Hey Guys!

I hope you had a successful reading week. I did! After completing Roots, I wanted some quick reads that were easier to get through. So I dived back into the world of Young Adult Fiction. 🙂 ( my guilty pleasure)

As I mentioned last week I began the book “Tease” by Amanda Maciel. I managed to finish that really quickly. The content was still pretty deep as the content dealt with bullying/cyber bullying, suicide and the repercussions of your actions. As someone who works with children, It served as a reminder that I need to ensure that the children I am nurturing, are children who are kind, compassionate and wise. If you know of someone being bullied, don’t just let it happen. Speak up and get help. If not, it could cost someone their life. I’d give this book four out of five stars. I’m not sure if I loved the ending of this book. It kind of just ended flatly. All in all, I’d recommend it especially for preteens/teens.

Next I picked up the book “Mosquitoland” by David Arnold. The synopsis of this book as found on davidarnoldbooks.com  reads:

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the “wastelands” of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.

So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.

What a fantastic book! I read this book in a day and a half! This book touches on the serious topics of mental health issues. In this book it becomes evident that the protagonist Mim has some serious issues; mental health and emotional. After being forced to move from Ohio to Mississippi  with her father and stepmother ( leaving her mother behind) Mim is overcome with grief. She decides that she is going to run away and go back home to Ohio and see her mother. For the sake of not spoiling the entire story, Mim meets some interesting characters along the way and in turn discovers some things about herself and her family.  I did find that the last 50 pages or so dragged a bit. I still would encourage people of all ages to read this book. For a debut novel, I am impressed. I look forward to reading more of David Arnold’s work! He has a book in the works right now with a tentative fall 2016 release date. 🙂

Lastly, I picked up “Watch the Sky” by Kirsten Hubbard. The synopsis of this book is as follows:

The signs are everywhere, Jory’s stepfather, Caleb, says. Red leaves in the springtime. Pages torn from a library book. All the fish in the aquarium facing the same way. A cracked egg with twin yolks. Everywhere and anywhere. And because of them Jory’s life is far from ordinary. He must follow a very specific set of rules: don’t trust anyone outside the family, have your works at the ready just in case, and always, always watch out for the signs. The end is coming, and they must be prepared.

School is Jory’s only escape from Caleb’s tight grasp, and with the help of new friends Jory begins to explore a world beyond his family’s farm. As Jory’s friendships grow, Caleb notifies Jory’s mother and siblings that the time has come for final preparations.

They begin an exhausting schedule digging a mysterious tunnel in anticipation of the disaster. But as the hold gets deeper, so does the family’s doubt about whether Caleb’s prophecy is true. When the stark reality of his stepfather’s plans becomes clear, Jory must choose between living his own life or following Caleb, shutting his eyes to the bright world he’s just begun to see ( goodreads.com)

I have only read about 20 pages of this book so far. So far it’s not really drawing me in. I’m going to really try to finish it! But if I get bored, I will probably pick up one of the other library Young Adult Fiction I have kicking around my house!

I also feel led to deviate from my weekly devotional and spend time in the book of Ezekiel. So I think that’s what I’m going to do this week!! ( Ezekiel 37 is probably my favorite passage of scripture)

Have a wonderful reading week!

What are you reading right now?

xoxo