(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Emilie Day likes her small, predictable world which consists of comfortable, time-worn routines: going to school in her pajamas, binge-watching old movies, reading endless books, and spending time with her canine BFF.  With her therapy dog always by her side, she knows she can handle the epileptic seizures that sometimes overtake her.  Even though she's still grieving the loss of her dad, Emilie has her kind mother, her faithful pooch, and an orderly universe where she is safe from outside scrutiny and public humiliation.  It's enough.

When Mrs. Day decides it's time for Emilie to start attending public school for the first time in her life, Emilie freaks.  What if she seizes at school?  The thought of a bunch of judge-y strangers watching her flail around, maybe even pee herself?  Beyond terrifying.  Emilie absolutely cannot let anyone at school know about her epilepsy.  All she has to do is keep her condition secret for three months—the trial period her mom is insisting on—and she'll be back at home 24/7 where she belongs.

To her complete shock, Emilie immediately attracts the attention of the hottest guy in school.  Against all odds, Chatham York actually seems to like her like her.  Obviously, that will end as soon as he finds out what a freak she is.  When the inevitable happens, Emilie will have to choose—hide away forever or take a chance on a brave, new life.

The Thing With Feathers by McCall Hoyle is a clean, uplifting YA novel about trying to fit in when you can't help but stand out.  It tells a hopeful story that will resonate with teens who feel out of place among their peers for any reason.  The tale is familiar and predictable, without a lot of originality to set it apart.  Emilie is empathetic, but not all that likable.  Her whining, self-pity, and selfishness make her hard to take at times.  She's more realistic than Chatham, though, who's too perfect to feel real.  Because of these issues, I didn't end up loving The Thing With Feathers.  I do, however, appreciate its timely messages about compassion, hope, and the importance of stepping out of our comfort zones in order to grow.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Thing With Feathers from the generous folks at Blink via those at PR By the Book.  Thank you!

  

I don't know how you're doing on your 2017 reading goals, but I'm still 54 books behind! My aim  was to read 200 books this year.  I've made the same goal for several years in a row and have never achieved it.  It looks like I probably won't make it this year either.  Oh well. I at least want to beat last year's high of 152 and it would be super swell if I could break my record of 186, which I hit in 2011.  We'll see.  

With this in mind, I've definitely been pondering which books I still want to get to before 2017 comes to a close.  So, I'm going to tweak the Top Ten Tuesday topic today and talk about the Top Ten Books I Want to Read Before 2017 Ends.  The *real* topic is the Top Ten Book on Your Winter TBR List.  Yesterday's high here in the Phoenix area was 81; with record-breaking heat still on the horizon, it doesn't feel very wintery here anyway ...

Before I get to my list, though, I want to encourage you to join in the TTT fun.  This is a great meme, which always helps me find new books to try and new blogs to love.  All you have to do to get on this party train is click on over to The Broke and the Bookish, read some quick instructions, make your own list, and start hopping around the book blogosphere.  Easy peasy.  You don't want to miss it!

Okay, here we go with the Top Ten Books I Want to Read Before 2017 Ends: 

1.  The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy—I'm actually cheating on this one since I finished it last night.  I wanted to mention it, though, because it has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it totally delivered.  The cover makes The Disappearances look like a horror novel, but it's not at all.  I'm not sure what genre it is exactly, but I loved the story's intriguing blend of mystery and magic set against a WWII backdrop.  It's an original, intelligent tale that is both enchanting and absorbing.  The Disappearances might just be the best novel I've read this year!

2.  I'll Keep You Safe by Peter May—I adore this Scottish author and his broody mysteries set in the Hebrides.  One of the lovely publicists at Quercus, who knows what a fan girl I am, just sent me a copy of his newest standalone, which doesn't come out until March.  I can't wait to dig in!

3.  As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner—I've enjoyed several of Meissner's books, so I'm excited to read her newest.  The novel doesn't come out until February 2018, but there's an ARC winging its way to me even as I write this.  The book is about a couple who arrive in Philadelphia in 1918, excited to give their young daughters a bright new life in the city.  When Spanish influenza hits, their dreams are shattered, and they must find a way to endure a harsh new reality.  The novel sounds sad, but compelling.

4.  Reading People by Anne Bogel—I've mentioned this book before, but I still haven't gotten to it so it remains on my TBR list mountain mountain chain.  I was originally drawn to this title because I thought it had to do with bibliophiles.  Not so.  It's about personality.  I've always been intrigued by pop-psy, so I'm definitely up for a read of this one, which happens to be written by one of our own.  Bogel blogs about books at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

5.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—I try to re-read this holiday classic every Christmas.  It's timeless and inspiring.

6.  Far From the Tree by Robin Benway—Ever since experiencing the joys of adoption for myself, the subject has become a very tender one for me.  I'm always drawn to books about adoption, so this one has been on my TBR pile ever since it came out in October.  It's about what happens when a teen girl goes searching for her biological siblings. 

7.  The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth—I don't watch a lot of t.v., but I've recently become addicted to Call the Midwife, the heartfelt BBC drama based on Worth's memoirs.  It's a warm, funny, heartbreaking series that never fails to make me cry (which is why I only watch it when I'm alone).  I'm eager to read Worth's stories in her own words.

8.  My Sister's Bones by Nuala Ellwood—Sisters and secrets?  I'm all in.

9.  The Dark Intercept by Julia Keller—I've enjoyed Keller's Appalachian mystery series starring Bell Elkins, so I'm intrigued by her newest, a YA sci fi adventure.  It sounds epic!

10.  The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor—I've never read anything by Gaynor, but I'm intrigued by this back-and-forth-in-time novel about the Titanic.  I find books about the maritime tragedy endlessly fascinating.  

So, there you go.  What do you think of my list?  Have you read any of these books?  What else should I read before the year fades away?  What are you planning to read in the next month or so?  I'd really love to know, so please leave me a comment.  I'll gladly return the favor.  

Happy TTT!      

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

"Addictive tech is part of the mainstream in a way that additive substances never will be.  Abstinence is not an option" (9).

I don't know about the rest of you, but I see my dental hygienist to get book recommendations.  Teeth schmeeth!  We chat about what we're reading.  My hygienist ingests a lot of non-fiction, a genre I tend to avoid, so I'm always excited when she steers me toward intriguing, informational texts.  When she started telling me recently about Irresistible by NYU professor Adam Alter, I knew I had to read it.  I'm glad I did, too.  It's an utterly fascinating book that sheds a harsh, eye-opening light on the addictive power of modern tech.

Alter begins by defining behavioral addiction as different from alcoholism, overeating, drug abuse, etc.  Behavioral addictions, he says, "arise when a person can't resist a behavior, which despite addressing a deep psychological need in the short-term, produces significant harm in the long-term" (20).  He cites examples of people so obsessed with playing video games that they don't eat, sleep, or socialize off-line for days on end.  Others can't look away from their phones long enough to push their child on a swing or converse with their partner at a restaurant.  These obsessions are dangerous to the addict's health as well as to that of those around them in ways both physical (driving while texting, for example) and emotional (ignoring one's child or spouse).  Even more disturbing, Alter says, is that these devices, games, and apps are purposely engineered to be addictive.

As chilling as Alter's descriptions may be, he also offers a glimmer of hope.  He talks about successful treatments being used at recovery centers for behavioral addicts.  He also recommends setting limits on screen time, especially for young children, and encouraging them to engage in real-life interactions.  The best way to stop an addiction, of course, is never to start one.  To that end, Alter proposes monitoring the use of addictive technology—both in ourselves and in our children—very closely.  After all, he says, "There isn't a bright line between addicts and the rest of us.  We're all one product or experience away from developing our own addictions" (4).  

Although Alter discusses all kinds of scientific studies and terms, Irresistible is written in a conversational tone that makes it easy to read.  The topic is compelling, Alter's examples are spot-on, and his message of warning comes across loud and clear.  This is an important book, one that is both timely and life-altering.  You're definitely going to want to put down your iPhone and give it a read.

(Readalikes:  I don't usually read books like this, so nothing is coming to mind.  Ideas?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a few F-bombs, plus milder expletives) and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Worth the Wrestle from the generous folks at Deseret Book.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Lettie Louw has always felt different from her girlfriends, who are beautiful, flirtatious, and adept at attracting masculine attention.  Getting her heart broken as a teenager propels her to seek education, not love.  After medical school she returns to her small South African hometown to work in her father's clinic.  All around her, Lettie's former classmates are getting married and having children.  Love still eludes the young doctor, who throws herself into her career.  Fulfilled but still lonely, Lettie tries to ignore the aching in her heart, the longing for a blissful romance of her own.  

Marco Romanelli has suffered a broken heart of his own.  After risking everything to protect the Jewish woman he loved, being thrown into a Nazi concentration camp, and barely surviving with his life, he's still trying to recover his health.  When his brother invites him to leave their native Italy and join him in South Africa, Marco goes, hoping the warm, dry climate will help clear his vulnerable lungs.  The last thing he expects is to fall in love with his physician, an intriguing woman who doesn't recognize her own beauty and strength.  

As Lettie and Marco take tentative steps toward the kind of grand romance neither one of them ever expected to find, they encounter stumbling blocks big and small.  When a heartbreaking discovery threatens to tear their world apart, the couple will have to travel a crooked, unimaginable path that will take them in an unexpected direction.  Can their faith and love see them through?

It's hard to describe The Crooked Path by South African author Irma Joubert because, truly, the novel has no plot.  It tells a sweeping story that spans Lettie's lifetime, but it's an unfocused, episodic tale that plods along for nearly 400 pages without really going anywhere.  In trying to cover too much ground, it's unevenly paced, which makes it feel even longer.  I appreciate that the story is squeaky clean and uplifting without being preachy; still, the tome was a chore for me to read.  Maybe Joubert's prose was more impressive before being translated into English, but in the version I read, it's very passive, very flat, and very dull.  The characters are all (well, mostly) perfectly nice—they're also one-dimensional, boring, and pretty much interchangeable.  Overall, then, I just had a difficult time reading The Crooked Path.  While it comes to a satisfying conclusion, the read was not worth the effort for me.  Ah, well.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I'm not sure to what I can compare it.  Ideas?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of The Crooked Path from the generous folks at Thomas Nelson via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!

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(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Wonder by R.J. Palacio and Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Lida Ferezuk isn't Jewish, but that doesn't stop the Nazis from killing her parents and taking her and her younger sister captive.  Their crime?  The Ferezuks are Ukrainian.  According to the Germans, their country no longer exists.  They are now Russian and thus eligible to be put to work for the Nazis.  Even though Lida is only nine, she's forcibly separated from her sister and sent to a labor camp.  Knowing she must be useful in order to survive the upcoming ordeal, Lida lies about her age and vows to stay as strong as possible.

When Lida is ordered to work at a bomb factory assembling explosives for the Nazis, she sees an opportunity to finally fight back against a cruel and vicious enemy.  With eyes on her all the time, it's a huge risk that could cost her her life.  Already weak from starvation and wracked with fear, does she dare to put what little she has left on the line?  If her plan fails, she'll lose everything, including the chance to ever see her sister again.  

Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is a harrowing middle grade novel based on the real Ukrainian slave raids that occurred during World War II.  I didn't know much at all about this topic, so it was interesting to read about it.  Disturbing, but fascinating.  Lida makes for a sympathetic narrator.  It's impossible not to root for her as she tries to help those around her, looks for beauty in even the darkest places, and longs for a reunion with her beloved sister.  The story moves along swiftly, ensuring a quick, exciting read that's as informative as it is interesting.  While Making Bombs for Hitler didn't knock my socks off, I definitely found the novel a worthwhile read. 

Readalikes:  Reminds me of other middle grade WWII novels, including The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen; Number the Stars by Lois Lowry; and Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I borrowed a copy of Making Bombs for Hitler from my daughter's elementary school library.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

For hundreds of years, the women of Beckford have been dying in a part of the local river that's become known as the "Drowning Pool."  Whether the dead chose a watery grave for themselves or were forced off the craggy cliffs surrounding the spot is part of its mystery.  Nel Abbott has always been obsessed with the Drowning Pool, so much so that she's crafting a coffee table book about its history.  When Nel becomes the latest in a long string of difficult women to die in the Drowning Pool, no one's overly surprised.  After all, the photographer spent lots of time on the cliffs, trying to capture the perfect photo.  She could easily have lost her footing, accidentally plunging to her death.  The more evidence that mounts, however, the more it appears that something much more sinister happened to Nel Abbott ...

Nel's younger sister, Jules, arrives in Beckford—the town to which she swore she would never return—to try to understand Nel's death.  She's also charged with the care of her newly orphaned niece.  Already haunted by the recent suicide of her best friend, who killed herself in the Drowning Pool, 15-year-old Lena grows even more surly and withdrawn in the wake of Nel's death.  Jules, a lonely, childless social worker, has no idea how to comfort Lena, let alone herself.  

Jules is desperate to know what really happened to her sister; her inquiries, however, produce more questions than answers.  Someone in tiny Beckford knows the truth.  Everyone is hiding something, but no one's talking.  Can Jules figure out how Nel died?  Or will her pointed questions lead to her own corpse being dragged out of the murky depths of the Drowning Pool?

With its eerie Gothic overtones, Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, is an atmospheric novel that's as haunting as it is compelling.  It's more layered than The Girl On the Train, but somehow less original.  Still, the story kept me turning pages far into the night.  As engrossing as the tale is, it's also sad and depressing.  Overall, I found it intriguing but not nearly as mesmerizing as Hawkins' debut.  Even though I'm not bowled over by the author's sophomore effort, I'm still anxious to see what she does next.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of novels by Carol Goodman and of the Jess Tennant trilogy by Jane Casey)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language, violence, disturbing subject matter, and depictions of prescription drug abuse

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Into the Water from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

As the daughter of an illustrious duke, Lady Amanda Cumberland enjoys a life of wealth and privilege.  In London for her first Season, the 16-year-old should have only one thing on her mind—fun.  With two handsome, eligible lords courting her, her days have become infinitely more exciting, but still, something is missing.  Lady Amanda longs to do something real.  When she hears a stirring speech by Henry Hunt championing equal rights for all, his words sink deep into her soul.  She vows to do all she can, even if it must be done secretly, to help common Englishmen—and women—achieve the dreams of freedom and equality.  

Lord Nathaniel Halloway is known as the biggest rake in London.  It's a facade he's carefully cultivated to hide his true passion—aiding the lower classes in their fight for freedom.  His role in the campaign is bigger than anyone could guess; if the other members of the ton found out, the consequences would be unimaginable.  Lord Nathaniel must play his part in their glittering world of excess and abandon in order to divert high society's fickle attention away from his true activities. 

With her father pressuring her into choosing a husband, Lady Amanda must do some pretty play-acting of her own.  Both play their roles to near perfection.  Will their frivolous masks keep them from uniting—not just in a noble cause but in a love that could burn brighter than anything they've ever known?  

I've been known to enjoy a fluffy Regency romance now and then, but I like them even better when they've got some substance behind them.  The Nobleman's Daughter, a debut novel by Jen Geigle Johnson, offers up just that.  Using England's turn-of-the-century fight for equal rights as a backdrop, the author creates a tension-filled romance that keeps the reader enthralled as it winds down to its inevitable Happily Ever After.  The story's predictable; it's also exciting, fun, and engrossing.  Nothing overly original, but it's enjoyable overall.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Regency romances by Jennifer Moore)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Nobleman's Daughter from the generous folks at Covenant.  Thank you!

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(Image from Covenant)

 "Time, that precious commodity, is what all families want us to give them, and time is what our Savior wants us to give Him" (2).

With the above quote, author Christie Gardiner introduces, Our Family Christmas a low-stress guide that aims to help families make their holiday celebrations both more meaningful and more spiritual.  With a section devoted to each day from December 1st to the 25th, it's an advent calendar in book form.  Each day, Gardiner offers a scripture or quote plus a short story, thought, or anecdote that introduces a different Christmas-y topic.  Then, she gives suggestions for implementing the principle being taught (giving to the poor, sharing the light of Christ, understanding the symbols of the season, etc.) by suggesting fun, easy family activities (crafts, baking, games, etc.).  With busy families in mind, she divides the ideas into those that can be done in 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 5 minutes.  Each day also gets its own recipe, journaling prompts, and a Christmas hymn/carol.  

 

Interested in more opinions of Our Family Christmas?  Follow along on the book's blog tour by clicking on the links below: