The Book Search

 The publishers seem to be trying to play catch up after COVID.  There are SO MANY new books coming out, it can feel overwhelming to see my TBR pile.  Or maybe I'm just too greedy!  Anyway, here are some that are coming out soon. The first one is called When Giants Burn by Beth Vrabel.  Beth has a real gift for telling stories about interesting characters - two of my former favorites are Blind Guide to Stinkville and The Newspaper Club, if you missed them.  This new one is no exception.  It's told in two voices-Gerty and Hayes.  Both are being seen by the school counselor for interpersonal issues.  Gerty's family are survivalists and are doing their best to be independent from government influences.  Hayes lives with his grandmother, his younger brother and his mom, who has recently been released from jail. Neither of the kids feel like they have any friends and so find some connection to the other.  Gerty is trying to build an ultr...

I can hardly believe that the school year is almost over and yet it is.  It seems like only yesterday we were just starting and now we're starting to put things away and dream of long days with less structure and MORE READING.  Some people have started to count down the days, but I don't do that until we are in the single digits.  So, here are a few books to put on your summer reading list! The first one is called "The World's Greatest Chocolate Covered Pork Chops" by Ryan K. Sager.  It's a very funny story about a girl named Zoe who is the arguably with world's greatest chef.  She is, at the very least, the world's best young chef, as she is only 12 years old and already has her own restaurant and a large group of very loyal patrons.  Zoe wants to open her own restaurant and convinces her parents that she should be allowed to apply for a business loan as well as choose the location and then open the restaurant.  Her parents, who are jazz musicians, ...

The books I picked this week seem all have very strong, modern girl main characters.  I worry that these will not be appealing to boys, but their voices are very fresh and very fun. This first one was just adorable.  It's called "Dream On Amber" by Emma Shevah.  It's about 11 year old Amber who lives with her mother and little sister Bella.  Her nonna lives close by but her dad is just gone (and without an explanation, Amber makes up her own stories about why he isn't there).  As they are walking home through the park, Amber and Bella see a dad and his daughter and Bella is reminded how much SHE misses their dad.  So when Bella writes a letter to her dad inviting him to her birthday party, Amber knows how sad it will make her mom, so she writes back to Bella.  But Bella either misinterprets the letter or doesn't read it properly, because she believes their dad is coming to the party.  Additionally, Amber is starting middle school and doesn't rea...