Fiction Reviews: House in the Cerulean Sea & Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Since its publication in 2020, I've heard nothing but rave reviews of The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, but since I rarely read fantasy, I still hadn't read it (though I did enjoy Klune's Under the Whispering Door). When I heard that a sequel was being published, I quickly downloaded and listened to the audio of the original book and then listened to the new one, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I was enchanted by both heartwarming books, with their original premises, thought-provoking topics, delightful humor, and a touch of suspense.

In The House in the Cerulean Sea, a man named Linus Baker takes his job very seriously. He is a case worker for The Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) and travels around to various orphanages and schools run by the department, to assess whether the children in their charge are being well cared for. One day, his careful routine is upended when he is summoned by Extremely Upper Management. They give him a highly classified assignment: to travel to

Marsyas Island and assess an unusual home where six especially dangerous magical children reside. The managers are clearly concerned about the safety of the rest of the world, but Linus is focused on the well-being of the children, as he always is. He arrives on the very remote Marsyas Island to its usual beautiful, tropical weather and is met by the caretaker of the home and the children, Arthur Parnussus. He introduces Linus to the very unusual children: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentified green blob with eye stalks, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. As Linus stays with them over the course of a month, he gets to know each of them--and Arthur--very well. Though Arthur's methods seem unorthodox (and Linus can quote the DICOMY rules and regulations), he begins to realize what a special place Marsyas is and what a special family Arthur has created here.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea picks up right where the first novel ends (no spoilers!), carrying on with the stories of Arthur, the children, and Linus. A short prologue is included about Arthur's first arrival back on the island, before he created the home. In the present day, Arthur has been invited to give testimony to the Council of Utmost Importance about his own time as a child under DICOMY's "care" and the abuses he suffered. As you might expect, things do not go quite as Arthur had hoped they would. Nevertheless, he is also in the city to pick up a new child to join their family, a yeti named David. Soon, the unusual family on Marsyas Island is fighting to hold onto the happy, peaceful life they have made for themselves.

The new sequel is just as delightful as the original novel. There is a bit more tension and suspense here, as Arthur and the children face potential perils, but the warmth and marvelous sense of humor remain. If you read The House in the Cerulean Sea in print, I highly recommend you give the audio a try for the sequel. Both audio books are such an absolute pleasure to listen to! I was just about to tell you that they each feature a full cast of talented narrators, but I was shocked to just discover it's only one person, professional actor Daniel Henning. I can't believe he did it all by himself because he's given each of the children their own unique voice. Much of the humor in the novels comes from the things the children say and observe, and hearing them say these things on audio is so much fun! I often laughed out loud (while walking, cooking, brushing my teeth). At the same time, both books are warm and tender, featuring beautiful, loving relationships that embrace diversity. These novels are full of hope and joy, and I loved living in this world for a while.

[NOTE: If you have not yet read the first book, then avoid reading the description of the sequel online or on the jacket; it's full of spoilers of the first book!]

The House in the Cerulean Sea - 416 pages, Tor 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea - 416 pages, Tor

Macmillan Audio

These books fit in the following 2024 Reading Challenges:

 

Diversity Reading Challenge

Big Book Summer Challenge
 

Disclosure: I received the sequel 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.

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible:

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio samples here, too):

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Print and e-book from Amazon:

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

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!

 

Books for Christmas!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I've been on a bit of a break while juggling all the Christmas preparations and festivities, but I wanted to share with you the books that we gave and received this Christmas. We are a reading family! I have photos and a short video below.   

Here are the books (and one DVD set for camping) I gave to my husband:

 

And the hefty books we gave to our fantasy-loving oldest son (youngest son doesn't enjoy reading; I'd question his genetics, but he looks just like me!):

 

And I also picked out books for my mother, based on my own favorite books and authors:

• Kindred by Octavia Butler (my review at the link)
  
• The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger (I haven't read this one yet, but I wasn't sure if my mom had already read This Tender Land and Ordinary Grace - she hadn't, so those could be future gifts! This one takes place in the 1950's, so she was excited about that.)

 My mother's husband's birthday is on Christmas Day (his sister's, too!), so for him, I picked out:

• River of the Gods by Candice Millard (I gave him River of Doubt by Millard years ago, and he enjoyed that very much.)

And, finally, my own stack from my family! This year, rather than list specific books (they like a list from me since they don't always know what I've already read), I gave them a list of authors I have never tried before and said "anything from any of these authors." Look at all the great books I received from my family:

 

I can't wait to dive into all of these! Here is a short video, where I briefly talk about each of the books I received:

 

So, that's us!

Did YOU get any books as gifts this holiday season?

What are you looking forward to reading? 

Middle-Grade Review: Bea Wolf

I was intrigued by the title and cover of middle-grade graphic novel Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, illustrated by Boulet, and I absolutely loved this smart, clever, funny riff on the Old English classic Beowulf.

The graphic novel begins with a short history lesson, about a long succession of child kings (and queens), going back generations, ruling benevolently over the other kids in the suburban neighborhood, ensuring there was plenty of candy, toys, and fun for all:

"Listen to the lives of the long-ago kids, the world-fighters,
the parent-unminding kids, the improper, the politeness-proof,
the unbowed bully-crushers,
the bedtime-breakers, the raspberry-blowers,
fighters of fun-killers, fearing nothing, fated for fame."

We learn about each of these renowned child leaders, including the famed Carl, who eventually succumbed to teendom: "Lament not his low fate. Time lingers for no kid." Finally, we get to the current kid king, Roger:

"Kids who knew the crown-line of Carl flocked to their cause.
So that by the reign of Roger, so rich was the candy cache,
so much bully-gold was berthed, so well-betoyed were boy and girl,
that Roger, game-giver and toy-sharer,
turned his thoughts to treehouses."

Roger and the other kids build an amazing treehouse, which comes to be known as Treeheart and provides a place for raucous, unfettered, un-chaperoned kid fun. But Mr. Grindle watches all this unbridled chaotic joy from his yard:

"He would stride the starless dark, staring over hedge, stirring his temper,
harrowing his hearing, hating the gum-smacking, the blowing of bubbles,
the butt-jokes and belching laughter, the bursting of bang snaps,
the vast-volumed video games of no educational value whatsoever!"

Mr. Grindle, "the fun-grinder, the grim-faced joy-gobbler," won't stand for such unproductive, noisy activity, and he attacks Treeheart, with his cleaning supplies and educational materials. Things become sad and hopeless for the kids for a while, until Bea Wolf, a five-year-old cousin of Carl, who lives upriver in Heidi's domain, comes to save them.

I just had to include several quotes from this book because the text is so delightfully clever and fun! Every page is like that, as the author mimics the cadence, rhyming, and alliteration of the original Beowulf. I never read the epic poem myself (so you don't need to know it to appreciate this wonderful book), but I remembered my son studying it in Brit Lit, and I looked it up while reading this graphic novel to further enhance my enjoyment. I knew about Beowulf and Grindle, but Weinersmith also takes some other character names from the original, like King Hrothgar (Roger), as well as the general storyline. But the writing is only half of the fun here! The fabulous illustrations are just as enchanting, and I often took my time to reread the text and enjoy the pictures before turning the page.

When my sons were young, they would have loved this joyful, witty, ingenious book! I'm sure we would have read and reread it, as they said, "again!" and I can just see them poring over each detailed illustration intensely. This is the best kind of book for kids--the kind that adults will love, too.

208 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Diversity Reading Challenge
R.I.P. Challenge

 

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!

    
  

Middle-Grade Review: The Midnight Children

For Middle-Grade March, I listened to four middle-grade audio books (check out my first two reviews here and the third review here), and enjoyed them all.

I'm a big fan of Dan Gemeinhart and especially loved his middle-grade novels, The Honest Truth and The Remarkable Story of Coyote Sunrise. In The Midnight Children, Gemeinhart again creates an engaging story with great characters in unusual circumstances. Ravani Foster lives in Slaughterville with his mom and dad and is lonely. He spends his summer days delivering town newspapers, taking his dad's lunch to the slaughterhouse at noon, and trying to dodge the nasty bullies who cruelly pick on him. One night, unable to sleep, Ravani looks out his bedroom window at midnight and sees a group of seven children of varying ages get out of a truck and carry their suitcases into the abandoned house across the street. With the help of his excellent frog-catching skills, he gets to know these new kids in the neighborhood and becomes good friends with a girl his age named Virginia. But the kids have some deep and dangerous secrets. Will they trust Ravani enough to take him into their confidence?

This is a unique story that includes some light elements of magic, though it is set in the real world and focuses on real-world problems. The setting is also unique, in this town that is defined by its only industry, a slaughterhouse. The novel does not shy away from the realities of that industry! Ravani and Virginia (and the other kids) are wonderful characters that I was rooting for. It's a story about friendship and found family, with a happy ending for all of the characters, including many of the people in town. I very much enjoyed this original story that reminded me of Kate DiCamillo's novels (as well as Gemeinhart's other books).

352 pages, Henry Holt & Co.

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

Alphabet Soup Challenge - M

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the excellent audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. In this sample, Ravani watches the children appear in the middle of the night.

 

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!       
  

Disclosure: I received these books 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.

Fiction Review: The Witches of Moonshyne Manor

I am a huge fan of Bianca Marais and loved her first two novels, Hum If You Don't Know the Words (one of my Top 10 of all time!) and If You Want to Make God Laugh. Those were both historical fiction, family/friendship dramas with a good sense of humor, set in South Africa during and just after apartheid. Her third novel, newly released, The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is a complete departure for her, but her excellent writing is here, along with her insights and sense of humor. It's the story of six octogenarian witches trying to save their old manor house and land.

As the novel opens, Ursula wakes with an ominous feeling. Checking all of her usual tools of foretelling the future--tarot cards, palms, and her crystal ball--she sees nothing but disaster ahead. Soon after, an angry mob of men, armed with a wrecking ball instead of torches and pitchforks, arrives at their old manor house, threatening to knock it down. Queenie, the mechanical genius and inventor of the group, admits to the rest of the witches that they've fallen way behind in their mortgage payments. They need an enormous sum of money to save their manor, their distillery, and the beloved forest surrounding them ... and they only have a week to pay. Ivy, another of the witches, has a talent for plants, and Jezebel has unusual sexual talents, while Tabitha is the animal specialist among them. But Tabitha is dead, and her ghost, who can not leave the manor, speaks through her familiar, a crow named Widget. What would happen to Tabitha if the sisterhood had to leave the manor? They are all counting on Ruby, who's been in prison for 30 years, to save them. Ruby is being released in two days and apparently knows some sort of secret that can save them and their home. She is gender-fluid, in the most literal sense of the term, and can morph from male to female and back again. But whatever sent Ruby to prison 30 years ago caused a rift (and Tabby's death). Ruby refused to see any of them when they visited, so will she be willing to save them now? Luckily, given their advanced ages, they have one more person on their side, a fifteen-year-old girl named Persephone, who is a staunch feminist, Tik Tokker, and wants to support the sisterhood. She offers to help them with their social media presence, though the witches have no idea what she's talking about.

That plot description feels way too bland for the liveliness and humor of this very original novel. The author has a wonderful sense of humor that is woven throughout the book, but--as in her earlier novels--she also tackles some serious, real-life issue like aging, feminism, found family, and friendship, all while making you laugh. The very clever story even has parallels to the events of the Salem witch trials. The antics of the aging witches are a whole lot of fun, though their problems are very real. And while you're laughing, she sneaks in so many thoughtful insights about life and aging and family that my book is filled with marked passages I want to remember. Adding to the intrigue of the witches and their powers, the end of many chapters include recipes for cocktails, salves, potions, and tonics, some of which you could actually make and some that have rather unusual ingredients you probably can't get (like rhino urine). All in all, this novel is a fun, sexy romp with suspense, a mystery, and real-life emotions woven into it. It will make you cherish your female friendships. 

400 pages, MIRA

Harlequin Audio

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 

Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge - W (finally!)

Diversity Challenge

R.I.P. Challenge

Fall Into Reading Challenge - Fantasy

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, from the start of the novel, 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 Witches of Moonshyne Manor from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

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.

Teen/YA Review: Gone

I finished up my June reading with an audio book for #BigBookSummer, Gone by Michael Grant, a YA science fiction thriller. It's book one of nine in a series, but this exciting, mysterious adventure stands well on it's own. 

In the small town of Perdido Beach on the California coast, a group of ninth-graders are in class one day when their teacher suddenly disappears. In fact, they soon discover that at the same instant, all over town, every person over the age of 15 disappeared. The kids frantically check their homes and soon confirm this horrifying fact. They don't know why this bizarre thing happened in their town, and attempts to leave the town don't work. The story focuses in on a few of these ninth-graders, including Sam, who considers himself an ordinary kid, not quite fitting into any of the middle-school cliques. Sam's best friend, Quinn, is the quintessential surfer dude, completely laid back, and the boys share their common passion of surfing. Astrid is well-known as the smartest girl in school, already taking AP and college classes. Sam's had a secret crush on her but doesn't think she notices him. And Edilio is the new kid in school, so no one knows him very well. These four come together to check their own houses and then just naturally begin trying to help the younger kids. Everyone is freaked out, so they try to organize things a bit. A classmate named Mary, along with her younger brother, takes over at the local daycare, where babies, toddlers, and preschoolers are panicked and alone. Of course, there is a group of bad guys in this apocalyptic tale, bullies who now see a chance to grab even more power. All of the kids are trying to survive, while also trying to figure out what happened and how to reverse it ... and they're wondering what will happen when these fourteen-year-olds begin to hit their birthdays? But the weirdest thing about this novel is that all the adults disappearing is not the weirdest thing to happen in the coming days! Not by a long shot.

As more bizarre, unexplainable things happen to the abandoned kids in Perdido Beach, the tension rises in this unique novel. It's described as "Lord of the Flies for the 21st-century," and that seems fairly accurate as things heat up between the bullies and the rest of the kids (why do apocalypses seem to bring out the worst in humanity?). But there are also all kinds of strange, fantastical things happening to the kids and in the town, bringing in elements of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. It's an action-packed, fast-paced thrill ride that grabs you from the first sentences and never lets go. I listened to it on audio, and I wasn't thrilled with the narrator, who attempted different voices for the different characters with varying degrees of success. The suspense and the high-wire tension kept me listening, though. The main characters are likable and fully fleshed-out, the action is intense, and the plot was filled with surprises. I very much enjoyed this bizarre, rollercoaster ride of a story.

576 pages, Katherine Tegen Books

Tantor Audio

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

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 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 Gone from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

 

Middle-Grade Review: Margo Maloo - The Tangled Web

I am a huge fan of Drew Weing's creative, fun middle-grade graphic novel series. I enjoyed the first two entries in the series, The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo and its sequel, The Monster Mall (my reviews at the links). So, I was excited to see the release of book 3, The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web. It was just as much imaginative, creepy fun as the first two books!

Charles recently moved to Echo City when his parents bought a historic apartment building there. Discovering a large troll living in the basement (and stealing his Battlebeanz), Charles takes the advice of his new friend in the building, Kevin, and calls Margo Maloo, Monster Mediator, to help. It turns out that Echo City has a thriving monster community living in the shadows, underground, and in all kinds of places where humans are unaware of them. Margo, a smart, fierce kid, helps Charles with his troll problem and takes him under her wing, as he promises to always protect the monsters' secrets from adults and help her to mediate monster-human problems. In this third book, Margo is engrossed in her own project, so Charles is on his own. He and Kevin notice a teenager online who is trying to stir up trouble by giving away monsters' secret hiding places, and Charles discovers a family of giant spiders who are about to be destroyed by a massive human demolition project. What can Charles do on his own? And how can he get a message to Margo?

Sample pages from Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web

As always, Weing packs a lot of clever, imaginative fun into this third installment. His brightly colored drawings of Echo City and its unique monster residents provide plenty of entertaining details to peruse. Accompanying the unique drawings are a suspenseful, gripping storyline that keeps you turning the pages. And this time, while the spiders are saved and the immediate peril has passed, there is an ongoing mystery that can only mean ... a fourth book! I can't wait to read more adventures of Margo, Charles, and Kevin--and their monster acquaintances.

126 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

 Mount TBR Challenge

Alphabet Soup Challenge - C

Diversity 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!

 

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 Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Middle-Grade Review: Marshmallow and Jordan

I've been hearing good things about the middle-grade graphic novel Marshmallow and Jordan by Alina Chau, and I finally had a chance to read it for myself. I enjoyed this charming, moving story of the challenges a newly-disabled girl faces and the unlikely ally she finds to support her.

Jordan was the captain--and star--of her championship middle-school basketball team in Indonesia. Then an accident left her wheelchair-bound. She seems remarkably well-adjusted, and her kind teammates still support her, while she watches their practices and games and sometimes even helps the coach or plays from her chair during practice. But Jordan misses being a full part of the team and competing. One day on her way home from school, she finds an injured white baby elephant. I guess elephants are common in Indonesia because Jordan doesn't seem surprised but helps the baby elephant back to her home so that her mother, a veterinarian, can help the injured animal. Her parents agree to let the elephant, whom Jordan has named Marshmallow, stay at their house while its leg heals. Wanting to pay back her kindness, Marshmallow mysteriously creates a pool in the backyard one night and the next day helps Jordan learn to swim without the use of her legs. Jordan loves the newfound freedom of being able to move in the pool! After a wonderful day of playing water basketball in the pool with her friends, Jordan joins the water polo team. Since she's entirely new to the game, her teammates aren't very welcoming at first and worry she could mess up their chances to make it to the finals this year. Jordan feels left out, by both old and new teammates, but she practices hard every day after school, putting in extra hours on her own, until her strength, stamina, and skills in the water improve. A crisis at the end of the school year is resolved in a very surprising way.

Sample: Jordan with her basketball team

 

Sample: Jordan takes Marshmallow home

As someone who is disabled by chronic illness--and had two young sons disabled by the same illness when they were very young (one is now recovered)--I can tell you with certainty that it is very rare to see a disabled child in a book for kids and adolescents. It's even more rare to see a disabled child who is a talented athlete. But this wonderful book is about more than just Jordan's disability. It's about friendship, family, and overcoming all kinds of challenges. I like that Jordan's challenges here are both related to her disability--not being able to play her favorite sport anymore--and entirely "normal" kinds of challenges that all kids face with friendship, acceptance, and trying to learn a new skill. There is also a touch of fantasy woven throughout the story, for extra fun. The gorgeous, colorful watercolor images help to tell the story and also to literally paint a full picture of what daily life in Indonesia is like (and some extras at the back add to that). Together, the pictures and text/dialogue tell a magical story of an ordinary girl in a different culture than most readers are familiar with, facing challenges that all kids can relate to.

365 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

Mount TBR Challenge

Diversity Challenge

Travel the World in Books - Indonesia 

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 Marshmallow and Jordan from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

 

Fiction Review: Under the Whispering Door

For the past year and a half, I have been hearing rave reviews of The House on the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune, so I jumped at the chance to listen to and review the audiobook of Klune's latest novel, Under the Whispering Door. And when I heard one reviewer describe this new novel as "A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place," I was convinced. Now I see why everyone loves this author! This funny, tender novel about the afterlife was a completely unique reading/listening experience--and a very enjoyable one.

Wallace has not lived a good life. He has worked non-stop at his law firm, his marriage failed, and well, he's just not a very nice person. As the novel opens, he's firing his devoted assistant who's been going through a family crisis. Then, suddenly, Wallace dies of a heart attack. He finds himself sitting in a church at his own funeral--which is very poorly attended--dressed embarrassingly in the ragged jeans, old t-shirt, and flip-flops he had on when he died, when a young woman named Mei approaches him. She explains that he's dead and that she is his Reaper. After a lot of questions and anger, Wallace allows Mei to guide him away. She takes him to a strange-looking tea shop in a remote town. Hugo is the owner of the tea shop, and he tells Wallace that he is there to guide him to ... the next step. He will answer all of Wallace's questions, and when Wallace is ready, there is a door on the 4th floor of the building that he can walk through to whatever comes next. Hugo and Mei are both live people, but they can see and talk to Wallace because they have special abilities. The other two residents of the tea shop--Hugo's grandfather and his dog--are dead, like Wallace. The tea shop is a way-station for the recently died and also an ordinary tea shop during the day. As Wallace stays there with Hugo and his family, he slowly begins to discover all that he missed out on in his life and to grow and change.

I'm sure you can tell from the description that this book has a very original premise! There is so much more to it than this simple plot summary, but one of the best things about this novel is discovering its delights for yourself, with surprises around every corner. It's about life, the afterlife, and even love, and the story is told with warmth and humor. I often laughed out loud while listening, as Wallace and the others get to know each other, and Wallace gradually comes to terms with his death--and the way he lived his life. One scene when a "psychic" visits the cafe to record a video is particularly amusing, but there are laughs in almost every chapter. In spite of the humor, though, there is also deep emotion here and even love, as Wallace and the other characters explore what it means to be human. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this thoughtful, funny, delightful novel.

384 pages, Tor Books

Macmillan Audio

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 and/or download it from Audible - this one is excellent on audio, narrated by Kirt Graves.

 

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 Under the Whispering Door from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.