So here it is: the last book in the original Samaria trilogy, and the last of the Samaria novels left for me to read. I’m very sad now. I have enjoyed reading these books so much that it’s depressing to know there are no more stories about Samaria left. Sharon Shinn, if you ever Google yourself and come across this review: write another Samaria novel! There’s definitely potential for at least one if not a few more books, since the ending of this one leaves you wondering what will happen next to the people of Samaria and (especially) its angels.

It’s been over a hundred years since the Archangel turned oracle Alleluia discovered the truth about the god Jovah. In that time, technology has made astonishing advances: motorized vehicles, advanced audio systems, and communication devices. In fact, there has always been quiet speculation among a small group of Samarians that the god they call Jovah is in fact a space ship orbiting above the planet, listening for the prayers of the angels to inform it of what needs to be done. This group, called the Jacobites, have grown in size over the last hundred years, and become more vocal about their beliefs, even claiming that the oracle Alleluia had proof to support their claims and left behind files to be found one day when Samaria was ready to learn the truth. (more…)

I don’t know why I waited so long to read another of Shinn’s Samaria novels. I really love this set of books, and I’m happy that I still have The Alleluia Files waiting to be read. But then I’ll be finished all the Samaria books, and that’s unfortunate, because these stories are so lively and imaginative, that I can’t help but wish Shinn would choose to write more. Perhaps that’s a reason for why I took my time getting to Jovah’s Angel — to prolong the Samaria experience. Plus, my library system (tsk tsk!) only has one copy left of this book in the system and it’s in pretty awful condition — its binding is cracked and a few pages are loose, plus there are stains on the pages; I just can’t bring myself to hold it for too long. Luckily, my wonderful sister gave me a Chapters gift certificate for Christmas and I was able to buy these Samaria books with it. (more…)

Lena Fleet left Alabama for Chicago ten years ago, vowing to God that she would do 3 things: stop fornicating with every boy that crossed her path, never tell a lie, and never go back to Alabama to face her ghosts. As long as God didn’t bring Alabama and her past back to her, they had a deal.

And Lena has kept up her part of the deal: she’s been completely celibate, she’s managed to never tell a lie, and in the ten years since she’s left Alabama, she hasn’t once returned, not even for funerals, celebrations, Christmas or vacations.

But one day, an old classmate named Rose Mae Lolley shows up at her door, wanting Lena’s help to track down an old boyfriend, Jim Beverly. And at that moment, Lena knows that God broke their deal: here was Alabama on her doorstep, looking for the boy she killed ten years ago and thought she had gotten away with. (more…)

I’m happy to say that Maeve Binchy’s latest work proved to me again why she is my favorite author. I love it when I put a book down and I feel cozy and happy like I’ve just been in the company of good friends listening to great stories.

Rossmore, Ireland was once a quiet little village that saw most of its traffic just passing through on its way to bigger and better places. But there is one major draw to Rossmore: St Ann’s well in the Whitethorn Woods nearby. The well, a place for those wishing to pray for health, spouses, luck, happiness, or whatever else their hearts desire, is visited by people the world over desperate for a little hope in their lives. In recent years, more and more people have been coming to pray at the well, and the small town of Rossmore has been growing faster than anyone could have imagined. Now, there is a rumor that the government wishes to build a new highway that would bypass Rossmore, supposedly to help relieve its traffic congestion and provide a faster route through Ireland. The only problem is that the road is planned to run straight through the Whitethorn Woods and St Ann’s Well, demolishing it along with the dreams of the many people who believe in the well’s spiritual powers. (more…)

I love myths, in fact, the mythology course at University was probably my favorite course of all time. I loved learning about the Greek and Roman myths; something about them just intrigues me. So it’s not a stretch for me to like the stories behind the superheroes of comic books too.

This book crossed my path at the library and once I started flipping through the pages, I got sucked right into it. It’s not so much the text that appealed to me, but the pictures. This isn’t a book about the mythology of the superheroes; it’s a biography of the artist Alex Ross and how he got into the comic book business, as well as an anthology of some of the work he’s done. I didn’t end up paying much attention to the words so much as I looked at the pictures, which are great. Though I will say that Alex Ross was pretty talented as a kid, so it’s not surprising he grew up to be an artist. All you with young children out there that love drawing should nurture that creativity; you never know what they’ll grow up to become.

I’ve had an interesting reading experience lately. A number of the books I’ve been sent to read and review on this blog have been… not as good as I would have liked, especially considering the fact that I don’t read as quickly as I’d like to, so I hope that every book I read is worth the time and turns out to be enjoyable. And don’t get me wrong, I have no qualms about abandoning a book if I’m not enjoying it, but it’s different when it’s been sent to me on good faith that it will be reviewed on this blog. So, as this book was sent to me to read and review, I couldn’t very well accept it and then not review it, could I? (more…)

Totally Wonderful Miss Plumberry – Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Chinlun Lee

Molly’s grandma has sent her a crystal from the rock garden at the back of her house, and Molly thinks it’s amazing. She takes it with her to school, where her friends show interest in it for about a second before their classmate Russell goes running by with his new dinosaur toy, and then Molly’s sad because no one cares about her crystal anymore.
Then her teacher, Miss Plumberry, notices sad Molly standing all by herself and asks her about the crystal. When Miss Plumberry discovers Molly’s sad because no one cares about her crystal, she calls the class together for Molly’s very own show and tell. A story about a wonderful teacher.

Bad Boys Get Cookie! – Margie Palatini, illustrated by Henry Cole

Two bad wolves, Willy (Willis) and Wally (Wallace) have turned into private detectives for local firm Dewey-Ketchum and Howe, and their first assignment is to find the baker’s cookie, who ran away! Problem is, these two bad boys have serious sweet tooths, and they may not be able to return the cookie to their client. Cute, cute, cute.

Little Library Mouse — Stephanie Lista Tara, illustrated by Alex Walton

The little library mouse gathers his furry friends together when the library has closed and they’re locked in with nothing to do but read books and imagine the outside world. Lovely :)

How to Be — Lisa Brown

A story about a little boy and girl who figure out how to be different animals, from a bear, monkey, turtle, snale, spider, dog and human.

Castaway Cats — Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Ponder Goembel

Fifteen cats are blown off their ship during a tempest and end up on an island where they have to learn to work together in order to survive.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves– Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke

An adorable story about a fox named Fletcher who thinks his favorite tree is sick because its leaves keep falling off, only to learn that it’s just the changing of seasons. I really loved this book.

Pig Tale – Helen Oxenbury

A pig couple, Bertha and Briggs, dream of life beyond the pig sty. When they discover a treasure, they use it to live the high class life, only it turns out it’s not as great as they thought.

Time for the Fair — Mary Train, illustrated by Karel Hayes

Grace has fun at the fair and can’t wait for it to come back. She starts to ask her mom if it’s time for the fair yet, and her mom tells her she has to wait. Grace ends up waiting through a whole cycle of seasons before the fair returns.

Animal Strike at the Zoo, It’s True! – Karma Wilson, illustrated by Margaret Spengler

The animals at the zoo decide to go on strike because they think they aren’t pampered enough by the staff. They won’t perform for the public anymore and hide away from them until one day, a little girl comes to the zoo hoping to see the animals, and starts crying because the animals won’t act like animals.

Way Far Away on a Wild Safari – Jan Peck, illustrated by Valeria Petrone

A little boy encounters all sorts of animals on his wild safari. Nice illustrations.

The Couch Was a Castle – Ruth Ohi

Some hamsters play on the couch which turns into many different things for them. This would be a good story to read to kids on a rainy day.

Do Lions Live On Lily Pads? — Melanie Walsh

A story for very young children that will help them learn about the different animals and where they live.

Railroad John and the Red Rock Run — Tony Crunk, illustrated by Michale Austin

Lonesome Bob’s not so lonesome anymore — he’s marrying Wildcat Annie in Red Rock at 2:00 and they’re taking the train to get there. Railroad John tells them not to worry; in the 40 years he’s been driving the train, he’s never once been late. But this is no ordinary day — train robbers and natural obstacles are in store. For older readers — lots of words in this book. The illustrations are really nice — sort of like the frames of an old sepia-toned western.

Flotsam — David Wiesner

A boy comes across an old-fashioned camera on the beach and takes the film to get developed. The pictures show of a life under the sea and a cycle of picture-takers. This is a fantastic story because it tells it with absolutely no words — just pictures. Great illustrations.

Just Teenie — Susan Meddaugh

Justine is very small for her age, so everyone calls her Just Teenie instead. Justine wishes she could be bigger, and one day her wish is granted by a woman named Madame Flora, who gives Justine something to help her grow… only the growing doesn’t stop!

Silly Billy – Anthony Browne

A story about a little boy who worries so much that he’s given a worry doll to tell all his worries to at night so he won’t have to worry about them anymore. The book tells about the real practice in Guatemala of giving dolls to ease a person’s worries. A very cool idea — read it with a kid, then give the kid his or her own worry doll.

Augustus and His Smile – Catherine Rayner

Augustus the tiger sets out to look for his smile through the beauty of the world. Very nice watercolor illustrations.

Book Fair Day – Lynn Plourde, Illustrated by Thor Wickstrom

IT’S BOOK FAIR DAY AT SCHOOL — enough said! Little Dewey loves to read and he absolutely loves book fair day, but this year his class is chosen to go the book fair LAST (as his teacher says, “somebody has to go last, and this year it’s us”). Poor Dewey worries that all the books will be gone by the time his class gets there, so he tries to find ways to get there earlier, but his teacher keeps catching him. I loved this book, and I particularly liked what he used to save up his money — a bookworm piggy bank. Too cute. Also brought back memories of how much I loved book fair days when I was in school.

Mama, I’ll Give You the World – Roni Schotter & S. Saelig Gallagher

Luisa thinks her mom works too hard at the World of Beauty Salon, and that she’s too tired to dance anymore, something Luisa knows her mom used to love to do. So Luisa comes up with a plan to help her mom dance, at least for one night.

Mitch Rafferty believes he has the perfect life: he owns a small gardening business, and lives a quiet, happy life with his wife in their little bungalow. It’s a particularly beautiful summer day and he’s busy planting flowers at a client’s house when his cell phone rings and his tranquil life is given a shot of pure adrenline from the moment the caller tells him his wife Holly has been kidnapped and will only be returned to him alive when he produces $2 million cash in only 60 hours. If he doesn’t produce the money in time, they will kill her. To prove the seriousness of their demands, a sniper places a shot through the head of a man walking his dog just down the street from where Mitch is working. (more…)