Middle-Grade/Teen Review: Button Pusher

I noticed last weekend that one of my 2022 Reading Challenges, The Monthly Motif Challenge, had for its August theme, "Quick Lit," to read something short. Since I have been immersed in my own Big Book Summer Challenge, all I've read all month (and all summer) have been books with over 400 pages! So, I chose a shorter graphic novel from my shelves to squeeze in. I thoroughly enjoyed Button Pusher by Tyler Page and learned a lot from this intriguing graphic memoir about growing up with ADHD.

Tyler tells his childhood story mostly from the perspective of the age he was at the time, starting at just eight years old. Through a novel-like story, we see that Tyler is a happy, friendly kid who does well in school but is always in constant motion. He gets in trouble in school for fidgeting and not staying in his seat, he gives into impulses and does things that get him into big trouble, without understanding why, and even in the doctor's office, Tyler is moving nonstop, touching and playing with everything in sight. But Tyler is also a sweet kid who enjoys playing video games with friends, building with Legos, and who loves to draw. Visits to his pediatrician start him down the path to an ADHD diagnosis, which was relatively new at the time, and eventually to treatment with Ritalin, as it becomes clear that his behavior is disruptive both at school and at home. Tyler and his family have other issues, as well, though. Money is very tight, Tyler's parents fight constantly, and his dad often loses his temper and screams, hits things, and spanks Tyler. Things get so bad that Tyler starts to spend most of his time either in his room, drawing, or at friends' houses. The story follows Tyler and his family all the way from elementary school to middle school to high school. It ends as Tyler heads off to college to start a new chapter of his life ... though he points out on that last page that his hardest challenges with ADHD were still ahead of him.

Sample page from Button Pusher

On its surface, this is a very enjoyable, beautifully-drawn graphic story of childhood and adolescence, told from a boy's perspective. But there is also so much emotional depth to this memoir, plus fascinating information about ADHD. The colorful panels depicting Tyler's story are interspersed with copies of notes from his pediatrician and a few brief sections of informational graphics, explaining the science behind ADHD, Ritalin, labels, and other related topics. It's the perfect combination of entertainment and education, and I learned a lot while enjoying the story. It actually made me think back to my own childhood classmates and perhaps better understand certain behaviors from them. I'm sure back in my day, some kids (especially boys) were labeled trouble-makers and written off at a young age when they probably had ADHD. The age recommendations from the publisher say 10-14 years old, but I think any kids or teens who have ADHD or know someone who does (probably most kids in school) would benefit from reading this enjoyable book. I hope there's a sequel about his college years!

245 pages, First Second 

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Monthly Motif - Quick Lit

Nonfiction Reader Challenge - Medical Memoir

Diversity Challenge (August mini-challenge: mental health)

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

  

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

   
  

Or you can order Button Pusher from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 8/29! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

As expected, last weekend's family gathering here knocked me out for a bit, due to my chronic illness. It's what those of us with ME/CFS (an immune disorder) call a "crash," when doing too much leads to a sudden worsening of ... well, everything. The first few days of my week were very low-key, spent in the recliner and on the couch, recovering. Next time, I'll listen to my body, I swear! Hey, it's only been 20 years--I'm a slow learner. By Thursday, I was starting to feel better and was able to get out and about a bit, though I was still taking it easy.

We had a nicely balanced weekend. Friday evening, our oldest and closest friends came over for a take-out dinner (no work!). We normally get together frequently, but between our funeral and travels and their travels and a wedding, we hadn't seen them since June! It was great to catch up and hear about their summer and enjoy some delicious food with no cooking required.

Our friends & my husband camping circa 1989

Saturday, we went out shopping for a new oven, which is desperately needed. The problem is that our old one, which came with the house (probably built about 35 years ago) is built into the wall and is much smaller than most ovens on the market right now. So, we soon we realized we can't just shop for this at Home Depot or a big appliance store, but we think our local appliance company--who've done all our repairs since we moved in 28 years ago--can help us, but they're not open on weekends.

It wasn't a wasted trip, though, because on the way home, we passed a furniture store we've been meaning to check out. In about 15 minutes, we found a new sofa and loveseat that we really like for our living room! The furniture in there now is 35 years old--it was the stuff I bought right after college for my first apartment. As you can imagine, it's a bit dated and beginning to show some wear. We don't use our living room all that much, but it's time for a change!

My living room furniture when it was brand-new, 1987!
And who are those young, skinny people??

And Sunday was a very productive day at home. I had SO many things that have been on my to-do list for ages, and I just zoomed through one after another. I was worn out by afternoon, but it felt so good to get some things done finally! And I did enjoy some down time reading on our porch before dinner.

Just one new book-related video on my YouTube channel last week:

Friday Reads 8-26-22 - My last books for Big Book Summer!

And here's what we've all been reading this week:

I finished Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. It's two novellas and several short stories that are all interconnected, taking place from 1960 to 1999. Each stands on its own but also has connecting threads to the others, like characters from one story that pop up in another. The first part, a novella, is about 11-year-old Bobby in 1960, and it showcases King's incredible talent in writing from a kid's perspective. It's mostly set in the real world (though there is a thread of something vaguely supernatural in a couple of places). I's not horror, but there are some real-world horrors that Bobby and his friends and family must deal with. It has so much emotional depth (including loads of literary references, as Bobby begins reading "adult" books that summer) and is gripping, moving, and engrossing. That guy can write. I was sorry to finish the book (though it's a satisfying conclusion) and am missing the characters--a sure sign of an excellent novel!

 

Since I finished the King novel so fast, I had time to fit in one more Big Book! I am reading Sycamore Row by John Grisham. At this point in Big Book Summer (which ends on September 5), I like to choose cross-over books that also fit with the R.I.P. Challenge (to read darker books in the fall) that begins September 1. I haven't read a Grisham novel in years, but this one has already pulled me right in. It's set in the same town as his first novel, A Time to Kill, and focuses on the lawyer from that novel, Jake Brigance, and the town of Clanton, Mississippi. This time, a wealthy man who is dying of cancer has committed suicide. The day before, he handwrote a new will and mailed it to Jake, cutting out his ex-wives and horrible adult children and leaving everything to his Black housekeeper, Lettie. This sets off a massive war between the family and Lettie, with Jake in the middle and the whole town watching (and gossiping). It's already great--gripping and intriguing.

 

I am also squeezing one non-Big Book into the last days of August: Button Pusher by Tyler Page. While updating my 2022 Reading Challenges, I noticed that the Monthly Motif category was a short book or quick read. Well, of course, I've been reading all Big Books! So, I pulled this middle-grade/teen graphic novel off my shelf. It's a memoir about the author's struggles with ADHD, from elementary school through high school. I'm almost finished with it already, and it's been excellent so far and very enlightening.

 

I am still listening to my last audiobook for Big Book Summer, The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. This is also a cross-over book to finish up Big Book Summer and kick off the R.I.P. Challenge. This is book 17 in her Inspector Gamache series. I enjoy this mystery series set in Quebec but have not been reading them in order. I read book 1, Still Life, and then skipped to #15, A Better Man and now this one. This novel deals with a fictional controversial woman in Canada who is proposing a shocking solution to some of the world's problems (and one that affects Gamache's family personally). When she comes to a small university near Three Pines to speak, violence breaks out, and she is almost shot. Then, a murder occurs near her. The story deals both with her theories and the controversy, as well as Gamache's team's investigation of the crimes. It's very thoughtful as well as suspenseful.

 

My husband, Ken, is almost finished with The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, one of my favorite books from Booktopia this year (my review at the link). This is a twisty, suspenseful mystery about the disappearance of a $10 million violin. What's great about this novel is that there's a mystery, but it also incorporates family drama, history, romance, and an inside look at racism through the centuries. It's an outstanding novel. He's enjoying it.

 

Our son, 28, finished re-reading The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, book one in The Burning series and then immediately read book 2, The Fires of Vengeance. Now, he is rereading Charmcaster, book three of the Spellslinger series by Sebastien de Castell to prepare for reading books four and five! He loves that series--I first heard about from Beth Fish Reads blog and have been gifting him the books!

Last week's blog posts:

Fiction Review: The Overstory by Richard Powers - unique, powerful, engrossing story of connections

Teen/YA Review: Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian - engaging, emotionally complex coming-of-age story set in 1989 New York

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.  

What are you and your family reading this week?

Teen/YA Review: Like a Love Story

Searching for my next audio for Big Book Summer 2022 last month, I wanted something a bit different. Perusing my extensive audio review backlog, I came across a YA novel, Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian. It turned out to be perfect: an engaging, emotionally complex coming-of-age story set in 1989 New York.

New York City in the 80's was, of course, one of the centers of the AIDS epidemic, devastating the gay population there and elsewhere in the U.S., and also one of the centers for AIDS acitvism, specifically Act Up. This novel focuses on three teens in New York at that time who are all affected by the AIDS crisis. Art is an out and proud gay teen, even though he's the only one in his high school. He likes to dress flamboyantly and comes to school on the first day of the year with his hair dyed lavender and cut into a Mohawk. Reza, on the other hand, is very quiet and reserved. He is also gay, but he has barely even admitted that to himself. His family (including a new stepfather and stepbrother) have just moved to New York, by way of Toronto and originally from Iran. Not only does his culture not acknowledge homosexuality, but what he sees of the AIDS crisis in New York terrifies him. He thinks that being gay would be a death sentence, so he is determined to try not to be. Art's best friend, Judy, has a gay uncle named Stephen, who is dying of AIDS and already lost his beloved partner to the devastating disease. Both Art and Judy are involved with him in Act Up. On the first day in his new school, Reza meets Art and Judy and immediately likes them both and feels attracted to Art. But Judy has a crush on Reza, and he is determined to ignore his "gay feelings." The three friends must somehow negotiate this difficult year, amid fear, hurt feelings, broken hearts, and changing circumstances.

A coming-of-age story at its heart, this novel is also so much more than that. That time and place provide a very specific--and frightening--backdrop to growing up, especially for two gay boys and the girl that cares about them (and her uncle). This is a love story but also a story of friendship, longing, identity, and cultural changes happening in the world around them. In fact, they become a part of those changes, as Art and Reza both deal with the negative responses from their families, their classmates, and society as a whole. The novel is beautifully written and engrossing, and it pulled me right into the story from the start and made me care deeply about these characters and their fates. The chapters alternate between the perspectives of the three teens, as well as Stephen. The audio was very well-done, with multiple narrators (check out the sample below). For both straight and queer teens today, I think the historical background of this novel will be very enlightening and will help them to understand the sacrifices and hard work that came before. Like a Love Story is a compelling, beautiful, and original story of love, friendship, and change. (And isn't that cover perfect?)

432 pages, Balzer + Bray

HarperAudio

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 

Diversity Reading Challenge

Big Book Summer Challenge

 

 

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the wonderful audiobook here, from the first chapter and Reza's perspective, and/or download it from Audible.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

    

 

Or you can order Like a Love Story from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Fiction Review: The Overstory

Since its release in 2018, I have been hearing rave reviews of The Overstory by Richard Powers, which won the Pulitzer Prize, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and was on lots of Top 10 lists that year. Many of my friends told me what an amazing book it was, as well. It was on my stack for Big Book Summer 2021, but I never got to it. Thankfully, I made it a priority this year, for Big Book Summer 2022, because this novel about trees (and people) is a powerful, engrossing story that is utterly original.

The book is cleverly structured in four parts: Roots, Trunk, Crown, and Seeds. Roots is structured as a series of separate short stories. Each story focuses on a person or family and a tree or trees that are somehow connected to their lives. For instance, the first story is about a Norwegian immigrant in 1800's New York. He proposes to his future wife, an Irish immigrant, one evening while they are picking chestnuts in what was then a time of celebration in a region filled with chestnut trees. After marriage, they move to Iowa, buy five acres of land for a farm, and the man plants some of the leftover chestnuts. One grows into a giant chestnut tree, next to their farmhouse. Over the next 150 years or so, the tree grows (later, a unique sight after all the chestnuts on the East Coast die), as their family grows. Generations grow up, as the tree grows up, and a unique way of documenting the tree's growth is carried on through the family, until Nick, an artist and the great-great-great grandson of the homesteader is left to remember the tree's legacy.

That's just a brief outline of the first story in Roots. There are seven others, each focusing on a person or family somewhere in the U.S. (though sometimes with roots elsewhere) and the tree(s) that affected their lives. Each story is accompanied by a drawing of a branch of the tree. In Part 2, Trunk, the eight people highlighted in Roots, eventually come together on the West Coast, on a mutual mission to save some of our nation's oldest trees from being clear-cut. They are up against formidable forces in their fight, and each person carries his or her own roots, family, memories, and reasons why trees are important. In Crown, things fall apart, and the group separates, each devastated and coping in his or her own way to a tragedy that occurred. At this stage in the novel, they--and the reader--begin to feel that the goal of saving the trees (and the urgency to do so) are hopeless. However, in Seeds, there are glimmers of hope, as different characters each do their own part, and the trees themselves show some resilience.

That long description barely begins to capture the real essence of this book. It's magical, the way these people come together and find each other, in much the same way that trees connect with each other, communicate, and depend on each other. One character in the novel, Patricia Westerford, a hearing-impaired botanist who got her love of nature from her father, studies trees, writes books, and blows away old thinking about forests with ground-breaking research. Her passages provide some facts and science but in a beautiful, engaging way that is intricately connected with her life. It's a book about trees but also about people and mostly about the connections between both. This special novel uniquely combines science, spirituality, relationships, deep characterizations, and even suspense into a beautifully written and completely original story. This is one that will stick with me for a long time.

502 pages, W.W. Norton & Company

Recorded Books

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

 

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Alphabet Soup - O

Diversity Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Oregon

Big Book Summer Challenge

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, from the prologue and the beginning of the first story, about the chestnut, and/or download it from Audible.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

 

Or you can order The Overstory from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 8/22! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Very busy week for me last week, with lots of appointments and things going on. Plus, it was somewhat up and down for me physically, due to a medication change that has my system a bit off balance. I'm still waiting for things to stabilize. 

We had a fun (though exhausting for me!) weekend. Our older son and his girlfriend came to visit to celebrate his 28th birthday, and my mom and her husband came down, too. Our younger son's girlfriend even came home from grad school, where she'd just moved days earlier, for the occasion! It was nice to have us all together.

All Together! (I'm taking the photo)

New videos last week:

Friday Reads 8-19-22 - brief recap of what I am currently reading (last of my Big Books)

Chronic Illness Vlog: Nature, Rest, Food & Meds - one of my vlogs that provides a peek into my daily life with chronic illness.

 

And here's what we've all been reading this past week:

 

I am still reading Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. This was one of dozens of King (and Dean Koontz) novels that we inherited from my dad. My husband read this one last year for Big Book Summer and loved it, so I've been looking forward to it. It's two novellas and several short stories that are all interconnected. Each stands on its own but also have connecting threads to the others, like characters from one story that pop up in another. The first part, a novella, is about 11-year-old Bobby in 1960, and it showcases King's incredible talent in writing from a kid's perspective. It's mostly set in the real world (though there is a thread of something vaguely supernatural running through it) and while it's not horror in the traditional sense, there are some real-world horrors that Bobby and his friends and family must deal with. It has so much emotional depth (including loads of literary references, as Bobby begins reading "adult" books that summer) and is gripping, moving, and engrossing. I've been staying up much too late reading! That guy can write. I'm now finished with the two novellas--both excellent--and am into the first short story.

 

I am listening to my last audiobook for Big Book Summer, The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. This will be a cross-over book (and Hearts in Atlantis, too) to finish up Big Book Summer and kick off the R.I.P. Challenge in September! This is book 17 in her Inspector Gamache series. I enjoy this mystery series set in Quebec but have not been reading them in order. I read book 1, Still Life, and then skipped to #15, A Better Man and now this one. This novel deals with a fictional controversial woman in Canada who is proposing a shocking solution to some of the world's problems (and one that affects Gamache's family personally). When she comes to a small university near Three Pines to speak, violence breaks out, and she is almost shot. So far, the story deals both with her theories and the controversy, as well as Gamache's team's assignment to protect her and investigate the violence at her speech.

My husband, Ken, finished Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger, the first book in his mystery series that features P.I. Cork O'Connor, former sheriff of Aurora, MN. He enjoyed it and said he definitely wants to read more of the series. Now, he's moved onto The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, one of my favorite books from Booktopia this year (my review at the link). This is a twisty, suspenseful mystery about the disappearance of a $10 million violin. What's great about this novel is that there's a mystery, but it also incorporates family drama, history, romance, and an inside look at racism through the centuries. It's an outstanding novel--I know he'll like it.

 

Our son, 28, finished reading Blood of a Fallen God, book one of the Forgemaster Cycle series by Joshua C. Cook. Now, he is re-reading The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, book one in The Burning series. He loved this book and is re-reading to get ready to read book 2, which his girlfriend gave him for his birthday.

Last week's blog posts:

Fiction Review: Lucky Turtle by Bill Roorbach - I loved this beautiful, moving story of love and friendship, set against a backdrop of nature.

Fiction Review: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd - a mystery about maps with a bit of magic

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.  

What are you and your family reading this week?

Fiction Review: The Cartographers

Three years ago, as part of my Big Book Summer 2019, I listened to The Book of M, a unique post-apocalyptic novel from a debut author, Peng Shepherd. I enjoyed that first book very much, so I was looking forward to reading her latest novel, The Cartographers. It turned out to be another unique story, combining mystery, history, and fantasy.

Nell Young is a cartographer (map specialist), just like her famous father, Dr. Daniel Young. The two of them used to work together at the New York Public Library's Map Division, which Nell considered her ideal job. In an effort to impress her father and gain his respect, she searched through a box of old, uncatalogued maps in the library, hoping to find something valuable, a new discovery. Instead, she found an old 1930 gas station map, still folded as if it came right from someone's glove compartment. Puzzled, she showed her father the map and was stunned by his response. He reacted harshly, taking the map from her, yelling at her angrily, and then getting her fired from the job she loved. That was seven years ago, and Nell and her father haven't spoken since. Now, she is at work at a small map company in the city when she gets a phone call from an old colleague at the NYPL that her father has died at his desk. She rushes over there, for the first time in seven years. The police soon begin to suspect some sort of foul play. The next day, Nell returns to her father's office and looks through his desk. Hidden in a compartment only she and he knew about is that very same cheap roadmap that caused the horrible rift between them. Why on earth would her father have kept it all these year? And why would he have hidden it? Nell brings it home and begins looking into it, checking online discussion boards and databases that map collectors use. It seems that all copies of this particular roadmap of New York State have been destroyed, and people all over the world are searching for a copy, offering to pay astounding amounts. As Nell tries to figure out what makes this ordinary map so special, her inquiries catch the attention of some dangerous people. She slowly, with the help of a friend, begins to unravel the map's secrets, but it's clear that her own life is at risk.

As with Shepherd's first novel, there is a very unique premise at the heart of this original story. It's a mystery, loaded with suspense and tension, but there is also a thread of magic throughout the story, as Nell and her friend try to unravel the map's secrets. Along the way, Nell ends up learning a lot about her own family's history and some long-held secrets, so it is a personal journey as well. The narrative moves back and forth between different people, each helping to uncover more of Nell's and the map's past. The audio book was very well done, with multiple narrators for the characters' chapters, providing a radio drama kind of experience. I enjoyed listening to this engrossing, gripping, and very unique novel.

400 pages, William Morrow

HarperAudio

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Diversity Challenge

Big Book Summer Challenge
 

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, as Nell describes her current job and her background, and/or download it from Audible.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

     

 

Or you can order The Cartographers from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Fiction Review: Lucky Turtle

I talked a lot this spring about Booktopia, a unique annual event held in Vermont every May that brings authors and readers together. While I read most of the Booktopia selections before the event, so I could discuss them there, one book, Lucky Turtle by Bill Roorbach, was just being released that week. So, I bought a copy at Northshire Bookstore, where Booktopia is held, and saved it for Big Book Summer. I read it last month and absolutely loved this moving, delightful story of love and friendship, set against the beauty of nature.

Sixteen-year-old Cindra gets into some big trouble in her hometown in Massachusetts. She goes along with her older boyfriend and his brother on a revenge mission, and the three of them get arrested for theft and assault. The boys get sent to prison and juvie, but since this is Cindra's first offense, she's a good student, and her guidance counselor speaks on her behalf, the judge at her hearing sentences her to two years at Camp Challenge, a remote reform camp for girls in the Montana wilderness. Soon after, Cindra is shipped off to Montana and emerges into another world. Montana is rugged but beautiful, and Cindra has always enjoyed nature. It's a big adjustment, though, and she's not allowed to communicate at all with her parents. Those first weeks are rough for Cindra, though she begins to get to know some of the other girls. She also discovers that there are abuses occurring at the camp and does her best to speak out, though it doesn't go well. There's a handsome, quiet young man working there named Lucky, and rumors about him abound among the girls, including one rumor that he's mute. He drives Cindra to town for laundry duty, and on the way back, Cindra finds out that Lucky is not mute, but his first words to her are quite startling.

And that's all I'm going to tell you about the plot of this unique novel; all of that happens in the first chapters. Cindra's and Lucky's stories unwind across decades in unexpected ways, and this is one of those novels best experienced as it happens. In fact, I think the description of the book on the jacket (which, thankfully, I didn't read until I was more than halfway through the book) is loaded with spoilers, and I recommend avoiding it. This is a novel about love, friendship, and motherhood, but it is all set against a gorgeous natural backdrop. In fact, nature plays a huge role in the characters' lives, even when they are living in cities and not in Montana. The characters themselves are fully developed, interesting, and likable. Lucky's history and background remain a mystery for much of the book, providing one of the many enticing secrets in this story. It is loaded with adventure and suspense but also romance, longing, and joy. Reading this novel was a delightful experience that I never wanted to end; I still miss the characters.

404 pages, Algonquin

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Monthly Motif Challenge - Summer Lovin' - Having a Blast

Diversity Challenge 

Literary Escapes Challenge - Montana

Big Book Summer Challenge

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, from the start of the novel as Cindra (read by Brittany Pressley) narrates, and/or download it from Audible.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

Or you can order Lucky Turtle from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 8/15! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Last week was a productive one because I had most of the week to myself, at home. Since the pandemic started, my husband's been working from home. While I love him very much and enjoy his company, I have missed the quiet solitude of my work days during the week! He went into the office several days last week, and it was nice to have that quiet time to myself again. I got a lot done and finally feel like I'm starting to catch up from the funeral, etc. plus move forward on some projects.

The big news here is that we finally came out of those endless heat waves! It's been almost nonstop temperatures in the 90's with high humidity all summer, which makes it impossible for me to enjoy the outdoors (which is really important to me). Around Thursday last week, the temperatures dropped into the 70's and low 80's, and the humidity came down. I was finally able to spend some time outside, walk a bit, and make a tiny dent in weeding our overgrown jungles that used to be gardens. I even recorded my weekly reading video outside!

We had a busy weekend, with a good mix of fun and work. We took advantage of the perfect weather Saturday and had breakfast outside at our favorite local cafe, then took a short hike on a trail we'd never walked before. It ran along one of the many beautiful creeks in our area. Very nice. We did our usual Saturday evening take-out (I know, we live wild lives), and the entire day was relaxing. 

Beautiful summer day by the creek

We're out!

Sunday, we finally tackled some long overdue cleaning. I can't do much because of my chronic illness, so I usually handle the dusting (and even that was a lot for me--I'm pretty worn out today!). Usually, my husband has to do all the rest--cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, washing floors--but yesterday, our son was home, so he pitched in, too. We're trying to get the house in shape for visitors next weekend: our son with his girlfriend for his birthday and my mom and her husband. 

I uploaded two new reading videos last week:

July Reading Wrap-up - quick overviews of the four Big Books I finished last month.

Friday Reads and Trees! 8-12-22 - my usual weekly catch-up, recorded outside, plus some nature video, inspired by The Overstory

And here's what we're all reading this week:

I did finally finish The Overstory by Richard Powers; it took longer than I expected but was well worth the time! It won the Pulitzer Prize, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and was on many Top 10 lists in 2018. The first part is a series of separate but connected stories about people and families. In each story, there is a tree or trees that grow and develop along with the people or otherwise deeply affect their lives. It all comes together beautifully in the second half of the book, as many of the characters in the first part meet, united by a common purpose of saving trees. It's wholly original, both beautiful and devastating, and a very powerful read.

 

Now, I am reading my last print book for the #BigBookSummer Challenge, Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. This was one of dozens of King (and Dean Koontz) novels that we inherited from my dad. My husband read this one last year for Big Book Summer and loved it, so I've been looking forward to it. It's a novella and several short stories that are all interconnected, set in the same town and about the same people, over time. The first part, the novella, is about 11-year-old Bobby in 1960, and it showcases King's incredible talent in writing from a kid's perspective. It's mostly set in the real world (though there is a thread of something vaguely supernatural running through it) and while it's not horror in the traditional sense, there are some real-world horrors that Bobby and his friends and family must deal with. It has so much emotional depth and is gripping, moving, and engrossing. I've been staying up much too late reading! That guy can write.

I also finished Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian on audio. This YA novel is set in 1989 in New York City in the midst of the AIDS crisis and follows several teens. Art is a very out gay boy who is flamboyant and open. Reza is a recent immigrant from Iran, by way of Canada, who is very closeted, in part due to his family's culture and in part due to a fear of AIDS. Judy is a teen girl who is Art's best friend, is very close to her gay uncle, Stephen, and has a crush on Reza (not knowing, of course, that he's gay). It's a wonderful novel, with compelling characters and a unique and intriguing coming-of-age story.

 

I haven't started my next audio book yet because I need to set up my new iPod (yes, I still use an iPod!). But I've chosen my next audio (and last one for Big Book Summer): The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. This will be a cross-over book (and Hearts in Atlantis, too) to finish up Big Book Summer and kick off the R.I.P. Challenge in September! This is book 17 in her Inspector Gamache series. I enjoy this mystery series set in Quebec but have not been reading them in order. I read book 1, Still Life, and then skipped to #15, A Better Man, and now this one. I hope to start it today.

 

My husband, Ken, is reading another Father's Day gift, Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger. I read my first Krueger novel in the spring, This Tender Land, and was blown away by its beautiful writing, gripping plot, and wonderful characters. Iron Lake is the first book, published back in 1998, in his mystery series that features P.I. Cork O'Connor, former sheriff of Aurora, MN. He's enjoying it so far and says he definitely wants to read more of the series.

 

Our son, 27 (not for long!), finished reading Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe, book one of the Arcane Ascension series and then moved onto book 2, On the Shoulders of Titans He's enjoying that series. Now, he is halfway through Blood of a Fallen God, book one of the Forgemaster Cycle series by Joshua C. Cook. I can't wait to see my son this weekend!

Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: The Bear - one of our favorite shows this summer - outstanding!

Fiction Review: Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane - gripping psychological suspense

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.  

What are you and your family reading this week?