters! There is so much depth in the way the author writes the characters in this novel. There's a cheerleader, a bipolar mom, a young former sorority sister step mom who makes kale and veggie burgers, a girl who hosts a party for famous women of history--there is a little something for everyone. It's a book about fitting in, about knowing what it means to be a friend, a daughter, a parent. The main character is dealing with some heavy issues of identity and what it means to be sane/insane, all the while trying to be herself, find herself, as a 13-year old.

I would say that this book is easily for a 16 year old, but because the main characters are in middle school (13) and the book doesn't delve into mature themes like sex and drugs, it's a middle school read as well. Fans of John Green, Stephanie Perkins, Laurie Halse Andersen, will eat this book up.
The way the author writes about mental illness, growing up, blended families, motherhood, daughterhood, and friendship is wise and meaningful. Never didactic. Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

Sometimes this book seemed a bit *too precocious, which is not surprising for this kind of novel. Does a 13 year old really think of a certain response by someone as a "naked comment?" Okay, maybe it's just me. I'm sure I'm just not giving credit to the all-too-smart-for-their-own-good young people of today. But once in awhile the perspective of these characters is blindingly astute. Maybe that's okay. In fact, maybe for writers, it's about pushing boundaries of their readers, to pique their interests, or cause--gasp!-- intrigue. Maybe it's about aspiring to be like them more than it is about being a reflection of who they are. In the case of this book, I wish I had read it when I was about 15. Oh me, who needed this precocious fictional beauties in my life. Where were you!?

I'm so happy you're here now.

p.s. Any book that portrays breastfeeding in a healthy and normal and positive way gets an A+

]]> 4.07 2016 Where You'll Find Me

author: Natasha Friend
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2016/03/31
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: favorite-authors, middle-school, ya, realistic-fiction, relationships, friendship, families, ya-crossover
review:
I love this book so hard. I am going to read another Natasha Friend book ASAP. Ah, where to start?

Oh the heart! The characters! There is so much depth in the way the author writes the characters in this novel. There's a cheerleader, a bipolar mom, a young former sorority sister step mom who makes kale and veggie burgers, a girl who hosts a party for famous women of history--there is a little something for everyone. It's a book about fitting in, about knowing what it means to be a friend, a daughter, a parent. The main character is dealing with some heavy issues of identity and what it means to be sane/insane, all the while trying to be herself, find herself, as a 13-year old.

I would say that this book is easily for a 16 year old, but because the main characters are in middle school (13) and the book doesn't delve into mature themes like sex and drugs, it's a middle school read as well. Fans of John Green, Stephanie Perkins, Laurie Halse Andersen, will eat this book up.
The way the author writes about mental illness, growing up, blended families, motherhood, daughterhood, and friendship is wise and meaningful. Never didactic. Sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

Sometimes this book seemed a bit *too precocious, which is not surprising for this kind of novel. Does a 13 year old really think of a certain response by someone as a "naked comment?" Okay, maybe it's just me. I'm sure I'm just not giving credit to the all-too-smart-for-their-own-good young people of today. But once in awhile the perspective of these characters is blindingly astute. Maybe that's okay. In fact, maybe for writers, it's about pushing boundaries of their readers, to pique their interests, or cause--gasp!-- intrigue. Maybe it's about aspiring to be like them more than it is about being a reflection of who they are. In the case of this book, I wish I had read it when I was about 15. Oh me, who needed this precocious fictional beauties in my life. Where were you!?

I'm so happy you're here now.

p.s. Any book that portrays breastfeeding in a healthy and normal and positive way gets an A+

]]> <![CDATA[The Re-Education of the Female]]> 3217213
Usually when it comes to breaking down relationships between men and women, you hear advice from over-the-hill psychologists or unqualified doctors, but not the average male, and never a masculine brother with any kind of urban flavor. The Re-Education of the Female changes that. For years, women have been the more communicative gender. Now women will have an idea of what the men in their lives may be thinking; and in some cases, why they think a certain way. Women will gain insight on some of the actions and behaviors portrayed by men, which once may have been deemed judgmental, insensitive, or just plain rude. Dante Moore has depicted the male psyche from many different angles on how a man not only perceives women, but how one relates and responds to them as well.

It's written in black and white, with a no-holds-barred approach—forcing women to take a step back and think a moment before engaging in conversations, relationships, affairs, sexual encounters, and more with the opposite sex. Keeping it real and delivering the all-out truth was undoubtedly Moore's main focus when writing this book. Although candid and direct, this book will prove to be very enlightening as it gives intimate details on what men are looking for physically, mentally, socially and emotionally versus what they're actually witnessing, experiencing and in some cases, tolerating.

A mature and open-minded intellect will really understand and appreciate this representation of the male point of view. This book is the perfect starting point for women to evaluate themselves with a little more detail, before pointing fingers and tossing blame at the endless reasons surrounding why they can't find a "good man."]]> 176 Dante Moore 1593091702 LaRaie 1 drivel
Here are a few gems

"Black women, I know you've heard this next saying to the point where it's beginning to sound cliche and the reason why is because the shit is true. You have bad attitudes. your attitudes stink when it comes to men. That's why you get treated so badly by some Black men -- because of the way you act."

"Don't you know that a man will fuck you just for spite? When you meet a man and you start saying little smart shit, he's thinking, As soon as I fuck this bitch, I'm going to treat her like garbage because she definitely thinks she's like that."

"...when women respond, 'I don't need a man,' they're saying to all men, you're not required or even wanted. Why would a female say, think, or believe such stupid whit when she's single and looking for a man? Basically she's saying I don't need a man, but please marry me. I don't need a man, but I want a baby. I don't need a man, but give me child support for our illegitimate offspring. What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you stupid or just ignorant? Who wants to hear that they're not needed, wanted, or required? Stop listening to dyke logic."

"The black church is a huge joke. It's a minstrel show. They even have homosexuals preaching and leading congregations. What's next? Is the church going to start letting pedophiles teach youth bible study?"

]]> 2.56 2008 The Re-Education of the Female

author: Dante Moore
name: LaRaie
average rating: 2.56
book published: 2008
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: drivel
review:
I am about to weed this book from a public library collection because it has problems, not the least of which is that it's misogynistic drivel. The fact that Zane even has her name close to this book makes me sad. This does not belong anywhere but in the dumpster. Luckily for humanity, no one wants to read it anyway.

Here are a few gems

"Black women, I know you've heard this next saying to the point where it's beginning to sound cliche and the reason why is because the shit is true. You have bad attitudes. your attitudes stink when it comes to men. That's why you get treated so badly by some Black men -- because of the way you act."

"Don't you know that a man will fuck you just for spite? When you meet a man and you start saying little smart shit, he's thinking, As soon as I fuck this bitch, I'm going to treat her like garbage because she definitely thinks she's like that."

"...when women respond, 'I don't need a man,' they're saying to all men, you're not required or even wanted. Why would a female say, think, or believe such stupid whit when she's single and looking for a man? Basically she's saying I don't need a man, but please marry me. I don't need a man, but I want a baby. I don't need a man, but give me child support for our illegitimate offspring. What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you stupid or just ignorant? Who wants to hear that they're not needed, wanted, or required? Stop listening to dyke logic."

"The black church is a huge joke. It's a minstrel show. They even have homosexuals preaching and leading congregations. What's next? Is the church going to start letting pedophiles teach youth bible study?"

]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)]]> 16085481
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back.

Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should—and should not—marry.

Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.]]> 403 Kevin Kwan 0385536976 LaRaie 4 beach, audiobooks
A good mix of vapid entertainment, touching romance, family drama, and delicious food descriptions. I'm so hungry just thinking about that coconut rice/curry food they ate on the beach.]]> 3.91 2013 Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)

Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians, #1)

author: Kevin Kwan
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2019/01/05
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: beach, audiobooks
review:
I started this on audio and I loved hearing the many characters personalities, as well as the many different accents. It was a better experience than reading it with no context of the rich language and culture.

A good mix of vapid entertainment, touching romance, family drama, and delicious food descriptions. I'm so hungry just thinking about that coconut rice/curry food they ate on the beach.
]]> Neverworld Wake 36545927
One year after graduation, Beatrice is returning to Wincroft - the seaside estate where they spent so many nights sharing secrets, crushes, plans to change the world - hoping she'll get to the bottom of the dark questions gnawing at her about Jim's death.

But as the night plays out in a haze of stilted jokes and unfathomable silence, Beatrice senses she's never going to know what really happened.

Then a mysterious man knocks on the door. Blithely, he announces the impossible: time for them has become stuck, snagged on a splinter that can only be removed if the former friends make the harshest of decisions.

Now Beatrice has one last shot at answers... and at life.

And so begins the Neverworld Wake.]]> 328 Marisha Pessl 0399553924 LaRaie 2 favorite-authors
If I wrote this book I would be like "look at this beautiful thing I did" but I hold MP to higher standards. It was more of a fragmented dream instead of a fully realized masterpiece. A bit tedious and unimaginative in spots and left me wanting more showing.]]> 3.73 2018 Neverworld Wake

author: Marisha Pessl
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2018/11/04
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: favorite-authors
review:
Oh lord why. So many great ideas, moments, but never came together for me. I expected more—it’s almost as if it got put in YA because it wasn’t fully realized, where there was enough to keep it interesting but not enough to make it a literary novel of Special Topics proportions.

If I wrote this book I would be like "look at this beautiful thing I did" but I hold MP to higher standards. It was more of a fragmented dream instead of a fully realized masterpiece. A bit tedious and unimaginative in spots and left me wanting more showing.
]]> Boy Meets Boy 23228
When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.]]> 185 David Levithan 0375832998 LaRaie 4 ya, lgtbq, sweet ]]> 3.82 2003 Boy Meets Boy

author: David Levithan
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2013/03/11
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: ya, lgtbq, sweet
review:
Pure whimsy. Very clever. Indulgent in a hopeful and very sweet way.

]]> <![CDATA[The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave, #2)]]> 16131484 The riveting follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The 5th Wave, hailed by Justin Cronin as "wildly entertaining."

How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others�� ultimate the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.]]> 320 Rick Yancey 1101599014 LaRaie 4 aliens, ya This was action packed! 3.84 2014 The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave, #2)

author: Rick Yancey
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/21
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: aliens, ya
review:
This was action packed!
]]> The Witches 6327 Note: This edition shares ISBN 0590032496 with another edition.

This is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies. So how can you tell when you're face to face with one? Well, if you don't know yet you'd better find out quickly-because there's nothing a witch loathes quite as much as children and she'll wield all kinds of terrifying powers to get rid of them.]]> 208 Roald Dahl 0590032496 LaRaie 5 One of the best. 4.18 1981 The Witches

author: Roald Dahl
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1981
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
One of the best.
]]> My Baby Crocodile 26196095 Told from two different perspectives,�� My Little Crocodile ��is a picture book about a chance meeting between an old crocodile and what he believes to be a baby crocodile. But the baby the old crocodile thinks he sees is rather a small boy wearing a knight's costume, and it's his helmet that deceives the croc's old eyes. By the time the error is corrected and the boy's true nature is revealed, the two characters have become close––close enough to play together well and to learn to eat each other's foods, or at least to taste them! This is an imaginative, poignant, gorgeously illustrated story of a lonely child who discovers both tenderness and profound complexity within his playmate, and within himself, of course, as well. Eventually, they part ways with a hug. Quite wonderfully, however, the young knight continues to carry the old crocodile within himself as he grows up, as the story's end reveals.��
For older children and young adults, this is a story about how we negotiate the different aspects of our own selfhood, how we become conversant with them, and become ourselves through acceptance of contradictions, both within and outside of ourselves.��
Born in 1971,��Gaëtan Dorémus��received his degree from the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg, France in 1999, after which he picked up a few other degrees while creating picture books and illustrations for the press. Dorémus has illustrated over twenty books and has produced hundreds of editorial illustrations and cartoons. He loves to bicycle ride, walk in the mountains, and eat green tomatoes with cinnamon. In 2006, he became a papa.]]> 56 Gaëtan Dorémus 1592701922 LaRaie 0 3.54 2016 My Baby Crocodile

author: Gaëtan Dorémus
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2016/06/27
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: animals, families, illustrated, parents, relationships
review:

]]> How I Became a Ghost 17901341 160 Tim Tingle 1937054535 LaRaie 4
8-12 is quite a range! So it's okay if 12-year olds want something more dense. Maybe it's not for everyone! But I enjoyed the exclamation points! They brought small happiness and joy to a bitter, deeply tragic time. I felt the pure joy of Isaac when he thought of his family, and his ancestors.

Sometimes we have to learn how to enjoy things. New and different things.

I loved this novel as a piece of historical fiction, a story of family, loss, and survival.]]> 3.88 2013 How I Became a Ghost

author: Tim Tingle
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/06
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: native-americans, middle-grade, caudill, historical-fiction
review:
A solid 8-12 historical novel for any collection. While some are criticizing this book for being poorly written or dumbed down for a younger audience, I disagree. Sometimes I think having studied and loved poetry, I am able to embrace a broad scheme of writing styles. I think the writing style works well for this story.

8-12 is quite a range! So it's okay if 12-year olds want something more dense. Maybe it's not for everyone! But I enjoyed the exclamation points! They brought small happiness and joy to a bitter, deeply tragic time. I felt the pure joy of Isaac when he thought of his family, and his ancestors.

Sometimes we have to learn how to enjoy things. New and different things.

I loved this novel as a piece of historical fiction, a story of family, loss, and survival.
]]> Masterminds (Masterminds, #1) 22249695 The first book in the action-packed trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and James Patterson.

Eli Frieden has never left Serenity, New Mexico...why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything.

Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, connecting their ideal crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known.

The kids realize they can trust no one—least of all their own parents.]]> 336 Gordon Korman 0062299964 LaRaie 4 4.28 2015 Masterminds (Masterminds, #1)

author: Gordon Korman
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/09
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: middle-school, ya, suspense, science-fiction, the-world-is-not-as-it-seems
review:

]]> My Boyfriend Is a Bear 35500976 176 Pamela Ribon 1620104873 LaRaie 5 graphic-novels 3.81 2018

author: Pamela Ribon
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
I give this book 5 bear hugs. I want more graaaaah!
]]> The Bluest Eye 848432
It is the story of eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove--a black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others--who prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare at the heart of her yearning and the tragedy of its fulfillment.
(front flap)]]> 216 Toni Morrison 0375411550 LaRaie 5 4.00 1970 The Bluest Eye

author: Toni Morrison
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1970
rating: 5
read at: 2019/02/15
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: classics, black-authors, nonwhite-characters, favorite, racism, girls, sexual-abuse
review:

]]> The Girl on the Train 22557272
An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.]]> 336 Paula Hawkins 1594633665 LaRaie 3 mystery, thriller 3.97 2015

author: Paula Hawkins
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2016/08/24
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: mystery, thriller
review:
I enjoyed it even though I figured it out quicker than I probably was supposed to.
]]> <![CDATA[Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1)]]> 6936382 beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?]]> 372 Stephanie Perkins 0525423273 LaRaie 4 3.96 2010 Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1)

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1)

author: Stephanie Perkins
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/05
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: ya, romantic, coming-of-age, realistic-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)]]> 16101128 unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.]]> 457 Rick Yancey 0399162410 LaRaie 0 aliens, ya 4.01 2013 The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)

author: Rick Yancey
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: aliens, ya
review:

]]> Speak 439288
In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.]]> 202 Laurie Halse Anderson 014131088X LaRaie 4
When I think of reading this as a teen, I want to think it would have changed my life. I think it's an important book.]]> 4.01 1999 Speak

author: Laurie Halse Anderson
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2013/02/13
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
I really liked this book. I didn't love it. I thought I was going to love it. I don't know, maybe it was the way the character was constructed to always have me at a distance (makes sense thematically) but I often felt like I was reading a book about a teenager written by an adult woman. There were moments of sheer brilliance, to be sure, and strangeness, beauty, and poetry.I absolutely loved the art teacher and I thought the author did a great job of writing the other characters. there was something about Melinda that struck me as contrived,though I never stopped rooting for her and it here were moments I felt like I could really see her. I guess it was hit or miss. Sometimes the language tried to hard to be abrupt and it didn't work for me. I don't know, maybe I did love this book. I just wanted more from it. Maybe thats a good thing.

When I think of reading this as a teen, I want to think it would have changed my life. I think it's an important book.
]]> Fangirl 16068905 A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, family, and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.... But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she's really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?]]> 483 Rainbow Rowell LaRaie 4 3.93 2013 Fangirl

author: Rainbow Rowell
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2014/04/30
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Scar Boys (The Scar Boys, #1)]]> 16068954
In attempting to describe himself in his college application essay--help us to become acquainted with you beyond your courses, grades, and test scores--Harbinger (Harry) Jones goes way beyond the 250-word limit and gives a full account of his life.

The first defining moment: the day the neighborhood goons tied him to a tree during a lightning storm when he was 8 years old, and the tree was struck and caught fire. Harry was badly burned and has had to live with the physical and emotional scars, reactions from strangers, bullying, and loneliness that instantly became his everyday reality.

The second defining moment: the day in 8th grade when the handsome, charismatic Johnny rescued him from the bullies and then made the startling suggestion that they start a band together. Harry discovered that playing music transported him out of his nightmare of a world, and he finally had something that compelled people to look beyond his physical appearance. Harry's description of his life in his essay is both humorous and heart-wrenching. He had a steeper road to climb than the average kid, but he ends up learning something about personal power, friendship, first love, and how to fit in the world. While he's looking back at the moments that have shaped his life, most of this story takes place while Harry is in high school and the summer after he graduates.]]> 256 Len Vlahos 1606844393 LaRaie 4 3.76 2014 The Scar Boys (The Scar Boys, #1)

author: Len Vlahos
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/27
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: music, coming-of-age, award-winners
review:

]]> Mothers, Tell Your Daughters 24724592 From the National Book Award finalist and author of Once Upon a River comes a dazzling story collection featuring ferocious mothers and scrappy daughters.

The strong but flawed women of Mothers, Tell Your Daughters love and betray one another; their richly fraught relationships can act as anchors, lifelines, or deadly poison. Bonnie Jo Campbell’s working-class protagonists are at once vulnerable, wise, cruel, and funny, and they are always getting into or out of trouble.

In “My Dog Roscoe,�� a new bride becomes obsessed with the notion that her dead ex-boyfriend has returned to her in the form of a mongrel. In “Blood Work, 1999,�� a phlebotomist’s desire to give away everything to the needy awakens her own sensuality. In “Home to Die,�� an abused woman takes revenge on her bedridden husband. In these fearless and darkly funny tales about women and those they love, Campbell has created characters that will capture the hearts and minds of her readers.]]> 272 Bonnie Jo Campbell 0393248453 LaRaie 3 3.70 2015 Mothers, Tell Your Daughters

author: Bonnie Jo Campbell
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2016/02/17
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Drama 13436373
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she can't really sing. Instead she's the set designer for the drama department stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen. And when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!]]> 238 Raina Telgemeier 0545326990 LaRaie 5
sidenote: Makes me wish I did stage crew and theater (well, I did play in the orchestra for Anne of Green Gables in middle school) and other cool stuff like that instead of what I actually did.
Reading books like this always makes me want to go back and do it differently. It's kind of unsettling, but it makes me happy that there are people in the world like this.

]]> 4.18 2012 Drama

author: Raina Telgemeier
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2016/11/16
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: books-about-girls, graphic-novels, lgtbq, middle-school, theater, musicals, relationships
review:
Great middle school read. 11+

sidenote: Makes me wish I did stage crew and theater (well, I did play in the orchestra for Anne of Green Gables in middle school) and other cool stuff like that instead of what I actually did.
Reading books like this always makes me want to go back and do it differently. It's kind of unsettling, but it makes me happy that there are people in the world like this.

]]> <![CDATA[Diary of a Murderer and Other Stories]]> 40796117 It’s been twenty-five years since I last murdered someone, or has it been twenty-six?
��
Diary of a Murderer captivates and provokes in equal measure, exploring what it means to be on the edge—between life and death, good and evil. In the titular novella, a former serial killer suffering from memory loss sets his sights on one final target: his daughter’s boyfriend, who he suspects is also a serial killer. In other stories we witness an affair between two childhood friends that questions the limits of loyalty and love; a family’s disintegration after a baby son is kidnapped and recovered years later; and a wild, erotic ride about pursuing creativity at the expense of everything else.
��]]> 200 Young-ha Kim 1328545423 LaRaie 5 3.61 2019 Diary of a Murderer and Other Stories

author: Young-ha Kim
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/14
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: asian-authors, contemporary, murder, families
review:

]]> Holes (Holes, #1) 38709
It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.]]> 272 Louis Sachar 0439244196 LaRaie 5 4.01 1998 Holes (Holes, #1)

author: Louis Sachar
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2013/02/28
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
One of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Simply beautiful!
]]> Midwinterblood 10836471
It echoes a moment ten centuries before, when, in the dark of the moon, a king was slain, tragically torn from his queen. Their souls search to be reunited, and as mother and son, artist and child, forbidden lovers, victims of a vampire, they come close to finding what they've lost.

But can love last forever?]]> 264 Marcus Sedgwick 1780620098 LaRaie 4 3.70 2011 Midwinterblood

author: Marcus Sedgwick
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/16
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: fantasy, magical-realism, ya, vignettes
review:

]]> Her One Mistake 40381901
It all started at the school fair��

Charlotte was supposed to be looking after the children, and she swears she was. She only took her eyes off of them for one second. But when her three kids are all safe and sound at the school fair, and Alice, her best friend Harriet’s daughter, is nowhere to be found, Charlotte panics. Frantically searching everywhere, Charlotte knows she must find the courage to tell Harriet that her beloved only child is missing. And admit that she has only herself to blame.

Harriet, devastated by this unthinkable, unbearable loss, can no longer bring herself to speak to Charlotte again, much less trust her. Now more isolated than ever and struggling to keep her marriage afloat, Harriet believes nothing and no one. But as the police bear down on both women trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened to this little girl, dark secrets begin to surface—and Harriet discovers that confiding in Charlotte again may be the only thing that will reunite her with her daughter....

This breathless and fast-paced debut—perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and The Couple Next Door—takes you on a chilling journey that will keep you guessing until the very last page.]]> 320 Heidi Perks 1501194224 LaRaie 3 3.82 2018 Her One Mistake

author: Heidi Perks
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2019/01/27
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: mothers, mystery, thriller, whitepeople
review:
This book is about two white families in the UK in the present day. A women loses another women's child at a fair. I wanted a quick and compelling read that was like watching Netflix and it was a good pick for this purpose. I could have done with more character development, and the ending was just okay. [spoilers removed]
]]> 30 Days of Night 831829
Collects 30 Days of Night #1-3]]> 104 Steve Niles 0971977550 LaRaie 4 3.80 2004

author: Steve Niles
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/21
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Burma Chronicles 5596923 272 Guy Delisle 0224087711 LaRaie 4 4.01 2007

author: Guy Delisle
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2013/03/24
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Ghost World 62953 Ghost World is the story of Enid and Rebecca, teenage friends facing the unwelcome prospect of adulthood, and the uncertain future of their complicated relationship. Clowes conjures a balanced semblance, both tender and objective, of their fragile existence, capturing the mundane thrills and hourly tragedies of a waning adolescence, as he follows a tenuous narrative thread through the fragmented lives of these two fully realized young women.

Originally serialized in the pages of the seminal comic book Eightball throughout the mid-1990s, this is a quasi-autobiographical story (the name of one of the protagonists is famously an anagram of the author's name) about two best friends facing the prospect of growing up, and more importantly, apart.

]]> 80 Daniel Clowes 1560974273 LaRaie 5 3.83 1998 Ghost World

author: Daniel Clowes
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2013/09/13
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: graphic-novels, female-protagonist, excellent-illustration, realistic-fiction, growing-up
review:

]]> Imaginary Girls 8603765
But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about.]]> 348 Nova Ren Suma 0525423389 LaRaie 3
]]> 3.44 2011 Imaginary Girls

author: Nova Ren Suma
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2015/06/02
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: creepy, did-not-finish, magical-realism, scary, ya, gorgeous-cover-art
review:
I didn't finish it, but not because it wasn't good. It wasn't my cup of tea at the moment, though I thought the story and the writing were both compelling. Would recommend to fans of Twilight Zone, or YAs who want scary stories.

]]> Something Big 17347736 40 Sylvie Neeman 159270140X LaRaie 0 3.38 2013

author: Sylvie Neeman
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2013/11/17
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: excellent-illustration, growing-up, existential, favorite
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]> 22628 offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see
what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being A WALLFLOWER

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that the perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

(back cover)]]> 213 Stephen Chbosky LaRaie 5 4.24 1999 The Perks of Being a Wallflower

author: Stephen Chbosky
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/21
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: coming-of-age, favorite, growing-up, realistic-fiction, ya
review:

]]> Educated 35133922
Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she'd traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.]]> 352 Tara Westover 0399590501 LaRaie 4
I didn't read much about this book, despite the rave reviews and thousands of library holds, but I was prepared for a tough read because everyone that talked about reading let me know how brutal it was. I was expecting to read about abuse and overcoming it. I was not expecting to understand so acutely the profound affect the abuse had on the author's psyche. What she created is a documentation of her abuse and how she took part in both the cycle of abuse and her own healing process. Westover brought to light the deep seated struggle of mental health survivors brought on by years of torment. Over and over we read about how she to her home, hoping for peace and love in her family. Even once she leaves home, she is bound to a legacy of abuse so tightly that she isn't a whole person.

She is lucky that she find advocates. She works hard to learn. She fails sometimes, in her work and in her relationships. There is a triumph in her story, even if the resolution is less than ideal.

Suggest to fans of Glass Castle (of course), anyone recovering from family and religious abuse.]]> 4.46 2018 Educated

author: Tara Westover
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/18
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: abuse, families, religious, non-fiction
review:
A girl growing up in the mountains of Idaho with a strict Mormon family. Because her father doesn't trust the government, the kids aren't allowed to attend school or doctors. Her father is bipolar, her mother goes along with her father's tirades and verbal abuse. Add a violent brother to the mix and you have a whole lot of mess.

I didn't read much about this book, despite the rave reviews and thousands of library holds, but I was prepared for a tough read because everyone that talked about reading let me know how brutal it was. I was expecting to read about abuse and overcoming it. I was not expecting to understand so acutely the profound affect the abuse had on the author's psyche. What she created is a documentation of her abuse and how she took part in both the cycle of abuse and her own healing process. Westover brought to light the deep seated struggle of mental health survivors brought on by years of torment. Over and over we read about how she to her home, hoping for peace and love in her family. Even once she leaves home, she is bound to a legacy of abuse so tightly that she isn't a whole person.

She is lucky that she find advocates. She works hard to learn. She fails sometimes, in her work and in her relationships. There is a triumph in her story, even if the resolution is less than ideal.

Suggest to fans of Glass Castle (of course), anyone recovering from family and religious abuse.
]]> The List 10866233
It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.]]> 336 Siobhan Vivian 0545169178 LaRaie 3 3.40 2012 The List

author: Siobhan Vivian
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2014/09/23
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> In the Country 23616578
A pharmacist living in New York smuggles drugs to his ailing father in Manila, only to discover alarming truths about his family and his past. In Bahrain, a Filipina teacher drawn to a special pupil finds, to her surprise, that she is questioning her own marriage. A college student leans on her brother, a laborer in Saudi Arabia, to support her writing ambitions, without realizing that his is the life truly made for fiction. And in the title story, a journalist and a nurse face an unspeakable trauma amidst the political turmoil of the Philippines in the 1970s and ��80s.

In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home. From teachers to housemaids, from mothers to sons, Alvar’s powerful debut collection explores the universal experiences of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect across borders both real and imagined. Deeply compassionate and richly felt, In the Country marks the emergence of a formidable new writer.]]> 347 Mia Alvar 0385352816 LaRaie 5 4.07 2015

author: Mia Alvar
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/01/26
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Mercy Watson to the Rescue 37191 68 Kate DiCamillo 0763622702 LaRaie 0 funny 4.09 2005

author: Kate DiCamillo
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: funny
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood]]> 33156573 "Nelson Mandela once said, 'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.' He was so right. When you make the effort to speak someone else's language, even if it's just basic phrases here and there, you are saying to them, 'I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being.'" (Trevor Noah)
Attuned to the power of language at a young age - as a means of acceptance and influence in a country divided, then subdivided, into groups at odds with one another - Noah's raw, personal journey becomes something extraordinary in audio: a true testament to the power of storytelling. With brutal honesty and piercing wit, he forgoes an ordinary reading and, instead, delivers something more intimate, sharing his story with the openness and candor of a close friend. His chameleon-like ability to mimic accents and dialects, to shift effortlessly between languages including English, Xhosa, and Zulu, and to embody characters throughout his childhood - his mother, his gran, his schoolmates, first crushes and infatuations - brings each memory to life in vivid detail. Hearing him directly, you're reminded of the gift inherent in telling one's story and having it heard; of connecting with another, and seeing them as a human being.
The stories Noah tells are by turns hilarious, bizarre, tender, dark, and poignant - subsisting on caterpillars during months of extreme poverty, making comically pitiful attempts at teenage romance in a color-obsessed world, thrown into jail as the hapless fall guy for a crime he didn't commit, thrown by his mother from a speeding car driven by murderous gangsters, and more.
--audible.com

8 hrs & 50 mins]]> 9 Trevor Noah LaRaie 5 memoirs, growing-up 4.60 2016 Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

author: Trevor Noah
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2018/02/17
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: memoirs, growing-up
review:
Love this man, loved listening to his book on CD. What an amazing life. His voice is an important one. Full-on crush on this man. A gem.
]]> Seventeenth Summer 6659568
Angie always thought high school romances were just silly infatuations that come and go. She certainly never thought she would fall in love over one short summer. But when she meets Jack, their connection is beyond any childish crush. Suddenly, Angie and Jack are filling their summer with stolen moments and romantic nights. But as fall grows closer, they must figure out if their love is forever, or just a summer they’ll never forget.]]> 340 Maureen Daly 1416994637 LaRaie 4
Also, I was surprised to see that the female protagonist, unlike some of her female peers, does not simply want to get married and have babies and become a housewife. I think the author wrote a feminist character, a girl who wants an education, and wants her partner to be an educated man as well. But having said that, there are still many moments in the book that made me cringe because of the old-fashioned sensibilities of boys and girls and how they should act.

Overall, this is a rather striking portrait of a certain kind of life. It's a period piece. I loved getting drunk on flowers and feeling the magic of the moonlight through the eyes of young people who actually sit in silence and listen to the world around them. I was even charmed by the way the young people in this book took care to work--in their homes, for their parents, and how they seemed to care about social mores. It isn't necessarily that I wish things were this way now, but it is certainly fascinating to see how much things have changed in such a short time.

I would recommend this book to anyone (12 or older?) who would enjoy a slow read about a lazy summer in the 1940s in which a young girl falls in love. If you enjoy a novel about a certain kind of American innocence and like to read about water and flowers and grass and stars, you will love this book.]]> 2.93 1942 Seventeenth Summer

author: Maureen Daly
name: LaRaie
average rating: 2.93
book published: 1942
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/19
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
I am almost done with this book, and while I am still waiting for a tragic accident or a serial killer to creep up the driveway some enchanted evening, I realize how much I am actually enjoying it. It was really hard to take at first, what with all the sappy teen drama from the 40's, but soon I was drawn into the days before TV, cellphones, computers, texting, IMing--should I stop now, or keep going, because it never ends, this technology that has taken over our lives completely? What makes this book beautiful is the descriptive nature writing. You can't read one page without seeing a picture of summertime in lush Wisconsin surburbia. In these days when so much of our time is filled with techno-noise and (in my world at least) urban noise pollution, it is refreshing to read about a simpler time.

Also, I was surprised to see that the female protagonist, unlike some of her female peers, does not simply want to get married and have babies and become a housewife. I think the author wrote a feminist character, a girl who wants an education, and wants her partner to be an educated man as well. But having said that, there are still many moments in the book that made me cringe because of the old-fashioned sensibilities of boys and girls and how they should act.

Overall, this is a rather striking portrait of a certain kind of life. It's a period piece. I loved getting drunk on flowers and feeling the magic of the moonlight through the eyes of young people who actually sit in silence and listen to the world around them. I was even charmed by the way the young people in this book took care to work--in their homes, for their parents, and how they seemed to care about social mores. It isn't necessarily that I wish things were this way now, but it is certainly fascinating to see how much things have changed in such a short time.

I would recommend this book to anyone (12 or older?) who would enjoy a slow read about a lazy summer in the 1940s in which a young girl falls in love. If you enjoy a novel about a certain kind of American innocence and like to read about water and flowers and grass and stars, you will love this book.
]]> Imaginary Friend 43522576 Christopher is the new kid in town.
Christopher has an imaginary friend.

We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It's as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.

Twenty years ago, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made readers everywhere feel infinite. Now, Chbosky has returned with an epic work of literary horror, years in the making, whose grand scale and rich emotion redefine the genre. Read it with the lights on.]]> 705 Stephen Chbosky 1538731339 LaRaie 2
This book screams “Netflix show,�� and since the author has written for TV, I would be happy to see that happen for this book. Otherwise, I just kept feeling like I was being dragged around from place to place—more annoying than suspenseful. I truly think it’s the length that killed it for me.]]> 3.52 2019 Imaginary Friend

author: Stephen Chbosky
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2020/02/14
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
This would be a great mini series. It just didn’t work for me in this form. Too long and repetitive to be effectively engaging. Creepy, scary, interesting characters, lots of Stephen King vibes (author dedicates book to SK), but fell flat for me after about 100 pages. I made myself keep going and I did love the story arc in general, and some of the side characters (sheriff, Mary Katherine, Ambrose).

This book screams “Netflix show,�� and since the author has written for TV, I would be happy to see that happen for this book. Otherwise, I just kept feeling like I was being dragged around from place to place—more annoying than suspenseful. I truly think it’s the length that killed it for me.
]]> The Arrival 920607
Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy.]]> 132 Shaun Tan LaRaie 5 4.33 2007 The Arrival

author: Shaun Tan
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2013/05/07
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Coldest Winter Ever (The Coldest Winter Ever, #1)]]> 106393 Renowned hip-hop artist, political activist, and bestselling author Sister Souljah brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable first novel.

I came busting into the world during one of New York's worst snowstorms, so my mother named me Winter. Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn't want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top.

Featuring a Special Collector’s Edition Reader’s Guide—including an author Q&A, detailed character analyses, and the author’s own remarks about the meaning of her story.]]> 430 Sister Souljah 1416521690 LaRaie 3 4.48 1999 The Coldest Winter Ever (The Coldest Winter Ever, #1)

The Coldest Winter Ever (The Coldest Winter Ever, #1)

author: Sister Souljah
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: urban-lit, female-protagonist, realistic-fiction, nonwhite-characters
review:

]]> A Reliable Wife 4929705
What Catherine Land did not realize was that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own. And what neither anticipated was that they would fall so completely in love.

Filled with unforgettable characters, and shimmering with color and atmosphere, A Reliable Wife is an enthralling tale of love and madness, of longing and murder.]]> 291 Robert Goolrick 1565125967 LaRaie 4 historical-fiction, suspense 3.27 2009

author: Robert Goolrick
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2014/05/19
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: historical-fiction, suspense
review:

]]> Rain Reign 20575434
Just as a storm hits town, Rain goes missing. Rose’s father shouldn’t have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search. Rose will find Rain, but so will Rain’s original owners.]]> 226 Ann M. Martin 0312643004 LaRaie 4
Suggest to fans of realistic fiction, stories about family, tough issues. A tender, sincere, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny read, not without heartache. Rose's story is written in short chapters that organically characterize the asperger's experience with emotional depth. We are able to witness Rose grow and learn, and we celebrate and mourn with her, as the story unfolds.

9+]]> 4.22 2014 Rain Reign

author: Ann M. Martin
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2016/04/20
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: books-about-girls, families, middle-school, middle-grade, bluestem, award-winners, aspergers, parents, mothers
review:
A 10-year-old girl with Asperger's, who is obsessed with homonyms, lives with her troubled father and her dog in New England. A hurricane hits their town and the dog goes missing.

Suggest to fans of realistic fiction, stories about family, tough issues. A tender, sincere, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny read, not without heartache. Rose's story is written in short chapters that organically characterize the asperger's experience with emotional depth. We are able to witness Rose grow and learn, and we celebrate and mourn with her, as the story unfolds.

9+
]]> Timbuktu 449
Cover photograph by Ann Giordano]]> 181 Paul Auster 0312263996 LaRaie 5 3.73 1999

author: Paul Auster
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2009/01/06
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Land of Shadows (Detective Elouise Norton, #1)]]> 18490531
Homicide detective Elouise “Lou�� Norton’s new partner Colin Taggert, fresh from the Colorado Springs police department, assumes it’s a teenage suicide. Lou isn’t buying the easy explanation. For one thing, the condo site is owned by Napoleon Crase, a self-made millionaire�� and the man who may have murdered Lou’s missing sister thirty years ago.

As Lou investigates the death of Monique Darson, she uncovers undeniable links between the two cases. She is convinced that when she solves Monique’s case she will finally bring her lost sister home. But as she gets closer to the truth, she also gets closer to a violent killer. After all this time, can he be brought to justice�� before Lou becomes his next victim?]]> 317 Rachel Howzell Hall 0765336359 LaRaie 5
]]> 3.80 2014 Land of Shadows (Detective Elouise Norton, #1)

Land of Shadows (Detective Elouise Norton, #1)

author: Rachel Howzell Hall
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
I bought this book for the library where I work, because I am always on the lookout for African American authors, especially mystery authors, and even more, written by women. I decided to pick this one up and see for myself, and I’m tearing through it. So far it’s a great read for what I wanted, a compelling murder mystery with interesting characters and backstory. I can’t wait to talk it up to patrons.

]]> <![CDATA[The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co., #1)]]> 13555073
For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .]]> 440 Jonathan Stroud 0857532014 LaRaie 0 4.24 2013 The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co., #1)

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co., #1)

author: Jonathan Stroud
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2016/07/22
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: paranormal, ghosts, middle-school, ya
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Melissa (previously published as GEORGE)]]> 24612624
George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part... because she's a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte—but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.]]> 208 Alex Gino 0545812542 LaRaie 4
I found this novel to be sincere, sweet, honest, genuine, and uplifting. I like books for young people that teach empathy, emotional intelligence, and love for all. I would definitely recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction for young readers.

That said, I do agree with the criticism that this book perpetuates the stereotypes of girls liking make-up, glittery lip gloss, and pretty underwear. There is nothing wrong with George herself liking these things, though, and so I ultimately see no problem with her wanting to be stereotypically "girly." But if this book is acting as a device to break down stereotypes and help us see each other as human as rather part of our gender, it doesn't exactly succeed.

]]> 4.04 2015 Melissa (previously published as GEORGE)

Melissa (previously published as GEORGE)

author: Alex Gino
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/16
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: lgtbq, realistic-fiction, middle-grade, middle-school
review:
One of the first things I do when I finish a book is look at the reviews, especially bad reviews. I do this because sometimes things just don't occur to me as I'm reading. I tend to be a hopeful reader, one that tries to see what the author is trying to do, and I focus less on their failings.

I found this novel to be sincere, sweet, honest, genuine, and uplifting. I like books for young people that teach empathy, emotional intelligence, and love for all. I would definitely recommend this book to people who like realistic fiction for young readers.

That said, I do agree with the criticism that this book perpetuates the stereotypes of girls liking make-up, glittery lip gloss, and pretty underwear. There is nothing wrong with George herself liking these things, though, and so I ultimately see no problem with her wanting to be stereotypically "girly." But if this book is acting as a device to break down stereotypes and help us see each other as human as rather part of our gender, it doesn't exactly succeed.

]]> <![CDATA[Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self]]> 7840634 Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self offers a bold new perspective on the experience of being young and African-American or mixed-race in modern-day America.

In each of her stories, Danielle Evans explores the non-white American experience with honesty, wisdom, and humor. They are striking in their emotional immediacy, based in a world where inequality is a reality, but the insecurities of young adulthood and tensions within family are often the more complicating factors.

One of the most lauded debuts of the year, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self announces a major new talent in Danielle Evans.

Virgins --
Snakes --
Harvest --
Someone ought to tell her there's nowhere to go --
The king of a vast empire --
Jellyfish --
Wherever you go, there you are --
Robert E. Lee is dead

]]> 232 Danielle Evans 1594487693 LaRaie 0 4.05 2010 Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

author: Danielle Evans
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2011/09/29
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice (TED Books)]]> 22309872
What is it like to grow up with a terrorist in your home? Zak Ebrahim was only seven years old when, on November 5th, 1990, his father El-Sayyid Nosair shot and killed the leader of the Jewish Defense League. While in prison, Nosair helped plan the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. In one of his infamous video messages, Osama bin Laden urged the world to “Remember El-Sayyid Nosair.��

For Zak Ebrahim, a childhood amongst terrorism was all he knew. After his father’s incarceration, his family moved often, and as the perpetual new kid in class, he faced constant teasing and exclusion. Yet, though his radicalized father and uncles modeled fanatical beliefs, to Ebrahim something never felt right. To the shy, awkward boy, something about the hateful feelings just felt unnatural.

In this book, Ebrahim dispels the myth that terrorism is a foregone conclusion for people trained to hate. Based on his own remarkable journey, he shows that hate is always a choice—but so is tolerance. Though Ebrahim was subjected to a violent, intolerant ideology throughout his childhood, he did not become radicalized. Ebrahim argues that people conditioned to be terrorists are actually well positioned to combat terrorism, because of their ability to bring seemingly incompatible ideologies together in conversation and advocate in the fight for peace. Ebrahim argues that everyone, regardless of their upbringing or circumstances, can learn to tap into their inherent empathy and embrace tolerance over hatred. His original, urgent message is fresh, groundbreaking, and essential to the current discussion about terrorism.]]> 96 Zak Ebrahim 1476784809 LaRaie 4 4.08 2014 The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice (TED Books)

The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice (TED Books)

author: Zak Ebrahim
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: coming-of-age, non-fiction, memoirs
review:

]]> Three Women 42201100 A riveting true story about the sex lives of three real American women, based on nearly a decade of reporting.

Hailed as “a dazzling achievement�� (Los Angeles Times) and “riveting page-turner that explores desire, heartbreak, and infatuation in all its messy, complicated nuance�� (The Washington Post), Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women has captivated readers, booksellers, and critics—and topped bestseller lists—worldwide.

In suburban Indiana we meet Lina, a homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks and, after reconnecting with an old flame through social media, embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. In North Dakota we meet Maggie, a seventeen-year-old high school student who allegedly has a clandestine physical relationship with her handsome, married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial will turn their quiet community upside down. Finally, in an exclusive enclave of the Northeast, we meet Sloane—a gorgeous, successful, and refined restaurant owner—who is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women.

Based on years of immersive reporting and told with astonishing frankness and immediacy, Three Women is both a feat of journalism and a triumph of storytelling, brimming with nuance and empathy. “A work of deep observation, long conversations, and a kind of journalistic alchemy�� (Kate Tuttle, NPR), Three Women introduces us to three unforgettable women—and one remarkable writer—whose experiences remind us that we are not alone.]]> 306 Lisa Taddeo 1451642296 LaRaie 5 3.72 2019

author: Lisa Taddeo
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/02
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> I'll Meet You There 21469068
Josh had a different escape route: the Marines. But after losing his leg in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be.

What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and, soon, something deeper.

Compelling and ultimately hopeful, this is a powerful examination of love, loss, and resilience.]]> 388 Heather Demetrios 0805097953 LaRaie 3
That said, there are a few slurs in this book that felt wrong to me. A sort of homophobic vibe that at one point is called out by the main character as being what it is: hate speech. However, this is language you would expect in a town like this. Honestly, if anything, the author was downplaying the kind of racist, backwards, homophobic vibe that probably exists in these circles. There is something disconcerting about reading a book that feels like it can't be as real as it could be because it would have to be really offensive. At one point, the characters arrive at an impasse where one says "gay" and the other says "don't say that" and then the other says "don't be PC" and she's like "well someone has to." That's about as far as you get with the level of social justice and awareness in this reality.

ONE OTHER THING that bugged me. While the female protagonist often calls out men and boys for misogynistic remarks or behavior, and even though she loves Top Gun like it's the only movie in the whole entire world (for good reasons of her own), she refers to the woman in Top Gun as "the blonde chick that Tom Cruise is into." Not cool, Ms. Demetrios. Her name is Kelly McGillis.]]> 4.05 2015 I'll Meet You There

author: Heather Demetrios
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/03/05
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: realistic-fiction, romantic, war, female-protagonist
review:
There were a few things that made this book for me. One, the protagonist is an artist. I love reading about artist's creations. Those parts are very cool. Two, it was refreshing to read a realistic romance with characters who aren't white upper middle class or wealthy. Okay, so they're white, but they are poor. They are seeking a way out of their situations because they are pretty much destitute. I don't often see this POV in popular YA fiction, so, points. Three, while this book is a romance, it deals with many teen issues such as domestic problems, death, war, disability, alcoholism, teen pregnancy, coming-of-age, college and working, with the same weight as the relationship. Four, the story is very well-done. Even some of the ancillary characters (MARGE) are sweetly developed and lovely. Great story, complete with awesome musical references and references to Top Gun.

That said, there are a few slurs in this book that felt wrong to me. A sort of homophobic vibe that at one point is called out by the main character as being what it is: hate speech. However, this is language you would expect in a town like this. Honestly, if anything, the author was downplaying the kind of racist, backwards, homophobic vibe that probably exists in these circles. There is something disconcerting about reading a book that feels like it can't be as real as it could be because it would have to be really offensive. At one point, the characters arrive at an impasse where one says "gay" and the other says "don't say that" and then the other says "don't be PC" and she's like "well someone has to." That's about as far as you get with the level of social justice and awareness in this reality.

ONE OTHER THING that bugged me. While the female protagonist often calls out men and boys for misogynistic remarks or behavior, and even though she loves Top Gun like it's the only movie in the whole entire world (for good reasons of her own), she refers to the woman in Top Gun as "the blonde chick that Tom Cruise is into." Not cool, Ms. Demetrios. Her name is Kelly McGillis.
]]> Forever... 37743
It's the beginning of an intense and exclusive relationship, with a future all planned. Until Katherine's parents insist that she and Michael put their love to the test with a summer apart...

Forever is written for an older age group than Judy Blume's other novels for children. It caused a storm of controversy when it was first published because of its explicit sexual content.]]> 178 Judy Blume LaRaie 4
I think it's still a very relevant and important read. Highly recommended.]]> 3.63 1975 Forever...

author: Judy Blume
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/24
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
There are so many reasons why I like this book. One of these reasons is that it's a feminist book. It's tame by today's standards, but doesn't shy away from important issues like birth control, monogamy, abstinence, homosexuality--and even moving on from your first immature boyfriend who has inexplicably named his penis Ralph. It feels like a book that was written for teenage girls (without being preachy) and that's because it was, and it was very much needed at the time as an honest and realistic portrayal of teenage sexuality.

I think it's still a very relevant and important read. Highly recommended.
]]> Wolfie the Bunny 20307024 40 Ame Dyckman 0316226149 LaRaie 5
A funny and sweet read for the child adjusting to a new sibling. Also a good book to illustrate how families don't have to all look the same.
]]> 4.16 2015 Wolfie the Bunny

author: Ame Dyckman
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/12
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: picture-books, monarch, families, siblings, new-baby, non-traditional-families
review:
What happens when the Bunny Family finds a baby wolf at their doorstep? They take him in and love him as their own, of course! But Dot isn't feeling the love for her adorable new baby brother. In fact, she's certain that Wolfie is going to eat them all up! Wolfie follows Dot wherever she goes, and she isn't too happy to see him getting all the attention. Dot could not find him more annoying, until something happens to make Dot see Wolfie for who he really is--her baby brother.

A funny and sweet read for the child adjusting to a new sibling. Also a good book to illustrate how families don't have to all look the same.

]]> <![CDATA[The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel]]> 17061488 “A delightful combination of race-against-the-clock medical mystery and outwit-the-bad-guys adventure.�� Publishers Weekly, Starred
��
Eel has troubles of his own: As an orphan and a “mudlark,�� he spends his days in the filthy River Thames, searching for bits of things to sell. He’s being hunted by Fisheye Bill Tyler, and a nastier man never walked the streets of London. And he’s got a secret that costs him four precious shillings a week to keep safe. But even for Eel, things aren’t so bad until that fateful August day in 1854—the day the deadly cholera (“blue death��) comes to Broad Street.
��
Everyone believes that cholera is spread through poisonous air. But one man, Dr. John Snow, has a different theory. As the epidemic surges, it’s up to Eel and his best friend, Florrie, to gather evidence to prove Dr. Snow’s theory—before the entire neighborhood is wiped out.
��
“Hopkinson illuminates a pivotal chapter in the history of public health. . . . Accessible . . . and entertaining.�� School Library Journal, Starred
��
“For [readers] who love suspense, drama, and mystery.�� TIME for Kids]]> 249 Deborah Hopkinson 0375848185 LaRaie 4
12 and up.

Note: This book may be difficult for more sensitive readers. There is a lot of death, and there is a kidnapping and assault that may be too graphic to young readers.
]]> 3.91 2013 The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel

The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel

author: Deborah Hopkinson
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/06
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: historical-fiction, ya, middle-school
review:
This historical novel follows the famous cholera outbreak of 1854 in London, England. Blending fiction and fact, the novel follows the story of Eel, a poor orphan boy who is scrounging for work and food in the streets. Not only is he hungry and poor, but he is on the run from his abusive step-father who is trying to hurt him. When the epidemic hits Broad Street and many of his neighbors fall ill, no one knows how to stop the disease from spreading, and there is no cure. Eel finds a job cleaning animal cages for a prominent doctor who is trying to prove that cholera is spread through water, because most people during this time believe it is spread through the air. Using his street smarts and intellect, Eel sets out to assist the doctor however he can to stop this deadly disease from taking more lives, while trying to escape the brute who wants to take whatever money and happiness he has left.

12 and up.

Note: This book may be difficult for more sensitive readers. There is a lot of death, and there is a kidnapping and assault that may be too graphic to young readers.

]]> The Outsiders 231804 The Outsiders is about two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.

Librarian note: This record is for one of the three editions published with different covers and with ISBN 0-140-38572-X / 978-0-14-038572-4. The records are for the 1988 cover (this record), the 1995 cover, and the 2008 cover which is also the current in-print cover.]]> 208 S.E. Hinton 0670532576 LaRaie 5 4.13 1967 The Outsiders

author: S.E. Hinton
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1967
rating: 5
read at: 2013/01/22
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> The Elegance of the Hedgehog 2967752
We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.

Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.

Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.]]> 325 Muriel Barbery 1933372605 LaRaie 5 3.76 2006 The Elegance of the Hedgehog

author: Muriel Barbery
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2010/01/24
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Best American Poetry 2008 (Best American Poetry)]]> 4162276
With captivating and revelatory notes from the poets on their works and sage and erudite introductory essays by Wright and series editor David Lehman, The Best American Poetry 2008 will be read, discussed, debated, and prized for years to come.]]> 224 Charles Wright 0743299744 LaRaie 0 3.53 1990

The Best American Poetry 2008 (Best American Poetry)

author: Charles Wright
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at: 2009/01/06
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> God Got a Dog 17334205 God Got a Dog celebrates the simple things in our world while taking a long, close look at what it means to be human. The soft, reflective, and often humorous words and pictures create a glimpse into everyday life through wide and wondering eyes that blends the familiar with the profoundly spiritual.]]> 48 Cynthia Rylant 1442465182 LaRaie 5 4.20 2013 God Got a Dog

author: Cynthia Rylant
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2013/12/11
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: existential, favorite, intermediate-fiction, poetry
review:

]]> The Scourge 28669595 When a plague isn’t all that kills��

As a lethal plague sweeps through the land, Ani Mells is shocked when she is unexpectedly captured by the governor’s wardens and forced to submit to a test for the deadly Scourge. She is even more surprised when the test results come back positive, and she is sent to Attic Island, a former prison turned refuge—and quarantine colony—for the ill. The Scourge’s victims, Ani now among them, can only expect to live out short, painful lives there.

However, Ani quickly discovers that she doesn’t know the whole truth about the Scourge or the Colony. She’s been caught in a devious plot, and, with the help of her best friend, Weevil, Ani means to uncover just what is actually going on. But will she and Weevil survive the Scourge—and the gorvernor’s wardens—long enough to make their escape and expose the cruel plan?]]> 368 Jennifer A. Nielsen 0545682452 LaRaie 3
What this book lacks in world-building, it totally makes up for in energy and heart of the characters, especially Ani. She is a bad-ass, so much fun to root for.

Ages 11+]]> 4.03 2016 The Scourge

author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2016/09/22
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: fantasy, families, female-protagonist, epidemics, government-conspiracies
review:
Ani Mells is taken from her home in the River Country and told she has a deadly disease but her friend Weevil won't leave her side. They get caught up in a much larger plot and must persevere to find a way out.

What this book lacks in world-building, it totally makes up for in energy and heart of the characters, especially Ani. She is a bad-ass, so much fun to root for.

Ages 11+
]]> The Girls 26893819 355 Emma Cline 081299860X LaRaie 4 3.48 2016

author: Emma Cline
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2017/07/10
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: cults, psychopaths, realistic-fiction, suspense, thriller, murder
review:
The first half of the book was an experience of me in awe of Cline's cutting prose, so exquisite, almost too good. The story felt "wrapped-up" and that could mean I needed more, wanted more. I was kind of hoping she was going to kill those dumb guys at the end.
]]> <![CDATA[The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark]]> 17349
Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.]]> 459 Carl Sagan 0345409469 LaRaie 0 4.28 1995 The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

author: Carl Sagan
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at: 2018/09/11
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic 38990 232 Alison Bechdel 0618477942 LaRaie 5 4.12 2006

author: Alison Bechdel
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2007/03/01
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
the book is a beautiful memoir told via graphic novel. Moving, dark, hilarious, honest.
]]> Where Things Come Back 8563789
In the summer before Cullen's senior year, a nominally-depressed birdwatcher named John Barling thinks he spots a species of woodpecker thought to be extinct since the 1940s in Lily, Arkansas. His rediscovery of the so-called Lazarus Woodpecker sparks a flurry of press and woodpecker-mania. Soon all the kids are getting woodpecker haircuts and everyone's eating "Lazarus burgers." But as absurd as the town's carnival atmosphere has become, nothing is more startling than the realization that Cullen’s sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother Gabriel has suddenly and inexplicably disappeared.

While Cullen navigates his way through a summer of finding and losing love, holding his fragile family together, and muddling his way into adulthood, a young missionary in Africa, who has lost his faith, is searching for any semblance of meaning wherever he can find it. As distant as the two stories seem at the start, they are thoughtfully woven ever closer together and through masterful plotting, brought face to face in a surprising and harrowing climax.

Complex but truly extraordinary, tinged with melancholy and regret, comedy and absurdity, this novel finds wonder in the ordinary and emerges as ultimately hopeful. It's about a lot more than what Cullen calls, “that damn bird.�� It’s about the dream of second chances.]]> 228 John Corey Whaley 1442413336 LaRaie 5 ya, mystery, mythological 3.80 2011 Where Things Come Back

author: John Corey Whaley
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2013/03/24
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: ya, mystery, mythological
review:

]]> Crazy Quilt 2125584 215 Jocelyn Riley 0688038735 LaRaie 1
This story is everything I hate about life. Terrible people saying terrible things in a terrible way. Everyone is unlikable, except maybe Diane.

The young people in this story use words like "wiseacre" and say things like "barf me out" and "tan my hide." When the teen protagonist receives a Valentine from the five-year-old boy she babysits, she trashes it. She's THE WORST.

Here is my favorite paragraph because I have no idea what the hell is going on:

"How ya doin', Jinx?" I said with a little phony smile; always the lady. I felt like the Scarsdale Diet doctor's mistress. Here are some flowers. How're you doing? Bang bang."

I could find out what she's referring to, but I prefer to be mystified. Anyway, Merle is not "always the lady." She's obnoxious and has no compassion. The whole family is a mess and their fights aren't even interesting. Everyone is just mean and stupid to each other.

]]> 3.27 1984 Crazy Quilt

author: Jocelyn Riley
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.27
book published: 1984
rating: 1
read at: 2016/05/11
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: families, ya, realistic-fiction
review:
I decided to read this book, as I'm weeding a middle school collection in a public library. This book looked dated, but I wanted to give it a chance instead of just tossing it aside.

This story is everything I hate about life. Terrible people saying terrible things in a terrible way. Everyone is unlikable, except maybe Diane.

The young people in this story use words like "wiseacre" and say things like "barf me out" and "tan my hide." When the teen protagonist receives a Valentine from the five-year-old boy she babysits, she trashes it. She's THE WORST.

Here is my favorite paragraph because I have no idea what the hell is going on:

"How ya doin', Jinx?" I said with a little phony smile; always the lady. I felt like the Scarsdale Diet doctor's mistress. Here are some flowers. How're you doing? Bang bang."

I could find out what she's referring to, but I prefer to be mystified. Anyway, Merle is not "always the lady." She's obnoxious and has no compassion. The whole family is a mess and their fights aren't even interesting. Everyone is just mean and stupid to each other.

]]> <![CDATA[The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)]]> 20912424 An exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2, from the acclaimed author of Jefferson’s Sons and for fans of Number the Stars.
��
Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
��
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?
��
This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity—a classic in the making.]]> 316 Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 0803740816 LaRaie 5 11+

One of the very first things I do before I log a book here is look at one-star reviews and see what people are criticizing about it. I like to read the glowing reviews as well--just to get a whole gamut of perspectives.

Well, I am not ready to do that with this book. It is so dear to my heart that I cannot bear to read negative reviews. Each character is sewn into my brain and heart--what a tender and tough story.

One of the best.]]> 4.47 2015 The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)

author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/27
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: war, middle-school, caudill, female-protagonist, families, disability
review:
Highly recommended novel about WWII, blended families, overcoming developmental challenges, and what it means to not only survive, but come home.
11+

One of the very first things I do before I log a book here is look at one-star reviews and see what people are criticizing about it. I like to read the glowing reviews as well--just to get a whole gamut of perspectives.

Well, I am not ready to do that with this book. It is so dear to my heart that I cannot bear to read negative reviews. Each character is sewn into my brain and heart--what a tender and tough story.

One of the best.
]]> The Red Heels 1472922 32 Robert D. San Souci 0803711344 LaRaie 3 folktale-fairytale 3.81 1996

author: Robert D. San Souci
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2016/08/02
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: folktale-fairytale
review:

]]> Princess Princess Ever After 30025791 "I am no prince!"

When the heroic princess Amira rescues the kind-hearted princess Sadie from her tower prison, neither expects to find a true friend in the bargain. Yet as they adventure across the kingdom, they discover that they bring out the very best in the other person. They'll need to join forces and use all the know-how, kindness, and bravery they have in order to defeat their greatest foe yet: a jealous sorceress, who wants to get rid of Sadie once and for all.

Join Sadie and Amira, two very different princesses with very different strengths, on their journey to figure out what happily ever after really means -- and how they can find it with each other.]]> 53 Kay O'Neill 1620103400 LaRaie 5
This one is for a younger audience--those who are not yet ready for Nimona, for example. For a second grader, this is a book about princesses kicking butt together and being great friends. An older reader will see the romance between them. Totally sweet and lovable, and laugh-out-loud funny!!!

7+]]> 3.97 2014 Princess Princess Ever After

author: Kay O'Neill
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/10/25
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: fairytales, graphic-novels, princess, girl-power, non-white-characters
review:
One million stars. BEST PRINCESS STORY EVER.

This one is for a younger audience--those who are not yet ready for Nimona, for example. For a second grader, this is a book about princesses kicking butt together and being great friends. An older reader will see the romance between them. Totally sweet and lovable, and laugh-out-loud funny!!!

7+
]]> <![CDATA[Borkmann's Point (Inspector Van Veeteren, #2)]]> 359126 International Bestseller��

Internationally bestselling author Häkan Nesser makes his U.S. debut with this riveting tale of murder and suspense that reveals the deep humanity of the characters portrayed even as it sends chills up the spine.

��

Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is called to the sleepy coastal town of Kalbringen to assist the local police in the investigation of two recent ax murders. Soon the case turns from bad to worse when another body turns up and one of Van Veeteren’s colleagues, a young female detective, disappears without a trace. Now Van Veeteren must find the killer, and, it is hoped, his colleague, before anyone else comes to harm. Riveting and intellectually satisfying, Borkmann’s Point unfolds like a chess match where each move could prove deadly.]]> 321 Håkan Nesser 1400030323 LaRaie 5 mystery, non-american-fiction 3.75 1994 Borkmann's Point (Inspector Van Veeteren, #2)

Borkmann's Point (Inspector Van Veeteren, #2)

author: Håkan Nesser
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at: 2013/06/24
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: mystery, non-american-fiction
review:

]]> Into the Wild 1845 Librarian's Note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

In April, 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, a party of moose hunters found his decomposed body. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw away the maps. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild.]]> 207 Jon Krakauer 0385486804 LaRaie 5 4.01 1996

author: Jon Krakauer
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2007/09/01
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:
Chris Maccandles gave away everything he owned to live in the wild. The author delineates his adventures through those that knew Maccandles, and retracing his steps, challenging notions of the quality and meaning of life.
]]> <![CDATA[Remember: The Journey to School Integration]]> 11336 Remember will be published on the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending legal school segregation, handed down on May 17, 1954.]]> 80 Toni Morrison 061839740X LaRaie 5 4.45 2004 Remember: The Journey to School Integration

Remember: The Journey to School Integration

author: Toni Morrison
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2013/12/14
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: historical-fiction, photographic-journalism, award-winners
review:

]]> The Crossover 18263725
Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.]]> 245 Kwame Alexander LaRaie 5
12+

OK--what is it with people who give books bad reviews or ratings because they don't like the subject? Then don't read it! That's like giving bad feedback on Amazon because you ordered the wrong item. "I ordered the wrong item, wasn't what I thought it would be--one star" Um, no, you critique a book for what it is--in this case, a sports fiction book written in poetry form. If you don't want to read a book like that, then don't, but at least have the courtesy to write a review based on how well the book did was it was trying to do. OR just don't rate it.]]> 4.21 2014 The Crossover

author: Kwame Alexander
name: LaRaie
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/27
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves: poetry, novel-in-verse, middle-school, newbery, caudill, sports
review:
Brilliant novel-in-verse. Sometimes it reads like rap, other times it reads like prose. It doesn't always rhyme. The structure, onomatopoeia, plays on words, all work to make an engaging, tender, and quick and compelling read about a boy who loves basketball, his twin who is also on his team, and their dad who was once a basketball star. This is ultimately a book about family, and the bonds that bend, break, and become stronger. A truly beautiful work.

12+

OK--what is it with people who give books bad reviews or ratings because they don't like the subject? Then don't read it! That's like giving bad feedback on Amazon because you ordered the wrong item. "I ordered the wrong item, wasn't what I thought it would be--one star" Um, no, you critique a book for what it is--in this case, a sports fiction book written in poetry form. If you don't want to read a book like that, then don't, but at least have the courtesy to write a review based on how well the book did was it was trying to do. OR just don't rate it.
]]> Little Children 37426 355 Tom Perrotta 0312315732 LaRaie 4 3.63 2004

author: Tom Perrotta
name: LaRaie
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2009/05/15
date added: 2021/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]>