Book Review: Pippa Park Raises Her Game
In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I can’t stop talking about “Pippa Park”, a middle grade retelling of Dickens’ “Great Expectations, with a Korean-American main character! I adored the book, and loved learning about the rich Korean culture!
Pippa Park Raises Her Game
by Erin Yun (Goodreads Author)
by Erin Yun (Goodreads Author)
5 out of 5 stars
When Pippa Park gets a basketball scholarship to a fancy private school, she feels pressured to pretend like she’s rich and cool so that she can fit in with her elite classmates. But how long can she keep up the farce, when her Korean family owns a laundromat and Pippa barely has money to buy a slice of pizza at the school cafeteria? With her grades slipping and her relationships in turmoil, Pippa begins to realize that some of her new friends have family secrets of their own.
This retelling of Dicken’s “Great Expectations” is utterly brilliant from start to finish!
Charity Closure
It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that the Books for MKs charity will be closed down. We just don’t have the donations coming in to support the charity, and no time to do extra fundraising.
The GoFundMe page has been closed, and no more new donations will be accepted. All previous donations have already gone to buying books for the missionary kids. (The last of the available funds have just been used for a few final gift cards to various missionary families.)
The last 6 years have been a wonderful experience, full of God’s love and the joy of connecting with missionaries all over the world.
Thank you for being a part of this bookish ministry, and allowing me to minister to your children through books!
I will still continue to write and post book reviews and bookish videos, and will continue to pray for each of the missionary families that have been part of this ministry.
Keep reading and stay curious! Stay tuned for more bookish content and reviews still to come!
God Bless,
Kailey
Book Review: Deeplight
Deeplight
by Frances Hardinge
by Frances Hardinge
3.5 stars out of 5 stars
Hark is a conman and a thief. When his best friend, Jelt, convinces him to try a dangerous diving stunt, Hark finds the ancient heart of a dead god and tries to use it to heal Jelt. But the heart is deceitful and begins to change Jelt into a monster.
I liked the deep characters in this book. They are well-written with interesting personalities. The relationships between the characters are deliciously emotional and complex. I especially loved the character development! Several of the characters change and grow and learn. Their relationships change. Their views and beliefs change. It’s wonderful to see the internal journey that they go on, and how their relationships with each other either help or hinder them on that journey.
Continue reading
Bookmoji Challenge
Non-Fiction Review: Aromatherapy and Essential Oils for Healing
Aromatherapy and Essential Oils for Healing: 120 Remedies to Restore Mind, Body, and Spirit
by Amber Robinson
by Amber Robinson
5 out of 5 stars
This book begins with information about aromatherapy and common essential oils and how to use them safely. The remedies and recipes are divided into sections for Emotional Healing, Physical Healing, and Beauty and Wellness.
I like how it goes in-depth about how essential oils work and how they can promote healing in various areas if used properly. There is also a lot of good advice about how to choose a reliable brand of essential oils, and what different terminology means, and how to properly dilute the oils to be safe for use. There are lists of common essential oils, carrier oils, and hydrosols, and suggested substitutions and uses for each one. There is a wealth of information about each essential oil, including their healing properties, and precautions for safe use. Continue reading
Book Review: Celtic Mythology for Kids
Celtic Mythology for Kids: Tales of Selkies, Giants, and the Sea
by Christopher Pinard
by Christopher Pinard
5 out of 5 stars
I love these fairy tales from Celtic myths! They are retold in a simple manner for children, and each tale is between 3-7 pages long. The tales use a few Irish and Scottish words, but they are explained and there is even a glossary of Celtic words in the back of the book. I love how the rich Celtic culture is celebrated in this book!
The stories themselves are wonderfully interesting and full of magic and history! At the end of each story, there are some questions to prompt discussion and get the reader thinking about the choices made by the characters in the story. Continue reading
Non Fiction Review: A Year of Mindfulness for Beginners
A Year of Mindfulness for Beginners: Daily Mantras, Meditations, and Prompts
by Lee Papa (Goodreads Author)
by Lee Papa (Goodreads Author)
2 out of 5 stars
This book includes inspirational quotes from famous people like Nikola Tesla and Eleanor Roosevelt. I really loved these interesting quotes from a wide variety of people!
Most of the meditation prompts and guidance in this book are innocent reminders to release stress, focus on what is important, believe in yourself, and allow yourself to relax. But sometimes there will be a weird one that made me wonder about the underlying philosophy that is being taught in this book. It is very focused on self, and talks about an “Eternal Consciousness”. There is an entire chapter about interpreting your dreams that sounded completely idiotic to me.
There is a lot of talk about “creating your own reality” and other strange ideas. (Reality is reality. You can change your perception of it or how you think about it, but what is real is real. You don’t create it. It just is.) While reading, I would just try to enjoy the normal meditations and mindfulness prompts, and skip over the weird ones.
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Non Fiction Review: Family Cookbook Recipe Journal
Family Cookbook Recipe Journal: A Blank Recipe Book for Family Favorites
by Rockridge Press
by Rockridge Press
5 out of 5 stars
This blank recipe journal is perfect for writing in all your favorite family recipes! It’s divided into color-coded sections that you can label any way you want. You could organize the sections by which family member submits the recipe, or by the type of recipe, or by the time it takes to cook.
Each section has a title page where you can write in the title you have chosen for that group of recipes, and a contents page where you write in the page numbers for each individual recipe in that section. The contents page makes it easy to find any recipe you need!
Each page has a colorful design with a place for the title of the recipe, a list of ingredients, prep time, cook time, how many servings it makes, and plenty of room for instructions and notes.
I just love the colors and the designs throughout this book. There are simple illustrations of cooking utensils, pots and pans, salt and pepper shakers, oven mitts, tea pots, and all sorts of cute things. There is also a measurement conversion chart at the back of the book for easy use!
The construction of the book is quite sturdy as well, to withstand a few generations of cooks spilling things in the kitchen. The pages are a little thicker than normal, and the cover is thick for a paperback too.
I can’t wait to start writing in some favorite recipes!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
Luminous Libro 